Web

Google Gears: Browser up, OS down!

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We all knew this was coming and it has finally come. The final problem of offline access to web-based services has been addressed by Google Gears which was released last week. Today, I saw the first instance of it being available to the end user via the Google Reader.
Google Reader with Google Gears
You can have consistent, transparent access to all your favorite websites/web applications through the browser. The OS becomes less important now and the need for natively installed OS specific applications is greatly reduced.

It would be interesting to see the changes this will bring in our world!

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Joost is the new TV

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I have tried Slingbox and I have tried Democracy TV. Joost is different. Community features, high quality programming, full screen smooth video. It’s a joy, a pleasure. I was captivated for hours as I kept watching show after show with a numbed, retarded expression on my face. The PC is the TV now and I am loving it.
And did I mention how cool the interface is? Check out these screenshots:
Joost NatGeo

Joost NatGeo
More screenshots
Note: click on the images to see the full size. When was the last time you saw free streaming internet video of that resolution? It’s a joy that even my Slingbox doesn’t provide despite a 3MBPs connection at both ends thanks to the low upload bandwidth of ADSL.
Note 2: It’s not yet open to general audience, you need an invite to get started.

Yahoo! Travel Updated

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I am a little disappointed with Yahoo! which seems to sneak in great updates without a lot of buzz being generated around it. For instance, the only way I find out about the fact that Yahoo! Travel has undergone a major revamp is if I look closely at my Yahoo! page.
Yahoo! Travel updated
Where are the blogs, the news, the reviews around this wonderful update?
I do not think I can manage a full-blown review just yet, but some interesting things are:

  • They have added community features to the Travel website
  • You can browse other’s people’s trips, share your trip details with friends
  • You can duplicate other’s trips and make reservations for the same itinerary or fudge it to create your own unique trip

I am going to play around with this and probably comment more. But I am still confused about why the only thing Yahoo! has been in the news recently for is people stepping down or Yahoo! Photos shutting down!

Democracy TV

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Democracy TV
Democracy TV is a pretty good video player. Not only can it play many formats, it also has RSS feed subscriptions, podcasts and it also does video blogs. It is also integrated with the video sites like YouTube etc. It also has a built in bit-torrent client. It’s underlying goal is to free up the consumption of media and also promote free creation of media. It is a project of the Participatory Culture Foundation.

Watchout! It takes quite some memory. So instead of being MPlayer fast, it’s more like Windows Media Player slow – if you get the drift.

[Screenshots and Features]
[Download]