March 2008
83 posts
Pownce finally unveils full API →
Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Blogging, iPhone, web 2.0
After a long invite-only beta, and a recent general-public release, Pownce has finally released their full-blown…
February 2008
54 posts
Use Unix Commands in Windows' Built-In Command... →
Lifehacker reader Michael writes in with a nifty tip that was lurking in our comments all along, but deserves to see the bright light of posting. If you’re already using the Unix-like …
Google Sites Launched →
After more than a year since the JotSpot acquisition, Google finally launched a service that uses JotSpot’s technology: Google Sites. The new service is a part of Google Apps and allows you to…
Google Docs Gets A Visual Overhaul, Now More... →
Google has quietly updated the look of Google Docs, offering a more Microsoft Office (pre 2007) like interface.
First spotted by Philipp Lenssen, the changes aren’t huge, but visually…
LinkedIn Revamps Design, Adds Status Updates →
Thursday morning LinkedIn will roll out a new site-wide design featuring a tab-less header and a persistent left column with personal, account-related options.
LinkedIn is also adding…
Google Sites Finally Launches →
We know that wikis can be incredibly useful. But for some reason we’re still trying to figure out, collaborating groups haven’t jumped on the bandwagon. It’s no surprise that Google wanted…
Picnik Now Offers Premium Features For Free →
Online image editing startup Picnik has announced that users will now have full access to all of Picniks editing features for free.
Tools now available to all users include advanced edit…
FriendFeed Raises $5 Million, Now Open to Everyone →
You can tell FriendFeed was built by ex-Googlers because it is so spare, yet brings forth an avalanche of information. The social feed aggregator lets you keep track of your friends across 28 Websites and services, including Twitter, Flickr, Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us, YouTube, blog posts, shared items on Google Reader, Amazon wish lists, and what they are watching on Netflix. It launched in...
Star Wars according to a 3-year-old girl →
New York Times launches TimesMachine (for viewing... →
Filed under: Internet, Web services
The New York Times has launched a nifty browser for reading old newspapers. Like really old. The company has scanned copies of every issue from 1851 through the end of 1922 and put the results online as a series of PDF files. That means you can read stories about the Civil War, World War I, and the sinking of the titanic just as they originally appeared a...
Gmail Adds "Invisible" Status for Steatlhy Chat... →
The built-in Google Talk client in Gmail has added an “Invisible” option to the status dialog, letting you appear offline or unavailable to other Gchat users, but able to see who’s online and start a conversation under the radar. The feature doesn’t appear to be available in Google Talk’s standalone client, and, in fact, signing into Talk will nix your stealthy status...
Mozilla lance Mozilla Messaging →
Mozilla a fini par l’avouer récemment : le développement de Thunderbird est quelque peu parti à la dérive ces derniers temps, notamment à cause du succès de Firefox, dont le développement a phagocyté le temps de tous les développeurs de la fondation.
Aujourd’hui, c’est une nouvelle équipe qui a pris le relais pour le développement du client mail de la Fondation, qui lui a offert un tout...
FriendFeed Takes Lifestreaming to the Next Level →
I’m currently working on an updated version of the Lifestream service comparison matrix and should have it ready very soon. Having worked on it for a while, it’s easy to see a pattern of feature sets that most services are supporting with some nice unique items available from several services. But in the end the differences are for the most part, just variations on methods of displaying, editing,...
Use a Googlemail.com Address to Lessen Gmail Spam... →
The Digital Inspiration blog points out a Gmail trick that’s been just under the surface all along (not that our commenters haven’t noticed). Everyone who has an “name@gmail.com” address can also receive mail sent to “name@googlemail.com.” What’s the big deal? Well, knowing this gives you a stronger hand when you fight against spam, bacn, and all that...
Windows SkyDrive leaves beta, quintuples storage →
Filed under: Internet, Microsoft
Microsoft has taken the beta label off of its Windows Live SkyDrive online storage service. The company has also increased the amount of online storage you get from 1GB to 5GB. When Microsoft first announced a beta version of SkyDrive last August, users got just 500MB of online storage, which was pretty miniscule by 2007 standards. 5GB is much more respectable....
LinkedIn Releases New Firefox Toolbar →
LinkedIn in this evening has announced the launch of version 3.1 toolbar specifically for FireFox. This is an update to their existing toolbar, currently in use by around 100,000 LinkedIn users. Getting folks to install a toolbar in their browsers these days is a bit like getting folks to sign up for a root canal, so they’ve tried to pack in the features to this version that will help convince...
Strip DRM from Your iTunes Purchases with... →
Windows only: Freeware application doubleTwist converts your DRM-laden iTunes purchases to DRM-free MP3s that you can play pretty much anywhere. In addition to the DRM-stripping (which really is the marquee feature), doubleTwist is actually a full-fledged tool for sharing music with friends and syncing your iTunes library to any device—currently supporting devices like the PSP and Sony phones,...
37signals Backpack Organizer Now Offers Options... →
37signals has delivered an update to its Rails-based Backpack data organization utility. Whereas the software would formerly only operate as a personal manager for users, it has been updated to provide groups of people the option to keep track of all manner of information.
The company behind the software is now marketing the product as the revival of the intranet. Or, more specifically, they...
Darth Vader in Nylon →
Hot air is nothing next to the power of The Force. Belgian Benoît Lambert has taken his Star Wars fandom to new heights and created and launched a Darth Vader-shaped hot air balloon to strike fear into the hearts of the Rebel Alliance.
To keep this project secret on Lucasfilm request, the English manufacturer called it “Head One”. This name allowed us to keep the project secret until...
Hors propos →
Il est très rare que je publie un article complètement hors sujet sur ce blogue. Je fais exception aujourd’hui, j’ai vue sur le blogue The Best Articles Every Day, un article qui nous présente 40 photos retouchées avec Photoshop. Je vous les présente ici:
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10 Must-Have Plug-ins to Power Up Pidgin →
Cross-platform, multi-protocol instant messaging application Pidgin is very functional, but by default it’s not what most people would call sexy. But like many great software projects, the looks and extra functionality are there—you just have to know where to find them. Today we’re taking a look at 10 of the best Pidgin plug-ins
FotoFlexer Pro is Free. How Will PhotoShop Feel... →
Web-based image editing is all the rage, and FotoFlexer is looking to better compete in the rather crowded market. The company has just announced free, professional tools for its web-based image editing service, called FotoFlexer Pro.
This advancement means that FotoFlexer is looking to compete directly with the likes of PhotoShop Express and Picnik, while also hoping to become an all-out...
Access All Your Online Accounts with PageOnce... →
Internet start page PageOnce aims to integrate all of your online accounts in one central location. Currently PageOnce can handle and display widgets monitoring everything from your social tools, like Gmail and Facebook, to financial tools, like your phone bill and your bank account. If handing banking passwords over to a start page startup makes your security-side wince, you’re not really...
It's either actionable or it's not--there is no... →
There are two forks in the road when you process an email: it’s either actionable or it’s not. Yet time and time again people tell me that they get emails that they think fall into this mysterious gray zone. It’s the email from a coworker/customer/friend that implies action, but it’s not an action they want to take. Yet their standard won’t allow them to delete or...
Risk-Free Firefox 3 [Firefox 3] →
If you’re itching to give the new Firefox 3 Beta 3 a test-drive but don’t want to muss up your Firefox 2 configuration, give the self-contained Firefox 3 Beta 3 Portable Edition a try (Windows only). Of course, running your current setup through MozBackup first couldn’t hurt.
Firefox 3 Beta 3, Now Available for Download →
We’ve seen a bit of peripheral activity going on around Firefox, including the Firefox Extend contest that just concluded today, with Shareaholic, Minimap and SamePlace taking the grand prizes for the browser add-ons they developed. Today, Firefox has released the Firefox 3 browser, which is now available for testing. Firefox does recommend that only developers and those willing to test the Beta...
Keychain camera tripod- how cool is that? →
Use one of those cameras that will fit in a shirt pocket and always needing a tripod to mount that baby for the perfect picture? What if you could pull your keys out of your pocket and open up a tripod to prop that camera right up proper? That’s just what you can do with the Manfrotto 797 Modo Pocket Camera Mount, a name much bigger than the tripod itself. Just look how sweet this...
Starbucks drops T-Mobile for in-store Wi-Fi, adopt... →
A few weeks back, I opined on coffee seller Starbucks’ recent problems. One of the points I made was that the company just didn’t get it when it comes to wireless access: While virtually every other coffee shop on earth is offering free Wi-Fi, Starbucks continued to sell it (via T-Mobile) for extravagant prices. But today, the company announced that it was making a change, one that...
Keychain camera tripod- how cool is that? →
Use one of those cameras that will fit in a shirt pocket and always needing a tripod to mount that baby for the perfect picture? What if you could pull your keys out of your pocket and open up a tripod to prop that camera right up proper? That’s just what you can do with the Manfrotto 797 Modo Pocket Camera Mount, a name much bigger than the tripod itself. Just look how sweet this...
Microsoft Responds →
There are two very different battles going on between Microsoft and Yahoo. The more interesting side is the behind the scenes attempts to influence press and key shareholders. But this is also playing out publicly. Yahoo leaked this weekend that they were going to turn down the Microsoft offer, and today they came through with the formal rejection.
Microsoft responded quickly via a press...
CNN to Launch Citizen Journalism Portal iReport →
CNN has been experimenting with citizen journalism since summer of last year to a generally positive response from the viewing public. As it turns out, they are continuing that experiment, and inflating it into its own news hub over at iReport.com. The site currently pops up a very non-descript “under construction” message, but MediaWeek got a sneak peek at what the site is going to end up...
AT&T Giving Away Free Wi-Fi at Starbucks →
Starbucks has had to change a few aspects of its business model, thanks to its large presence and the offering of gourmet coffee from every retailer, specifically McDonalds. So after adopting regular marketing (i.e. television commercials) for the first time, and introducing tiny cups of coffee for $1 (to better compete with McDonalds) the world’s favorite cozy cafe is stepping into a new realm...
Run Web Apps on your Desktop with Prism →
Prism is a really neat application brought to us by Mozilla Labs. Prism, which was earlier named Webrunner, is an application that enables users to run their favorite web apps directly from their desktop or start menu locations.
This concept isn’t new, Adobe AIR and Microsoft Silverlight do very similar things but Mozilla’s stance is that they are not building a new proprietary platform to...
Collaborate and Subvert Your IS Department with... →
Web Workers often face a dilemma when trying to collaborate with co-workers, that is having access to the electronic tools to access and collaborate with team members. Sometimes we’re given great collaboration tools like Microsoft SharePoint or similar enterprise collaboration tools. However these present hurdles, namely working with a corporate IS department who may not be as responsive as we...
50 Proprietary Programs We All Hate--and the OS... →
It’s not the price of the software that makes the real difference (although it’s a reason to migrate from one software to another for many people); it’s the idea that proprietary software comes with boundaries that keep the user experience confined to… well, being the user. Here are 50 commonly used programs that have open source alternatives.
Yahoo! Live Video Streaming Service Opens To The... →
Yahoo! has finally decided to release their Yahoo! Live Video Stream site up to the public. Check it out and comment below.
OpenID Welcomes Microsoft, Google, Verisign and... →
As anticipated by TechCrunch UK in early January, OpenID is welcoming some big new partners to the club - Microsoft, Google, Verisign and IBM (TechCrunch UK anticipated all but Microsoft).
Google has been dabbling with OpenID for some time with its Blogger platform (and Brad Fitzpatrick, the creator of OpenID, is now a Google employee).
Yahoo also announced support for OpenID earlier this...
Instant Memory Cleaner frees up your precious RAM →
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Freeware
If you covet your RAM like Gollum coveted the ring, then Instant Memory Cleaner should be one of the tools in your toolbox. Designed for XP and Vista, Instant Memory Cleaner frees up your memory by forcing pages out of physical memory and reducing the size of running processes’ working sets to a minimum. The program sits in your Windows Taskbar;...
iGoogle's Settings Page →
Google’s personalized homepage (a.k.a. iGoogle) has a settings page where you can change the language, your location and some things related to tabs (name, theme, layout). You still can’t reorder the tabs or make some special changes that aren’t available in the main interface. The settings page would probably be more useful if it had support for batch operations like deleting...
Google Apps Team Edition makes collaboration... →
Filed under: Internet, Office, Productivity, Web services, Google, web 2.0
While Google’s online office suite might not have all the features of Microsoft Office, one area where Google’s word processor, spreadsheet, calendar, and IM client excel is in letting you easily collaborate with other users. Want to share a Word document or spreadsheet with other users, just click the share...
Google Apps Team Edition Released →
Google has released a new version of Google Apps called “Team Edition” that, on first blush, doesn’t offer much that’s new. The same document, spreadsheet, instant messaging, calendaring, and start page functionality that we’ve come to expect from Google Apps is here. But now it’s easier for groups within established organizations (businesses, universities, etc.) to collaborate using Google Apps...
TrueCrypt 5 lets you encrypt your entire hard... →
Filed under: Security, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware, Open Source
If you’ve got a few files on your computer that you want to hide from the kids, we recommend you check out My Lockbox. It’s easy to use, and the chances of locking yourself out of your PC are slim. But if you’re looking for something a bit more powerful, say for protecting top secret government documents...
Enter Data into Google Spreadsheets via Custom... →
Google adds an interesting new feature to its online spreadsheets product: the ability to create and share an entry form with others for collecting information (versus giving them full access to the spreadsheet itself). Looks useful for surveys or any kind of easy information collection for a large number of people. Now that you don’t have to be a Gmail user to use Google Docs (and...
Add Data to Google Spreadsheets Using Forms →
Google Spreadsheets has a new feature that lets you create a form to accept data. When you go to the Share tab, there’s a new option to “invite people to fill out a form”. The form is very simple and can be customized by changing the order of entries, their labels and the type of answers. It’s also a nice way to get feedback people who wouldn’t normally collaborate...
Apple iPhone gets 16 GB, iPod Touch hits 32 GB →
Just a quick note since the web is buzzing with rumors of updated Apple products. It’s true per the Apple store web page, which just came back up for me a short while ago. The iPhone is now available in a 16 GB capacity at $499, or $100 more than the 8 GB model. The iPod Touch gets a boost as well: $499 nets you a 32 GB unit. A quick scan of the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines...
iGoogleBar Firefox add-on supercharges Google apps... →
Filed under: Internet, Google
When you’re using a Google service like Gmail or Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you’ll notice a little menu bar at the top of your screen with links to other Google services. This is kind of handy if you can’t remember the URLs for each service, but otherwise it’s not particularly useful. iGoogleBar is a Firefox add-on that adds a little...
Dominic Arpin ressuscite →
Ce cher Dominic Arpin que Mario Asselin nommait comme l’un des deux meilleurs blogueurs journaliste au Québec, reviens en ligne. Il m’a bien manqué et je suis informé de cette nouvelle présence Web par la magie des hyperliens externes (il vient de me pigner). Visitez-le donc à sa nouvelle URL Dominicarpin.ca. Peut-être que son initiative de se mettre en ligne lui-même (plutôt que sous une bannière...
Migrate All Your Old Gmail to a New Gmail Address... →
The email address you chose when signing up for Gmail seemed completely hilarious when you first signed up, but after a year of sending resumes to employers from strangelove45@gmail.com, you may be reconsidering your choice. Luckily with Gmail’s easy-to-use Mail Fetcher feature and POP3 access, you can easily import all of your old emails to your new, respectable Gmail address with a few...
File List Smart Batch File Renamer [Featured Mac... →
Mac OS X only: Free utility File List batch renames files on your Mac according to criteria you set up. Rename files using sequential numbers, prefixes, or suffixes, or change to upper or lower case. File List supports advanced file naming specs that let you use conditional statements, too, like “if it’s a .TIFF file rename it to PHOTO.” Best of all File List can create file...
Apple iPhone gets 16 GB, iPod Touch hits 32 GB →
Just a quick note since the web is buzzing with rumors of updated Apple products. It’s true per the Apple store web page, which just came back up for me a short while ago. The iPhone is now available in a 16 GB capacity at $499, or $100 more than the 8 GB model. The iPod Touch gets a boost as well: $499 nets you a 32 GB unit. A quick scan of the MacBook and MacBook Pro lines...
