Windows only: Share pictures, videos, maps and large files without leaving your instant messenger window with Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta. New features include the ability to view YouTube or Yahoo Videos, Flickr pictures and online map links with another user, as well as a removal of the 1GB size limit on file transfers. Also added is the ability to forward text messages and computer-to-computer voice calls to a mobile phone, but, as CNet points out, many users will just like the new emoticons—they’ve expanded to cover moods like “rock on,” and can be put into status messages. Yahoo Messenger 9 Beta is a free download for Windows only.
Yahoo! Messenger 9 Beta [via CNET News]Got a Treo? One year ago, Lifehacker alum and handheld expert Rick Broida listed his 12 favourite freeware and shareware PalmOS applications. More »
Mac OS X 10.5 only: Command line-lovers who’ve upgraded to Leopard will also love its new tabbed interface and fine-grained window control. To create a new tab, hit Cmd+N Cmd+T, and to cycle through tabs, use Cmd+} and Cmd+{. You can also drag and drop an existing tab into its own window, configure and save window groups, and skin Terminal windows using prefab or custom themes. After the jump, see the theme options (“Pro” pictured here.) More »
Firefox only: Love the bookmarks toolbar but only want it there when you need it? Reader Andy writes in with a tweak that makes the toolbar hide automatically, unless you mouse over it (like auto-hiding your Windows taskbar or Mac Dock.) To turn on auto-hiding you have to edit your Firefox profile’s copy of userChrome.css Here’s the code you need: More »
ZDNet reports today that the 3 network will launch a Skype 3G phone on the Australian market in December.
The Skype phones will offer free calls and SMS between Skype users, and normal 3 rates for other calls. The handset will have a dedicated Skype button. Local pricing hasn’t been announced, although the model launching in the UK this week costs around $120.
Here’s a website which will be fun for music nerds – and possibly useful when googling snippets of lyrics doesn’t help you identify a mystery piece of music.
The beta of iden.tify.us allows people to upload snippets of the songs they wish to identify, and any description they can provide (for example, the radio show or movie where they heard it). Visitors to the site can use the inbuilt audio player to listen to the snippets and then reply. I also noticed at least one YouTube clip uploaded for identification as well.
The site is advertising driven and asks that people identifying songs point to an online retailer who sells it (or use an affiliate referral code). I’m not sure if this is a *requirement* of using the site or just a recommendation.
Flash Player Version 9 is required to use the audio player, and it requires Javascript as well.
APC magazine’s web editor Dan Warne points out on his blog that while GMail users can ‘click to email’ in the latest version of Google’s toolbar for Firefox and IE Google, bizarrely, users of Google’s paid Google apps service cannot.
He links to a couple of workarounds on how to hack the toolbar to point to your Google Apps account instead of GMail. They are:
Google Apps Gmail + Google Toolbar [Tokyo Genki]and Customize Google Toolbar for Google Apps for your domain [Red Primary]
Dan notes there are helpful comments on the Red Primary blog as well.
Thanks for the tip, Dan!
Google Apps Toolbar [The Warne Account]
The Geekdad blog today suggested that “one photo a day” projects (like the 365 Days project on Flickr) are the digital age’s version of marking your kid’s height on the wall with a pencil.
If you’re already a Flickr user, check out Project 365 Kids, which has been set up for parents to post pictures of their kids. You’ll need to join the group to participate.
If you’re not a Flickr user, or if you’d like the option of using a webcam, then Geekday recommends Flickaday:
“You can add a caption to each photograph, and there’s even a feature that lets you transparently overlay yesterday’s photo so you can match up features day-to-day.”
Track Your Kid’s Growth with Flickaday [Geekdad]
Ever since Google updated the web-based Google Talk gadget, I’ve firmly felt that the web-based Google Talk is head and shoulders above the desktop client (if you don’t need file transfer or voice calls, that is). Last week we told you about Prism, Mozilla’s update to the stripped-down browser and web application environment WebRunner. Put the two together (using this URL when you create the Prism application) and you’ve got what feels very much like a desktop version of the Google Talk gadget. Prism is still very early in development, currently Windows-only, and—honestly—requires way more memory than I’d like (around 30MB for my Google Talk), but with more time and development, the single-use approach to web applications as desktop apps could catch on. Thanks Jon!
Prism [Mozilla Labs Blog]
Laptops? Hand helds? Video iPods? So yesterday. You should be wearing these sunglasses which are in fact a wearable monitor.
The How to Split an Atom blog reports that the glasses plug into anything that accepts an NTSC connection (including video iPods) and have built-in earbuds. As a bonus (or.. not…) you can look like Cyclops from X-Men.
They’re limited edition, around $US1,000. I wonder if you can put them into dual monitor mode – one eye per monitor? :)
Gadgets: Teleglass T4-N Wearable Monitor [How to Split an Atom]
