Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com Download Squad. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/downloadsquad.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) support@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[Google Docs gains context menus]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/30/google-docs-gains-context-menus/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/30/google-docs-gains-context-menus/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/30/google-docs-gains-context-menus/#comments Working with your documents and spreadsheets at Google Docs just got a whole lot easier, thanks to the introduction of contextual menus. Now, right clicking a doc provides most of the popular options that you typically need to use the navigation toolbar for. Google Operating System has some good ideas for where this feature can go next, such as searching the web for selected text and even exporting documents as MP3s using a text-to-speech engine.

This feature works of course in Firefox and we assume Internet Explorer as well, and while Google Docs doesn't work in the current v2.0 of Safari on Mac OS X, Safari 3 beta handles Google Docs and this new contextual menu like a champ.

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Google Docs gains context menus originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> contextual menuContextualMenuGoogle DocsGoogleDocsoptions David Chartier Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[iPhoto 7.0.2 with bug fixes available]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/28/iphoto-7-0-2-with-bug-fixes-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/28/iphoto-7-0-2-with-bug-fixes-available/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/28/iphoto-7-0-2-with-bug-fixes-available/#comments

Fire up Software Update, Mac OS X users, for iPhoto 7.0.2 has just been released. This update addresses "issues associated with publishing to .Mac Web Gallery, rebuilding thumbnails, and editing books. It also addresses a number of other minor issues." Thanks for clearing up those 'other minor issues', Apple.

All we know is: this better fix the renegade Spotlight "mds" process that peaks our CPUs for a few minutes every time we start iPhoto '08. There's nothin' like shiny new software draining our batteries dry to get us out of bed in the morning.

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iPhoto 7.0.2 with bug fixes available originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> AppleiLifeiPhotoiPhoto 08Iphoto08MacOS XOsXSoftware UpdateSoftwareUpdate David Chartier Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Motion Portrait: Talking heads on a creepy new level]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/28/motion-portrait-talking-heads-on-a-creepy-new-level/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/28/motion-portrait-talking-heads-on-a-creepy-new-level/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/28/motion-portrait-talking-heads-on-a-creepy-new-level/#comments Someone apparently thought there was plenty of room for innovation in the "Flash-driven creepy talking head ad" space, and Motion Portrait has certainly picked up the reigns. Since our screencap really can't do the video justice, check out the real deal at Motion Portrait's site, and be sure to move your mouse over her and ring the bell.

The obvious advantage here is a stunning aesthetic boost; this digital secretary moves in a way no other talking head presentation has, even while talking. Still, we hope to see this far more advanced tool used with restraint when it comes to advertising on the web (and let's face it: it will come to that). No matter how real or natural presentations like this may seem, they can still be a thorn in a site's experience and drive visitors away if they start blabbing immediately or simply won't shut up.

Motion Portrait, we tip our hat to the impressive work you've done in the creepy talking head space. Let's just hope you can recommend some equally impressive advice on restraining the use of these to the marketers who come a'knockin'.

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Motion Portrait: Talking heads on a creepy new level originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adsdesignFlashmarketingMotion PortraitMotionPortrait David Chartier Tue, 28 Aug 2007 12:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Twitter gains Gmail lookup feature]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/27/twitter-gains-gmail-lookup-feature/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/27/twitter-gains-gmail-lookup-feature/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/27/twitter-gains-gmail-lookup-feature/#comments

Twitter and Gmail - some would say they're two great tastes that could taste great together. While these two services haven't quite melded into a cutting-edge new way to communicate and micro-blog at the same time, Twitter has just made it a little easier to find your Gmail friends who also have Twitter accounts. Like so many other services (Plaxo, Facebook, etc.), Twitter now has a twitter.com/invitations/gmail page that allows you to securely enter your Gmail credentials to see if any of your friends' and coworkers cross paths between the two services. After a brief waiting period (depending on how large your Gmail address book is; ours is around 500 or so), you'll be presented with a grid layout of boxes containing the names and images of Gmail friends who are also on Twitter. You can click each box to immediately begin following these friends, and you can specify whether you receive their updates via SMS as well. Links to each member's Twitter profile are also provided in case you need to double check just to be sure who you're following. All in all, we're pretty impressed with this integrated lookup between the two services, especially since Twitter can't seem to stop blazin' up the social popularity charts. This was a great idea, and it'll be nice to see Twitter hook into more email, contact and social services to help users tweet with even more of their friends and coworkers.

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Twitter gains Gmail lookup feature originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> contactsfriendsGmailsearchsocial networkingSocialNetworkingTwitter David Chartier Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:40:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Highrise introduces tags tab, multi-tag filtering]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/22/highrise-introduces-tags-tab-multi-tag-filtering/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/22/highrise-introduces-tags-tab-multi-tag-filtering/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/22/highrise-introduces-tags-tab-multi-tag-filtering/#comments

Highrise, the popular web-based contact and correspondence app from 37signals, has a new dedicated Tags tab in the dashboard. This will help users filter and sift through their contacts and notes much more quickly, especially since the company built in the slick ability to select multiple tags with which to filter. Clicking one tag in the cloud begins the process, while clicking another will switch to filtering by just that tag. After clicking a tag, however, the upper right of the tag cloud (pictured) will offer a 'Multiple tags' option. Once clicked, each subsequent tag you select will add to the filter, not replace it. This is a very smart way to offer the best of both worlds for everyone, no matter how they work and use tags to sort their correspondence.

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Highrise introduces tags tab, multi-tag filtering originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 37signalscontactscorrespondencefiltersHighriseorganizationtagsweb 2.0Web2.0 David Chartier Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Need a WordPress Job?]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/21/need-a-wordpress-job/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/21/need-a-wordpress-job/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/21/need-a-wordpress-job/#comments Love WordPress? Know how to set up, hack or write plug-ins for it? Then perhaps you might be interested in finding a WordPress Job. Hosted at jobs.wordpress.net (but apparently run by Automattic, developers of the now default WordPress widgets plug-in), WordPress Jobs is a pretty straightforward site hosting job offers for those who need WordPress ninjas of every order. Heck, there are even a few blogging jobs up there, and one (as of this writing) is paying $5/post for a web 2.0 blogger. The two most populated categories right now are General Positions and Programmer Positions, but each of the categories offer RSS feeds to help you stay on top of that next killer WordPress gig.

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Need a WordPress Job? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> designersJobsprogrammersWordPressWordPress JobsWordpressJobs David Chartier Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Mint web stats package updated, new outbound clicks plug-in]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/21/mint-web-stats-package-updated-new-outbound-clicks-plug-in/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/21/mint-web-stats-package-updated-new-outbound-clicks-plug-in/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/21/mint-web-stats-package-updated-new-outbound-clicks-plug-in/#comments

Shaun Inman's Mint quickly rose to the top of our list of web stats tracking tools as it offers a powerful, customizable interface and a rich plug-in architecture that has quite a following. After launching Mint v2 back in January of this year, Inman has been releasing minor .x version updates to address the usual bugs and other quirks, but a new Mint v2.12 release brings some minor new features and one big new pepper (that's Mint-speak for 'plug-in'): the Outbound Pepper. As its name suggests, Inman's new pepper tracks outbound links from your site, helping you to see where exactly your visitors surf next.

Other changes in this new version include some updates to the display and handling of Mint's advanced preferences, as well as a new 'Ignore IPs' advanced preference to help you keep track of just the traffic you want. There is also a new 'Found' tab in the Searches pepper that lists pages at your site and the keywords used to find those pages.

As usual with Mint updates, this new version is available free to all registered users. You can find out a lot more about Mint from Haveamint.com, with a demo installation for your to tinker with before buying. Licenses for Mint cost a mere $30/domain.

[via Peppermint Tea]

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Mint web stats package updated, new outbound clicks plug-in originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> Mintpepperplug-insShaun InmanShaunInmanstatisticsweb statsWebStats David Chartier Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[WordPress plug-in: Create an iCal feed from your posts]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/19/wordpress-plug-in-create-an-ical-feed-from-your-posts/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/19/wordpress-plug-in-create-an-ical-feed-from-your-posts/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/19/wordpress-plug-in-create-an-ical-feed-from-your-posts/#comments Most blogging tools and web-based dashboards don't offer much in the way of graphically viewing your post schedule. You typically get a list of your posts that you can search and order by date, but that's about it. If you're blogging on WordPress and would like a more graphical view of your posts that should play well with just about any calendar app you're using, this iCal-Posts plug-in by Gary King might be just the thing you're looking for. Offering a zero-config setup, you simply upload King's plug-in to your WordPress plug-in directory and activate, then add '?ical' to the end of your URL (i.e. - downloadsquad.com/?ical). In our tests, this causes most browsers to download a .ICS file which was immediately opened by iCal on Mac OS X. Adding the URL to web calendars like Google Calendar also worked perfectly. If you would prefer to follow only a specific category in your calendar, you can tweak the URL by adding '&category=' (i.e. - downloadsquad.com/?ical&category=blogging).

Gary King provides his iCal-Posts plug-in for free from his site.

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WordPress plug-in: Create an iCal feed from your posts originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bloggingcalendaricalpostsschedulewordpress David Chartier Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Litepost: Streamlined web 2.0 webmail quietly open for registration]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/19/litepost-streamlined-web-2-0-webmail-quietly-open-for-registrat/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/19/litepost-streamlined-web-2-0-webmail-quietly-open-for-registrat/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/19/litepost-streamlined-web-2-0-webmail-quietly-open-for-registrat/#comments

Webmail is a hot industry these days, with Gmail, Yahoo! and nearly every provider in between vying for users by adding as many features as they can dream up. Fortunately, a small provider named Litepost is taking a different approach, offering a streamlined webmail interface with just a dash of web 2.0 to help bring your email into the 21st century web. We found Litepost back in June when they announced very limited private beta testing of their product, and it seems as though they have quietly lifted the veil so the public can sign up. While there is no official announcement on the company's blog, the Litepost registration page is live and working, and we were able to sign up for an address just fine.

Litepost stands out with a number of unique features, including email tagging and rating, as well as interesting 'Who, What, When, Why' sorting methods with which, for example, you can sort by date first, then sender (or vice versa). You can also arbitrarily group messages together for any reason, solving one of the complaints of the message threading or conversation view that Gmail made popular. Another strong appeal of Litepost is the fact that it is open source, and a Litepost Webmail Server is in the works, which will allow individuals, organizations and businesses to download and install the Litepost software on their own server for domain and security goodness.

If all this has sparked your attention, take Litepost for a spin. In our testing we found its features and unique UI to be quite compelling, and its open source, portable nature will likely give it some legs with which to grow.

Thanks Alex

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Litepost: Streamlined web 2.0 webmail quietly open for registration originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> emailLitepostopen sourceOpenSourceratingtaggingtagswebmail David Chartier Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Mashable compares MovableType 4 and WordPress 2.2 so you don't have to]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/17/mashable-compares-movabletype-4-and-wordpress-2-2-so-you-dont-h/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/17/mashable-compares-movabletype-4-and-wordpress-2-2-so-you-dont-h/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/17/mashable-compares-movabletype-4-and-wordpress-2-2-so-you-dont-h/#comments For bloggers both old and new, a choice of blogging tool (or a switch) is a crucial step to make while building the empire. There are of course a boatload of choices, from Drupal, to Blogger and even the lightweight Textpattern, but for the serious blogger that needs every ounce of power and customizability from their platform of choice, WordPress and Movable Type are the reigning kings across the web. They're both very mature products, and while WordPress has been open source from the start, Movable Type recently joined that party as well with a vastly updated UI and a strong set of features straight out the gate. But how can you decide which one to chose without having to muck around with their respective PHP and MySQL configurations just to get started?

Fortunately, Mashable has published a general comparison of both platforms, ranking them in categories like ease of installation, usability and the all-important user community. We won't spoil the outcome though, because there are some great thoughts and tidbits about both platforms that can make or break the decision for some folks. You'll just have to head over and check out Mashable's comparison for yourself.

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Mashable compares MovableType 4 and WordPress 2.2 so you don't have to originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> bloggingcomparisonsMashableMovable TypeMovableTypeWordPress David Chartier Fri, 17 Aug 2007 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[smplr: A start page for search]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/16/smplr-a-start-page-for-search/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/16/smplr-a-start-page-for-search/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/16/smplr-a-start-page-for-search/#comments Start pages and portals have become all the rage these days, with everyone from Netvibes, AOL (our parent company) and Facebook getting in on the action. Word on the street is that search is a pretty hot market as well, and we can understand if Google and Yahoo!'s tried and true approach doesn't quite cut it for those who demand more out of search. Offering an unassuming, slick and simple UI, smplr is just such an alternative search tool.

Upon your first visit, don't dismiss the single search box and cool background for all walk and no talk (though it is a nice touch that you can change your background via the menu in the upper right). By default, smplr sends all your searches to Google; certainly nothing special. But be sure to check out the legend at the bottom, which lists smplr's bread and butter in the form of triggers you can add to your queries that can direct your search at everything from films, stocks, eBay, PriceGrabber and much more. By adding the proper 1-5 letter trigger before your searches at smplr, you can begin to save quite a bit of time if you're a frequent users of even a couple of the sites to which smplr can direct searches. Heck, there's even a Mac OS X Dashboard widget available under the Helpdesk menu that provides full access to smplr's services.

As a project from Nik Iliadis, smplr has a nice approach and a good implementation so far. If smplr expands its support for more services, it could become a great resource for those interested in a simple (har har) way to use a few keystrokes to direct their search across a wide variety of important services and engines. It will certainly be interesting to see smplr evolve over time.

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smplr: A start page for search originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> portalsearchsearchingsmplrstart pageStartPagetriggers David Chartier Thu, 16 Aug 2007 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Take a peek at Firefox 3's new download manager]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/12/take-a-peek-at-firefox-3s-new-download-manage/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/12/take-a-peek-at-firefox-3s-new-download-manage/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/12/take-a-peek-at-firefox-3s-new-download-manage/#comments

Mozilla Links has posted details and a few screenshots of how Firefox 3's new download manager will look and function. In general, users will gain more control over their downloads, actions such as opening a file have been changed from text links to icons to comply with the rest of Firefox's design paradigm of buttons for actions, words for website links. Users will also be able to click an (i) icon on completed downloads to view details such as the website the download came from, the location of the downloaded file on local computer and when the download finished. Chronic downloaders will also appreciate a new search box, and an option to show the download manager in the status bar or sidebar is also being considered.

Overall these look like some strong features for a much-needed upgrade to the download manager, but we would still like to see a little more innovation here. For example: the download manager in Camino, a Mac OS X browser that uses the same Gecko rendering engine as Firefox, can not only clear the download manager's list of files, but also move those files to the trash. And what about actual download file management features, such as moving files to specified folders or importing into apps based on file type (ZIP, audio, video, etc.)?

If you're itching to try out these new features, Mozilla Links says this new download manager should be available in tonight's nightly build.

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Take a peek at Firefox 3's new download manager originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> download managersDownloadManagersdownloadsFirefoxFirefox 3Firefox3Mozilla David Chartier Sun, 12 Aug 2007 10:45:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Mahalo introduces Follow: Continuous search]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/10/mahalo-introduces-follow-continuous-search/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/10/mahalo-introduces-follow-continuous-search/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/10/mahalo-introduces-follow-continuous-search/#comments At Gnomedex this afternoon, Mahalo, the human-filtered search engine, introduced an intriguing new feature called Follow. Combining Mahalo's clever use of topical experts to build search result pages with website keywords and search technology, Mahalo Follow offers two key features: First, operating as a Firefox add-on (support is on the way for more browsers), Follow will piggyback on queries you enter into any search engine and display Mahalo results in a sidebar if Mahalo has a search page for your query. While Mahalo only has 8,500 search result pages built right now, Mahalo Follow's second and more significant feature is really where the genius lies: In addition to comparing their search results with the likes of Google, Ask.com or Yahoo!, the sidebar will follow along on your surfing (hence its name) and continue to provide relevant results and links based on the sites you surf to. In fact, Follow has a feature I haven't seen done (at least quite the same way) anywhere else: within the Follow results sidebar, the 'Open all' option at the top of each section of links will open every one of those links in tabs. It's like having your own personal search secretary sitting right by your side, continually providing increasingly fine-toothed results without you having to lift a finger; all you need to do is search and browse.

I had the chance to speak with Jason Calacanis, founder of both Mahalo and Weblogs, Inc. (this blog's parent company) yesterday about Follow, and I have to admit that I think they're on to something pretty interesting here. Again, Mahalo's search results are nowhere near as comprehensive as most search engines when it comes to every niche subject you can think of to search on, but that isn't the point. The Mahalo staff uses various tools, custom data and techniques to stay on top of as many subjects as the company can expand to handle competently (and their surging growth, according to Calacanis, has been pretty surprising even to them), and it is in this area where Mahalo Follow shines. In fact, I'll dare to say that uniting Mahalo's human-filtered database in real time with the searches and surfing you're doing could be the next big thing in search.



As you can see, the Mahalo Follow add-on installs a toolbar in Firefox (which you can disable if you want it out of your way) which I'll expand on later. The sidebar of searches you see actually remains hidden until you perform a search at seemingly any engine or even via the search box next to the address bar. I searched for 'digital cameras' in Google, and since Mahalo has their own search results page for this topic, the sidebar kicked into action, displaying their results right alongside Google's. Through this initial action, many of Mahalo Follow's strong features are revealed. First: the sidebar groups links that Mahalo chose for this topic into relevant categories and groups, such as Digital Camera Manufacturers, a Comparison Shopping category that lists the top price watching sites and a Buying Guides and Reviews section. This makes that Open All feature especially handy, since you can open, say, the most popular digital camera guide and review sites in separate tabs with a single click. Now it's time for that searching secretary to kick in.

Continue reading Mahalo introduces Follow: Continuous search

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Mahalo introduces Follow: Continuous search originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> MahaloMahalo FollowMahaloFollownewssearch David Chartier Fri, 10 Aug 2007 20:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[DLS Tip: Flickr can moblog your photos for you]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/10/dls-tip-flickr-can-moblog-your-photos-for-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/10/dls-tip-flickr-can-moblog-your-photos-for-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/10/dls-tip-flickr-can-moblog-your-photos-for-you/#comments

We've noticed various bloggers kicking around options for moblogging pictures. Some use Blogger, which has its own built-in moblogging options, while most others use something like WordPress, which doesn't have the most straightforward process for setting up a blog-by-email conduit. The one common thread among everyone one of these bloggers, however, seems to be that nearly every one of them has a Flickr account. If you're in this same bucket - wishing to moblog and using a service that doesn't have a moblogging flip to switch but you also have a Flickr account - you're in luck, because Flickr can serve as your one-stop hub for posting photos via email from a mobile device, while simultaneously auto-blogging each one at a wide variety of compatible services.

Fortunately, setting this all up isn't very difficult. All you need to do is log into your Flickr account, go to your account management page (click on your name/user name in the upper right) and then click on the Email tab. On that screen are two options: "Your Flickr upload email" and "Your blog upload email." As you mght guess, we're going to focus on the latter for now, and this Upload by email link might take you straight there. If you haven't set up any blogs to use with Flickr, you'll be prompted with a setup wizard that walks you through allowing Flickr to post to your blog (and a surprising amount of blog systems are supported, including Manila, Vox, Blogger, Typepad, WordPress and more). Once you have that all set up, you should see a dialog much like the one in this post, allowing you to chose basic image layouts for your Flickr-powered moblog posts, as well as whether Flickr should post any text in the body of your email as text in the blog entry. Flickr even allows you to add tags to your images when uploading via email, and it looks like those tags are stripped out when this is all converted into a blog post.

And there you have it - easy-breezy Flickr uploading + moblogging that doesn't require a fancy plug-in or PHP ninja skills.

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DLS Tip: Flickr can moblog your photos for you originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> BloggerbloggingFlickrManilamobloggingphotosuploadingVoxWordPress David Chartier Fri, 10 Aug 2007 15:10:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Flickr releases a new web upload tool]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/09/flickr-releases-a-new-web-upload-tool/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/09/flickr-releases-a-new-web-upload-tool/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/09/flickr-releases-a-new-web-upload-tool/#comments

Well color us surprised, because Flickr just might have become one of the first web properties bought by Yahoo! in recent history to actually receive a major new feature post-purchase. On the Flickr blog, the company has announced a revamp to the photo upload and management tool, bringing a new batch upload UI and batch tagging system to help you finish the chore faster than ever via the web.

In our initial tests, it's safe to say that the tool is a solid update. Batch selection and uploading works well, and you're still able to customize each photo individually, while a batch tagging box sits at the top of the management screen. Of course, we still recommend checking out some of the external uploading tools available for working with Flickr, but this web tool just got a whole lot easier to use in a pinch.

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Flickr releases a new web upload tool originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> Flickrimagesphotosuploading David Chartier Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[SplashCast builds official NPR Podcast Player for Facebook]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/06/splashcast-builds-official-npr-podcast-player-for-facebook/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/06/splashcast-builds-official-npr-podcast-player-for-facebook/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/06/splashcast-builds-official-npr-podcast-player-for-facebook/#comments

We found intriguing media mashup and mixer startup SplashCast back in February, and today the have announced a major step forward via a partnership with NPR (National Public Radio). As an arguable victory in the name of online productivity, SplashCast has just unleashed the official NPR Podcast Player for Facebook, bringing educational and current event programming to the popular social networking site in a slick embedable Flash widget. This is a great addition to all the other somewhat less productive apps and widgets Facebook is gaining as of late, and a great venue for NPR's venerable programming.

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SplashCast builds official NPR Podcast Player for Facebook originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> FacebookFlashNPRpodcastsSplashCastwidgets David Chartier Mon, 06 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[iPhone apps coming fast and furious]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/03/iphone-apps-coming-fast-and-furious/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/03/iphone-apps-coming-fast-and-furious/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/03/iphone-apps-coming-fast-and-furious/#comments No Apple hasn't finally given us what we want by releasing an official iPhone SDK so developers can create true apps for the phone, but that doesn't seem to be holding back enterprising hackers. Erica Sadun at our sister site The Unofficial Apple Weblog has released a basic text editor and even a screenshot app for the iPhone, while Gizmodo has MobileTerminal, a command line app that should allow for all kinds of iPhone hackery goodness.

Gizmodo also makes a great point: the code for MobileTerminal is being hosted at Google Code, which could mean a number of things, including:
While we're likely to never hear word from tight-lipped Apple on an official iPhone SDK until it's actually made available to download, power users and iPhone enthusiasts are sure to take some solace in the fact that iPhone hackers seem to have opened it up quite a bit on their own already. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on what grassroots iPhone apps appear.

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iPhone apps coming fast and furious originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> AppledevelopersdevelopmentiPhoneMobile TerminalMobileTerminalscreenshotsSDKsoftwaresshterminal David Chartier Fri, 03 Aug 2007 19:38:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[3rd party Microsoft Exchange service for iPhone now shipping]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/03/3rd-party-microsoft-exchange-service-for-iphone-now-shipping/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/03/3rd-party-microsoft-exchange-service-for-iphone-now-shipping/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/08/03/3rd-party-microsoft-exchange-service-for-iphone-now-shipping/#comments While the iPhone's place in the business world is an evolving story, Synchronica has added their own chapter by shipping v3.0 of their Mobile Gateway service, adding support for Apple's shiny new phone to synchronize email with Microsoft Exchange. This could allow many a corporate user to finally justify that iPhone purchase to their boss, now that they can both send and receive email on it without needing to install software or being behind a firewall. Speaking of security, messages are sent over encrypted IMAP/SMTP and secure HTTPS connections to the Microsoft Exchange server, so it sounds like things are locked down pretty tightly.

Synchronica's iPhone-enabled service is available now with a 60-day free trial, though the demo signup page explains that the company has apparently been bowled over with requests since announcing iPhone Exchange compatibility. If you're still interested in exploring your chances of getting the boss to add an iPhone to the company's expense account, you can sign up to be notified when normal service resumes and you can get in on the action.

[via PC World]

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3rd party Microsoft Exchange service for iPhone now shipping originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ExchangeIMAPiPhoneMicrosoft ExchangeMicrosoftExchangeMobile GatewayMobileGatewaySynchronica David Chartier Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[37signals adds Backpack to their One Bar single sign-in page]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/37signals-adds-backpack-to-their-one-bar-single-sign-in-page/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/37signals-adds-backpack-to-their-one-bar-single-sign-in-page/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/37signals-adds-backpack-to-their-one-bar-single-sign-in-page/#comments

Earlier this month, 37signals added a One Bar feature to allow users of their Basecamp project management and Highrise correspondence tracking services to sign into both sites at once. Fortunately, after issuing a major update to Backpack, their wildly popular web-based PIM app, they have added Backpack to the One Bar signin. This will save some time and simplify switching between these services, and the only requirement of One Bar is an OpenID, an increasingly adopted service that allows you to tie website logins to one single ID and password for the ultimate in web security and convenience.

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37signals adds Backpack to their One Bar single sign-in page originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 37signalsBackpackBasecampHighriseOpen BarOpenBarOpenIDsecurity David Chartier Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:20:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[AT&T Wireless drops iPhone from main page]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/atandt-wireless-drops-iphone-from-main-page/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/atandt-wireless-drops-iphone-from-main-page/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/atandt-wireless-drops-iphone-from-main-page/#comments

[Update: As readers are pointing out, the iPhone is appearing in various other, though sometimes obscure, areas of AT&T's site. We stated in our post that this could simply be nothing, so that fact should probably be reiterated given that this does seem to be a false alarm. Guess the version of the site in our screenshot could have easily been a fluke, capped in the middle of a redesign or who knows what else. Thanks for keeping us on our game everyone, as for now, there doesn't seem to be anything else to see here. Let's all move along.]

Rumors that Apple is wearing the pants a little too often in their iPhone relationship with AT&T have received a boost, now that the wireless carrier seems to have stopped promoting the pricey phone on their main page barely a month after its June 29th launch. While we know that Apple negotiated an unprecedented deal for a percentage of every iPhone customer's monthly contract, many suspect AT&T is becoming less and less happy with the rest of Apple's plans. Note, for example, the iPhone's lack of any integration with AT&T's profitable video, audio and ringtone offerings - all things that Apple either sells through their iTunes Store right now or, in the case of ringtones, is widely expected to with a future software update. The more software and media-based services Apple prepares to unleash, the more monthly, revolving revenue passes by AT&T's bottom line.

Of course, another possibility here is that the iPhone has received all the promotion it needs from AT&T. The device has arguably succeeded in Apple's marketing efforts to get it inserted into all the major media hubs, from the Today Show to Steven Colbert. Still, after adorning the pages of Cingular-turned-AT&T during the six month period since its announcement in January of this year, the iPhone's sudden disappearance from the main page and even the phone-specific page is raising our eyebrows.

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AT&T Wireless drops iPhone from main page originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> analysisappleattiphoneringtonessalessoftwarewireless David Chartier Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yes Gmail allows multiple POP clients, but it sure aint IMAP]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/yes-gmail-allows-multiple-pop-clients-but-it-sure-aint-imap/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/yes-gmail-allows-multiple-pop-clients-but-it-sure-aint-imap/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/yes-gmail-allows-multiple-pop-clients-but-it-sure-aint-imap/#comments In today's multi-device, always-connected world, one has to wonder how loud the call for Gmail to do IMAP has to get before Google pulls their head out of their ass server room and flips the switch. Our trick for using Gmail over IMAP might not be an easy 1-2 setup but it definitely works well. If you're looking for an easier method to simply allow multiple email clients to download your Gmail, however, UneasySilence has highlighted an unsung Gmail feature that should do the trick. Simply adding a 'recent:' prefix to your login credentials (i.e. - recent:user@gmail.com) in any of your secondary POP clients will allow that client to download up to the last 30 days of mail, regardless of whether you've already downloaded it. For those who would like to check their Gmail on a mobile device in addition to a desktop client, this is definitely a great trick to have, but it certainly isn't a replacement for IMAP as UneasySilence seems to be indirectly stating. For example: when checking messages over IMAP, you can use Client A (for the sake of discussion) to read a few messages, delete a few, maybe move some into folders or tag them using the plug-ins we mentioned. Across all your other email clients - including mobile phones - those messages will appear as read, deleted or filed away, with no further effort on your part. This is the beauty of IMAP and one of the many reasons why so many Gmail enthusiasts - widely known to be early adopters and power users - are clamoring for Google to join the rest of us in the 21st century by providing IMAP in addition to POP. Heck, even a nominal fee for IMAP wouldn't be out of the question.

So how about it Google? While spending all that time trying to make it easier to find and manage information, are you listening to how your customers would like to be able to manage their mail?

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Yes Gmail allows multiple POP clients, but it sure aint IMAP originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> gmailIMAPPOPUneasySilence David Chartier Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:40:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Watch your stocks in Google Calendar]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/watch-your-stocks-in-google-calendar/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/watch-your-stocks-in-google-calendar/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/31/watch-your-stocks-in-google-calendar/#comments

For some bizarre reason, the Official Gmail Blog has announced a new feature for Google Calendar that is powered by Google Finance. Nevertheless, it's a pretty cool new trick: now, you can search for your favorite stock symbol in Google Calendar to add a repeating all-day event of that stock's closing price each day. If you've been looking for an easy, casual way to keep track of a few stocks without having to dive into more serious solutions, this is a great way to keep an eye on a stock over time.

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Watch your stocks in Google Calendar originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> google calendargoogle financeGoogleCalendarGoogleFinanceofficial gmail blogOfficialGmailBlogstocks David Chartier Tue, 31 Jul 2007 13:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Mobile Minute: Get some use out of web apps for the iPhone]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/30/mobile-minute-get-some-use-out-of-web-apps-for-the-iphone/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/30/mobile-minute-get-some-use-out-of-web-apps-for-the-iphone/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/30/mobile-minute-get-some-use-out-of-web-apps-for-the-iphone/#comments

Apple's decision to keep 3rd party apps locked out of the iPhone (for now) is still disappointing both users and developers alike, but that doesn't mean we can't get some actual functionality out of some truly unique web apps. For this week's brief Mobile Minute, I'm going to highlight some web apps, utilities and bookmarklets designed specifically for the iPhone that are rising above the rest.


1. 17 iPhone Bookmarklets

Chanpory Rith at LifeClever has published a list of 17 powerful bookmarklets for your iPhone, containing some truly useful stuff beyond the typical web app launchers that are quickly becoming a dime a dozen. At the top of my list are 'marklets like movie times and Wikipedia, which offer one-click popup access to search for local movie times or articles on Wikipedia (respectively). Other really useful ones are 'Find in this page' which is pretty straightforward, as well as 'Open links in new window,' which will reload the current page you're viewing on your iPhone and edit all the links on the page to, well, open in a new window. This is particularly useful since the iPhone doesn't seem to cache pages well (or it possibly uses a caching system that most sites simply haven't accounted for yet), but MobileSafari (the new name many are using for the iPhone's Safari browser) does tabbed browsing like a champ. In fact, it even remembers opened tabs after you power down and restart the phone, making a bookmarklet like this very handy to those like to truly explore the 6 degrees of the world wide web on their iPhone.

To get set up with these bookmarks, visit the LifeClever site in either Safari or Internet Explorer and add them to a folder of bookmarks you're synching with the iPhone. Perform a sync and you're ready to go.

Continue reading Mobile Minute: Get some use out of web apps for the iPhone

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Mobile Minute: Get some use out of web apps for the iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> .macbookmarkletsbrowsertipsdotmacgoogle readerGoogleReaderiphonemobile minutemobile safariMobileMinuteMobileSafarinewsgatorrsssafariwebjimboyojimbo David Chartier Mon, 30 Jul 2007 18:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Airfoil for Windows 2.0 released]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/26/airfoil-for-windows-2-0-released/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/26/airfoil-for-windows-2-0-released/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/26/airfoil-for-windows-2-0-released/#comments

Apple's AirPort Express is a handy little, nearly-pocketable wireless router that, amongst other neat features, allows you to wireless stream iTunes music from a Mac or Windows PC to a set of speakers, thanks to its standard headphone jack (which doubles as an optical jack as well). The only problem is: iTunes is the sole app that the AirPort Express is designed to stream audio from. Fortunately, long-time Mac OS X software company Rogue Amoeba decided this iTunes exclusivity just wasn't right, so they developed Airfoil in both Mac and Windows versions.

Airfoil is a great little utility that allows you to stream any audio from your computer to an AirPort Express, but it doesn't stop there. In fact, a fresh new version 2.0 update for the Windows version today introduces cool new features like sending audio to multiple AirPort Expresses, playing back audio locally while still streaming it and a 10-band equalizer for adjusting the audio you're streaming.

If all this has your attention, an Airfoil demo is of course available, while a license costs just $25. For existing owners, however, Airfoil 2.0 for Windows is a free upgrade.

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Airfoil for Windows 2.0 released originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> airfoilaudiorogue amoebaRogueAmoebastreamstreaming David Chartier Thu, 26 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Pownce API slated for September]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/26/pownce-api-slated-for-september/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/26/pownce-api-slated-for-september/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/26/pownce-api-slated-for-september/#comments These days, the terms 'web 2.0 company' and 'API' seemingly go hand in hand, especially if the company has a climb up the market share ladder ahead of them. Unfortunately, Pownce must have missed this memo, as our own mixed review of the new social status / file and event sharing service criticized the clunky Flash AIR app and 3rd party-stifling lack of an API. After all, if a web 2.0 service doesn't allow others to hook in, it could easily get washed away into the web's Sea of Irrelevance.

Lo and behold, however, the folks at Pownce seem to have heard the cries of the masses and have promised an official API. Set for a hopeful release in September, the company also did something interesting by creating Pownce API Google Group to discuss some of the design and development aspects, such as what format to use and how authentication should be handled. If you'd like a say in how Pownce should open their doors to 3rd party apps and integration, that Google Group will be your best shot at getting your voice heard.

This official API will definitely make things interesting, especially since Pownce is truly bringing some unique things to the table with file sharing and event inviting / collaboration. The real advantage will appear when a Twitterrific-like app offers elegant, easy and yet powerful control over one's Pownce account, merging the reach of the web with the power of the desktop.

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Pownce API slated for September originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 3rd parties3rd party3rdParties3rdPartyapigoogle groupsGoogleGroupspownce David Chartier Thu, 26 Jul 2007 12:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Acer president slams Windows Vista, says industry is "disappointed"]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/acer-president-slams-windows-vista-says-industry-is-disappoint/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/acer-president-slams-windows-vista-says-industry-is-disappoint/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/acer-president-slams-windows-vista-says-industry-is-disappoint/#comments It's one thing when a blogger or a journalist harps on Microsoft for one thing or another - but it's something else entirely when the president of the world's 4th largest PC manufacturer claims "the whole industry is disappointed with Windows Vista." In a statement to Financial Times Deutschland this week, Acer president Gianfranco Lanci bashed Microsoft and their latest OS, citing the fact that many home and business customers of Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo (formerly IBM) and Toshiba are so upset with Vista that they're demanding Windows XP be made available for order. It's a bold statement from a company on the up and up in the paper-thin margin, highly competitive PC industry.

Not surprisingly, the other companies joining Acer in the XP bucket haven't made any kind of statement, but they have to be feeling at least some of the same burn. With mainstream users getting confused by Vista's new features and a 3rd party industry dragging their feet to offer support for the new OS, Vista is stuck between a rock and a hard place, struggling to gain market share from adopters who are reluctant to make the leap until support for all their existing software and peripherals arrives. Frustration and hesitation is further compounded by the fact that Windows 7, or 'Vienna,' is right around the corner for 2009 or 2010, as it is reported to be a complete rewrite of the Windows code base from the ground up, requiring everyone to follow suit with complete rewrites of their software and drivers.

Aside from niche markets and power users, Lanci might have been half right with his statement. Though instead of being 'disappointed' with Vista, it seems like the industry might simply be 'disinterested' in the OS, at least for now.

[via 1 Microsoft Way]

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Acer president slams Windows Vista, says industry is "disappointed" originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> aceranalysiscriticismmicrosoftosupdatespresidentsvistawindowswindows vistaWindowsVista David Chartier Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[PictureSync 1.8 brings Expression Media, Lightroom support]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/picturesync-1-8-brings-expression-media-lightroom-support/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/picturesync-1-8-brings-expression-media-lightroom-support/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/picturesync-1-8-brings-expression-media-lightroom-support/#comments

It's becoming harder and harder these days to exist at just one social media site or another. Some of your friends are sharing pictures at Flickr and Zooomr, while others are uploading videos to ImageStation and Vox. Making sure you keep all these communities updated with the pictures and videos from your adventures can be exhausting, but PictureSync from Holocore can make mince meat out of all that uploading. As a Mac utility for now with a Windows version coming soon, PictureSync allows you to select or drag and drop pictures and videos from the Finder, iPhoto, Aperture and more, and upload them to one or every media sharing community that PictureSync supports. As you add services to your one-click-upload toolbelt, the amount of time PictureSync can save you becomes exponentially immeasurable. Even better, PictureSync can handle metadata associated with your files such as iPhoto keywords, captions and ratings, and send them along to any compatible services. Still trying to keep track of how much time you won't waste using PictureSync?

As if all that wasn't enough, a new v1.8 update just released brings support for Microsoft Expression Media (which was once iView MediaPro) and Adobe's Lightroom. Along with support for more pro apps, however, comes a pro license: in addition to the $15 standard license, a new $30 license is being introduced for those who want to use PictureSync with the likes of Aperture, Expression Media and (possibly) Lightroom. On the bright side of this new license is the fact that you'll be seeing two: a $30 PictureSync purchase will include a second license for those who can't be bound to just one computer.

Be sure to check out the rest of PictureSync's features - like a full-screen annotation mode and upload memory - to see everything it has to offer. A demo is of course available for test drive.

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PictureSync 1.8 brings Expression Media, Lightroom support originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> communitiesexpression mediaExpressionMediaflickrmedia sharingMediaSharingpicturespicturesynczooomr David Chartier Wed, 25 Jul 2007 07:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Backpack receives major update]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/backpack-receives-major-update/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/backpack-receives-major-update/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/25/backpack-receives-major-update/#comments After all that teasing, 37signals has flipped the switch on a major upgrade to Backpack, their incredibly popular web-based PIM service that can store and organize lists, notes, pictures and files. As if features like sharing / collaboration and mobile phone access weren't cool enough, this major release takes Backpack productivity to entirely new heights.



One of the most interesting on the list of new changes is a much-updated UI, from a movement of the toolbar to the top of the pages (pictured) to the much-requested ability to drag and drop any list, note, pictures or file from one page to another. While the toolbar's new location initially feels like a good move, we find ourselves missing the authority of the previous design, as the buttons to create new lists and notes stood out a bit better.



Almost as drool-worthy as drag and drop abilities, users can now also search across all their Backpack pages. A new searchbox mounted in the upper right (directly underneath the 'Make a new page' button) should satisfy most users who use Backpack for more than a few tidbits of info. Searching seems pretty zippy, and your search term is highlighted among the listed results.

Continuing the healthy list of changes are other welcome new features, such as multiple photo galleries per page and RSS feeds for shared pages so you can keep an eye on changes made by everyone else. Altogether, this is a great update and we're very satisfied with the new features. With accounts ranging in price from 'free' up to $14/month, we recommend Backpack more than ever for anyone from casual users who need a simple web-based locker for storing bits and pieces of their daily adventures, to power users with a serious case of GTD or project management on their back.

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Backpack receives major update originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 37signalsanalysisBackpackGTDPIMproductivityproject managementProjectManagementupdates David Chartier Wed, 25 Jul 2007 00:59:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Backpack Preview 3: You can finally move items between pages!]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/backpack-preview-3-you-can-finally-move-items-between-pages/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/backpack-preview-3-you-can-finally-move-items-between-pages/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/backpack-preview-3-you-can-finally-move-items-between-pages/#comments Yea, that's right, we used an exclamation point (!) in a post headline - that's how excited we are that 37signals just released a new preview post and video demo of one of the most-requested Backpack features ever: moving items to different pages. Especially appealing to the GTD crowd, the ability to move items between pages will blow open the doors on Backpack's usefulness for everything from keeping useful tidbits of info handy (even on your mobile phone) to managing projects and robust todo lists. Anything will be draggable from one page to another - notes, files, pictures and lists - and you can even drop an item on the 'Make a new page' button. Items dropped onto a page will be placed at the top of said page, easy to find and organize at a later date.

If you can't wait for the new Backpack to debut (though a scheduled maintenance alert warns that the service will be down tomorrow night at 10 pm Central Time), 37signals has even provided a demo video (in QuickTime) of the new feature in action. Note, however, that the Backpack in the video is running in a slower development mode, so the live version should apparently function with a bit more zip once they flip the switch.

On behalf of Backpack users everywhere, 37signals, we at Download Squad would like to thank you for answering the call.

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Backpack Preview 3: You can finally move items between pages! originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 37signalsBackpackPIM David Chartier Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Majority of Support.com users confused with Vista's new features]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/majority-of-support-com-users-confused-with-vistas-new-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/majority-of-support-com-users-confused-with-vistas-new-features/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/majority-of-support-com-users-confused-with-vistas-new-features/#comments Todd Haselton at Ars Technica's 1 Microsoft Way journal is reporting that the majority of Support.com's customers are confused by some of Vista's significant new changes. After opening their doors for service in June, a tally of that month's support calls revealed that a whopping 77 percent were to get help with Vista, with a surprising 30 percent of those calls simply asking for help on how to navigate Vista's controversial new Aero interface.

Considering that Support.com is a commercial service, we're going to agree with 1 Microsoft Way that their greater constituency is probably more on the newbie side than your typical Flash drive-slinging, Google-searching computer nut. That said, Support.com's report of confusion among the mainstream ranks can be taken in a number of ways, depending on whether you're a fan of the significant changes - some arguably for the sake of change alone - that Microsoft made with Vista. The findings become even more significant when you consider the fact that Windows users - people who have already been using the product for months, years or perhaps decades - are getting lost when they sit down and try to navigate through the new translucent black jungle Microsoft introduced.

Still, Support.com is but a drop in the bucket of the mainstream Vista reaction, so it would be interesting to see support request results from larger players like Dell and Best Buy's Geek Squad for a much larger gulp of the big picture.

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Majority of Support.com users confused with Vista's new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> analysissupportSupport.comVistaWindows VistaWindowsVista David Chartier Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[iSight Screensavers does interactive video]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/isight-screensavers-does-interactive-video/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/isight-screensavers-does-interactive-video/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/23/isight-screensavers-does-interactive-video/#comments
You can say what you want about the use or need for screensavers in today's computing world - but it won't effect the cool factor of these iSight Screensavers. Designed for Macs with iSight cameras (either built-in or otherwise), iSight Screensavers provides six different effects that can interact with video shot by an iSight, making for one cool screensaver. Effects like Fluid, Particles, Fire and Water are all sure to be a hit around the office and household, especially if your Mac is anywhere near a decent flow of traffic.

Check out the video for a full demo of what iSight Screensavers is capable of (note that some effects require dedicated graphics cards) or download a demo for yourself. A license costs a mere $10.

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iSight Screensavers does interactive video originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> effectsinteractiveisightscreensaversvideo David Chartier Mon, 23 Jul 2007 09:19:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Optimize Mint web stats for both desktop browsers and your iPhone]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/22/optimize-mint-web-stats-for-both-desktop-browsers-and-your-iphon/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/22/optimize-mint-web-stats-for-both-desktop-browsers-and-your-iphon/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/22/optimize-mint-web-stats-for-both-desktop-browsers-and-your-iphon/#comments

Mint is a powerful, extensible web statistics package from Shaun Inman, web designer extraordinaire. With a wide array of plug-ins that can even incorporate stats from other services like FeedBurner, Mint is a one stop, self-installable shop for virtually any and all stats you will ever have to view for your site. In fact, one of Mint's strengths is that it can be customized to scale down gracefully to a one-column view for users who prefer the option to view their stats on mobile devices. Even after getting an internet-rich iPhone, however, Richard Herrara doesn't want to have to chose between the default two-column view or the device-optimized view - so what's a web hacker to do? Why, hack one of Mint's files to auto-detect the iPhone browser and only display the one-column view for that particular device, of course! Head over to Herrara's site for the instructions on two simple edits you must make to Mint's head.php file, as well as a custom iPhone stylesheet to upload for some dual-mode desktop/iPhone Mint-y goodness.

[via Peppermint Tea]

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Optimize Mint web stats for both desktop browsers and your iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 22 Jul 2007 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> iphonemintphpshaun inmanShaunInmanstatisticsstylesheetsweb statsWebStats David Chartier Sun, 22 Jul 2007 22:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[iTunes Store gift cards available in (RED)]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/18/itunes-store-gift-cards-available-in-red/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/18/itunes-store-gift-cards-available-in-red/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/18/itunes-store-gift-cards-available-in-red/#comments While there are plenty of ways to buy media from Apple's iTunes Store, we've never seen one that donates a little something to a big cause. This $25 iTunes (PRODUCT) RED Gift Card (scroll down on the page) will not only score you some tunes (or movies, or TV shows...), but 10% of the purchase will be donated to fight AIDS in Africa via the Product Red campaign founded by U2's Bono and Bobby Shriver. While there are certainly better ways to donate to a cause, an iTunes gift card matched up with something like the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria seems like a great way to give someone the gift of music while simultaneously helping a country fight a nasty disease. All things considered, we only wish Apple would do more to promote their iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED and this gift card.

[via Marko Karppinen & Co.]

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iTunes Store gift cards available in (RED) originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applegift cardGiftCarditunesitunes storeItunesStoreproduct redProductRed David Chartier Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:45:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[37signals releases preview of new Backpack update]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/17/37signals-releases-preview-of-new-backpack-update/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/17/37signals-releases-preview-of-new-backpack-update/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/17/37signals-releases-preview-of-new-backpack-update/#comments

Let the 37signals hype machine begin again! After a few Basecamp updates and the release of their slick new Highrise contact management app, Backpack seemed all but lost to the depths of web app limbo. But wait! As if from a great fog, 37signals has published the first preview in a series that proves the revolutionary PIM web app is anything but lost! In this first post, the company has begun showing off some upcoming changes with a new 'items anywhere' feature. No more will your Backpack pages be laid out for you with lists at the top, followed by notes, files. etc. - you will be able to lay out your items in whatever way fits your workflow best. How this will affect other features like emailing items into your pages, and whether this could usher in the much sought-after ability to move items from one page to another, still remains to be seen. It's definitely good news that 37signals prefixed this post with 'Preview 1,' though there is still the down side of no ETA for the arrival of this much-welcomed update to Backpack. Guess we'll all have to stay tuned.

Thanks Dave!

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37signals releases preview of new Backpack update originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 37signalsbackpackitems anywhereItemsAnywherepreviewupdate David Chartier Tue, 17 Jul 2007 21:41:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Google dabbles in time and search with new "Unavailable After" META tag]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/16/google-dabbles-in-time-and-search-with-new-unavailable-after-m/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/16/google-dabbles-in-time-and-search-with-new-unavailable-after-m/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/16/google-dabbles-in-time-and-search-with-new-unavailable-after-m/#comments

How often have you stumbled across a killer coupon or deal on the web, only to discover - sometimes too late - that the offer expired months or even years ago? If you're still counting, you might be happy to hear that a new meta tag from Google seems to be the first step in the right direction for combining and filtering time-sensitive information when searching.

This new meta tag, according to HighRankings, is called "unavailable_after", and it'll allow webmasters to easily instruct search engines to stop crawling pages after a specified date. This will be a simple and streamlined way for sites to ensure pages like limited-time discount offers or subscription-only content get removed from search results and caches on a pre-set date. In other words: you shouldn't have to worry about finding a 2 month old GoDaddy coupon that expired long before you even thought up the domain you're looking to purchase.

While this is a great step forward into the realm of automatically calculating the element of time in search results, we're excited to see the search companies further explore time and its effects on content and search because there's still a lot of work to do. Searching for something like game console sales statistics in Google and Yahoo! still returns popular links from 2003/04, even if the query is altered to "game console sales 2007."

We understand, however, that significant changes to our search tools and the ways we think about them take time (ba-dum-ching!), so we'll just have to sit back and watch how this all plays out.

[via search engine land]

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Google dabbles in time and search with new "Unavailable After" META tag originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googlegoogle:unavailable after:metaGoogle:unavailableAfter:metahtmlsearchtagsweb developmentWebDevelopment David Chartier Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[How To: Use Gmail over IMAP and tag your mail, too]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/11/how-to-use-gmail-over-imap-and-tag-your-mail-too/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/11/how-to-use-gmail-over-imap-and-tag-your-mail-too/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/11/how-to-use-gmail-over-imap-and-tag-your-mail-too/#comments I've been a user of Gmail since late 2005 and have loved just about every minute of it. The revolutionary webmail interface, the vast popularity among power users and plethora of scripts, add-ons and doodads - but the one thing that always bothered me was the loss of integration with the rest of my computing. Sure, there are some great tricks and bookmarklets we found for our Top 10 Gmail tips and hacks post, but I've missed real integration with Mac OS X apps like iSale that can show me emails related to an auction I created with it, iPhoto that can compress copies of 20 images and attach them to a new message and even simply double-clicking a .VCF I've downloaded to quickly add it to Address Book and keep on working. Heck, toss in a dash of Automator and I really find myself longing for a desktop email client and the synchronized wonders of IMAP.

Thus began my journey to figure out some sort of a hack or workaround for using Gmail over IMAP with my preferred and well-integrated desktop email client, Apple Mail. It wasn't too difficult, but the setup requires your own web host who offers IMAP email that can scale up to around 2GB or more (for example: I already pay for hosting at DreamHost which offers IMAP with every account, but some companies offer free IMAP, and other hosting companies offer flexible solutions as well) and a little bit of incoming/outgoing server trickery. Another necessity is some sort of tool or plug-in to enable one of Gmail's most well-known features: tagging, otherwise known as labels. While Thunderbird is probably the first fairly mainstream email client to do tagging out of the box, it drops the ball on my need for integration; it doesn't support Apple's built-in Address Book (which so many other apps do), and it doesn't plug into all the other handy tools that allow so many of Mac OS X's 3rd party apps move data from one to another so effortlessly. For what it's worth, I also found a plug-in for Outlook on Windows called Taglocity that should get the job done, though I can't test it because I don't own Office. That said, all my setup instructions are written using Apple Mail, but you should be able to apply them to any IMAP-capable desktop email client and tagging plug-ins you find. As a bonus, this trick will also work for mobile devices that support IMAP, including Windows Mobile, BlackBerries and, of course, your shiny new iPhone. Following is my 7-step trick for using Gmail over IMAP, leveraging the power of desktop software while bringing the innovation of Gmail's tagging and conversations along for the ride.

Continue reading How To: Use Gmail over IMAP and tag your mail, too

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How To: Use Gmail over IMAP and tag your mail, too originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> apple mailAppleMaildreamhostgmailhacksimapmail.appmailtagstaggingtaglocitytagstipstricks David Chartier Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Digg unveils iPhone beta app]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/10/digg-unveils-iphone-beta-app/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/10/digg-unveils-iphone-beta-app/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/10/digg-unveils-iphone-beta-app/#comments Get ready to fire up your bookmarks ladies and gents, cuz digg just joined the ranks of the iPhone-friendly. On the digg blog this afternoon, Kevin Rose announced that digg.com/iphone has gone live, offering access to some of the site's key features in a slick, iPhone-ized package that runs great on mobile Safari. Users can of course log in and digg, and mini-permalinks as well as top 5 comments on stories are also available. The tailored site even features a slick iPhone-like (or rather: iPod-like) scrolling UI when selecting a story, giving the iPhone version of digg a subtle feeling of running as actual software on the phone.

If you think this is cool, you might be surprised to hear that it was drafted and coded within 48 hours by one of digg's ninjas, Joe Stump. Rose offered Stump an iPhone if he could bang out the code within 48 hours, and as Rose states on the post, he's out one more iPhone. Impressive work for a cool prize.

More features are of course coming (Top Stories is at the top of the list), but users can still browse the main digg site on the iPhone; this customized app is simply a way to streamline the site for just the on-the-go essentials.

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Digg unveils iPhone beta app originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> diggiphoneisafarikevin roseKevinRosemobile safariMobileSafarisafari David Chartier Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:40:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Remember the Milk adds Twitter support for creating and managing tasks]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/09/remember-the-milk-adds-twitter-support-for-creating-and-managing/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/09/remember-the-milk-adds-twitter-support-for-creating-and-managing/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/09/remember-the-milk-adds-twitter-support-for-creating-and-managing/#comments In a day and age where everything from YouTube to Pownce are vying for both our free and shouldn't-be-free time, it's great to see a company like Remember the Milk figuring out an ingenious way to help keep our daily tasks organized while we're goofing off or micro-blogging with Twitter. On the company's blog today, RTM announced not only that they have a Twitter account of their own, but that you can actually get some clever use out of it. By adding the RTM Twitter account as a friend and then direct messaging it with a specific syntax they have put together, you can actually create tasks, send tasks to friends and even command tasks (mark them as complete, get an SMS of a list's tasks, etc.). This is a stellar way of combining such a dynamic service as Twitter with a way of being productive, and all it requires is some simple linking of your RTM account with your Twitter username.

Fortunately, both Twitter and Remember the Milk are free to sign up for, giving you a valid way to justify all that time you spend on Twitter to your boss.

Thanks Chris!

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Remember the Milk adds Twitter support for creating and managing tasks originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> getting things doneGettingThingsDonegtdorganizationremember the milkRememberTheMilktaskstwitterwork David Chartier Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[YouTube needs a system for detecting duplicates]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/04/youtube-needs-a-system-for-detecting-duplicates/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/04/youtube-needs-a-system-for-detecting-duplicates/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/04/youtube-needs-a-system-for-detecting-duplicates/#comments Considering YouTube's undeniable 800 lb gorilla status in the video sharing space, it's becoming more and more apparent that the company needs to develop some sort of a system for detecting duplicate video uploads. Even digg and Netscape - who are admittedly social news and bookmarking sites with different issues to worry about - have a decent dupe system, as they both watch for identical URL submissions and titles, alerting the user when they aren't the first to submit a link.

So why can't YouTube make its user's lives easier by doing something like this? Granted, YouTube and others are still working on video analysis and detection technology, but what about a simple system that watches for duplications and similarities in titles, descriptions and video lengths? Searching YouTube for just about any popular music video typically returns at least half a page or more of the same exact video uploaded by users who either couldn't bother searching, or those who simply don't care and feel some need to provide their own copy for their loyal viewers.

If YouTube got their act together and created a duplicate warning system, as well as a way for users to link and share each other's videos under their own accounts, it would do wonders for cleaning up the expanding mess of duplicates, as well as simply navigating and searching the web's most popular video sharing and streaming service. As a bonus, YouTube would no longer need to host endless copies of some videos, and stats like ratings and view counts would be far more accurate due to what could be a significant drop, or possibly even an eradication, of duplicates. Everyone wins.

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YouTube needs a system for detecting duplicates originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 04 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> analysisdupesduplicatesduplicationssearchsearchingvideosyoutube David Chartier Wed, 04 Jul 2007 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Vox finally unveils Vox This bookmarklet, Digg This button]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/03/vox-finally-unveils-vox-this-bookmarklet-digg-this-button/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/03/vox-finally-unveils-vox-this-bookmarklet-digg-this-button/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2007/07/03/vox-finally-unveils-vox-this-bookmarklet-digg-this-button/#comments Six Apart's community-focused Vox blogging service has been making a number of incremental improvements over the last month or two with minor updates to their software. New themes and other enhancements are all welcome additions, but two specific new features turned out heads enough for a mention.

First: the new Vox This bookmarklet. While Vox has been arguably way ahead of the competition by offering the best and most polished tools for blogging items from YouTube, Flickr and Amazon, they've never had a tool like Blogger's Blog This button that allows their users to easily blog things from virtually any site on the web. Finally, Vox This bridges this gap by offering a powerful bookmarklet users can click to instantly blog any site they're looking at, complete with the ability to scrape any selected text and even pictures on the page. The announcement post for this new feature also hints at an upcoming 'links library' feature for Vox, which sounds like it might add a simple linkroll functionality to Vox blogs that is powered by this bookmarklet.

The second major new feature to debut for the Vox community is a Digg This button at the bottom of every Vox post. The button acts just like you would expect, but the release notes that include this feature also instruct users not to get too comfortable with the button, for it will apparently soon turn into a full-fledged Share feature that opens the door for many more social bookmarking and news services. As with the hinted links library feature, we'll just have to stay tuned for a new announcement.

As they stand now though, these are exciting new features that bring some powerful web 2.0 community aspects to Vox, opening it up to the rest of the blogosphere even more, and making it easier for Vox bloggers to participate in the global conversations they're interested in.

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Vox finally unveils Vox This bookmarklet, Digg This button originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blog thisBlogThiscommunitydiggshare thisShareThissharingVoxvox thisVoxThisweb 2.0Web2.0 David Chartier Tue, 03 Jul 2007 19:30:00 EST Download Squad