Adobe launches Acrobat.com

Adobe has just launched Acrobat.com which is their response to Google Docs. It's good to see some solid competition going on among online "Office" applications, MS Office may be relegated to the back as more and more people adopt these inexpensive and free offerings.

The URL Is Dead, Long Live Search

This article makes a good argument for making websites search engine friendly and the importance of being findable on the net.

Of the 10 fastest rising search terms on Google last year, 7 were for searches where adding a ".com" would have brought the user to the correct site. These are called "navigational" searches -- searches done when the user already knows exactly where he or she wants to end up -- and they make up a surprising large number of total seaches.

According to Compete last fall, navigational searches make up about 17% of all searches on average, more on Yahoo! and Live than on Google. For well-known web sites, Compete found that about 9 out of the top 10 search terms for that site tend to be some sort of variation on the domain. Surprisingly, people actually often search for entire domain names rather than type them into their browser's address bar.

Either way, search over URL seems to be a trend we're likely to see more of. Advertising search boxes rather than .com names is already all the rage in Japan. Mac developer Cabel Sasser pointed out in March that search boxes with suggested terms are pretty much all you see on ads in Japan, but he wondered if search marketers and spammers might ruin that strategy in the US.

Researchers teach 'Second Life' avatar to think

"Edd Hifeng barely merits a second glance in 'Second Life.' A steel-gray robot with lanky limbs and linebacker shoulders, he looks like a typical avatar in the popular virtual world. But Edd is different.

His actions are animated not by a person at a keyboard but by a computer. Edd is a creation of artificial intelligence, or AI, by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, who endowed him with a limited ability to converse and reason. It turns out 'Second Life' is more than a place where pixelated avatars chat, interact and fly about. It's also a frontier in AI research because it's a controllable environment where testing intelligent creations is easier."

Researchers teach 'Second Life' avatar to think - Yahoo! News

Innovation Without Permission

"The innovation-without-permission model also is being driven, said Rene, by the 'millennials' in the workforce. These twenty- and early-thirtysomethings have grown up with the tools to set up their own networks, write their own blogs, create their own widgets, etc. They've never had to ask for permission to do any of these things, and certainly don't want to now that they're in the workplace (especially when they may very well know more about Web 2.0 technology than many of the IT staffers).

'You can allow people to innovate within a certain framework--a domain of innovation--or you can take the other approach--let it appear no matter what it affects or does, and decide which will make it and which will not,' Rene told me."

Up for Discussion - Innovation Without Permission

The Best Tools for Visualization

"Visualization is a technique to graphically represent sets of data. When data is large or abstract, visualization can help make the data easier to read or understand. There are visualization tools for search, music, networks, online communities, and almost anything else you can think of. Whether you want a desktop application or a web-based tool, there are many specific tools are available on the web that let you visualize all kinds of data. Here are some of the best..."

The Best Tools for Visualization - ReadWriteWeb

Future apps for the iPhone and the possibilites that come with it

This post looks at the possibilities that come with new technologies such as the iPhone, how it can change our behaviour and the way we live our lives.

"With the new iPhone SDK, it's just a matter of time before we see a wave of new applications. We expect a lot of popular web 2.0 apps to offer an iPhone version. Native Twitter, Facebook and Flickr clients for iPhone will run faster than their in-browser versions and will take advantage of the impressive Apple UI libraries.

But there is an entirely new breed of applications also coming to iPhone. These apps simply would not be possible without a device like iPhone. The major theme of this new wave of apps will be blending of the physical and digital worlds, using iPhone as the bridge... "

12 Future Apps For Your iPhone - ReadWriteWeb

User Interfaces Rapidly Adjusting to Information Overload

Check-out the experimental interfaces on the following page.

People who in the next few years solve big problems in Information Overload are going to be very important, and some of them are going to be UI and UX (user experience) designers.

User Interfaces Rapidly Adjusting to Information Overload

Killer Apple Soundtrack :)

This is just plain fun and awesome!

For those of you that love all of the mac system sounds that beep and ping and knock during the day… There’s now a ’soundtrack’ available just for you. It’s called the ‘Apple Soundtrack’ and it was put together in GarageBand by Mike Solomon over at the cleverest. Watch the video below, or download the GarageBand zip or mp4 files to play with or throw onto your system/iPod/iPhone… Enjoy!

Hit play and enjoy :)

Web 2.0: Just say yes

IT execs who ignore Web 2.0 collaboration technologies could be hurting their company's bottom line.

That's the message from enterprise IT leaders and industry analysts who are convinced that Web 2.0 technologies are the real deal.

Web 2.0: Just say yes

Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which is better for business?

ComputerWorld tests two top social networking sites with six business problems in this side-by-side comparison.

Facebook vs. LinkedIn: Which is better for business?

How the Barack Obama Campaign Uses Wikis to Organize Volunteers

Read it here...

Web 3.0: What Is It About?

Interesting article about what Web 3.0 is all about.

If web 2.0 could be summarized as interaction, web 3.0 must be about recommendation and personalization...

Web 3.0: What Is It About? - ReadWriteWeb

Hans Rosling: Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you've ever seen

Amazing presentation with a very creative way of showing statistics that anyone can understand.

You've never seen data presented like this... The Trendalyzer software (recently acquired by Google) turns complex global trends into lively animations, making decades of data pop.

Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

Good breakdown of the key techniques used by the "presentation master" Steve Jobs.

"Our communications coach breaks down the ace presenter's latest Macworld keynote. The result? A 10-part framework you can use to wow your own audience"

BusinessWeek: Deliver a Presentation like Steve Jobs

Storming Omaha Beach (on a shoestring, with three actors)

"In this little youtube, three enterprising guys recreate the storming of Omaha Beach by filming themselves repeatedly running up the real Omaha Beach, climbing the bluffs, etc, and then cleverly composite the footage, accomplishing a scene as impressive as anything in Saving Private Ryan for a fraction of the cost: 'Due to the youtube interest in our little 'making of' vid , we have just heard they are going to repeat the full Programme on BBC2 on Sunday 27th Jan at 23:20!' Link (via Eat Our Brains and Boing Boing)"

Storming Omaha Beach (on a shoestring, with three actors) - Boing Boing:

Toonlet: DIY Cartoon Strips Made Social

"Toonlet is a new site where you can create your own cartoon strips with customized characters and leave cartoons as comments in response to other peoples' strips. It's fun, fast and easy."

Toonlet: DIY Cartoon Strips Made Social - ReadWriteWeb

Five Rules for Great Websites

Some very good advice in this article.

In a world in which it's unusual for a business not to have a website, an ambitious business owner must expect to do more than just throwing something online. Following these simple rules will help your website stand out.

Five Rules for Great Websites - Marketing & Sales - Biznik

Run Webapps like a native Mac app.

Freeware application Fluid runs your favorite webapps in a dedicated, WebKit-based browser so you can run your most-used webapps just like they're native Mac apps.
[Via Lifehacker]

Emerging Tech That Will Make a Difference in '08

Check out the possible Emerging Technologies of 08 and beyond. Will it be: Open Social Networks, Next-gen Smart Phones, Web-based Applications, SAN Encryption, Ultra-Web Connectiveness, Green Technology, The Semantic Web, Low-cost Laptops or all of the above?

Jim Rapoza examines and reviews the above Emerging Technologies and the possibilities they offer in the near fuuture.

So, what is the next big thing? What emerging technology will change your day-to-day job and the face of business?

When it comes to emerging technologies, 2007 has plenty of candidates. Some look poised to effect major change, and some will have a more modest impact. Some will come up short, failing to deliver on their initial promise.

One common thread in the history of important emerging technologies is that many people initially fail to recognize them...

Odds are that some of today's most-hyped technologies will decrease in importance or fade completely into oblivion, while some mostly ignored technology becomes the true groundbreaker. Looking back at 2007, there are many technologies that fit in either category.

In this special report, I take a look at the emerging technologies that were announced or started to gain traction in 2007. From this list, I'll identify the technologies that are most likely to deliver important improvements for all businesses. I'll also identify the technologies that have failed--or appear likely to fail--on their promises.

One thing that's certain is that some of these technologies will greatly affect your job. The challenge for IT workers is to stay on top of these potentially disruptive technologies and be ready to leverage them to provide a competitive boost.

Emerging Tech That Will Make a Difference -- By Jim Rapoza

The Biggest Emerging Technology Disappointments of 2007

eWeek list's the major technology disappointments of 2007.

"The past year has seen quite a few exciting new technologies that failed to deliver or actually took steps backwards in their progress. In some cases this was because of overblown promises, in some because of technical limitations and some failures were due to politics and aggressive competition.

However, all of these technologies can take solace in the fact that history has shown many cases where a technology that initially disappointed eventually became a major success."

http://etech.eweek.com/slideshow/index.php?directory=techdis

The Biggest Emerging Technology Disappointments of 2007