I'm back! : More Cool Web apps!

OK, I've been a bit busy, and the brilliant weather in Dublin has not been a great help. Seems like summer has arrived in Ireland, and the Paddies (including plastic Paddies like myself - cheap imports...) are out en-masse, basking in the sun, because, with typical Irish optimism - "It won't last. Better enjoy it whilst we can." Dear lord, I think this 'optimism' is contagious - I seem to be saying/thinking this myself!

Well, OK, although I haven't updated my blog in a week or so, I have stored some really interesting stuff, and have some interesting updates. Remember I have been reporting on this Twitter thing and said that I was quite confused as I though it was something to do with TWiT?

Well, it seems as if Leo Lapporte of TWiT thinks so as well, and he has defected with all his 'friends', to Jaiku, a similar 'What are you doing?' type nanoblog. Read this report on WebWare - REALLY interesting reading if you're interested in the web and all its strange happenings! How to win in the Twitter vs. Jaiku battle

Leo's side of the story is posted here : Goodbye Twitter. Hello Jaiku. - LOL: The Life of Leo
This shows the power of some of the web's podcasters and the draw of their actions, and how this can have an influence on start-up technology companies. TWiT has a strong following and several hundred thousand downloads. And, given the impact of Social Networks, this spreads very quickly.

I have to admit that I have become a bit of a Stumbler. Remember I said I had installed it on my FireFox browser when I reviewed it? Well, I discovered the Friends section, so it creates its own communities and Groups, as you may remember. And then I discovered it had a section under Personal to check your personality, so being of a compulsive nature I just had to do that!

Well, it described me as personality type ISTJ (see here for the descriptions - hope I'm not giving away too much about myself here! ISTJ - Jung Type Descriptions) But, with all the stumbling I have come across some really interesting stuff. Here is one I found last night:

Tubes. Connect Instantly.
They say "Today's digital world has little to no breakpoints between work, family and friends since, for the most part, you computer is the center of your digital life. No doubt by now you have experienced the power of email and IM - now Tubes is there to pick up where these apps left off. Tubes snaps into your world by letting you create or join simple sharing communities with everyone you already know. Use Tubes to share pictures, videos, documents - anything digital, with anyone you want - anytime."

Sooo... being CO (compulsive obsessive according to my dearest loving other half, with which I naturally strongly disagree as I merely have a curious and open mind), I loaded it. The video is very interesting. For a video on how to use it, click here. Basically it is Drag and Drop Instant Messaging for your files. If you remember in the 'old day', some shops had vacuum tubes that they sent things from one part of a shop to another? Well, this does it across the Internet. Now, as per usual, I am busy recruiting my guinea pigs to test this with!

Oh, and tonight I found another interesting site: Zamzar. REALLY way-out name, and what does it do? Online file conversion from various types to others, and then it emails it to you. They have a privacy statement, and I PRESUME it means they won't add you to some spammer's database, but you never know... Anyhow, as with all start-ups, it is in Beta. If you decide to test it, there are Google ads discretely tucked in below it which can be confusing as it relates to software for file conversions. You can either select files on your PC to upload, or you can paste in a URL. It even claims to convert YouTube URL's. It can handle images, documents, music and video formats.

Remember my last great test, Famster, that I started up with such gusto? Well, it seems as if I am the only one in the family with the gusto. All the 'get-up-and-go' in the rest of the family got up and went I'm afraid. Texas, Johannesburg and Victoria, Canada have all failed to show any interest. So, I guess it only works if the rest of the family have an interest in sharing as well.

*Sigh*

I guess I might have to can that one. I have obviously failed miserably to enthuse the rest of the family!

Oh, a last quick one - if you have any interest in Ireland's history, check out a fellow stumbler's website: Celtic Historic Sites near Dublin His Stumbler profile can be found at Stumbler

Well, I'm going to be off line for a few days again as I head out to a conference in Prague, but I am bound to find some more interesting stuff, and I haven't finished the CNN.Money start-ups yet!