New is better?

The dark side of tech-cult is novelty-cult. There is a bunch of old sites that still do the job and just because they don't feature flashy ajax stuff they don't reserve to be swept away in the whirlwind of innovation. Here is a list of old sites that I keep using:

1. BLOGLINES: With all the flashy start-pages out there, for pure RSS reading you can't beat Bloglines' sheer simplicity.

2. IMDB: All the info, all the minute details so you don't have to wait until the end of the credits in the cinema to find out who made that music. They could give it a social networking touch to be in tune with the times. After all, cinema is one of the most talked-about and individual-defining subjects.

3. TECHNORATI: Still the best way to know what's the hype. Other sites are catching up, though. Technorati needs a complete redesign. Why no RSS feed for the MOST POPULAR section?

tags: bloglines, technorati, IMDB

Network of Networks

That's the next logical step in social networks: let users define their own networks, who they invite and who sees its content. It's not utopical that in some years most of the Internet content is locked in private, closely-knot networks of affinities. The snobbish advancement of these future content elites is the uber-closed Asmallworld .

I have been testing some of these meta-networks and there is still room for improvement (most are in beta stage):

1. GOINGON: The ads are too obtrusive, paid service for +5 members. It lacks a decent media player and general integration of its manyfold and customizable service. I like the extra tabs feature that allows user-defined code or URL to be integrate in the page.

2. PEOPLEAGGREGATOR: Confusion between networks and groups, lack of nice media players (this is the key), lack of batch upload of content. Nice interface but still in the works. Charsets other than English get messed up.

More on this on the next post.

tags: social networks, peopleaggregator, goingon, asmallworld

Firefox 2.0 is here

Firefox 2.0 is here. A first look review:

Pros:

- Integrated multi-language spell check.
- Search suggestions.
- Faster browsing.


Cons:

- No major features that weren't available trough extensions.
- Memory-leaks still in place.
- No fully featured RSS reader built-in

tags: Firefox 2.0, browsers

Box.net hits 1/2M users

I use and appreciate this online storage software, especially for backup purposes. I am glad their are succeeding. The Web 2.0 roadmap is clear: First create a faithful user base, then find creative ways to capitalize somehow on it or sell to a Big Whale.

With netvibes, users get 1Gb for free and 5Gb for 4.99$/Mo.

With box.net you can access important files from any computer, share photos, and files too big for email and, here is the strenght, synchronize and backup folders of your computer.

The widget to access box.net inside netvibes is godsend.

tags: box.net, online storage, backup

Zoho Virtual Office

Let us all repeat the new mantra: Integration.

Zoho Virtual Office integrates all the scattered Zoho services into one free service for individuals: Zoho Writer, Zoho Sheet, Zoho Show, Zoho Planner, Zoho Creator and Zoho Chat.

Google Office lurks in the background, but Zoho has hit first. Albeit in a beta stage, the demo promises a good fight for giants Google and Microsoft. It really looks and feel like a desktop.

Pageflakes 2.0

The battle of the start pages enters a new stage with the announcement of Pageflakes 2.0. It seems that the site will undergo a complete redesign and pages might be shared and edited among certain users. It was the next logical step. The possibilities of this concept are endless, but pages can get quite messy and confusing after a while.

Widgets for start-pages are an innovative way to promote sites. See the useful Bittybrowser, for instance and the myriad of integration option it offers.