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Roomba Pac Man: Robot Pac-Man Game

Steven Finch — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:08:26 +0000

The vacuum, long an instrument for chasing cats, has now been turned against its own. What better use for automatic home appliances than to have them chase each other in classic video game style?

Five Roomba vacuum robots and a software, originally developed to control unmanned aerial systems is all some dudes from the University of Colorado needed to create a quite unusual Pac-Man clone.

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Tweetie Has a New Rival – Birdfeed 1.2

Dean Sherwin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:01:35 +0000

Tweetie is the most successful app for the iPhone when it comes to Twitter. Almost a quarter of the tweets I read say ‘from Tweetie’ underneath indicating that the tweeter is using the popular app.

A few months back, a new kid on the block called Birdfeed was released and it definitely made some waves. However I think user loyalty took precedence and people stayed with Tweetie. However, the other day an updated version of Birdfeed was submitted to the app store for approval.

This version aims to fight tooth and nail with Tweetie using Twitter’s upcoming geolocation feature as its main weapon. The geolocation feature will allow you to post your current location along with your regular Tweet. Although Tweetie will also have this integrated, Birdfeed is making it its headline feature but putting the Geolocation entry box along the top of the screen as opposed to Tweetie whereby one must go through a menu to bring it up.

There will also be mapping of the Tweet’s location so users can click on your Tweet and view your location.

Virtual Radio: Internet Radio On Your Cell Phone

Dean Sherwin — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:08:15 +0000

Even listened to the radio on your phone while you’re on the bus or just relaxing in the park – sometime it can get a bit boring. Especially for us geeky types who love to know what going on all over the world in the tech biz.

Well I found a cool app for your cell phone that may fix the problem.

Virtual Radio is a cool Java app for you Java enabled cell phone that allows you to listen to Internet radio stations in crisp high quality sound. The have lowered the frequency to 32kbps for the Java version so your GPRS connection can keep up with the content.

There are loads of different channels to choose from depending on where you’re located. You can also reprogram the tuner to play your favourite channels or simply find new ones.

The best this is that it’s completely free to download and use. One piece of advice that I’ll give you is to watch out for the GPRS costs. However, nowadays most network have deals on GPRS internet such 99c per day for unlimited usage or a set fee every month.

Download Virtual Radio here.

The Great Office War: Its Like Skermish But With Nerf Guns

Steven Finch — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:20:52 +0000

This is one of the coolest videos I have seen in a while.

New Law for Texting Distracted Drivers

Augusto Alvarez — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:14:33 +0000

Reading a great article from NY Times about drivers and texting messages got me thinking about some of the obvious and wrong things that happens in our lives and we choose to ignore them. The article refers to what I think it’s an important news for Utah’s citizens: Texting behind the wheel can take up to 15 years of prison. Sounds too much for you? Too little?

Here’s an important part of the article: “The new law, which took effect in May, penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. In effect, a crash caused by such a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an “accident” like one caused by a driver who, say, runs into another car because he nodded off at the wheel. Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless.

“It’s a willful act,” said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a big supporter of the new measure. “If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you’re assuming the same risk.”

I really like the last phrase, if you choose to text and drive you are assuming the risk. Isn’t that the real problem? People that do not take full responsibilities about their own acts? If you decide to text while you are driving, how can you be absolutely certain that you are not causing and accident? Are you decided to bet your life on it?

Also the NY Times posted a video about this topic, the distracted drivers and the common behaviors. That includes a small review for a research made by a Utah university, simulations about driving and texting and how and where do they focus while they are doing these tasks all together.

The law sounds great for me, but if you start thinking about it, you will find several legal holes in it, the most important one: You can easily detect drunken drivers with a breath analyzer, but how can you detect a texting driver? Also the law doesn’t say anything about calling during driving nor using other devices, like GPS.

What do you think? Do you think that these accidents should not be consider as such since you can prevent them?

Grooveshark iPhone Application Review: Like Last.fm App But Can Listen To Any Music You Want

Steven Finch — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:35:50 +0000

Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of attention focused on the new Spotify iPhone application which has already been submitted to iTunes. Spotify is leading the way in several European markets at the moment for music streaming, however Grooveshark has been making waves in other markets as their web app is available worldwide. Grooveshark themselves have been developing their own iPhone application which is just about to be submitted to iTunes.

We were lucky enough to receive a copy of the Grooveshark iphone application before release so that we could play around with it. Like Spotify the Grooveshark application lets you search and find pretty much any music, and then provides the ability to create playlists and keep track of your own favourites. The iphone application has a very slick interface and keeps with the overall design which is found on Grooveshark.com. Music is streamed from wireless internet connect, but it doesnt really stream fast enough for my liking, but that is probably more because of the iphone’s capabilities instead of the application.

Grooveshark also keeps track of what kind of music you like and suggests artists and music that you might enjoy. It is great to see the simplicity of this iphone application with a very nice design. The Spotify iphone application will only be available to subscription based users, thus it would be great to see Grooveshark offer this application as a free download and really grab a strong marketshare. However, I know that Grooveshark are trying to work out their own subscription service in which eventually might include this iphone application.

Push Apps Finally Coming to iPhone?

Luis Sandoval — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:50:40 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

With the release of the Palm Pre not even a month ago, the biggest attraction in the earlier stages was the ability to run multiple apps in the background as you navigate your device. Chances are, people are using their mobile devices much like they use their desktops or laptops, with multiple applications open, cross referencing their needs and multi-tasking as necessary. This functionality has escaped most mobile devices until the Palm Pre really focused on this ability in its new handheld device.

Is it the best execution, perhaps not, but it’s a step in the right direction!

Those using the iPhone have long griped over the lack of push apps and the ability to run apps in the background. While there is no sign of any progress on the background app idea, there seems to be more development in the “push” sector.

After reading TechCrunch’s article on how AIM for iPhone is coming out with push support, it’s noticable that more apps in the future will be offering push support to allow users to still get their messages, emails, and updates without actually having the app open.

Is this long overdue? Perhaps. Is this a suitable replacement for the lack of apps running in the background? Probably not.

What are your thoughts? What apps do you use that you wish has push functionality?

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The History of Microsoft

Augusto Alvarez — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:25:20 +0000

Channel 9 published a few days ago a very cool set of videos with a great summary of the history of Microsoft. Most of them are videos shorter than 10 minutes with a quick look to all the main events that built that company.

It is amazing to see how two teenagers with small idea, a program called BASIC and big ambitions made the most powerful company in the world.

I know, there are different versions about the actual ownership of the original program and the idea, some say that Bill Gates stoled the idea to other students, some says that they bought the program… still, you need more than an idea or a incredible program to build an empire.

Here’s their story:

Music Provider GrooveShark Wins Top CNET Award

Luis Sandoval — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:00:18 +0000

Grooveshark is an application that was reviewed here on Crenk sometime ago. At the time, I didn’t see the relevance of

Grooveshark awarded CNET's Top 100 Webware Award

the application, though it had some good aspects, I just did not feel comfortable with the entire package. It was not long after that post that officials from Grooveshark contacted me for a dialogue encouraging me to take a look at the offerings again, highlighting features I had not really seen the first time around. In the year that I’ve had with Grooveshark, I’m impressed with the continued efforts it’s making to establish itself as a viable music service for users.

CNET was obviously impressed enough to award it the 2009 Webware Winner for Audio and Music. Grooveshark has indeed come a long way and its user base has grown significantly. With this announcement comes features that again make Grooveshark heads above the rest. For starters their partnership with Ping.fm to build Tinysong API, which allows users to take the code and develop webapps that provide access to Groovesharks extensive library of music. It will be interesting to see what developers come up with as we’ve seen with various other online applications, the opening of the API makes it easy for supplementary apps to proliferate the net.

The second feature that was announced deals specifically with the blogging community. Grooveshark has announced that is now has a Wordpress plugin that allows integration into blog posts for users to set up their favorite songs for specific posts. You can set up just one song, or a playlist of songs for your readers on your site. An interesting option, at the very least you could create a small station of songs on your, possibly with a widget.

Grooveshark is definitely expanding its platform and appeal, and it should be interesting to see how much further they go in 2009!

Crenk Directory of Apps – 28 April 2009

Steven Finch — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:43:25 +0000

These are the latest applications to be Crenk-ed and added to the Crenk Directory. All applications are FREE to use and their are no trials or purchase requirements. For even more app reviews make sure you subscribe to crenk or follow us on twitter.

(1) Pandora – Pandora is an internet radio company that allows you to create playlists and find new music. Pandora is only available in the USA due to licensing at the moment, but I look forward to them finding a solution for the UK and other countries.

(2) Smugmug – Smugmug is basically a giant online gallery in which users can upload and share their photos, while making them available for purchase and printing.

(3) Filezilla – Filezilla is the best freeware ftp software available in the market today. Filezilla is so simple to use and allows anyone to quickly and easily upload their files straight onto their web server.

Crenk Directory of Apps – 23 April 2009

Steven Finch — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:03:33 +0000

(1) Digg – Digg is a social media platform in which users submit stories and then other users vote on those stories and the most popular reach the front page.

(2) Tweetdeck – Tweetdeck is an application built on Adobe Air that hooks into the Twitter API to allow users to Twitter straight from their desktop.

(3) Mixx – Mixx is a social media platform that is very similar to Digg, which allows users to upload latest news and then the community votes upon which they believe is the best.

(4) Last.fm – Last.fm is a UK based music service that keeps tracks of what you are listening to online. Last.fm then also suggest music that you might like, while at the same time letting you know other people who also like the same music as you.

Zemanta Now Available on Gmail, Yahoo Mail, and ScribeFire

Luis Sandoval — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:19:52 +0000

: Image via CrunchBase

In less than a year, Zemanta has made a name for itself in the blogosphere. By becoming the premier add-on to the FireFox browser, bloggers now had access to an amazing set of tools to provide further depth to their posts. With hundreds of thousands of downloads, it seemed like a surefire winner, and there was little doubt that Zemanta has room to expand, but where and when?

Zemanta late last year supported another FireFox add-on called ScribeFire, a simple blogging tool that opened up in your browser without having to log into any other site or leave the page you are on. This allowed for amazingly quick posting to the blog of your choice, but also provided the same depth that you had available to you from within most popular blogging platforms like WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad.

Recently it was announced that Zemanta has made another move towards mass market exposure, it has integrated with Gmail and Yahoo Mail, offering users of those mail clients the ability to attached related articles, pictures, and keywords to their emails that the recipients might need to fully understand the topic. I personally can’t imagine a better mass exposure opportunity than attaching yourself to two of the largest mail clients on the internet today.

Zemanta is a key tool that I recommend all bloggers install, but now with mail enhancements, I’m happy to see them growing. I’ve always been a big supporter of their efforts as it’s nice to see innovative ways to breathe life into a long standing medium like blogging.

It’s apparent that Zemanta will continue to offer what it always has; by offering photo suggestions, article suggestions, and keyword suggestions, as you type, updating every 300 words, there is bound to be another leap into further integration.

Perhaps a jump into an office platform for document and presentation creation, like Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. Only time will tell!

KidZui, Social Network for Kids

Luis Sandoval — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:34:43 +0000

Social Networks have been the method of communication for adults, adolescents, and businesses the world over. Kids have been curious about the many social sites that exist, but none are targeted for the under 12 year old market. Today parents are more worried about who their children talk to since it’s impossible to really know who is on the other end of the conversation. While understandable, there was no real forum for younger children to make their mark on the net until KidZui debuted.

What started as a pay service quickly changed to a free model, and since then they have had a lot of success attracting the 3-12 year old demographic. Recently KidZui has changed a lot of the functionality of their site, and have introduced some new tools to make the site fun for parents working with their kids. Parents are encouraged to participate on the site with their kids so that everyone is in the know as to what the child is looking at and sharing online.

KidZui offers limited profiles that offer superficial details about the user, the site offers no real two way communication to prevent those looking to lure children, and tabs where users can share the sites they’ve visited, approved videos, and even a section for homework help. Status can be set by the user, but instead of typing there is a menu of premade options that can be chosen from. Again, this introduction is to get the child used to the idea of larger social networks, but still maintain a safe environment for kids to enjoy their time online.

If you’ve got kids, I recommend you check out KidZui and get your kids prepared for the future of communication!

More Cuts in Social Media

Luis Sandoval — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:16:42 +0000

The trend continues, the economy continues it’s downward spiral, could this be the social media bubble that the online community has been expecting for years?

Just yesterday Hi5, a social network amongst of myriad of offerings, laid off as many as 15% of its staff. While it’s been labeled as restructuring, it’s no doubt that hard economic times are forcing companies across the board to tighten their budgets.

Advertisers are feeling the pinch too. It’s a trickle down effect and because companies are being cautious, advertising is taking a nose dive as well. Adbrite, one of the top 5 online advertising networks, is laying off more than 40% of it’s current staff. This is a huge number, and will send many seeking other ventures, but the market is going to make it tough for them to find fertile ground to grow.

As I sit here reading article after article, I think this is an opportunity for social media to grow, and perhaps force individuals to think even further outside the box. Shakeup after shakeup is sure to make investors and supporters wary, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, of that I am sure.

Update:
Just now on Twitter it has been reported by @samhouston that Pandora is releasing approximately 14% of its workforce. This has been confirmed by TechCrunch here.

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Thanks To Our Amazing Sponsors for September

Steven Finch — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 09:37:49 +0000

Here at Crenk we have seen immense growth in September and we hope to keep this running for the remainder of the year! All of this wouldn’t have been possible without our great Sponsors.

Adphilia – Adphilia is our ad serving partner and controls all related advertising activities for Crenk. They have been providing us with a very high level of CPM advertising for many months now.

Blogrovr – Blogrovr is a plugin everyone should use. It works out what type of blogs you like reading and then delivers related content to you via a sidebar.

Markup4u – Markup4u provides some of the best coding services in the business. They can have a design turned around for you in a matter of hours. However, best of all their customer service is amazing.

RouteNote – RouteNote is a brand new music licensing and distribution company that is growth at a huge rate. RouteNote provides unsigned artists from all over the world the ability to get their music onto the world largest online music stores and web 2.0 companies.

Invotrak – Invotrak is all about making your life easier. With their easy invoicing tool, there is no need to use any other service!

Sumo Lounge -Sumo Lounge were nice enough to send us some of their products a few months back, and they are just amazing!

At Crenk we are always looking for more business partnerships and sponsors to help us grow our site and services. If you are interested in any information, please dont hesitate to contact us on, tips at crenk.com.

Imeem: The Music Streaming Service That Is Taking Over The Web 2.0 Music Market

Steven Finch — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:09:59 +0000

Imeem is a music social network like no other. Currently, Imeem is the most popular music community in the world and its growth has really been amazing in the last year. Imeem allows artists and users to both have their own profiles and communicated in a social enviroment.

Artists on Imeem can have their own profiles while at the same time make money from their streams on the site. Thus, each time someone listens to an artists tracks the artist receives some royalties, these royalties are based on a percentage of advertising revenues.

Users are able to check out songs from their favourite artists while fill out the basics of a social networking profile. Additional features include mail, creating playlists and more.

Imeem is a great platform that is definitely on the rise, especially in the USA. Look out for more and more changes that im sure they will be bringing to the service in the coming month. The only downside is the quality of advertising on their site! Due to Imeem paying royalties, they must try to each as much advertising revenue as possible for their artists, and in doing so their quality seems to be very poor and lack creativity.

First Microsoft Ad, Featuring Seinfeld

Luis Sandoval — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 02:47:27 +0000

Ladies and Gentleman, it’s hard to watch, I know. I warn you, it’s painful. If some of you come away with your mouth open and an empty look on your face after all is said and done, you’re not alone.

In what was supposed to be the biggest coup in Microsoft news recently, their acquisition of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was supposed to herald the beginning of the end of those “vicious” Apple ads that have gained so much popularity. For almost two years Microsoft allowed Apple to take the offensive and for almost two years Apple planned to gain some ground in term of market share. Well it worked, and while Apple now sits at approx. 20% of consumer market, Microsoft has been blasted for their release of Vista, making most users stick toXP for the time being.

Well Microsoft decided enough was enough and planned to counter Apple’s negative ads and re-build their brand, but most importantly the trust of the consumer.

Please watch this video, the first commercial in what is sure to be a long line of painful, shake your head and cry attempts to fire back at apple.

Is this really the best Microsoft could do? I’m not even sure I understand the commercial. And the Spanish speakers was a little awkward. Was that their attempt to gain market share with our Spanish speaking brethren? I’m confused and you should be too.

Twitter with Ads, Worthwhile?

Luis Sandoval — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:31:56 +0000

With as long as Twitter has been with us, it’s amazing that we’ve not seen a monetizing model sooner. Well…it was bound to happen, and it’s here. Twitter can now display ads, and users can get paid for it with Twittad .

As you look at your account, think to yourself, “I’ve got followers, why shouldn’t I make money for being so popular.” If that’s your train of thought, this little addition to Twitter is right up your alley. Having full control of the ad space, you set the price on the space you are looking to sell andTwittad will match with the advertisers in their database.

Where does the ad go?

Good question, simple answer. The advertisement will sit in the upper left hand column of your Twitter homepage. That big empty space can be used more effectively now by placing an ad that will interest your followers. That’s it, it’s that simple. While some may have feared that the advertisement would have been plastered across your background, or cover the page with flashing, twirling, and otherwise annoying attention grabbers, the simple fact is that the ad will remain unobtrusive.

For the Twitter User

So the first question is obvious, how do I become a part of Twittad? Allowing Twittad to pair you with the appropriate advertiser and marketing promotions can be lucrative and here’s how.

You start off with submitting your page to Twittad for advertisers to purchase (remember you set the price). Once the price is agreed upon select the duration for which you’d like the ad to appear on your page. Now you wait, it can be long or short, but the advertiser must contact you once they are interested. You ultimately have the choice to accept or deny the advertisers offer. If you deny, wait for another offer. If you accept, then simply upload the ad to the design of your template and then notify the advertiser that you are ready to go.

You basically get paid for every hour you serve the advertisement to your followers, and a virtual account will keep track of your earnings. Once the duration of the advertisement has come to an end the virtual account releases the “real” funds to your account. So no worries, you don’t get paid in Monopoly money.

For the Advertiser

Being a part of Twittad is just as easy for the advertiser. All advertisers are able to browse what the users are willing to share and for how much. This gives the advertisers a chance to find the right candidate for their brand and hopefully gain some exposure on the popular micro-blogging site.

Advertisers start off by creating their advertisement using guidelines set by Twittad and following their examples. Once the ad is designed you browse the user database to find the right candidate for your product. You select the “Buy Now” and await their denial or acceptance. Denied? Keep looking. If you are accepted you simply connect and pay via Pay Pal, and if the user removes the ad prior to the agreed upon time, you are credited for the loss. Ultimately the tracking that is provided for the advertisers will alert them if agreements are broken and the advertiser is free to leave negative feedback in such cases.

Twittad receives 5% of the total paid out price as their fee for using their services.

Is This Viable?

I ask myself this question ever since I hear about Twittad. Is this a viable solution to make money on Twitter? Well, sure it can’t hurt to make a little money. The site itself shows how much individuals are making based on duration and follower count. But ultimately, how many people actually travel to your homepage on Twitter? The only time I can think of is when they choose to follow you, but otherwise with all theAPI’s out there, Twitter users are hardly ever on the actual site itself. Perhaps it won’t be long until these web apps we use are filled with advertising. If there’s a way to market, leave to the advertisers to find it.

Thanks To Our Awesome Partners and Sponsors

Steven Finch — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:35:25 +0000

I still cant believe it is August already. Here at Crenk the site and its readership has been growing very fast. We seem to have some of the most influencing people in the industry already reading our site on a daily basis. In terms of traffic we have doubled month on month and we are looking to continue this growth.

Thanks to our Sponsors and Partners for August

Adify: One of the best advertising networks I have ever worked with.

Rackspace: Reliable and Personal Hosting!

RouteNote: Music licensing and distribution

Forbes.com: Crenk is a new member of their soon to launch Business and Finance blog network

Sibername: Some amazing web hosting available!

Startups Worth Checking Out!

Invotrak – Invotrak is an easy-to-use online invoice and timesheet tracking system specifically designed for freelancers and small-business owners. Using invotrak, you and your employees record time entries as work is completed. Then, bundle these time entries into an invoice and send it to your client. Invotrak will automatically keep track of when it was issued, when it’s due, and alert you (and optionally your client) of overdue invoices. Using invotrak will help you save time and make sure you collect the money you’re owed. You can get started with a free account, and optionally upgrade should you need to.

If you are wanting a free months advertising for your startup, then please head over hear and check it out!

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Google to Launch Open Source Internet Browser in 100 Countries Today, Called Chrome

Steven Finch — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:22:19 +0000

Google to launch a web browser today to 100 countries, and it will be named Google Chrome. There is a lot of buzz already about this new product and Im sure you have probably already read about it on Techcrunch, AllthingsD, Sizlopedia and more.All of this was just a rumour until it was confirmed by the Official Google Blog.

For a long time now there have only really been 3 key players in the online browser market, IE, Firefox and Safari (MACs). I’m very interested to use this product today and see how it compares to all these other browsers.

For a long time also Google has been funding Mozilla by paying to have their search engine as default in the browser, so if Google Chrome becomes popular and out grows Firefox, will they still pay top dollar to be the default search in Firefox?

On Stage Free Vector PSD Icon Set. Direct from Smashing Magazine

Steven Finch — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:58:13 +0000

Smashing Magazine has just released On Stage icon set. The set contains 49 free vector icons including PSD which can be useful for both corporate and personal setting. You can use the set for free without any restrictions whatsoever.

The icons are available in the .png-format in the resolution 128×128px. 100% pure shape-based layered PSDs are also included in the package.

Download: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/08/27/on-stage-a-free-icon-set/

Evernote Update Released

Luis Sandoval — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:47:28 +0000

Mac users rejoice, the new version of Evernote has just been released. Version 1.1.4 can be updated from the “Check for Updates” command from the Evenote menu.

For a break down of what this version brings to you, read the release notes.

Evernote is an effective way of making sure you never forget your ideas. With the ability to catch your ideas no matter where they are, a napkin, online, a street sign, a window posting, capture it all with Evernote. Evernote also links across your laptop, your desktop and your mobile so you are never far from the inspiration you seek.

You can read a full review of Evernote here.

MySites: Social Site/Virtual Desktop Hybrid

Luis Sandoval — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:07:57 +0000

While at the SummerMash party in Austin last week, I was introduced to a breakthrough site that had just launched in beta the week prior, MySites. A MySites representative spoke with me briefly to highlight some of the amazing features his site offers.

Some might say that MySites tries to be too much, but I think they execute their offerings very well. Let’s take a look at the Virtual Desktop aspect first.

MySites does a great job of storing up to 10GB of items, to include photos, movies, and music. While it can’t necessarily import files from Flickr, iTunes, or any other site, you can personally upload your own files. With 10GB of space available you can set up your virtual desktop with more than enough to keep it functional. The files are stored in folders that you have to double click to open, just like your real desktop. You have access to the full customization of MySites which makes it a great addition to the usual items you can place on there like calendars, emails, sites, etc.

The flipside of MySites is the Social Networking aspect. MySites fully intends for you to share your content with friends and across as many sites as possible. With the ability to add buddies and designate which files can be accessible, it’s sure to be a great place to gather to share all of your uploaded files. Seeking others with similar interests is also possible, and is encouraged to fully extend your network via MySites.

As of last week MySites could not connect to any currently existing social network site, but again the site is in beta. I was assured that future offerings would be made available as the site is built out.

StumbleUpon Can Make You Famous

Luis Sandoval — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:44:58 +0000

There is famous and there is infamous, and StumbleUpon (SU) can make you both. In a recent event, Darren Rowse of Problogger got a first hand look at what SU did to make him infamous.

Darren has been a big supporter of SU, thus using it very heavily to rate sites across the net. In return for his dedicated support of others sites, a great number of his readership returns the support by stumbling his articles, creating a supportive community. Yesterday, he was notified that StumbleUpon had not just blocked, but banned him for abuse.

This misunderstanding hit the media networks in approximately an hour and a half the entire situation was resolved thanks to dedicated fans, but more importantly a customer friendly, transparent company willing to be open on the errors they make.

While many feel that SU was in the wrong, I find that measuring a business by how it admits and handles its errors is more important than assigning blame. SU did a fantastic and prompt job responding to Darren and Problogger was reestablished.

What is StumbleUpon?

StumbleUpon, similar to Digg, allows you to vote for sites, increasing the popularity based on user support. Once a site has been stumbled, a chain reaction through the social network is viral, and many sites see an increase in traffic.

A toolbar installs into the browser header once downloaded. This allows them to “stumble” a site, a basic “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” If you “thumbs up” a site, you are allowed to provide a brief description of the site and your rating. If a site has already been stumbled then you’ve simply boosted the sites rating, which affects the frequency in the rotation of random sites that SU will display. StumbleUpon is heavily monitored for abuse to provide a level playing field for all sites involved.

I for one enjoy and fully support StumbleUpon, and encourage you to explore the application and while ranking sites is always enjoyable, clicking the “stumble” button can take you to sites you may never have found otherwise.

Photo Credit, tris

4 Firefox Plugins to Stop Time Wasting

Luis Sandoval — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:33:05 +0000

For those us who desk jockey, day in and day out, it’s tough to stay focused on work all day long. A few of us get sidetracked to read personal email or do personal web searches in order to break the monotony of the daily grind.

Here are a 4 Firefox plug-ins to keep track of that time and stay on task. Nothing is worse than realizing that you just blew an entire day on surfing rather than working. Keep these tools close at hand to prevent any effects on your job performance.

1. MeeTimer
MeeTimer is probably one of the most effective plug-ins for tracking time that I have found. MeeTimer will not only time your time wasting, but also can provide you a report where you spend your time to give you a better idea of how to properly make corrections. The thoroughness of this plug-in can truly assist in correcting time wasting habits. Warnings have also been placed to warn you prior to going to a new address or loading a new tab.

2. TimeTracker
TimeTracker is a comparable plug-in to MeeTimer in terms of usefulness. TimeTracker is much simpler, and focuses more on tracking your time, as opposed to providing direct reports. Still this plug-in offers some attractive additions. TimeTracker allows you to input “work” sites that should not count towards the tracking, so your clock will actually stop as long as you are on those listed sties. Time also pauses when you are taking a break from surfing, and the clock will provide you a daily report as to where you are spending your time. You can reset your clock daily or track an entire work week, depending on your needs.

3. LeechBlock
The LeechBlock plug-in comes at you with an interesting approach. It asks you to type in all the sites you want blocked. That’s right, it will block from sites, and it even allows you to designate days and times to keep them blocked from you. An interesting approach, but I would have far too many sites to include on that list. I like the approach of TimeTracker much better by adding the sites that you actually need for work, as those are sure to be fewer and easier to remember. It also tracks your time to provide you with an accurate view of where you spend your time.

4. Procrastato
This plug-in cuts to the chase! No fancy reports, no time tracking, it doesn’t even care if you like the way it works or not. Procrastato does one thing, and one thing very well. Once you input the sites you spend most time on, the plugin will monitor you very effectively. Spending more time than you should on any of the listed sites and you get smacked down with a massive alert informing you that you are wasting time and they are watching (not literally watching you but the eyes they show you are creepy). If that does not disrupt your time wasting, then you are doomed to waste time forever!

Photo Credit, sugu