Ubiquity garnered spots in all sorts of web-related ‘Top Ten’ lists for 2008, and with good reason. It appears to be an ambitious first step toward a completely new browsing experience, but I’ll have to check it out and judge for myself.
If you’ve used Ubiquity, please leave a comment — I’d be interested to read about your impressions. Although a few months old now, the video below continues to intrigue, and I understand Ubiquity recently received an update.
I’ve been battling an evil cold for most of the week and, as a Google News search for technology + “common cold” turned up zilch, I’ve elected to offer up a handful of interesting links today. Not very original, I know, but somewhere between Ricola and Zicam I’ve had trouble finding the energy to push the power button. Look for a (hopefully) more inspired post on Saturday next week.
In the meantime, on with the linkage*:
And, that’s that. I’m off to mix up one mean over-the-counter cocktail and catch some Z’s. If you still find yourself hungry for linkage, check out the ‘Friends of technotorious’ section over on the right-hand side of the page — there’s plenty of goodness to be found.
*Most of the above links were found thanks to makeuseof.com’s ’40 Unusual Websites You Should Bookmark’ and ’40 Unusual Websites You Should Bookmark (2)’, both highly recommended sources of yummy, yummy linkage.
When Second Life first made the e-scene, I was naturally curious and intrigued by the concept of a “virtual world.” The possibilities, I told myself, must be endless — gaming meets The Neverending Story in a world full of creative opportunities and interesting people.
One download, one log-in and two hours later, I was less than impressed with the service and struggled to find an “island” that wasn’t dedicated to adult-oriented pursuits or another user who wasn’t verbally abusive or downright childish.
But, even as I uninstalled Second Life, many in the business world contended that it represented the future of e-commerce or, at the very least, that it was a must-use for any brand seeking to raise awareness. Private companies, non-profits and even news services began flocking to Second Life. I remember reading about the first “Second Life millionaire” and openly wondering how someone could dedicate so much time to a “game” that made The Sims seem like Halo by comparison.
And, as I expected, the biz buzz is slowly beginning to fizzle.
Last week came word that Reuters news service had pulled its virtual reporter, the aptly named Adam Reuters, from Second Life after deciding there was no reason to believe the hype. Eric Krangel (aka Adam Reuters) was quoted as describing his Second Life beat as “about as fun as watching paint dry.”
“For all its bugs, Second Life is tolerable as a playground, but enterprise users will never and should never use it for business,” Krangel said, noting the same bugs that gave headaches to Second Life enthusiasts made it nearly impossible for him to work within the virtual world without getting “locked out of (his) own office.”
There may ultimately be a future for Second Life or a similar service, perhaps one that incorporates social networking elements or life-streaming or anything actually useful. Until then, I’ll be content to read the stories of virtual millionaires and unimpressed businesses from the sidelines.
It took me a while to come around, but Firefox and I recently celebrated our five-month anniversary. I’ve got no real excuse for being a late convert, but what can I say? Old habits die hard, and Internet Explorer had been my stand-by, pre-installed browser for at least 12 years.
Praise for Mozilla’s browser has been trumpeted from nearly every corner of the interwebs by now, so any attempt at an all-out endorsement on my part would be woefully outdated.
I will say, though, that one of my favorite things about Firefox is the extent to which a user can completely customize the browsing experience. However, until now, I’ve mainly relied on friends’ recommendations when it comes to browser add-ons. Sorting through the countless available add-ons and extensions has just been too time-consuming, and there was never any real guarantee that my selections would live up to expectations.
But, thanks to the recently launched Fashion Your Firefox app, my inability to track down the best Mozilla has to offer is no more. The app breaks down Firefox add-ons into nine categories: Finder and Seeker, Social Butterfly, Shutterbug, Digital Pack Rat, Rock Star, Decorator, Shopaholic, News Junkie and Executive Assistant.
Each category then offers a drop-down menu of “best of the best” add-ons. Based on the app’s recommendations, I’ve added a handful of cool (and useful) features to my browser, and I’m looking to customize things even more.
Already, my short list of favorite add-ons has grown to three. Yes, Cooliris and Read It Later have been joined by a third add-on, one that should prove particularly useful with the holidays just around the corner and the current state of the economy.
My new favorite add-on is a bargain hunter’s delight known as RetailMeNot, and it couldn’t be more simple to use. Whenever I visit a retailer’s website, this add-on automatically notifies me of any currently active coupon codes. The codes are given a success ranking from other RetailMeNot users, which helps in determining the worth of any given code.
With Fashion Your Firefox up and running, my list of favorite add-ons will likely grow at a much faster rate from here on out. But in the meantime, if you’ve got a recommendation, give us the low-down in the comments.
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