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Filed under: Internet, Blogging, Web services, Google, Social Software

Google Reader adds Google Talk for sharing

Google Reader adds TalkGoogle has added a new way to share your favorite feeds and articles with friends, through Google Talk, aka the Gmail address book.

Google Reader has included a "Share" button for a while now, but if you wanted people to actually read your shared listings, you had to direct them to a URL or RSS feed. Now your Google Talk contacts can also see the items you're sharing on their Google Reader page.

Next time you login to Google Reader, you should notice a few of your Google Talk contacts' names hanging out in the navigation panel on the left side of the screen. Google Reader will tell you how many items they're sharing, and let you scroll through their shared item feed as if you have subscribed to it. You can also manage your friends list so that only certain people can see your shared items.

This is a great way to check in with friends to get feed recommendations for websites you might have never visited before, or interesting articles that you have passed by. Or is it Google's stealth social network in the works?

Filed under: Design, Developer, Internet, Utilities, Web services

Google Gears takes online applications, offline

google gears takes online applications, offlineOnline applications are great, but what happens when you can't get a connection to the internet? Whether it is because you are on an airplane, or in the middle of nowhere camping, and have to get certain emails, calendar items, or files, you are quite possibly out of luck. Its sure a bummer, and one of the reasons why so many people are hesitant about using online applications for their most important information.

Now Imagine being able to take your online applications, offline, and store that data locally in a completely searchable database? Google is making this possible with Gears. Google Gears is an open source browser extension that enables web applications to provide complete offline functionality. Google hopes that developers will use this new toolset to create offline web applications using JavaScript APIs to store and serve the applications resources locally, as well as store data in searchable databases. All of the syncing runs in the background without burning out the browsers memory usage, or slowing anything down.

The Google Gears Beta is currently available for installation on Windows XP,Vista, as well as on Mac and Linux machines. The plug-in works with Firefox 1.5+ and IE 6+. Google's first stop with Gears is Reader, with JavaScript APIs getting released shortly for data storage for use in applications like Docs and Spreadsheets.

The official Google Gears announcement will be made tomorrow to over 5,000 developers at Google's Developer Day gathering.

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Text, Utilities, Blogging, Web services, Social Software

LeapTag, RSS by tags

leaptag rssLeapTag is a new way to discover all of the content you are interested in. Its way to read RSS feeds that enables users to locate news, blogs, books and other sources of material that match personal interests. However, it is not an RSS feed reader.

Users can sign up and download a browser toolbar. Through this toolbar you subscribe to tags and topics. LeapTag then scowers the web and finds links that you might like. The system learns by how much you like the items, and improves the results it lays out.

The download for this application is quite heavy, and it is still in beta form so things could change. Not only does LeapTag require a browser based toolbar with a new sidebar, but it also requires a Windows or Mac application to keep things running. For an alternative check out StumbleUpon or Del.icio.us.

Filed under: Fun, Utilities, Blogging, Web services

Discover blogs with BlogRovR

blogrovr blog discoveryBlogRovR is a site that has just been launched by the team behind Stikis, creators of the "write notes wherever you browse" overlay.

BlogRovR will let users know about content from blogs that they normally read by telling them about content when and where they are likely to be interested in reading about it.

It works by downloading an application, and entering in blogs that are frequently read. BlogRovR will then search all blogs while you surf, when it finds relating information it displays an overlay into your browser notifying you with summaries about the posts it has found. You can then read what your favorite bloggers have said about the page you are currently visiting without leaving.

Why would someone really want to use this application? Are we missing something? Would you want to read your favorite bloggers commentary on every site you visit? It seem like it could get a little distracting. It is however good for a little cross referencing when doing research, and gathering links to same topic posts from a familiar voice.

Filed under: Audio, Text, Web services

SimulScribe transcribes voicemail into text

read your voicemail with SimulScribeSimulScribe is offering a unique solution for users of voice mail; A way to convert voice mail into readable text.

SimulScribe transcribes voice mails and sends them directly to your mobile device as text or email messages. Its sometimes a hassle to check voicemails and write down notes from messages -- and its so much easier to take a glance at txts that come in -- so what better way than to get your voice messages sent straight to your portable device.

It is a tad pricey though at $9.95 for a bundle of 40 messages. You can try it free for a month to see if you can justify the charge. SimulScribe currently has over 5000 users, and supposedly will announce a deal with a major national carrier in April.

Filed under: Text, Utilities, Productivity, Web services

You don't use RSS? Why not?

No RSSContinuing on our obsession with RSS today, comment 87 from James on my RSS Readers: Sound Off! post got me thinking. If anyone out there does not use RSS, why not? What don't you like about RSS, or what makes you not want to use RSS? Living in a very saturated tech world myself and being an IT administrator, I use RSS as a part of daily life, and don't really understand why you wouldn't use it (especially in my job), but what do you think? If you don't use it, why not? I have always wondered, and know that I am not going to get all over your case about it either, I am just curious. Since I am not a cat, I figure it is safe to wonder. I've heard that the majority of our readers do not use RSS, and I realize that I am a geek, not a normal person (kinda wish I was normal sometimes), so here's your chance to enlighten the binary brain of a techie. Consider this a "10 things I hate about you" aimed at RSS.

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