In a move that AllThingsD had previously reported was coming, Yahoo said it had laid off 2,000 employees, or 14 percent of the workforce.

“Today’s actions are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo! — smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require,” said Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson in a statement. “Unfortunately, reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate positions.”

While Yahoo has had periodic layoffs over the years, this one is its most significant in its history, and will also result in another large-scale restructuring of the management organization. More cuts are also likely to follow in the months ahead, due to the reshaping of Yahoo.

The latest employee action is being pushed by Thompson, who joined the Silicon Valley Internet giant in January from eBay’s PayPal unit.

“Change is never easy,” he wrote in an internal email to Yahoo employees (it is below in its entirety), in a well-worn cliché I am dead certain few appreciated hearing today from the top leader.

At an internal meeting with top staff last night, Thompson — who has gotten what seems to be a well-deserved reputation for chewing folks out at Yahoo — was more direct with the execs gathered, berating them extensively for not delivering and getting the company to this sorry point.

Ouch, Scott! It’s Easter, so it might be time for some forgiveness. (And no more ranting about my reporting to those inside Yahoo, since I have been 100 percent accurate so far. FYI, will aim for 110 percent next week!)

Yahoo said it will save about $375 million with the cuts, incurring a $125 to $145 million pretax cash charge for employee severance in its second quarter. Before the cuts, Yahoo had 14,000 staffers and has many thousands more hired as contractors.

The layoffs touch all units of the company, but the hardest hit is the product division, which is headed by Blake Irving, as well as its marketing, research and international units. Yahoo gave no details on the layoffs other than the number.

But the fate of two key parts of the soon-to-be-blown-apart unit — Yahoo’s advertising technology businesses, Right Media and APT, and its search business — is still being contemplated, as I have previously reported. Possible scenarios include a sale or a joint venture transaction for both, which employ thousands of Yahoo staffers.

The layoffs tomorrow are not the end of the road in cutting costs. Along with the likely shedding of its ad tech and search businesses, Yahoo leadership is also looking at future cuts as it evaluates current businesses, which could lop even more employees off its roster.

That said, Yahoo will be doubling down in some older and new arenas, so there would also be simultaneous hiring in the months ahead.

As wrenching as they will be today at Yahoo, the layoffs come as no surprise. Thompson had told employees in memos and also in recent meetings that “real change” was coming to the company.

Along with the trauma of the layoffs, Yahoo is also facing two other tense face-offs externally. In one, activist shareholder Third Point is waging a proxy fight for board seats and stepped up the public pressure this week; and Facebook struck back hard at Yahoo’s patent lawsuit with a counterclaim of its own.

After the layoffs tomorrow, sources say Yahoo will be announcing a new organization by next week. Thompson, along with outside consultants he has hired from the Boston Consulting Group, are making what appear to be profound changes.

Sources said that Yahoo will most likely be comprised of a global media division, one that encompasses Yahoo’s consumer products businesses and one focused on global and regional sales. There could also be a small organization of about 50 employees aimed at future innovation.

Americas head Ross Levinsohn is pegged to run the media arm, which will also include its leads/commerce businesses, such as autos; Shashi Seth — who now heads search and marketplaces — is likely to run consumer products, which will include Yahoo’s communications and search businesses.

Yahoo has already been conducting a search for a new worldwide sales head, who will also be boss of the U.S., Asia and Europe, Middle East and Africa sales regions. Rich Riley, who was recently running EMEA, is reportedly the pick for U.S. sales; Rose Tsou, who is running Asia, would presumably stay put; Yahoo is looking for an EMEA sales lead.

Some current operational execs — such as service engineering and ops head David Dibble, CFO Tim Morse, and top lawyer Mike Callahan — are likely to continue to operate as before.

One big question mark is how Chief Product Officer Irving fits in the possible new org, in which the new units get control of their product development. Irving has reportedly had several incoming job offers, although it is not clear if he has responded to that interest.

But today, the focus is on the layoffs and letting go all those employees, many of whom have worked at Yahoo for years. Even if it will result in a stronger Yahoo, as Thompson promises, it is still a very sad day in Sunnyvale.

Here is a video on the topic that I did with the WSJ.com “Digits” show today, after the cuts were announced early this morning:

Here’s the entire terse statement from Yahoo:

Yahoo! Statement

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — Yahoo! today confirmed that it is taking important next steps to reshape the company for the future.

“Today’s actions are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo! — smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require. We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities. Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first — and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal,” said Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo!. “Unfortunately, reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate positions. We deeply value our people and all they’ve contributed to Yahoo!.”

Yahoo! has a solid foundation — nearly 700 million users and thousands of advertisers that engage with Yahoo! properties regularly and trust the company with their data and their business. Through its restructuring efforts, Yahoo! intends to grow by responding more quickly to customer needs and competing more effectively in areas where it can win. Yahoo! has identified key parts of the business — a select group of core businesses, the platforms that support those core businesses, and the data that drives deep personalization for users and ROI for advertisers — where the company will intensify efforts and redeploy resources globally, all focused on increasing shareholder value. With a clear focus on profitability and growth, the company will be disciplined in its investments and radically simplify how it builds, launches and maintains many of its properties and products.

Today, the company will begin the process of informing employees about these changes. As part of that effort, approximately 2,000 people will be notified of job elimination or phased transition.

Yahoo! expects to realize approximately $375 million of annualized savings upon completion of all employee transitions. The company currently expects to recognize the majority of an estimated $125 to $145 million pretax cash charge relating to employee severance in its second quarter financial results. The company may incur additional charges in connection with this action. More information will be provided about Yahoo!’s future direction in conjunction with the release of its first quarter financial results on April 17, 2012.

And here is Thompson’s memo to employees, stating the obvious and with nothing new from previous statements and internal memos:

Yahoos –-

Today we are restructuring Yahoo! to give ourselves the opportunity to compete and win in our core business. The changes we’re announcing today will put our customers first, allow us to move fast, and to get stuff done. The outcome of these changes will be a smaller, nimbler, more profitable Yahoo! better equipped to innovate as fast as our customers and our industry require.

Over the last 60 days, we’ve fundamentally re-thought every part of our business and we will continue to actively consider all options that allow Yahoo! to put maximum effort where we can succeed. As part of this process, I believe we have to focus to win in a select group of core businesses globally:

Core Media and Communications: Our content, media, and communications experiences must be best in class. That includes getting today’s core properties right and innovating on a next generation of great product experiences across all screens.∙

Platforms: We must make our core platforms and systems a genuine strength for Yahoo! — platforms that we can really leverage to support our massive scale, drive the deepest personalization, and boost speed to market.∙

Data: Our massive data sets must become a genuine competitive advantage for Yahoo!. We have to unlock the value in our data to allow us to really understand our 700 million users, encourage and win their engagement and trust, leverage everything they do with us to more fully personalize their experiences, and to give our advertisers the immediate insights they are rightfully demanding.

We are intensifying our efforts on our core businesses and redeploying resources to our most urgent priorities. Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first -– and we are moving aggressively to achieve that goal.

Unfortunately, reaching that goal requires the tough decision to eliminate jobs, which means losing colleagues and parting with friends. Today, we will begin the process of informing employees about these changes. As part of that effort, approximately 2,000 people will be notified of job elimination or a phased transition. We value our people and for those who will be leaving, we thank you for all you have contributed to Yahoo!. We will treat all of our people with dignity and respect, providing resources to help manage through their transition.

Change is never easy. But the time has come to move Yahoo! forward aggressively with increased focus and accountability. Our values have always been about treating all Yahoos with dignity and respect, and today is a day to embrace those values. This is an amazing company with exceptionally talented people and I know we will all do our best to encourage each other through this difficult period of transition.

Scott

According to sources close to the situation, Yahoo’s massive round of layoffs — which is likely to impact up to 2,000 employees — is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg that will hit the storied Silicon Valley Internet giant in the months to come.

Sources said Yahoo is currently planning to announce the cuts in staff in the early morning, just as the markets open. That could change, of course, but the cuts will definitely occur within the next two days.

The layoffs, which will touch all units of the company, are expected to hit hardest in the product division, which is headed by Blake Irving.

But the fate of two key parts of the soon-to-be-blown-apart unit — Yahoo’s advertising technology businesses, Right Media and APT, and its search business — is still being contemplated, as I have previously reported. Possible scenarios include a sale or a joint venture transaction for both, which employ thousands of Yahoo staffers.

Also set to be hard hit are Yahoo’s local businesses, as well as its marketing and research divisions. While still sustaining losses, its media units will not be as badly impacted. And it’s not clear how many employee terminations will be aimed at the company’s general and administrative staff.

The layoffs tomorrow are not the end of the road in cutting costs. Along with the likely shedding of its ad tech and search businesses, Yahoo leadership is also looking at future cuts as it evaluates current businesses, which could lop even more employees off its roster.

That said, Yahoo will be “doubling down” in some older and new arenas, so there would also be simultaneous hiring in the months ahead.

But not tomorrow, which will be one of the tougher days in Yahoo’s long history of periodic layoffs. Newly installed CEO Scott Thompson had told employees in memos and also in recent meetings that “real change” was coming to the company.

That is indeed the case, which is causing massive strain throughout the company, which now employs over 14,000 and has many thousands more hired as contractors.

Along with the trauma of the layoffs, Yahoo is also facing two other tense face-offs externally. In one, activist shareholder Third Point is waging a proxy fight for board seats and stepped up the public pressure this week; and Facebook struck back hard at Yahoo’s patent lawsuit with a counter-claim of its own.

After the layoffs tomorrow, sources say Yahoo will be announcing a new organization by next week, which will create several major, soup-to-nuts units at the company. Thompson, along with consultants he has hired from the Boston Consulting Group, are making what appear to be profound changes.

Sources said Yahoo will most likely be comprised of a global media division, one that encompasses Yahoo’s consumer products businesses and one focused on global and regional sales. There could also be a small organization of about 50 employees aimed at future innovation.

Americas head Ross Levinsohn is pegged to run the media arm, which will also include its leads/commerce businesses, such as autos; Shashi Seth — who now heads search and marketplaces — is likely to run consumer products, which will include Yahoo’s communications and search businesses.

Yahoo has already been conducting a search for a new worldwide sales head, who will also be boss of the U.S., Asia and Europe, Middle East and Africa sales regions. Rich Riley, who was recently running EMEA, is reportedly the pick for U.S. sales; Rose Tsou, who is running Asia, would presumably stay put; Yahoo is looking for an EMEA sales lead.

Some current operational execs — such as service engineering and ops head David Dibble, CFO Tim Morse, and top lawyer Mike Callahan — are likely to continue to operate as before.

One big question mark is how Chief Product Officer Irving fits in the possible new org, in which the new units get control of their product development. Irving has reportedly had several incoming job offers, although it is not clear if he has responded to that interest.

Let’s hope that Yahoos who will be let go tomorrow find themselves with many new employment choices after the ax falls.

Yahoo is preparing to begin layoffs of what could be thousands of employees starting next week, according to multiple sources, and is then expected to announce a new restructuring of the company the week after.

The swirl at the Silicon Valley Internet giant has grown more intense this week, as new CEO Scott Thompson has brought in top management for a series of meetings both Tuesday and Wednesday to outline the plans.

What has emerged — although sources noted that Thompson and others communicating the pending changes said nothing was yet set in stone — is the picture of a drastically slimmed-down organization with a focus on media, advertising and new but unclear “future” initiatives.

First the layoffs: Sources said the cuts will be deep and mostly aimed at the product, research and marketing units of Yahoo, which are likely to take place Wednesday. The ultimate goal, said multiple sources, is to cut many thousands from Yahoo’s staff of close to 14,000 employees, which is actually much larger, due to contract workers not officially in its roster.

The entire cut will not take place at once, said sources, since Thompson and others are still trying to figure out how to dispense with its ad technology org and, potentially, its search business. He has been in discussions with both Microsoft and Google about this, although there are other possibilities, too.

Both these parts of Yahoo together have about 2,500 staffers, whose fate is not yet sorted out.

Also still baking is the new structure, although sources said it is most likely to be comprised of a global media division, one that encompasses Yahoo’s communications and search businesses, and ones focused on global and also regional sales. There could also be a small organization of about 50 aimed at future innovation.

Americas head Ross Levinsohn is the likeliest exec to run the media arm, while Shashi Seth — who now heads search and marketplaces — would be the obvious candidate for the the communications/search one.

Thompson has already been conducting a search for a new worldwide sales head, although one possible internal exec for the job could be Rich Riley, who was recently running Yahoo’s Europe, Africa and Middle East region.

It is not clear how Chief Product Officer Blake Irving fits in the possible new org, since much of the development could now move to the decentralized units.

Some current operational execs — such as service engineering and ops head David Dibble, CFO Tim Morse, and top lawyer Mike Callahan — are likely to continue to operate as before.

Thompson, along with consultants he has hired from the Boston Consulting Group, presented the possible plan in front of Yahoo’s senior execs on Tuesday. That was followed by more meetings with a wider range of top management yesterday, although Thompson was not as highly specific in these meetings.

In fact, according to a half-dozen sources, Thompson apparently grew somewhat testy in one of the gatherings, when asked if there was a strategy he was going to announce in more detail to the group.

(Dear Scott, these are very talented employees who love the company and who have been through the wringer and it’s not their fault that leadership has failed them, so it might be a good idea to treat them with as much respect as possible right now.)

More to come, obviously.

What is Yahoo?

While that has been the perennially unanswered question at the Silicon Valley Internet giant for many years, according to dozens of sources inside and outside the company, Yahoo’s leadership is now deeply embroiled in an intense — and sometimes very tense and fast-changing — debate over a number of critical issues about what is expected to be the most sweeping restructuring in its history.

Top executives at the company are conducting what is likely to be a lively all-day “offsite” meeting today (which is actually taking place on Yahoo’s Sunnyvale campus) to continue to discuss, among other things: How and where the company will make large-scale cuts in staff, which I have previously reported were coming and will perhaps be numbering in the thousands; which businesses to sell off and which to keep, including its ad tech unit; the correct structure for the reconfigured entity; and who will be left to run it all when it is all settled.

Also up for debate is the best course of a two-pronged effort — being led primarily by CFO Tim Morse and members of his corporate strategy team — to renegotiate its search and advertising partnership deal with Microsoft, while also engaging in active discussions with Google about it taking over Yahoo’s search business.

“Everything is on the table,” said one person. “And anything could be blown up by Scott.”

The Scott being referenced is new CEO Scott Thompson, who has become something of a whirling dervish since he arrived at Yahoo only three months ago from the top job at eBay’s PayPal unit.

If shaking up the place — as he has promised in public and internal statements, including a recent memo in which he wrote that “real change is coming” — was his aim, Thompson is certainly doing just that and more.

Along with immediately initiating a massive effort to figure out the best way to restructure the long-troubled and ever-meandering company and all that entails, Thompson has also been meeting players all over Silicon Valley for advice; stopping and then restarting negotiating discussions with Yahoo’s Asian partners, visiting major advertising clients; and engaging in talks with activist shareholder Dan Loeb about settling a looming proxy fight, while also packing the board with allies to help fend off said battle.

And, oh yes, he also took a little time out from his busy schedule to sue Yahoo partner Facebook for patent violations.

But the real action is the remaking of Yahoo in his image. To do so, Thompson has been furiously evaluating the entire company, with the help of Boston Consulting Group and a small group of execs, especially Morse.

While it is all still undecided, he seems to be leaning toward Yahoo as a drastically slimmed-down entity without a central product group and with a simplified structure that includes global units — such as media, commerce and sales organizations — which will again be in charge of the entire development of their offerings.

(I will note, since I have been covering Yahoo since near its founding, this is a structure that has been in place before. In other words, at least for dinosaurs like me, there is nothing new under the sun here.)

The changes being contemplated include, as I have written previously, the possible sale or drastic reconfiguration of its ad technology business, which will effect at least 1,000 employees. Another 1,500 involved in Yahoo’s search business will also be impacted, depending on talks the company has been having with Microsoft, as well as Google, about better monetization.

Such a structure brings up a lot of questions about how, and by whom, it will be run. To figure it out, Thompson has been evaluating — sometimes rather brusquely — his own top managers, as well as looking for new ones outside the company, such as a search for a chief marketing officer and other key positions.

Confused? Perhaps, but not for much longer, said multiple sources, as Thompson moves closer to delivering his answer to the what-Yahoo-is question.

Yahoo PR — by the way, it will not escape Thompson’s change machine, either! — declined comment.

Here is one of the more fantastic appearances by the talented Samantha Bee of “The Daily Show,” on the controversy about Brooklyn’s Park Slope Food Coop’s proposal to ban Israeli products because of its persecution of Palestinians.

Yes, a hummus war.

Oh, just watch:

Now, that’s evil!

It’s certainly not easy — the road to disruption can be paved with premature launches, faulty products, tepid or negative consumer reaction and lawsuits — and that’s usually after years of research and development and dollars spent.

The minds behind Jawbone, the Nest thermostat and the new Lytro camera came together on Monday to discuss this exact topic on a SXSW Interactive panel.

All agreed on two points: Good design is critical, and even if you’re a hardware company, you’re not just a hardware company anymore.

“The way we see it, it’s hardware and software services,” said Matt Rogers, co-founder of Nest, which late last year launched a new “smart” thermostat. “You have to think of how these pieces tie together: When you pair it with your iPhone, how’s it going to work? And that’s incredibly difficult, some of the most difficult engineering we’ve done.”

For Ren Ng, founder and chief executive of Lytro, introducing a new type of camera meant not only designing a new light-capturing sensor, but also creating an entirely new form factor. “You can’t just build software, because it’s connecting an entirely new kind of data inside. So, for us, it was clear that we had to build new hardware, too.”

Jawbone, which is known for products pairing audio technology with hardware devices, said technology companies have to deliver a complete experience that’s cohesive to consumers.

“The barrier to entry for hardware has come down, but the barrier to great hardware has not actually gone down, and I think that’s given a false sense of hope to some people,” said Travis Bogard, Jawbone’s vice president of product management.

Jawbone, which uses expensive medical-grade plastic in its best-selling Jambox speaker, recently faced its first major setback with hardware — and complementary software — when it was forced to pause production on its UP wristband and fix its companion iPhone app.

“It means putting cost and good design into products,” Bogard said. “These are not easy decisions to make.”

And while many tech entrepreneurs hold Apple products up as the pinnacle of design, these “disruptors” said that reaching almost-perfection means killing your design darlings — often many times over.

Bogard said that with the UP wristband, Jawbone was actually set to launch the product six months earlier than it did, but the company decided the band needed to be 30 percent smaller. Nest’s Rogers said the company threw away many designs before settling on “the one.”

“To take something you think is beautiful, and say it’s not good enough yet, and throw it away, it takes a lot of effort,” Rogers said. “It’s emotionally intensive, and it’s also cost-intensive. It’s impossible to get to perfection, but as entrepreneurs and designers, that’s what we strive for.”

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A new device called Swivl, made by a California-based company called Satarii, holds up your phone or digital camera and allows you to swivel it around with a small wireless remote. The product has been in the works for two years now, and will begin shipping this week. It is currently only available through the Swivl Web site.

In my five-day test of Swivl, I found it to be fun and easy to use, especially when I was using it with my iPhone, since Swivl has an app specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch. The Swivl base followed my movements around the room when I directed it with the remote, although its vertical movement wasn’t as smooth as its side-to-side movement. And I really liked that the Swivl remote doubles as a microphone.

While Swivl is a nifty tool for both serious video makers and average consumers who make home movies or just want a hands-free video chat experience, its price point is its biggest drawback: $179 is a lot to pay for a moving iPhone stand — especially one with limited functionality with non-Apple devices. If you just want something to mount your iPhone on while shooting video, there are cheaper options, such as the $30 Oona smartphone stand; the $20 Glif, which attaches to a tripod and allows for tilting the iPhone at different angles; and a bunch of tabletop- and mini-tripods priced at around $10.

But let’s say you believe Swivl’s 360-degree swiveling capability a must-have. Considering that Swivl does pack a bit more technology than a regular iPhone mount, it’s pretty compact. The Swivl’s black plastic base is about the size of a large bagel, and weighs in at just over three-quarters of a pound. It’s lighter than a device like the aluminum Owle, a sturdy mount that comes with a lens for enhancing iPhone videos. It’s light enough that when I was transporting the Swivl around town in a large shoulder bag, I forgot I was carrying it.

The Swivl base has two bright green buttons on it: The Record button, which also acts as the Power button, and the Action button, which directs the Swivl up and down. The base has a folding grip that props up your iPhone or camera. A wire with a connector wraps around the base of the Swivl for connecting your iPod touch or iPhone.

The Swivl remote is a flat, plastic, egg-shaped device that fit in the palm of my hand. It also has two buttons that mirror the functionality of the buttons on the base, and a clip for attaching to clothing.

The grip on the Swivl base has a serrated wheel for adjusting the width of the section that holds your device. I was able to fit my iPhone 4 to it without a problem; it also squeezed in an older HTC Droid phone model. Since Swivl also comes with an accessory that has a standard tripod screw, I was able prop up a Flip camera and a Samsung SH100 digital camera (those devices didn’t fit within the Swivl grip). Technically, it could also prop up a DSLR, but it’s not recommended by the manufacturer, and when I tried to attach a Canon 60D camera, it felt very unstable.

The Swivl remote uses two AAA batteries, and the Swivl base uses two AA batteries. The company estimated that Swivl’s battery should last four hours at a minimum. In my test, I used the remote to move the Swivl around intermittently for about six hours before the base died. It’s important to note that your iPhone or iPod touch won’t charge when connected to the Swivl base, even though it uses a standard Apple connector.

I tested the Swivl using an iPhone 4. Activating the Swivl was easy: I turned on the base, holding down the Power button, then turned on the remote. The light on each device briefly flashed red before turning green, signaling that the two components were now wirelessly connected.

Then I opened up Swivl’s free mobile application, which only works with the iPod touch, iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. Satarii says it is planning to release an Android version around this time next year.

After I had the app ready to go, I connected my iPhone to the wire that comes with the Swivl base, and lastly, slid my iPhone into Swivl’s grip. I prefer to shoot videos with the phone positioned horizontally, but it was supported just as well when I propped the phone up vertically.

The app uses the built-in camera capabilities of the phone, so at first glance it looks like you’re just using the phone’s camera. But by using the remote, I was able to start and stop recording video on my phone without having to reach over and hit the Record button. I shot a few test videos, and my clips were stored and could be played back within the Swivl app. The app also includes the option to save the video clips to the iPhone’s camera roll, email them and share them directly to YouTube.

The settings section of the Swivl app includes a battery gauge for the device and offers a choice between iPhone audio capture and Swivl audio capture.

The app is only available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S and iPod touch; so with other devices, such as my Flip camera, I had to reach over and manually press the record button. But the swiveling function still worked.

Now for the “swiveling” part of Swivl.

I spent several hours recording videos and staging interviews with a friend while using the Swivl. When we passed the remote back and forth, the Swivl moved to follow whoever was holding the remote, though the movement wasn’t as immediate as having an actual cameraperson follow with a camera.

The side-to-side movement of Swivl was a lot smoother than its vertical movement, however, which I activated by holding down the Action button on the remote. Satarii co-founder Brian Lamb said this was by design, and that the vertical movement is really just meant for initial set-up of the shot, while the horizontal movement is meant to be used during the video-recording experience.

Swivl does turn a full 360 degrees, but I found that when I remained in one place it took some pretty emphatic arm movements with the remote in hand. It worked better when I stood up and slowly walked around the Swivl while aiming the remote at it.

One of the bonus features of the Swivl is that the remote acts as a wireless microphone when your iPhone is attached to the base and you’re using the app. To capture ideal audio levels, the company recommends that the remote be located about a foot away from the user’s mouth. I found this to be accurate: When I brought the remote closer, my voice sounded irritatingly loud and scratchy in the recorded video.

I inadvertently discovered another function of the Swivl, too: I could control the movement of the device with other objects, such as my phone, a foil-wrapped sandwich, even my knee, as long as I had the remote turned on and in the vicinity of the base. This is because the signal that’s sent from the remote can be reflected off some surfaces, allowing for some interesting experimentation with the Swivl.

The Swivl is a fun device. For an iPhone or iPod touch owner who is really itching for a hands-free, mobile video tool that will follow your movements around the room, the Swivl does what it promises to do. But it’s expensive. Consumers less concerned with having the swiveling option have plenty of cheaper smartphone and camera mounting choices.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120312/a-swiveling-dock-for-shooting-hands-free-smartphone-videos/feed/ 2 http://allthingsd.com/20120311/were-expanding-all-things-digital-would-like-you-to-meet-all-things-reviewed/ http://allthingsd.com/20120311/were-expanding-all-things-digital-would-like-you-to-meet-all-things-reviewed/#comments Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:51:17 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=183300

Tomorrow, as part of the commitment that AllThingsD has to providing its readers with ever more high-quality content, this site will be launching a new reviews section, All Things Reviewed.

Simply put, we’re building on the consumer-tech reviews by Walt Mossberg and Katie Boehret that we’ve always run, with a fresh team of ATD reviewers, the first of whom is the talented Lauren Goode.

Lauren will be joined in the coming months by additional strong reviewers, who we will be adding soon, and each of whom will likely do one meaty review a week.

Katie, who will continue as a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, will also take on the added task of editing the new All Things Reviewed section, which we designed to be bright and graphical and easy to navigate.

We’ll also have plenty of timely, interesting consumer product news in addition to the in-depth reviews. It will all be integrated into the main ATD site, too, because we consider it a key part of providing a range of news, information, analysis and context to those who come to us for trustworthy, fair and accurate journalism.

Make no mistake: We think it is critical that reviews adhere to the same strict tenets of reporting we have for everything we post here. The reviews of the products we will feature take time, rigorous testing and deep critical analysis.

And, like Walt’s and Katie’s current reviews, these new ATD reviews will be based on thorough testing and aimed at smart consumers — and not just techies and enthusiasts.

That’s why we will pick carefully which products are significant or might be interesting to a broader range of readers. In other words, we won’t be reviewing every single slightly changed phone or laptop, or every me-too location app, and we won’t bore you with chip speeds and technobabble.

Thus, as hard as it is to say to the geeks who follow us, we will shun the rigid spec lists and templates used elsewhere, and instead present you with holistic, experience-based reviews that tell the story of the product — hardware, software, apps, games, Web sites and services.

Most importantly, we won’t be afraid to point out negatives, even if the manufacturer is an advertiser. Our aim is to earn your trust and be on your side, even if you disagree at times with our conclusions.

Like all new endeavors, we hope to get the entire section up to cruising speed as soon as possible, but we’ll be doing it in the careful, considered and high-quality manner we strive for in everything we do. (And, like all new stuff, we also had a party introducing the section to a packed crowd at the SXSW Interactive festival last night.)

We hope you’ll like the result and welcome your feedback as we begin our latest expansion. And, as usual, there will be much more to come.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120311/were-expanding-all-things-digital-would-like-you-to-meet-all-things-reviewed/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20120310/etsy-ceo-on-building-a-lean-start-up-deploy-deploy-deploy/ http://allthingsd.com/20120310/etsy-ceo-on-building-a-lean-start-up-deploy-deploy-deploy/#comments Sat, 10 Mar 2012 20:22:27 +0000 Lauren Goode http://allthingsd.com/?p=182779 The key to building a successful, lean start-up is to constantly tweak production and to keep your employees happy, Chad Dickerson says.

Dickerson, who is the CEO of Etsy, might know: Since 2008, when he first joined the online marketplace for handmade goods as CTO (and later as CEO), the start-up’s numbers have grown 10 times in almost all categories, from employees to listed items to sales.

Speaking on a SXSW panel today called “(Not Just) Sh*t Startups Say: Anatomy of a Rockstar Product Cycle,” Dickerson said he firmly believes in what he calls “continuous deployment,” or making small, frequent changes to production.

He bullet-pointed some of the principles of continuous employment, including: Fixing people and team issues first, allowing all team members to play with and offer input on a new product before it’s deployed, and using a “deployinator,” or one-button deploy function, that employees push upon completion of a new project or fix to a current problem.

The deployinator button helps keep developers happy, he said. “We like it when other places suck [to work at] because that means our developers like it more here,” he joked.

Dickerson also said he thinks one of the most important factors at a tech company is the level of transparency in the engineering culture. That transparency was something that was missing from Etsy in its early years, Dickerson said.

Other panelists included Mary and Tom Poppendieck, co-authors of the book “Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit.”

Mary Poppendieck said the key to building a lean start-up was not rushing production.

Speaking to the entrepreneurs in the crowd, she advised, “You should not make what you think people want. You should not make a single thing until you know what they want.”

“Who thinks they should make it all and then fix something? Does anyone make software that way? You should always have amazingly good quality,” she added.

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]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120310/etsy-ceo-on-building-a-lean-start-up-deploy-deploy-deploy/feed/ 2 http://allthingsd.com/20120308/exclusive-amid-layoffs-in-aols-aim-and-mail-ranks-top-execs-shellen-and-van-miltenburg-to-also-depart/ http://allthingsd.com/20120308/exclusive-amid-layoffs-in-aols-aim-and-mail-ranks-top-execs-shellen-and-van-miltenburg-to-also-depart/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 03:02:16 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=182137

According to sources, AOL will be announcing that it is making cuts of up to 40 employees in its communication products teams, specifically its AIM instant messaging and AOL Mail units. As part of the changes, its SVP of business operations, Eric van Miltenburg, and AIM head Jason Shellen will be leaving.

[UPDATE: AOL confirmed those moves to be several hours after this post appeared.]

Shellen is a particularly high-profile departure, having sold his start-up Thing Labs, maker of the Brizzly family of Web-based social software, to AOL in 2010. The Thing Labs team, headed by the Google and Blogger vet, had been integrated into AOL’s AIM and other similar offerings.

Van Miltenburg, a former Yahoo exec, had headed up business operations for the now-shifted consumer applications unit.

The departures are among a number of exits by AOL execs who had come to the New York-based Internet company, which has struggled to turn itself around in recent years under CEO Tim Armstrong. The company is now facing a challenge from an activist shareholder, one of the reasons for a renewed focus on cost-cutting and other restructuring.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120308/exclusive-amid-layoffs-in-aols-aim-and-mail-ranks-top-execs-shellen-and-van-miltenburg-to-also-depart/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20120308/yahoo-loses-another-high-ranking-exec-i-know-deja-vu/ http://allthingsd.com/20120308/yahoo-loses-another-high-ranking-exec-i-know-deja-vu/#comments Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:18:29 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=181830 These kinds of exec departures are definitely going to get to be more regular as Yahoo’s restructuring looms, so here is today’s adieu: Luis Salazar, VP of global product marketing and business development. He’s well-regarded at the company, and came last year as part of the former Microsoft influx under Chief Product Officer Blake Irving, as did also-departing SVP of product management Bill Shaughnessy. Bye, Luis!

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120308/yahoo-loses-another-high-ranking-exec-i-know-deja-vu/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20120307/exclusive-high-ranking-yahoo-product-exec-shaughnessy-departs/ http://allthingsd.com/20120307/exclusive-high-ranking-yahoo-product-exec-shaughnessy-departs/#comments Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:35:01 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=181397 Bill Shaughnessy, who is Yahoo’s SVP of product management, is leaving the company, according to an internal memo he sent out this morning to staff. The former Microsoft exec came to the Silicon Valley Internet giant in mid-2010, part of the team assembled by Chief Product Officer Blake Irving. It’s not clear why Shaughnessy has left now, but Yahoo is about to undergo a major restructuring under new CEO Scott Thompson.

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20120307/exclusive-high-ranking-yahoo-product-exec-shaughnessy-departs/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20120306/viral-video-jai-ho-employee-flash-mob-dances-in-yahoos-17th-birthday/ http://allthingsd.com/20120306/viral-video-jai-ho-employee-flash-mob-dances-in-yahoos-17th-birthday/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 15:50:25 +0000 Kara Swisher http://allthingsd.com/?p=180904

Yahoo celebrated its 17th birthday last Friday and — in spite of some seriously troubling changes going on at the Silicon Valley Internet giant — the fantastic employees got together for a flash mob of dancing.

Set to a number of songs, including the catchy “Jai Ho!” from “Slumdog Millionaire,” a group took over the URL’s Cafe on the main campus in Sunnyvale and let it fly.

(Thanks to Yahoo Chief Product Officer Blake Irving for the tip on the video via Twitter.)

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