Author: Shradha Rao

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Reviews

Feedly – Firefox add-on to view feeds

Being a ‘blogger’ means your day involves 2 main tasks – writing like a maniac alternated with reading like a manic. Though ‘subscriptions’ as a system serve as a major time saver, it also makes it quite mundane with a regular layout. This Firefox add-on attempts to reinvent that experience for you – Feedly. Its the perfect add-on if you are someone like me – following several blogs, subscriptions, alerts and thirsty for a clean layout to view these.

Feedly is a Firefox add-on which displays all your subscriptions in a magazine-like layout. You need to activate this add-on with your Google account, following which it automatically loads in all your Reader settings on one page. With neat tabs, and predefined groups that you may have created on Google Reader.

How Feedly works:

  • Download the Feedly add-on from here. After the pop-up opens, click Install Now. Restart your Firefox Browser.

  • When the browser re-opens, the Feedly home page will open automatically. Notice the green icon now beside the address bar.

  • At the Feedly Page, login with your Google Account (if you have multiple accounts, then the one you use to receive feeds).

  • You can now view all your subscriptions in an organized manner, with tabs like – Cover, Digest, Latest or predefined groups that you may have created with Google Reader.

Worth Noting:

  • Feedly is limited to Google Reader users.
  • Attaches a mini Feedly which permits easy sharing on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr, etc.

I think Feedly does a good job at helping the specific market it caters to. I happen to be in that category of Google Reader and Firefox users so it did make following multiple blogs easier for me. What do you think about it? Do let me know what you think about it. Drop your comments below.

Link: Feedly

Categories
News

Yahoo Cooking Up a Delicious Demise?

If we have to believe the modern day grapevine – Twitter – it seems like an end to Yahoo’s popular social bookmarking site, Delicious. Seems like soon bookmarking is not going to be oh so tasty.

The Tweet that started it all:

The news spread like wildfire after being triggered by one little tweet by Eric Marcoullier:

The Leaked Yahoo! Screenshot:

Eric Marcoullier, associated with Yahoo as the founder of MyBlogLog, shared a screenshot of Yahoo Inc’s webcast declaring the end of several product lines including MyBlogLog, AltaVista, Yahoo! Picks, Yahoo! Bookmarks, Yahoo! Buzz and Delicious. The leak obviously spurred a series of reactions – infuriating and flattering. The screenshot confirms the plans of the company towards calling quits with Delicious.

The scoop:

Delicious is a popular social bookmarking site started in 2003 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005.

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The spotlight center focus dawned on Yahoo! after the series of layoffs couple of days back. About 650 to 700 employees are rumored to have lost their jobs, primarily from the product department headed by Blake Irwing. Most of the layoffs clashed with the team coordinating with Delicious. Followed by the screenshot revealing the plans to cut off on Delicious.

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The Aftermath:

Officially nothing has been declared by Yahoo regarding the ‘yummy’ bookmarking site but you can’t help but wonder – what after Delicious. This would turn the tables around for Yahoo considering how widespread the usage has been with the site. There are no second thoughts when it comes to understanding the internet giant’s plan of downsizing but whether their selection has faltered, only time will tell.

Stay tuned with this space as we will let you know with alternatives to Delicious and ways to backup your bookmarks. Let me know what you think of this recent revelation. Keep your comments coming.

Link: Delicious

[Update] Yahoo is not removing Delicious its just selling it.

Categories
Reviews

Tune Up Media – Give your music library a facelift!

Have you ever noticed how the ads for iTunes or Windows Media Player look? The media library is splashed with a riot of colors which has great cover art for every album stored in there. My iTunes in contrast has nothing more than the miserable grey, blue and white.

Correction. My iTunes had nothing more than the miserable grey, blue and white. With almost just a single click, my latest find had my library set to rock n’ roll.

Tune Up Media is an iTunes and Windows Media Player plugin which instantly organizes you music library.

Why Tune Up?

  • Tune Up performs various functions like sorting missing information in each track – i.e. Artist Name, Album Name, etc.
  • Cover art is another feature of Tune Up. It replaces missing album artwork in the music library.
  • Updates about upcoming concerts of artists currently playing in the playlist.
  • Works on both iTunes as well as Windows Media Player.
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Video:

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For starters, I think its worth downloading Lite version. With this free version, you get upto 100 song cleanups, 50 cover art saves and unlimited concert alerts.

You can get a good feel of this addictive tool. Ever since I have known, it has been on my to-do list, to clean up my music library. Most of my tracks were unnamed and artwork was well garnered with question marks! That’s passé now. What do you think about Tune Up? Let me know whether you liked this tool or not. Drop in your comments below.

Link: Tune Up Media

Categories
Reviews

Search for images on Twitter with Hashalbum

We all have our own sources for those unique photos. We don’t want the same old Google Image Search image results because we beg to differ. For those looking for a new source of images, Hashalbum would make you tick. This is a photo search tool which looks for relevant images within Twitter.

Mostly we assign the hash symbol (#) to a word on Twitter to actually reach out beyond the scope of just our followers. So obviously someone adding a hash is looking to share images with the world.

It’s quite simple in terms of functionality. When a Twitter user uploads an album on third-party sites such as Twitpic, yfrog, etc – and tweets it with the standard name format using a hashtag (#) – lets say ‘Check out pics of my cute #doberman’, Hashalbum will popup these photographs the next time someone looks for pictures of ‘dobermans’ at Hashalbum search panel (my dog is a doberman, therefore the special mention). 😛

The application was created by a team of four from a company named Londonberry. I think it is a very useful tool permitting users to search for specific images on Twitter. It replaces the need of going to other sites for image search if one is already comfortable with Twitter.

I quite like the idea behind Hashalbum which makes image search on Twitter easy and quick.

Link: Hashalbum

Categories
Reviews

[Gett] Instant and one-click file sharing

If you closely observe the trend prevalent online these days, it’s definitely all about minimalism. Minimalistic design, minimal work and all this in the least amount of time. If one online activity stood out like a sore thumb with this trend, it would have to be file sharing. We all have been victims of those moments when the file took a century to upload. E-mailing with attachments can be the worst nightmare.

Ge.tt (no I haven’t misspelt it) is aptly named for the function it performs. Its a website which allows you to share files with others easily.

How Ge.tt works:

  • Once you are at the home page, select the files you want to share.
  • While your file is being uploaded, a unique URL is generated, which you can share with the receiver. This link will be active for 30 days even if you don’t have an account with Ge.tt.
  • You may also email the uploaded file to the receiver’s email id from within the Ge.tt page itself accompanied with a note.

  • You can also view the number of downloads or views your file receives.

Ge.tt proves to be a time saver and an effective tool for file sharing. Its quick and well designed. What do you think about this tool? Let me know your thoughts and feedback. Leave behind your comments below.

Link: Ge.tt

Categories
Tips

[Trick] Turn Google Translate to Google Beatbox

I absolutely love imitating those recorded voices with their emotionless tones. “This service is currently unavailable”. 😛 This post will give you the trick to make Google Translate’s recorded message to a crazy beat box rap. By simply typing in a few cheats you will be able to hear extremely catchy beats on Google Translate.

You can hear the standard beat by clicking on this link and click on ‘Listen’.

Cheat Sheet for Google Translate to become into a Beatbox!

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If you want to customize the beat, here is the key:

  • zk = suspended cymbal
  • bschk = snare
  • pv = brush
  • bk = bass
  • tk = flam1
  • vk = roll tap
  • kt = flam2
  • kttp = flam tap
  • krp = hi hat tap
  • pv = short roll
  • th = better hi hat
  • thp, ds = instant rimshot.

Credit: Lockergnome

Using the key, you can create beats of any of your famous bands. I managed to hunt out the beat of the famous We Will Rock You by Queens (Paste this and click listen: “bh; bh; pv. – bh; bh; pv. – bh; bh; pv. – bh; bh; pv”). From what I understand, these tricks work best when translating from German to German.

There is a whole blog all about Google Beatbox beats which people have come up with, check it out here. Let me know if you discover some better beats. Share your tricks and feedback with me through your comments.

Link: Google Translate | Google Beatbox Blog

Categories
Reviews

Jumo: Facebook co-founder’s new social network

The spotlight has always been on Mark Zuckerberg when it comes to Facebook. Little is known about the co-founder and Zuckerberg’s then roomate –Chris Hughes. This time with the recently launched Jumo Beta – its his claim to fame.

Jumo is a social networking site which promotes various social causes. Rings a bell? Yes, Jumo is being popularly referred to as the social networking version of the popular Facebook Application, Causes. Jumo seeks to bring the users closer to the social issue they are passionate about.

How does Jumo work?

  • Since it is a social networking site, you need to create an account. You can only sign up for Jumo if you already have a Facebook account.

  • While you’re signing up, you can choose which category of issues you are interested in – like Education, Health, Poverty, etc.

  • Next, depending on the categories you select – you will get several organisations which you may follow with a single click.

Jumo: Pros and Cons :

  • The majority of Facebook users are in the 13-24 years age group. The target audience is far too young to donate sufficient funds for social causes.
  • The number of social networking sites will saturate users.
  • Jumo’s financial plan seems highly unstable. It started with about $750,000 as a grant from Omidyar Network. Mostly it would make its share as a cut from the donations made to the institutions it hosts. Whether or not this financial structure would change in the long run, we’ll have to see.
  • What works for Jumo is the intention of this network. The intention of involving the youth with issues using the medium of social networking might spur a strong positive emotion.
  • It also helps to build a ‘community’ of like-minded individuals. One can ‘talk’ by writing an influential piece on an issue of interest. Protests, donations, volunteering – all have a higher probability of involvement with the youth using Jumo.

    Overall, it is surely refreshing to see a social network which is truly ‘social’ in nature. May be with Jumo we can all turn a new leaf in our virtual lives. Have you registered with Jumo? Share your views with me through your comments.

    Link: Jumo

    Categories
    News

    Facebakers lose their ‘face’ to Facebook

    Facebook statistics on traffic and views sell like hotcakes. This was the reason ‘Facebakers’ as a name was perfect for a service which did exactly that. Serve up Facebook stats. But wait they are now known as Socialbakers. Sounds lame?

    Facebakers defines itself as ‘the heart of Facebook statistics’. Well defined. It is not that Facebakers had a change of heart, they were told do so by the new owners of the word ‘face’.

    Facebakers lets you view various statistics about the networking giant here – be it the user demographic or the popularity of various applications.

    Recently, we wrote about Facebook getting a patent over the word ‘face’. Facebakers was started by a Czech firm named, Candytech. On a daily basis, this site gives you useful statistical updates such as which countries are most active on Facebook and is great if you have a Facebook Page to administer.

    Facebaker claims to be allies with Facebook and reports that it gladly agrees to change its name.

    Here is a screen-shot from the announcement on their official blog:

    They have played it smart by redirecting users who type the old URL to the new site and making it appear as though they were in consensus with the name change. The question is whether this whole name change was needed. When the ‘Facebook’ brand name is misused for promoting illicit content, then its agreeable that the networking site gets agitated. However, if the content is as relevant to Facebook, as in this case, is this whole episode needed?

    Hopefully I can still call my face as ‘face’ in the real world without being sued. 😛

    Let me know what are your views on this recent name change. Drop in your comments below.

    Link: Socialbakers

    Categories
    News

    Google asking Groupon a 5.3 billion dollar question!

    Everyone is speculating Google’s new crush-Groupon. The deal is not yet in ink but if rumors are to be believed then it should be made public soon.

    Groupon, a Swedish born enterprise, was founded in 2008 by Andrew Mason. The concept underlying this venture was to cater to dealers and local sellers by tapping to an online market through the Groupon platform. Groupon got its name by meshing together – ‘group’ and ‘coupon’.

    Coming to the much talked about deal between the global giant and Groupon started circulating around the end November 2010. Most of the industry sources have kept hush or anonymous about the financials or verification of the deal itself. The meeting is apparently scheduled for tomorrow.

    Google mostly is keen on acquiring this portal because of the scope it opens up for the loyal ‘retailer’ Googler. The price tag labelled on Groupon allegedly reads a staunch $5.3 billion, as reported by Wallstreet Journal’s All Things D. I do think its a tad bit overpriced. Call me a skeptic but Google being the giant force it is and Groupon being a newbie, the amount spoken of spurs up a strong whiff of curiosity. Makes you wonder, when Google recently launched Hotpot, pitted as the ‘Foursquare Killer’ (as cleverly worded by our reader), instead of buying Foursquare – it made its own version. And I think it could do the same with Groupon – customize a concept and make it available for the existing Google users.

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    How Groupon works!

    The mechanism based on which this portal operates is on a ‘daily deal’ offer format. Groupon will declare a particular deal on a product as the deal of the day. In order for this deal to go public, a minimum number of buyers must sign up for it. If not, then the deal does not become available to all. This makes it safe for sellers as well as Groupon, which demands its share from the sellers.

    This recent pitch has kept many guessing as to why Google is throwing the moolah in thin air. As I’ve said before the deal is still not in ink, so we’ll have to just wait and watch. What have you sniffed out about this deal? Share your thoughts with me. Drop in your comments below.

    Categories
    Reviews

    Create photo collages online with Photovisi

    After that crazy Saturday night with all your pals, you post all those pictures on the modern version of a photo album – Facebook. It’s a moronic routine as everyone will go through the individual pages. What if we could personalize it and make a collage with some fun add-ons? All this without having to put it too much effort. Photovisi would be the perfect tool in this case.

    Photovisi is an online tool which allows you to make fun collages of your photos in no time. At first I thought its just another photo editing tool, but the best part is its specifically a collage tool and has fun templates to choose from.

    Photovisi Features:

    • It’s really a simple 3 step path. Select any of the predefined templates for your collage. I have attached some cool ones below:

    • Next you upload your photos. Here you get the following options.

    • Now create your collage, and save it according to the resolution you want. You can access the collage by downloading it.

    Quick Pointers about Photovisi:

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    • Useful solely for collages.
    • Good range of templates to choose from.
    • Lacks photo enhancing tools.
    • Maximum limit of 8 photos per collage.

    I think it is definitely worth a try. It’s a good tool if you love putting together all your photos as one fun poster. You can add text and choose from colors so it would do the trick and make your photos look like a lot of fun. Let me know what you think of this tool. Drop in your comments below.

    Link: Photovisi