Status posts

MySpace now lets you sync your Twitter updates

by Jay Hathaway Sep 21st 2009

With more social networks turning into lifestreaming platforms, it makes sense that we're seeing Twitter integration for a growing number of social sites and services. MySpace is the latest big player to get Twitter syncing, with both one-way and two-way options. MySpace may be showing up a little late to this party, though, with services like Facebook and AIM already able to feed into Twitter.

You can plug your accounts in using OAuth, and your posts from MySpace will show "from MySpace," just like any other Twitter client. Syncing also works with the mobile versions of both sites. Twitter might win bigger than MySpace, here. All MySpace gets is an attempt to keep up with Facebook and other competitors who have already embraced Twitter, while Twitter gets more exposure with the younger demographic that some say it's had trouble attracting.

Tags: lifestream, myspace, status, sync, twitter

Filed under: Windows, Open Source, Microblogging

Open source MahTweets is a solid, extensible Twitter client for Windows

by Lee Mathews Sep 8th 2009

Want a good Twitter client for your Windows system that doesn't necessitate installing Adobe Air? Check out MahTweets.

If you're willing to overlook the...er...interesting interface, MahTweets is loaded with features. It's built on .Net 3.5 and the Windows Presentation Foundation and is available as a ClickOnce installer. CPU and memory usage are very respectable, and updates are sent and received rapidly.

Twitter power users won't like the fact that MahTweets doesn't support search columns. More casual, conversational users probably won't notice the omission. The app does provide a good way to view the big three - everything, direct messages, and @ mentions.

[via Doug Finke]

Tags: facebook, flickr, mahtweets, status, twitpic, twitter, wpf, yfrog

Filed under: Time-Wasters

Stuck for a Status? Try Generatus - Time Waster

by Nik Fletcher Nov 14th 2008

Have you been busy scheduling all those Tweets using Twuffer and FutureTweets? No, me neither: but if you're looking for snark, wit or paraphrases of well-known movie quotes to use in your Twitter stream in an attempt to out-humor our very own Mr Funny, then you may want to have a bit of fun with Generatus.

Enter a couple of particulars [namely, your name and select 'Boy or Girl'], hit generate and before your very eyes a status suitable for Twitter or Facebook is made for you. There's also the ability to filter by tag [for example 'Monty Python' or 'Movies' or 'Manias'] and an absolute bucketload of hilarious, ironic and generally very excellent phrases that you could be assigned, should you have the urge to press refresh a few [dozen] times.

The only oversight with Generatus seems to be that, unlike most webservices, it lacks an API. Twuffer, combined with the hilarity of Generatus would make for an epic all-singing, all-dancing autonomous Twitter bot that would allow you to never once tweet into awkward, unfunny silence again.

OK, so maybe I'm kidding when I say I'd prefer to read tweets from Generatus all-day: but very seriously, if you're looking for a little bit of laughter, and want to lose a few minutes of your day, Generatus is an excellent Time Waster.

Tags: Facebook, Status, Time-Waster, Twitter

Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Web services, Beta, web 2.0

Microbloggers Rejoice: Ping.FM Opens Beta to Everyone

by Lee Mathews Sep 2nd 2008

Brad first reviewed Ping.FM back in march, and the service has come a long way since then. Today, they announced that they're ready to do away with invites and open up the service to the public.

Before getting my beta code, I really wasn't all that interested in any of the microblog/status sites that exist. There are just too damn many of them, and I don't have time to update a dozen sites every time I read or post something interesting. Ping has made that chore so unbelievably easy that I'm now getting some use out of my Twitter, Pownce, Plurk, Friendfeed, Rejaw, Facebook, and myriad other accounts.

Apart from using the dashboard on the Ping.FM website, you can also update via email or IM. All you have to do is add Ping as a buddy in your favorite app, enter a verification code, and any messages you send will be sent to your default list. If you're an iGoogle user, Ping's got a gadget for that, too. I've talked about their mobile version as well, which I love since it'll run on any old handheld with wifi access.

Ping is a great service, and I can't imagine trying to do manually what their service does for me. It's a winner.

Tags: facebook, microblog, microblogging, pownce, status, twitter

Filed under: Internet, Social Software

Crowdstatus and Gridjit: Two new ways to look at Twitter

by Brad Linder Apr 13th 2008

Twitter's a great way to keep up with your friends latest thoughts and activities -- if you have just a few friends to follow or if you spend every waking moment monitoring Twitter. But if you follow a few hundred people and happen to walk away from your computer or mobile device for more than a few minutes, odds are you'll miss a ton of messages.

CrowdStatus makes it easier to make sure you don't miss tweets, by letting you organize your contacts into groups. Say you follow 100 people, but there are 10 people whose every word you want to read, another 10 who are usually good for a laugh, but aren't as critical, and 80 who you're just following to be polite since they already followed you. You can create three different groups and when you're in a hurry, just click the high priority group to display the latest messages from your top 10 list.

You can also share your group URLs with the world, letting everyone see the latest updates from Download Squad bloggers, for example.

Another tool we ran across which lets you visualize your Twitter messages in a new way is Gridgit. It's not quite as versatile as CrowdStatus, but Gridjit displays your latest messages according to user instead of in chronological order, making it easier to track the last few messages from each of your contacts. If you're willing to give up your password, you can also post to Twitter directly from Gridjit.

[via Blog Herald and WebWare]

Tags: crowdstatus, gridjit, status, tweet-this, tweets, twitter

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Productivity, Web services, Google, web 2.0

New status: get invisible on Google's Gmail Chat

by Danny Mendez Feb 25th 2008

There's a new feature in town for Gmail Chat, but it's actually not all that new. It's been possible for some time now to go into "invisible" mode via AIM and other chat protocols, but Gmail Chat is finally joining the invisible party.

Going invisible through chat software enables IMers to log into their IM accounts without showing that they've logged on. It's still possible for others to IM you, though it's unlikely since you wouldn't be listed as "online", and you can also IM others.

Invisible mode in Gmail Chat doesn't yet work with Google Talk, the gadget and desktop app. Currently, it's only supported via the online Gmail interface, but we're sure that'll change soon.

[via Google Operating System]

Tags: chat, gmail, google, IM, instant message, InstantMessage, invisible, online, status

Filed under: Internet, Video, Windows, Social Software

Windows Media Center plugin tells Facebook what you're watching

by Brad Linder Feb 13th 2008

Facebook raised some controversy over plans to broadcast users personal information like movie ticket purchases and travel arrangements. But the truth is that many Facebook users are perfectly happy to let the world know what they're up to through frequent status updates. If you're the kind of person who doesn't like to go to work, sleep, or the bathroom without changing your Facebook status, we've got a Windows Media Vista Center plugin that could save you a few seconds of typing time every day.

Developer Jussi Palo has put together a little Facebook application that will automatically update your Facebook status to reflect what you're watching with Windows Vista Media Center. If you're watching a live or recorded television program, your Facebook status will include the program name. If you're listening to a song, the artist and song title will show up. And if you're watching a DVD or movie, well, you get the idea.

In order to run install the Facebook Media Center plugin you'll need to download an executable file to your Windows Vista machine, run the installer, and reboot your system. Then you need to login to Facebook. Everything else happens in the background. Unfortunately your login information won't be remembered, so you may have to login to Facebook every time you restart your PC.

[via Ian Dixon]

Tags: facebook, facebook-media-center, status, status-updates, windows-media-center, windows-vista-media-center

Filed under: Business, Developer, Social Software

Facebook "is" updating status messages

by Chris Gilmer Nov 20th 2007

Quick, name the most annoying thing about your Facebook profile? The status message!

Trying to contort your status to fit the "is" from updates using the proper English language often proves extremely challenging. How many times have you ignored the "is" altogether and just inserted whatever you wanted, whether it made sense or not? Fear not, Facebook has listened to their users. Over 164,000 members in a Facebook group lobbied to get rid of the clunky "is" verb and succeeded. Currently the developer platform is the only code that has been updated with the change.

However, there's no word on when you'll see the "is" disappear from your user accounts.

Tags: facebook, is, message, social-network, status

Filed under: Web services, web 2.0

TwitKu brings Twitter and Jaiku into one window

by Nik Fletcher Aug 16th 2007

The "What Am I Doing" web-service arena has been pretty competitive, with comparatively-long-established Twitter seeing competition from Jaiku and Pownce. Off course, all the services have their own merits, however the decision on which network to use has been a hotly debated topic, with Leo Laporte (of This Week in Tech fame) famously leaving Twitter for rival Jaiku.

Whilst Jaiku offers the ability to import Twitter (and other feeds), the ability to interact with, and monitor, both services simultaneously has been limited. This is where TwitKu comes in - both services, with the ability to post simulataneously and monitor your contacts, in a single window. Whilst some of the Download Squad team are fans of service-specific clients such as Twitterrific, this is certainly a move in the right direction for those of us with Web 2.0 sign-up mania!

[Via TechCrunch]

Tags: Jaiku, Status, Twitter, Web 2.0, Web2.0, WhatAmIDoingNow

Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Social Software

Jaiku - feature-packed online presence service

by David Chartier Apr 7th 2007

If Twitter and all its buzz in the web community can be considered its own growing world of sorts, then Leo Laporte - one of the service's foremost users according to Twitterholic - just sent ripples through its oceans by announcing his decision to move to Jaiku, a similar service that seems to have longer legs and quite a few more features. Since this was the first we've heard about Jaiku, we couldn't resist swinging by to sign up for an account to see what this micro-blogging, über-status message service has to offer.

In a nutshell: a lot. For starters, Jaiku acts as more of an 'online presence,' allowing you to do things like import RSS feeds from any of your other web properties (including photo feeds from the likes of Flickr) in addition to its fundamental feature of allowing you to post 140-character, SMS-friendly updates of what you're thinking or doing. Jaiku also has refreshing bits of genius sprinkled everywhere, such as the ability to group update notifications via email instead of sending single notices every time any contact posts something. On the downside, however, Jaiku doesn't seem to have nearly as much of a 3rd party following. It has no API (yet), so we're having a hard time finding Jaiku equivalents for TriQQr and the Iconfactory's spectacular Twitterrific client, let alone all the widgets, plugins and mashups which Twitter has quickly grown a reputation for.

Still, Jaiku offers plent of micro-blogging goodness, so give it a spin if Twitter simply isn't offering enough meat to sink your free time into.

Tags: feeds, groovr, import, jaiku, micro blogging, micro-blogging, MicroBlogging, rss, status, twitter

Filed under: Business, Web services, Google

Flight info care of Google

by Chris Gilmer Mar 27th 2007

Flying with Google has never been this easy. Your favorite search engine is now offering everyone a way to easily check the status of flights through SMS while running down the halls of the airport.

Users can simply text flight numbers to 466453 (GOOGLE), and the status information, provided by flightstats.com, will be relayed back to you. If you want the want to get in touch with a specific airline by phone, text the airline name to the same number, and Google will shoot you back the main telephone number you can call for inquiries.

Even though the Google flight info service is currently only available for departing or arriving flights in the US, flightstats.com the supplier does offer international stats, so Google could be releasing this service worldwide.

The Google Flight Status gadget can also be added to your personalized homepage.

Tags: flight, flightstats, google, sms, status, tracking

Filed under: Fun, Web services

SingleStat.us: Be notified when your MySpace crush is single

by Jordan Running Jun 5th 2006

Have you ever spent all night refreshing that special someone's MySpace profile over and over again just waiting for for their relationship status to change to "Single" and thought, "there's got to be a better way"? Okay, um... me neither. But say you had a friend who did that. You could tell your friend to check out SingleStat.us, which will watch their ~~stalkee's~~ special someone's profile and e-mail them as soon as their status switches to Single. You can use SingleStat.us for free if you plug the service on your MySpace profile, or if plugs aren't your thing you can pay a one-time fee of $3.95. Incidentally, SingleStat.us was built by PB Wiki CEO David Weekly in three days for this weekend's SuperHappyDevHouse coding competition.

[Via Waxy.org]

Tags: David Weekly, DavidWeekly, fun, myspace, pbwiki, profile, relationship, singlestat.us, singlestatus, status, superhappydevhouse

Filed under: Audio, News, Macintosh

iChatStaus a thing of the past

by Vince Veneziani Jun 30th 2005

iChatStatus used to be the hip iChat plug-in that let you display your current iTunes track in a number of ways (albeit small, but a number). But since Tiger's version of iChat (3.0) has

been out, many people have just simply stopped using iChatStatus. iChat 3.0 comes with the option of displaying your iTunes music track while you're chatting. Plus, iChatStatus hasn't been updated in quite awhile. Sorry iChatStatus. You were good to us before you got mauled to death. We salute you!

Tags: Apple, Audio, Display, iChat, iChatStatus, iTunes, Message, Status, Tiger

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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