Pownce gets pwned: Six Apart acquires and plans to shutter service
Filed under: News, Blogging, Web services, web 2.0
Do you still use your Pownce account? I stopped using mine months ago. I don't even know if I remember the password. If you do still use Pownce, the Twitter-like microblogging service that just never seemed to capitalize on its early hype, start preparing to migrate to something new. Today, Six Apart, the company behind Movable Type, TypePad and Vox, announced that it has acquired Pownce and will be shuttering the service in two weeks. Lead Pownce developers Leah Culver and Mike Malone will continue on at Six Apart, where presumably some of Pownce's features will be rolled into Vox.
Hey, at least there is Twitter! Seriously though, Pownce's failure is proof that hype alone will not make a product or company a success. As our own Nik Fletcher pointed out, Pownce is the perfect example of how NOT having a useful API at launch or soon thereafter is a huge mistake. Especially if you are trying to do the whole microblogging thing.
Not to get all Valleywag, but didn't Six Apart just lay off 8% of its staff, like three weeks ago? I don't know the particulars of either situation -- but simply on the surface, that's cold. Did something miraculously change or was this part of the plan the whole time?
If you are worried about losing your messages once Pownce powers down its service, the Pownce team has created an export tool which will generate a file (I'm guess its XML. I haven't had a chance to look at it) that can then be imported into Vox, WordPress or TypePad.
Fittingly, the discussion of Pownce's demise is much more active on Twitter and Friendfeed than on Pownce itself.
Pownce gets pwned: Six Apart acquires and plans to shutter service originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMount remote storage, use web apps as local apps with Gladinet
Filed under: Windows, Web services, Beta, web 2.0
You can also mount your Google Picasa Web Albums and Google Docs folders as if they were local folders, allowing you to upload, download, and access documents and images stored on Google's servers as if they were on your desktop.
But the ability to mount remote storage as a local folder is just the tip of the iceberg. You can also use Gladinet to launch web based applications like Google Docs, Google Calendar, or ThinkFree Doc, XLS, or PPT viewers in a standalone window as if they were desktop apps.
Last, but certainly not least, you can use Gladinet to mount folders on remote computers as local folders.
[via ReadWriteWeb]
Mount remote storage, use web apps as local apps with Gladinet originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsgOS Cloud - From zero to web browser in just a few seconds
Filed under: OS Updates, Linux, Web services, web 2.0
The latest version of gOS goes a few steps further, by emphasizing the web browser above all else. gOS Cloud is a stripped down Linux distro that can load in just a few seconds. And instead of loading a typical desktop, the first window it opens is a web browser (which looks suspiciously like Google Chrome in the press shots).
You also get a dock-style program launcher for starting desktop applications. And the operating system is designed for dual boot systems that also run Windows XP. Good OS, the company behind the Linux distro are working with netbook makers Gigabyte to build an ultraportable laptop that will come preloaded with gOS Cloud and Windows XP in early 2009.
gOS Cloud - From zero to web browser in just a few seconds originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsThree apps for the Windows sysadmin - Holiday Gift Guide
Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Commercial
Hyena ($199) - This Windows application is an Active Directory admin's sidekick. In addition to acting as a an AD Users/Computers snap-in on steroids, it also lets you easily change local account usernames and passwords on multiple computers, create helpful lists of group members, and manage services. Hyena also makes it easy to quickly view the currently logged in users of a machine and shutdown or reboot a group of computers.
Continue reading Three apps for the Windows sysadmin - Holiday Gift Guide
Three apps for the Windows sysadmin - Holiday Gift Guide originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | CommentsFluidTunes: when iTunes meets Minority Report
Filed under: Audio, Fun, Macintosh, Freeware
FluidTunes can be a little bit difficult to control. It's quite responsive, but it's easy to hit a few buttons at once, or accidentally scroll past the song you wanted. Also, don't rock out too wildly in front of your camera, or you're liable to change songs with your head. For right now, Fluidtunes is an impressive showpiece, but it's not entirely practical for everyday music browsing.
FluidTunes: when iTunes meets Minority Report originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsGet VMware Fusion for as little as $9.99 today only
Filed under: Utilities, Macintosh, Commercial
Team Fusion announced in their updates that today only, December 1, 2008, a copy of VMWare Fusion 2.0 for OSX is available for just $39.99! That's 50% off the regular price! The site has just updated to reflect the special price, though earlier, the promo code CyberMondayDeal needed to be entered to take advantage of the offer.
VMWare has a competitive upgrade offer in effect. If you're an existing Parallels or Virtual PC user, you're eligible for an additional $30 rebate.
The 30-day trial is still available for download as well, but how can you go wrong for $10?
[via TUAW]
Get VMware Fusion for as little as $9.99 today only originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsURL Alias adds superpowers to the Firefox address bar
Filed under: Internet, Productivity, Mozilla, Search, Browsers
Good things really do come in small packages, as is the case with the URL Alias Firefox addon.
I originally installed it looking to make the address bar more launcher-like. For example, I wanted http://mail.google.com/mail/#inbox to open when I type mail or http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPORTS05 when I enter wings.
I prefer using words or abbreviations I can remember easily instead of hotkey combinations, and this experimental addon is the perfect tool for the job.
Since URL Alias also supports a variable (yep, just one), you can do a whole lot more with your aliases than just save keystrokes.
To manage aliases, type the following in your address bar: chrome://urlalias/content/urlalias.xul [enter]
Suppose you want to set up a Google search alias for results from downloadsquad.com.
dls http://www.google.com/search?q=%s%20site:downloadsquad.com
The %s is replaced by whatever text you enter after the keyword: dls firefox addons will return results for all matching DS posts. Change the alias text and url, and set up as many site-specific searches as you like.
Continue reading URL Alias adds superpowers to the Firefox address bar
URL Alias adds superpowers to the Firefox address bar originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsTextflow parallel word processing app now in public beta
Filed under: Text, Office, Productivity
If you've used track changes in Word, Textflow's "choose or refuse" interface will be familiar to you. But textflow is like track changes on steroids, if you'll pardon a cliché. Besides the ability to handle several sets of changes from several separate Word files at once, it's also a lot easier to tell at a glance who's changed what, and decide which version to use. There's even a scrapboard to store ideas you're not sure about yet. The best part is that your collaborators don't even have to know what Textflow is for you to use it effectively.
[via Go2Web20 Blog]
Textflow parallel word processing app now in public beta originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBuzzBox Fast Forward adds smarter "Stumbling" to Firefox
Filed under: Internet, Mozilla, Freeware, Social Software, Browsers
Fast Forward by BuzzBox is an excellent alternative, suggesting possible destinations based on where other surfers clicked through. The addon installs as both a drop-down menu in the main toolbar and as a simple button in the status bar.
The dropdown presents the top destinations for you to choose from, while the status bar icon zips you off to the most popular one with a single click. Two other nice features of Fast Forward are its small size (the .xpi is only 69kb) and the fact that no registration is required.
There is a privacy policy that you may want to read - this is, after all, a recommendation engine and it needs to gather information about your browsing. According to the policy, "BuzzBox does not attempt to determine the identity of any BuzzBox user by analyzing Web usage paths. "
With only 245 total downloads from Mozilla's site, it's going to take a little while before you start seeing suggestions on every site you visit, but Fast Forward has tons of potential and is well worth a download.
[ via TechCrunch ]
BuzzBox Fast Forward adds smarter "Stumbling" to Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsAkinator, the web genius - Time Waster
There's something of a minor craze about this thing called Akinator lately. It's been popping up on Delicious and it's all over my RSS feeds. But what the heck is it? Akinator is a guessing game. You think of a famous person, and it asks you questions and makes a guess about who you're thinking of. There are plusses and minuses to Akinator's popularity. On the plus side, all the data it has collected makes it surprisingly good at guessing some pretty obscure celebrities. Akinator has successfully guessed everyone from Britney Spears to 80's prog-rocker John Petrucci to various literary characters and ... Pokémon? It's that good. The downside to Akinator's high traffic is that it's sometimes excruciatingly slow. To remedy this, Akinator currently only allows 1500 players at once, and it's almost always full.
Akinator, the web genius - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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