Corvida's shared items
In the Internet Age, we think in little snippets, but TED has always stood out as an exception. Some of the greatest minds in the world give TED Talks, and TED.com has shared the videos with the world for years. The talks go for 18 minutes, a long time for Internet stuff, but they're so illuminating that it's hard not to pay rapt attention.
Nevertheless, information travels faster and farther in short bursts. To reach more minds, TED has launched TED Quotes today, which lets fans send hand-picked text excerpts from TED Talks like little valentines. The quotes link back to their source video. "Quotes are ideas - in their most compressed and contagious form," says June Cohen, TED Media's executive producer. You can now send these contagious quotes by Facebook, Twitter or email and help them go viral.
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You can browse and search for quotes at TED.com/quotes. They also appear at the top of video pages. Quotes are curated by TED, but you can suggest new ones by emailing quotes {at} ted.com. For the 2.0 version, it would be cool if TED viewers could highlight and share quotes themselves. But there are currently 1293 quotes selected, and that's a lot of wisdom.
It would also be cool if these quotes were embeddable as a whole. For now, here's a quote that resonated with me:
"The Internet has fashioned a new and complicated environment for an age-old dilemma that pits the demands of security against the desire for freedom."
- Misha Glenny
Misha Glenny: Hire the hackers!
See also: The 10 best TED Talks of 2011
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Google's improved how its calendar and email services interact with Windows Phones running the Mango update. Users can now cram up to 25 different calendars into the Metro OS's built-in calendar app. The setup's not exactly seamless; you need to navigate your Windows Phone to the Google Sync page, login and check the boxes found there. While testing on our phones, although one device was able to immediately sync, the other couldn't pick up on our multiple calendars. We had to delete and re-assign our Google account to the phone in order to get it working. However, once we did, the Metro styling lent itself well to multiple calendar listings, with the ability (like the web-based Google Calendar) to assign colors to each.
At the same Google Sync page, you can now choose to enable the "send mail as" feature if you're using multiple addresses, with the option to delete unwanted emails instead of archiving. However, aside from replying from the same address that you received emails to, we haven't discovered a way to assign new mails to our multiple guises. We were able to send messages through our own Engadget mail account, although that's then used on all future missives. Despite these rough edges, it remains a welcome bit of extra functionality. Are we still longing for a dedicated Gmail app? Definitely. We just hope those devs don't drop the ball.
Windows Phone 7.5 gets multiple Google Calendar sync, additional Gmail features originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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One of the next versions of Firefox, Firefox 12, may feature a series of new interface elements and functionalities that should both appeal to OS X Lion users and introduce new navigation options for those who dont’ want to save their-most accessed websites in a bookmarks bar anymore. As first noted by ExtremeTech, an early version of a proposed new tab page design snuck into a nightly version of Firefox; per Mozilla’s multiple channel releases, users of Firefox can test different versions of the browser, which range from Nightly to Aurora, Beta, Stable, and those uploaded directly to Mozilla’s FTP servers.
ExtremeTech wrote about the new tab page:
The Firefox home tab is a lot more exciting. Basically there are two phases: The first phase will add “launchers” at the bottom — one-click links to your downloads, settings, apps, and so on (pictured right). Phase two is a complete reworking of the home page paradigm, weaving in favorite apps, recent websites, and even instant messaging (pictured below). Phase one is expected to roll out with Firefox 12, but at the time of writing the code still hasn’t been committed.
However, as also noted in an update to the original post, it appears Mozilla has pulled the functionality from the Nightly release of Firefox, leaving it in the “UX version” available for download on Mozilla’s servers. Upon comparing the standard Nightly build to the UX one, I noticed the latter already contains the grid design for top websites pictured above, and full-screen support for Lion.
I wasn’t able to activate ExtremeTech’s home tab page design with search, Top Apps, Top Sites and Chat in a single window; the current Firefox UX Nightly build features shortcuts along the bottom of the window to open History, Settings, Add-ons, Apps, and Downloads. A new “Restore Previous Session” button is also provided in case you haven’t set Firefox to automatically re-open previously open tabs on launch.
Changes that appear in Firefox Nightly builds typically carry over to the other stages of development and are further tweaked with refinements and bug fixes, but there could be changes in the features that Mozilla decides to implement once version 12 hits the beta channel. As for Lion support, Mozilla failed to deliver any significant optimization since the OS’ release back in July, unlike competitor Chrome which added new scrolling, full-screen support and gesture navigation (among other things) fairly quickly. A designer at Mozilla mocked up some ideas that the company could deliver in a future version of Firefox for Lion, but as of version 12 nightly (Firefox stable is currently at version 9) it seems those ideas haven’t been taken into consideration yet.
Argh! What was that video called? Was that on Twitter or Facebook? Where did I save that article? Who was it who made that joke about the Edsel? Do you find yourself asking these questions often? As we get wrapped up in more and more Web services, things tend to get disorganized.
We've got inboxes over here, inboxes over there, boards here, there, tweets, docs, posts and shares. It's almost too much to keep straight. Fortunately, there are little helpers out there. I've found two I love, and I'll show you how to use them. One is free, the other is in closed beta, but there are invites below! If you've got other suggestions, please feel free to share them in the comments.
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Greplin: For Finding Your Stuff
Greplin is the way I find that one online thing I'm looking for. It's a fast search engine that can index a whole bunch of common cloud services many of us use. Once it's done crawling for the first time, you don't have to wait for a second. You type in your search query, and Greplin brings back an organized list of everything in your cloud-life that matches.
It can search Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader and Google Contacts (as well as the professional Google Apps versions). It searches Dropbox, of course. It searches Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and LinkedIn. It's got Delicious and Pinboard. It has Yahoo Mail. It even searches Reddit. And these are all free. Premium users can search Evernote, Yammer, Salesforce, Basecamp, Highrise and Campfire. All of these services in one search.
Some of them you have to unlock by inviting friends. That's okay. Invite your friends. They'll thank you for it.
Here's Greplin in action:
Yes, you're reading that right. My Greplin has (at press time) 1,106,324 documents in it. Every search is instantaneous, though. I can filter the results by service (Twitter, Google Reader, whatever) as well as by type of content: events, files, links, messages, notes, people and streams. Clicking on each service on the left sidebar tells you its status and how many items are indexed.
Greplin's premium service is $4.99 a month or $49.99 a year. But basically every consumer service, and even the Google Apps service, is available for free. Evernote is in premium, and that's a very tempting hook for power users. But it's amazing what the free version of Greplin can do. In addition to the Web version (which works on mobile), there's a free iPhone app, and it's killer.
What About Sensitive Stuff Like Logins & Passwords?
User names, passwords, ID and credit card numbers are hard to remember, too, and we need to use them often online. But it's not a good idea to keep those in a cloud-hosted service like the ones Greplin searches. It's best to keep those in a secure service if you're going to store them on your computer at all.
Today I found out about Dashlane, which will do just that. It's a desktop application for Mac and Windows that will remember all your sensitive info so you don't have to. It's also just a convenience; it plugs into your browsers and lets you fill in Web forms with your saved information automatically. It's like 1Password, which is available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android, but the features are a little simpler.
I've taken it for a spin. It's easy to set up, and it's very secure. It lets you store your contact info, various forms of ID, credit cards and Web accounts. It's also good for shopping online and lets you speed through the checkout process. When you're filling out a form on any Web page, boxes that Dashlane can fill in have a little gazelle (or whatever its mascot is) icon. You click it and drop the info in. No need to remember it or even type it out.
Dashlane is not quite open to the public, but here's a link for RWW fans to get it now! I've been using it all day, and it makes everything faster.
What other services do you use to keep yourself sane online? Share them in the comments.
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Starting January 31, Microsoft's Windows Phone 30 to Launch challenge will see developers building creative and beautiful apps in just 30 days. Four winners of the competition will receive an awesome entertainment package prize sporting a 3D HDTV and Kinect.
Unfortunately, before you get all excited and prepare your best app ideas, this competition is open for U.S. residents only. The challenge will begin on January 31st when the official rules will be published. Head on over to the 30 to Launch website to sign up and be sure to check out app development events.
Source: 30 to Launch
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Even with Ricky Gervais hosting, the 69th Golden Globe Awards have remained a relatively mild affair. Fortunately for all of us, Tina Fey is a lover of memes.
During the presentation for “Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical,” the 30 Rock star photobombed the nominee shot of her pal and former “Weekend Update” co-anchor, Amy Poehler. Fey and Poehler were both up for the award but lost to Laura Dern.
Still, the Internet (and Twitter) was a flutter, with requests for animated gifs of photobomb excellence.
Tumblr to the rescue! User kellyoxford put together this shot, celebrating the photo ruiner in us all. Using the time-honored tradition of gif animation, here is what may be the first photobombing at a Hollywood Foreign Press Association award show.
More About: amy poehler, humor, memes, photobomb, tina fey
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As it matures, the driving force of the sharing economy will become time, and the companies that can do business in real-time will occupy a more strategic, and profitable, place in the ecosystem.
Fresh off its $1 billion valuation, Airbnb is the most common reference point for all manner of “this for that” pitches bouncing around the Valley right now, with many new ventures proposing to be the “the Airbnb of X.”
But Airbnb is only one species of the sharing economy genus — a genus that will stratify over the next few quarters.
Real-time makes your brand a hero
Hotel Tonight is a great example of the flip side of the Airbnb coin. It focuses on real-time reservations, and the real-time use of latent capacity.
Airbnb’s transactions typically take place five or more days in advance of a stay, and any requests inside that window are put on a standby list. In contrast, Hotel Tonight only offers rooms for the current night, with a cutoff of 2 a.m. local time. It’s a fascinating constraint, and one that has propelled their business forward. When people need a room immediately and you’re able to provide them one, they will remember you.
Real-time can command premiums, not just discounts
Of course, different markets and different kinds of capacity have unique sensitivities to time.
Uber’s car service business is incredibly time-sensitive. One of its most common use cases is trips to and from the airport, which usually involves a high-stakes deadline on at least one end of the journey.
Other popular uses are travel on a busy holiday (think Halloween or New Year’s Eve in New York City during a public transportation strike).
The more time-sensitive a market becomes for buyers and sellers, the more lucrative the corresponding business opportunity.
This is an old lesson — price and revenue optimization wizards hold time in the highest regard. And as the time-sensitivity of a situation increases, the number of parties we’re willing to entrust with our affairs dwindles to a small handful.
Real-time puts coveted data in your pocket
What Hotel Tonight, Uber and my company LiquidSpace have in common is that we all know a lot about our customers’ travel patterns.
Additionally, we can extrapolate a ton of information about preferences — from who customers are likely to collaborate with to where they like to work or hang out.
With this real-time data, we’re primed to find other ways to make your stay, ride or meeting that much more enjoyable. We can quickly provide add-ons that customers need, such as snacks or printing, or partner with other vendors who can.
Whether by offering new services or opening up this powerful real-time data, we are exposing new revenue streams that the sharing economy enables.
With enough time, any latent capacity can be utilized. Each year at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, we see twelve month’s worth of planning make use of every nook and cranny.
On short notice, sharing economies are harder to organize, and they involve more risk. Real-time capabilities mean that you sit closer to purchasing decisions, closer to strategic imperatives, closer to profit and loss, closer to sealed deals and averted crises.
Real-time is difficult, and precisely because it is so challenging to do real-time well, and safely, the market will reward those who invest in making the “here and now” a priority. In short, you’re closer to risk, and closer to reward.
Consumers want real-time access, and businesses demand it. The sharing economy is not only online, it’s also picking up speed.
Mark Gilbreath is co-founder and CEO of LiquidSpace, a mobile application that helps people find and share available workspaces.
Image courtesy of Flickr user psd.
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