Download Squad

We first reported on the coming San Dimas project, from eBay, back in April when it was announced at the Web 2.0 Conference. At then we told you about being able to buy the first invite to the beta test. Well we didn't buy the firs invite but we did get an invite to the beta from when we signed up back in April.

Over the weekend we got our invite to the beta testing of the San Dimas project. The application is designed to be a client side interface to eBay. The project is written using the new Adobe AIR platform. So when we went to the download page we were told that the installer would install Adobe AIR as well.

After a few restarts of the installer due to our firewall blocking the installer, we refreshed the page, and was able to start the install of the San Dimas project. When we did we were greeted by the not so comforting screen below saying the Publisher was UNVERIFIED and it was asking for UNRESTRICTED access to our system. We completed the install and you can see some shots from the application itself after the jump.

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Having trouble keeping up with your blog? If it's not lack of time, it might be having your precious thoughts and diatribes locked away in some blog hosting service; the -- not so irrational -- fear of having your blog hosting company go belly up and leave you unable to get your data back. Wouldn't it be better if you could manage it all yourself on your server? Or, maybe you don't like the way the blog hosting company does what it does, and you would prefer modifying the system to work the way you want it to.

If a full featured open source Content Management System is overkill, and a streamlined blog engine is what you are looking for, the search may have ended. When blogengine.net was noticed by a fellow blogger here (thanks Grant), it seemed to have great blogging features. It's written in .net and you can get the source code if you're so inclined. So we decided to install it and give it a try.

Read the installation process after the jump...

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If you use a web based mail service and are tired of all the clutter on the pages slowing load times and ads getting in your way of quickly reading, and writing email, then Litepost is a service you should keep an eye on.

Litepost is aiming to ease the job of reading and replying to email by decluttering the interface and focusing on the two main functions of email, writing and reading. The interface is designed to be streamlined for these two functions and nothing else. And if the interface they designed is not to your liking they also allow you to upload your own skin for use by you.

And they have taken the "free web-mail" a step farther and will be releasing Litepost mail server as an Open Source download so that it can be installed on your server and you don't need to rely on another company for your mail hosting. And being Web 2.0 savvy they know that users would not do anything anymore without tagging and ratings. That's right not only can you tag your messages for easier retrieval later, but you can rate emails to find the important ones first.

They are currently working on finishing up their initial beta release, and will be coming out soon with the web mail service, followed by the server component after that. You can go to their site and sign up to be notified when these events happen. They are also developing an API for the service, as well as having the source code repository link posted publicly so that all those open source loving developers out there can make use of the service.

We talked about the San Dimas project before, and we just got an update from Alan Lewis, San Dimas product manager. He says the beta is feature complete and they are working hard to get rid of bugs while also making minor changes. Response to the project has been greater than expected and beta invites, which will be starting soon, may flow forth slower than they hoped. They have also a project FAQ, for which you can submit questions, at the San Dimas blog

But for the l33t who want in on the beta, you can bid on the first invite with proceeds going to charity. At the auction they give all the details on what the winner will get. This includes the very first beta email, and it will be sent 6 hours prior to any other invites. The winner will also get a certificate to prove to your friends and family you were there first... which we're sure they'll be impressed with, just as soon as they're done asking, "What the heck is San Dimas?" The final kicker -- a "Preston / Logan '08" T-shirt -- which reminds us to remind you, "Be excellent to each other."

No this is not a post on the hot TV show Heroes but is about a FREE site that allows you to search for your Social Security Number or credit card number in their database they build from scouring the web. It is what it sounds like, no fancy Ajaxy Web 2.0 junk, just enter your numbers and click the button, get the results. I can't tell you what the information looks like if it finds your information, because mine was not found.

So where did they get their data from? Well from the FAQ on their site, here is their response. "The information that powers StolenID Search is found online, by looking in places where fraudsters typically trade or store this kind of information. All information behind StolenID search is publicly available, but not in places where search engines such as Yahoo and Google would look. TrustedID abides by all state and federal laws in the collection and provision of this compromised information. The information behind StolenID Search comes from collection efforts led by TrustedID directly and also from other reputable companies that assist us in finding this information on our behalf. One of those companies is Cyvellience."

Of course after your search they offer up information about subscribing to their Monitoring product offering. But it is not that should detract you from searching for your information.