apps

SAN DIEGO-- At the side-by-side ETech and Graphing Social Patterns conferences, before the Monday Night Werewolf social event kicks off, there is the AppNite session, in which 10 developers showcase their new apps, in five minutes each. It's like a mini Demo. But the apps are rougher, and because of that, a bit more intriguing. The first six apps were made for Facebook, the last four were Open Social demos.

Biggest Brain is a quiz game that challenges you with geeky brain speed tests such as counting blocks on-screen. Then you get to compare the "size of your brain" with your Facebook pal. Verdict: You Don't Know Jack it ain't, sorry.

Just Three Words is a group story-telling app for Facebook in which participants weave a story by entering three words at a time, in a giant text free-for-all. The presenter said, without a hint of irony, that these stories are helping "weave engagement at a level of depth." He also said a lot of the stories can't be run on a family site. What would you do with three words? Verdict: Fun parlor game, less likely to get the developers sued into oblivion than Scrabulous.

Puzzle Messages lets you enter a message for another person or to put on s site, but it scrambles it as a jigsaw puzzle, which your viewers have to reconstruct before they can read. Works in Facebook or you can put on a blog or other social site. Verdict: Someone please find this app on Facebook (I couldn't) and send me a press release as a puzzle message so I can mock it. Please.

Ski & Snowboard is a Facebook app that lets you find resorts that other users like. You can also collect "badges," like lift tickets, to show others where you're been. There's a bit more here, too: There's a mini wall for notes, a way to find ski buddies by level (it asks you to confirm double-black-diamond eligibility by having your friends to confirm it). And there's a trip planner sub-app within. Verdict: Impressive demo. A lot of functionality for a very focused, and very social, activity. See also Liftopia.

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MIAMI--The Knight Concert Hall in Miami's Carnival Center complex was filled with a whole lot of Mac laptops on Friday morning for a day of panels and lectures at the Future of Web Apps conference.

Ryan Carson, co-founder of conference organizer Carsonified, had selected freelance Web consultants Brian Oberkirch and Tantek Celik to "emcee" the event and give the audience an idea of what the day's major themes would be.

So what is the future of Web apps? There are a few concrete trends, Oberkirch and Celik told the audience.

First, they said, there's simplicity--the … Read more

As users of the Internet we face security threats every day. Nefarious hackers (not all hackers), viruses, and spyware are rampant when online, and not taking precautions can mean lost data or even worse, identity theft. Frankly, if your computer is unprotected, you are rolling the dice every time you go online. Certainly many users already know this and are already using trusted software, or have other security measures in place to ensure safe surfing. This Killer Download is for those who don't or anyone who has questions regarding their safety online.

Whenever I get a new system or … Read more

What's faster than opening a new browser tab and typing in the URL? Opening a Web page with Launchy, of course.

Last week we showed you how to open all your media files, documents, and programs using the quick-start application (if you missed it, we've included it below). In this quick tip video, CNET editor Tom Merritt demonstrates, as only he can, how to open Web sites, start an online search, and create search commands with this must-have freeware.

Miss last week's quick tip? After the first video, stick around for a second to learn how to … Read more

One of our hits from 2007 was Google Gears, and our predictions for it was that many Web applications would begin to integrate it over the course of 2008. Already that prediction looks to be coming true, with what appears to be the first signs that Gears is coming to Google Docs and Spreadsheets. The discovery was made earlier this week by Google Blogoscoped's Tony Ruscoe. He was able to edit document names and star them, but not open or create any documents without getting sent to blank browser pages.

Ruscoe's not letting anyone in on how he … Read more

The Web 2.0 development platform, KickApps, released Version 3.0 of their service today. For those who don't know, KickApps allows web site publishers to add a "social media" page to their site, which may include spaces for blog posts, pictures, videos, and a message board. The service also allows the user to embed widgets containing this media throughout their site. For a good example of what I am talking about, check out the newly launched Guinness World Records site.

The newest release will provide for more developer support through KickApps' new Open API's. Those … Read more

BBC on Thursday published an article by Joel Selanikio, a noted public health physician and proponent of using technology to aid health efforts in developing nations. He makes a strong call for software developers to write apps for cell phones. In impoverished areas where wireless networks and mobile phones are nearly ubiquitous, why write Windows applications to help education and other development efforts? Many ordinary people already have a "computer in their pocket," so it makes sense, he says, to start there.

He points to an important difference between the "rich world" and developing countries, namely … Read more

I've had a love/hate relationship with Apple TV since its release. Despite yesterday's price cut, the addition of the movie rental service, and computer-free content acquisition for things like Podcasts and music tracks, to me it's still not a necessary living-room entertainment device. The big deal-killer for me is still the closed system, which, for a modern-day streaming device, continues to act as if certain file formats don't exist, despite the competition's (including Microsoft) beginning to accept them with open arms.

However, the one thing that does interest me and gets me actually wanting … Read more

I wanted to touch on two Facebook apps this afternoon that are highly useful for people with a lot of friends. One is to keep an eye on them, while the other is simply a means of extending your presence on multiple networks at the same time.

The first is called Unfriender, and it's been kicking around since last month. Once installed and given access to your data, it'll keep an eye on people you've added as friends and let you know if they've removed you as a friend later down the line. As a reason … Read more