GO2WEB20 Blog

Copy-Paste Like Never Before

2009-11-16T14:28:00.009+02:00

If you work on the computer daily doing all kinds of research and office work, I've found a tool that will simplify your life! Click-Cutter is real time saver for Internet users. Auto copy text, fix and open in a browser, even with a broken URL, or search any phrase with just one click.

I'd like to focus on the copy-paste act though, because this is the most usable tool. Click Cutter comes in a form of two tools: Firefox add-on, and a desktop client

ClickCutter AutoCopy Firefox addon, allows you to perform a copy of any selected text to clipboard without any mouse clicks or keyboard shortcuts.

How it works:
Just highlight the text you want to copy and while still holding the left button down just stop the mouse movement for a second until you see a 'c' icon appear beside your mouse cursor. After you see 'c,' just release the left button. The copy is done.

The paste function can be performed with mouse middle button click (obstacle). Same as AutoCopy Paste can be turned on/off via the setting panel or mouse right button click.

I really wanted this add-on to work for me, but since it's only copy, and not paste, I downloaded the Desktop version, which is much better because it supports not only web editors, but also desktop services such as: MS Office, Adobe, Notepad and many other document types where text or image can be highlighted and copied.

The Desktop version also comes with lots of other features and settings, so you can customize it the way you please.

Please note that this is still a beta version, but it actually works very well (though I have to admit, I hate downloading software to my computer). Another thing that you should be aware of is the fact that it's very hard to change the traditional copy-paste habit...

A Simple Twitter Tool for Events

2009-11-11T11:29:00.004+02:00

TweetBubbles is an Adobe AIR application that enables event organizers to show relevant tweets on big screens or presentations based on a keyword.

First decide what will be your event's #hashtag and make sure to inform your participants about it. Then, install the application, enter your chosen keyword (your event #hashtag), and let it stream through a presentation, or any wide screen at the event. Additionally, you can choose the position of the balloon (both sides, left, right), and the balloon transparency.
Tweets will appear as long as people uses the right keyword.

There are some web clients that offer you the same and you can also use Tweetdack to perform this action, but the difference is that TweetBubbles has a nicer layout and it can actually appear on top of a presentation because of it's transparency.

There are some missing features that would make it a better tool, such as speed control, color selector, and a languages filter, but overall it's a very useful client.

Quick Demo (click on HD for a better view):

Give your Wave a Voice

2009-11-09T17:30:00.005+02:00

A new Wave extension Voicy, allows you to easily record messages and share them with a group of people, or share messages between people inside one wave, within a single voice recorder. Voicy identifies the current viewer and customizes the gadget accordingly (between host and non-host, giving the host more options).

How does it work:
Enter this Public Wave and install the Voicy gadget. Then open a new wave, click on Voicy icon (edit mode - see screenshot), record your message, and share it with anyone you want.

Kikin Is Kicking Ass!

2009-10-28T19:43:00.007+02:00

Kikin is a Firefox plug-in that gives search engine results from Google, Bing and Yahoo! a boost. And, what a boost it is!
Once you install the plug-in, before the traditional search results, you see relevant videos from Youtube, updates from Twitter & Facebook (if connected to your account), and also content from Amazon and eBay - depending on what you were looking for. Your content will be displayed in a way that lets you easily interact and share with your friends too.

I've tried some other plug-ins that do the same and let you personalize and view content from your favorite social networks, but Kikin's integration with search is not annoying, rather it's well designed and really gives you more than just old plain search results.

The ironic thing is that when looking at Kikin's offerings in comparison to Google/Bing twitter's integration, I just don't understand why bigger companies, like the above-named can offer us a great experience like Kikin. Sad, no?

Try it, it will literally spice up your search.

You can read more on Kikin in this Techcrunch post.

All The Music In YouTube - Organized!

2009-10-27T10:54:00.009+02:00

TubeRadio.fm is a web application that looks & feels like a music player where users can quickly find, listen to, build, and share playlists of their favorite artists' music. Since TubeRadio based on the music library of Youtbue, it makes it easy to find just about any songs you want - Millions of them.

TubeRadio.fm organizes everything into albums that you can grab by simply click on them. A quick test show me that it only takes few minutes to built an entire music collection, and once you have your playlists ready, you can listen to songs, see other releases, read the lyrics or bio, and find similar music. (All data content provided by Last.fm)

TubeRadio also incorporates a number of social networking features. Each user has a profile which lists their playlists, their frequently played artists and videos. You can add others as friends or become a fan of another user, and share your playlists with a single link.

The player basically looks like other players you familiar with so it will be very easy to understand how it function - and of course, it is always a bonus to play favorite music from the web also, but I actually would love to get the same experience on my Desktop. Maybe an AIR application will be a good choice as well.

Google Wave client for Mac Users and iPhone (soon)

2009-10-19T11:54:00.010+02:00

If you own a MAC here's some good news: you can already download a Google Wave client to your desktop from this site: Waveboard (let me know if it works for you, cause I'm using PC)

Thanks for the screenshots Ouriel, and Naor!

I've also spotted this iPhone demo:

According to the app creator, it is waiting for an approval from the AppStore right now, so hopefully we'll be able to use it soon.

Another way to use Google wave from the iPhone is to simply go to this link: wave.google.com/wave - click on the go ahead button, and start waving.

The First Google Wave Notifier

2009-10-14T10:37:00.009+02:00

Just found this new (and first) Google Wave notifier add-on for Firefox.

This add-on will just notify you about new message in your Wave account (see screenshot above) - no popup or anything like it.

Please note that if you don't add your account logging information in the setting, it will close your browser (bug). You might also want to change the refreshing time in the setting:

I've been waiting for such add-on cause I simply hate to leave my Wave open - and until Google will create some kind of notifier themselves, I'm pretty happy with this one.

Created by this waver: Chad Smith

11 Wave Tools You May Not Know Exist

2009-10-12T21:23:00.016+02:00

I'm still in the pursuit of exploring Google Wave, although I already wrote in my last post that I'm not a huge fan of this platform. Well, I am writing more because I do find it important to understand Wave's behavior better. Surely, I don't want to miss anything going on there.

Don't get me wrong, I still think Wave is far, far away from being perfect, yet I also think I missed the point that maybe Google don't want it to be perfect either. Maybe Google is waiting for us to make it perfect, same as Twitter did, and is still doing for the last 3 years.

So until Google allows some settings and give us the ability to actually have control of the conversation the way we feel comfortable with, here are some tools that will enrich your conversations and will give your Wave a little boost. (warning though, some of the tools are useless as hell)

1. Twitter
There are two ways to use Twitter through Wave:

A) First, add tweety's email to your contact list tweety-wave@appspot.com. Follow the instructions you get inside the Wave, which is basically to log in to your Twitter account, then you'll be able to use Twitter from within Wave.

B) Open a New Wave, click on this button to add a gadget via URL - add this specific URL: http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml, and start following your tweetstream.

May I just add that I don't find these two strange ways appealing at all. I also don't understand why I'd want to tweet something while I'm on Wave... But oh well, if Twitter needs to be everywhere, there you have it - You can tweet from Wave with a little help of third party gadgets.

2. TinyURL - Bit.ly-bot
OK, this one is pretty sweet - Add this email address to your Wave contact list: bitly-bot@appspot.com, then add this user whenever you want to shorten URLs inside Waves. It will do that automatically. You can also use the same Wave just to shorten the URL whenever needed.

3. Wikipedia-Wikify
Wikify gives you a full definition of any topic you want from within a Wave. All you need to do is to add Wikify mail address to your Wave contact list: wikifier@appspot.com
and each time you need to know the definition of a topic or a term, use the Wikify command:

And that is by far the geekiest way to find information through Wikipedia!

4. Starify - Star a Wave
Starify allows you to bookmark Waves, simple as that. Add Starify's email address to your contact list: starifybot@appspot.com and then you are able to keep track of all your starred waves. Add Starify user to a any wave you want to bookmark, then type the following commands:

/star' Star a wave
/list' See all your starred waves
/delete' Remove starred waves

You can also star a wave, if you add this gadget by URL: http://www.wave.to/botinstaller/starify_bot_installer.xml (open a new Wave and click on the green button)

I really liked this little Wave-add-on from the beginning until I discovered today that once you've begin starring Waves with Starify, people in the conversation will also see that you saved this Wave, and sometimes, you want a bookmark to be private. Well, you have no privacy here!

5. Nokar
Same as Starify & Wikfy, Nokar works on the same command concept - It allows you to do all sort of things such as: Convert your text to pirate-speak, show recent tweets by user, and more. I actually like the command that helps you search pictures from Flickr (watch screenshot for more). This is the Nokar email address in Wave: lab2market@appspot.com.

6. iWave
Allows you to create a profile on Wave by using Facebook connect, overall it is a nice tool if you need to introduce yourself to others in a Wave. To use iWave, open a new Wave, click on the green button, and add this widget URL: http://gadget.wave.to/iWave/iWave.xml

7. Emoticony
Emoticony is a must have for all MSN fans. It's a robot that converts text representations of emoticons to actual images once the Wave is submitted. The robot sits on this email address: emoticonbot@appspot.com and can be used in every conversation.

8. Amazon
In case you want to shop with your friends, you have two ways to do it - through Amazon-bot address, or through an XML link that you can add as a new gadget inside each conversation.

To use a the Amazon-bot user - add this email address to your contact list: amazon-withwaves-com@appspot.com, then follow the commands instruction. It might be easier though to just simple link to the gadget with this URL: http://gadgets.withwaves.com/installer/amazon/manifest.xml - same results.

9. Calcbot
This robot will fill in simple math calculations during your conversation (again, with a certain command) Add this bot to your user list: calcbot@appspot.com and follow the simple command to start.

10. Flippy
Just in case you get bored inside a conversation, you can flip your text with Flippy - flippy-wave@appspot.com - or you can go to this site, and flip it without the extra user.

11. Lasty
And finally music :) - Add Lasty (last-robot@appspot.com) if you want to tell people what you listened to recently on Last.fm during a conversation. After adding Lasty-bot to your contact list, type 'YourLastFMUser-is-listening' inside a Wave and Lasty will tell what song are you listening.

Please note that after I tested so many of these Wave extensions and widgets, I now convinced even more that there is something lacking in the conversation flow, it is just too hard to avoid the problems in the wave chat box - an annoying experience.

Find more Wave extensions in this massive list:

Google Wave Extension List -

Google Wave: First Impression

2009-10-07T15:36:00.011+02:00

I've been playing around Wave for a week or so and I'm not sure I like it so far.

Sure, at first, I got all excited from getting an invite, then I realized it's just a really progressive messaging platform - or to be specific, simply a web-based instant messenger with real-time features. I can see the potential in this kind of service in the future, but overall, unless it offers the ability to change the settings, it will be hard to use.

Since we're talking about Google, it is probably just the tip of the iceberg in regards to this service, so therefore I'll refer to the issues from my experience so far.

Real-time annoyance:
Never in my life did I imagine that I wouldn't like real-time functionality, but in Wave, for perhaps the first time ever - I do. To see all of your friends' updates in real time (aka: Friendfeed, Brizzly, etc) is one thing, but to see your friends writing them all at the same time, that's a whole different story! I'm not sure I'll ever able to adjust to this form of communication... Also, in a discussion (whether it's one-to-one or many people) to see others' writings in real-time can sometimes be embarrassing, and lets face it: how many times have you written something then changed it in the last second before clicking the send button? Here you can do this too but be aware that people can and already are seeing what you meant to say or typed before you click 'done' - embarrassing!

Interface problems:
Wave is divided to several boxes that you can minimize or maximize. But the problem is that if you don't maximize the new wave window, you'll be missing some of extensions and gadgets that are the most fun part of this applications. This can be solved by a drop down menu (see screenshot), or by simply slightly increasing the size of the new wave box (by dragging the side panels)

Also, it feels unnatural to click on the 'done' button while chatting, instead of just hitting enter. I don't know if Wave will be similar to Gmail eventually, but right now, the "done" button is useless and not saving us any time.

Frankly, I think the whole 'new wave box' is cumbersome and not easy to function. Just in case you didn't notice, you can reply to someone by simple clicking enter. But for some reason, you can't edit your notes by clicking enter as well. Also, the way to delete a reply inside a wave is hidden, among other tools that might be useful if they where more visible (such as insert a private reply). Maybe it is just too complex. When I look at Friendfeeds' discussion threads, I think it's absolutely geniusly built, so easy to understand and function. I don't know what Google is trying to do here but it looks like they're mixing Email with Chat features, which turns out to not be the best combination...

Extensions as contacts:
It took me a while to understand the concept behind Wave extensions. But you can think about it like the social gadget at iGoogle - Instead of installing a gadget in iGoogle, then inviting people to join via email, you can invite people you want to share a gadget with through Wave. Overall, it is the same thing, with improved real-time conversation. Since iGoogle already has a massive collections of gadgets, you can use them in Wave as well (and in your Gmail BTW).

An odd thing though, is the applications you add as contacts, I'm still trying to figure this concept out - here are some examples:

Lets say I want to perform the simplest act of starring a wave (so it'll be easier to find later on), since Google is not enabling star a wave at the moment, I've added a bot-app called Starify that basically allows me to star a Wave. How? By adding the bot as a contact and then adding to each Wave I want to save (confused? yeah, me two).

Another example is Twitting from Wave. You have two ways to do it:

Add Tweety-bot to your contact list: tweety-wave@appspot.com and each time you want to tweet, add this contact to a new Wave (or open an old one)
Another way to do it is to open a new Wave, add a new gadget by URL: http://www.twittergadget.com/gadget_gmail.xml and reuse this Wave each time you want to tweet.

Both ways are not appealing and I wish Google offered us a better way to tweet from this platform, sigh.

Bottom line, I'm not a happy Wave user, but it was quite an unusual ride so far. It will take me a while to get use to it, but first I want to see some new setting options from Google including:

The ability to choose where and when to activate the real-time feature
The ability to see who's online and to change my status the way I want too (online, offline, busy)
The ability to block a person
The ability to create groups

That's it for now - if you have something to add from your Wave experience, please write it in the comments below.

What is Google Wave? (the shorter version)

Also read Scoble's post about Wave - Google Wave crashes on beach of overhype

4 New Israeli-based Startups You May Not Have Heard Of

2009-09-30T20:24:00.018+02:00

It always feels good to be able to tell the rest of the world about the latest web/mobile applications from Israel, and I feel privileged to be able to do so. Since I live here, I often times meet with new (and old) companies, listen to their story, and test their services. I can't say that I'm impressed with each and every one of them but I do think that Israel is one bad-ass place to find new innovation compared to other places in the world.

Let me introduce you to some of the newest, hottest Israeli companies that launched or will launch this year:

Libox is a desktop client that completely synchronizes with the web to allow you easy and free media-sharing with friends and family anytime, anywhere. When you create a Libox account you can import all the media that's stored on your computer and view it on Libox. Once you import your contact list from your favorite email platform, you will be able to share media in its original quality and resolution with people whom you've invited. Libox also offers group sharing and chat with friends, both from the desktop & the web.

It's important to say that Libox doesn’t upload your files to the “Cloud.” If you share some media with some friends, Libox creates a private secure network on those specific files with those specific friends, NO one will have access to media you haven’t shared with them - so it's all very private and convenient. Since Libox does not store your files, there's no limitation on the file size or the amount you share - Libox is both free and unlimited.

I've been using Libox for a few months now and I found its performances to be very impressive; it doesn't take a lot resources from my computer, it's surprisingly fast, and most importantly, it saves the original file format, which makes it worth use. Its UI however, is a lack of inspiration and rough on the edges... but I have to admit that it's also very easy to understand and use maybe this is why its design is so simple (or too simple).

Significal opens a new gateway for interaction between users and "time-related" businesses, by giving them a smart, simple, automated and interactive way to manage not only their time but also their tasks and events. In doing so, users maintain full control over their life in one centralized platform - their electronic calendar (web/desktop/mobile). This benefits both sides; "time-related" businesses are more aware of their customers' actions thereby opening up a new marketing medium and enabling a better direct to customer approach. Concurrently, users keep up-to-date with any updates or new opportunities that match their lifestyle.

Significal's goal is to create as many as partnerships with businesses & enterprises to enable them access into the end users' calendar (via their site or plugins). For businesses: it will give exposure and offers an innovative way to promote themselves further. When it comes to the users, this may change their lifestyle, because they can actually interact with businesses regarding daily activities (bank, phone-bill, flight, etc.,) from within their web/desktop calendar.

Waze is a downlodable social mobile application that allow drivers with mobile+GPS enabled to build and use real-time road intelligence on what's ahead, what to avoid and the quickest routes at any given moment.

How does it work: The users needs to click on a few buttons on the software to send their update into Waze. No voice needed (but in my opinion, that actually could help while driving). The service includes constantly updated routes and delivers traffic and accident alerts plus data from people who have downloaded the Waze application.

Map and traffic updates are automatically collected and generated as users drive with Waze. Drivers can also actively report and update others on what's happening along their route, including accidents, police traps, weather hazards, cheap gas offers, and more.

Waze recently launched at DEMO09 - Here is their presentation:

First a disclaimer: I recently started to work as a consultant at Dropico.
Instead of uploading media to all of the various social networks, Dropico allows users to drag & drop photos across different social networks. Meaning, you can drag files from Facebook to Myspace, or from Flickr to Picasa without the upload time hassle - Simple as that!

Dropico is a platform which makes it easy to organize existing media in one visual layout. Without registration, the user can log in to the supported services: Facebook, Twitter (TwitPic, yfrog & twitgo) Myspace, Flickr, Picasa, Bebo etc., and see all the organized albums & files at one glance. Users will be able to reorganize the files in new albums and drag & drop them to any of the supported services in order to create a new album. Files can be uploaded from a computer as well and quickly be copied to each service from the supported list in the site.

Additionally, Dropico also offers a tool for bloggers (a simple JS code) that enables readers to distribute pictures to each of Dropico's supported services.

All of these features coming soon too:

Dropico Photo submit bar – add to your blog/website a photo submission bar for posting photos directly to dropico's supported services (supporting: wordpress, blogger).
Dropico Facebook application – use Dropico on facebook.
Photo Edit (picnik like), edit & save photos on the fly.
Dropico Client – download a simple Dropico application and connect Dropico to your desktop/external devices.
Dropico Backup Service – backup your media from all service to Dropico servers (amazon s3) in 1 click.
Mail to Dropico – drag & drop photos from your favorite email service (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo mail) to Dropico's supported services.
iPhone application – allowing to transfer/view your media.

Here are some invitations to test Dropico - grab them while you can (beta)

Portrait in Motion

2009-09-25T16:46:00.006+03:00

I bumped into this awesome site through Dave Morin Facebook, and was blown away by its performance! Unfortunately, there's not enough information about the technology used in there wonderful demo.

What I can tell you though is that it's called Motion-Portrait, and it's basically generates a single photo to three-dimensional model (in less than a min). Its unique technology can automatically produce a variety of animated facial expressions.

Want to try it yourself? Click on the 'Change!' button, upload your photo (face should be in center), and wait for the miracle to happen!

I created a quick Demo (this is the pictures I used):

Keep an Eye on DailyBooth

2009-09-18T20:47:00.007+03:00

I've been using DailyBooth only for a month or so but already I'm a huge fan! The site is just brilliant, really. It is very similar to the "one picture a day" concept - meaning: snap (or upload) one picture everyday, and share it with the rest of the world. What so great about it is that people are actually engaging in conversations based on a singular image alone. Moreover, there is this strong mimicry culture evolving at the site that is pretty interesting to follow and participate in.

What I also like is the site's design and usability - It's very easy to utilize all the features, and the user interface is clean and understandable. It still not perfect but it's getting there. Right now, I feel like it is missing two important features: 1. Friends finder, 2. Friends importer from other networks. But, on the other hand, it has such a great options in the settings that I really believe it's just gonna get better over time, and those two missing features will be added soon (hopefully).

You can use DailyBooth from the web, via email, or mobile phone to upload pictures to your DailyBooth account. It's also possible to send your pictures via twitter the minute you upload them (it would be nice to get this feature on Facebook too).

Overall, if I had to predict this site's future, where's my crystal ball... I'd say it's a promising one!

Digitize & Edit your Home Movies

2009-09-10T22:14:00.006+03:00

Pixorial lets you view, label and organize your video content all in one place - your own password-protected digital video library on the web. You can upload your homemade videos and edit them from your browser. Pixorial supports almost any type of video file.

What exactly can you edit? Not much I'm afraid... Right now, Pixorial allows you to cut the down movie by scene, add transitions, and display titles. Effects are coming soon, according to the site. But as far as other related web-services, I'd say, it's actually not bad at all - and most of it is free.

The free version, allows you to upload up to 10GB total, where you can edit, remix and create shows, and share videos in high resolution. However, the movie will stay online for only 60 days. For all the above plus unlimited storage time & uploads, you'll have to pay $24.99/year - which seems to me like a very fair price.

There are some other goodies such as download in hi-res, order a DVD, and more - All at prices that won't hurt your wallet.

Here's a quick example:

A Delightful New Children's Browser

2009-08-28T10:42:00.016+03:00

My nephews (ages 6 & 7), are very much into computers so it is rather easy for me to get them involved with something fun and new to test.

Together we tested Zoodles.

Zoodles is a new kids browser based on Adobe's AIR platform that aims to give kids a safe place to play and learn online.

I built a profile for each of my nephews and Zoodles generated a playground for them based on their age. Visually, the interface looks cute and very cheerful - the kids LOVE it. But as they played along I noticed they were experiencing difficulties in understanding the functional flow. One simple button (an arrow) "Go Back" is missing. The navigation is easy at first, but the deeper in you go, the harder it is to go back. If the pages were numbered, it might be easier for the kids to jump to a certain page to find their favorite game.

When opening a video or a game - it should be very CLEAR to a kid where to click in order to go elsewhere. Not only is it not clear, I think Zoodles made it evne more difficult by allowing the ability to go back to the site where they've aggregated the content from.

Ads are also unnecessary:

Having said that, I have to admit the kids enjoyed browsing the site, I just needed to sit next to them and help them with the navigation from time to time.

The site is a whole different story. It simultaneously syncs with the desktop app to show a full stats about your child's activity. To be specific, it gives the most powerful analysis report that I've seen so far. With the Zoodles Parent Dashboard, you can view everything your child has been doing online, see reports on the things they are interested in, and really understand, and participate in your child’s learning journey. You can also see which educational skills your child has been developing.

My belief is that Zoodles will be adding the critical missing features soon based on the parent feedback. The service is still new and I give it credit for improving itself in such a short time.

I can't write a story about kids' browser and not mention Kidoz. I think they've done an amazing job so far and you most definitely need to check this service out as well. However, per Zoodles's site statistics, it is a winner.

Your Brand is on Twitter? Now, Bring Twitter to your Brand

2009-08-25T21:41:00.007+03:00

Having a Brand account in Twitter could actually be very useful. In fact, twitter has proven itself the best communication platform for brands as well as for individuals. If you don't understand why, you might be late to the party. If you do have a brand account on twitter, here's a thought: What about all your clients that don't use twitter, nor want to use it, or skeptical about it? I'd say, take Twitter on anyhow and also place it on your site. Let your clients enjoy the conversation without the need to actually sign up for the service (they might do it eventually, if they choose to - it's on them)

You won't be the first to have a Twitter brand page outside of twitter: Zappos, Bestbuy, Toyota, and Philips have already gone this route - now you can easily have your own custom-made twitter search page with the help of Twazzup. Which means that people will be able to see all the tweets about your company, search through them, and also see the additional content: Links, Pictures, Videos, etc. For people who's not using Twitter it's a great solution to see what other are saying about the company, and for people who do use it, it's a great place to track the conversation and actually jump right in to it from this very page. Either way, it offers people the ability to see the company's evolution on Twitter - at one glance.

The sources for a custom Twazzup page are configured by the brand itself (whoever own the twitter account associated with the page). By default it uses the Twitter stream, but the user can select to add their Youtube stream, Flickr stream, news from Google to their custom mashup page.

Twazzup kindly created a Twitter page for Go2web20 and you can explore the page here: http://www.twazzup.com/go2web20 I even have my own Twitter search page (@orli)

More examples:

350.org - http://www.twazzup.com/350
6rounds - http://www.twazzup.com/6rounds
Capgemini - http://www.twazzup.com/capgemini

Twazzup is planing to open this service to the public so that anyone can create and manage their own custom page. Right now, their focus is still on finding people with a cause, and they work closely with them to enhance the product. So the best way for anyone who wants their own Twazzup site is still to either contact them through twitter @twazzup, or email them at info@twazzup.com.

Introducing Funnel - A New Way to Tweet Songs & Save your Favorite Music

2009-08-13T20:41:00.010+03:00

If you use or have ever used Blip.fm before then you might as well give this one a try too. Funnel.fm is a new Japanese-based service that allows you to stream all of your favorite music in one place. You can listen to your own music or follow your friends and listen to their playlists. When you follow another user, you can see, explore, comment on, and as I mentioned before, listen to tracks from their archives.

There are two timelines in Funnel: Yours and your friends. Your friends' timeline will play all the music of the people you follow in one stream. You can choose to randomly change music on each timeline, within the shuffle feature.

One of the coolest tools is the Bookmarklet; you can quickly post music from Youtube & Myspace, directly to your Funnel without the need to actually be at the site. I found it extremely useful because you can save songs while browsing the web and they'll be saved for you in your Funnel for your later listening pleasure.

Last thing is the Twitter integration - You can post each song separately (without the need to log in), or set your Twitter account in a way that every song will go to your Twitter account automatically.

Will I use it instead of Blip.fm? No, but I will use it in addition :)

My account in Funnel is Funnel.fm/orli - Feel free to add me as friend, and listen to my music.

Prezi Is Testing an Embed Feature - It Looks GREAT!

2009-08-12T23:06:00.007+03:00

If you tried Prezi before, you must have noticed it is missing embed from the blog/site feature. Well, not any more. Prezi is currently testing a semi feature that allows you to embed your presentation in your blog. It is just a pre-release. At the moment, you have to go to this page, and use the generator form to get the code, but I'm sure after Prezi gathers all the feedback they need, the ability to embed a code will be on the app tool set itself.

It still not perfect, as you can tell, I had some problems with the code in my blog, but overall, it looks great and definitely will help people showcase their creations in an easier fashion than just a plain URL.

To navigate, simply click inside the presentation.

Why Storytlr is the Best Microblogging Platform Creator

2009-08-01T14:53:00.005+03:00

I've been following Storytlr for a long time now, and notices it got better and better over time - yet it doesn't get the publicity it should.
Anyway, I'm going to try and change that because I really think it's the most useful, thoughtful, and great-looking microblogging service there is today.

So what is it really?
Storytlr brings together life-streaming, blogging, and social interactions. It lets you create, aggregate and mashup web content into a highly personalized page. You can style it (design, widgets etc), use your own domain if you like, and literally take control of the whole platform. This is what I liked so much - Storytlr is so flexible, you can customize it in a really high level, something that you don't usually get from other site builders (and remember, the service is free and ads-free).

You might think: I have Twitter, why do I need another page? Well, it's not just about Twitter, though you have all your tweets organized for you based on dates & years. And it gets better than that: Storytlr saves all your tweets and lets you search through them!! AND you know you can't do that with Twitter. Moreover, all your Twitpic pictures will be organized for you separately, along with Flickr or Picasa pictures. In another tab you'll be able to see all your favorite videos from Youtube, and you can add more web activities from other social networks as well.

You can use Storytlr first as a personal content management. Everything is organized and archived, so it is very easy to track your content. But in a social perspective, this could be a great solution for people who don't own a blog, yet need a place for all of their short updates, and other web activities. But note that if you want to write longer posts, you can. Just like a blog.
Seriously, you can do just about anything with this platform, I'm still impressed with its flexibility.

One thing missing is the ability to see replies from friends. People can comment on each post, tweet or update, but Storytlr is not making the connection between your Tweets and your Tweet replies. It would have been nice to have that in order to track the whole conversation.

This is my Storytlr page, which I'm going to use from now on as my 'About me' page.

Some Screenshots:

Designers Treat: A Web-based Font Viewer

2009-07-30T10:50:00.006+03:00

myFontbook makes it easy to browse, search, and discover fonts in your own font catalog. Many font viewers take a long time to render, but myFontbook leverages your browser's native font rendering to deliver your font catalog quickly.

The font viewer window provides an overview of all your installed fonts, rendered and sorted for you convenience. Once your fonts display, you can browse your collection using the gallery or list view. You can also rate and tag fonts to organize your collection (you'll need to register to perform that).

My only problem with the interface is that you can't go back and forth, but other than that it's super useful app, especially for designers.

Moby's New Album on SoundCloud

2009-07-24T11:48:00.005+03:00

I bumped into this Twitter.Moby page today where I surprisingly found the newest Moby album called: 'Wait For Me'.

The album hosted by the amazing SoundCloud so you can count on the tracks quality to be excellent. You can even listen to the whole album from this blog post with the help of their great widget.

But be sure to check back on Moby's twitter page - He want to hear what you have to tweet about the new album... Moreover, after posting on Twitter you will be able to download an MP3 of the title track, free. Plus, every month the most creative tweet will win a prize.

Needless to say the album is absolutely superb, but more important, I liked Moby's approach, I think it's the right one.

Create your Twitter Business Card in 2 minutes (or less)

2009-07-21T12:42:00.010+03:00

I found this fun site that lets you create your twitter mosaic wall and embed it in your site. So I've created one, then I noticed it also lets you create a bunch of cool stuff with your mosaic on it - Mag, Shirt, Bag, Mousepad etc.

But moreover, it can generate a very cool (Moo-like) Twitter business card in a single click. It actually takes all the information from your Twitter Bio and place it over the back side of the card. On the front side it show only your twitter username & image (simply wonderful). You can customize the text on the card, or leave it as it is, either way it's very easy to create, and will take you only a few minutes.

A pack of 20 cards costs $6.95 (in the U.S.) and £5.45 (for the rest of the world) - Powered by Zazzle

10 Israeli Startups Presented at TWS2009 - Take a Look

2009-07-20T19:28:00.016+03:00

TWS2009 is an Israeli tech conference that occurred last week in Tel-Aviv, Israel. The focal point of the conference for me was the ten companies that were showcased on stage. Some might be familiar already, some perhaps not but all are worth keeping an eye on.

Before I start with the list, I just want to mention the fact that Israeli startups never fail to impress me. Since I live in Israel, I get to see so many new applications that still in their early stages firsthand. Some of them are sometimes only in the conceptual stages, but I'm telling you right now - be prepared cause where I'm standing from, there's still a lot to await. And yes, that's always exciting.

ComSpace - CamSpace is a free program that lets you control computer games using your WebCam with everyday, ordinary objects. So instead of using a mouse, keyboard or joystick, now you can use objects or even your fingers to control your game play.

ContextIn offers a semantic technology solutions, improving the performance of online display advertising. Multi-content sites and User Generated Content publishers produce complex problems for delivering the most relevant ads. ContextIn changes that by automatically detecting the main topics of any given web page and matching it to user's Semantic Profile, to deliver the most targeted ads as possible.

Cellerium aimed to enable a widespread development of the Mobile-Web by generating smart interfaces for dynamic Mobile Web applications. The platform empowers the easiness of transposing all Web sites and applications into Mobile applications, while using the existing data, content and functionality.

VirtualWeb helps companies to create, manage, and grow their website online community, enabling commercial enterprises and online publishers of any scale to capitalize on evolving Social Network Marketing opportunities to maximize their online business results and monetize their websites.

Using patent-pending technology, the Reimage Web-based repair service does exactly what a human being would do when repairing a PC: observes then acts using experience and knowledge, while leaving all user data and applications intact.

Cmycase converts floor plans into photorealistic 3D images and connects them to your website without requiring any integration. It's a perfect service for Real-estate & Travel agencies, Home stores, and alike. See example here, and watch the Demo for more.

WatchDox delivers protection for safe and secure document. It enable users to securely send confidential documents to anyone while maintaining control of who can view, copy or print them. A user can also track when and where the documents has been opened. With WatchDox people can send documents for free either via the web or directly from their Outlook email application (with the WatchDox Outlook plug-in). Recipients will be able to view the documents in seconds, without having to install anything on their computer.

The Kids Kingdom
I have to admit it was surprising to see three kids services in a list of just ten, though they are all certainly worthy. What can I say... we're doing some fun & safe Internet for kids here. (and even more to come this year)

The KIDO'Z browser made for young kids and create protected and easy to use environment for surfing the net. Tons of top kids' content is loaded into KIDO'Z, but content can be also added by the parents who have complete control over their kids activities. The kid-friendly and colorful user interface makes KIDO'Z easy and fun to use. Kids can navigate KIDO'Z without needing to know how to read or write. For more information see my previous post.

Full compatibility with Touch-screen:

Tweegee (last year TechCrunch50 finalist), is a Web Portal for Tweens which offers them a complete world of internet resources to create, share and have fun with. It's a one-stop site which provides Tweens with a safe and integrated ability to take full ownership of their online activities, to create their own complete personal web sites, communicate via web based email and organizer, engage in rich multiplayer games, read news most relevant to them, author their own articles and much more.

Shidonni is a creative fun zone for kids. The service provide a safe environment where kids and their parents can create imaginary worlds and animals, play games and interact with friends. Shidonni is based on unique proprietary patented algorithms and using Microsoft Silverlight. Watch Shidonni's Demo for more:

Also check Techcrunch coverage of the event.

A New Way To Manage Your Shared Content

2009-07-19T22:13:00.009+03:00

Sharein is a browser-based link sharing tools for social media and email. The new service allows you to share any content that you find interesting on the web (articles, pictures, videos) by simply using the Sharein Firefox extension, or even simpler - with a browser bookmarklet. When you discover something that you want to share, just click the Sharein button to begin.

Through the sharing box you are able to share any of your favorite webpage directly to Twitter, Facebook, or email. You can also save it in your Sharein account which can actually be your new bookmarking management, where you can see your saved content, organize it, reshare it, manage your contacts, and more.

Additionally, Sharein aggregates public content shared by other users, to a shares section that can be watched by anyone. The content is organized and categorized for an easy reading, and registered users can rate the content and comment on it.

The company is backed by angel investors, and their CEO (Colin Wong), is a former Googler.

A Real-Time Twitterstream Widget to your Site or Blog

2009-07-14T18:00:00.006+03:00

This week I was looking for a quick way to integrate Twitter search widget in a site, and RealtimeChatterBox was the one service that gave the best and quickest results.

You can integrate the Real-Time Chatterbox into your website in a snap. Style the box to match your site and brand the chatterbox however you like.
(One of the companies I worked with tested it today in their blog, and you can see live example here - it works perfectly)

RealtimeChatterBox also uses an automatic filter that handles offensive language and removes posts before they hit your chatterbox. You can also add your own words and phrases. Automatically eliminate or moderate posts based on your selections.

The service is free for individuals and non-profits.

5 Useful Firefox Extensions You May Not Know About

2009-07-12T10:51:00.015+03:00

The reason why I don't switch to Chrome Browser completely is its lack of extensions ability, and also because I'm waiting to see what are the next killer features in Firefox, in terms of Tabs & Search functionality. Though I have to admit, I'm getting used to work with Chrome.

Meanwhile, I always in search for extensions that will make our life easier, and lately I have testet some plugins that can come in handy, especially if you work daily on the Internet.

Apart from the fact that Aviary web toolkit is absolutely amazing, their Firefox addon Talon, enables quick screen capture from the browser in a single click. It will perform a screen capture and then open the image instantly in a basic image editor where you can do markup (draw arrows and rectangles), edit (crop, rotate and resize) and get the exact pixel colors of the image. You can then save it to your desktop, or host it on Aviary. A perfect tool for Bloggers and Designers.

I also suggest that you'll try their newest product - Falcon. A web-based image markup editor.

Israeli-based New Tab King (NTK), gives you a brief analytics dashboard on your web-browsing history each time you open a new tab in FireFox. It provides you with your most visited sites list (where you can filter the list to your favorites only), recently closed tabs, relevant suggested sites, and shortcuts to applications on your desktop. You can configure just about everything there: background image, sites that you don't want to be shown, the number of sites per segment, and many more.

I already wrote about Speedtile in my blog, but since then the service and its Firefox plugin got even better. So now, instead of "right click" in the mouse, you have this big button on your browser that all you really need to do is to click on it to bookmark favorite webpages:

and I'm telling you, I'm a big fan of Delicious, but if you want to get a full picture of your bookmarked sites fast, Speedtile is the best choice for you.

ShiftSpace (Israeli-based), is actually a Greasemonkey script for Firefox that seeks to expand the creative possibilities currently provided through the web. Therefore it provides tools for everyone to create online contexts built in and on top of websites. ShiftSpace users can leave annotations on websites, highlight text on the page, write comments on other people notes, and more.

I've just bumped into Gliider today, so I'm still waiting for an invite, but overall it looks like a very powerful vacation planner. Gliider lets you hold on to all of the interesting stuff you come across when you're researching and planning a trip. Find a cool hotel you don't want to forget about, or save a great restaurant you want to try. No matter what website you're on, just highlight whatever you want with your mouse and drag it into your Gliider. Photos, text, etc.

See more on the Demo below: