invite posts

The great Google Wave invite giveaway!

by Sebastian Anthony Oct 31st 2009

If you haven't heard of Google Wave yet -- a) wake up! and b) watch this tech demo. It's long, but if you're a nerd, or someone who uses the Internet a lot, you'll find it more exciting than the latest Harry Potter film. And at only 80 minutes, it's not a potentially-bladder-exploding endurance event, unlike the bespectacled wizard wannabe.

And with that said, the goodies: Download Squad are giving away Google Wave invites. We're going to start giving away invites whenever we have them to give away and today, to get the ball rolling, we've got 20 up for grabs! If things heat up, we'll scrounge under the couch cushions until we find more!

Wave is just starting to pick up steam, with more gadgets and gizmos and robots appearing every day. With reports of Google Wave server federation (the ability for anyone to run a Wave server) coming soon, and the sandbox walls being torn down, now's your chance to get in on the action.

Tags: giveaway, google wave, GoogleWave, invite, wave, wave invites, WaveInvites

Filed under: Internet, Productivity, Web services, Beta, Search

Score an invite to the private beta of iubo

by Lisa Hoover Jan 18th 2008

If you spend a lot of time in front of the computer, you probably collect dozens of little snippets of information each day: Web sites to visit later, documents you want to review some other time, contact info of people you want to catch up with next week, reminders about what to pack for your next trip.

There are all kinds ways to track your stuff online (Del.ici.ous, Remember the Milk), but they leave your data segregated across several Web sites. There are also a few options for corralling and indexing all your stuff right on the computer (Google Desktop, Mac OS X Spotlight), but they don't help much when you're away from your desk.

The folks at iubo feel your pain and have designed a Web site where you can store online all the dribs, drabs, and what-nots you accumulate and then access them later, no matter where you are. Once you create an account, you can add and track information on pretty much anything you can think of: pictures, bookmarked Web sites, contact information, notes, documents, and so on. You can even add tags and color-code data for easier searching later.

Gallery: iubo

Tags: beta, data, feature, invitation, invite, iubo, personal information manager, search

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Beta

Site Invites - like InviteShare, but with a different name

by Brad Linder Jul 30th 2007

You know how Lost was a big hit for ABC, and so the next year every network had a few shows with huge casts, a lot of backstory, and a plot that was impossible to follow. That's what happens when someone comes up with a good idea. Or at least one that works.

And so a few weeks ago InviteShare launched a service that made it easier for anyone who wanted to get into exclusive invite-only beta tests to do so. Now a new service, Site Invites has launched to do exactly the same thing.

The concept is pretty simple. Want an invitation to test Joost, Scrybe, or any of 24 other services? Just leave your contact info. Hopefully someone will come along and take pity on you. If you've got a few invitations to share, you can be the pitier. In fact, the more people you send invitations to, the higher you move up the list for any invitations you're seeking.

The site is advertising supported. But something tells us they group behind this is hoping to make a little extra cash by selling the business. (TechCrunch paid $25,000 for InviteShare). There's just one problem. Anybody could create a similar service if they feel like it. The startup costs are pretty minimal. In fact, TechCrunch was getting ready to develop its own service when the company decided to buy InviteShare instead. The only reason InviteShare was worth $25,000 was because TechCrunch had already written a positive review of the site driving up its profile.

Of course, if you're looking for a really good way to pick up invites to the sexiest services around, just keep reading Download Squad.

Tags: invitation, invite, inviteshare, private beta, PrivateBeta, site invites, SiteInvites

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

Download Squad's Invite-a-palooza: Day 5

by Lisa Hoover Jul 30th 2007

Today's Invite-a-palooza featured site just might reunite you with your long-lost love or your best friend from third grade (and if it does, we want to know about it). Spock, a new search service that's still under development, looks like it's shaping up to be a terrific way to search for people. The creators of this site want to be a human phone book of sorts by organizing information on, well, everyone. They're well on their way, too, since they've already indexed over one hundred million people.

Are you listed on Spock's Website? Right now, the only way to find out is by private invitation but, luckily, we've got some. If you're among first 200 people to leave us a note in the comment section, we'll send one your way (make sure to activate it if you get an email confirmation). Whether you snag an invitation or not, if you're a computer science engineer, you'll also want to check out the Spock Challenge for a chance to win $50,000.

If you know of a site you'd like us to consider for the Invite-a-palooza, drop us a note.

Tags: beta, invite, invite-a-palooza, people, search, spock

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, Productivity, Web services, Beta, web 2.0

Download Squad's Invite-a-palooza: Day 4

by Lisa Hoover Jul 27th 2007

For today's Invite-a-palooza, we're featuring Grand Central, an incredibly cool service that was recently acquired by Google. Grand Central lets you corral all your phone numbers -- home, cell, work, Batphone, whatever you've got -- under one master phone number that comes with features you can manage right at the Website. Screen, record, or block calls; assign rings based on who's calling; even switch between your mobile and home phone right in the middle of a call.

Today we're offering private invitations to the first 25 people who leave us a note in the comment section (be sure to activate it if you get an email confirmation). Thanks, and good luck!

UPDATE: We've given away all 10 invitations for today's featured site but check back Monday to see who's up next!

Tags: google, grand central, invite, invite-a-palooza

Filed under: Internet, Productivity, Web services, Open Source, Social Software, Beta, web 2.0

Download Squad's Invite-a-palooza: Day 3

by Lisa Hoover Jul 26th 2007

Put your thinking caps on, today's Invite-a-palooza featured site is all about brainstorming. Mindquarry GO is a new Web-based collaboration tool that's perfect for groups working on The Next Big Thing. Currently under development, Mindquarry GO is a pretty slick variation of Basecamp and similar services. It has a wiki, file sharing and storing options, and an assortment of tools to help you manage team, team members, and entire projects.

Today we're offering private invitations to the first 10 people who leave us a note in the comment section (be sure to activate it if you get an email confirmation). If you weren't quick enough to snag an invite, you can still head over to the Website and get access to the unhosted version of Mindquarry.

If you know of a site you'd like us to consider for the Invite-a-palooza, drop us a note.

UPDATE: We've given away all 10 invitations for today's featured site but check back tomorrow to see who's up next!

Tags: collaboration, invite, invite-a-palooza, mindquarry, open source, OpenSource

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Web services, Social Software

Get your event dates automatically with Punchbowl

by Chris Gilmer May 21st 2007

MyPunchbowl, the online party planning application, uses an algorithm to pick the best date for an event based on the actual responses of people that RSVP to the invitation. The "Pick a Date" feature recommends the best date from a set of dates that are supplied by the hosting party, in real time. As responses are received, the algorithm then recalculates the best possible date based on individual's status and VIP stature. The best date can either be selected by the host at anytime, or a new date can be easily made without the recommended date as a guide.

This sure beats spending hours sending out invitations and calling around to try and organize a party that everyone can attend.

Tags: algorithm, email, event, invite, mypunchbowl, party, planning, vip

Filed under: Internet, Social Software

Virb - MySpace done right, and we have 100 invites to give away!

by David Chartier Mar 19th 2007

Everyone has a bone to pick with MySpace - some people even have 30 days worth of 'em! - so we say: switch to Virb! We sure did. With AJAX layout tools, Flickr streams, iTunes plugins and upcoming features like blog RSS importing and multiple layout saving, Virb is social networking done right, and it's already a hit. There's just one problem: Virb is currently in beta and only accepts a limited number of public signups each day. So instead of trying your luck, why not score an invite from Dowload Squad! We have 100 shiny new Virb invites to give away, and all you need to do is leave a comment on this post with a good idea on how to improve social networking. Tell us what's missing and what feature(s) you think will help Virb take the web by storm, and we'll reward you with an invite! It might take us a few days to get all the invites out, but if you hook us (and Virb) up with some quality feedback, we'll get you into the site that gives social networking a good name!

Tags: invite, invites, myspace, social networking, SocialNetworking, virb

Featured Time Waster

The World's Hardest Game 2.0 - Time Waster

So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures

Download Squad at the Crunchies After-Party

Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

Download Squad bloggers (30 days)

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Jay Hathaway	111	5
2	Lee Mathews	82	24
3	Sebastian Anthony	69	254
4	Brad Linder	39	4
5	Jason Clarke	23	0
6	Dolores Parker	8	2
7	Grant Robertson	6	2
8	Victor Agreda, Jr.	5	1
9	Matt Heerema	4	2
10	Nik Fletcher	4	0
11	Paul O'Brien	2	0
12	John Burke	2	0
13	Download Squad Staff	1	0

More Tech Coverage

Control Shift It's all about the experience
Somewhat Frank Perspectives on tech as it fuses in everyday life
Switched Gadgets, web news and commentary
Urlesque Exposing bits of the web

Download Squad

invite posts

The great Google Wave invite giveaway!