chicago posts

Google News goes local

by Brad Linder Feb 7th 2008

Google News is working hard to either kill your local newspaper or make you read it more often. While Google News has typically gathered the top stories from news sources across the web and presented the top world and national stories, you can now get local pages for pretty much any major city.

All you have to do is visit the Google News homepage, scroll down the page a bit until you see a box asking for a city, state, or zip code. Fill in the box, and Google will add a local section to the page. You can also click the hyperlink to get a standalone page. For example, this link takes you to a Google News for Chicago.

There's no real local search tool yet. If you enter a search term from a local news page, you still get global search results.

[via Google Blogoscoped]

Tags: chicago, google-local-news, google-news, local-news

Filed under: Audio, Business, Developer, Internet, Video, Office, Productivity, Social Software

Microsoft to buy Parlano for seamless communication experiences

by Chris Gilmer Aug 30th 2007

The team in Redmond Washington has just announced that they will be acquiring Chicago based Parlano, developers of a cross functional group communication technology, that goes beyond your typical IM and email toolsets.

Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but Microsoft is planning to integrate Parlano's technology in order to give its office programs a broader vision. For example, users would be able to see who is available only by IM as oppose to Phone or video chat. Then they would be able to transition seamlessly from email to an IM to a video chat.

This move by Microsoft marks a milestone in its Office Communications server due out late next year. An application that lets users find and communicate with the right person, immediately, through the applications that they use most.

[via NYTimes]

Tags: chat, chicago, communicate, communications, im, microsoft, msn, office, parlano, phone, redmond, video

Filed under: Business, Web services

Mini-eBays finding a niche

by Ted Wallingford Aug 27th 2007

Remember when Yahoo Auctions folded up shop? Like many, we here at Download Squad were more than a little disappointed, but we absolutely understood that eBay had become a juggernaut, and competing with the world's biggest auction site was a losing proposition for Yahoo. Even uBid, arguably the second-most-significant auction site, can't touch eBay in terms of volume.

Naturally, we were surprised to hear about a couple of guys from the Chicago area that decided to build their own miniature eBay using yard sales as their selling gimmick. The result? A group of sites that allow their user community to sell and buy on a local basis. Napervilleyardsales.com supports a garage sale community in an upscale Chicago suburb, while sister-site Jolietyardsales.com (which looks nearly identical) offers the same service a few miles up the road.

At first blush, we wondered, why wouldn't people just use eBay? Then it made sense--between eBay's per-item listing fees, commission percentage, and large geographic reach, eBay may not actually be the right answer for the localized selling that gives yard sales their unique charm.

The guys that run these yard sale sites have six or seven of them up and running, and they don't cross list items between the sites, so they really are local-only listings. A far cry from eBay. Who knows if these yard sale web site guys are actually turning a profit, but it stands to reason, if you keep things local and build enough of these sites, maybe you can still compete against the world's biggest site for "selling your old junk".

Tags: auction, chicago, commerce, ebay, ubid, yard sale, YardSale

Filed under: Internet

Shoot an Iraqi artist (with paintballs) over the web

by Brad Linder May 11th 2007

For the next six weeks, Wafaa Bilal will live in a small room in the back of Chicago's Flatfile Galleries. You can logon to watch him any time of day, seven days a week.

While Big Brother and Justin.tv have taught us that this alone might provide a few moments of diversion from the office cubicle, Bilal's stepped things up a notch. Not only can you chat with him or communicate via a webcam. You can also control a paintball gun that will shoot at Bilal -- even when he's sleeping.

What would have just seemed like an odd act of masochism takes on a new meaning when you consider the fact that Bilal was born in Iraq.

It's strange enough that video game addicts are now presented with the opportunity to shoot a real live human being using pretty much the same interface they would normally see when fighting fictional aliens. But the art installation is meant to raise questions of surveillance, obsession with guns, and the American occupation of Iraq.

Bilal has garnered a lot of attention already, so you might not be able to access the website right away, since the server is experiencing some strain. You can also keep up with Bilal's video diary on YouTube.

Tags: art, chicago, domestic tension, DomesticTension, iraq

Filed under: Video, Web services, Social Software

37signals wants to interview Basecamp users in Chicago and NYC

by David Chartier Feb 5th 2007

If you're a Basecamp user living in the Chicago or NYC areas, and if you have an interesting story to tell about the way you and your organization use Basecamp, then 37signals wants to talk to you. They're looking to shoot a series of interviews which will be promoted on the 37signals site, discussing how exactly you use Backpack. Who exactly are they looking for? Well:

"We're looking for customers from all walks of life and all industries. From educators to designers to writers to marketers to performers to lawyers to anyone who considers Basecamp an integral part of their business."

If you're interested, their blog post has the original announcement and contact information. No deadline for these interviews has been set.

Tags: 37signals, basecamp, chicago, interview, interviews, new york city, NewYorkCity, nyc

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