Vint Cerf talking about the evolution of the Internet

In October 08, the "Father of the Internet" gave this short interview to Andy Plesser, from Beet.TV. He talks about the challenges of helping the Internet to become more widespread (Cerf mentions that the 1.3 billion users represent only 20% of the population) and that we are not creating as many jobs as we could due to broadband limited availability.

He also talks about how the Internet had enabled a wide range of applications, and mentions some of the challenges he foresees moving forward.

Peepel: online Office where you can run different applications on the same browser window

Peepel is an oline Office suite that took a different approach in usability. Besides the usual features also available in similar apps (it can import and export files, promote collaboration and store your files online), what makes it different is the fact that you can have applications opened simultaneously, on the same window, as if the browser were your desktop.

It offers 4 applications: WebSheet, WebWriter, Browser and Calculator, and it has a dynamic panel on the top, that changes to reflect the app being used. You can also stack or cascade windows and the interface is very user-friendly.

As far as I could see, Peepel doesn't have the same sort of features available in Google Docs, Zoho or ThinkFree. It also don't have a presentation software. However, if you are looking for a minimalist and creative tool to manage your basic office needs and coolaborate with co-workers and friends, I recommend you give it a try.

Peepel is optimized for Firefox and is free. Access Peepel here.

Meet the amazing Nokia N97

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O2Li74EYew&hl=en&fs=1]

The Nokia N97 was announced at the Nokia World Conference last year in Barcelona and is not available yet. However, this video gives a flavor of what this new amazing iPhone killer will look like. The quad-band device will come with internal 32 Gb storage, expandable with 16 Gb Micro SD card. It will also feature 5 megapixels camera with Carl Zeiss lenses and provide wi-fi and bluetooth connections.

It is expected to launch in Europe this semester, with an estimated price of 550 Euros. US users will have to wait a bit longer, I guess.

Skyfire: experience the web on your phone as you do on your computer

Skyfire is another very welcome browser that comes to the market to significantly improve mobile web browsing. Besides Safari on the iPhone and iPod Touch, it competes with Opera Mini and Teashark, but seems to be the option that offers the widest range of compatibility, really boosting the user's experience for a variety of pages. According to their website:

Skyfire is a free, downloadable mobile browser that gives you a web browsing experience exactly like PC browsing. For the first time ever, on your phone, you can watch any video, connect with friends, listen to music, shop, and browse the web using the full-featured PC versions of your favorite websites. With Skyfire, mobile browsing just works -- speedy page loads, full video, images and audio.

Skyfire is currently available for Windows Mobile and Nokia's Symbian (N and E series).

Learn more about Skyfire here.

Best Linux netbook under $300

Although most of the newer netbooks are coming with Windows XP pre-installed, there are still good affordable options for those who want to get a linux machine. There are different linux distributions being enhanced for these small wonders, and despite the fact that you get a more modern OS, there is a significant difference in boot time, which is significantly less compared to XP.

After a lot of research, the 2 machines below seem to be the best options if you want to stay below the USD $300 budget:

Sylvania GNET28001SN Meso

Despite the initial reaction of seeing a light bulb maker stamping its brand in a computer, this device is definitely worth a closer look. Featuring the 1.6 GHz Intel Atom Processor, a 8.9-Inch LED backlit display, the Meso has an integrated webcam, 1GB of RAM and 80 Gb hard drive. Running Intel 945 Express Graphics Chipset, it has 802.11b/g wireless and 3 USB ports. It runs Ubuntu and weighs 2.2 lbs. As of today, the average rating at Amazon (from 45 owners) is a respectable 4 stars. The price ranges from USD $269,00-$299,96, depending on the color (buy it here).


ASUS Eee PC 901

The Eee PC 901 from netbook pioneer ASUS is another excellent option. It has the same processor, screen, number of USB ports and memory of the Meso, but instead of the 80 Gb HD, it offers a 20Gb SSD drive. Compared to the Meso, its main advantages are the larger keyboard (ASUS claim it to be 95% the size of a regular keyboard), the multi-touch trackpad, 20 Gb of virtual drive and 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. Also, the 901 allows memoryupgrades, which is not true for the Meso. On the downside, many claims the Xandros Linux distribution is not as good as Ubuntu. Average rating from 93 reviewers at Amazon is currently averaging also 4 stars, and it sells for USD 274,98 (buy it here).

Veredict

Although many of the specs are similar, the ASUS EeePC brings some extras (and the important ability to upgrade the RAM) that makes it a better option. You can always replace Xandros with gOS or Ubuntu Remix if you want. However, if you need more HD real state and don't care about the EeePC differentials, the Sylvania might also be a very good alternative out of the box.

DimDim: free web conferences and online meetings

Webex killer DimDim is a very good option for those who need to make a presentation on the web. It is very easy to setup and doesn't require anyinstallation. It runs well on PCs and Macs and is open source.

According to their site:

Dimdim lets anyone deliver synchronized live presentations, white boards and web pages and share their voice and video over the Internet - with no download required. Remember how hard it was to get your music into your pocket before the iPod? Well, you know how hard it is to get your web meetings started on time? We made it our mission to create a web conferencing system as easy to use as the iPod. With Dimdim, a single click is all it takes to meet.

DimDim is free for up to 20 participants, costs USD 19,00/month for up to 50 and there is also an Enterprise version, with no price available on the site.

Try DimDim here. Perhaps it can spare you from your next undesired business trip.

Compress your images to the limit with smush.it

Smush.it is a dead simple tool that allows you to compress your image to the lowest size possible through non-lossy image optimization technology. You simply upload your file, and after a few seconds you download the optimized version and get a report saying how many bytes you saved. That's it.

Some features from their website:

  • You can upload a bunch of pictures in your browser
  • You can provide us with a list of image urls or
  • You can get a Firefox Extension or a cross-browser bookmarklet to optimize the images found on any web page

Try smush.it here.

Cherrypal: the small, "green" and affordable nettop

While the netbook market is growing everywhere, Cherrypal offers the concept of nettop: a very small (double the size of a smartphone), low power consumption streamlined desktop. It is currently available at Amazon for USD $249.

Below the descriptions from their website:

TheCherryPal™C114 desktop doesn't heat up, no noise, about double the size of a smartphone. What's inside? Not much actually, but more than enough. The Freescale power architecture triple-core 5121e processor provides a pleasant Internet browsing and multimedia user experience. Manyfree open-source based applications are pre-installed locally, as well as access to the CherryPalCloud (optional).

These are the detailed specs:

Freescale’s MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800MIPS (400 MHz) of processing
256 MB of DDR2 DRAM
8GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive (increased from 4GB C100)
WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
Two USB 2.0 ports
One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack
One VGA DB-15 display out jack
Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5mm jack
9v DC 2.5mm 10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply
Weighs 10 ounces
1.3” high, 5.8” x 4.2” wide
GreenMaraschino Linux 

Although the concept is very interesting and the unit is small and pretty, I wonder why one would by this machine instead of a netbook. Netbooks already come with a keyboard, screen and trackpad, and are currently sold for a similar price (the eeePC 901, for example, has better specs and sells for only $15 bucks more). Cherrypal also offers the "bing", a more expensive netbook ($ 399,00).

Pixlr: free effective and easy to use online image editor

Swedish Image Editor Pixlr offers a fast and intuitive software for those who need basic image editing capabilities. As stated on their website:

Pixlr is built for non-professionals, the users that have basic editing needs. It's not for large RAW images or for printing. It is merely a tool for editing web images to be posted on blogs, news-sites, social networks like Facebook, Myspace Bebo, image sites like Flickr, Fotolog, Photobucket etc.

I have started using Pixlr for editing the images for this blog and I'm very happy with the results. One handy feature I use a lot is the ability to open an image from the web by entering its URL. Pixlr is built in Flash, so you need to have Flash Player installed to run it.

Besides the photoshop-like image editor, Pixlr also offers a very intuitive software called Photo Express. Open your picture (from your computer or the web), and in a few clicks you'll be able to crop it, rotate it, adjust brightness and contrast, or apply very interesting effects.

Try Pixlr here.