Back in 2006 before the average Joe on the street had a smart phone – we all used our cell phones to check our e-mails, Flickr, news, weather and other such services. The main port of call for this was Yahoo Go – a mobile client released by Yahoo!
However, Yahoo! have just announced that Go is to suffer the same fate as GeoCities did last month – it’ll be leaving us. Come January 12th next year, when you turn on Yahoo! Go on your mobile you’ll get an error message.
Undoubtedly this is because of the competition from more powerful apps and platforms such as those on the iPhone.
However I think this might be slightly pre-mature because the app is still being sold on phones as you read this. Perhaps Yahoo! are trying to push us into the smart phone market?
I have several e-mail addresses. One for work, one for personal, one for my social networks and three or four I have simply been forced to abandon due to unmanageable amount of SPAM. In fact, it’s a rare occurrence that you’ll meet someone with only one e-mail address to their name; not that you’d ask.
So remembering these addresses can be difficult. That’s where atmynumber.com comes in. Basically, you sign up for an e-mail address for atmynumber.com that matches your phone number. So if your phone number is 4526985478; then your e-mail address will be 4526985478@atmynumber.com. The service will then forward all incoming e-mails to your real account whether it’s Gmail, Yahoo or indeed…any account!
This eliminates the problem of forgetting your e-mail address due to the half dozen in your name and it’s also easier for people to send you a quick e-mail because chances are they have your number! One bad thing about this is that it’s only available in the US and Canada; looks like all us Europeans will have to make do.
Ever seen a great article, need a copy of an important document or just wanted to share some study notes with your friends? That would normally mean a trip to the photocopies room right?
Well now your can just Qipit. Instead of aligning the pages just right on the photocopies all you have to do is take a photo with your cell phone and send it to Qipit. They will instantly transform the document into a PDF format and send it to you via e-mail or they can fax it to you, whichever you prefer.
I thought I’d try it out just to see how it works. I was registered in under five minutes and ready to go. I took a picture of a document and sent it in. Three or four minutes later I checked my e-mail and low and behold; there it was. I have a 2Mp camera on my phone which is nothing spectacular however Qipit managed to do a good job. It wasn’t as clear cult as a photocopy would be but it was all there – text, photo, border, shading; the works!
I’d imagine a better quality camera (especially one with a flash) would do the job justice.
This would come in useful for anyone who constantly is making trips to the photocopier at work to photocopy notices and reports. It would also be useful for those overseas looking to send a document quickly with no hassle – e-mail is the best way. Try to think of Qipit as a portable scanner in your pocket.
The world over there is a common word that we all understand when it comes to virtual messages…spam! That same concept can be related to the countless pieces of junk mail we receive in our snail mail boxes. In an attempt to curb physical mail, Zumbox was created as a way to save paper and go greener.
Zumbox is a virtual mailbox that is accessible from anywhere in the world, and all your mail can be directed to this. No major warehouses needed with hundreds of scanners, it simply takes your mail from teh database that your mail is created in and sends the file directly to your account. You can browse your mail just like you would browse it in your home after checking your mailbox.
It’s a great idea, and I’m completely behind it, but the one drawback is immersion. This concept would have to be fully accepted for Zumbox to saturate the market and reduce 100% of all physical mail. Still it’s a great start and I encourage you to at least input your address. The service is free, it’s easy, accessible, and leaves less of an imprint on the planet then all the junkmail you receive. With special filters, reduced junk mail, checking your “mail” may actually be fun again…save for the bills.
Back in 2006 before the average Joe on the street had a smart phone – we all used our cell phones to check our e-mails, Flickr, news, weather and other such services. The main port of call for this was Yahoo Go – a mobile client released by Yahoo!
