Yahoo! cuts back online video editing service Jumpcut
Filed under: Internet, Video, Web services, Yahoo!, web 2.0, Web
Yahoo! recommends users who want to continue uploading and sharing videos use Flickr. But there are a few major differences between Jumpcut and Flickr. First, Flickr users don't get the advanced editing tools that Jumpcut offers. And second, you currently need to pay for a Flickr Pro account to upload videos. So what Yahoo! is really doing here is driving users to YouTube and other free web video services.
Jumpcut showed a lot of promise. I think there's a need for a service like this, which allows users to upload videos and then perform some basic cut and paste edits, alter the soundtrack, or add subtitles and other effects. Not everyone has or needs Windows Movie Maker or iMovie on their computers, making a web-based service appealing. But Jumpcut always offered a walled garden approach. Users could upload and edit videos. But they couldn't export them. While you could embed Jumpcut videos on any web site, you couldn't save the finished video to your desktop or export it to YouTube.
[via TechCrunch]
Yahoo! cuts back online video editing service Jumpcut originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsJoost kills internet video desktop client
Filed under: Internet, Video, Web
Joost, which is the brainchild of some of the folks behind the Skype VoIP software, was originally launched to provide an alternate way for people to interact with internet video. After all, web browsers were built for reading text and looking at pictures, not for finding and enjoying video. So Joost was positioned as a video browser, not a web browser. But as YouTube, Hulu, and countless other sites have demonstrated, there are a lot of people who are perfectly happy to watch videos using a web browser. And as it turns out, there aren't so many who are interested in downloading and installing a separate application just to watch videos they can probably already watch in their web browser.
Effective December 19th, Joost users who have already installed the desktop client will no longer be able ot watch videos using the software. They'll have to go to the Joost web site instead.
It's kind of a shame, because I think the desktop software had a lot of promise. I just think it was aimed at the wrong market. Instead of focusing on providing a user experience for people sitting right in front of their computers, Joost could have focused on creating a quality web video experience for people sitting on their couch and watching through a computer or set top box connected to a TV set. Right now that torch is being carried by the makers of Boxee, XBMC, Zviewer, and other media center applications.
Joost kills internet video desktop client originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsIncubus Pulsum: hammer bugs to a rock beat - Time Waster
Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters, Web
In case that really doesn't clarify anything for you, it's a rhythm game that pits you against legions of invading bugs. To defend yourself, you've got to smash the little buggers with the only weapon you've got - a wooden mallet.
The game's background music is pure power rock in the mold of songs like Dragonforce's Storming the Burning Fields. Successfully crush oncoming enemies and the volume ramps up - misfire and it fades away.
The controls are simple enough. Use the directional arrows to aim your mallet and press a to strike. You'll be attacked from 8 directions, though. Mashing two buttons at the same time will aim diagonally. If you're attacked simultaneously from the left and right, hold down both keys and you'll strike both ways at once.
It can get a little frustrating, but then, what good Time Waster doesn't?
Incubus Pulsum: hammer bugs to a rock beat - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsTwo ways to translate to the NATO phonetic alphabet
Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Web
Sometimes, though, I have a hard time remembering some of the letters. P, for example, is not Peter, it's Papa.
Thankfully, developer Nicholas Wagner has two handy utilities to help. Phonetic is offered as both a desktop application for Windows and Linux and a web-based utility. The RealBasic source code is also available for download.
The web version displays translation on the fly directly the text field. It's a tool well worth bookmarking for anyone that needs to spell things out to, say, computer software or hardware support workers.
Two ways to translate to the NATO phonetic alphabet originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsExport a Gmail message to Google Docs
Filed under: E-mail, Office, Google
I use a lot of Google services on a day to day basis, including Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs. So I'm always excited when Google announces a new way to make these web apps play well together. Yesterday the company announced a new feature in Gmail Labs that adds a "create a document" link to your email menu.When you open an email and click the document link, the message will be exported as a Google Document. From there you can edit it, share it, or download it as a Word, PDF, or RTF file.
In order to enable the feature, just click the Gmail Labs icon (it looks like a beaker and hangs out next to the settings link in the top right side of your Gmail homepage) and scroll down until you see the Create a Document option. Click enable and Gmail will reload with the feature enabled.
Export a Gmail message to Google Docs originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMicrosoft issues patch for latest IE vulnerability
Filed under: Internet, Security, Microsoft, Browsers
Even though the vulnerability's existence has yet to be confirmed, Microsoft has responded quickly and has prepared a patch for release today at 10:00am PST. There are also webcasts scheduled for December 17th and 18th to answer customer concerns regarding the out-of-band update.
For more information about the specifics of the vulnerability, read Microsoft's December 12th TechNet post. The post also details five different workarounds (which should be unnecessary once the patch is released).
It's likely that Microsoft will also update the original security advisory with a link to the patch once it has been made available.
Update: downloads are available here - choose the link that matches your Windows OS.
[ via BetaNews ]
Microsoft issues patch for latest IE vulnerability originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSearch Cloudlet helps find what you're looking for - with tags
You can also click the Sites tab to show a list of web sites featuring content matching your query. So if you want to limit your search to, say, Wikipedia articles, just click on the Wikipedia link. The Net tab lets you limit your search by domain type, such as .com, .org. or .net. I'm not really sure how useful this feature is. And if you want the tag cloud to go away all you have to do is click the Off button.
[via Wired]
Search Cloudlet helps find what you're looking for - with tags originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsTelonu: Think "Yelp" for the workplace
Filed under: Web services, web 2.0
When you register with Telonu, you are asked for your full name and to pick a separate username. When you post a "Tell" or add a comment, you can choose to either use your name, your username or to post anonymously. Your name and username are never linked, so if you want to respond to something, but don't want to reveal your identity, you're covered.
On a school or company or individual's main page, you can see "Tells" -- which are reviews or general information about the subject in question, access the subject's "Watercooler" and "Stock pages and "Ask" or submit answers to a question.
Tells are just reviews or comments, generally from current or former employees. These focus on the various aspects of the workplace itself, like pay and benefits, work/home life balance and career growth potential. Right now, the bleak economic climate is leading to lots of layoffs, and many laid off employees are giving their two cents. This is good information for potential future employees, because you can tell a lot about how a company operates based on how they handle layoffs.
Continue reading Telonu: Think "Yelp" for the workplace
Telonu: Think "Yelp" for the workplace originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsNeed Christmas cards?
Filed under: Fun, Time-Wasters
Do you need a quick solution for those Christmas cards you haven't sent yet? Grandma and Aunt Betty might not be ready for e-cards but I'm guessing a lot of people on your list will enjoy them. You can suggest you are being eco-friendly by saving paper if they complain. The first important factor in e-cards is that they should be free. I am not interested in paying for them - for that I could send regular cards. Also required would be a distinct lack of hokey poetry and lame music. Here are some possibilities:
- Card Funk turns your photos into dancing, animated cards. The only annoyance I found here was that I had to resize a lot of my photos to make them usable. Card Funk is not into working with big files and images have to be less than 500kb to be usable. You can really customize the characters and layout of the card as well as the text and music.
- Phreetings (Photo + Greetings) is pretty basic and gives you a link to send for others to view the card you have created. Not quite as simple as a card arriving in the inbox but the photos available are pretty interesting and have a more international flair.
- Some ecards for "when you care enough to hit send" with sentiments like "I'll never be the secret Santa you deserve" and "Thanks for giving me a gift I don't have to return." No sappy poetry and lame music here. The site offers Christmas and Hanukkah cards as well as New Year cards in case you can't get others out in time for Christmas.
Need Christmas cards? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMake phone calls from your web browser with GizmoCall
Filed under: Audio, Internet, VoIP, Web
The folks behind VoIP application Gizmo have rolled out a new Flash-based application that lets you make calls to other Gizmo users or to telephones using your web browser. You'll still need a Gizmo account to use GizmoCall, but you can call other Gizmo users or 1-800 numbers for free. And you can purchase credit to make calls to land lines or cellphones.GizmoCall offers decent audio quality, although I did notice a few glitches when making a test call from my browser. The software did a pretty good job of detecting the default microphone plugged into my computer. If you're signed into your account you can also receive calls. That wouldn't be a very useful feature if you had to leave the GizmoCall web page open all day to receive calls, but there's embed code you can use to add the widget to your homepage, blog, or other web site.
Gizmo also offers a desktop client for Windows, Mac, Linux, or Nokia Tablet users. And there's a mobile version that runs on a variety of cellphones including BlackBerry and Windows Mobile devices.
Make phone calls from your web browser with GizmoCall originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsFirefox Mobile for Symbian coming in 2009
Filed under: Symbian, Mozilla, Browsers, Mobile
The plan is to have a working browser by the end of April, 2009 although there's no official release date for a beta version just yet. Of course, since the browser an open source project, I wouldn't be surprised if Symbian users were able to download and test early builds as soon as February when the roadmap predicts "basic/limited browsing" fucntionality.
[via Gizmodo]
Firefox Mobile for Symbian coming in 2009 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsUnChrome removes the unique ID from Google Chrome
Filed under: Internet, Windows, Google, Freeware, Browsers
If you'd prefer to run Google's version of the browser but are still concerned about your privacy, you can also download and run UnChrome. It's a free application that checks to see if you've got Chrome installed and then replaces the unique ID assigned to you with a null value.
After you run it, there is a single pop-up advertisement for another of the developer's applications. Since UnChrome-ing is a one-time thing, it's only a minor annoyance.
[ via Freeware World Team ]
UnChrome removes the unique ID from Google Chrome originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsPalm launches App Store for PalmOS, Windows Mobile apps
Filed under: Windows Mobile, Palm, Mobile
Palm has taken a cue from Apple and launched a dedicated store for PalmOS and Windows Mobile applications. Sure, there were already plenty of places to purchase and download Palm and Windows Mobile applications, but the new Palm App Store which is powered by PocketGear lets browse, search, and find applications while using your mobile device and download them with directly to your phone or PDA. The new app store has about 5,000 applications at the moment, and more than a thousand of them are free.
Palm is expected to launch a new device at CES in January that may run the next generation of the company's operating system, which to be honest is a lot more exciting than a new application that lets you download thousands of PalmOS and Windows Mobile applications, most of which have been around for ages.
Palm launches App Store for PalmOS, Windows Mobile apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsP2P storage service Wuala launches web access, API
Filed under: Internet, Web services, P2P, web 2.0, Web
Today Wuala has expanded the service by adding a web interface and web API. Users can now share selected files over the internet. Users can also send links to files that are privately shared to friends who haven't already signed up for the service. The new API also allows third party developers to integrate Wuala with third party web apps, widges, or other services. For example, you could create an app that would allow users to open images stored on Wuala with an online image editor like Picnik or Splashup.
P2P storage service Wuala launches web access, API originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsOpenItOnline for Firefox opens Office, image files with web apps
Filed under: Internet, Office, Freeware, Browsers, Web
By now, many of you are probably using web-based office suites like Zoho, Google Docs, or Thinkfree as your primary office applications. If you do and you're a Firefox user as well, you'll probably love the OpenIT Online addon.
I mentioned it previously in my list of 14 extremely useful addons, but it's been updated quite a bit since then.
When you install the plugin, the configuration wizard will help you create file associations. You're not limited to one suite, either. If you'd rather open spreadsheets with Zoho and documents with Thinkfree, OpenIT can handle that. Zoho viewer is also supported and is a nice, fast way to view files you don't need to edit.
OpenIT adds two context menu entries (which you can see in the screenshot above): one to open a file with your default viewer/editor and a submenu that provides access to all available options.
This is a great extension to add to your portable Firefox install. It's an excellent way to make sure you can open a wide array of documents on any computer.
OpenItOnline for Firefox opens Office, image files with web apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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