November 17th, 2008 / No Comments » / by oddbits
GigaTribe, the file sharing service with the worst tag line - “Opening your hard drive to your friends” (seriously) - has launched in the US. The service allows users to share photos, videos and other files with groups of people in a peer to peer environment. GigaTribe will hold its official US launch at the Euro Tech Showcase, November 18-19 in Redwood City, CA.
GigaTribe is offered free with the option of a GigaTribe “Ultimate” upgrade with more advanced features (such as faster downloads), priced at $29.95/year.
According to the company, photos and videos uploaded to GigaTribe remain in their original full size, and resolution and are not lowered for posting. The site also allows users to share complete file folders regardless of size and users can control access based on user groups. As part of the free service, businesses can opt to set up an Virtual Private Network (VPN) for added file security.
GigaTribe currently has over 900,000 users worldwide.
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Tags: 2008, file sharing, GigaTribe, Launch, Music, P2P, peer to peer, Photo, U.S., Video
November 12th, 2008 / No Comments » / by oddbits
MySpace today announced MySpace Primetime Application, an internally developed, free, app that allows users to to search for and watch premium content from Hulu and any of the +150 branded channels on MySpaceTV. All of the content is derived from a partnership with Hulu, Warner Bros, Sony and from MySpaceTV originals, such as Roommates and Special Delivery.
MySpace, one of the few social networks actually making money these days, will be offering this service as an ad-supported free download for all users. MySpace Primetime Application will be ad-supported through the many ad solutions on MySpace including companion display advertising, tickers, pre-roll, post-roll.
“The Primetime Application highlights how professional video content is being voraciously consumed across the MySpace ecosystem, not just within MySpaceTV,” said Jason Kirk, VP of Video & Entertainment for MySpace. “Video on MySpace flows throughout the network as there are multiple entry points where videos can be discovered, watched and shared including comments, bulletins and MySpaceTV. We believe the 76 million US users spending four hours on the site every month, and the advertisers that rely on our ad-solutions, will be happy with the flexibility of this application.”
A statement issued by the company today outlined how users can add the application to their profiles:
STEP 1: Visit http://www.myspace.com/primetimeapp
STEP 2: Click the “Add this App” button in the top right hand corner.
STEP 3: A pop-up box regarding placement and notification options appears. Users then choose where they want the application to be placed on their homepage or profile and how they want it to be updated, if at all. Once satisfied with their selections, users click “Add” to continue.
STEP 4: The application will then be added to the area the user indicated in the previous step.
STEP 5: ALL DONE! Users may now start using the application.
Good news – in addition to getting Heroes, 24, and 30 Rock, you can also get Buck Rogers and Kojack. How can you go wrong?
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Tags: App, Entertainment, Hulu, MySpace, MySpaceTV, Primetime, TV, Video, Warner Bros.
November 9th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by Catherine Helzerman
Just when you thought airspace could not get more crowded, KLM and Air France have launched a social network to connect travelers with their fellow plane-mates. Bluenity is being marketed as a place to meet fellow travelers before getting on the plane, presumably to get a jump start on in-flight chit-chat.
With just about every flight oversold and services being cut right and left, an investment in an in-flight social network seems odd. Do people really want to get to know strangers on the plane? The last time I flew, thanks to sardine-like accommodations, the guy next to me was sitting closer than I used to let guys get on 
the second date. Had Bluenity been around, I would not have felt the desire to view his personal profile.
Air France and KLM believe that Bluenity will enable travelers to connect with new people on a deeper level, exchange hotel and restaurant recommendations, and share information on everything from travel destinations to business opportunities.
On Bluenity website, it is suggested that members use the network to share taxis from the airport with people they meet on the flight. That is dangerous advice, which hopefully no one will follow. Ironically, in the same section of the website where the taxi sharing is mentioned, Bluenity suggests sharing travel tips. Here’s a travel tip: don’t share a taxi with a complete stranger. Better yet, when you fly; listen to music or read a book.
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Tags: AirFrance, Bluenity, Flight, KLM, Oddities, Travel
November 8th, 2008 / 1 Comment » / by oddbits
You may have read the review I posted recently on Ontela’s picture transfer service, which is available from many mobile carriers. At the time I had asked the company if they had any interesting stories about how people were using the service. I was expecting to hear something cutesy about a parent at a graduation or something and figured it probably wouldn’t use it -but hey, no harm asking.
Well, their reply did not make it in time for the review, but it was interesting enough that I had to post it, which is why you’re seeing this update. Here’s the email I received from a vice president over at Ontela;
A year and a half ago, before we launched our first production service for Cellular South, our marketing plan was basically “send people phones so they can try it for themselves.” We must have mailed out something like 3 dozen RAZRs with Ontela software and sometimes it took some persistent follow-up to get the phones back after people used them for a month or more. I remember one time when a potential customer told us he was really sorry but he couldn’t find his demo phone. We scratched our heads for a day or two and then we thought of asking him if he was still getting any pictures on his PC. We thought “Who knows? Maybe a co-worker picked it up by accident.” He looked through his pictures and “surprise!,” someone neither of us knew had the phone and was taking some pretty ridiculous photos. We shut the account off the next day of course, but we also realized there was an extra feature in the service we hadn’t really planned on: built-in theft protection. If you’re a happy user of an Ontela-powered service and someone steals your phone, you can Email the photos that show up to the police and maybe even catch the guy. ? - Mike Arcuri, VP Product Management, Ontela
How many of you have dozens of great photos locked away in your phones, BlackBerries, and other devices? With most mobile devices now equipped with built in cameras, everyone is snapping photos. Photos at conferences. Photos on vacations. Photos of loved ones. Only a few, however, are actually showing those photos to anyone. Why? Because it’s a hassle. Who wants to deal with five different menu commands or peck at a tiny keyboard to email every photo? What if you have 20 photos? You have to email each one separately to yourself, then upload each photo to your Flickr account for your family that uses Flickr, and then there are your friends who read your blog, so that’s another upload, and don’t forget Facebook, and on and on.
At last a remedy. Ontela has launched a service that promises to do for digital photos what Polaroid did for traditional pics – set them free. Now, with a touch of a button, you can send a photo from your mobile device instantly to your email, blog, photo sharing site, and other networks simultaneously.
I tried this out for myself using a Motorola RAZR. Here’s how it works:
The Service:
Ontela sells its service to cell phone carriers which then offer it to the end user. Earlier this year, Ontela signed agreements with major carriers; Alltel, Cellular South, Cincinnati Bell, and nTelos. Over the Summer, the Seattle based company added partners including; Alaska DigiTel, Appalachian Wireless, Bluegrass Cellular, Carolina West Wireless, Cellcom, Cellular 29Plus/Lyrix Wireless, Golden State Cellular, Illinois Valley Cellular, Inland Cellular, Leaco Rural Telephone, Northwest Missouri Cellular, Panhandle Regional Wireless Network, Thumb Cellular, and United Wireless. Since new companies continue to be signed, it’s best to check out the Ontela site to see if your provider works with the service.
Partner Sites:
Customers are able to upload photos with a click of a button to partner sites including some of the most popular blog and photo sharing networks. Some of the companies that have signed on already include; Dot Photo, Facebook, Friendster, Kodak Gallery, Personal Grid, Picasa, SmugMug, TinyPic, Blogger, Flickr, Photobucket and Snapfish. As with phone carriers, new social networks and other sites are adding support, so this list could be out of date by the time you read this. The Ontela website will have the latest list of supported sites.
The Set up:
Either at the store or at home, customers can input information for any accounts they wish to add. The process is simple and not unlike the way one would add accounts for chat services that allow multiple clients. The interface has an easy, familiar feel that works well with the RAZR, which has a traditional “phone keyboard” (versus the qwerty setup on some devices). Here’s what the set up looks like:
Note: Ontela has worked with carriers to train in-store sales reps. In many cases the set up will be done for the customer when they purchase the phone.
My Experience:
Since my phone had Alltel as its carrier, I used Alltel Pic Transfer. Each service will be a little different, however the basic functionality and sites supported will be the same. As with all of the services, once I set up my account with my flickr, Photobucket, and email information, every time I took a picture it was automatically sent to each account. If I chose, I could even have the phone send photos to a specific folder on my notebook, such as myphotos. I took a quick walk around my neighborhood and snapped a few pictures.
Here is what my flickr site looked like when I arrived home:
The process was almost instant and I did not have to do anything other than simply take the picture. The photos you see above were taken about two blocks away from my house and by the time I got home (about a minute journey) they were already on my photo sites and in my email inbox. A photo I took inside my house took less than a minute to hit my inbox and I have a feeling the delay had more to do with my mail server than Ontela’s server (Photos take a quick trip to Ontela’s server and are then routed to the appropriate photo sites).
You would be surprised, but no one else is doing this. It’s a case of it being a lot harder than it looks and beyond the technical side, there is the partnering issues. As anyone who has spent any time in the telecommunications industry will tell you, signing up the laundry list of companies Ontela has on board is difficult and impressive -and then there is the small matter of getting the social networks on board, which Ontela has also done.
How to get it:
Check with your service provider to see if they offer picture transfer software. If so, the price will be $2.99 per month and can be purchased in stores, over the phone, or online on your carrier’s website. Alltel, for example, offers this link for quick purchase via their website which sends a text to your phone: The application also appears in the phone’s Axcess shop menu.
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Tags: altel, Cell, Facebook, Flickr, Mobile, Ontela, Phone, Photo, RAZR
November 8th, 2008 / No Comments » / by oddbits
Today I was visiting a website, Diversity Inc. with the intention of writing it up as a cool website of the day. Instead, it is an example of the annoyance of the week: websites that hide basic content behind very annoying pop-ups. It is understandable that a site would want people to register and participate in their community, however confronting new visitors with a huge pop-up saying “Want to avoid pop-ups?” is not likely to win over any potential members. Website developers might want to think about following the model of some newspapers, which serve an invitation to register after someone has clicked on a certain amount of articles, (usually three to five). I find pop-ups annoying in general and the new crop which are able to get around Firefox’s filters are really bad.
Take a look at the screen shot below of the site I was checking out tonight. I left after realizing that the pop-up could not be cleared without registering. Worse, the pop-up “followed me” around the screen making it impossible to read anything.
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Tags: Advertising, content, DiversityInc., Internet, Pop-up, popup, web
GigaTribe file sharing service launches in the US
