November 14, 2009
URL shorteners like bit.ly present some profound problems for the health of the web: for one thing, they might vanish if they company that provides them goes bust (for some other things: it exposes your internet browsing to surveillance by random URL-shortening companies; it exposes you to malware and phishing attacks, and so on).
The first problem — URLs can vanish — looks like it may be solved soon. Many URL shortening companies are escrowing their databases of shortened URLs with the Internet Archive, an honorable, established nonprofit. If the companies go bust, their URLs will be redirected to the Archive and thus persist.
via URL shorteners suck less, thanks to the Internet Archive and 301Works – Boing Boing.
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Online resources, Tools, Web 2.0 | 
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Posted by Teb Locke
November 13, 2009
Google’s Chrome OS project, first announced in July, will become available for download within a week, we’ve heard from a reliable source. Google previously said to expect an early version of the OS in the fall.
What can we expect? Driver support will likely be a weak point. We’ve heard at various times that Google has a legion of engineers working on the not so glamorous task of building hardware drivers. And we’ve also heard conflicting rumors that Google is mostly relying on hardware manufacturers to create those drivers. Whatever the truth, and it’s likely in between, having a robust set of functioning drivers is extremely important to Chrome OS’s success. People will want to download this to whatever computer they use and have it just work.
via Google Chrome OS To Launch Within A Week.
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Cloud Computing, Tools, Web 2.0 | 
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Posted by Teb Locke
November 13, 2009
I use Boot Camp on my Mac, and quite often I create files in Windows and want those files on the OS X side as well. It's a pain to take out a USB flash drive and copy the files there, reboot, and copy them again. If the files are large, emailing the files to yourself may not work either.
One solution is Dropbox. As Dropbox works on OS X, Windows, and Linux, all you have to do is install Dropbox on your Boot Camp Windows installation, then drop or save any files in theree; they will automatically transfer into OS X the next time you boot back into the Mac OS.
via One Easy way to transfer files from Boot Camp to OS X – Mac OS X Hints.
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Cloud Computing, General, Tech Tips, Tools | 
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Posted by Teb Locke
October 28, 2009
Today, we’re happy to announce that Similar Images is graduating from Google Labs and becoming a permanent feature in Google Images. You can try it out by clicking on “Find similar images” below the most popular images in our search results. For example, if you search for jaguar, you can use the “Find similar images” link to find more pictures of the car or the animal.
via Official Google Blog: Similar Images graduates from Google Labs.
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Posted by Teb Locke
October 26, 2009
A simplified programming model and cloud-based run-time environment lets software developers build and run applications 5 times faster, at about ½ the cost of traditional software platforms. Salesforce.com says its development platform is quicker to build on than Java or .Net
[Source: IT World Canada]
Leave a Comment » | Cloud Computing, Emerging Technologies, Tools | Tagged: Salesforce.com | Permalink
Posted by Oscar Retterer
October 25, 2009
Workplace communication used to be simple. Now the options have grown.
A survey by Forrester Research, however, shows that many information workers are using new technology only selectively. The most popular forms are e-mail, word processing, Web browsers and spreadsheets. While 87 percent of the workers use e-mail, only 26 percent use instant messaging.
Whether that is good or bad is an open question. Depending on the worker, adding a new technology can increase efficiency, or it can turn into time-wasting distraction.
[Source: New York Times]
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Posted by Oscar Retterer
October 19, 2009
With little or no chance of ever being able to make it through the draconian approval process of Apple’s iTunes App Store, Mozilla, the not-for-profit organization behind the Firefox browser, is betting on two major, if emerging, mobile operating platforms: Maemo, Nokia’s new Linux-based operating system, and Google’s Android OS. But don’t count on Mozilla supporting RIM’s BlackBerry OS anytime soon.
via On Mobile Phones, Firefox’s Big Bet Is Nokia & Android.
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Posted by Teb Locke
October 14, 2009
Photoshop.com is the complete solution for managing, editing, storing, and sharing your photos online. Photoshop.com is available from any web-enabled computer, compatible mobile phones, and directly from within Photoshop Elements 7 or Adobe Premiere Elements 7 software. With Photoshop.com, you can organize, tweak, create, e-mail, display, and store your photos. Photoshop.com is free and provides registered users with 2 Gb of disk space.
Photoshop.com Mobile [via iTunes] for the iPhone lets users edit and share photos from anywhere.
More info…
Leave a Comment » | Cloud Computing, Media Distribution, Media Production, Tools, iApps | Permalink
Posted by Oscar Retterer
October 13, 2009
Screenr is a web-based tool that lets you create screencasts without installing any software. You just click the record button and your screen activity is recorded along with narration from your microphone. Screenr then publishes your screencast in high-definition Flash format. Screenr makes it easy to share your screencast on Twitter, YouTube or anywhere else on the web. Even iPhone users can view your screencast.
NOTE: You need a Twitter ID to log in to Screenr to record screencasts or comment on them.
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Posted by Oscar Retterer
