You’ve heard me mention the social bookmarking tool
Delicious aka “Del.icio.us” for a long time now but I’ve failed to mention
another tool called Ma.gnolia. Magnolia is a web-based place for you to save all of
your web page favorites or bookmarks. Not only that, but you can see what
others are saving that may pique your interest enough to link or go there
yourself. Choose a topic such as “Linux Ubuntu” and discover links you never
knew existed. Warning: this is addictive and allows you to web surf in a much more
overwhelming way!
Got a favorite hobby or search item? Join a group dedicated
to just that. In there you can have others suggest bookmarks/websites that they
feel are relevant to you and realize more there as well.
Magnolia gives you the tools to import and export your
favorites from your browser automagically and even import from Delicious.
So why not use Ma.gnolia when it is prettier than Delicious?
Choice. Preference. Right now I use Magnolia as a backup and may go back on
occasion just to see improvements but this is a real fine web application for
anyone who wants to get their bookmarks organized and find out what is hot.
your ads here (468x60) - after 1st post.
There is a huge influx of web-based photo manipulation software out there but I want to focus on Picnik which just came out of beta testing and is ready to serve. We’ve mentioned Picnik before and thought it was worth mentioning again now that it has officially released. There are both free options and a $25 annual subscription. The difference is in the filter effects, text, framing and icons that you can access.
This week only, everyone can have access to all photo tools to wet your whistle and have you salivating enough to open your wallet.
Picnik has just added access to your Photobucket account as well as previous favorites, such as Flickr and Picasa. You can search, upload, edit and save to your photo accounts with ease. Downloading to your computer or printing for use is a snatch.
Picnik’s user interface is fast and fluid. Click a button and it just moves for you. Very nice touch to your digital workflow. This web app is highly suggested for people on the go or who doesn’t have access to Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc.
Polar Rose has recently invited a few people in to test out their facial recognition software. Upon creating your account, you are prompted to download the Firefox extension (sorry IE/Safari). Every time you see a facial photo online, a small rose will hover and allow you to type in a name for the face. These will then be stored on site and searchable.
This reminds me of Spock, the people search engine that collects people’s names and online presence (+ more). But what does this really offer? To what end do we catalog various names/faces?
With Riya, you can train the webware to recognize faces for you and offers photo hosting/blog posting. But all for naught since hey have moved to Like.com visual shopping. Disappointing.
Polar Rose has offered some new features before the Beta test like favorites and faces as your profile pic but that is it for now. How is this marketable? What is the ROI? What is next for face recognition software? Lastly, who will acquire Polar Rose?
photo captured by Polar Rose from Riya.com. Ironic, no?
Special thanks to Ike at Occam’s Razr for pointing me towards a site that highlights who you are and what web services you have a membership to. The services (Flickr, Last.fm, etc) listed are vast and almost exhaustive.
Onxiam is simple and does have a community feel to it in that you see what other sites you have in common with other folks.
If you’ve got the time, fill out your member profiles and get connected.
Recently I have been invited to test more than a few pieces of exclusive software & web applications. Some are enough to make you turn your head while others just make you wish you should have kept on going without looking.
I’ll have full write-ups & reviews soon, so stay tuned. In the mean time, here is what I am testing/suggesting:
Grooveshark is a P2P music share site for DRM-free MP3s. Once the uploader is installed, you can load files to the web component SUPER fast. From the web you can download/play music with their online player and socialize. This site looks like it has/will have some good audio mojo!
Veoh is another hot little desktop/webware application that allws you to record online video like you would record television with your DVR.
8Apps is (currently) a suite of 3 web-based applications to help organize your work including the very nicely done Handshake which connects your contacts and helps you make more. Orchestrate will help with collaboration and Blueprint assists in your project/time management.
Gleamd is a kind of “why bother”? Not impressed with it’s people search function so far. It also has a very pronounced “in-crowd” or popularity factor. Are we in high school again? I’d go with Spock, if I had a choice. Oh, I do.
Like I said previously, once these apps are tested properly, I’ll give a more detailed review. Until then, enjoy your day!
I recently upgraded from a Razr to a Cingular 3125 smartphone. Why a 3125? Because other smart phones are big/thick/clunky whereas the 3125 is slim and a flip phone, much like the Razr. The only thing I wish it does have would be a QWERTY keyboard, but with most handsets, you never get everything you want.
Question to the audience: what free, 3rd party apps are out there for fun/function? I’ve already added Yahoo Go!, Shozu, Google mobile. Dodgeball is not yet available in my area. What else do you suggest? Add your .02 into the comments!
OK, as promised, the 5 best comments on Joost wins an invitation to the very Beta software that changes online video.
- Jan says: “
Hello from Spain!
Sorry, my english is a garbage. My reasons are that i think Joost seems to me a good idea to try to introduce the TV in the PC´s. Most of young people it is leaving back to the traditional TV because it does not offer more than things about famous people, tv shows with lots of publicity and bad schedules. I personally prefer the model of unloaded the chapters of the series (Lost, 24, Battlestar Galactica, etc) of Internet (direct unloading, torrent, emule,…). You see them with subtitles, without cuts for advertising and with digital quality. But I would like to prove Joost.
- Ike says ” Because Birmingham peeps have to stick together”
- Zach said ”
Well, let me tell you why I need a Joost invitation:
I have a great setup around me in terms of all the things I really take joy out of in life. In front of me is my desk with my computer and stereo on it. To the left of the desk is my bed. To the right of the desk is my guitar stand. Beside the guitar stand is my keyboard. Turn a little bit to the wall opposite my desk and you’ll find a large bookshelf filled with books ranging from The Gunslinger to The Lord of The Rings series.
In all of this you may have noticed I haven’t mentioned a TV. I have everything I love surrounding me in my own little bubble, but I have no TV. I long for the pperfect environment, and having a TV or Tv replacement would fulfill that.
Be my wishmaster.”
- Cheng mentions this: “
Why should I be given an invite?
I mix with a bunch of pessimist at work when it comes to internet TV. I myself think it’s a great idea and have been defending joost during our conversations. Giving me an invite will give me a chance not only to proof to people how good joost is but also to contribute towards it’s improvement. I’ll be an asset to this media.”
- Casey says there would be sexual favors performed. Neat trick since they are in England. Request denied. Move on, perv.
- Carlos says “Cable tv sucks!” ok, agreed.
Stay tuned for the next round of invitations. Thanks Joost!
I’m very fickle about my digital world. I’m always tweaking things,
upgrading, changing desktop wallpaper, you name it. I can’t leave well enough, alone.
I love the Firefox browser simply because it can be modified, extended and does more than surf the internets. If you haven’t already, fetch the Greasemonkey extension and download some scripts from Userscripts.
Mashups are webware, software or anything with code that is combined with another. Programmable Web has a great website dedicated to this. Check out all of the things you didn’t know you needed! Tweaks galore here.
Widgets/gadgets are crowding my desktop and are constantly re-arranged. Be sure to download Yahoo’s Widgets for maximum productivity tools and timewasters.
What are your favorite scripts, extensions, mashups and widgets? Which one’s rock your digital world?
Joost is slowly but surely coming for the masses and is continuously upgrading it’s features. A few tweaks here, more channels there and you got yourself a good video app, folks.
They’ve even released a commercial. I’m a little concerned they mentioned “tv” in it. Joost is a far cry from television. Don’t believe me? See for yourself! I’ve been given 5 more invitations. The five people with the best reasons as to why they need/want Joost secures an invite. Creativity wins. You have until Friday, so lets stuff up the comments section people!
* all 5 have been given away..thanks!
Zooomr, the brilliant photo hosting site that previously offered unique features such as portals, voice recordings, geomaps with Google is almost done releasing Mark III. This new release is supposed to have over 250 new features including the ability to sell your work as photo stock. On top of all this, Zooomr will allow you to load unlimited photo storage at any resolution size!
What I am hoping to see is an integrated photo uploader as opposed to the current 3rd party offering that is iffy and holds me back from loading as many photos as desired.
My question is, how does founder, lone coder Kris Tate do it? What is driving all of this innovation, server space and generosity?
When Mark III is released, I’ll wait at least a week and then try to hit him up with some Q & A!
In the meantime, keep up the brilliant work, pace yourself and get some rest, Kris.
