App #1: Shopify

Houston, We Have a Problem: Upon further research, we found that Shopify is actually a pay service masquerading as a free service. On top of that, you need to enter a credit card number in order to even try it out. While we have no problem paying for a program — again, capitalism = good — we believe that hiding your true motives behind the “free” label is simply bad form. Because of this, we will not be reviewing this program. We will make it up to all of you. We promise.

App #2: YubNub

Upon Further Reflection: “That poor snail [the YubNub logo] looks like it hasn’t slept in days. It also has a candle on it’s back. Why does it have a candle on its back?
What Does it Do, Exactly?: YubNub combines the basic principles of the command line interface — easy to use shorthand, minimal graphics, etc — and the average search engine to make an alleged searching masterpiece. To use a real world example, let’s say you wanted to use Google to search various PDF files for the word “marginalization.” You also have no desire to see any ads. In YubNub, all you have to do is type “g site2pdf scro marginalization.” It’s as easy as that.
Positives: It’s extremely powerful and useful … provided you’re into that sort of thing, that is.
Negatives: It’s not for everyone. The average person would find YubNub insanely frustrating.
Overall (Out of Ten): 9.5 (for geeky people); 4.5 (for everyone else).
Might We Suggest: At the main YubNub screen, type in the string “dinorand,” then press enter. You will not regret it.

App #3: Zapr

Clarification: When we say “file sharing,” we don’t mean “Napster circa 1999″ here. All of the shared content is in the form of a link. Unlike the peer-to-peer applications of old, said link can only be shared by the user or users that created that link. Random people cannot go and start downloading your content without your say so.
The Program: It looks like Live Messenger, only instead of talking to people, you’re sharing files and whatnot.
Positives: Sadly, none that we can see. It isn’t working for us.
Negatives: At the present moment, we can only thing of one problem: It is not working. That’s somewhat of a big deal.
Overall: N/A, as we couldn’t get it working.

App #4: Pixenate

Have I Seen This Somewhere Before?: Pixenate would have fit right in to our Image Editor Showdown.
Positives: Quick and dirty photo editor. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Negatives: The overall “work area” is limited, and the ads that sit at the bottom of the screen can get to be annoying.
Overall: 7; It’s nothing fancy, but it will work in a pinch.

App #5: Trexy

So … What Exactly Is a “Trexy?”: To be honest, we still have no idea. We found ourselves randomly clicking on things, hoping that something exciting would happen. The best we could come up with in our initial go-around was a search for “eight inch floppy disks.” Upon further research, we found that Trexy is based upon the idea of “trails” — a list of links that all relate to one another. A search for “cats,” for example, got everything from “All About Cats” to “The Cat That Saved Thanksgiving.”
Final Thought: It certainly looks interesting, but we still have no idea as to what is going on. If we do figure it out, we will post a score.

…And there you have it. Tune in tomorrow for part two of our “trip around the world.”

App #1: Shopify

Website: http://www.shopify.com/
Developer: JadedPixel Inc.
Country of Origin: Canada
Specialty: Web store construction
First Impression: “Well, it certainly looks interesting…”

App #2: YubNub

Website: http://yubnub.org/
Developer: Jon Aquino
Country of Origin: Canada
Specialty: A “social command line”
First Impression: “I am not familiar with the thing that I am seeing.”

App #3: Zapr

Website: https://www.zapr.com/index.aspx
Developer: Zapr
Country of Origin: Australia
Specialty: Simple file sharing
First Impression: “Neat. Do I have to download something, or is all of this done from their website?”

App #4: Pixenate

Website: http://pixenate.com/
Developer: Sxoop Technologies
Country of Origin: Ireland
Specialty: Image editor
First Impression: “Ooooh … free hand drawing. I can draw a shaky line onto a mountain!”

App #5: Trexy

Website: http://trexy.com/
Developer: Trexy Limited
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Specialty: Um … We’re not exactly sure at the moment…
First Impression: “What is this? Did Rudolph switch to Linux or something?”

App #6: Zlio

Website: http://www.zlio.com/
Developer: Zlio Inc.
Country of Origin: France
Specialty: Web store creator
First Impression: “Wait… You don’t even sell your own products? That’s weird…”

App #7: InternationellaBiblioteket.se

Website: http://www.interbib.se/default.asp?id=13552
Developer: The city of Stockholm, among other governmental agencies
Country of Origin: Sweden
Specialty: social network/library database
First Impression: “So … Want to borrow a book from the Stockholm Public Library system?”
Second Impressions: “It seems as if I can also go to the Diet Library of Japan, get a Swedish driver’s license, or visit the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. This should definitely be interesting…”

App #8: Telesa.tv

Website: http://telesa.tv/
Developer: Telesa
Country of Origin: Russia
Specialty: Original, professionally produced, web-based television programming … in Russian.
First Impression: “Is there any way to switch the language to English? Also, a cartoon angel may be telling me the weather. I have no idea why.”

App #9: The Power of Politics

Website: http://www.powerofpolitics.com/StartNew.aspx
Developer: TPM Games GmbH
Country of Origin: Austria
App Type: Web-based, politically charged strategy game.
First Impression: “So I play as a politician, right? [Pause] Man … I’m going to lose. I’m going to lose bad. As soon as the other players find out how bad I am, they are going to attack me. ‘She’s terrible at this. Let’s bomb her district for fun!’ ”

App #10: Aprex

Website: http://www.aprex.com.br/home.php
Developer: Aprex Solutions
Country of Origin: Brazil
Specialty: Office suite/online storage
First Impression: “Now this could be useful.”

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of that “web 2.0 news you can use … among other things.” Until then, I bid thee a fond adieu.

Website: http://www.rhapsody.com
Developer: RealNetworks
App Type: Music store/audio streaming
The Test: After an astonishing three overtime periods, the Rhapsody player beat the Slacker app in terms of sound quality, three to two. It must be mentioned, however, that the Slacker service has a much bigger back catalog. (More on this later.)

…And with that, we can finally move forward. Enjoy!

The Positives: Starting at one and working towards three…

1. You would be surprised how handy having an “entire library of music in your pocket” can be.
2. The entire “streaming” process is incredibly smooth and pain free. Just click on the song you want and away you go.
3. Discovering new music is a breeze. Thanks to Rhapsody, I found myself listening to bands and tracks that I haven’t heard from in years, such as experimental rock band Self and the undisputed king of “Avant-garde bubblegum” himself, Todd Rundgren.

Of course, every list of positives has to be accompanied by a list of negatives. From the top:

1. The library itself is rather “incomplete,” shall we say. I find it interesting that Rhapsody has music by little-known, Southern gospel tinged, jam band Sweet Vine but has a grand total of five songs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not five albums, mind you. Five songs. I understand the “limitations” put upon services like this by record labels and whatnot, but that is borderline ridiculous.
2. How much would you pay for an app such as this? Five dollars a month? Seven? According to the fine folks at RealNetworks, the “correct” price for the Rhapsody service is a whopping fifteen dollars a month. I really am enjoying myself, but not that much.
3. According to Rhapsody, every soundtrack, film score, and multiple-musician live album was actually produced by a band called “Various Artists.” No other names are listed. That little “omission” gets to be extremely annoying, especially when you find yourself digging through some little known compilation album looking for your favorite band or artist.
4. I like it when radio stations, both traditional and otherwise, throw the listener a proverbial “curve ball” and play something a bit unexpected. Rhapsody Radio, on the other hand, abuses the privilege on a fairly regular basis. The “Soft Sounds” station, for example, featured terminally depressed new wave band The Cure, southern folk super group The Thorns, and Neil Sedaka all in a row. I like being “challenged,” but that is, once again, ridiculous.

Final Thoughts: Despite my initial misgivings, I really did enjoy using Rhapsody. That said, there are still a few “kinks” that need to be ironed out before it can be considered an alternative to iTunes or Slacker. Fix those “issues,” and then we’ll talk.

Overall (out of ten): 6. Great idea; mediocre execution.

Website: http://www.amazon.com
Developer: RealNetworks
App Type: Music store/audio streaming
The Test: On today’s Showdown, we will be comparing the quality of the Rhapsody audio steams with that of another popular music service, Slacker. Each song was chosen at random by the Slacker player. With that said, here we go:

Song #1: “If Looks Could Kill” by Camera Obscura

Song Style: An upbeat, albeit extremely sarcastic, 60’s-style pop song, complete with a “Phil Spector“-like “layered sound” and a string section.

Slacker: A nice balance, albeit a tad soft at points. The vocals did sort of “blend” into the background, but that has more to do with the song than with the service.

Rhapsody: The surrounding music seems  to “overpower” the vocals. This is most notable at the end of the track, where the vocals are completely overtaken by both the backing band and the trumpet solo.

Winner: Slacker. So what if it gets a tad “soft” at points? That’s what the volume control is made for.

Song #2: “Don’t Let’s Start” by They Might Be Giants

Song Style: A low budget “geek rock” song recorded in an apartment in Brooklyn … on a four-track … in 1986.

Slacker: This as close to “CD quality” as a streaming service can get. Sure, that isn’t hard considering the song’s production values, but still.

Rhapsody: Identical to the Slacker stream, only with a tad more “volume” backing it up.

Winner: Rhapsody. Sometimes, louder really is better.

Song #3: “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty

Song Style: It’s a Tom Petty song. If you have heard one, you have heard them all.

Slacker: Not bad overall. While the song itself isn’t necessarily “bass heavy,” a little extra push from the lower end of the spectrum would have be nice. On the plus side, Tom Petty’s vocals are nice and nasal clear, which really does add to things.

Rhapsody: In a strange way, this stream is the “Bizarro” to Slacker’s Superman. The backing track, background vocals, and bass are near perfect, but the vocals are muddled and soft.

Winner: Push. While I prefer the Slacker stream, I can’t in good conscience say that it’s “better.”

Song #4: “P.O.V. Waltz” by Harry Nilsson

Song Style: A lush, densely layered waltz. You will never quite hear the same thing twice.

Slacker: Absolutely no complaints. Everything came through perfectly … or so I thought.

Rhapsody: The layered vocal track is much, much clearer. That alone makes the entire song more enjoyable.

Winner: Rhapsody.

Song #5: “World Shut Your Mouth” by Death Cab for Cutie

Song Style: A cover of the Julian Cope new wave classic. The Death Cab version is noticeably faster than the original.

Note: Since I couldn’t find the cover on either YouTube or Daily Motion, I have decided to link the original version.

Slacker: Muddled and loud. For a straight-ahead rock track such as this one, that is a very good thing. The vocals do blend in to the rest of the track, but it works with the song.

Rhapsody: It’s missing something. I don’t know what that “something” is exactly, but it clearly isn’t there.

Winner: Slacker.

Tie Breaker: “Chasin’ Girls” by The Clarks

Song Style: “Americana rock” in the style of Bruce Springsteen. This particular track is bit more “aggressive” (and sarcastic) than normal.

Slacker: Again, no complaints here.

Rhapsody: The band is a bit louder than the vocals. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however.

Winner: Push. It all comes down to personal preference.

Tie Breaker #2: “Say It All” by Sondre Lerche

Song Style: This song lies somewhere between jazz-inspired pop and new wave. Think Steely Dan, only not boring. Special attention should also be paid to the unique guitar work found on the track. If a technically proficient metal guitarist took up the acoustic guitar, he would be Sondre Lerche.

Slacker: I wish the bass was a bit louder. Other than that, I really can’t find fault here.

Rhapsody: Virtually identical to the Slacker stream.

Winner: Push. Again.

Tie Breaker #3: “We Gotta Get You a Woman” by Todd Rundgren

Song Style: Layers, distortion, key changes, tempo changes, a general “lo-fi” feel … this track quite literally has everything. If any song will break our stalemate, it will be this one.

Slacker: No complaints. This song is actually perfect for live streaming due to the reasons mentioned above.

Rhapsody: This has a much fuller sound than the Slacker stream.

Winner: Rhapsody.

Overall Winner: Rhapsody, by a nose. In all honesty, to call Rhapsody the clear “winner” in this situation would be a tad disingenuous. If we would have gone through a hundred separate songs, it would have been a fifty-fifty split. We just happened to stop testing while Rhapsody was ahead.

…And there you have it. Come back Monday to see a full, in-depth review of the app itself. Until then, we bid thee a fond adieu. Have a great weekend.

Website: http://www.amazon.com
Developer: Amazon
App Type: eReader, in a way
Why It Matters: For the past year or so, the Kindle eReader has been the proverbial toast of the town. It made readers squeal with delight, the Author’s Guild a tad “litigious,” and Amazon as rich as Scrooge McDuck. The PC version, apparently, is meant to be the “iTunes” to the Kindle’s iPod — a handy, easy to use application for the times what you’re “stuck” in front of your computer.
The Twist: I honestly do not get the appeal of these things. Sure, there are some cross sections of people that could really use a device like this (students, tour guides, avid role players who have to lug around rule books), but by in large, it just seems like a waste. My reasons are the following:

1. If I want to read a book, I will pick up a book. It has weight. It has physical depth. It has pages that I can actually touch. It is not a glorified PDF file on a monochrome screen. If I wanted to read something from a screen on the go, I would use my iPhone or my PSP. So what if the screen is smaller? Text is text.
2. When I want to read something (a book, a magazine, etc), I actually want to get away from a screen. I can’t do that with the Kindle. I am physically stuck staring at yet another screen.
3. When If I do something tremendously stupid while reading a book — drop it into the lavatory, spill Pepsi on it, and so on — all I have to do dry off the pages. Worst case scenario is that I ruined a $20 book. When If I do something similarly as boneheaded with the Kindle, I will be out a minimum of $200.
4. My Danny Wallace books don’t run out of batteries. My Danny Wallace eBook, however, would.

All of that said, I am more than willing to change my mind. It will just have to take a lot of convincing. For this test, I will be using three separate books: The Art of War, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, and Oliver Twist. Why did I pick these particular titles? They were free. With that said, here we go:

The Art of War – This is, by far, the nicest PDF that I have ever read. The text is clean and blur free, switching between pages are stupidly simple, and making bookmarks is a snap. That said, it still felt like a PDF. I just cannot get around that.

The Return of Sherlock Holmes – I actually found this one to be easier to read than The Art of War. I have no idea why. It still feels like a classy, high class PDF, however.

Oliver Twist – About the same as Sherlock Holmes. It was easy to read, but … I think you know what my gripes are about now.

Final Thoughts: I honestly can’t say at this point. I need more time playing with it. For now though, I am definitely not a fan. If my mind changes, or if I figure out a way to run traditional PDF files through the “Kindle,” I will definitely let you know.

Website: http://www.jajah.com
Developer: JAHJAH Inc. (For now, at any rate)
App Type: Voice over IP
Why It Matters: Rumor has it that Google is interested in outright buying the service. That should tell you something.
How It Works: The “JAHJAH” experience is a bit different than what you might be expecting. Unlike Skype and Google Voice, all of the calls are handled directly from the website. After typing the relevant phone numbers — both the person you wish to call and your own home/cell number — you are given the option of either dialing from the web or connecting using a provided telephone number. The latter is apparently designed to eliminate pesky long distance and international calling fees. For the purposes of this Showdown, I will be using both methods.
Dialing from the Web: When I first hit the “dial now” button, I was greeted by an error message that really didn’t make much sense. After staring blankly for a few seconds, I found that it could only be corrected by signing up. After a simple and completely painless registration form, I was ready to give JAH JAH another go. I logged into the site, only to find that the number I that I wanted to dial was nowhere to be found. I did, however, get the opportunity to call the “test” line … three times. After each call, I was asked if I wanted to “add funds” to my account. I chose “no,” as I really don’t have any desire to drop the “Skype/iPhone” combination that I use now. I was then whisked back to the “test call” page for seemingly no reason. I had to dig through the unorganized mess that is JAHJAH’s site in order to find the number that I was looking for. I clicked on the button, only to discover that a totally mediocre phone experience was waiting for me on the other side. The audio was muffled, distant sounding, and had the tendency to “cut out” from time to time.  I hung up, hoping that the “JAHJAH.direct” service would be a bit more rewarding.
JAHJAH.direct: Before I could even start the call, the robotic lady on the other end of the line informed me that I have no money left on my account. I can, however, sign up for “pre-call advertising.” I did and dialed the number, only to find that I have, again, run out of funds. It turns out that the advertising is designed to give users a “refund” at the end of each month. I was running out of both options and patience. As a last ditch effort, I signed up again, this time using a different email address and phone number. It didn’t exactly work out as planned, as I still needed to add a credit card to my account. So I can’t try JAHJAH.direct without paying money. Big deal. I have a whole eight minutes to burn. This could mean only one thing…
Dialing from the Web … To a Skype Phone: That’s right. I used one VoIP service to call another. Did it work? Yes, but the sound quality wasn’t anything to write home about. Oh well. At least I can say that I tried.
Final Thought: While it’s a nice way to avoid international long distance, JAHJAH is just too “pedestrian” to become a full-on “Skype alternative.” Upgrade your systems and redesign your site. Then we’ll talk.
Overall (Out of ten): 6

Come back tomorrow for part two of our three part series. Until then, I bid thee a fond adieu.

According to several articles, the folks at Redmond revoked their sponsorship because they believed that the show didn’t “fit their brand image.” In other words, Microsoft representatives were unhappy with the show’s content, so they pulled out. In a last ditch effort to save the show, Fox simply replaced the “computer talk” with a few movie trailers. The final product ended up looking a lot like a Family Guy episode, only with a few live action segments and a short sketch about Kermit the Frog possibly being gay. While the computing giant still claims to be on “great terms” with both Fox and MacFarlane, no new project has been announced as of yet.

So where does this leave MacFarlane on the “Finger Poke of Doom” meter? In some ways, the controversy was a godsend for the writer, as it allowed him to air his show without any added awkwardness. After all, a few movie trailers inserted into an otherwise commercial free program seems fairly normal, especially when those trailers carry the “Fox” name. It also makes MacFarlane look even more like a “counter culture hero” to his legions of fans. After all, nothing looks more “punk” than a writer telling a multinational corporation to go … you know. Sure, that’s not exactly what happened, but that is how this situation will be spun. Seth will end up looking the biggest “people’s champion” since The Rock, and Microsoft will end up looking like, well, Microsoft. Everybody wins … well, in the eyes of the fans, anyway.

In the short term, the recent “unpleasantness” will do next to nothing to derail either entity. Microsoft will continue to sell copy after copy of its critically acclaimed  operating system, and Seth MacFarlane will still get big ratings for his television programs. At worst, Microsoft will join the “hate list, ” currently occupied by the likes of Entertainment Weekly, the FCC, the Republican party/George W. Bush, and pretty much all major religions. The main problem here lies with MacFarlane himself. Just like Eric Bischoff before him, each victory, moral or otherwise, is just another reason to stroke his massive ego. When that ego gets to be too large, it manifests itself in some pretty ugly ways. Bischoff’s rampant disregard for reality brought us the Finger Poke of Doom. Will MacFarlane suffer a similar fall from grace? Sadly, all signs still point to “yes.” We are all hoping for a better outcome, but it’s looking doubtful at best at this stage of the game. Our advice? Enjoy Family Guy while you can. At the rate the show’s creator is going, it won’t be around for much longer.