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Posts with tag adobe-air

Filed under: Audio, Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Freeware

FlyCast mobile radio app comes to the PC

FlyCast
Over the last year we've seen a lot of companies race to come out with iPhone-specific versions of their applications. But FlyCast is moving in the other direction. The company makes a mobile application for iPhone and BlackBerry users which provides easy access to hundreds of internet audio streams including music, news, entertainment, and tech podcasts. Now FlyCast also has a desktop client based on Adobe AIR, which means it can run on Mac, Windows, and Linux computers.

The FlyCast Desktop Player appears to be a direct port of the iPhone software. It would have been nice if the company had spent a few minutes coming up with a new design so that you didn't feel like you were playing with an iPod while flipping channels. But the application works as you'd expect, making it easy to find internet audio streams in a number of different categories.

[via Zatz Not Funny]

Filed under: Internet, Windows Mobile, Adobe

News Flash: Adobe Flash coming to Windows Mobile, AIR hits 1.5

Flash 10
Adobe is holding a developer conference this week, where the company plans to demonstrate a number of new technologies, including a version of Flash 10 that will run on devices with ARM processors, ranging from Windows Mobile phones to televisions and mobile internet devices.

Also on the docket:
Conspicuously absent from the announcements? Any word on a version of Flash 10 for the iPhone.

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Office, Productivity

MiniTask - light task manager for Adobe Air

MiniTaskMiniTask is a basic cross-platform organization app built on Adobe Air. The learning curve on this app is basically nil, and you'll soon be adding, checking off, and setting alarms for to-do items with ease. There aren't a ton of features, so it's not the greatest for the completely neurotic among us, but if you just need a simple, unfussy to-do list, give it a look.

Let's a take a quick look at what MiniTask can do (fortunately, it's not much!). There's just one window, and you can right-click (CTRL-click on a Mac) to add new tasks and new dividers. You can use the dividers however you like, for different days or different categories of tasks. To-do items have three modes: checked off, not checked off, and alarm. Double-click a task to change the name, and double-click an alarm icon to change the time on an alarm. Seriously, that's all there is to it!

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Blogging, Productivity, Adobe, Freeware, Web

Moderator desktop app for moderating WordPress blog comments

ModeratorIf you have a blog that gets a lot of comments, you might be finding that logging into your blog's administration panel to moderate comments has become a bit of a laborious process. If your blog runs on the WordPress platform and is self-managed, you might like to check out the Moderator plugin and associated Adobe Air desktop application.

The concept here is straightforward: install the plugin on your blog, then follow the instructions to install the Air application on your Windows or Mac machine. From there, you get a nice quick application from which to review comments and either approve, delete, or mark them as spam.

As the site currently warns, you might find a performance problem if your site has hundreds of unmoderated comments when installing Moderator. The easy and obvious work-around is to ensure that you are up-to-date in your moderating before installing the plugin.

While it's a fantastic start, I'm one of those insane people that runs a number of WordPress blogs, or at least caretake a few for friends. It would be wonderful if Morderator allowed you to monitor mulitple WordPress blogs and moderate comments for all of them from within one interface. You can change the site that you are aiming Moderator at, but support for multiple sites would be a great enhancement.

Filed under: Audio, Internet, Photo, Video, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Web

Watch videos, find music, find photos, and download them with Bookmash

Bookmash
Bookmash is an online media browser and viewer based on Adobe AIR. It lets you browse or search to find for photos, music, and videos from sites including Flickr, SeeqPod, YouTube, and DailyMotion. When you find what you're looking for, you can play your media using the built in BookMash media playing feature, or you can click the icons below the media to download, share, or bookmark the file.

The media browser looks a lot like the interface for browser plugin Cooliris. But Bookmash is a standalone program that can be run without launching a web browser first. And Cooliris lacks the media download button.

Bookmash also shows top news stories from Digg and has social networking tools that let you do things like enter a person's name to find their profiles on social networking pages. The results are opened in a web browser, not in Bookmash.

[via Go2Web20]

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0

Toro: Yet another Adobe AIR-based Twitter client

ToroYou might think that the last thing the world needs is yet another desktop client for Twitter. And you'd probably be right. But that doesn't make new kid on the bloc Toro any less pretty to look at.

Toro doesn't have a ton of features when compared to the reigning champs like Twhirl and Alert Thingy. It doesn't have a shortcut for sending direct messages and doesn't have a tab for direct tweets. And it has exactly two options in the settings dialog (turn alerts on and off, and turn sounds for alerts on and off).

But that said, Toro is one of the most physically attractive Adobe AIR-based Twitter clients I've seen. Items like Recent, Public, and Replies are separate into tabs. There's an integrated search feature. And you can view a list of your friends and followers in the Friends tab. I don't know why most desktop Twitter clients insist on having colorful backgrounds, but there's something about the black and white simplicity of Toro that makes it an attractive alternative.

[via RefreshingApps]

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Web services, Freeware, VoIP, web 2.0

TokBox launches Adobe AIR-based video chat app

TokBox AIR
TokBox is a video chat service that lets you communicate via instant message, video, or audio. But unlike other services such as Skype, there's no need to install any software. You can run TokBox from a web browser. The software will automatically detect your computer's camera and/or microphone and adjust all the appropriate settings for you.

But sometimes you don't want to leave a browser window open just so you can chat. Or you might want to do other things with your web browser while chatting. So a desktop client can come in handy. And doday TokBox released one. The desktop version of TokBox is built on Adobe AIR, so it looks and acts almost exactly the same as the web version. Because essentially it is the web version. You just don't need to launch a web browser to use it.

It took us just a few moments to register for a free account and download and install the software. Our only complaint was that you still need to access the web site to accomplish some tasks. For example, when we wanted to add friends to our contact list, we hit the "find friends" button in TokBox AIR. But when we started the search, TokBox fired up our web browser to show us the results.

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Social Software, web 2.0

Posty: Adobe AIR client for Twitter, FriendFeed, Pownce, Jaiku, Tumblr

Posty
There's no shortage of desktop clients for Twitter and FriendFeed. But Posty goes a few steps beyond popular clients like Twhirl and Alert Thingy by adding support for Jaiku and Tumblr as well as Pownce.

Posty's main window features a list of supported services with check boxes next to each. Just enter a status update and select the networks you want to send the update out to, and you can post simultaneously to all 5 places. You can also select the individual tab for each service to see recent updates from your contacts or from the public timelines if they're available. You can also respond to comments or send direct messages directly from Posty.

One of the only complaints we had with Posty is that while the window is resizable, it starts out at 550 pixels wide and there's no way to make it smaller. Bigger, yes. But smaller? Not so much. So it takes up a fair bit of screne real estate.

Like most applications built on Adobe AIR, Posty is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

[via Sarah in Tampa]

Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Productivity, Freeware

Klok: Time tracking made simple

Klok
Whether you're a freelancer working on multiple projects with different billable rates or someone who just wants to keep track of the time you spend on different tasks, Klok can help. Klok is a cross-platform time-tracking application built on Adobe AIR. That means you can use Klok on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines.

You can set up sub-projects for each project. For example, you could have a project called "watching TV," and sub-projects for Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, and Rock of Love 2. Because we know that's what you'll really want to use a time tracker for.

Klok also has a nifty little reports tab that shows you how much time you've wasted spent on various tasks. And you can export your reports as an Excel spreadsheet.

[via Lifehacker]

Filed under: Internet, Features, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Web services, Freeware, web 2.0

DestroyFlickr: Desktop browser for Flickr



Despite the ominous name, DestroyFlickr isn't an application that deletes your Flickr account and removes all of your photos. Rather, it's a desktop client for Flickr that uses Adobe AIR and the Flickr API to enhance the Flickr experience.

First up, the browser has a dark background which makes it easier to focus on images rather than the white space surrounding them. You can view your stored Flickr images, browse your contacts' photos, or view interesting photos uploaded by other Flickr users. You can also upload and download photos.

But like any good Adobe AIR application, what makes DestroyFlickr a little bit cooler than the web site it's based on are a series of nifty animations. When you navigate from one view to another, the images slide off the screen. And when you click the Workspaces button to View All, the whole screen zooms out to show what you've been up to. In other words, if you were browsing a friend's photostream, looking at interesting photos, and leaving comments on one individual picture, you can see each view and zoom in on the one you want to return to. The effect is actually quite similar to the way the concept UI for Firefox Mobile manages tabbed browsing.

Noticeably absent is any sort of search function. You search Flickr for users or photos, but in order to conduct a search you have to first click on the photos or contacts tab and then click on canvas to bring up the search option. It's a bit more awkward than a dedicated search button, but it gets the job done.

Filed under: Weekend Review

Download Squad Week in Review

Download Squad logoBeen so busy trying to figure out Steve Jobs would announce next week that you haven't had time to read the news this week? We'll save you some time. First, it's probably a new iPhone. Second, here are some of our favorite stories from the week that was:
  • Wikia Search human powered search engine becomes useful
    Ever wish you could rearrange search results in Google? Well, you can't. But you can customize Wikia Search, the search engine from the makers of Wikipedia to your heart's content. Don't like the order of the search results? Just vote your preferred results up. In theory, this could be an excellent way to deal with the inadequacies of machine ranking. In practice, web publishers are just going to spend all day fighting for the top listings.
  • VLC on the iPhone and iPod Touch? Yep
    The iPhone is a remarkable device that lets you make phone calls, surf the web, watch movies, and listen to music. But if you want to watch DiVX videos, listen to MP3 files, or use any number of other formats, you're out of luck. Or at least you were last week. Because this week, the open-source VLC media player was ported to the iPhone. And there was much rejoicing.
  • As June 30th approaches, are you stocking up on Windows XP licenses?
    Microsoft has set a June 30th cutoff date for Windows XP sales. Sort of. While it won't be impossible to pick up a copy of the 6 year old operating system after that date, it will be a bit tougher. Since Windows Vista isn't exactly what we'd call popular, and Windows 7 is at least a year or two away, now might be a good time to pick up a spare Windows XP license in case you need to install the OS on a new computer.
  • Ubuntu Netbook Remix gets real official
    Dozens of computer makers showed off new cheap mini-notebooks at the Computex trade show in Taipei this week. And while many of those "netbooks" run Windows XP or Vista, many more are running Linux. Canonical wants in on the action and is planning to release Ubuntu Netbook Remix later this year. It's basically a custom version of Ubuntu with a new program launcher designed for small screens and optimizations for the low-power Intel Atom CPU. Canonical showed off an early build of the system this week.
  • Ever use Pandora? Ever use Pandora...on AIR?
    While there have been desktop clients that let you listen to streaming music service Pandora without a web browser for ages, the company finally released its own official client this week -- to mixed reviews. On the one hand, it's great that you can listen to music without having to launch a browser. On the other hand, the desktop client, based on Adobe AIR, is kind of bulky and feels more like a web service than a desktop application.
  • NexusFile - Putting Windows Explorer out of its misery
    Looking for a good replacement for the Windows Explorer? NexusFile supports tabs, favorite folders, has a built in FTP client, and disk cleanup tool. And it's free.

Filed under: Internet, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Web services, Adobe, Beta, web 2.0

Adobe AIR for Linux alpha released

Adobe AIR Linux
Adobe has released a public alpha of Adobe AIR for Linux, which means you can now run applications built using the Adobe Integrated Runtime on Windows, Mac, and Linux machines. Adobe AIR is an environment that lets user run online applications offline. For example, here are a few of our favorite AIR applications:
Adobe is also joining the Linux Foundation today, joining other companies including HP, Google, and Nokia. The group encourages Linux development, and the addition of Adobe AIR could really step things up a bit, since developers can now create applications for a single platform and have them run on Windows, Mac, and Linux boxes.

[via CNet]

Filed under: Weekend Review

Download Squad Week in Review

Download Squad logoThis week saw an odd migration of geeks in and out of Austin. Early this week the tech geeks all left the capital of Texas en mass, while music geeks all boarded trains, plains and autos headed for Austin. And if you're still suffering from jetlag and whiplash, here are a few stories you may have missed.

Download Squad SXSW2008 coverage continues

Southy by Southwest Interactive may be over, but we scored some amazing interviews with movers, shakers, and up and comers. Check out our interview with Guy Kawasaki where he discusses his new startup on a budget, Alltop. And keep checking back for more interviews and special coverage from SXSW.

Who needs IE8? Get WebSlices and Activities in Firefox

Last week Microsoft released the first public beta of Internet Explorer 8. And while it's still a pretty early release with serious compatibility issues with many web sites, IE8 does have a few pretty nifty features. And it only took a couple of days for Firefox extensions emulating those features to pop up.

Read more →

Filed under: Features, Linux, Adobe

Using WINE to install Adobe AIR on Linux

Adobe AIR and WINE
Adobe hasn't officially ported Adobe AIR to Linux yet, but Ubuntu Unleashed figured out that you can install AIR using the WINE windows emulation layer for Linux. Installation isn't exactly painless, and when all is said and done, there are a bunch of AIR applications that won't run. But some will.

Note that the instructions at Ubuntu Unleashed tell you how to install Adobe AIR beta 3. But read on and we'll show you how to install Adobe AIR 1.0.

Read more →

Filed under: Internet, Adobe

Adobe releases AIR: Brings online apps to your desktop

Adobe AIR
Adobe has taken the wraps off of the final version of its Adobe AIR platform, which has been in beta for some time now. Adobe AIR is a platform that allows developers to create applications that access web services without the need for a web browser. For example, there's an Adobe AIR application that lets you manipulate Google Analytics data, another that lets you upload and organize files stored on AOL's Xdrive storage service, and a bunch of AIR clients for Twitter.

During the beta period, we've been pretty impressed with the look and feel of AIR applications that we've tried out. Now that there's a new release of AIR, users may be prompted to download the update in order to install newer applications, while some applications you've previously installed may be bound to older versions of AIR. Fortunately you can have multiple versions of AIR installed on your computer simultaneously.

AIR is available for Mac and Windows computers. You can find an incomplete list of applications built on Adobe AIR at Adobe's web site

Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

View more Time Wasters

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