Skype revolution

I would like to know if this is the start of a new revolution "sponsored" by the Internet. Now you could make free calls around the planet using Skype.
I live in Slovenia and I would like to know if here would be also free. Or if will be more expensive to pay for the service contract with the mobile carrier...

Flickr pictures in a Polaroid gallery

I just found an interesting web site where you could use your Flickr ID to display your pictures in a very nice gallery. It is interactive and you can reorder the pictures you see as you wish.
The owner of the Polariod Gallery is Christopher Einarsrud and he gives you the chance to use the script and Flash file for free!
Give a check, it is really nice.
Do you need to know your Flickr ID? click here

Testing Adobe Share Beta

I'm testing the Adobe Share service and I'm positively surprised. It has the potential to become the YouTube of files and flash contents.

The first page is going to give you the chance to sign in with your existing Adobe ID or to create a new one.


The next screen will start loading the flash application in your browser. For my opinion it is still taking too long to load, but I'm sure that "speed" problems will be solved after the beta period will be finished.
The interface of the "Share" is very simple to understand. You have available 2 tabs, one is "Home" and the other is "My library"; the first one gives you the chance to upload, share the file with someone and specify the access level you want to give to the uploaded file:

That page shows also your recent activity, that means you will see the last uploaded files.
In the case of the "My library" page the interface is different and it is meant to show you the files you have uploaded. It also gives a tool bar where you could filter your library and check files shared to you by other persons.

Some things I like a lot:

1. You don't need to load your Internet line anymore when sending emails with attachments. You could send links to them using the service's band width.
2. All the site and sharing works using "https", that means is secure.
3. 1GB of free storage.
4. Developers could be using the APIs in order to extend the capabilities of the system and of course to create additional solutions.
5. The files and flash movies could be automatically embedded in any web site, Blog or Wiki.

Some doubts I have:

1. It is possible to upload Adobe Captivate files, does it means that I could use Share for hosting finished Captivate files with preloaders and controls?
2. Can I use Share for commercial purposes? For example to host the files I produce for my e-learning portal?

I don't like:

1. When the user receives the shared file and then goes to the "download" page, there is too much "advertising like" information for creating or getting a new account. Users are used to get the files right away when they click on the link. Adding an additional step is understandable, but it should work fast and give straight options to download the file, get the embed code, etc.

I think Share can be a real revolution. Developers could start producing plugins for Outlook and other important mail clients in order to make easy the process of attaching "links" to emails.
Good for Adobe!
Find more about Share

A simple missing feature for Springdoo

Springdoo is still my favorite service for sending e-mail with video. It is also great to add videos to a Blog or web site.
But it looks like the "video" fashion made them to forget that Audio is also important. They are one of the best services I know for recording and streaming audio... but there is no special player for it. If you record audio you still need to use a very big player.
So my suggestion is to let users to select a different player in the case they use video or audio.

iWork Numbers: Apple's spreadsheet - Part 2

I'm constantly working with calculations from Information I get on the Web. That means that I get and copy a table with data from the Web and then I paste it in Excel and all works pretty well. Excel takes care of placing the information in the right cell. Often I need to make changes on the formatting but that is just a minor issue.
In the case of Numbers it is not possible to copy and paste from the web and get something right. Here is the source table from a web site:


And here what Numbers makes when pasting the table:

That is not a big issue, but it is important if Apple really wishes that advanced users will find on Numbers a real alternative. Importing data from the web and other kind of databases is very important.