Firefox Does Twitter: Twitbin

Twitbin is a small Firefox extension that puts a Twitter sidebar inside your browser. Once you've logged in with your Twitter credentials, it keeps tabs on your friends or public Tweets. You can also write new posts right from the sidebar.

To toggle the Twitbin sidebar on and off, there's a bird logo that shows up on your browser next to the home button. The sidebar has its own links, for switching back and forth between friends and public feeds, and a refresh button to update posts. If you're not interested in manually hitting the refresh button, Twitbin can be set to automatically refresh all the posts every 1, 5, or 10 minutes.

To toggle Twitbin on and off, there's a handy button installed on your browser.

(Credit: CNET Networks)

Twitbin is not without its snags. For example, when typing there's no character limit warning to let you know how much room is left; instead, it just cuts off once you've hit 140 characters. Likewise, the typing interface only gives you a single line, so you can't see what you've written about without scrolling back and forth.

Twitbin is free and maintains that no-cost aspect with advertisements; you'll see a small ad on the bottom of the sidebar. It's fairly unobtrusive, and in place to pay for the development team's server costs.

Compared to some of the other Twittering solutions out there, Twitbin is very similar to Tweetbar in its use and integration with Firefox. Tweetbar also works with the Flock browser. For other ways to use Twitter, check out our Newbie's guide or our post on six ways to improve Twitter.

Web 3.0 and SEO

Phil Wainewright first used the term “Web 3.0” nearly a year ago, and to date the concept has been even more difficult to pin down than Web 2.0 was when it was first coined. Already the term attracts controversy, with Wikipedia barely mentioning it except to say that there is not “sufficient consensus from the community of Web designers to justify the creation of a new term to describe the next generation of the Web.” Is it real, and what does it mean for SEO?

Wiki

What is it? A wiki is a website that allows visitors to add, remove, and edit content.
A collaborative technology for organizing information on Web sites. Wikis allow for linking among any number of pages. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for masa collaborative authoring.

One that I like is Jotspot. Below are links that provide information about Jotspot.

• Getting Started
• Watch Tutorials
• View FAQ
• Ask a Question

Web 2.0 Principles and Best Practices

Web 2.0 Principles and Best Practices What does Web 2.0 mean for your company?

Additional information about Web 2.0 by Tim O'Reilly.

Comparing 5 Ways to Tag Videos

There's so many videos flying around online these days and both the sheer number and impact of those videos are only going to increase with time. Video tagging tools let you archive and share favorites, subscribe to video tag feeds in iTunes or display tagged videos on a webpage using SplashCast.

Joost Announces $45 million Funding From Sequoia, Index, CBS & Viacom

Internet TV startup Joost raised $45 million in a venture round of financing, the company will announce this evening. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, CBS Corporation, Viacom and Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing.

The company has not previously disclosed any financings. Joost was started by Skype founders Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström in 2006; presumably seed funding came directly from them.

Apple Filing reveals multi-sided iPod with Touch Screen Interface

Apple Inc. is looking to patent a design for a handheld device (or iPod) that displays its output on a small front-side display screen but receives input through a larger touch- and force-sensitive back-side interface, AppleInsider has discovered.

How to Get Started using RSS

RSS has become a valuable technology for everything from casual web users to webmasters. According to a recent Yahoo survey only 12% of internet users are aware of RSS and a mere 4% have knowingly used RSS. RSS exists as a means to gather and display information quickly and easily. By the end of this article, you should know what RSS is and how to use it to make your life easier.

Digg This

Jim Wilson for The New York Times

Kevin Rose, second from left, the founder of Digg.com, a Web site that lets users submit links to news accounts, on the set with Alex Albrecht, Jay Adelson and David Prager.

10 Emerging Technologies 2007

This year, as every year, there are 10 technologies that most likely will alter industries, fields of research, and even the way we live.

Wheelman 2005 BushPig

The Bushpig cruises at up to 20 miles per hour. Measuring 3 ft. 6 in. x 1 ft. 2 in., it has a low center of gravity, high strength construction, and a 30-mile range. Weighing 45 lbs., it is powered by a high performance 43cc 2 cycle engine. Seven colors are available.

Steve Jobs on Nightline [1/10/07]

UMPC Future

Mobile devices of the future look pretty cool. Run time: 5:59 min.

Climate Change

Iceland's President Olafur Grimsson at the site of the Carbon Rock project at Hengill, Iceland, on March 19, 2007.

eBay Acquiring StumbleUpon

High-flying startup StumbleUpon has been rumored to be in acquisition discussions since at least last November. Recently we’ve heard that talks have heated up again, with Google, AOL and eBay as potential suitors. A source with knowledge of the deal now says the company has signed a term sheet with eBay to be acquired. The price is somewhere between $40 - $75 million. (update: GigaOm is now reporting the price at a $40 - $45 million).

Announcing The Webware 100 Awards

Which Web 2.0 sites and service set the bar this year? Vote for your favorite here.

The Scoop on the Coop

An early prototype of The Coop, Mozilla's new social networking component for Firefox, is now available for user testing. Announced earlier this week, The Coop is designed to integrate support for social networking features directly into the Firefox browser interface.

How To Create Icons Without Text

Have you seen the textless icons on the Dock in Apple’s Mac OSX? For many programs, the text was unnecessary and it really made the icons stand out. Now you can have the same effect in Windows XP and Vista.

Google Earth Maps Out Darfur Atrocities

As of today, when the 200 million users of Google Earth log onto the site, they will be able to view the horrific details of what's happening in Darfur for themselves. More…

Google Fails Integration 101

This just in from Royal Pingdom (via TechCrunch): Of the top 20 most trafficked web sites, Blogger and YouTube have far and away the worst downtime track record in 2007. So much for Google’s (GOOG) vast server farms and vaunted geek cred.

But who can blame the chaos-embracing engineers at the Googleplex? Why take on the thankless job of integrating someone else’s messy code when you can spend your time working up brilliant April Fools jokes?

Use Your Mug as a Password

Bioscrypt's new 3D cam sounds like something from the future. Capable of detecting and reading your face, it's the first 3D face recognition camera, relying on 40,000 different ID points (like your forehead, eye sockets and nose) to ID you and log you onto your computer.

EMI, Apple partner on DRM-free music

The music label makes its entire catalog available through iTunes sans copy protection--but those downloads will cost you more.

Google Gadgets

Gadgets powered by Google are miniature objects made by Google users like you that offer cool and dynamic content that can be placed on any page on the web.

Widgets Gone Wireless

Microsoft's first wireless software spin-off wants to help companies deliver personalized marketing messages to cell phones.

The High-Tech Home of Tomorrow

Living Tomorrow plans a permanent museum of cutting-edge product development in San Jose.

Is Google Too Powerful?

As the Web giant tears through media, software, and telecom, rivals fear its growing influence. Now they're fighting back.

Creating a 3D effect with image editing software (GIMP or Photoshop)

Here's how to make a neat effect to make it look like the subject of a photo is popping out of the background. This can be done with GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) or Photoshop.

Virgin American's Airplanes Play Doom

The screens are 9-inch and touchscreen, which are powered by an actual individual PC running Linux. The best part? They ported a bunch of Linux games—including Doom

These Back seat Drivers Are Moving Up Front

How's your driving? If you’re ready for a blunt, detailed answer to that question, computer-based gadgets selling for $200 or less will provide it.

High-Tech Ski Gear

How much of the powdery slopes you'll be seeing depends on where you live or where you get to travel this year. But whether you're in your armchair or on the moguls, there's always the dream of new gear. Here's some of the coolest ski gear this year, and it's way high tech.

20 Hottest Gadgets From the Consumer Electronics Show

This year's Consumer Electronics Show included plenty that was new, significant, or just plain bizarre--here's a list of some of the best of what CES had to offer.

Controlling How search engines access and index your website

Ever wonder how Google and search engines work. One key question is: how does Google know what parts of a website the site owner wants to have show up in search results? Can publishers specify that some parts of the site should be private and non-searchable? The good news is that those who publish on the web have a lot of control over which pages should appear in search results.

Can't Touch This

Working all but alone from his hardware-strewn office, Jeff Han is about to change the face of computing. Not even the big boys are likely to catch him.

Web 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...

“Web 2.0” is a much discussed and debated phrase. It was in Time Magazines Top 10 Buzz Words of 2006. Apparently (according to wikipedia - so this must be right), the phrase was coined by O’Reilly Media in 2004 and “refers to a perceived or proposed second generation of Internet-based services—such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools, and folksonomies—that emphasize online collaboration and sharing among users”.

Welcome to Wi-Fi-Ville Pop. 300 towns and growing

As municipal wireless pops up, so do questions: Who pays for it? Who runs it? Who's looking over your shoulder?

Make

MAKE brings the do-it-yourself mindset to all the technology in your life. MAKE is loaded with exciting projects that help you make the most of your technology at home and away from home. This is a magazine that celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will.

High-Tech Dream House

PopSci has built a house in California equipped with the most advanced materials, cutting-edge technologies and incredible household gadgets available today. Take a look inside with their virtual tour...very impressive.

Winning-And Losing-The first Wired War

U.S. forces in Iraq are waging a pivotal campaign in modern warfare—combat on the first “networked” battlefield. One problem: the enemy has a few networks of its own.

Hacker's Delight

Make the open-source Nokia 770 Internet tablet do anything.

A New Internet Radio Browser

Musicovery is a new Internet radio browser service that combines streaming music with some really neat visual navigation for discovering new (to you) music.

Musicovery is controlled with a sidebar and a song list that's strung together by genre in small clusters. Each color represents a different genre, and you can dig even deeper by selecting your mood. The playback controls are shown on each individual song, along with the title and the artist.

Joseph Vella: Passionate Podcasting

All hardcore fans dream of meeting their musical heroes. “What is more beautiful than being able to listen to the behind-the-scenes workings of your favorite artist?” asks Joseph Vella.

Search Engine Room

Search Engine Room is a website, along with associated entities, exist is to deliver high-quality information on the new economy industries of search engines and online publishing to curious individuals and businesses.

Getting close to the iPhone: how it will go down

Apple Computer (AAPL) is more determined than any other company in Silicon Valley to use secrecy to its advantage – and the result is that product announcements from its CEO awaken a glee in the tech press that can be compared only to a kid under the tree on Christmas morning.

Continue reading "One month to the iPhone: how it will go down" »

Location-Based Services Heading in the Right Direction

Turn-by-turn directions on mobile are hot. Hotter than stand-alone GPS-enabled devices, and definitely hotter than rolling down the window to ask for directions. Just look at the flurry of recent announcements — from Cingular to Sprint, everyone's launching location-based services (LBS). And, actually, I'm not talking just turn-by-turn directions. GPS chipsets, an increasingly common component of cell phones, are enabling a host of other features, like family finder services for kids and seniors (haven't seen granny in a week? Buy her a cell phone, and you'll never again have to worry about her whereabouts).

Continue reading "Location-Based Services Heading in the Right Direction" »

Does Microsoft Own RSS?

If you've added headlines from a news site to My Yahoo, or subscribe to blogs on a site like Bloglines, you've used RSS, a technology that's growing increasingly popular for distributing headlines and articles from blogs, news websites, and more. But now, two recently published patent applications reveal, Microsoft (MSFT) is claiming it invented RSS.

The applications, filed last June but just made public yesterday, cover subscribing and discovering what Microsoft calls "Web feeds." That comes as a bit of a shock to anyone who's been working on RSS, which has its origins in a format developed seven years ago at Netscape Communications.

Continue reading "Does Microsoft Own RSS?" »

Nokia E62 for Cingular

Are smart phones ready for the masses?

• 

Browsers go head-to-head

The top two browsing programs of net users got a big update this month as Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) and Mozilla unleashed Firefox 2.0. Here we take a quick spin through some of the features to be seen in the new versions.

Copying own CD's should be legal

A think-tank has called for outdated copyright laws to be rewritten to take account of new ways people listen to music, watch films and read books.

Wallflower at the Web Party

Did Friendster miss out by not taking Google's offer. Judge for yourself here.

Google in talks to buy Web video site YouTube

The WSJ reports that Google's in talks to buy up YouTube, most likely to supplement or replace their flailing Google Video.

Podcasting's Reluctant Evangelist

Even if he's not excited by the responsibility, Leo LaPorte is the face of podcasting. His fans say he can do no wrong. By Steve Friess.

Browse Craigslist Photos with Listpic

Listpic is a cool mashup that lets you browse classified listings on Craigslist by just looking at the photos. The service works for the For Sale, Housing and Personals sections of the classifieds site. There's a slider near the top that adjusts the size of the thumbnails on the page.

The Battle Over YouTube


The video-sharing site is the hottest start-up since Google. Is it worth a billion dollars, or is it just another company in need of a business model?

Widgetbox

Widgetbox is an online directory of web widgets for blogs and other web pages. They work with Typepad, WordPress, Blogger, MySpace and most other blog, sidebar or website. No plugins needed...and they're free.

IBM Warms Up to Social Networking

Can MySpace show IBM how to sell collaboration software? Lotus GM Michael Rhodin thinks so.

Logitech's diNovo Edge Looks Like Hig Art

Logitech's diNovo Edge keyboard looks like it belongs in a museum of modern art, what with its glossy finish and illuminated keys. Due this November, the keyboard's letters and numbers are blank until activated, at which point they light up, revealing the letter or number. Fancy techno-art cannot be constrained with wires, so the Bluetooth is not only appreciated, but pretty much expected. One of the more unique features on the keyboard is the inclusion of a touch disc, which frees users from having to stretch six inches and reach for the mouse.

The diNovo Edge comes with a stand that doubles as a recharging dock of sorts. It should be available in the U.S. this November for a retail price of $199.99. – Nicholas Deleon

Logitech Introduces DiNovo Edge Bluetooth Keyboard [Geekzone]

A New gen of peer-to-peer file sharing services

Below is a list of new commers that will allow you to easily share webpages, photos, videos, and movies.

Startup Watch: Weblo (A Social Network For Speculators)

It's official. The domainers have taken over the asylum. Next week, a new social network/ virtual world called Weblo will launch where members can buy digital real estate (including cities and states), manage celebrity fan pages, and own Weblo domains (that only exist within the social network). Each piece of real estate is tied to an actual property in the real world—Buckingham Palace, the Taj Mahal, your house.

Rumor Mill: Apple iPhone-Cingular Deal?

Will the much lusted-after Apple iPhone finally show it's pretty little face in early 2007? ThinkSecret predicts an exclusive launch with Cingular after the holidays. (Note: image on right is just a fake mockup).

BTW, Apple launching an iPhone by January 12, 2007 is one of the events we are trading at BizPredict. Last time I checked, the crowd was giving that a 62.5 percent probability of happening. If you think the probability is higher, register for a free account and buy that event at $62.50 a share. It pays out at $100 if it turns out to be true. It's all play money, but you can build your reputation as a business prognosticator.

Yahoo Buys Web Video Editing Startup

Adding to its arsenal of Web 2.0 startups, Yahoo just bought Jumpcut. This gives Yahoo a whole new Web-based set of video remixing tools.

Gizmo Project for the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet

GizmoProject is like Skype, in that you can call other Gizmo users for free and their PC client has instant messenger functionality, but it gets better.

Viliv P2 Hands-On

Navigadget gives us a hands-on preview of the Viliv P2. Just to recap, this player supports MPEG-1/2/4, H.264, DivX, WMV 7/8/9, XviD, MP3, WMA, OGG, AC-3, and WAV formats. It’s powered by an AMD processor (400MHz) and offers 60GB of storage space. Other features include a 4.3-inch widescreen LCD display, GPS receiver (optional), and USB 2.0 connectivity. Video after the jump.

PodTech.net

PodTech is on the air, on the ground, and on the go, bringing to you fresh, defining voices in digital lifestyle, innovation, and thought leadership from frontline events, newsmakers, and experts.

Fuji Xerox Announces Power-Saving E-Paper

Fuji Xerox has announced a prototype electronic paper called "E-Paper Visual Index Card." The ultra-thin e-paper reduces electrical consumption because it does not need electricity to maintain its display configuration. The e-paper is made of photoconductivity seats that contain an LCD layer, and is expected to come out next year. :: Story on CNet.

More on e-paper at Wikipedia.

Advice For Those Trying To Create The Next YouTube Killer

Everyone is looking for a YouTube killer and the truth is that nobody is going to find one! YouTube holds the market share and for the foreseeable future will continue to hold it. If you want to post a video you should visit YouTube or one of the many "YouTube Killers" out there. If you are interested in editing and mixing videos then visit eyespot.

Details Emerge Concerning Microsoft's So-Called iPod Killer

Microsoft's Argo device is reportedly being developed within the Xbox group under the leadership of Xbox co-founder J Allard. The device is expected to go on sale during the 2006 holiday season and will go head to head with Apple's iPod.

Apple Rumored to be Working on Talking iPod

According to a patent filing, Apple is billing the talking-iPod technology as a safety feature that will eliminate the need for eye-to-iPod contact in settings, such as driving a car or walking across a street, that require full attention.

Firefox 2.0 Beta Set to Launch This Week

Samir Bhavnani, director of research at Current Analysis, downplayed the new features in Firefox 2.0, saying users might not see a whole lot of difference between 2.0 and earlier versions of the browser. "A lot of changes are background changes, which are security in nature," he said.

How Google Works


Google is more than just a leading search firm. It's a pioneer that may be definining information management for the next generation of Web-centric businesses.

YahooLocal adopts microformats

Upcoming.org's Andy Baio discusses a better way of browsing.

More about microformats.

Netvibes - Personal Homepage


Netvibes, a project started in France by Florant Fremont, is the latest web-app based on the idea of personalized homepages and like some others (like Start and Google’s personal homepage), it is powered by some nicely developed Ajax. Their goal: The aim of it is to provide a place on the internet where you can set just the content you like, a super easy way of building your personnalized homepage, available anywhere, anytime. No registration is needed, however if you want to access your page from another computer you’ll be able to do it by registering with your email address and a password.

Addtional links:
Netvibes development blog
Netvibes API documentation
Netvibes Ecosystem (official list of modules, feeds, iCal files, and tabs)

Yahoo gives One.org a Web 2.0 upgrade.

As part of an employee volunteer program, Yahoo has upgraded the Web site of a prominent charity. Read here.

eBay dives into Web 2.0

eBay, arguably the original Web 2.0 company, is latching onto the newfangled 2.0 stuff. It has announced eBay Wiki, with service hosted by JotSpot. It's intended to allow members to offer their own expertise on any eBay topic they know about, and for people to find answers to questions that eBay itself may not have anticipated. That's on top of eBay Blogs, also announced today, that let members create their own blogs to promote their business or indulge their collectible passion. They're both naturals for a site that has rightly prided itself on enabling a community to be formed around commerce.

Riya supersizes plan: will become a "visual" search engine

Riya, the Silicon Valley photo recognition start-up, is expanding its ambition: It wants to become a full-fledged "visual" search engine.

The move was signaled today by chief executive Munjal Shah, who told us in a phone call that he has radically transformed the company in recent days to go after this new goal. It will take about three months to crawl the entire Web, collect images and then process them to identify their various qualities so that they are searchable, he said.

More here.

Video start-up One True Media lands $5 million from Kleiner Perkins

One True Media is a new Silicon Valley start-up (Redwood City) that is offering video creation tools, and wants to be the next video-sharing company. There are dozens of competitors, so this is a long shot.

Yahoo Hack Day

Yahoo has had a a couple of regional “Hack Days”, which are day long events where engineers stop everything they are doing and just build stuff that they think is cool. The idea was first popularized by Jot last year, and a number of companies have picked up on the idea as a great way to stoke innovation and creativity in a semi-organized way. The goal? Take something from idea to prototype in 24 hours.

Today at noon, however, Yahoo got serious about Hack Days by making it Yahoo-wide. Every Yahoo engineer is invited to participate, and other employees are joining in as well. Anyone with an idea is encouraged to gather a team up and spend a day coding. Tomorrow (Friday) at noon, the hacking stops and everyone will get together to review what’s been built.

The effort is being led out of Bradley Horowitz’s product strategy group, with Chad Dickerson and Caterina Fake organizing the event.

(Article from TechCrunch)

Where 2.0 Conference: June 13-14

Everything Happens Somewhere. Be there when it happens here. The Where 2.0 Conference brings together the people, projects, and issues leading the charge into the location based technological frontier.

Vidblogs

A video blog is the new hot way for people to stick their personal lives on the internet!

See some people's lives, and consider joining in on the fun here at vidblogs.com.

AOL Music

Looking for a new channel to listen and see your favorite music artist? Check out AOL Music's website. Checkout their Top 11.

Two Giants Connect



Yahoo and eBay are gunning for Google, whether they'll admit to it or not.

Nike + iPod

Nike and Apple today announced a partnership bringing the worlds of sports and music together like never before with the launch of innovative Nike+iPod products.

Visit nikeplus.com where you can maximize the Nike+iPod experience.

Why VOIP is headed for your cell phone

For millions of users, voice over Internet protocol, or VOIP, is lowering phone bills for calls they make from their PC or land-line phone. But soon VOIP could cut cell-phone bills, too - most of all for international users.