apps

The Real Deal 111: Geolocation

Rafe and Tom talk about the new apps and services that use geolocation. They help you find people and help people find you. But is that a good thing? Listen now: Download today's podcast Where 2.0 ConferenceWeb apps that know where you areDodgeball, Brightkite, Fire Eagle, Trippit, DopplrWhy? Know where friends/associates areso they can find youCar - Dash NavigatorTraffic reportrouting around jamsInteresting new startups http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9942507-2.htmlVery few companies do this right http://www.webware.com/8301-1_109-9940433-2.htmlPhilosophical discussionWhat if I don't want to be found-------------------------Next episode - Virtualization

The iPhone finally gets proper Web widgets

Despite the iPhone app store being weeks away from launch, developer Intelliborn has just released a stellar application for users with jailbroken iPhones. Switchers from Windows Mobile phones who missed the "today" screen that lists a gathering of small bits of information on one screen essentially get the same thing with this app, which will compile weather, e-mail, SMS messages, and even RSS feeds on your phone's screen every time you hit a button to wake your phone up.

You can successfully have about four of the small, single use widgets on the screen at once, and … Read more

DeviantArt gets an iPhone app as stunning as its art

Yesterday social arts community and two time Webware 100 winner Deviant Art released a beautiful mobile version of its site that's been optimized for Apple's iPhone. I've been playing around with it this afternoon and it's a wonderfully simple way to explore the various art mediums that have made the community so popular. To access it, users simply need to navigate to DeviantArt.com on their handsets and they'll automatically be directed to the finger friendly version.

It shares a lot in common with Facebook's iPhone app, a design so successful that it's been featured in Apple's advertising for the device. However, unlike Facebook, DeviantArt's efforts rely more on a simple menu structure that lets you dig through its 1600 plus categories of art to explore only the bits that interest you. While simple and fairly fast to navigate (even over EDGE), once you get about four levels deep it gets a little cumbersome. Luckily, you're able to get to drill down to a specific category in about three menus. The real beauty is that you can hop back and forth between what's popular and what's new in any category you're in, and clicking on any item will open it up without taking you to a new page.

In addition to images and text items, DeviantArt has made available the entirety of its video collection. The videos can be played in full screen, and if you're logged in to your DeviantArt account you can bookmark them for later use. The same goes for any other content you come across. You're also able to visit user profiles like you would on the site, and browse through entire user galleries with just a few finger touches.

Coming in the future will be iPhone optimized versions of DeviantArts forums, news pages, and the the message center, which alerts users to new content submitted by users they've bookmarked. More shots after the break.

… Read more

Google vs. Microsoft may not be zero sum, but...

...Today I saw something that should petrify Microsoft. I was visiting a large financial services company and couldn't help but notice Google Apps running throughout the floor as we strolled past. It turns out that the company is actively rolling out Google Apps because it figures the vast majority of its users have almost no need for full Microsoft Office functionality.

This was long the premise behind why enterprises would switch to OpenOffice, but I suspect that OpenOffice wasn't disruptive enough. It's not purely a question of license cost: It's also a question of training and … Read more

Opening up Google's AppEngine with Morph Labs

Google's AppEngine looks great. It's a way to build web applications and run them on Google's "cloud" infrastructure.

The downside? Your applications effectively become Google's applications because there's no easy way to move them elsewhere. You have to run them using Google's authentication engine, framework, file system, APIs, etc. Free as in Google's.

Enter Morph Labs.

[Morph] claims to have done all the back-end cutwork to make it easy for developers to get their software up and running as a service on Amazon's Web Services (AWS), freeing them from Google's Microsoft-like vendor lock-in....… Read more

Killer Download: My must-have free downloads

I download and review a lot of great software, but obviously I don't keep everything. Some programs don't make the cut simply because I have a better option on my computer already or I have no use for them at work. But other applications I've downloaded have withstood the test of time and remain useful on a day-to-day basis. I'm talking about my must-have applications.

I've already given you my Big Three free security applications which should be the first programs you download when setting up a computer. Clearly if you haven't downloaded software … Read more

Nip/Tuck Facebook app tells you how ugly you are (with math)

Normally I steer clear of writing about Facebook apps that have been created for promotional purposes, but this one is too good to pass up. It comes from FX UK, which has put together a very strange experience that tells you how "perfect" your face is in order to promote the plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck.

Users can pick any photos they've uploaded to Facebook and simply map out points on their face for the app to run its algorithm. The end result is a 1 percent to 100 percent scoring scale, with 100 being absolute perfection. … Read more

Salesforce.com + Google Apps (Verdict: Good, but occasionally frustrating)

I started using the Salesforce.com/Gmail integrated product this weekend and was largely happy with the experience. The main thing for my company is getting information into one centralized system. We do so very effectively with our developer sites (wiki-based) but have been using SF.com with only middling success. My theory on the Gmail integration is that it will help to enforce information sharing amongst our staff.

My other theory is that we can eventually get rid of Outlook. If there is any app that people are more addicted to than Outlook, it's Gmail. And now we've suckered them into using it for business. … Read more

Featured Freeware: PortableApps

Taking an old-school tack to an ages-old computer problem, the PortableApps Suite approach to mobile computing feels more Web 0.5 than 2.0. Instead of hosting programs online, PortableApps is a comprehensive application suite that fits onto and runs from almost any thumbdrive with at least 512MB of space, and can be shrunk down even further if need be.

The suite's flexibility is impressive. It manages some of the best freeware applications from a taskbar menu that runs instantly when clicked on. User-favorites Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird are here, as well as the entire OpenOffice.org office suite, … Read more