Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com Download Squad http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.downloadsquad.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://www.downloadsquad.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Yahoo integrates blogs, Flickr with news search]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/10/11/yahoo-integrates-blogs-flickr-with-news-search/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/10/11/yahoo-integrates-blogs-flickr-with-news-search/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/10/11/yahoo-integrates-blogs-flickr-with-news-search/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Yahoo news blog searchThis is pretty friggin' sweet -- Yahoo is integrating blog search with their news search, as well as adding photos and results into the mix. This brings together user-created and mainstream media in a way that's unprecedented, totally beating Google to the punch on this one as well as leveraging the goodness of both Flickr and My Web 2.0. The index only includes a subset of the larger blogosphere (those that are included in the My Yahoo feed directory), but will grow to ideally include everything from the blo.gs ping stream. The interface doesn't quite put blogs on equal footing visually -- they're off in a sidebar while the regular news search results are in the main pane -- but I actually sort of like the way this is done. It's not going to alienate mainstream users who want to stick with their traditional MSM sources, but will provide a still visible alternative. Social software nerds (raising hand), bloggers, and others already kicking back with their second (or fifth...) cocktail in the cluetrain dining car can just click on through to the interface that shows blog search results in the main pane and Flickr results in the sidebar at right (here's an example search on Web 2.0). I dig it. For once, I only have one small request -- I want a way to make the blog news search interface my default for news search, so I don't have to click through each time (with option to click through the the mainstream search results).

Yahoo integrates blogs, Flickr with news search originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:18:33 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:18:33 EST<![CDATA[Flickr Backup downloads your Flickr photos to your desktop]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/28/flickr-backup-downloads-your-flickr-photos-to-your-desktop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/28/flickr-backup-downloads-your-flickr-photos-to-your-desktop/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/28/flickr-backup-downloads-your-flickr-photos-to-your-desktop/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Flickr BackupHuzzah -- a utility for backing up your photos in one fell swoop to a computer of your choice. Flickr Backup looks like a really handy way to corral all of those photos you've sent from various machines and cellphones into one safe backup location. It's a Java utility, cross-platform, and open source -- three things we tend to like as a general rule.

[Via del.icio.us]

Flickr Backup downloads your Flickr photos to your desktop originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 28 Sep 2005 18:50:43 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Wed, 28 Sep 2005 18:50:43 EST<![CDATA[Slawesome adds voice to email]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/27/slawesome-adds-voice-to-email/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/27/slawesome-adds-voice-to-email/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/27/slawesome-adds-voice-to-email/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

SlawesomeBeware, it's "so alpha it makes us cry" -- but considering alpha is the new beta, probably ends up doing alright. It's a simple web-based way to add a voice message to an email. The interface is dead simple, and all you need is a microphone of any flavor. I tried it. It worked. Party on.

[Via Tech Crunch]

Slawesome adds voice to email originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Sep 2005 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 27 Sep 2005 08:58:00 EST<![CDATA[NetVibes personal portal page]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/26/netvibes-personal-portal-page/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/26/netvibes-personal-portal-page/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/26/netvibes-personal-portal-page/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

NetvibesThis has been getting a lot of buzz lately -- NetVibes is another personal portal in the vein of Google personalized home and Microsoft's Start page. You can syndicate RSS feeds in drag and droppable DIVs, embed a search widget, and get a preview pane for your Gmail account. One notably handy addition is the ability to add notes to a page, which adds some of the flavor of Protopage to the mix. I won't be too surprised if we keep seeing more of these gloriously AJAX-ified personal portal page offerings.

NetVibes personal portal page originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:30:48 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 26 Sep 2005 19:30:48 EST<![CDATA[Gobby, a cross-platform collaborative editing environment]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/26/gobby-a-cross-platform-collaborative-editing-environment/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/26/gobby-a-cross-platform-collaborative-editing-environment/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/26/gobby-a-cross-platform-collaborative-editing-environment/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

is reminiscent of SubEthaEdit but will work in a mixed environment of Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and other UNIX flavors (SubEthaEdit is Mac only). It's a collaborative editing environment in which multiple authors on the same network can collaborate on text documents. Gobby also sports an IRC-like chat environment for communicating in realtime outside of the coding or authoring session. Each author can use a unique color to identify their contributions to the text. The app is only at version 0.2.2, so don't be too surprised if it's a little rough around the edges -- but the cross-platform aspect of this is definitely a step in the right direction.

[Via del.icio.us]

Gobby, a cross-platform collaborative editing environment originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Sep 2005 18:20:19 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 26 Sep 2005 18:20:19 EST<![CDATA[Planzo online social calendaring]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/20/planzo-online-social-calendaring/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/20/planzo-online-social-calendaring/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/20/planzo-online-social-calendaring/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

PlanzoHere's another entrant into the growingly crowded space of social calendaring: Planzo bills itself as an "online planning community," allowing you to quickly and easily share your calendar entries via simple cut and paste. It speaks the Web 2.0 lingo: AJAX, RSS, XML, etc., and promises a dead easy interface with one click event creation and drag and drop event changes. The service offers a number of ways to export and/or share your calendar: to yourself as a daily email digest, reminders via SMS, event sharing with contacts on Planzo (including access controls for private events), and and via RSS. You can also customize the look and feel of your calendar. Oh, and, there's a bit of example that lives here...

[Via Robin Good]

Planzo online social calendaring originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Sep 2005 09:04:01 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 20 Sep 2005 09:04:01 EST<![CDATA[ObjectGraph AJAX-powered dictionary]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/17/objectgraph-ajax-powered-dictionary/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/17/objectgraph-ajax-powered-dictionary/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/17/objectgraph-ajax-powered-dictionary/#commentsFiled under: , ,

ObjectGraph
Take a dictionary, add AJAX-y goodness, season to taste and you've got ObjectGraph, a dictionary that displays results automagically with each keystroke. The interface works like Google Suggest, where a dropdown DIV element displays results as you type. You have your choice of four different word sets: Classical is the websters 1913 dictionary (which is rather amusingly out of date), the freely available FOLDOC online dictionary (which should probably really be the default selection), the periodic elements, and a Thesaurus mode.

[Via Digg]

ObjectGraph AJAX-powered dictionary originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 17 Sep 2005 09:00:12 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AJAXdictionarytextSat, 17 Sep 2005 09:00:12 EST<![CDATA[Lego's response to hacking its product: hack away!]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/16/legos-response-to-hacking-its-product-hack-away/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/16/legos-response-to-hacking-its-product-hack-away/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/16/legos-response-to-hacking-its-product-hack-away/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

lego designerIn a rare, extremely cluetrain response from a corporation whose product has been hacked, Lego is actually welcoming the modification to its 3D design program that will enable users to avoid purchasing too many extra blocks when making custom kits. The backstory is that last month Lego launched a new program that lets users make custom Lego designs using the provided free 3D design software, then actually order the kits that would create their custom models. The trouble is, users would sometimes end up over-ordering too many extra bricks because of the way brick packages or 'palettes' contained multiple bags of bricks. The software would generate an order based on which palettes to order, causing a glut of extra bricks -- so users created a database of the type and number of bricks in the bags, and modified the software to display the number of bags to order instead of palettes, bringing the cost of many custom pieces down. Instead of flipping out about users hacking their software, especially when the net result is a loss of revenue for the company, Lego is embracing the modifications. Lego senior producer Ronny Scherer said, "It was a puzzle to us. They took us completely by surprise. We think it's great." Wow, a company embracing its users' efforts to make its tools more useful -- how unfortunately novel.

[Via Slashdot]

Lego's response to hacking its product: hack away! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Sep 2005 20:48:06 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cluetrainhackinglegoFri, 16 Sep 2005 20:48:06 EST<![CDATA[Populicio.us closes its doors]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/15/populicio-us-closes-its-doors/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/15/populicio-us-closes-its-doors/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/15/populicio-us-closes-its-doors/#commentsFiled under: , ,

populicio.us croppedWell, it was short but sweet while it lasted. The service that tracked the fastest growing popular links on is now defunct. Developer xabi indicated in the farewell message that del.icio.us made some changes to the way links are displayed on the homepage, such that populicio.us could no longer generate real statistics. Good thing we've got to turn to!

[Via Waxy]

Populicio.us closes its doors originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:43:37 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:43:37 EST<![CDATA[Memeorandum aggregates the hottest tech and politics stories in the blogosphere]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/15/memeorandum-aggregates-the-hottest-tech-and-politics-stories-in/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/15/memeorandum-aggregates-the-hottest-tech-and-politics-stories-in/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/15/memeorandum-aggregates-the-hottest-tech-and-politics-stories-in/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

MemeorandumThis is some pretty promising stuff -- the new incarnation of is an automated tech and politics blog news aggregator that hopes to keep an up-to-the-minute snapshot of what's hot in the blogosphere. The new code has only been public for a few days, so the sample size is still low -- but from what I've checked out so far, I'm genuinely impressed. The biggest caveat is that it's only tracking technology and politics -- but within those domains it stands to be an incredibly useful tool. Essentially, stories that get linked most frequently rise to the top, then sink down again as they're replaced by newer, hotter stories. The algorithm favors posts with some meat on their bones, and disfavors blog posts that are quick one-liners linking to something else. I'm definitely going to be utilizing this as a quick way to see at a glance what's going on.

[Via Read/Write Web]

Memeorandum aggregates the hottest tech and politics stories in the blogosphere originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:06:47 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Thu, 15 Sep 2005 21:06:47 EST<![CDATA[Free Ruby on Rails hosting]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/12/free-ruby-on-rails-hosting/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/12/free-ruby-on-rails-hosting/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/12/free-ruby-on-rails-hosting/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Ruby on Rails logoRails Playground is offering free hosting for your Ruby on Rails projects or sandbox. If you've used web applications like , or , you've seen the results of the magic that is Ruby on Rails. This looks like a fantastic way to dip your feet into this rapid web application development framework. They're offering free 20MB disk space and 500MB/mo. bandwidth with no ads -- is there a catch? I hope not.

[Via del.icio.us/popular]

Free Ruby on Rails hosting originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:32:23 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 12 Sep 2005 16:32:23 EST<![CDATA[Flickr RSS widget]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/12/flickr-rss-widget/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/12/flickr-rss-widget/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/09/12/flickr-rss-widget/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Flickr RSS widgetHere's yet another fun way to add some goodness to your blog or website -- the Flickr RSS widget is an unobtrusive little javascript button that, when clicked, expands to display an assortment of thumbnails of the latest photos in any Flickr RSS feed. Click on the center again to close the thumbnail display of your latest shots, your favorite group or tag, etc. This is a neat way to add a bit of color to a page without taking up much screen real estate.

[Via del.icio.us]

Flickr RSS widget originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:32:01 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 12 Sep 2005 15:32:01 EST<![CDATA[Google Talk first hack: broadcast MP3s and podcasts over Google Talk]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/24/google-talk-first-hack-broadcast-mp3s-and-podcasts-over-google/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/24/google-talk-first-hack-broadcast-mp3s-and-podcasts-over-google/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/24/google-talk-first-hack-broadcast-mp3s-and-podcasts-over-google/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

google talkAhhh yes, the digital ink on the Google Talk release is still wet, and already the app has got its first mod. This how-to walks you through diverting your system audio to a Google Talk voice session, instead of being limited to using the microphone. Of course, you can only broadcast to one person at a time but hey, to the friend who'd rather hear the new Green Day than your yammering voice, this could be priceless.

[Via del.icio.us popular]

Google Talk first hack: broadcast MP3s and podcasts over Google Talk originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Aug 2005 16:44:56 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Wed, 24 Aug 2005 16:44:56 EST<![CDATA[smugMaps mashes up Smugmug and Google maps]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/smugmaps-mashes-up-smugmug-and-google-maps/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/smugmaps-mashes-up-smugmug-and-google-maps/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/smugmaps-mashes-up-smugmug-and-google-maps/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

smugmugHere's the next contestant in the great mashup game -- photo-sharing site has added a feature that allows users to pin their photos to an integrated scrollable and zoomable Google map by entering an address or simply clicking a spot on a map. Uber-geophoto geeks already using GPS integrated cameras will get instantly mapped photo galleries because Smugmug automagically parses that location data. Integrating this kind of geotagging with the service itself is pretty hot.

[Via picturephoning]

smugMaps mashes up Smugmug and Google maps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Aug 2005 16:05:51 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 23 Aug 2005 16:05:51 EST<![CDATA[Wordpress to launch hosted service]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/wordpress-to-launch-hosted-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/wordpress-to-launch-hosted-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/wordpress-to-launch-hosted-service/#commentsFiled under: , ,

developer Matt Mullenweg has announced plans to start a hosted Wordpress service via Wordpress.com. This will effectively position them against , although Brad Hill notes they'll also need to distinguish themselves from the growing number of web hosts offering Wordpress as a one-click install (Dreamhost, Bluehost, etc.).

Wordpress to launch hosted service originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:04:40 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:04:40 EST<![CDATA[Google about to launch Google Talk IM and voice service?]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/google-about-to-launch-im-and-voice-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/google-about-to-launch-im-and-voice-service/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/23/google-about-to-launch-im-and-voice-service/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

GoogleThere's been buzz about releasing an IM product of some sort (other than the "Hello" client which doesn't really count... do you know anyone who uses it as their main chat protocol?), and now it looks like they've been spotted running a Jabber server. The Jabber Extensible Communications Platform (Jabber XCP) is open source technology, and presumably anyone with a Jabber enabled chat client (Trillian, GAIM, e.g.) could access the server -- not just users of the mythical Google IM client. Also, Jabber appears to have buzz as the platform of choice for transmitting voice over IM, which leads to the theory that Google plans a voice enabled IM product of some sort to compete with similar functionality in clients from Yahoo and MSN. Whatcha think? Is Google getting set to release a Skype-killer?

Google about to launch Google Talk IM and voice service? originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Aug 2005 10:00:04 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Tue, 23 Aug 2005 10:00:04 EST<![CDATA[Steganography with Flickr: embedding files in your photos]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/steganography-with-flickr-embedding-files-in-your-photos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/steganography-with-flickr-embedding-files-in-your-photos/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/steganography-with-flickr-embedding-files-in-your-photos/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

SteganographyKeith McDuffee over at the Digital Photography blog is getting a lot of buzz on his article showing how to use your account to store non-image files by embedding them via the process of steganography. The article is both a proof of concept and a how-to, and adds the possibility of sharing files with other Flickr users beyond other "free hosting space" solutions such as Xdrive or Gmail drive. The question is -- is it kosher, or will the Flickr deities frown?

Steganography with Flickr: embedding files in your photos originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:16:25 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:16:25 EST<![CDATA[Imeem launches desktop component for distributed social networking]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/imeem-launches-desktop-component-for-distributed-social-networki/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/imeem-launches-desktop-component-for-distributed-social-networki/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/imeem-launches-desktop-component-for-distributed-social-networki/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

ImeemImeem is a social networking enterprise with a slightly different tack from the rest of the YASNs -- instead of uploading your content to a central site, you're sharing your files from your desktop, peer-to-peer style. You can share photos and other files with five different levels of access control: private, friends only, friends of friends, all of Imeem, and world (web-published). As with other social networking sites, you can join groups and have threaded forum-like discussions, with the notable addition of real-time chat to the mix. Right now, is available as a desktop client download for Windows XP, but a Mac client is on its way shortly.

Imeem launches desktop component for distributed social networking originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Aug 2005 15:24:28 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 22 Aug 2005 15:24:28 EST<![CDATA[Melodeo launches podcast streaming to your cellphone]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/melodeo-launches-podcast-streaming-to-your-cellphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/melodeo-launches-podcast-streaming-to-your-cellphone/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/22/melodeo-launches-podcast-streaming-to-your-cellphone/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Mobilecast logoIf you're like me and can't always be trusted to sync your iPod or other portable player with your desktop before heading out and about, you may be interested to hear of 's recent announcement of a solution that will stream podcasts to your cellphone. Their software, officially available come September, promises to simplify the process of finding and listening to podcasts on your phone. The service itself is free, but the gotcha is that unless you have an all-you-can-eat data plan with your wireless carrier, you'll be paying for whatever data charges you incur from downloading podcasts over the air. Maybe now's the time to check into that all-you-can-eat data plan, eh?

[Via Russell Beattie]

Melodeo launches podcast streaming to your cellphone originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:17:15 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Mon, 22 Aug 2005 10:17:15 EST<![CDATA[Friday Flickr Fun: add a Flickr tag cloud to your site]]>http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/19/friday-flickr-fun-add-a-flickr-tag-cloud-to-your-site/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/19/friday-flickr-fun-add-a-flickr-tag-cloud-to-your-site/http://www.downloadsquad.com/2005/08/19/friday-flickr-fun-add-a-flickr-tag-cloud-to-your-site/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Flickr Tag Cloud
It has been said that the "tag cloud is the mullet of the internet," and who doesn't want to be the height of current fashion? Dan Steingart has written a PHP script that will pull your tags from and arrange them in a tag cloud for inclusion on your site. There are a number of parameters you can tweak including min and max font sizes, sort order, color, and username by applying arguments to the URL. If you set this up, post up a link in the comments and, um, show us your mullet.

Friday Flickr Fun: add a Flickr tag cloud to your site originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:00:45 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CSSflickrPHPscriptingtag+cloudTagCloudFri, 19 Aug 2005 17:00:45 EST