Ajax Girl

One of the driving forces of Web 2.0 has been the concept of bringing applications that were once the exclusive domain of the desktop to the web. There’s no shortage of examples; online email negates the need for a desktop client such as Outlook or Mac Mail, Google Docs, ThinkFree and Zoho are suppose to negate the need for Microsoft Office. And yet many, many people still prefer their old school desktop software. Fluid is a Mac OS X tool that helps bridge the gap between online and desktop applications.

The idea behind Fluid isn’t new. We’ve covered gOS previously, a Linux distro that comes with a dock that is full of icons that open online apps. However with gOS those links simply open Firefox and brings the page up. Fluid on the other hand attempts to make the online application appear as though it is a desktop app by hiding the usual URL bar and buttons that would appear with a browser, instead offering a clean “Site Specific Browser” that shows the app requested.

Setup is dead easy. Open Fluid, type in the URL of the app required and the name of it, then it creates a shortcut that can be easily dragged onto the Mac dock. Click on the newly created icon and up pops the app/ page like it was a normal piece of software.

Those readers who frequently use online applications in a browser as though it was second nature may not find Fluid appeals, but for those still using desktop apps who are looking for an easier way to make the switch to online alternatives, Fluid may be a winner.

(via Lifehacker)

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200640513/

Google has added the ability to share content from Google Reader to friends on Google Talk.

This is essentially how it works: you log into Reader and see a friends tab where you can now specify friends from your broader network (ie: Gmail/ GTalk contacts) to share items of interest with.

I’m a little underwhelmed by it all, but Robert Scoble isn’t and Steve Rubel sexes the announcement up to the point of calling it part of “Google’s Stealth Social Net,” which makes it seem a whole lot more interesting than it would appear on the surface. Of course like any good Google product it’s another cross-promotion tool that encourages you to use more of Google’s products.

More at the Google Blog here. Maybe after the bombshell of Knol yesterday I’m just easily unexcited today. If you share things using Google Reader now you can share with more people…which is great if you’re heavily into sharing, if you didn’t even know that you could share things in Reader or don’t use the feature, then nothing exciting here.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200630349/

Today, we deployed a new website design for CrunchGear, our hardware and gadget blog. Whether you’re a regular CG reader or not, we hope you’ll be impressed with its new look and functionality.

We’ve changed a bunch of things around while trying to preserve its old feeling and identity. There’s now a featured posts box in the upper right, a SezWho reputation system for threaded comments, and headlines from all our blogs at the bottom of the page.

There are a lot of other little things changed, and we’re still making tweaks and fixing bugs. Please check it out and let us know what you think. Your feedback is especially important because we plan to roll out a very similar design for all our other blogs (including this one) in the beginning of 2008.

Special thanks goes out to ACS for designing the new site, Alex King of Crowd Favorite for implementing a lot of WordPress functionality, and Mediatemple for remaining our trusty hosting provider.

Crunch Network: CrunchBoard because it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200601310/

When we first covered fully-transactional banner provider Tailgate in July, there was no shortage of discussion as to whether buying goods via banner was something that might take off. Paramount however thinks that it is a good idea, with the company choosing to use Tailgate to promote their upcoming release “The Kite Runner.”

The banners used by Paramount will allow moviegoers to search by zip code, city or state and select and make ticket purchases all without leaving the host site using Tailgate’s built-in secured e-commerce engine. The campaign itself (with the transactional banners) will be placed like any normal campaign across various sites in a normal online ad buy. The advantage of the technology is that it needs no changes at the publisher level, it’s simply served up like any other banner.

Head of Interactive Marketing at Paramount Vantage Bladimiar Norman is a fan, saying that they believe Tailgate’s tech is a step forward “our consumers want an efficient, safe and convenient way of buying their movie tickets. Tailgate allows them to do just that.”

An example of a Tailgate banner can be found here.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200593818/

This has to be the most amusing website I’ve come across for quite sometime. Mod My Life is a twist on the lifecasting idea pioneered by JustinTV. Whereas with JustinTV you can eavesdrop into the lives of dozens of people, and chat with them if you like as well, Mod My Life lets you to watch people’s lives for hour-long segments at a time and command them to do things.

The word “lives” should be put in quotes because these are actually performers (actors, improve artists, comedians, etc.) who have volunteered to give up control of their behavior to an internet audience. The site has been out as public beta since launching at the NY Video Meetup this past Monday, although currently they hold only one or two sessions, or modcasts, per day. The next will transpire at 8pm ET tonight.

I sat in on a modcast yesterday evening and was very impressed by the modstars’ intent on carrying out their instructions faithfully. I first watched a guy named Wilder roam a crowded mall and undertake the antics suggested to him by the handful of spectators on the site. Soon after submitting “do the robot”, there he was on my screen doing the robot in real time and around real people who had no clue he was being controlled by the internet. Among other submitted instructions were “tell someone ‘dude you gotta heal me, I’m losing life points!’” and “cry like a little kid: I wost my mommy! I can’t find my mommy!”. The organizers of Mod My Life relayed the top suggestions to the modstar every few minutes via cell phone, and we could watch him carry the instructions out in both first-person and third-person camera views.

The second modstar, named Micah, walked the streets of New York City trying to get strangers to sing with him, a street vendor to sell his entire street-side store, and a cab driver to take him only one block down the road. We’ve embedded a video segment of his modcast below where he asks strangers to rate him on a scale of 1-10.

Co-founder Andrew Keidel says that the site currently has 20 recurring modstars and about 100 people from a variety of countries interested in performing, currently for free but in the future with compensation. He foresees increasing the number of modcasts per day, as well as the number of locations. The most visitors to the site at one time has been 50 but they’ve built the site with an eye for scalability, so they hope to host potentially thousands of spectators at a time. Future features will include an archive section for past modcasts, various types of embeds (for recorded clips and for watching live performances elsewhere on the web), profile pages for modstars, and themes for modcasts so they aren’t always completely random.

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200552684/

Reports alleging T-Mobile has shut off Twitter for their customers are rolling in. Complaints have surfaced on T-Mobile’s user forum on Satisfaction as well as several other personal blogs and forums. A T-Mobile representative replied to a customer’s service request with this email:

…Twitter is not an authorized third-party service provider, and therefore you are not able to utilize service from this provide any longer…. T-Mobile is not in violation of any agreement by not providing service to Twitter. T-Mobile regrets any inconvenience, however please note that if you remain under contract and choose to cancel service, you will be responsible for the $200 early termination fee that would be assessed to the account at cancellation.

I’m a T-Mobile customer and testing the issue right now, although I have received sporadic updates as recently as last night. It would be quite astonishing if T-Mobile is blocking an opt-in text messaging service considering how common they are and relatively small market share in the U.S. However, it wouldn’t be the first time the company has been at loggerheads with a third party service. Earlier this year, T-Mobile blocked VOIP-based free calling service Truphone, but eventually lost in court.

(Update: I have been able to receive messages, but not send them. I have not had the same problem with other short codes. An email is in to T Mobile’s customer support. We’ve also called customer support. Customer support, at least, says they don’t have a blanket policy against the use of any services on their phones, although they cannot guarantee the operation of any such services. Commentors have received sporadic service.)

Crunch Network: MobileCrunch Mobile Gadgets and Applications, Delivered Daily.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200540719/

I’m not really accustomed to seeing a lot of UI press about GWT so I was pleasantly surprised when Dietrich Kappe showed me the new spinner control he’s been working on. Most of you have probably seen Flash-based implementations, especially on Amazon, where images spin on a type of carousel. It’s a very cool effect.

The widget uses projection geometry (a view point and calculating image size and position based on where lines pass through the z=0 plane) and a little bit of trigonometry for the circle. Also, zIndex is set based on an object’s z coordinate. At this stage the implementation definitely performs differently based on machine horsepower and browser platform. It performs pretty well on IE7 and Safari 3, less well on Firefox.

This is still a work in progress but Dietrich already has plans for adding DnD and setting up clickable elements. GWT developers should love this control. Check out the demo here.

Source: Ajaxian
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ajaxian/~3/200510384/gwt-can-do-spinners

Steve Case wants to make some new friends on Facebook. Today, his startup Revolution Money launched a friend-to-friend payment application on Facebook called MoneyExchange (as of this writing, it is still waiting to be added to the Facebook Application directory, but click on the link above and it should take you there). Just like PayPal, which already has an app on Facebook, MoneyExchange lets you send money to your friends or receive money from them. Of course, if they want the money, they have to sign up for the application, and link it to their bank account. But that’s exactly how PayPal went viral. Revolution Money is betting that putting a payment service inside a social network will multiply that viral effect.

Sending and receiving funds on Money Exchange is free (as it is on PayPal for funds between two PayPal members). Dave Cautin, the senior vice president in charge of Revolution Money’s online business explains, “It is an opportunity to very easily collect money from your friends and associates. It could be used by housemates sharing the rent, or friends chipping in to buy a group gift.” Of course, there are many other apps that do this on Facebook already, including ChipIn, CashFly, and PayFriends, which are all based on PayPal. OboPay, which lets you text money to your friends from a mobile phone, also has a Facebook app. None of these are particularly popular, however. PayPal has 65 active daily users on Facebook. ChipIn has 81. CashFly and OboPay each have 3.

Revolution Money sees an opening here. “Massive online communities will have a currency,” predicts Cautin. And he wants Revolution money to be it. “For us, social networking is our laser focus,” he says. The company is also working on integrating the payment service into AIM, and offers it through its own Website.

In truth, Revolution Money sees MoneyExchange as a loss leader for its real business, which is the RevolutionCard, its credit card that undercuts Visa and Mastercard. It has no intention of making money off of MoneyExchange by charging for transactions because in its eyes the online payment service is just a way to build up a valuable network of potential credit card customers. You can be sure that every MoneyExchange member will get an offer for the RevolutionCard. Steve Case is just seeding the market.

Revolution Money

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obopay

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PayPal

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cb_widget_report_widget(”cb_widget_1197656897″); cb_widget_report_element(”cb_widget_0_1197656897″,”revolutionmoney”); cb_widget_report_element(”cb_widget_1_1197656897″,”obopay”); cb_widget_report_element(”cb_widget_2_1197656897″,”paypal”);

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200470481/

Amazon’s new Kindle ebook device sold out almost immediately after going on sale. And there won’t be any more available until after Christmas:

Kindle Availability
Due to heavy customer demand, Kindle is sold out. Because orders are prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis, please ORDER NOW to reserve your place in line. Your Kindle will not arrive by December 24th. Note that Kindles cannot currently be sold or shipped to customers living outside of the U.S.

The device, which sells for $400, also is unavailable outside of the U.S. So if you want one now, you have to go through eBay or another second hand retailer.

And it isn’t going to be cheap. Prices range up to $1,500 on eBay. The average final price is $830, and one person paid $1,500 (see Terapeak). So if you want one, you’re going to have to pay.

Crunch Network: CrunchGear drool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.

Source: TechCrunch
Original Article: http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/200456630/

About “The Whale Hunt” interface (by Jonathan Harris)

“The Whale Hunt website was developed as an experimental interface for storytelling. Given an epic real world story, with lots of content and lots of metadata, how can the narrative be faithfully retold? The project presented a number of interesting design problems, including: how to present a large set of photographs (3,214) online while keeping download times relatively brief; how to express both the topography of the entire narrative and the ways in which any single moment fits into that narrative; how to extract and reveal the many substories occuring within the context of the larger story; how to convey the many feelings experienced on the hunt (boredom, fatigue, curiosity, excitement, exhaustion, sublime beauty); and more generally how to restage an epic real world experience on the Internet.”

Tracing business acumen to dyslexia

“It has long been known that dyslexics are drawn to running their own businesses, where they can get around their weaknesses in reading and writing and play on their strengths. But a new study of entrepreneurs in the United States suggests that dyslexia is much more common among small-business owners than even the experts had thought. The report found that more than a third of the entrepreneurs she had surveyed — 35 percent — identified themselves as dyslexic. The study also concluded that dyslexics were more likely than nondyslexics to delegate authority, to excel in oral communication and problem solving and were twice as likely to own two or more businesses.”

Building a blue collar web business

“Simple e-commerce sites in small niche markets that only have a market potential of a few million dollars is not the arena for the Dagny Taggarts of the world. Most big thinkers are sitting the whole day in coffee shops trying to napkin-scratch the next wave of social bookmarking or envisioning how blogs will work in Web 4.0 on the hopes that it gets bought up by Google even though it never brought in a dime of revenue. There’s something very traditional, almost blue collar, about building a commerce site and trying to make money the old fashioned way by selling goods for a little more than you paid for them.”

Billboard uses “audio spotlight” to talk to passersby

“The billboard uses technology manufactured by Holosonic that transmits an ‘audio spotlight’ from a rooftop speaker so that the sound is contained within your cranium. The technology, ideal for museums and libraries or environments that require a quiet atmosphere for isolated audio slideshows, has rarely been used on such a scale before.”

CommandShift3

“CommandShift3 is like Hot or Not. Except, instead of clicking on hot babes, you click on hot websites.”

Scientists develop fearless mouse

“Scientists at Tokyo University say they were able to successfully switch off a mouse’s instinct to cower at the smell or presence of cats showing that fear is genetically hardwired and not learned through experience, as commonly believed.”

Astroturfing

“Astroturfing is a neologism for formal public relations campaigns in politics and advertising that seek to create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior. Hence the reference to the artificial grass AstroTurf. The goal of such a campaign is to disguise the efforts of a political or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some political entity.”

The Onion: These Time-Management Issues Will Be Easily Resolved With A Series Of Streamlined Meetings

“First order of business: meetings. Our meetings have become disorganized and sprawling, and far too much time is lost to non- actionable items. As you all know, production is down 7 percent company-wide, and I think we can attribute this to working hard and not working smart. I really want to get the machine running smoothly again, and the best way I know how is to get together and start shooting ideas around”

Low-Cost Multi-touch Whiteboard using the Wii Remote

Source: Signal vs. Noise
Original Article: http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/739-sunspots-the-blue-collar-edition