Popping up on the del.icio.us/popular list today was IMified, a new service that uses IMing to help you keep organized with your calendar, todo list etc. The idea behind the tech is that instead of opening your web browser and logging into your Google Calendar to add a new appointment or event, you’ll simply use IMified and do the same task all within you IM applications. Protocols supported are AIM, Yahoo!, MSN and Google Talk/Jabber.

WHAT IS IMIFIED?

Imified is an instant messenger buddy that works accross all major IM networks and offers access to a growing number of web applications, as well as productivity tools like notes, reminders, and todo’s. Imified helps you get things done faster.
WHY SHOULD I USE IT?

Because y ou shouldn’t have to launch your browser to add a new appointment to your Google calendar, or complete a todo in your backpack account. Imified is always open, sitting right there in your favorite IM client ready to help. If you have an IM client running on your mobile phone, you’ve got instant access to your applications wherever and whenever. Cool huh?

IM bots are not new, I first noticed them a few years back as news, and shopping helpers. However the addition of new functionality like IMified promises is a new twist on things and could prove useful to some people who live in their IM application.

I personally always have a browser (or two or three) open so I don’t see this as my killer app, however you may. Also check out their blog and forumfor updates.

…and more effective, or at least that’s the claim. I do a good amount of business (and pleasure) on Ebay and Craigslist is THE place to sell and find local things online. Wipbox is an online application built with LAMP dedicated to making your listings more effective and ultimately help you sell more items for higher prices.

What’s WipBox?
WipBox enables sellers to create better, richer listings through deeper knowledge gathering and better preparation. Users can learn which categories and for how much they should list items based on each product’s basic info. WipBox shows high, low and average prices for items as well as concentration of like items in categories on eBay.

What I found more interesting was the blog feed on the home page with gave a little background on the project:

I spent Dec2006 on and off creating WipBox. It’s my first go at a LAMP mashup. WipBox is a tool I created to sell things more quickly and easily on eBay and Craigslist. I found that by taking the time to do additional research and by going the extra step when I made my listings, I would get more views and bids and higher prices than without. Don’t get me wrong though. This isn’t the new thing I’ve been working on (well as a matter of fact it IS something I’ve been working on — DUH!). This was something I built to solve an issue I had when selling things and thought…heck, other people might like it too!

It’s an official ‘mash-up’ app using the eBay Developers API, Amazon Web Services API, MooTools, Maani charts, and TinyMCE.

Mux.am or rather cruxy brings us the mux video transcoder, and online service that trancodes video from one format to another. Input almost any kind of video (wmv, mp4, flv, mov, etc) or GooTube page into the url of video: field and mux will output any other kind of video you wish.

The options are: Quicktime, MPEG-4, Flash Video, Windows Media, MPEG-1/2, Windows AVI, 3gp Mobile. They will even email you when it’s done because some video takes a little bit (all the recent traffic has probably slowed that progress down a bit).

My primary computer platform and operating system both at work as a web designer/developer and at home as a web developer and blogger is a PC running XP Pro SP2 (haven’t made the jump to Vista yet). However I do a lot of my blogging on an old G3 iBook running OS 10.2.4 Because of the age of the hardware (built in 2001) I can’t upgrade the OS, but it has exposed me to the world of OS X and given me some respect for ‘the other side’.

Today I found some software that will allow you to record video with your Mac camera, without having to buy the expensive QuickTime Pro software. The application is called iRecord and is available free of charge by Eric Brunstad of Mind Sprockets Software. Here’s the blurb from the very simple and elegant website:

Want to make recordings with your camera? Don’t want to buy QuickTime Pro? iRecord is your solution. Just open iRecord, and video recording is as simple as pressing the red button. Take a quick photo by dragging the picture to your desktop. iRecord is the pure, Mac-way to capture video. Better yet, its free. Donations are requested.

Check out Mind Sprockets other software as well as they offer some handy applications that you may find very useful.

Cape Cod Weddings are great, I should know I had one not too long ago (don’t ask me the date). My wife Desiree started a photography business called 2 Girls with Cameras in 2006 and is now booking photo shoots for the 2007 season. Weddings, engagements, family photos and any other event you can think of that warrants a photo, 2 Girls with Cameras can be there (assuming it’s on Cape Cod) and can get the job done professionally and artistically. One of the big differences with 2 Girls is that unlike most profession photographers they do not hold your photos ‘hostage’ and demand huge fees for prints or negatives. All photos are taken digitally and are given to you digitally so that you can order prints and use electronically without any limits. It’s a breath of fresh air for anyone who’s ever hired an old school photographer and at the end of the shoot owned NONE of the rights to the photos.

COLEwebdev is a company my wife and I launched about a year ago to put a name and a brand around the freelance web development work we do. COLEwebdev offers website design, production, marketing, updating and consulting to small business’s on Cape Cod and around the world.

Having designed and built dozens of eccomerce websites in my 7 year career, COLEwebdev is a start of my next venture, and will eventually house more than just a simple portfolio and a brief overview of our services.

The site features some great photography, and some ‘okay’ video of the beautiful Cape Cod region in which we reside.

Website hosting is another service COLEwebdev offers, and is one of the areas we’re looking to build and expand. Check out the site when you get a chance.