Thursday, June 19, 2008
Communicate
Totlol Finds Kid Friendly Online Video
11:30PM Lifehacker US Edition | While YouTube may be a great place to answer your toddler’s requests to see video of a baby panda, there is also tons of content more risqué than adorable baby animals. Video site Totlol offers the good stuff from YouTube to your kids without the rest. Designed by a British software developer and father of two, Totlol is a child-friendly frontend to YouTube, with clips fit for kids from the age of six months old to six years old. Videos range from the comically absurd such as Elmo and Grover singing the Numa Numa song, to the more serious, such as a reading of The Giving Tree by children’s author Shel Silverstein. Totlol [via Learning My Way Through] More »
Design
Shoot on Overcast Days for Better Black and White Photos
11:15PM Kevin Purdy | The Wired How-To Wiki looks through the loupe at black and white photography, offering up tips for consumer-grade camera owners on how to take shots that look great converted to black and white. When other pictures look dull and dreary, for instance, black and white shots can pop, with the right focus: Most photographers will tell you that gloomy, overcast days are perfect for shooting in black and white. So the next time the fog rolls in or the clouds hang a little too low, take it as your cue to get creative with the shades of gray. More »
Fix
Freeware PDF Unlocker Enables Copy/Paste Functions Without Passwords
10:30PM Kevin Purdy | Windows only: Freeware PDF Unlocker, a free Windows utility, doesn’t do everything that commerical packages like those from Elcomsoft do, but it will help if you just need to unlock copy/paste and editing restrictions on a PDF. Simply drag a copy-protected PDF onto PDF Unlocker’s icon, and a new, non-protected copy will be created. You can also strip PDF files of passwords needed to open and read them, but you, uh, need the password to do so. For simple restrictions, however, it does the job. Freeware PDF Unlocker is a free download for Windows systems. Freeware PDF Unlocker [via gHacks] More »
Work
Wine 1.0 Runs Hundreds of Windows Apps Flawlessly
10:00PM Kevin Purdy | Linux only: Wine 1.0, the first stable release of the Windows API recreation tool, is available for most major Linux distributions. Wine has been focused solely on bug fixes for some time now, but as of their 1.0 release, there are hundreds of Windows apps, games, and utilities that run as “Platinum” (or flawless) in the Wine environment, many more considered “Gold” (only a few non-show-stopping problems), and myriad others in various states of improvement. Check to see how your must-keep-Windows-installed app runs at the Wine application database, then grab a package for your distro. Wine is a free download for Linux systems only. Wine More »
Organise
Pocket Killbox Deletes Locked Files
9:00PM Lifehacker US Edition | Windows only: Free application Pocket Killbox deletes files Windows Explorer won’t because they’re in use or locked. If you tried our previous tips on deleting locked files and were still unable to delete the file, Pocket Killbox might be the proper hammer for the problem at hand. By killing the process using the file and deleting on reboot, Pocket Killbox can circumvent Windows and put your file to rest. Pocket Killbox is a free download for Windows only. Pocket Killbox [Killbox.net] More »
Communicate
6:35PM Angus Kidman | The ongoing rumours that Telstra doesn’t want Optus and Vodafone to get all the iPhone customers have ratcheted up another notch, with a report on Australian IT saying that Telstra will indeed start selling the phone, albeit not until July 22. (The Australian’s Michael Sainsbury is impeccably well-connected when it comes to Telstra, so I’m quite inclined to believe this despite the lack of named sources). What does this mean for prospective iPhone buyers?As ever, it heavily depends on the plans on offer, which no carrier has yet disclosed. Telstra doesn’t have a reputation for cheap prices, especially on its Next G network. On the other hand, its coverage in rural areas remains the strongest (despite criticisms in some areas about dropouts). Telstra’s certainly infinitely better equipped in respect to regional users than the other rumoured late entrant 3. And like Optus, it can potentially bundle the iPhone with lots of other services (home phones, ISPs, cable networks, mobiles). Once again, it seems sitting back and waiting is clearly going to get you a better deal than racing out on July 11.Telstra to sell 3G iPhone [Australian IT]
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Now Telstra becomes an iPhone choice
6:35PM Angus Kidman | The ongoing rumours that Telstra doesn’t want Optus and Vodafone to get all the iPhone customers have ratcheted up another notch, with a report on Australian IT saying that Telstra will indeed start selling the phone, albeit not until July 22. (The Australian’s Michael Sainsbury is impeccably well-connected when it comes to Telstra, so I’m quite inclined to believe this despite the lack of named sources). What does this mean for prospective iPhone buyers?As ever, it heavily depends on the plans on offer, which no carrier has yet disclosed. Telstra doesn’t have a reputation for cheap prices, especially on its Next G network. On the other hand, its coverage in rural areas remains the strongest (despite criticisms in some areas about dropouts). Telstra’s certainly infinitely better equipped in respect to regional users than the other rumoured late entrant 3. And like Optus, it can potentially bundle the iPhone with lots of other services (home phones, ISPs, cable networks, mobiles). Once again, it seems sitting back and waiting is clearly going to get you a better deal than racing out on July 11.Telstra to sell 3G iPhone [Australian IT]
More »
Communicate
4:50PM Angus Kidman | Multi-IM-client mobile phone app Palringo, previously available for Windows Mobile and Symbian, has now added the BlackBerry to its list of targets. The release works on Pearl, Curve and 8800 series models, and supports eight IM services, including Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, allowing you to combine contacts in one single interface. Palringo is freeware.Palringo More »
Palringo adds BlackBerry to repertoire
4:50PM Angus Kidman | Multi-IM-client mobile phone app Palringo, previously available for Windows Mobile and Symbian, has now added the BlackBerry to its list of targets. The release works on Pearl, Curve and 8800 series models, and supports eight IM services, including Google Talk, Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo Messenger, allowing you to combine contacts in one single interface. Palringo is freeware.Palringo More »
Communicate
1:53PM Angus Kidman | Most of the initial hype around the new 4.0 beta version of Skype centres around the improved video quality and the amount of space the revised client takes up on screen. However, the most interesting new feature in the long term may be the fact that multiple conversations — video, voice or text — can all be managed from the central screen. Alternating between numerous discussions is a major nuisance in earlier releases, so this might be some compensation for the crowding that’ll be inevitable on ultra-portables like the Eee with the new triple-width client. Skype 4.0 is currently a Windows-only beta, but Skype hopes to get the gold version out the door later in the year and follow with Mac and Linux versions. (Personally, I’m too scarred by the bugs in 3.8 to test 4.0 just yet, but I’d love to hear any reader experiences in the comments.)
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Managed conversations may be Skype 4.0’s best feature
1:53PM Angus Kidman | Most of the initial hype around the new 4.0 beta version of Skype centres around the improved video quality and the amount of space the revised client takes up on screen. However, the most interesting new feature in the long term may be the fact that multiple conversations — video, voice or text — can all be managed from the central screen. Alternating between numerous discussions is a major nuisance in earlier releases, so this might be some compensation for the crowding that’ll be inevitable on ultra-portables like the Eee with the new triple-width client. Skype 4.0 is currently a Windows-only beta, but Skype hopes to get the gold version out the door later in the year and follow with Mac and Linux versions. (Personally, I’m too scarred by the bugs in 3.8 to test 4.0 just yet, but I’d love to hear any reader experiences in the comments.)
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Communicate
11:13AM Angus Kidman | Online retailer EzyDVD has announced that it will be rolling out a movie downloads service, EzyDownload, in September this year. Not much word on the details yet, other than it’s based on the now-defunct Reeltime service and that the company actively wants to partner with ISPs to not have movies included in download caps — an essential feature given that the main competition is Telstra’s BigPond movies service, which offers a similar deal to users over BigPond. So far, the site’s a non-event, but one to keep an eye on. UPDATE: You can now register for further updates on the site.
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EzyDVD to offer movie downloads
11:13AM Angus Kidman | Online retailer EzyDVD has announced that it will be rolling out a movie downloads service, EzyDownload, in September this year. Not much word on the details yet, other than it’s based on the now-defunct Reeltime service and that the company actively wants to partner with ISPs to not have movies included in download caps — an essential feature given that the main competition is Telstra’s BigPond movies service, which offers a similar deal to users over BigPond. So far, the site’s a non-event, but one to keep an eye on. UPDATE: You can now register for further updates on the site.
More »
Work
10:11AM Angus Kidman | Although Web 2.0 apps are pretty much global by definition, developers still have to live somewhere — and some sites (like Lifehacker AU, ahem) do work better with a local flavour. Futurist Ross Dawson has compiled a list of the Top 100 Australian Web 2.0 Applications. Top of the charts is mobile community Mig33, followed by enterprise wiki Confluence and art sharing site Red Bubble. Any obvious examples missing? Choices you’d have made differently? Check out the full list then let us know in the comments.Top 100 Australian Web 2.0 Applications list
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Australia’s best Web 2.0 applications
10:11AM Angus Kidman | Although Web 2.0 apps are pretty much global by definition, developers still have to live somewhere — and some sites (like Lifehacker AU, ahem) do work better with a local flavour. Futurist Ross Dawson has compiled a list of the Top 100 Australian Web 2.0 Applications. Top of the charts is mobile community Mig33, followed by enterprise wiki Confluence and art sharing site Red Bubble. Any obvious examples missing? Choices you’d have made differently? Check out the full list then let us know in the comments.Top 100 Australian Web 2.0 Applications list
More » 
