The closure of Pownce, which was announced Monday via posts by co-founder Leah Culver and her new employer, blog software company Six Apart, didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who’s followed Pownce since its launch last year. Despite help from co-founders like Kevin Rose of Digg and usability guru Daniel Burka, the service never really found an audience, or at least not one big enough to make a go of it. In the end, Pownce was just too much like Twitter (and Jaiku and Plurk, for that matter); the added features it had — including the ability...
An executive from Pixar Animation Studios has joined Linden Lab to help revitalize its Second Life virtual world program. Howard Look has been appointed senior vice president of customer applications and will be in charge of upcoming Second Life improvements and added features. Look most recently served as vice president of software for Pixar and is credited with helping develop its world-famous filmmaking system. His resume also includes a stint at TiVo, where he was vice president of application software and user experience. He played a “key role in defining TiVo’s functionality and user experience,” his bio states. Prior to...
The tiny-and-popular line of Flip Mino camcorders has a new addition with the MinoHD. It’s basically a Flip Mino that – you guessed it – records at 1280 x 720 resolution onto four gigabytes of onboard memory. The camera appears to be about the same as the regular Mino except for some updated software, the higher resolution, the 4GB of storage, and the $229.99 price tag versus the standard Mino at $179.99. Like the standard Mino, you can personalize your MinoHD with your own graphics at TheFlip.com for free with purchase or you’ll be able to pick up a...
Custom painted whatevers are usually garish affairs — the gadget world equivalent of airbrushing a topless Valkyrie mating with a centaur on the side of your a-rockin', a-knockin' roadie van. Still, I really love this custom painted monitor by Smooth Collaborations: it looks exactly like one of the dilapidated green screen monitors I am perpetually running into in my post-apocalyptic Fallout 3 adventures. It has some added features besides a coat of paint: a 3D mode achieved by putting on a pair of passive polarized glasses. But that's the gimmick I don't care about. The price is high, but...
In today's earnings call, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha made multiple references to Windows Mobile 6.5, explaining that a Moto handset running the software would be released in the second half of 2009. Jha was vague on specifics about WinMo 6.5, but according to PC Mag, he did go on record as saying "I think there are significant new added features which will help the platform." What does this mean for Windows Mobile 7? Last we heard, the mobile OS was also scheduled for a second half 2009 release. Will the multitouch-friendly successor be further delayed? [PC Mag]...
I'm sure we all know that the number 6.5 comes before the number 7. I'm betting that most of you didn't know that we'll see Windows Mobile 6.5 before WinMo 7 however. the::unwired caught news of the interim upgrade release through Motorola's corporate earnings call today of all places. Sanjay Jha, Chief of Mobile Devices for Motorola spilled the beans this way:"Windows Mobile 6 has not delivered the experience that I think Apple has been able to deliver, but as you look at the plan that is Windows Mobile 7 and even 6.5, I think there are significant new...
So I’ve been active on FriendFeed for about 3 full months and just when I thought my love affair would end, FriendFeed rolled out its re-design with added features. Now I’m even more addicted. The reason? FriendFeed Rooms, and now with the new list function, I can maintain and manage information better than before. Since FriendFeed’s search function is still premature, filtering the information flow is nearly impossible. Now, thanks to lists, it’s easier to manage, yet still tough to filter the constant information overload. Because of that, most FriendFeeders utilize the list function by grouping people. Louis Gray "With...
The Gadget: Brother's MFC-5890CN 4-in-1 Inkjet Printer packs a fax, copier, printer and a scanner in one affordable, semi-compact unit. It also features a flip-up 3.3-inch color LCD and wireless networking capabilities. The Price: $200 The Verdict: It has been a long time since I last shopped for a printer, and if Brother's new addition to their Professional Series line is any indicator, consumers are getting a lot more for their buck these days. For less than $200 you can expect a 4-in-1 device that does all of its tasks exceedingly well. Setting up the device on a home network...
Being an outliner fan, I am constantly looking for new & better online options to compete with the beloved Omni Outliner for the Mac (who have just released a newer version by the way). Why I love outliners so much & find them so useful - i’ll explain in another post. For this post however, I’d like to give a good overview of what’s out there at the moment & what, I believe, you should be using. If you’re not familiar with outliners, they are typically used for collecting and/or organising notes, todo lists, codes and/or ideas - and...
Being an outliner fan, I am constantly looking for new & better online options to compete with the beloved Omni Outliner for the Mac (who have just released a newer version by the way). Why I love outliners so much & find them so useful - i’ll explain in another post. For this post however, I’d like to give a good overview of what’s out there at the moment & what, I believe, you should be using. If you’re not familiar with outliners, they are typically used for collecting and/or organising notes, todo lists, codes and/or ideas - and are...
