Daniel Brusilovsky

Drop.io, Inc., the simple private sharing solution, today Drop.io started testing a new set of features to enhance Drop.io’s file sharing experience, making it faster and easier for users to privately share and store pictures, videos, audio, documents, and other digital content with family, friends, colleagues and work groups. In early June 2008, Drop.io introduced support with Scribd, the leading platform for online document publishing, announced today a partnership to offer rich document conversion and viewing within private drop.io ‘drops’.

Headlining the package of new Drop.io features is the integration of Twitter’s social
networking and micro-blogging platform to enable ‘real-time’ sharing of files uploaded to a drop through a user’s personalized Twitter stream.

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This is a guest post by Spencer C. You can find more about Spencer on
his own blog, or you can
follow him on Twitter.

An Online Social Network, in my opinion, is a hosted service that connects individuals or groups of people. There are many pros and cons to the many social networks out there. Below are my opinions and reviews of various types of social networking platforms.

Microblogging

Microblogging-based social networks provide profiles that are designed to be updated very frequently, but without huge detail. One of the ones I use most is Twitter, which is probably the largest microblogging social network. The service lets you update through several different interfaces, including their web site, SMS, one of several instant messaging networks (although AIM is
regrettably not supported), or desktop applications like Twhirl and Snitter. You can keep up with family and friends with a click of a button. There are other “copycat” networks like this, with two examples being Pownce and Jaiku, but they
simply aren’t as popular as Twitter. (Editor’s note: the Editor (and the writer) is a huge Twitterholic - don’t end up with the addiction that he picked up thanks to Twitter!)

Profile-based Networks

This category is, by far and wide, the most popular, including sites such as MySpace and Facebook. Generally, one would put together a profile using the service’s tools, adding various levels of interactivity, and friends look at what other friends post to their friends profiles as well as their own. Typically, the main goals of these services are to help you create new friends, find old friends, and to express yourself online. Let’s take MySpace as an example. They have a search feature for finding old friends and options to find people with interests that are similar to yours. Extras from MySpace include a blogging feature and an instant messaging network.

There is much controversy over MySpace (although there’s much less in respect to other networks), mostly over people giving out too much information, like address, phone numbers, and other personal data. This data may be picked up by sex offenders, who pose a significant risk to users of social networks. If you think that there’s no danger involved with MySpace, and that all of the Dateline NBC stories are fakes and rarely happen. This is NOT so. In July 2007, the company found and deleted 29000 profiles belonging to registered sex offenders! Around 30 thousand profiles were sex offenders! Facebook is much safer in this regard, but there will always be a problem with safety in profile based systems.

Media Based

With networks like Last.fm, the connections lay around the media. People sign up for these services,
provide the service with data, like favorite movies or songs, and the network in turn finds people and groups
with matching interests. These sites help you find both new media (i.e.. new
songs and videos), and meet the people who produce them.

Group Based

These social networks are basically profile based systems that are made for a specific group of people. An example of this is MySpace Music.
They are based on profiles, but also include functionality like a music player
where you can buy an artist’s songs.

(Editor’s note: Sites like Ning allow
you to build your own social networks that focus on a specific niche and provide
services and resources relevant to that niche.)

There are, of course, many networks that I didn’t even mention, since the ones listed above are definitely the most notable. You can check out Wikipedia’s extensive community published list of social networking sites to find one that suits you.

Do you have your own opinions about social networking? Leave a comment and let your voice be heard!

According to this Apple Press Release, Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard will be released on October 26th at 6:00 PM. Here is the Press Release: Continue reading…

Last week I downloaded an RSS Reader called RssReader. The name basically says it all. You go to the webiste, and download either the .zip file or an .exe file. I chose the .exe file and it worked. I don’t know about the .zip file, but everything works for me. Once you install, the fun begins!

You need to manually add all your RSS Feeds by clicking on the “Add” button. You can also add a group by clicking on the “Group” button. So far I have 4 groups: Apple Sites, Blogs, Podcasts, and Tech News. That way it is very organized, and I know were everything is!

As you know by my Mozilla Thunderbird Review, Thunderbird has its own RSS Feed catcher, so it was easier to know what feeds I wanted. The only think I don’t like about RssReader 1.0.88.0 is that I can’t important all the feeds in Thunderbird. It only took me 20 minutes to import about 30 Feeds, and I knew most of the feed links.

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Alright, Nikon’s two new flagship DSLRs are officially announced. (Better images coming right up.) Here’s what you need to know:

D3

• 12.1 megapixel, full-frame friggin sensor! (23.9 x 36mm) Finally. ISO up to 6400
• 3-inch VGA live view LCD
• Two (count ‘em, two!) CompactFlash card slots for overflow, backup, or copying
• New EXPEED image processor
• 9fps in full frame, 11fps in DX crop; 51 point autofocus (with “3D focus tracking”)
• HDMI out with optional cable
• $5000, November release

D300

• 12.3 megapixel DX (1.5 crop) sensor
• 3-inch VGA live view LCD
• New EXPEED image processor
• 51 point autofocus
• $1800, November release

Lenses

• AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
• AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
• AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8G ED VR
• AF-S NIKKOR 500mm f/4G ED VR
• AF-S NIKKOR 600mm f/4G ED VR

This is the offical Press Release From Nikon:

EIGHT YEARS AFTER CHANGING PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY FOREVER, NIKON DOES IT AGAIN BY INTRODUCING THE D3 DIGITAL SLR

MELVILLE, N.Y. (AUGUST 23, 2007) – Eight years after Nikon’s D1 camera changed professional digital photography forever, Nikon today introduced the D3 – a new digital SLR camera that is poised to once again revolutionize photography for professionals. The 12.1 effective megapixel D3 features Nikon’s new FX-format CMOS sensor, measuring 23.9 x 36mm, which is nearly identical to the size of 35mm film. With the fastest startup time, shortest viewfinder blackout time, and shortest shutter lag of any digital SLR camera as well as the capability to shoot up to nine frames per second at full FX-format resolution, the D3 is the world’s fastest digital SLR camera in its class.*

Designed with sports photographers and photojournalists in mind, the Nikon D3 introduces an astounding list of brand new features and technologies that make it the most sophisticated and advanced Nikon digital SLR to date. In addition to the new FX-format CMOS sensor, the D3 incorporates Nikon’s new EXPEED Image Processing System that is central to the blazing speed and processing power needed for many of the D3’s new features.

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Major New Versions of iPhoto & iMovie

CUPERTINO, California—August 7, 2007—Apple® today introduced iLife® ’08, the most significant upgrade ever to Apple’s award-winning suite of digital lifestyle applications, featuring a major new version of iPhoto® and a completely reinvented iMovie®. iPhoto ’08 automatically organizes photo libraries into Events that let users more easily manage their growing photo collections, and iMovie ’08 introduces an entirely new way for users to quickly make movies and share them online. Both iPhoto and iMovie integrate seamlessly with the new .Mac Web Gallery, Apple’s new service for .Mac members to instantly create and host stunning online websites for their photos and videos. iLife ’08 also features iWeb™ ’08, with live web widgets such as Google Maps that let users create even more dynamic websites, and GarageBand™ ’08, with its new Magic GarageBand feature that makes it fun and easy for both musicians and non-musicians to create great sounding songs.

“Apple has taken iLife ’08 to a new level that is years ahead of anything available for the PC,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think iLife ’08 gives Mac users even more reasons to love their Macs, and PC users even more reasons to switch.”

iPhoto ’08 automatically groups all photos into Events, each containing a day’s worth of photos represented by a single picture. Users can simply move their mouse over an Event to instantly “skim” through all its photos. Users can split a single day’s event into multiple events, such as a birthday party in the morning and a wedding in the evening, or merge events on multiple days into a single event, such as a weekend ski vacation. Users can hide photos they don’t want to see every day but don’t want to throw away, and a unified search allows users to instantly find all their photos across all Events by rating, date and keywords. Users can produce frame-worthy prints on a home printer with new Apple-designed photo themes, and order keepsake books with customizable dust jackets and professional quality hardcovers with elegant foil printing, new spiral-bound softcover books that can be laid flat for easy viewing, or new larger wall calendars.

With iMovie ’08, Apple’s movie-making software has been completely reinvented to let users rediscover and enjoy their video library, make movies in minutes instead of hours, and share their movies with family, friends or the entire world in a snap. iMovie ’08 can import video from the latest AVCHD, HDV and DV camcorders, as well as from digital cameras, and displays a user’s entire video library whether it’s stored on internal or external drives. Users can preview any of their video clips by simply moving their mouse over the clip to “skim” through it forward or backward at any speed, including faster than real time. Users can select video as easily as selecting text, make a movie by simply dragging the selected video into a project, then easily add a soundtrack from iTunes®, voiceovers, and elegant effects and cinematic titles. iMovie ’08 makes it as easy as a few clicks to enjoy your movies on an iPod®, iPhone™ or Apple TV®, or share with the entire world on YouTube.

For .Mac members, Apple is also introducing the stunning .Mac Web Gallery. .Mac Web Gallery is fully integrated with iPhoto ’08 and iMovie ’08, letting users share their photos and movies on the web with just a few clicks. .Mac Web Gallery automatically builds a website containing photo galleries and movies that can be viewed on any modern computer or iPhone. Photos can be downloaded to print at sizes up to 16×20, and movies can be viewed at higher-than-DVD resolution.

iWeb ’08 offers new features to make websites more interactive by adding live web widgets such as Google Maps, targeted ads using Google AdSense and photos or movies from .Mac Web Galleries. Users can also add Internet video, news headlines, weather and more from any site that supports HTML snippets. A new “My Album” page template lets users easily organize photo albums and videos into one simple index web page. The new iWeb includes a range of beautiful new Apple-designed themes that users can change at any time to experiment with different web page designs, even after their site has been published. With a .Mac membership, users can also now host iWeb websites using their own personal domains.

GarageBand ’08 introduces Magic GarageBand, an easy and fun way for musicians and non-musicians alike to create a song. Users can pick from nine musical genres and interact with a band of “players” on a virtual stage by selecting an instrument and musical part for each player to create thousands of possible song combinations. Users can play along with a built-in software instrument or record their voice to sing along to their own music. The new GarageBand also offers powerful new features for more advanced musicians, including multi-take recording to capture the best performance, arrangements to cut, copy and paste intros, verses and choruses, and support for 24-bit audio interfaces.

Pricing & Availability
iLife ’08 is now available for a suggested retail price of $79 (US) through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. The iLife ’08 suite of applications will be included with all new Macs beginning today. .Mac is available as a subscription-based service for $99.95 (US) per year for individuals and $179.95 (US) for a Family Pack which includes one master account and four sub accounts. Anyone can sign up for a free, 60-day .Mac trial from www.mac.com.*

iLife ’08 requires Mac OS® X version 10.4.9 or later, a Macintosh® computer with an Intel processor, a PowerPC G5 or PowerPC G4, QuickTime® 7.2 or later, a DVD drive for installation and 3GB of available disk space. iPhoto print services are available in the US, Canada, Japan and select European countries. A .Mac account is recommended for iWeb. Full system requirements and more information on iLife ’08 can be found at www.apple.com/ilife.

*The .Mac service is available to persons aged 13 and older. Annual membership fee and Internet access required. Terms and conditions apply.

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Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market this year with its revolutionary iPhone.

From Apple Hot News