Basic Web Tools

Music-based social networking site Imeem on Monday morning announced the acquisition of digital rights and content management company, SNOCAP. The deal will provide Imeem with access to SNOCAP’s content identification technology and digital registry, while expanding the tools available to artists and music labels.

“The SNOCAP team built a great technology platform that will be useful to imeem as we continue to grow,” said Imeem founder and CEO, Dalton Caldwell of the acquisition. “Together we’ll build on that work in the coming months, and give labels and independent artists new ways to promote and sell their music through imeem, MySpace and anywhere on the Web.”

iFob, developed by Montana’s iCloseby and available for the iPhone, the iPod touch and laptop computers, attempts to bridge a gap between social networks and the real world. iFob sends out a “homing beacon” at wireless hotspots like coffee shops, alerting other users that you’re nearby and receptive to socializing.

Two Missoula, Mont., entrepreneurs have launched software for the iPhone, iPod touch and laptop computers that upends the conventional sense of social networking. Unlike online dating and friendship Web sites where connections are made in cyberspace, the software’s goal is moving people from virtual relationships into real ones.

The Thunderbird 2 e-mail program may not get as much love from its makers at the open-source Mozilla Project as their favored child, the Firefox Web browser, does. Nevertheless, Thunderbird 2.0.0.13 has a very strong feature set, and does its job well; plus, if you are looking for an e-mail client that works and looks exactly the same on most of the different operating systems you may have to deal with, then Thunderbird’s almost the only game in town.

Most Mac OS X users will prefer Apple’s Mail, if only because it’s prettier; unlike Thunderbird, Mail doesn’t have to make aesthetic compromises for the sake of compatibility with Windows and Linux. But if you care more about features than looks, Thunderbird is definitely worth a free download.

Over the last decade and a half, the Internet has evolved from a mere repository of information to an interactive medium for people to share views and work. This transformation was largely possible due to web 2.0 components like Wikis and blogs. But clues to the next phase of Internet’s development seem to lie in its ability to provide rich and compelling visual experience.

Called Rich Internet Applications or RIA, the realm of media-rich Internet has been spurred by tools that enable persons even with basic scripting knowledge to create highly interactive and truly appealing applications. Such applications may be useful to post party videos on YouTube or send animations and banners about products to potential customers.

Picnik, which has already begun to get some traction as the primary editing tool for Flickr has teamed up with Photobox, another large photo host in the United Kingdom.

Photobox is about a fifth of the size of Flickr in active users, and the two have very different services. Photobox provides 1,000MB of storage and gives users more space each time they order prints while Flickr operates on a paid premium membership that requires a yearly subscription of $25.

Also starting today Picnik users will be able to print their shots using QOOP which lets you print your photos on items such as coffee mugs, posters, and T-shirts.

MorSystems offers ready-to-go mortgage web sites. Now, the Gold & Silver series websites, plus the Sue Woodard / Mortgage Market Guide web site series allow clients to add PDFs to their mortgage web site for free.

Both company & individual websites can have PDFs easily added to web pages through the newly revamped administration area. Clients can upload their PDF and choose where in their mortgage web site they want it displayed for their visitors.

“So many options now exist for loan agents to add their newsletter, their latest postcard, articles, a Spanish application, or other form they may want clients to print & complete. Our clients can see the benefit from offering PDFs.” Stated Shelly Whitworth, VP of Business Development, MorSystems.