If you have a LaLa account, then you may have noticed a new look and feel to your browsing. LaLa has overhauled its web site and has provided a new player and download feature. Users may now listen to the music of other members. You may also purchase and download songs to your favorite mp3 player (IPod only from the looks of things). This is just one more reason to make lala your online stop for music.

The Windows Live Shopping Beta site has improved a great deal since I last gave it a shot. I feel like I can really do my research on products that I may sometime want to buy. I can make my own customized lists of items that I am interested in and may also compare items. I can also turn my search results into an rss feed so that I may easily keep my eye on products. The user interface is very intuitive and allows me to see and do many things with search results. I'm glad to see that this site is coming around.

A lot of media has been hyping over the Wii and Suburbia being the newest role model for shedding weight. First there was the Subway guy, then there was the disgusting McDonald's movie, and now we've got ourselves a gamer leading the way. I must say all of the above have motivated me, including the newest fad. Suberbia has played the Wii Sports game every day for six weeks and was able to shed nine pounds. The graph shows the progress he had made throughout his experiment.

For the last week I have made sure to at least turn on the Wii for a boxing match every night. I can't tell you that I've dropped weight from this, but I can tell you that I am having a blast playing. The game keeps track of your ability and will pair you with boxers that may just give you a run for your money. For the record, I haven't been knocked down yet. That's not to say that I won't lose. Every night I've had to take on a tougher opponent. I have also improved every night as well and am becoming a lot better at punch combinations rather than the old flailing arms strategy.

With all of the hype surrounding this new craze for Wii weight loss, I would love to get my hands on an actual game that pushes your fitness and can keep track of your goals and progress. Maybe even a dance pad with the Wii would be great fitness idea; a dance pad with a built in scale. My favorite (and I would buy it in an instant) would be a Tae Bo workout on the Wii with our favorite, Billy Blanks. So if you have yet to get a Wii and find yourself gaming from your tush, you may just find the incentive now.

Google Trends offers a great utility for analysis on popularity of search phrases over a span of time. The utility offers great charts and includes milestone information along the timeline that pertain to each search phrase. Below is an image of a comparison I had run on the terms, wii, xbox 360 and ps3. As you can see, the data provided is a representation of the search volume and the news reference volume. It's a great representation on trends and really shows information about the market for these products over time and region.

As predicted, Japan leads the way with searches on PS3 and Wii, whereas United States leads the way with the XBox 360. It will be interesting to watch as the trends progress while new games are developed and released for these consoles.

Here are some Google Trend comparisons you may find of interest:

Wii, XBox 360, PS3

George Bush, John Kerry

Donald Trump, Rosie Odonnell

Pro Life, Pro Choice

On December 14, Microsoft revamped their home page with a new look and improved navigation. As many designers would agree the color blue is a safe-design color. Microsoft continued to stick with blue as the main color and of course it works. The changes in appearance give a more fluid and less block design to their page. With many gradients and rounded edges, the eye appeal has become much better, more calm and easier on the eyes.

One of my favorite features is the navigation pane now on the left side of the screen (All Microsoft Sites). These links bring up a navigation box that allow you to change the appearance within the navigation box to the standard Windows options (Detail, Thumbnail, Text). We'll keep our eyes posted as more changes are expected to come.

I stumbled upon a great site the other day and have found myself spending a lot of browse time surfing from this site. The site is called 'Design Melt Down'. It is a resource for information and material regarding graphic design. The site is geared primarily for web design, however, the material can be a great resource for any graphic artist. It outlines elements of design and their uses for content portrayal as well as offering great examples.

If you love music, like me, and you love to get your music at a low cost, also like me, then you should head to la la land as well. I was recommended this site from a friend last night and I immediately signed up. Not only did I sign up, but I stayed up for hours just enjoying the site.

La la is a community of online music sharing. You must be willing to give away one of your music cd's, and in turn you will be able to select, from the entire community, the used cd you want for the low cost of $1. La la will even mail you the shipping packages, so there is no cost to ship your music. The user interface on this site is extremely pleasurable to use. The features provide everything you would expect in an easy format.

Join the community and start sharing your music with others. If you're anything like me, you just might get lost in la la land. La La

Another slick site and another beta on the internet. Windows Live is my favorite spot on the internet. It is my home page. The new site "Windows Live Gallery" is a source for implementing features on a customized Windows Live site. The site is layed out very nicely. It has a very clean look and feels a lot like running an application on a local computer. The search feature works great and of course you can browse for Live content through a category structure. The site far exceeds the previously used "Microsoft Gadgets" site.

If you have yet to check out Windows Live, then I would recommend getting yourself a passport and begin the process of making your custom morning news paper. To view the Windows Live Gallery site, go here: Windows Live Gallery