Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on December 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

Microsoft is trying hard to show people that they are serious about online storage, and I’d say they are doing a darn good job of it. They just updated their SkyDrive online file storage service with numerous new features, but more importantly they bumped up the free storage quota from a mere 5GB to 25GB. While the new limit sounds rather appetizing you should take into consideration that they do restrict individual file sizes to under 50MB. So no, you won’t be able to upload your video library.

Here are some of SkyDrive’s features (new features are highlighted in green):

• Storage: Store up to 25 gigabytes (GB) of photos and files.
• Organization: Arrange your files in top-level folders (A folder that appears in the Documents, Favorites, or Photos sections on the Windows Live SkyDrive home page. Also known as a root folder.) and subfolders (A folder that you create inside a top-level folder.) that you create.
• Control: Choose permissions (A setting that lets you limit who can see and download files from your folders.) for each top-level folder that you create. Keep your photos, files, and favorites in personal folders (Only you can view or edit files in this top-level folder. You can use personal folders to store private files.) so only you can access them; in shared folders (Only you and people that you select can view photos and files in this top-level folder. For each person that you allow to access the top-level folder, you can assign the role of reader or editor.) so you can share them with your Windows Live network, your extended network(The people in your network on Windows Live—your Windows Live Messenger and profile contacts—plus the profile contacts of the people in your network.) , and people on your contact list (A list that contains the name and e-mail address of each of your contacts.) ; or in public folders (Anyone on the Internet can view photos and files in this top-level folder, but only you can edit the photos and files.) so that they can be viewed by anyone on the Internet.
• Flexibility: Upload any photo or file up to 50 megabytes (MB) in size, and move, copy, delete, rename, and caption your photos and files after you upload them. Entire folders can be downloaded as a single ZIP file.
• Display: Photos saved as the JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIF, and TIFF file types (A standard way of storing information on a computer by using the last three letters of a file name, known as the file extension, to indicate the file type. Different programs use different file extensions.) display with thumbnail (A miniature version of an image or electronic version of a page that is generally used to allow quick browsing through multiple images or pages.) images, and can be viewed by other users on SkyDrive or in an online slide show, if they have the right permissions to view them.
• Sharing: Share links directly to your folders, files, and photos, or embed your photos and files in your blog (Short for weblog. An online journal. Each entry typically contains personal thoughts and web links, with the newest entries listed first.) or webpage. You can also share files with users who don’t have a Windows Live ID, and they won’t be required to create an account.

The only thing the service lacks is a way for people to bulk upload files and folders through a desktop application. Having to go to the site and upload items one-by-one can get rather frustrating, but I suspect that’s how they are getting away with offering such an enormous amount of free storage. Lifehacker did find a free tool that will let you do just this, but I’d still like to see something come from Microsoft.

You may not agree with me, but I believe SkyDrive could be on the verge of becoming a terrific social network for sharing files. People can upload files and photos that can then be shared with friends, family, and colleagues. I have to give credit where credit is due. I thought for sure Google would beat Microsoft to the punch in terms of online file storage, but they proved me wrong. Bravo!

Sign-up for Windows Live SkyDrive

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on April 06, 2007 by CyberNet.

Google has been busy updating some of its gadgets that users can put on their Personalized Homepage. The first one to get updated was the Google Talk gadget which received its first update since launch. Here is a list of what’s new in the gadget:

• You can now pop out the gadget into a separate, small window anytime. This way you can navigate to other websites and still keep your contact list and chats open. And just like running the gadget on your homepage, this way of using Google Talk is completely web-based, and requires no download.
• You can also add a button to your site so your visitors can pop out the Google Talk Gadget when they visit your page. If you want them to chat with you, just list your username next to the button and ask visitors to sign in and add you as a contact. Click the button for an example of the gadget that pops out:
  
• In addition to viewing YouTube videos and Picasa Web Albums, you can now also watch Flickr slideshows in your chats as seen in the screenshot. Just paste in the URL to the Flickr Album you want to appear and the Google Talk gadget will do the rest!

I am really impressed with the features Google has added to the Google Talk gadget, but I am also disappointed that the Web version actually has features (such as the Flickr and YouTube integration) that even the desktop version doesn’t have. Sure the desktop application is needed if you want to share files or call friends, but I always expect that a desktop application would do everything a Web version can plus more.

Google also added some much needed updates to their Google Reader gadget today. Here is what’s new:

• A “mark all as read” link so you can more easily catch up
• Unread counts for your reading list and tags
• Better support for themes
• The ability to sort items oldest-first

These updates were definitely necessary since I like using this gadget to keep up on some of my news. One thing that I would still like to see Google do is let users customize the size of the gadgets. In the options for the Google Reader gadget you can have it show up to 10 items at a time, but for some people who have larger monitors they may like to see more than that.

I’m very happy that the Google team is going back to refine the tools and services that they have already released, instead of trying to break into new markets that are already well established by other companies. Google has enough existing services that they should be able to become a leader in many different areas as long as they continue to update and improve their services.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on March 05, 2007 by CyberNet.

When I think of USA Today, I think newspaper. However, with some new changes to their site, USA today wants you to think “Social Network”.  Reading through the comments on their announcement, veteran readers are not liking the change too much. There are comments like “this redesign is horrible,” or “I think you did too much too soon,” or “Improved search, NOT.”

After taking a look at all of the new features they have added, I think it was a great move. While some might find it hard to adjust to initially, I think they’ll end up falling in love with the new look that’s easy on the eyes, and features that will make their news experience that much better.

To make it “social,” they started with the obvious. Conversation. Now every single news article will have a comments section where people can discuss the news. USA Today will place the most interesting comments featured up at the top of main pages.

Along similar lines as the conversation feature, they’ve added a community center where readers will be able to find some of the best comments, user-submitted photos, and other things. You can become a member of the community by creating a profile page where you can upload photos, write a blog, upload your Avatar, and send messages to others users. Sound familiar?

They’re even adding in a voting system where readers can “recommend” an article, or vote on a story that they think others will be interested in.  The purpose of this is so that it’s easier to see what the hot topics are, or what everybody is reading.

There’s a whole list of features that I haven’t even mentioned. It’s a big change, and one that their loyal readers will probably have to adjust to. Steve Rubel over at Micro Persuasion thinks that the change is good but it doesn’t go quite far enough.  He suggests that the media needs to “bridge their communities to the ones where we already spend out time. RSS, widgets and embedded content would help here.” His ideas make sense, but I think USA Today needs to take a few baby steps after this giant step to allow readers time to catch up and adjust to the differences.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on October 06, 2006 by CyberNet.

Free For All Friday

With Google revamping and polishing up Google Reader recently with a new look, some AJAX, and new features, I thought I’d point out a reader that has been around for a little while and uses AJAX technology nicely.  Feeds 2.0 strives to give you a more personalized reader which is something that makes them stand out above many others as a truly personalized Web 2.0 RSS Aggregator. Getting an account is free, however they’re currently in private beta (plans to go public soon).  I sent a request for an account and got my invitation in less than 12 hours, so it appears the private beta isn’t all too difficult to get involved with.

– A Personalized Experience –

Feeds 2.0 is all about personalization, and they do it well.  They use a learning “engine” that over time learns what you like and what you don’t like. By clicking on an article to read it, you’re telling the engine that it’s something you’re interested in.  A simplified way to do this if you’re in a hurry is to click the heart that accompanies each article. Using an algorithm, they analyze what you’ve read and liked, but also what you’ve read and marked as non-interesting or ignored to determine what articles should be recommended to you.

– Features –

One feature in particular that I like is the tag cloud which gives you an overview of the most dominant words in the post.  When a word is found multiple times throughout posts, it is considered more important and will appear larger in the tag cloud. If you were to click on a word in the tag cloud, it would pull up posts that have the related word from the tag cloud in the article.

When organizing your subscriptions, you’re able to create folders which can be collapsed or expanded.  There’s also the option to view all of the unread posts, and posts that have already been read. The AJAX that has been incorporated into Feeds 2.0 makes for quick and easy transitioning from tab to tab to manage your reader and all of the settings.

By far, the best feature of Feeds 2.0 is the personalization engine they’ve incorporated.  There are lots of feed readers out there which make you wonder why you’d  need to try yet another one, however this reader is different.

You can sign up for the private beta on the Feeds 2.0 home page.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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This article was written on June 22, 2006 by CyberNet.

TechCrunch was able to get some exclusive screenshots of the new Digg 3.0 that is scheduled for release on Monday, June 26. The screenshots give a good idea of what to expect from this huge release. There is one thing that will satisfy everyone’s fears: despite having political and world news users will still be able to select which topics they want to view on Digg (as seen in the screenshot above). Check out TechCrunch if you want to see a few more screenshots.

Digg 3.0 is especially important because of the recent release of Netscape Beta. Many people say that it isn’t as nice as using Digg but once it gets implemented into Netscape’s homepage then they will be taking advantage of their 811 million pageviews they get each month.

Digg obviously has the technology news market but who will take the crown for world and political news?

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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