May 15, 2007 | Filed under: Software I Like

This is me at Skype HQ in Estonia prior to launch trying out a console application of Skype while one of the developers walked off down the corridor with his laptop to his ear. It was cool then and its cool now. 

I remember thinking how awesone it was when we had 5 million users online concurrently using Kazaa.  But Skype has 8.6 million right now. It is a remarkable accomplishment.

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April 10, 2007 | Filed under: Software I Like

In my world at least, so much of new product development on the Internet is about making stuff for young people. As my hair becomes greyer, it is slowly sinking in to me that there are huge numbers of people that need tools for 'old people' like I do.  For example, I just found this excellent product for families called Cozi. If you are looking for a way to co-ordinate your family's hectic schedule, give it a try.

Ever tried trying to convince a non-technical person to try Google Calendar? Cozi is simple and does exactly what we need and nothing more. The technology does not get in the way of the purpose.

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March 21, 2007 | Filed under: Software I Like

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November 23, 2006 | Filed under: Software I Like

The problem with meme trackers is that they are too good.

Sites like Techmeme (which I am rather addicted to), Megite and Tailrank algorithmically create one-stop overviews of the most popular discussions on the web at any one moment. We depend on them and fall into a new kind of mass-market  behavior in which everyone thinks the same. New ideas that are outside of the current memes - especially big ones that take a long time to think through - don't get the processor cycles in the brain. We are all busy solving the same problems. 

The paradox: This is one of those posts which fails to escape the meme trap. LOL.

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September 26, 2006 | Filed under: Software I Like

Me and Mick are giving Twitter a try. If you want to follow my mood, send an SMS to +14152838611 with the message 'follow philmorle'. You can see my current moody at the top of this page.

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July 27, 2006 | Filed under: Software I Like

Snocap have just released a perfectly targeted beta product called ‘Linx’.

When I discovered the Lost Prophets on MySpace, I was frustrated that I could not embed the MySpace player in my blog so that you guys could all listen straight away.

Linx lets a band embed a Flash powered playlist/player widget into any website including blogs, social networks, etc that lets users:

• Listen to samples of the tracks
• Easily purchase non-DRM’d MP3 files of all tracks via Paypal

Here is the embedded player for The Format.

It seems the perfect way to discover new music. Let the taste-makers tout your wares.

My only gripe at the moment is that it was a complete pain the arse to download all the tracks I purchased. I needed to download each one individually.

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July 8, 2006 | Filed under: Software I Like

I am interested to see the concept of a channel guide come to podshow.com. Its comforting to have information presented in this familiar way.  It is useful to pick a vertical channel and press ‘play’. It is a good way to discover new content.

There is still much that they are not doing and it somehow feels a bit ‘old school’.  

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