I've only recently become interested in gesture-based computing. In the past I think it's been an overly complicated affair with too much learning involved, but these days with special hardware like Apple's multitouch track pad and some really fantastic Firefox plug-ins, gesture-based navigation is slowly becoming mainstream.
One Firefox plug-in that's pushing this envelope is Drag and DropZones. It's a mix of keyboard shortcuts and search engines in one simple tool that puts both together in one giant, transparent grid that can be summoned with a single drag and drop. To make it work, you simply highlight some text and drag it into a search engine or shortcut of your choice. The tool comes with a large number of engines and shortcuts included, and you can have up to 64 within the confines of the grid.
What makes the tool just wonderful is that you can customize the heck out of it. You can move around boxes, change the size and color of the grid space, and pick what items you want and where they go--even duplicating items to add more shortcuts in the same space.
I gave it a quick spin earlier today and am definitely keeping it around. Between this and the AutoCopy extension you'll be saving yourself from ever having to use your keyboard when browsing, which both carpal tunnel sufferers and lazy people can appreciate.
To see how it works, watch my quick screencast below (note: there's no audio).
[via MozillaLinks]
Drag and Dropzones demo for Webware from Josh Lowensohn on Vimeo.
inSuggest is a new recommendation service for finding interesting items on the Web. There are two variations--one for blogs and Web sites, and another for photographs. Both take four items picked by users to whittle down the types of sites or photographs you'd be interested in.
Between the two, the Web flavor is a little more structured, requiring users to enter in the URLs of some of their favorite sites. The results can then be previewed right below the search box and be browsed eight recommendations at a time. The photo engine is a little more organic, simply requiring users to drag photos that they're interested in into one of four slots up at the top. Each photo that's dragged pulls in several other similar shots, all of which come from Flickr.
The service was created by two Swedes with experience in the gaming industry. I'm expecting to see other varients of the engine used for audio and video clips similar to what's been done with StumbleVideo and Pandora.
Like pictures of beaches? Drag them one by one up into inSuggest's drop spaces up above. It will automatically filter together other similar shots.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
HiTask is a(really simple collaborative task management tool for small groups. Members can create tasks, meetings, reminders, notes, and birthdays to add to their own schedule or assign to others. The entire interface is drag-and-drop, and any actions by team members will instantly be reflected on your tasks page. It's a mix of a scheduling app and to-do list tool that's dead simple to use. In testing, we were making and managing several projects in less than five minutes without reading any documentation, which bodes well if you're collaborating with non-tech-savvy people.
Adding tasks to HiTask's daily schedule via drag-and-drop. Color coding per item will also show up.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Assigning tasks to other users is really simple. Once you've created a task, you can just drag it over to the group member's name. You'll get a note on the task letting you know who you've assigned it to, and as soon as they're done with it you'll be notified in real time. Likewise, when a group member assigns something to you, it will show up on your schedule, along with a note of who it's from. The one thing missing from HiTask is the option to view other members' schedules, which would be helpful--especially for gauging how much is on someone's plate.
If you do need to talk, there's a built-in chat module, which is limited to one-on-one. There's no way to group chat, or share files like you get with some more advanced group collaboration tools like BaseCamp, and activeCollab, but HiTask is pretty early in development.
HiTask has both a free and premium service. The free service reaches its limit at 10 tasks, making it little more than a demo. The $15 a year service provides unlimited tasks, group members, and projects. See the screenshots after the jump.
Related: Under the Radar Office 2.0 coverage of group collaboration tools.
[via SolutionWatch]
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YouBackItUp is a great way to share large files with friends. YouBackItUp has employed a really neat drag-and-drop interface that makes it dead simple for anyone (read nontech-savvy people) to use. Instead of hitting a browse button and fishing through your hard drive to find the file, you can just drag the original right onto the interface, and it takes care of the rest. When you're done uploading things, you're given a simple URL to send to friends or family where they can download the files.
What makes the service a real winner in my book is its generous storage size and bandwidth, which has no limit besides a 200MB cap per file. This means you can have several gigabytes of stored files as long as they're within the limits. The one caveat is that the files will be removed from the service if they sit dormant for 20 days.
YouBackItUp really hits the sweet spot with no registration for you and no-hassle downloads for your recipients.See also Zapr and Tubes.
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