Category: Reviews
February 26th, 2007
Startup Spotlight: GroupRecipes.com
[Note: There is a lot of junk out there in the Web 2.0 space. I'd like to help readers cull through some of that to find not only good services, but great ideas. So, in my weekly Startup Spotlight I'll be assigning a score to a solution based on four criteria…does it serve a need, does it solve a problem, does it enable it's users, and does it take a creative approach? Highest score being 5 in each category, with the potential total being 20. Regardless of my final opinion, I want each company to get an opportunity to make it's case first, and not just have some reviewer tearing it apart. It's tough enough being a startup. ]
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To say I'm passionate about food would be like saying Trekkers don't have an ongoing debate about Kirk versus Picard.
I have knives sharp as lasers. I spend about $50-$70 on coffee each month. And our monthly food budget has a special section dedicated to Italian cured meats. I've even thought of putting my startup business experience to work creating a food lovers network…so imagine how happy I was to find a site already out there.
Described to me as a niche social network with the primary function not being networking, but food, GroupRecipes has a lot of interesting things to offer, and one of the few networking sites I actually might spend any length of time on.
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fblogs.zdnet.com%2Fweb2explorer%2Fimages%2Fgrouprecipeslogo.jpg)
There are a number of key things about this site I like. One of them being that unlike other social networks that only give value once you are a member, this site does not require membership to get something out of it. Without membership you can explore recipes, videos, flavor trends, and even user profiles. These things are paramount, in my opinion, if you want to convince people to sign up and join any community. Anything that makes me jump through hoops from the start, immediately turns me off.
I asked Kristopher Lederer (Chief Group Recipes Nerd) of GroupRecipes to tell me a little more about the site.
February 20th, 2007
Quick Review: Logitech Harmony
Part of my goal with this blog is expanding on the idea of what web 2.0 is…what it means…and where it is going. More and more we are seeing delightful hybrids of web to device, like Skype phones and streaming music devices. Logitech has taken that idea and applied it to their Harmony line of remote controls…and I'm loving it.
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fec2.images-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FP%2FB000GD3J3G.01-A23NLORBGXOLEO._AA280_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg)
Let's face it…most universal remotes suck.
January 31st, 2007
Quick Review: Hands on with the iPhone
January 19th, 2007
Quick Review: Hands on With the Belkin Skype Phone
Three years ago I let go of one of the last vestiges of the wired world by cutting the land-line phone and moving to wireless. The problem with this has popped up in a number of unlikely places. One, I moved from a house to a new condo…and the reality of not having a permanent phone line and stationary phone hit hard. Once I had moved in I learned my front door buzzer required a connection to a phone line. So why not just have it ring to my cell phone? With two people living here, if one happens to leave…well you get the gist.
The second brutal truth was learning that the wireless signal in this area of San Francisco was spotty and we were often dropping our mobile calls. It was so bad that we had to map out areas of our home where you could get a signal…most of these involved pressing your head against the window and raising at least one arm to the sky.
Can you hear me yet?
The solution I came up with was to have the front door buzzer linked to my Skype account. The obvious problem here was I always had to have my laptop handy, which sadly resembled the new Zune Phone.
And then, like an answer from some technology prayer, came the announcement from a number of vendors that cordless Skype phones (which didn't require a connection to a computer) were on the way. At last, to be able to own a device like this was thrilling! Finally, a seamless merger of the Web 2.0 VOIP world I've known through computers…with a device that resembled the cordless phones I've been using for 20 years.
So last November I put in an order for the Belkin 802.11 Skype phone.
It came last week.
How does the reality stack up to the concept?
November 7th, 2006
Review of Web 2.0 Summit Launchpad
At the Web 2.0 Summit Launchpad, 13 web startups have 5 minutes each to present their wares. Here are some quick impressionistic views of how it went….
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.flickr.com%2F115%2F291802122_5ed47a2e84_m.jpg)
In the chair is a music-based video game, where people can interact with music - e.g. generate your own content and play along. It's being billed as a music publishing platform, with mashup and remix tools. Today is the launch of their version 2 beta. Seems like a cute tool, not sure how useful it is for most people.
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.flickr.com%2F120%2F291802094_51b0d7f8c5_m.jpg)
instructables is "step-by-step collaboration" for home projects. It's targeted at "passionate" hobbyists. Again, it's a nice tool… not groundbreaking.
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.flickr.com%2F118%2F291802244_db5bafe16e_s.jpg)
Klostu is positioning itself as "the blogosphere of bulletin boards". Its aim is to connect boards together, by giving you a unique id that you can use across multiple boards. As the presenter said, it "has all the bells and whistles of social networks".
A good concept perhaps, although not sure if it's compelling to bulletin board users - aren't they loyal to their particular boards? Not sure, but I'm curious to know the percentage of people who use multiple bulletin boards.
![[image]](http://mowser.com/img?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic.flickr.com%2F101%2F291802264_8d79dd21f3_m.jpg)
Sharpcast is next and this is a product I like. It synchs data across PCs, the Web and mobile. Sharpcast Photos was the first such product, but today Gibu Thomas the CEO is launching a product code-named Hummingbird - which synchs all files. Gibu had some issues with his demo computers, but nevertheless the product is a compelling one I believe.
October 10th, 2006
Google Docs & Spreadsheets: More pieces of Google Office
The new combined Writely and Google Spreadsheets interface has just gone live, under the name Google Docs & Spreadsheets. The Writely.com site now re-directs to http://docs.google.com and the Writely brand has been replaced by the usual no-frills Google brand. The homepage allows you to tag and sort your files. There are also common functions, like import and export. The new doc and spreadsheet pages now look almost identical, with similar tabs and layout.
CNET has an early review:
"Today's release of Google Docs and Spreadsheets is a step forward, and I trust that Google will continue to improve the feature set, usability, and integration of these two products. At a preview for bloggers earlier today, we heard about some future plans like integration with Gmail (when you get a word processing file or a spreadsheet as an attachment, you'll have the option to open the file in Docs and Spreadsheets). The team is also working on APIs, so other programmers can access the functionality of the applications. Also, Google is going to "take a shot" at a disconnected version, for users who want to access files when they are offline. And they're working on other applications, too."
While I still think this is a piecemeal solution, it looks like Google is putting a lot of effort into web-based office. Kudos to them.
September 14th, 2006
Yahoo Mail Beta released - new Ajax features
Today Yahoo is releasing the new Ajax-powered version of Yahoo Mail to all users in the US and across 18 international markets. I spoke to Ethan Diamond, director of product management for the new Yahoo! Mail, to talk about the product. Ethan was previously the founder of Oddpost, a pioneer in Ajaxian web email, which got acquired by Yahoo in July 2004 - so he is the perfect person to speak to when it comes to web email.
New Features
The new features include an integrated calendar timeline (including mashups with Yahoo Maps), drag and drop e-mail organization, message preview, tabs for messages, plus an integrated RSS reader. There are also plenty of links to other Yahoo properties, such as this one just above the inbox: "Start your own blog here" (which leads to Yahoo360).
In my testing of the product, my favorite feature so far is a seemingly simple - yet surprisingly effective - one: the ability to have multiple e-mail messages open at the same time using tabs. Given that I virtually live in my email inbox and often am conducting a few email conversations at a time, this feature comes in very handy!
September 10th, 2006
Opera: The Little Browser That Could
In this second part of my interview with Opera CTO Hakon Wium Lie (part 1 is here), we discuss the impressive feature set of the Opera browser. Despite having a market share of only 0.64%, according to the latest figures from Net Applications, Opera has a loyal user base and a reputation for innovation.
I told Hakon that some of the features I like about Opera are its mobile version and the widgets. Hakon said they introduced widgets in Opera 9 and they’re based on the 4 main web technologies: HTML, CSS, Javascript, DOM. He said that Opera widgets can "run on a lot of devices as well." So their widgets can run on desktop, mobile phones (once mobile phones start to ship with Opera 9) and other devices. He said there are more than 500 widgets available currently - and notes that they want widgets to be standardized, so they can run on more than just Opera.
Opera positioning
I asked about Opera’s positioning as a browser, in such a competitive market (Microsoft and Mozilla). I see Opera in the same light as the other small browsers - as a niche player and going after niche markets which perhaps the big players don’t focus too much on. In Opera’s case they are highly regarded as a mobile browser. So I asked Hakon how he views Opera, compared to the big players. He told me they "want to be all over the place", but they really want to grow their desktop browser market share. Communication about their features has been a problem for them. He believes that features like being able to delete private data easily are compelling for mainstream users, but it’s hard to get the word out. He says you don’t need to be a geek to use these things, so they’d love to attract more desktop users.
September 6th, 2006
Google Office: a close-up look
In the accompanying Image Gallery, I’ve gone through 7 products that may become part of a future Google Web Office. Right now, Google doesn’t have a full web-based office suite on the market - but this year they’ve gradually been compiling Web Office parts. For example if you click on "all my services" in the top left corner of your Gmail, you’ll go to your Google account and see a list of products that Google offers. Many of them are Web Office parts, or could easily become a part of a Web Office. Here is the current list:
So there are 9 current Google services listed - the 6 I’ve highlighted are Office candidates. You can add word processing app Writely to that, which makes 7 possible Web Office suite parts. Some of the pre-beta products from the Google Labs page are possible additions in the future, as well as Labs "graduates" like Google Desktop. But let’s not worry too much about what’s missing (presentations and project management aren’t even Google products yet).
Indeed there’s a lot of work to be done to integrate the 7 office-like products listed above. While recently Google released the oddly named Google Apps for Your Domain - which bundles together Gmail, Google Talk, Calendar and Page Creator - it’s just the start of what could be done to integrate products into an office suite.
Even so it’s worth looking at the current product mix, for clues to a future Google Office. In the Image Gallery I’ve compiled, I’ve focused on the 7 office-like products listed above. I’ve highlighted a few promising Web Office features from most of the products, even if there’s work to be done by Google yet.
August 28th, 2006
IE7 Release Candidate 1 - Review and Image Gallery
IE7 is slated to be a big step forward in Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser - and it’s just gone out of beta and into ‘release candidate 1′ mode. So in this post I review the features of Internet Explorer 7 Release Candidate 1, with an accompanying Image Gallery.
As Ed Bott noted last week when IE7 is a safe and sound browser, with solid if unspectacular features IE7 Candidate 1 was released, there’s not much difference between this and the previous release called Beta 3. While this version of IE7 still falls short in CSS standards compliance, IE Group Program Manager Chris Wilson told me a couple of weeks ago that the goal in IE7 is to gradually support more and more web standards. So let’s put the standards support issue to one side (for now) and look instead at the new features in IE7, such as RSS support and improved UI.
Safe and sound
The Image Gallery I’ve put together shows a set of safe but solid features. Security is probably top of the list of ‘enhanced’ features in IE7. Indeed the very first pop-up box I came across when using my newly-installed IE7 Release Candidate 1 was a "Set up Phishing Filter" option/warning.
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