The Internet

ReverbNation is Giving It Away

rwilliams — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:19:25 +0000

Check out ReverbNation’s download page - they’ve partnered with Microsoft Windows to pass out a thousand free tracks. The front page features folks like The Church, Underoath and Chimaira, so these tunes aren’t coming from the cut-out bins. There’s 52 pages to go through, so get started now. Too bad there’s not a “Download All” button.

Thanks to the good folks at Lifehacker for pointing this out. Also, musicians in the audience might want to dig a little further into ReverbNation. Some of the services, like hosting music and embeddable players, might be duplicated elsewhere in the Internet. However, the site also provides services like email list management, which can be invaluable to touring artists. Have at it.

Yahoo Search Pad

rwilliams — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:18:17 +0000

Between Google, Bing, and Wolfram|Alpha, you might forget that Yahoo! is in the search business as well. They’re taking a run at those who conduct more detailed research on the ‘net (as opposed to just finding how long we can extend Homer Simpson yelling about cobras) with Yahoo Search Pad.

The service not only remembers sites you’ve visited and allows you to take notes, but it also makes these notes available at a permanent URL. That means you can send the link to those you know and share what you’ve learned. All of the information you’ve dug up on New Orleans, the ionosphere, or your new dog’s breed can instantly be made available. Just make sure the people are actually interested before you send them the link.

Re-enacting The Moon Launch

rwilliams — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:04:58 +0000

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon, NASA is using wechoosethemoon.org to create an online version of the launch. Since it’s online, though, the astronauts have Twitter feeds, you can listen to the broadcast on Shoutcast, and track the mission with a desktop widget. You can also rest comfortably in the knowledge that your laptop has far more computing power than what was aboard the lunar module, and you’re using it to update your Facebook entry.

Do Stuff For Money

rwilliams — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:28:42 +0000

If you don’t mind a little bribery to get things done, the good folks at Lifehacker point out an interesting mashup of PayPal and IOU notes. With Do Stuff For Money, you can use a little financial incentive to get somebody to do something for you. If the price is right, the money goes to PayPal and your little request is completed. Everybody is happy, and your online wallet is only a little lighter.

Putting Your Music In The Cloud

rwilliams — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:25:34 +0000

blueTunes posts your favorite songs in an online locker and allows you to listen from any computer with an Internet connection. It’s a good idea, and it sounds quite familiar. After all, this is what mp3.com proposed to do in the dusty, creaky days of music on the Internet. And this function was sued out of existence. So why is blueTunes any different? Not only does it store tracks, but it also shares to Facebook, iTunes, and even Second Life (hopefully your avatar shares the same taste in music as you do). It even has a desktop client. So why does it still exist?

In this TechCrunch article, the founder only says that they’ve taken every precaution possible. That doesn’t quite instill a sense of confidence, but there’s been no legal action so far. So use it and enjoy, but make sure you don’t steal tracks and use it wisely. And maybe not count on it being there in a few months.

What Does Leaving Beta Mean?

rwilliams — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:08:23 +0000

The big news that Gmail, Google Apps, and other services are leaving their beta status and becoming full-fledged products isn’t big news at all, really. Plenty of people have been making use of the products, and there was no huge roll-out of features that accompanied the launch. In fact, it’s notable only for the fact that the years-old label was formally removed, ending the “beta” joke once and for all.

The removal of the moniker may inspire some larger corporate users to take a serious look at the tools Google provides, but savvy customers were already looking at them. In this case, a name is just a name, and you can count on Google rolling out features on the same schedule they always have. It’s all the same - just minus a meaningless term

Firefox 3.5 Available

rwilliams — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:16:30 +0000

Firefox is more than just a very capable web browser - its greatest strength lies in the various and sundry ways it can be customized. Between themes and plug-ins, you can put just about anything on Firefox that you want, from Twitter clients to toolbars and more. However, the new version claims to add a performance boost as well, making it one of the fastest browsers out there.

Depending on how you feel about web browsers and services knowing where you are, the new Firefox may be a blessing or a curse. Location-aware browsing tracks down your IP address, assigns a general location to it, and points you towards services and places in your general vicinity. It won’t be a completely accurate GPS-type location, but you’ll get close.

For more information on all the new features, check out the Firefox release notes, or just download and see for yourself.

Gmail Gets Drag-And-Drop

rwilliams — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:10:17 +0000

It may seem like a minor feature for most email clients, but Gmail getting the ability to drag-and-drop messages and conversations into their “label” structure brings it in line with more fully-featured options. Labels help you organize your messages (even more than the conventional “conversation” structure the Gmail web client already does) better, and now you don’t have to even open the message to organize it.

Check out the Gmail Blog for more information.

Google Finds Its Voice Soon

rwilliams — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:31:23 +0000

Google hasn’t rolled out its Google Voice service to the public as the Today Show mistakenly implied last week, but the page promises that you’ll be able to utilize the service within the next few weeks. Basically, the service gives you a single number that rings all of your other numbers, effectively consolidating your points of contact to a single point. But there’s more you can do.

Google Voice also allows you to customize your voice mail messages, get written transcripts of your messages, make free phone calls and conference calls, establish rules for how your numbers ring, and more. The one drawback is that you can’t port over your current phone number as the “main” number, but you can still give out your current number and have it ring directly to your cell or home number, for example. Still, you’ll have to get a new number, and Google has reserved several numbers in many area codes for this service.

A quick side note: how much longer will area codes mean something? Given that people move their cell phones around so often and don’t change the codes, what do they even mean any more? It’s a function of phone numbers that may have been useful before, but the meaning behind these codes is rapidly eroding

Churning Twitter for Real-Time Search

rwilliams — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:39:33 +0000

Between the recent political activity over Iran and Michael Jackson’s unfortunate passing (not that the two are in any way comparable, but their impact on Twitter is undeniable), the focus on finding information on Twitter is at its highest. The good folks at CNET have put together a list of services that take the information found on Twitter and search for results, in addition to determining popularity and consulting other sources of information. This won’t be an exhaustive search, but it will get information on breaking events quickly. Good luck!