Web 2.0 Discussion

Free online creativity tools

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:45:16 -0400

Introduction
So don’t have money for Photoshop or Fruity Loops studio and don’t want to pirate them ether but suffering from urge to create something?
Well another wave of free fully functional in browser applications is rising with some features desktop apps do not even have And those are built in Web 2.0 communities built around Creative Commons which means that you can create/share/remix/browse/favorite/discuss/collaborate
So here is list of best example I know of.

Hobnox
Well this is tool built by Andre Michell(at least partially) that allows to create music of many types and has pretty cool interface and range of virtual tools.
Even if you are not music creator or not familiar with such way of making music you can still be interested as it includes community and support Creative Commons license which means that you can listen stuff for free, share and use it under some conditions for free and sometimes even remix other people works all thanks. Tough you need to register.

Aviary
Well this is whole collection of visual design tools. Not all tools are out and those that are are already pretty amazing.
It includes:
Phoenix – raster image editor alike to Photoshop
Peacock – visual laboratory. This one is harder to describe as it is mmm as I call it procedural/generative effect/image creation tool. You can use different filters/effects/transforms/generators available and combine them together to get cool effects/abstract art/fractals. If it still sounds confusing check video here.
Raven – and this is vector graphics editor. Not much to say here except that it is pretty decent editor.

And it comes packed with very well made community features. You can instantly upload stuff, use other creation licensed under CreativeCommons and it automatically show up sources from which work was made (be it effects or stock pictures or anything), shows derivative works that used this one as source and provides all other more common community features.

Sumo Paint
Well there is not much to say This one is clear PhotoShop but in browser, for free, with community included Again create/save/load/share/favorite/remix etc etc. Supports creative commons license which means that authors can easily specify on what conditions people can use it for free.

Wonderfl
Well this site is little bit strange and geeky. It allows coding Flash stuff in browser and publishing it under CC or MIT licenses which hallow free usage and remixing options so works are published as opensource code that compiles in browser. So you can edit/rewrite it and see results without need of Flex/Flash studios or any other complex products for Flash creation.

Aside from "in browser compiling" another cool feature is that it tracks who used what, which allows seeing how creations evolve. One guy created experiment, another took and used it differently, then third merged it with his own and we end up with some incredible stuff. Here for example such tree of evolution of code with cool results.

SourceBinder
This tool some how relates to Aviary Peacock and Hobnox Audiotool in terms of interface. Basically it is online tool for procedural animations/effects/visualizations.

Unfortunately I have no idea what license they use but they have features like sharing works sources and tracking of source/derivative relations among the works.

Onyx-vj
Well this thing probably is less usable but still worth mentioning. It is orientated on using video/animation remixing/merging to get something different. So you have number of “layers” where you can drop video files or flash effects/animations and manipulate those layers in same way you manipulate layers in Photoshop to get different result.

P.S
Probably that’s it for now. I will be updating this over time as I am shore there will be lot more to come Do you have something to add?

illypads

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:46:04 -0400

illypads is a new showcase for illustrators check it out.

Facebook Friend Wheel

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:27:25 -0500

I thought it would be cool to make a topic for those who use facebook and tried the "Friend Wheel" application, and compare between others. This really is a neat feature indeed. As I look at the order that all my friends / contacts go in, it makes perfect sense. Anyway, if you have a friend wheel go ahead and post it up.

Magento Open Source E-Commerce

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 02:50:28 -0500

http://www.magentocommerce.com/
Magento is a new professional open-source eCommerce solution offering unprecedented flexibility and control. With Magento, never feel trapped in your eCommerce solution again.

Really worth a look!

Google Acquires Microblogging Service Jaiku

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 17:18:19 -0400

Finnish short messaging and microblogging service Jaiku has been acquired by Google, the company says. That Google bought this competitor of Twitter, the service founded by Blogger founder Evan Williams, instead of Twitter is notable. Jaiku may be stronger on the mobile platform than Twitter and probably came at a much lower price.

Google has been rolling up no end of very young mobile services; while the comparison with the Dodgeball acquisition, which ended up going nowhere, is inevitable - I think there's a lot more going on this time around. For one thing, Jaiku will now have access to scaling that Twitter could desperately use.

Written by Marshall Kirkpatrick | Read More

Web 2.0 Site List

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 14:22:20 -0400

http://www.go2web20.net/

Shit load of Web 2.0 sites listed here. I'm still going through it finding some cool things, like www.jooce.com.

WebTrends 2007

Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:14:59 -0400

"The 200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective."
-cpluv

.Mac Web Gallery

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 22:05:03 -0400

Some sick ajax stuff there.

http://gallery.mac.com/emily_parker
http://gallery.mac.com/emily_parker#100370...ousel&sel=1

AJAX DOC, XLS, PPT Editor

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:00:51 -0400

Thought I'd share this great piece of software:
http://www.ajaxwrite.com

FF only though.

Orb 2.0

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 19:17:30 -0400

http://www.orb.com/

So I discovered this awesome free program called orb 2.0. It's a very slick web 2.0 application that allows you to access your PC remotely, and completely free. But that's not even the good part.....The best part is the web application has a mobile version so you can actually access music, videos, files, really anything from your pc onto your mobile device. You install a light program on the pc you are accessing remotely, then you just login on a wepage from wherever you are.

I was streaming music from 2 different computers at home through my Dell Axim PDA, I also streamed webcam feeds, youtube videos, even internet TV....basically, I just extended the usability of my mobile device by 10000x, and gave it an extra 200gb

Super cool, I would def check it out, even if you don't have a mobile device, and just want to access your PC remotely. The web interface is very nice, ajaxed up, and crammed with awesome features.

Microsoft Launches Surface Website

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 13:04:38 -0400

Microsoft Surface:

http://www.microsoft.com/surface/

The desktop apps is moving into the browser

Tue, 22 May 2007 04:15:44 -0400

Look at this, he brings the desktop application functionality into the web.

http://www.ndesign-studio.com/blog/design/css-dock-menu/
http://www.ndesign-studio.com/demo/css-doc...u/css-dock.html

Funky! :D

Last.fm

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 20:09:10 -0400

http://www.last.fm/user/Yuri_S/

It's pretty cool actually, if just for the benefit of recording your music preferences. If you don't have it, get it!

Favourite Web Designs

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:23:43 -0500

Wasnt quite sure where to put this but it seemed suitable here.

Basically, post your favourite web designs

My personal favourite is wa007

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 11:07:41 -0500

A nicely compiled video demonstrating the evolution of the web into today's Web 2.0 wave. Very enjoyable.

What is Web2.0?

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 14:17:38 -0500

A couple of weeks ago Michael Arrington of TechCrunch.com got together with a number of startup CEOs and executives to video a discussion about Web 2.0. Participating in the discussion were Aaron Cohen (Bolt), Scott Milener and Steven Lurie (Browster), Keith Teare (edgeio), Steven Marder (Eurekster), Joe Kraus (JotSpot), Jeremy Verba (Piczo), Auren Hoffman (Rapleaf), Chris Alden (Rojo), Gautam Godhwani (Simply Hired), Jonathan Abrams (Socializr), David Sifry (Technorati), Matt Sanchez (Video Egg) and Michael Tanne (Wink).

The topics discussed included:

1. What is Web 2.0?
2. Are we in a bubble?
3. What are the business models that will work on the web today?
4. What is the role of publishers in a user generated world?
5. How important and how big is the early adopter crowd?

Original Version: 24 min
http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n38/mil...b2-0_24mins.flv

Shortened Version: 3 min

The logo's of Web2.0

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 13:07:23 -0500

There is no official standard for what makes something ?Web 2.0?, but there certainly are a few tell-tale signs. These new sites usually feature modern web technologies like Ajax and often have something to do with building online communities. But even more characteristic among these brands is their appearance. Web 2.0 sites nearly always feel open and friendly and often use small chunks of large type.....

http://www.fontshop.com/fontfeed/archives/web-20-logos.cfm

This article is a little aged as well....But still fun!

meebo

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 12:15:44 -0500

meebo.com is a website for instant messaging from absolutely anywhere.