HitMeLater: A Snooze Button For Your Email

HitMeLater is simple. Forward any email to 24@hitmelater.com and it will send it back to you 24 hours later, putting it on the top of your inbox pile. You can change the number of hours to anything you like, up to 1,000 hours ahead (3@hitmelater.com sends it back three hours later). Alternatively, put in a day (Wednesday@hitmelater sends it back the next Wednesday). If you send it something it doesn’t understand, HitMeLater sends back a polite email message saying “We’re not sure what you want.”

Google says AOL is a lemon, regretting $1 billion investment

 

According to Google’s 10-Q filing, Google is regretting their $1 billion investment in AOL for 5% of the company. They have determined that AOL looks like a lemon, and they will never see any return on their investment.Basedon our review, we believe our investment in AOL may be impaired. After consideration of the [...]

Windows Live Wave 3: Coming to testers near you soon

The leaks are picking up. Windows Live Wave 3 — the next version of Microsoft’s Windows Live software and services — is finally expected to move into broader beta testing in the coming weeks.

Microsoft is expected to refresh all of its core Windows Live services, plus the common installer, as part of Wave 3. There is a new version of Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Photo Gallery and more that are in the pipeline. Microsoft has hinted that it will be revamping Windows Live Spaces, its blogging/social-networking platform, in a major way as part of the Wave 3 release. In addition, all of the core Windows Live services are expected to get more profile-centric as part of the next wave.

Dell Updates Business Laptops For 'Digital Nomads'

The PCs include a security subsystem to protect data and prevent unauthorized network access, and technology to extend battery life to as much as 19 hours.

By Antone Gonsalves

Dell on Tuesday introduced a new line of business notebooks that reflect the computer maker's shift from building systems that only meet the requirements of IT managers to products that also incorporate nonbusiness features requested by end users.

Under development for the last two years, the seven new Latitude notebooks include a security subsystem to protect data and prevent unauthorized network access. Other new proprietary technology extends battery life to as much as 19 hours, according to Dell, and provides immediate access to e-mail and attachments, calendar information, and the Web without having to boot up the whole system.

Dell executives introduced the new line, along with three Precision mobile workstations, during a San Francisco news conference. In developing the new products, Dell focused on what it called "digital nomads," businesspeople who prefer to take their laptops with them wherever they go.

What Dell hopes will be particularly appealing to travelers is the 12.1-inch Latitude E4200, which starts at 2.2 pounds; and the 13.3-inch E4300, which starts at 3.3 pounds. The ultraportable systems will be available in the "coming weeks." Pricing was not disclosed, but small, full-featured systems in general tend to sell at a premium.

For companies looking for a basic business notebook to reduce costs, Dell unveiled the 14.1-inch E5400, which starts at $839, and the 15.4-inch E5500, which starts at $869. The systems were available Tuesday.

For mainstream desktop replacements, often found in docking stations in corporate cubicles, Dell introduced the 14.1-inch E6400 and the 15.4-inch E6500, which start at $1,139 and $1,169, respectively. Both were also available as of Tuesday.

For fieldworkers in more rugged environments, such as construction sites or military operations, Dell unveiled the 14.l-inch semirugged E6400 ATG, which starts at $2,399. The system is expected to be available next week.

While the new systems introduce some attractive proprietary technology, the bigger innovation is the change in how Dell decides what goes in its new products. Dell is listening as much to the requests of people who use its customer-feedback site IdeaStorm as to corporate IT managers.

"That's one of the key differences of these new commercial notebooks," Richard Shim, analyst for IDC, told InformationWeek. "This is dramatically different for Dell. They're responding more to what the end user is saying, in addition to what the IT manager wants."

As a result, Dell is making the notebooks available in colors other than corporate black, such as "regatta blue," "regal red," and "quartz pink." In addition, the systems are available with embedded Webcams and microphones. "People are traveling more and want Webcams to video chat with families at night," Shim said. read more ...

Microsoft sees end of Windows era

Microsoft has kicked off a research project to create software that will take over when it retires Windows.

Called Midori, the cut-down operating system is radically different to Microsoft's older programs.

It is centred on the internet and does away with the dependencies that tie Windows to a single PC.

It is seen as Microsoft's answer to rivals' use of "virtualisation" as a way to solve many of the problems of modern-day computing.

Tie breaking

Although Midori has been heard about before now, more details have now been published by Software Development Times after viewing internal Microsoft documents describing the technology.

Midori is believed to be under development because Windows is unlikely to be able to cope with the pace of change in future technology and the way people use it.

Windows worked well in an age when most people used one machine to do all their work. The operating system acted as the holder for the common elements Windows programs needed to call on.

"If you think about how an operating system is loaded," said Dave Austin, European director of products at Citrix, "it's loaded onto a hard disk physically located on that machine.

"The operating system is tied very tightly to that hardware," he said.

That, he said, created all kinds of dependencies that arose out of the collection of hardware in a particular machine.

read more

NBC Launches On-Demand Olympic Coverage In HD

NBChas launched its online video hub for the 2008 Olympics, which features free on-demand video for over 20 sports. In order to maximize quality, the videos are available as downloads (you can start watching before the download finishes) and will be in “up to HD” quality. Unfortunately, the video downloads will only be available on Windows machines running Windows Media Center - once again Mac users are left in the cold, likely because of DRM issues (and the fact that Lenovo and Microsoft are sponsors).

Whilethe Olympic ceremonies don’t kick off until August 8, NBC has already posted footage of Olympic trials. Once the games begin, NBC expects to have the footage available around 12 hours after each competition (which shouldn’t be too annoying given the time difference).

Microsoftis participating in the partnership, so access to the videos will be integrated into Media Center’s main panel. Users can also visit this TVTonic page, and the content will be available directly from NBCOlympics.com beginning next week. You can read more about the service at the TVTonic blog post here.

Create a Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport ID with Your Non Hotmail or Windows Live E-mail Address

How to register your e-mail address that is not a Hotmail or Windows Live e-mail address with Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport ID. Doing this enables you to chat with friends on Live Messenger using your non Hotmail or Windows Live e-mail address.

This guide shows you how to register your e-mail address that is not a Hotmail or Windows Live e-mail address with Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport ID.  Doing this enables you to chat with friends on Live Messenger using your non Hotmail or Windows Live e-mail address.

Create Credentials

The first thing you need to do is sign your non Hotmail or Windows Live e-mail address up with Microsoft’s Passport Network so that e-mail address has the proper credentials.

Visit Microsoft’s Create Credentials website to start the process.

Follow the instructions on the Create Credentials page to sign up your non Hotmail or Windows Live e-mail address with Microsoft’s Passport Network.

Verify Your E-mail Address

It is very important that you verify your e-mail address after signing up with Microsoft’s Passport Network by clicking the link that is e-mailed to you shortly after you sign up.

20+ Video Tutorials for Open Source Applications

 

There are tons of open source applications out there, from operating systems to word processors to graphics programs and more. But, it’s often hard to find manuals or other documentation beyond what the developers have written (which, while technically correct, doesn’t always cover the nuances of actually using the program). Here are more than 20 video tutorials to get you going with four of the most popular open source programs out there: Gimp, Linux, Open Office, and Nvu.

Whichtutorials are most helpful for you?

Gimp Video Tutorials

 

GimpTutorial: Pop Art - This tutorial shows how to take a regular photograph and turn it into a graphic piece of pop art.

The User Interface - This tutorial will give you a basic overview of Gimp’s user interface.

How to Change Hair Color - Ever wanted to try out a new hair color without actually dying your hair? Well, just use this Gimp tutorial to change your hair color in a photo.

Creating a Sketch Effect Using the Gimp - This tutorial goes over the basics of making a photo look like a hand-drawn sketch.

Transparent Glass Lettering - It’s great to know how to create transparent glass letters for website headers and banners, and to give your creations a more web 2.0 look.

 

Creating a Graduated Neutral Density Filter - Neutral density filters are a great tool for photography, and this tutorial will show you how to create the same effect in Gimp after you’ve taken the photo.

Full Flare Control with The Gimp - Flares can often be annoying in a photo, but sometimes they add that little extra something. This tutorial shows you how to take full control of flare creation.

Creating Water Drops - Adding water droplets to a leaf or a flower can be a cool effect in a photo, but is tricky to do. This tutorial explains exactly how to create realistic water droplets.

How to Create a Web 2.0 Logo Using the Gimp - Everyone needs a good web 2.0 logo, and this video will show you how.

Pr eparing an Image for the Web - This tutorial is the first in a series, and covers rotating, cropping, downscaling, pushing the colors, and sharpening an image.

LinuxVideo Tutorials

Using Multiple Workspaces in Puppy Linux - This tutorial shows how to configure Puppy Linux to have multiple workspaces.

Run Linux Under Windows - This tutorial shows how to run Linux or another operating system as a virtual system under your Windows operating system.

Install Ubuntu Linux 7.10 - This tutorial spells out exactly how to install Ubuntu Linux on your PC.

Backup Linux Mandriva 2008 - Learn how to back up your users and system configuration with this video tutorial.

(Very) Basic CD Burning Linux Mint Tutorial - Here’s a really basic tutorial on how to burn CDs using Linux Mint.

OpenOffice Video Tutorials

< br>OpenOfficeTutorial - This tutorial is very complete, and covers installing, configuring and using OpenOffice.

Hidden Star Wars Game - This tutorial shows you how to access the hidden Star Wars game in OpenOffice.

How to Create a PDF with Open Office - This video shows how to create a PDF file from an OpenOffice file.

Open Office on Ubuntu Linux - This tutorial shows how to use Open Office on an Ubuntu Linux platform.

NvuVideo Tutorials

Howto Modify a Website Template Using Nvu - This video tutorial shows how to customize a website template to meet your needs.

Installing Free Editor Nvu - This tutorial shows you how to get Nvu up and running on your computer.

Getting Started with Nvu - This video covers the basics of using Nvu for designing web pages.

Using Tables in Nvu - This tutorial shows how to create tables using Nvu.

Browzmi: A Social Browser in Your Browser

Social bookmarking has become a pretty standard activity these days, with the likes of Mento, Delicious, Mister Wong, Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon offering numerous variations on this theme. Browzmi is taking a different approach from these services by focusing on real-time, collaborative web browsing and bookmarking, with chat being one of its main features. What is especially noteworthy is that Browzmi is not an extension, but basically a browser in a browser.

Browzmi was founded by Travis Parsons in 2006 and is currently being developed by a five person team. Browzmi has not taken any venture funding yet. Registration for Browzmi is open.

Surf With Friends

Browzmi allows you to surf the web with your friends. The core of Browzmi is made up of its bookmarking and sharing function, as well as the built-in IM. The chat function, as well as the real-time updates on the site, are enabled through an XMPP and Jabber back-end.

It's important to note right away that Browzmi is not a screen sharing application. While you can follow your friends around the web, you are not sharing the exact same experience with them and you don't see their mouse cursors moving around etc. Browzmi instead focuses on real-time sharing and discussion.

This concept, of course, is somewhat similar to that of Me.dium or Yoono. However, the interesting aspect of Browzmi is that it does not rely on extentions at all.

Just Like a 'Real' Browser

The Browzmi interface mimics a regular browser, with a location bar and search form at the top, as well as sidebars on the left and right. Thanks to this, new users should feel right at home when opening up the application. There are also back and forth buttons, as well as a home button that takes you back to the Browzmi 'Everyone' page.

Once you surf to a site, you can comment on a page, bookmark it, and make your opinions about it known by voting up or down on it. You can also 'clip' pictures from a site, making Browzmi a photo sharing application as well. All your actions on the site are saved in a stream that you and your friends can access and which looks somewhat like a stream in Friendfeed.

Sidebars

The sidebar on the left side of the screen ("My Stuff") is mostly reserved for seeing where your friends on Browzmi are right now. Thanks to the "Surf with Friends" feature, you can follow them around the web and chat with them. This sidebar is also where you can access your favorites (which basically function as bookmarks), see your activity stream, and see your friends' online status.

The right sidebar is called "Explore More" and it allows you to see where other users are on the service right now, as well as related content on Flickr, YouTube. Here, you can also see what other users who are not in your network have said about any given site.

Thanks to the XMPP back-end, all of your friends actions are being pushed to you instantaneously .

Privacy

When we first reviewed Me.dium, which offers a number of features similar to Browzmi, we were worried about the privacy implications of the service. Browzmi allows you to make your stream public or private, but any of your online activity through Browzmi does, of course, show on Browzmi and is available for viewing by your friends or (if you don't set the privacy features right) anybody. Given that users are probably quite aware that what they are doing is public - that is, after all, the whole point of the service - we are not too concerned about this, but it is still worth pointing out.

Coming Soon

Browzmi is currently working on adding number of additional features to the site, including allowing users to sign into the site with their AOL, Yahoo, or MSN credentials, which would allow everybody to chat with their IM friends right from Browzmi and also to invite them to surf the web with them. Integration with AOL's IM system will be announced in the next few weeks and the others should follow relatively soon after that.

Browzmi is also planning on allowing its users to comment on specific items on a site. This is something a few other bookmarking services already allow, but without allowing for real-time sharing.

The Browzmi team is also going to release an API in the future, which will allow developers to add widgets and customize the Browzmi experience.

Verdict

We were skeptical of Browzmi at first. Why, after all, would you need a browser within my browser? However, with the IM integration, its various RSS feeds, and straightforward surfing experience, Browzmi is actually a lot of fun to use. If you used it with Fluid or Mozilla's Prism, you could even make it your standard browser interface if you were so inclined. While that is probably not even Browzmi's intention, it does open up some interesting possibilities for the future.

In our tests, Browzmi worked very well and we didn't come across any bugs. For some sites, where Browzmi might be problematic, you can download a Firefox extension, but in our tests, we never needed it.

Browzmi, like most similar services based on social interactions, is going to get more useful as more users start joining and as your list of friends growths. In many ways, it is complementary to other services like Friendfeed, in that it gives you an option for real-time sharing and discussion, while you can also import most of your Browzmi actions to other services through Browzmi's RSS feeds.

Once Browzmi adds more IM services, we think that it can grow quite rapidly and organically, as there will be zero friction for new sign-ups.

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Free Mobile download, the most desirable 'thing'

Ever thought that the money you spent to buy a hi-fi mobile phone is not being justified i.e. you are not getting anything out of what your phone offers. One possible reason is that we love to use FREE content, so here is the portal that offers thousands (yes thousands) of absolutely free software and games for your mobile phone including Nokia, LG, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, BlackBerry and many more.

Another exciting thing about this portal (apart from being absolutely free) is that it doesn’t even ask to signup i.e. no signup required to download. When you download for the first time, you are automatically signed up … cute :P