I like it. Everyone gets an additional Terabyte on space for free, perfect for storing high-resolution images. I specially like the new Photostream. A great improvement over the old look, in my opinion. All in all, this has been a great week for Yahoo. Marissa Mayer’s leadership is starting to show.

This also reinforces Flickr’s role as the natural “Home” for our photos on the Internet. That’s something I’ve always felt for some reason, so these changes make me happy because they show that Yahoo is actually getting the necessary work done to fix Flickr, and it wasn’t all just talk. I believe they’re on the right track, and it’s not too late for them to make Flickr relevant again, and to make it thrive.

I’ve had a Pro Flickr account ever since I first signed up a few years ago, and I’ve always been quite happy with the service. It was a nice and convenient way to host the images for Analog Senses and that alone made it worth it. However, lately my photostream had become little more than a mirror feed of my Instagram account. I never quite felt the need to upload the pictures of my latest trips or family events, for instance. That was a big sign that something was going wrong.

The funny thing was that I didn’t use any alternative service to upload and share those photos. No, I just kept them to myself. None of the other photo sharing services felt right for that purpose, none of them felt like Flickr once did. That goes to show just how big of a role Flickr used to play a few years ago, and how big a hole it left behind when it stopped being relevant. A hole so big, in fact, that as of today no other service has been able to replace it.

Ever since the first signs of trouble started to appear shortly after Yahoo acquired the service, the Flickr community has felt on the receiving end of a great injustice. Yahoo took something great from us and they ruined it. We all felt the loss as something personal, and we called for them to make it right. Fortunately, Marissa Mayer and her team at Yahoo believed they still had a chance to bring Flickr back, and that it was the right thing to do. I’m really glad to see that they’re taking it.

Now, I’m excited to use Flickr again. Not because of the additional Terabyte or the new look (though those things certainly help), but because it feels like I can finally take my pictures home again.

So:

Dear Marissa Mayer, Thank you.

Marco Arment, on Yahoo’s acquisition of Tumblr:

Anyone who knows David can tell, very clearly, that he wrote every word of his announcement post. Not only did Yahoo let him end it like that, but the subhead on their official press release shows that Tumblr and Yahoo are seeing eye-to-eye on quite a lot already. In many ways, this feels more like a merger than an acquisition.

A great insider’s look at Tumblr’s history. This deal has so much potential for both companies, I really hope things work out between them. And it goes to show how passionate people can make a difference. Congratulations to everyone over at Tumblr (and Yahoo!). And congratulations to Marco, as well.

Jim Dalrymple, on the subscription bug that plagued the first two releases of the excellent The Loop Magazine app:

You deserved a better experience than what we delivered, and we expected more from ourselves. Please accept my apology and know that we are working hard to deliver a great app for you.

Relax Jim, you’re trying too hard. Bugs in 1.0 versions are not uncommon, and easily forgivable. Especially when developers react timely and work their asses off to release an update. And yes, even if the update doesn’t immediately fix the problem, there’s still no harm done. As the saying goes: “If at first you don’t succeed…”

We don’t expect you guys to be perfect, we just expect you to be professional and respectful towards your customers. And in my book, you certainly have.

Using her scientific metric, Krume goes on to create the most expensive-sounding wine review ever penned: “A velvety chocolate texture and enticingly layered, yet creamy, nose, this wine abounds with focused cassis and a silky ruby finish. Lush, elegant, and nuanced. Pair with pork and shellfish.” If that sentence made you yearn for a glass of classy red, congratulations, there’s a very real chance you’re a pompous asshole.

Hilarious.

Via Daring Fireball.

The man has lived an interesting life, I’ll give him that:

I haven’t been involved with McAfee Ant-virus for 21 years. When I ran the company the software was the best and least intrusive on the market, and in 1991 we had 87% of the world market. What happened after I left was none of my doing. As to name association, I am a master at sullying my own name and, all things considered, being associated with the worst software on the planet ranks way down the pole. It’s barely a blip in the ocean of associations - madman, paranoid, child molester, murderer, drug addict, unstable, liar, to name but a few.Thank god I’m 67 and will probably be too hard of hearing soon enough to have to listen to them rattling around wherever I go. Amy, thankfully, did half the job already by bursting my left eardrum when she tried to shoot me in the head while I slept back in 2011.

This was even more surprising than WWDC selling out in under two minutes:

I’m happy to announce that I’ve sold a majority stake in Instapaper to Betaworks. We’ve structured the deal with Instapaper’s health and longevity as the top priority, with incentives to keep it going well into the future. I will continue advising the project indefinitely, while Betaworks will take over its operations, expand its staff, and develop it further.

I’m genuinely happy for Marco. He’s done a terrific job with Instapaper, and now he knows it’s time for him to move on. That takes courage. I have the utmost respect for him, and I truly wish him the best for the future.

Thanks for everything, Marco.

This has the potential to be really cool. The Beetle is an iconic car, probably my favorite car since its last redesign a couple years ago. Next year’s model looks promising:

Volkswagen said it collaborated with Apple to create the iBeetle, making it possible to use an iPhone to listen to music, navigate, make hands-free calls and even monitor the car’s engine functions.

This would probably be my first choice if I were in the market for a new car.

However, look at the first picture. That’s a promotional picture for the car. Isn’t it weird? Look closely, focus on the people in the background.

Yep, they’re riding their bicycles along the beach in a wonderfully sunny day. And they’re not even looking at the car.

‘nuff said.

John Yong, writing for Design Taxi:

To help people gain ‘easier access’ to their fries while driving, McDonald’s Japan will be introducing a new ‘potato holder’.

Sounds great. The next big thing will be adding a defibrillator to the console, to help you out with your next heart attack.

Via Coudal.

MG Siegler, on the real motives behind the live coverage of the explosions during the Boston Marathon that ran in most tech sites as events unfolded:

At some point, you’d hope that bloggers, as human beings, would be shocked and appauled enough by what’s unfolding before their eyes that they would lay down their keyboards and stop playing the pageview game, if only for a few hours. Instead, I’m afraid the opposite instincts kicked in. To paraphrase Dr. Ian Malcolm from _Jurassic Park_: they were so preoccupied with whether or not they _could_ that they didn’t stop to think if they _should_.

Well said.

Roger Ebert back in September, 2011:

I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, wonder and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting. My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris.

What an amazing piece. The ending is priceless.