Software

Nimbuzz Mobile aggregates your IM contacts on your mobile

1 Comment / Phones, Software / By /

Here’s another IM aggregator that makes managing all of your online personalities on your cell/smart phone/mobile easier: Nimbuzz Mobile. It can handle Skype, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, AIM, Google Talk and more using a single login. Nimbuzz not only IMs, but also manages clls, messaging, photos, video, music and more.

Nimbuzz also lets you locate your buddies on a map (assuming they’ve got their GPS tracking turned on), and if they’re running Nimbuzz too, you can ‘buzz’ them which turns on Nimbuzz on their phone.

Nimbuzz is now available for Android as well. You can see the full list of supported devices here.

Opera 10 Web browser released today

1 Comment / Gizmo of the Day, Networking & Internet, Software / By /

Opera Software released version 10 of their Opera Web browser today [download]. New features include page compression (using their servers), a faster rendering engine (Presto 2.2), a remodeled tab bar, and synchronization of bookmark and other browser data. Opera is available for Windows, Macs and Linux.

Soon to come built into Opera 10 is a new technology called Opera Unite which aims to turn your browser into a server as well. Unite lets you share your content – files, folders, music, video, etc from your own computer. You can snag a test build here if you’d like.

While this seems like a cool piece of new technology, it’s debatable whether this will entice users away from current social sharing mechanisms and services.

However, Opera is quietly doing a lot of interesting research and product development. Just take a look at their Labs. It’s a shame that they only have about 2% of the browser market, as they have had a solid product ever since they started.

DeLorme’s Topo USA 8.0 – GPS mapping application

Gizmo of the Day, GPS / By /

Version 8.0 of DeLorme’s Topo USA brings new features such as streamlined map-to-GPS transfers, paperless geocaching, new road detail for Canada and Mexico, and improved in-vehicle GPS navigation with laptop PCs. If you’re not aware of what Topo USA gives you, it’s a software application for PCs that can be used by itself or with Delorme GPS units.

Topo USA gives you terrain, trails and of course road details. You can explore 3D maps, map your routes, find points of interest, customize and print maps. And of course, push this data to your GPS unit for offline use.

Buy now!
More info from the manufacturer
Price: $71.31
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Article Recap for the Week Ending Apr 10, 2009

Audio/Video, Home Theater, Cameras and Photo, Computers, Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Portable, Site News, Software / By /

Here’s some of the notable articles and gadgets from this past week:

A few weeks ago we reported on Legacy Locker asset access scheme in case of death, well now it’s live. Residents in Broughton, UK, decided that they didn’t like Google’s StreetView intrusion, and got a bit angry with the StreetView driver. In some positive Microsoft news, downgrades are going to be available for Windows 7, much like the XP downgrades from Vista.

Back to tangible gadgets: Guitar Hero enthusiasts will like these new Guitar Hero cufflinks (no batteries needed!), and Flip has a new tiny HD camcorder.

We made an attempt to answer the question “What is a Gizmo?” (a.k.a “What is a Gadget?” ).

Last but not least, the Conficker worm has gone live so it’s important to get your computer and security systems up-to-date.

3D Eyetracking UI

Miscellaneous, Phones / By /

Remember those little holographic things you used to play with when you were a child that showed different pictures depending on the angle you looked at them?

Well the 3D Eyetracking UI from Tat does something similar – the UI can detect where you’re looking at the phone by tilting it, which allows the software to give depth to your phone’s display. This means that you can see ‘behind’ some of the menu items, and looking at it from different angles will reveal different things.

This could lead to richer user interfaces with more available ‘virtual’ screen real estate.

Pretty hard to explain and get your head around, so it’s best for you to see it in action:

IBM may buy Sun Microsystems

Computers, Networking & Internet, Software / By /

IBM may buy Sun Microsystems in what may be a $7 billion deal. Apparently, IBM is offering $10/share which at the time the news came out was more than twice Sun’s then stock price.

IBM would be purchasing a fellow hardware and software vendor, and there is a decent amount of discussion and speculation as to what they are primarily after. After all, IBM has invested a fair amount into Java development, tools and solutions. Further speculation is that IBM does not care for the hardware component, but Sun has considerable high-end mainframe-type hardware in its repertoire.

Of further concern is how the industry will react and in particular, Sun customers and users. As a former Solaris sys admin, I know that Solaris shops & admins are fiercely loyal to the OS; and so are many of the Java developers.

I for one, will miss Sun should this come to pass, as I felt that Sun was very much there from the very beginning of the growth of the public Internet and World Wide Web.

Claymation Stop-Motion Studio

Gaming & Toys, Gizmo of the Day, Software / By /

claymation-studioStop-motion videos are two-a-penny on YouTube at the moment and some of the biggest advertisers in the world are picking up on them. The Claymation stop-motion Studio 2.0 from Honestech will get your budding Steven Spielberg on his/her way to movie producing with this very simple to use piece of software. Think of the fun that could be had with LEGO and a digital camera.

This product aims to teach children about photography and movie production in a world that is becoming increasingly dependent on multimedia. With it being so simple to use, we might even see some more grown up kids (40+?) using this to create their stop-motion films with great ease. All that’s needed is a digital camera and this relatively cheap piece of software, and you can make excellent standard stop-motion videos with lots of effects, including the option to add a background of your choice to your images.

By the way, we reviewed the excellent VHS to DVD 3.0 package from Honestech a while back.

Buy Now!

More info from the manufacturer

Price: $44.99
(Please note prices are subject to change and the listed price is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of posting)

Microsoft Windows XP copies still available

Gizmo of the Day, Software / By /

As you know, Windows XP isn’t going to be around forever, and let’s face it, technology is constantly changing, so you may not want to run it forever. However, we can’t blame you if you don’t care for Vista, and who knows if Windows 7 will really be a ‘cure’? So while you’re waiting for W7, don’t wait to snag a last-minute copy of Windows XP. Home and Professional editions are still available right now.

Google Mobile – Sync

Phones, Software / By /

Perhaps a bit like MobileMe is Sync from Google Mobile. This new application for your phone allows you to synchronise your contacts and calendar entries with your Google account. Operating via a ‘cloud’ this interaction takes place wirelessly, also adding sounds and vibration from your calendar alerts to your phone.

Sync synchronises your data with dual interaction, i.e. any changes made to your phone are applied to your Google account and vice versa. Whilst MobileMe is currently only available for Apple products, Sync can be used on a variety of phones wide enough to cover all the major types of up-to-date handsets, including iPhones, Blackberrys, Windows Mobile and Symbian devices.

This video provides a pretty good overview of its uses in just over a minute:

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