Web Tools

Google Turns Email Notifications for Wave

May 6, 2023 by Arnold Zafra

I know for a fact that Google Buzz and Google Wave are two different services. But we can’t discount the fact that their functions are almost similar. So let me ask you this question, since Google Buzz was released, are you still using Google Wave? If yes, then you’d be glad to know that Google has just activated email notification for Google Wave.

Google Wave’s notification works just like all the other Google notification systems – Buzz, Email Alerts for specific search results and others. It sends you email alerts whenever a wave that you are participating in gets an update or whenever a new Wave has been created by your Google Wave contacts. The notification contains a short summary of text and links that will lead you straight to the updated waves. Once you’ve checked out a wave, Google will stop sending the notifications related to that wave.

The feature also lets you select the frequency of email updates that will be sent to you. It could be as often as “immediately,” and you can select which of your friends you will like to receive notifications from, whenever they create a new wave or update an existing one.

Now, should you decide to use this feature, expect to encounter the following known issues so far, which Google is currently resolving. But don’t let this stop you from trying out the new Google Wave notification feature.

Sometimes the email snippet does not show all participants on the wave
Under certain conditions you may get an update about a wave even if you were the last person to change it
To change the notifications setting you have to go back to the menu where you turned it on. (The link at the bottom of the notification emails is not working yet.)

Originally posted on March 4, 2010 @ 9:54 pm

It’s Gowalla Vs. FourSquare, Which Side are You On?

May 5, 2023 by Arnold Zafra

Undoubtedly, location-based or location aware services, be it on the web or mobile is the next big thing to watch out for. And if you haven’t jumped into the bandwagon, you might want to check out Gowalla or FourSquare, two of the hottest location-based social networking tool which are fighting it over the right to become the market’s number 1 service.

And these two services just might officially spark up their unavoidable rivalry at the upcoming SXSWi 2010 gig next week. Both FourSquare and Gowalla are said to be bringing more innovative features in the said event.

So, which side are you on? Are you using Gowalla or FourSquare? Have you checked what new features each of them are preparing to unveil?

I actually have both, and several of them. I have FourSquare on my iPhone and BlackBerry Bold while Gowalla both sits on my iPhone and Google Nexus One phone. But I don’t get to use them that much since there are very few people in my area who uses these applications.

In terms of features, Gowalla recently revamped its Passport pages by using Big icons to show places you’ve visited. It is also now easier to spot if you’ve got new friend requests. Design-wise, Gowalla has also made some improvements, specifically eliminating the prevalent dark green hues of its interface and replacing it with a light green look. Overall, Gowalla is ahead of its competitor, FourSquare in the looks department.

If FourSquare is lacking on the looks department, it is however prepping up some functionality enhancement. One of these is the “categories” element to plaes. This new feature simply lets you put places you’ve visited into various categories to make browsing easier.

Of course, these two location-aware services would only thrive if you are using them. So, which side are you taking? Have you used either of the two on your mobile devices?

Originally posted on March 3, 2010 @ 9:07 pm

10.5 Million Blogs Go Real-Time with Pubsubhubbub

May 5, 2023 by Arnold Zafra

All WordPress.com hosted blogs just beaten others in becoming a really real-time online content property. Thanks to Pubsubhubbub or PuSh as what some people have shortened it to, each and every posts you published on your WordPress.com blog will now be pushed automatically, in real time to the web. This means, real-time feed push to RSS aggregators such as Google Reader, Bloglines, Friendfeed, Netvibes and others.

Basically, what PuSH does is to let your feed aggregators to register automatically to receive updates from your blogs each time you publish new posts. These updates are sent out within a second or two after you publish a content. Previously, the process is a bit tedious since your blog is periodically being asked by these aggregators if there are any updates before notifying those who are using the service.

The service was automatically activated for all WordPress.com blogs, so there’s nothing that you need to do to get it going. If you’re blog is not hosted on WordPress.com, you can still have this feature by installing a new plugin which you can download from here.

And if you want some more information about PubSubHubBub, you can may want to check out project site or the Google groups. If you don’t have any idea what PubSubHubbub is – TheNextWeb describes it as:

An open protocol for distributed Publish/subscribe communication on the internet. The main purpose is to provide near-instant notifications of change updates, which would improve on the typical situation where a client periodically polls the feed server at some arbitrary interval.

Originally posted on March 3, 2010 @ 8:45 pm

Online Image Editor Aviary Joins the Free App Crowd

May 2, 2023 by Arnold Zafra

I first learned about Aviary a couple of months ago, back then I could only try out some of its features and wished that its other advanced features were free that time. A couple of months after, here’s Aviary finally setting its powerful suite of browser-based design tools free for anyone to use.

To set things straight this early, Aviary is not just online image editor. Like I said it’s a suite of web applications made specifically for creative people who want to create stuff and do more with their photos and creations.

Three key features of Aviary which has been added since it is now a free online app include:

saving private files
automatic addition of watermark
access to all the tutorials on how to effectively use Aviary’s suite of creation tools

If you’ve used Aviary before and actually signed up for a paid subscription in the alst 30 days, here’s a good news – Aviary will refund your payments.

As a creation tool, Aviary offers you six editing tools represented by various bird species. These include:

Phonenix – the main image editing tools such as layers, masks, effects, undo history and more.

Peacock – Aviary’s visual laboratory or the effects editing tools.

Raven – the vector editor.

Falcon – the image markup tool which you can use to capture images and web pages from your browser or desktop and crop, resize or mark them up.

Myna – audio editor which you can use to remix music tracks and audio clips as well as for applying sound effects and record your own voice or instruments.

Toucan – Aviary’s color palette that you can use in conjunction with other creation tools. It also lets you inject color into your creation.

Ready to exercise your creative talents? Check out the free Aviary tools now.

Originally posted on February 21, 2010 @ 8:00 am

Amazon to Give Free Kindle to Amazon Prime Subscribers?

April 30, 2023 by Arnold Zafra

Are you a frequent Amazon products buyer? Do you do all of your online shopping via Amazon? If you do, you must be an Amazon Prime subscriber already. Well, guess what? Amazon is reportedly planning to give out free Amazon Kindles to their loyal Amazon Prime Subscribers. Last time I checked, I’m an Amazon Prime subscriber, so Amazon please push through with your plans. I would love to get that free Kindle.

In case you’re not aware, Amazon Prime is a premium subscription product that entitles members to a free two days shipping on any of their purchases at Amazon. Members are charged an annual fee of $79/year to maintain this privilege. They are also considered as Amazon’s best customers who makes multiple purchases every month.

Amazon’s plan of giving out free Kindles was first reported by TechCrunch. According to Arrington, what’s keeping Amazon from pushing this play as of now is that the Amazon folks are still figuring out how to do it without losing too much money. Amazon of course is in dire need of getting the Kindle into the hands of as many people as they can, especially with various threats coming from its rivals, and upcoming rivals such as the iPad. And giving it out for free to those who will potentially purchase e-books from the Kindle store could be a pretty good strategy.

So, there. If you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, hope that this plan pushes through.

Originally posted on February 13, 2010 @ 12:57 am