TextFlow: a different approach to collaboration for text documents

At this point, you probably used (or have tried) online word processors like Zoho, Google Docs or ThinkFree to collaborate on a document. The concept is simple: everyone points to the same doccument and make the changes from their browsers.

A Sweedish company called Nordic River is offering a different approach to online collaboration on texts. With TextFlow, all your colleagues work separately "offline" on their usual word processor (MS Word or Open Office), and after you get all files through e-mail you drag-and-drop them to TextFlow to compare versions and make decisions on the editing.

The interface is very sleek and I see value in being able to compare different docs this way. However, it sounds to me that it is much easier to go with the approach taken by the companies I mentioned at the top. Perhaps I'm missing something here.

TextFlow can be used through any browser or the installable Adobe Air version. It is free, unless you want to pay US$ 99,00 per year to use the Professional edition and get rid of the "not for commercial use" watermark automatically added to all documents.

Try TextFlow here.

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11.6" Joybook Eco: who can say this not a regular laptop? [Portable Monkey]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oO9x6a5ICcE&hl=en&fs=1&]

Larger screen, regular keyboard, generous HD. Take all these features generally found only in regular laptops, add 9.5h of battery life, affordable price and an environmental friendly package, and you get a sense of what the Joybook Eco offers.

According to Portable Monkey, these are the specs on the Eco:

Atom Z520 Processor, GMA500 graphics, 11.6” 1366 x 768 HD Display, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G, 8-32GB SSD, 160-500GB HDD, 1.3MP Webcam, VGA out, 3x USB, auido jacks, Kensington lock, LAN and card reader.

The "Eco" name comes from the fact that this netbook is made out of 25% recyclable materials. Another great feature is the "quick charge" mode, where you get ~7 hours of battery life for only 1 hour of charge.

It will be released only in Taiwan for now at a price point of around USD $500+.

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Rollip: make any digital photo look like a Polaroid

Donationware Rollip is a very simple web application that lets you transform any picture into a downloadable "Polaroid" photo.

All you have to do is select one of the 12 available effects (soft-focus - or not - and different color saturation), upload your photo and download the converted version. That's it.

I've tried one of my pictures and it looks very real. If you are looking for some cool effect to add to your next presentation or are just feeling nostalgic, you should try Rollip here.

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Can a smartphone be more breathtaking than the iPhone? Yes, it can. Meet the new HTC Hero (with Android)

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

I am a big fan of the iPhone. It has set a new standard for the experience on a mobile phone, specially related to your life on the web. Than came the Palm Pre and put Palm back in the game with another impressive device. There is also Android, but the interface didn't impress much, and the HTC G1 was clunky and reportedly slow.

With the launch of the Android powered HTC Hero, we are seeing a new milestone for the industry. The device is much sexier compared to the G1 and the improved Android OS is amazingly impressive (see the video above).

Here you can find a little more about the hero:

With its 3.2-inch HVGA display, the HTC Hero is optimized for Web, multimedia and other content, while maintaining a small size and weight that fits comfortably in your hand. It also boasts a broad variety of hardware features including AGPS, digital compass, gravity-sensor, 3.5mm stereo headset jack, a five mega-pixel autofocus camera and expandable MicroSD memory. HTC Hero also includes a dedicated Search button that goes beyond basic search, providing you with a more natural, contextual search experience that enables you to search through Twitter, locate people in your contact list, find emails in your inbox or search in any other area in Hero.

The Hero was launched recently in UK and is expected to hit other European and Asian countries this summer. Prices will vary according to plans, but apparently the device will be fully subsidized in some cases.

More details about the HTC Hero can be found here.

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Pitaculous: combine colors like an artist for your website or presentation

How many times have you faced the situation of needing to create a professional document, but had no clue about which colors to use? Web application Pictaculous can give you a great hand.

The process is very simple: you select a picture, upload it, hit a button and that's it. What you can see above is the suggested color pallet for the Van Gogh's painting I've chosen as inspiration.

In addition to the main suggested pallet, the site offers some related pallets from color websites Adobe Kuler and Colourlovers (the one I used to come up with the colors for FLYABYTE).

There is also a very nice iPhone functionality available (see how it works below), allowing you to get inspiration from anything in the "real world" that can be captured with your camera.

Pitaculous is free and can be accessed here.

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Chrome OS: Google's lightweight OS for netbooks based on its innovative browser

Google announced yesterday that is working on an exciting Operating System project, called Chrome OS. Please see below some highlights I selected from their official blog post:

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web.

All web-based applications will automatically work and new applications can be written using your favorite web technologies. And of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.

FLYABYTE will certainly stay tuned for future news related to this important milestone for Cloud Computing.

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Image credits to e-maniacs.

Toshiba mini NB200: nicely built 10-inches netbook [Geek.com]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_AErQSlk34&border=1&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]

Although Toshiba took a while to enter the netbook market, they came with a solid offer when presenting the new NB200. It has exactly the same specs compared to the Eee PC 1000 HE (elected by CNN money the best netbook in the market in April 09) and also adds some bells and whistles. According to Geek.com:

The nb200 has a very cool design with tons of style on top of a solid foundation provided by a nicely-spaced chiclet keyboard, a light weight, and a thin design (about an inch thick, but it feels thinner).

Apparently it will sell for $399 in the US. Check the original post from Geek.com here.

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Capture and edit full web pages online in seconds with Aviary Falcon

This is the typical procedure for capturing and editing the screenshot of a web page: open the capturing program (like SnagIt or Jing), define the area you want to capture, save the file to your computer, open your image editing software, find the file on your computer and, finally, start editing the image. Uf. Fortunately, there is now a much quicker way to do the same thing.

With Aviary Falcon, all you need to do is type "aviary.com/" before any URL. After a few seconds, you will have in front of you the full web page (even long ones) ready to be edited by the aviary online image editing program.

By default, the application opens a simple interface with tools to accomplish the most common operations. However, you can choose to launch the advanced editor if you need more options. After you're done with your editing, just save the new image to your desktop or log in to host it online.

The company also offers a Firefox add-on that also gives you the option to define just a selection to be captured.

Falcon is part of the excellent creative web suite offered by Aviary, that also includes color, effects and vector full editors. All products are free.

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Toodledo: the best GTD-enabled online task manager

Finding the best web to-do list software that works for your day-to-day need is a very hard taks to accomplish. There are so many variable involved (features, layout, devices compatibility, etc..) plus the fact that most geeks have the weird tendency to enjoy setting-up the best productivity system, so we are naturally attracted to searching for a new option for minimal reasons.

 

Toodledo is very complete, yet simple. On the web version, its inline editing capabilities gives you the flexibility to adapt your process to the day-to-day. In my personal experience, it is very difficult to stick to the full GTD methodology every day. Sometimes I just need a very basic punch list that can be pulled from my dozens of outstanding taks, and staring them in Toodledo is a very handy way to do it. Adding priorities is also a snap.

 

When you have more time to organize your activities, Toodledo also offers advanced features, such as tagging, organizing in folders, collaboration, contexts, calendar view, and much more.

 

Another great thing about this online application is its omnipresence. For me, to have a single inbox for my system, it is essential to have it everywhere. I personally have it on the following formats: the web, iPhone app, mobile version for my BlackBerry, Firefox sidebar and as a gadget on Gmail. This way I find it hard not to have it around when recording a new task or checking what's next to be done.

 

The only thing I don't like about Toodledo is it's design on the web version. I don't understand why they chose the purple-yellow combination, but I was told once that you cannot judge other's taste. In any case, I found a quick fix for that. You need to first install the Stylish Firefox add-on and then add the "Toodledo by Nonimage" style. Toodledo staff: if you read this post, I suggest you addapt you default design to Nonimage's version.

 

Toodledo is free, although after one month using it I decided to pay USD $14.95 for the Pro account. The main reason that motivated my decision was the ability to keep my completed tasks for 2 years (the basic version keeps it for a week) and the Subtasks feature. However, you also get a foldable print booklet, statistics, and the inovative "Scheduler":

The Scheduler is useful for when you are feeling indecisive or don't have the energy or motivation to be as productive as you could be. All you need to do is specify how much time you have available to work and Toodledo will tell you what to do. Toodledo analyzes your due-dates, priorities, time estimates, last modified dates, and other characteristics to determine the best use of your time. If you have 2 hours free, Toodledo can pick the tasks from your list that will be the most effective usage of your time.

The iPhone app costs USD $1.99 and is a very well built and easy to use piece of software.

 

Will Toodledo be the best task manager for you too? It's hard to tell. If you are like me, you'll probably want to test other options as well. Check this very detailed table provided on Toodledo's web site for a comparison with the competition.

 

... and on my favorite task manager: Create post about Toodledo - DONE

 

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Bolt: lightning fast mobile browser for BlackBerry and virtually any phone (even older, outdated models)

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce9m_qmeGy4&hl=en&fs=1&]

We recently reported on Teashark and Skyfire as two important browsers to enhance the mobile web experince of those who are not iPhone or Pre owners. However, one common limitation they have (at least for now) is the fact that both are not available for the BlackBerry. Bitstream's Bolt comes to bridge this gap.

If you are a BlackBerry users, you certaily know how slow the default browser is and how pages don't look good at all. If you watch the video above, you'll probably run to install Bolt right away. Based on WebKit, this browser offers a pretty decent experience (including media streaming) on a much faster loading time (Bitstream says: "[Bolt] Routinely loads pages at least 25%-50% faster than competing mobile browsers").

As for older phones, the announcement on Bolt Beta 3 says:

In this Beta3 release, we have an additional lightweight version also available, BOLT lite that has been optimized to install and run on entry-level mobile devices with limited memory and system resources. This lightweight version retains most of BOLT's feature set. Although some of BOLT's functionality is not included in the lite version, BOLT's blazing fast download speed and PC-style layout are retained – offering fast, full-featured desktop style browsing to an even wider range of devices.

Download Bolt here.

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