If you've spent any time online in the last year, you'll undoubtedly have come across the phrase “snakes on a plane”. If you're still unsure as to what the big deal is, head over to the Seomoz blog and read a detailed posting that talks you through the whole phenomenon.

Here's the short version: Snakes on a Plane is just a film, which hasn't even been released yet. Not surprisingly, it is about setting poisonous snakes free on an airplane in an attempt to kill a witness to a murder. For some unfathomable reason, this caught the attention of the online community, and countless blogs soon featured information, hype, and fake posters.

Taking note of all this publicity, the film producers went back and made some changes to the film, making it more violent and with more “cool” content than was originally intended.

Why am I telling you all this? Because it serves as a great reminder of how incredibly powerful the online community can be. If you can find a way to tap into it, you've truly found the Golden Ticket.

The Internet = The Ultimate Focus Group

So, not only have Microsoft returned to being somewhat cagey about Vista release dates (the latest statement says it will ship “when it is available”), they've also added to the confusion by releasing a matrix that explains how to upgrade, and to which version.

Trying to talk you through it is not going to help, so you'd better have a look at the matrix. Suffice it to say that Vista will actually be available in seven different versions.

Microsoft unveils Vista upgrade matrix

As some of you may know, the BlogHer conference took place last week. On the surface, this is a get-together of women bloggers of all kinds, covering all topics. This year, it appears that there were quite a few men in attendance, too, and one of them more well-known was Robert Scoble (previously of Microsoft fame).

Over at the Scobleizer, he discusses what he learned from BlogHer, and it's well worth a read. His main message to vendors and service providers appears to be: when you're at a conference, listen to what your audience wants. Just listen. Don't try to push things, don't just try to pitch your product, but take advantage of the opportunity and try to learn something. Apparently, Windows Live Spaces didn't do so well at this.

Very interesting post.

What I learned from BlogHer

The latest from Google: real-time traffic information for your mobile phone. Essentially, it's a new function of Google Maps for Mobile, which lets you find a destination on your phone and then choose the “show traffic” option. The map is then highlighted red if there's a traffic jam, yellow if there is some congestion, and green if the roads are clear.

Cool, although only available in the US at the moment, with full coverage for more than 30 metro areas.

Saving the galaxy, one traffic jam at a time

Somewhat surprisingly, the search engine and the antivirus giant have joined forces for a new marketing venture. Ars Technica writes:

“Symantec will offer its existing product, the Norton Internet Security Suite, as a 30-day trial download from Yahoo. The product will be branded “Norton Internet Security provided by Yahoo!” and will be available through the Yahoo web site as well as through the Yahoo Toolbar for Internet Explorer.”

So what's in it for the two of them? Well, Yahoo gets to look like they're staying on top of increasing online security concerns, and Symantec gain increased exposure.

Whether or not people will be happy with Norton remains to be seen.

Yahoo and Symantec join forces to launch Internet security service

Thanks to Dirk Paessler from Paessler AG for this thought-provoking article:

“I'm so tired of seeing so many products with the same features that nobody wants. It's bad enough to let feature requests from users get out of control, but when we start adding features just because our competitors have them, we're all screwed.”

Well worth a read.

Ignore the competition

Microsoft have now confirmed what most people have been expecting to hear: they are indeed developing their own portable music device, and it will be out by the end of the year (That reminds me of several other Microsoft products, can't think why.)

Called Zune, the device is rumoured to play music, videos and games, although the focus will lie on music. This is probably why some people have dubbed it the iPod killer, in spite of the fact that several industry analysts predict that Microsoft is going to find it very difficult to compete with Apple in this particular arena.

Eventually, Zune is going to be much more than a music player, as the plan is to launch “a family of hardware and software products” under the umbrella brand of zune.

The launch, when it happens, should be interesting. Supposedly, it will be heavily “artist- centric” with several live performances across the US.

Zune gets in the ring

We don't often mention MySpace on this blog, but as you all know, it's fast becoming one of the most popular destination on the web. It doesn't hold much interest for me personally, but I still think it's worth being aware of the risks – and I'm not just talking about the predators preying on children and teenagers.

No, what seems to be getting more common is malware and other security problems. The latest high-profile case is a banner advert that infects your computer with a Trojan (unless you've been very vigilant with your Windows security updates, in which case you're safe). Experts estimate that more than a million users have already been infected, partly because they feel a false sense of security within MySpace and click on links that they might otherwise avoid.

Worth keeping mind, methinks. And tell your kids!

MySpace faces security problems

As you may know, I was in Denver last week, attending the Shareware Industry Conference. As usual, it was a useful, enjoyable and exhausting event, and I had the pleasure of meeting many old friends and new acquaintances.

If you're interested in seeing what it was like, here are the photos:

Our own photos

Sharon Housley's photos

Greg Weir's photos

Next month's Competitive Edge Newsletter will contain a write-up of the conference, detailing useful and actionable information that you will have missed if you weren't attending!

On Wednesday, Microsoft announced that they will be following 12 main principles when developing the Windows desktop platform. Based around three main areas, these principles all focus on choice, opportunities and interoperability. Mainly, this appears to be about things that Microsoft learned in their well-known antitrust battle with the government. Microsoft now claim that they have “learned the importance of humility”. Hmmm.

So, what exactly are these principles? Well, here's an example:

“No. 5 is business terms: Microsoft will not retaliate against any computer manufacturer that supports non-Microsoft software, [senior Vice President Brad] Smith said. To provide transparency on this point, Microsoft will post a standard volume-based price list to a Web site that is accessible to computer manufacturers, as it has under the U.S. antitrust ruling, he said.”

Other principles mention APIs, Internet services and open Internet access.

It all sounds very good. Of course, it would be even more impressive if they hadn't been forced into most of them. It also remains to be seen whether or not this will satisfy the European Union, who have been a tough critic of Microsoft when it comes to competition regulations.

Microsoft Establishes 12 Principles for Windows Development