Filed under: Features, Social Software, Education

Some of you are headed back to school this week, and I want to let you know that we at Download Squad feel your pain. We’ve all been there at one time or another, and it’s not always easy. While I’m not volunteering to do your homework (don’t want to get you in trouble, you know), the least I can do is offer some helpful applications for everyone’s favorite (formerly) collegiate website, Facebook. I hope these five apps make your school year a little bit easier. Good luck in the new school year, DLS readers!

Notely

Notely is a comprehensive system for to-do list, homework planning and events. The Facebook app is just one way to keep track of that: there’s also a web version of Notely, and an iPhone app. It’s all available with a free account at Notely.net.

Courses

Courses is a beefed-up version of a feature you might remember if you’re a long-time Facebook user. It lets you list your current course list on your profile and find other people in your classes. What’s more, it works as a class discussion board, video chat, place to put your weekly assignment schedule, and place to store files.

Continue reading Back to school with Facebook: 5 apps to make your classes easier

Back to school with Facebook: 5 apps to make your classes easier originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video, Social Software

Broadcast television is full of reruns. No surprise there. And the truth is, plenty of people will watch rebroadcasts of television programs. In fact, it was recently reported that The Late Show with David Letterman was beating The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien in the ratings — even though Letterman was in reruns while Conan was producing new episodes.

But generally reruns aren’t as exciting as first-run broadcasts, and fewer people tune in. So it’s interesting to see Fox take a new media approach to an old media problem. The network is introducing “tweet-peats” for two of its shows, Fringe and Glee.

The idea is that you’ll be able to watch the show and see a scroll across the bottom of messages from Twitter. Of course, you’re not going to see every message that some schlub posts with the proper #hashtag. Most of the messages will come from the show’s producers and cast members. For example, Joshua Jackson and John Noble will be tweeting during Thursday night’s rerun of Fringe.

But some fans wll be able to get their messages through as well. Fans can sign up to follow Fringe and Glee on Twitter and ask questions or leave comments and the producers may include some of those comments during the show.

[via Mashable]

Fox to live-stream Twitter comments during Fringe, Glee reruns originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Social Software, iPhone, Mobile

Download Squad has covered augmented reality apps before, both on Android and on the iPhone, but we speculated that it would be a while before AR became commonplace in apps people actually use. We might have been wrong about that, thanks to a surprise in the latest version of Yelp for iPhone. Shaking your phone a few times unlocks a hidden augmented reality mode called Monocle, that shows reviews for anything you point your camera at.

There was some question as to whether Apple was going to be approving AR apps until an app called Metro Paris Subway was approved last week. Still, Yelp’s hidden feature seems to be the first augmented reality software that works in the US. Overlaying a data layer on camera images could be the next big thing in restaurant reviews, in real estate, or in any number of other areas, and it’s definitely something to keep an eye on, beyond just Yelp.

Our sister site, TUAW, has an excellent gallery of the Monocle feature.

Yelp for iPhone shows off an augmented reality easter egg originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Social Software

Yoono is a social networking tool that lets you access data and update your status on networks including Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Twitter, and FriendFeed. The utility started out its life as a browser toolbar for Firefox and Internet Explorer, but Yoono recently launched a desktop client that provides all the same features and then some.

Basically, the Yoono desktop client for Windows or Mac provides you with a single place to track your contacts, update your status, or chat on Google Talk, Windows Live, or AOL instant messengers. You can click an “All” tab to see all the latest updates from each network you register with the Yoono client, or you can click on an individual service if you just want to check in on Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, or an instant messenger.

One nice feature of the Yoono desktop client is an integrated browser. Other applications that provide you with Facebook and MySpace updates require you to click a link and open a web browser to get more details. Yoono launches an integrated browser window that will show the full web page. You can also click a link on that page to open it in a browser window if you prefer.

Overall, the Yoono desktop client is pretty slick, but I’m a bit disappointed in the way Yoono handles instant messaging. Instead of opening new chat windows for each conversation the way virtually every other application does, Yoono places each conversation in a new tab. If a new message comes in when you’re in another area, a notice should pop up at the top of the application, but that means you may have to spend a lot of time toggling between windows if you’re chatting with more than one person at a time, especially if one is on AIM and another is on Google Talk.

There’s also no support for file transfers, voice or video chat, or Yahoo! Messenger.

[via TechCrunch]

Yoono social media tool leaves the browser, launches desktop app originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Social Software, iPhone

Facebook on the iPhone has always been sort of an incomplete experience. The mobile-optimized version of the site looks great, but the iPhone app was frustrating because it lacked so much of the functionality of the full Facebook website. Facebook 3.0 for iPhone changes that, and then some. Not only can you do virtually anything you can do on Facebook.com, you can also upload videos from your iPhone camera.

The main screen is a 3×3 grid of options, including news feeds, your profile, your friends list, photos and chat. Facebook also lets you add bookmarks to your home screen, which gives you quick access to favorite friends or pages. Video is the flashy new feature of Facebook 3.0, but smaller improvements might make more difference to serious users: you can now “like” news feed items and view events from the iPhone app, two things that were (frustratingly) impossible in version 2.5. All in all, the Facebook app now feels more like using the full site than it ever has before, and it’s finally worth checking out if you’ve been avoiding it.

Facebook 3.0 for iPhone: now more like the real Facebook originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Security, News, Social Software

Facebook is changing its privacy settings again, to fall in line with the recommendations of the Canadian Privacy Commissioner. The Commissioner was primarily concerned with how much access third-party apps were getting to user data on Facebook. As a result, apps will have to be more specific about the data they use, letting you know precisely which info they need and whether they access your friends’ profile info.

From a developer standpoint, this means changes to the API in the coming months, so apps will have a uniform way to tell users which data they’re accessing. This could slow the growth of some of the popular viral (or spam-based, depending on your perspective) apps that rely on surreptitiously sending out messages to your entire network to get new users. With greater transparency, it’ll be easier for users to make informed decisions about which information to share, and with whom.

[via CNET]

Facebook tweaks privacy controls, makes Canada happy originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Business, Social Software, Microblogging

When Yammer first launched, I thought it wasn’t going to last long. A Twitter for business? It sounded like an opportunistic idea to latch onto Twitter when it was clearly about to take off. Yammer has taken on a life of its own, though, and it’s got the new iPhone app and threaded conversations to prove it.

The Yammer app has something that Twitter apps to date have been struggling to achieve: push notifications. These are especially important for a service like Yammer, because they alert you to new messages without using up texts on your iPhone. Yammer has also taken a page from the Facebook/Friendfeed playbook and created thread conversations that look similar to the ones you see in your Facebook activity stream. The threaded view is only available on the web, but it will come to Yammer’s desktop app soon.

These are just the biggest new features. There are also countless small improvements - landscape mode and camera support for the iPhone app, for example - that you can check out on Yammer’s blog.

[via TechCrunch]

Yammer introduces improved iPhone app, threaded conversations originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Design, Social Software, web 2.0, Web

Disqus is one of a handful of third party comment systems that bloggers and web publishes can install to supercharge the comment sections of their web sites. It provides tools that are missing from many web publishing platforms, including threaded comments, rankings, and the ability for users to login with their Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID credentials.

Today Disqus rolled out version 3.0, which includes a handful of major updates. The first thing you’ll notice if you visit a web site that uses Disqus is that the comments can be updated in real-time, although they can also be set to show you a notice that says “x comments were just posted” instead of auto-refreshing and rearranging the page.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Disqus 3.0 has a beefed up profile page that lets individuals track the comments they’ve posted across any blog using the Disqus plugin. Users were always able to track this info, but Disqus 3.0 spins off profiles into a separate product with a new look and an integrated search box that makes it easy to find comments, replies, and subscribed threads all in one place.

For web publishers, the Disqus comment moderation page has been refined, making it easier to find and filter comments. Disqus can also show reactions from FriendFeed, Twitter, Digg, YouTube, and other web sites, and version 3.0 reportedly brings these reactions in faster than the previous version of Disqus.

Another feature I noticed for the first time today (I don’t know for certain if it’s brand new) is the ability to import comments from JS-Kit or Intense Debate, which makes it easier for web publishers that have been using one of these competing services to switch to Disqus, or at least try it out.

[via TechCrunch]

Disqus updates blog comments plugin, user tools originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the main problems in Internet marketing is that it is often a “the winner takes it all” game. That means that the best website will get the deal and all other websites will get nothing, no matter how good they are. If you are just slightly better than your competitors, you will get many more sales.

Filed under: Freeware, Social Software, Web

I hesitate to call Your World of Text a Time Waster, though that might be all it’s really good for. The concept of Your World of Text is that you are looking at an infinite grid of text that any anonymous user can edit. If you’re thinking “Warning, warning Will Robinson!”, then we’re on the same wavelength. Beware — if you visit this site, you’re looking at the uncensored internet.

Users can click anywhere but in the center of the screen that loads when you first load the site and edit text. That first area is locked as it gives you a description of what you’re looking at, as well as a list of other Your World of Text sub-sites.

Scrolling around a bit, the site seems to be full of ASCII art, random ramblings, and more than a few impromptu chat sessions. It’s hard to see what the point of Your World of Text is, but like a train wreck, it’s also hard to look away.

Your World of Text - a collaborative text editing experiment originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Video, Google, Social Software, Web

Google has offered video chat between Google Talk contacts inside Gmail for some time now. It’s a great feature, but it doesn’t do you much good if you want to chat with friends who have Google accounts, but don’t use Gmail. Problem solved, though, because video chat is now available on your iGoogle page.

Setting up video chat isn’t very difficult. You just have to download the video chat plugin, which you’ve already installed if you’ve been using the feature in Gmail. Once it’s installed, you can video chat with any contact with a green camera icon next to their name. Either open a regular text chat and click on actions, or hover your mouse over a contact on your list and go to “video and more.”

Video chat comes to your iGoogle homepage originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Social Software, web 2.0

Lunch.com, a review site that launched earlier this year, has introduced “micro reviews.” These are reviews with a 140-character limit that makes them them ideal for sharing to Twitter and Facebook. Lunch’s founder, J.R. Johnson, who’s self-funding the site, sees micro reviews as a gateway to contributing longer reviews to the site. “Once they’re hooked on the rewarding cycle of getting and giving quality content, they’ll have fun and progress to the next level of contribution,” he said, in a press release.

The premise of Lunch, that it’s a community where users can review and discuss anything, seems too broad to succeed. Niche review sites work by establishing themselves as the default place to look for info about a specific category of goods and services. For example, folks looking for info on a restaurant will check Yelp or Urbanspoon, and you might turn to Rotten Tomatoes when you want opinions on a movie. If you’re a site for everything, you can’t be the go-to site for anything. Maybe micro reviews will attract the kind of community that Lunch needs for success, but I’m not sure they’ll help it find its place in the extremely crowded review market.

[via Techcrunch]

Lunch.com lets users “micro review” anything originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Social Software, Microblogging

Location-based Twitter projects are tough to pull off, because whatever’s in the location field of a user’s profile could be completely made up, if the user enters anything at all. There’s no reliable way to know where a tweet is coming from. Twitter wants to change that, though, and they’ve got a geolocation team working on an API that will let app developers map your tweets.

Before anyone gets too worked up, let me point out that allowing apps to use your location will be strictly opt-in, meaning it’s off by default. One of the advantages Twitter foresees with this location API is the ability to read local tweets. Most people agree that Twitter’s public timeline is useless, but I would definitely read a location-aware local timeline. No word on when the new service will be ready, but it will roll out to developers well before it hits the Twitter website, so there should be time for your favorite Twitter app to get ready.

Twitter gets ready to add geolocation features originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Social Software, BlackBerry, iPhone, web 2.0, Lists

Off to college and dreading the inevitable 20 pounds or so of fat that comes with drinking binges, lack of exercise, all you can eat dorm food and late night snacks? Hate the thought of not being able to wear your favorite jeans come winter break? Relax, here’s a round up of good online weight management tools which might be able to help you stay on track.

1. The Daily Plate - A calorie tracking tool from LIVESTRONG.com, this site helps you track your calories and burn rate via your personal online food diary. Once you register, you can input the foods you eat and the database will automagically provide the calories. Nice interface and there’s even an iPhone and iPod touch (Blackberry too) app for $2.99 if you want to track on your mobile.

Continue reading Online tools to fight the freshman 20 - Back to School

Online tools to fight the freshman 20 - Back to School originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Internet, Social Software, Web

Facebook officially supports Twitter publishing from pages originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Freeware, Social Software, Troubleshooting, Web

Software gurus Joel Spolsky and Jeff Atwood released Stack Overflow last year, a site for software developers to pose questions and help each other out with answers. Since then they’ve been busy putting together more sites on the same engine. They now have what they are (just for fun) calling their “Stack Overflow trilogy”: Stack Overflow, Server Fault, and Super User.

Since we already know what Stack Overflow is all about, let’s have a quick look at Server Fault and Super User.

Server Fault

Server Fault is a question and answer site for system administrators. It’s the place to go if you need help with networks, servers, or managing many user’s PCs. Typical topics include configuring mail servers, Active Directory, routing, and network security.

Super User

Super User is, in my mind, the most interesting of the three. It’s a site dedicated to computer enthusiasts, otherwise known as power users. They’re the people out there that are not necessarily programmers, not necessarily network administrators, but still know how to make their computer system bend to their will, and if they don’t know something, they can eventually figure it out. Super User might make the job of figuring out your next problem a little easier, since it allows you to browse a huge database of questions, and pose your own questions that other power users can answer.

Since Super User only released to the public yesterday, it’s still pretty fresh and just getting going. But I suspect it serves a very large market that is hungry for a solution like this, and it will grow very quickly.

Super User - question and answer site for power users originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Audio, Business, Social Software

MySpace made two big moves in its music business this week, purchasing social music service iLike (which just launched an mp3 store) and shutting off that annoying autoplay feature for profile songs. Both of these decisions seem pretty savvy, and might help turn around MySpace’s image as a dying site.

iLike will remain a separate service, but its new music store and its huge userbase on MySpace’s biggest rival site, Facebook, could add up to a big win for MySpace. It shouldn’t take all that long to make back the rumored $20 million MySpace spent on the acquisition. MySpace also thinks iLike could be expanded beyond music, into video and games. iLike’s recommendation features could also be monetized somehow in the future.

Stopping autoplay might not seem like a business decision at first, but it really was. MySpace’s streaming costs had grown to $10 million a month, and a significant portion of that came from songs that automatically started playing on user profiles. Getting rid of this feature has other advantages, too. The obvious one is a less annoying user experience, and the slightly less obvious is better data collection. Even if you hate your friends’ profile songs, they still count as plays when they start automatically. For those who really love autoplay, there’s now a preference to opt into it.

MySpace makes music moves: buys iLike, kills autoplay originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Apple, Social Software

Download Squad isn’t the only blog that gets dubious screenshots sent in by anonymous tipsters. Just a couple of weeks after we got some purported screenshots of the Google Chrome OS, gadget blog Boy Genius Report received some unsourced images of Apple’s upcoming iTunes 9. Highlights include the Facebook support that blogs have been buzzing about lately, and the ability to sync non-iPod devices.

The screenshots depict a Facebook menu that contains shared playlists, and then a user’s Facebook activity stream with a shared item in it from “My iTunes.” I’m not sure I wouldn’t just block the My iTunes app on Facebook if I started seeing these - hell is other’s people’s terrible musical tastes, after all - but Apple would inevitably sell more music this way. It’s like free advertising for the iTunes store!

There’s also a screenshot of a Samsung device apparently syncing in iTunes. Maybe this could be for real, but after killing Palm Pre syncing with the 8.2.1 update, Apple doesn’t seem to be two keen on third-party devices working with iTunes. On the other hand, maybe they want compatibility on their own terms, instead of through slightly shady mimicry of iPod device IDs.

What say you, Download Squad readers? Are these screenshots the real deal, or just clever fakes?

Are these iTunes 9 screenshots for real? originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Social Software

Pidgin, a popular, crossplatform, multi-protocol chat app, just got an important update to version 2.6. It’s important because this is the first time Pidgin has supported audio or video chat over Google Talk. Even my favorite chat client for the Mac, Adium, doesn’t yet support those features. Unfortunately, audio and video chats don’t yet work in the Windows version of Pidgin, but they should be available soon.

The other very important update better (read: actually working) file transfers on Yahoo! and Google Talk. There’s also some preliminary theme support, for those of you who enjoy building themes, but it’s that feature is too new to have a selection of themes to choose from.

If you’re not comfortable compiling an app, you can wait on Pidgin for a little while until the pre-compiled native apps show up. Speaking of native apps, Pidgin doesn’t look bad on a Mac, per se, but it can’t compete on looks against a Mac-like app like Adium.

[via Lifehacker]

Pidgin 2.6 adds audio/video support for Gtalk originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Do Internet directory links still have value when it comes to Search Engine rankings? Can you increase the position of your website in Google’s search results by submitting your site to Internet directories? A small case study has some answers.