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Posts Tagged “
Web 2.0
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web tools
mobileme
MobileMe Website is Up, One Day of Awkwardness Late
So we showed it to you briefly yesterday, but then MobileMe turned around and seemed to bite the Apple that made it, and has been unavailable until just now. Can we assume more technical hitches than its developers had anticipated? Yes, I think we can, particularly given Apple's "it's taking longer than expected" error message. But now it's up, and since the iPhone has already been on sale in some places for nearly a whole day, that can only be good news. Update: There's a getting started tour, which didn't appear to be there yesterday. Everything else works as anticipated. [Me.com]
t-shirts
Web 2.0h Yeaahh!!
Some will realize that this t-shirt is really just a clever response to a Steve Rubel piece from last year. But recognizing the allusion is hardly a prerequisite to enjoying Mr. Kool-Aid himself kicking the internet in the groin. Besides, it's the only thing we've got to tide us over until the Web 3.Oh Yeaahh!! shirt comes out. [Feed Store via technabob]
startups
Rifflet, Like Twitter For Music
I like to believe that all of us have rock star alter egos. For most of us, these inner rock beasts sleep latently, awaiting the proper heartbreak or drug cocktail to wake from slumber and cut a hit record. Rifflet.com is a place that shares my theory—a social networking site in which users can share 1-minute clips of music they've had bouncing around in their heads, just to get it out there. Others can then download these tracks, respond to them or even incorporate them into songs of their own.
We had a chance to shoot off an email to the site's creator, Jon Schwab, and ask him some questions about the site. Here's what he had to say:
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firefox
Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 Now Available
Go kick the tires and light the fires of Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1, which is now available for download at the Mozilla Firefox site. The update delivers a few aesthetic changes, as well as what Mozilla is calling major security enhancements. Users should also expect increased performance and stability for applications like Google Mail. There's an exhaustive list of known bugs to squash too, but that's par for the course with any software. [Firefox 3 RC1]
synthetic web
Glass Micromachine Makes Silk the Same Way Spiders Do
A team at the Technical University of Munich in Germany has designed a glass chip pierced with micro-sized tubes that act the same way as spider silk glands, and can be used to replicate the initial stages of natural silk production. It's an interesting development since production of artificial spider silk has proven difficult in industrial quantities and qualities, and its tensile strength to density ratio is five times that of steel, making it potentially very useful as armor and in medical applications. More »
solar
Sungevity Web App Makes Installing Solar Panels a Piece of Cake
Eco start-up company Sungevity is launching a new web application on Earth Day (three days away, people!) that will take the guess work out of solar panel installations. Enter your address on Sungevity's website and satellite-imaging software will zoom in on your home, calculate your roof's dimensions, select the right sized solar arrays and calculate how much money you'll save on energy costs. More »
4:30 PM on Sat Apr 19 2008
By Elaine Chow
15,762 views,
28 comments
humor
Indian Firefox Bus Probably Doesn't Have Wi-Fi
In what appears to be the endless spread of Firefox, a new addition to the unofficial Firefox catalog has been spotted—in India. On the back of a bus. We're guessing the bus doesn't have on board Wi-Fi to make use of its web browser of choice, but we admire the support. Also, if that text in yellow above the artwork doesn't read "Safari and IE blow", well, then we'll eat our cats...I'm seriously mixing up my modern proverbs this weekend. Dammit. [Neatorama]
media
Flickr Adds
As of last night, Flickr/Yahoo has finally bit the bullet and added video support to their service. A cynical response might be that they clearly would like to compete with YouTube. But when reading through the FAQ and examining the system's limitations, it seems that they really are sincere in supporting "long photo" as opposed to real videos. The kind that come from your cameras, not camcorders.
More »
Flickr Adds Videos Long Photos
As of last night, Flickr/Yahoo has finally bit the bullet and added video support to their service. A cynical response might be that they clearly would like to compete with YouTube. But when reading through the FAQ and examining the system's limitations, it seems that they really are sincere in supporting "long photo" as opposed to real videos. The kind that come from your cameras, not camcorders.
More »
8:42 AM on Wed Apr 9 2008
By Mark Wilson
3,479 views,
16 comments
Latest by SomeoneUKno: I KNEW Solid Snake was the one who killed Darth Vader! more »
native americans
Navajo Nation's Internet Borked by FCC and ISP, Reservation Reverting To Smoke Signals
Thanks to billing problems and the FCC's intervention, the Navajo Nation will be sans Internet on Monday. An FCC audit uncovered the fact that satellite service provider OnSat Networks had double-billed the tribe in 2007. Since the U.S. government pays for 85 to 90 percent of the cost of Internet service, it cut off funds to OnSat, pending an investigation into the matter. And, since OnSat can't pay its subcontractors, it is shutting down service. In the meantime, the Navajo will have to find other ways to peruse LOLcat pics and update their Myspaces. Will the struggles of the Native Americans never end? [DSL reports]
pcs
Cows, Farmer's Daughters Get $267 Million Broadband Boost
If your Internet surfing gets cut constantly because a cow kicked over a lantern and burned down the barn or worse-because you use DSL, help could be on the way. Denver-based Open Range Communications is hoping to eliminate rural DSL Internet surfing with a substantial $267 million loan it received from the Department of Agriculture. The loan is part of the USDA's Rural Development Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program, and will provide broadband service in 518 rural areas in 17 states, including Illinois, Alabama, Arkansas and Wisconsin. This is great news and a long time coming for the rural communities of the US because, if anything, they've consistently shown a great thirst for knowledge, science and the unknown. [USDA via GigaOM] More »
cellphones
LG Touch Web Cellphone Has 3-inch 800 x 480 Screen, Full Browser
LG are sending some serious touchscreen love to South Korea, all in the form of the Touch Web cellphone, a.k.a. LG-LH2300. The touchscreen wonder has a 3-inch display, with a staggering 800 x 480 resolution, as well as a 3MP camera with AF, MicroSD memory slot and a full internet browser, which has incorporated hot keys and a jog wheel for scrolling. The widescreen toting cellphone is expected to retail for 700,000 KRW ($693,) when it begins to ship this April. At present, the device is a South Korea exclusive and there is no word on a Stateside release as yet, but honestly, we wouldn't hold our breath. [Aving]
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5:32 AM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By Haroon Malik
3,919 views,
10 comments
Latest by n/a: If it had Video-out it would be close to the Nirvana Smartphone. [nirvanasmartphone.com] more »
web
Searchme: 'Cover Flow' Search Engine
Searchme is a new search engine with an obvious inspiration for its unique UI—Apple's Cover Flow. But that doesn't mean that Searchme is any less intriguing. Previewing webpages visually and filtering categories dynamically, we don't see the service usurping Google any time soon, but you might want to try out their private beta all the same. For a walk-through, hit this video complete with one of the worst voice-overs we've heard in our lives—and we did a short stint in local cable production. [searchme via techcrunch]
stage 6
You may only be vaguely aware of DivX's Stage 6 video site (which probably explains why it wasn't successful) but it's going to be shut down entirely at the end of February. Stage 6 was DivX's YouTube-like video site meant to provide a bunch of streamable content for living room and mobile DivX players. The fact that it's being canned speaks to how successful the effort was. Most of you won't miss it, but we'll have a special place in our hearts for the handful of nudie clips we found on it that one time. [Stage 6]
More »
DivX's Stage 6 Streaming Video Site Shutting Down
You may only be vaguely aware of DivX's Stage 6 video site (which probably explains why it wasn't successful) but it's going to be shut down entirely at the end of February. Stage 6 was DivX's YouTube-like video site meant to provide a bunch of streamable content for living room and mobile DivX players. The fact that it's being canned speaks to how successful the effort was. Most of you won't miss it, but we'll have a special place in our hearts for the handful of nudie clips we found on it that one time. [Stage 6]
More »
delphi
More »
iPhone Controls Vehicle in Real Time Using Delphi's Concept Web App
The chaps at Delphi were just showing us a cool concept; they were using a web app on an iPhone to control a GMC Acadia vehicle. The prototype on display was able to check the automobiles vital stats, open and close windows, retain user configurations for seating options and even start the ignition. Check out the video of it in action after the jump.
The chaps at Delphi were just showing us a cool concept; they were using a More »
5:50 PM on Thu Jan 10 2008
By Haroon Malik
25,110 views,
32 comments
gadgets
Radiocube Gives You On-a-Roll, Button-Free Web Listening,
The Radiocube is a neat idea that will be debuting at CES 2008 (I won't be there, so hopefully the rest of the Giz guys will keep their eyes peeled for it.) There are no buttons on the Wi-Fi device, and not even an on-off button, so how the devil does it work? More »
in-flight wi-fi
Update: Jet Blue Wi-Fi Crippled For a Reason
Jet Blue's air-to-ground cellular network (provided by LiveTV on the same spectrum as those in-flight phones no one uses) is still experiencing too many dropped connections between cell nodes to support the bandwidth necessary for full-on surfing, the NY Times is reporting. Hence the Yahoo Mail/IM and Blackberries only restriction, and the lack of cost. American, Virgin America, and Alaska Airlines are expected to join the fray with more robust, pay-per-use services "in the coming months," the latter using a more reliable and international satellite connection for more bandwidth and range. [New York Times]
testing
Google Takes a Lesson From Digg?
Taking a lesson from Digg and similar sites, Google Labs is testing out a new reader response interface for search results (with only a select few users for a limited time). Essentially, your normal search results are enhanced with "like it" and "don't like it" buttons that would tweak the order of said results on your list. And you can also add URL results that you would have liked to receive given your search premise. Google explains:When you search for the same keywords again, you'll continue to see those changes. If you later want to revert your changes, you can undo any modifications you've made.But your poor tastes/opinions won't screw everyone. More »
