Google X has obviously been pulled, despite Google sending out a promotional
announcement to reporters for this morning. Reached for comment, Google's PR
team said "Unfortunately, we're not providing comment."
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Google shows it's green:
The Word(s) of the Day for March 17, 2005 is: Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Box.net Review
I was contacted by the rep from Box.net again about the new photo sharing feature they offer. He gave me a 100meg Box.net account to try it out with. I wanted to put that out there as a disclaimer. Free is nice, but I will make sure to keep my review as objective as possible. That being said...the service is pretty cool. Let's run down the different areas.
Sign up: I really didn't go thru this, but I simulated it for the review. There are three choices of service to choose. First is exclusive to students with an .edu email account. I'm a full time student that pays $1000 per every 3 credit hour course, but I don't have an .edu email address. This option is $15 per year for a 500 meg account. I think this is a great service for a student, especially since wifi is nearly everywhere on campus. Next option is probably the most popular. $2.99/month on the month-to-month option. This offers 1 gig of storage space. The last option is $24.99 per year and also 1 gig. It works out to about $2.09 a month. (Update: More student options to come so you can choose what suits your needs)
Interface: Very clean and easy to use. Everything is accessible and in a few ways sometimes. Shows you the space used and the files in your root box and all of the folders. Simple, clean, easy!
Save: The first thing you want to do is upload files. SIMPLE! There are a variety of options you have. You first select the folder you want the files to go to, or you can create a new folder right there.
Java option: This option is very unique, but very useful. It opens a java window where you simply drag the files into the window. This works on OSX as well as the pc and with every browser I could throw at it. I was STUNNED when I could drag files directly from iPhoto.
When you drag the files you see a progress bar with the speed and amount of files transferred. The upload speed was as fast as my crappy cable modem could upload.
Standard upload: This is the second option you have. It is the same old find the file in your explorer and upload one at a time. The one problem I had with this was on my mac where the window that popped up while uploading using this method didn’t go away. It did however with my pc.
Browse: Now that you’ve got your files uploaded you want to see them and even share them.
Photo sharing is done very well with this service. I noticed a typo when you try to access a file or folder that is not marked as shareable, and I assume that a programmer typed this because there is grammar and spelling errors. (Sorry Box.net I have to call it like I see it…I’m no master speller either). Here is the message:
Sorry but file or folder you requested was foud on the server. Please alert the owner of this folder or file, as well as the server admin by emailing: support@box.net
Thanks,
Box.net
You can click on the photo and it will open up in the browser while using safari or download to your computer using firefox. There is the share icon. It has the link to the html page of your file. MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON SHARE IF YOU WANT THE FILE TO BE SHARED.
You can see the html link, but if it isn’t shared you will get the error message. You can also send a link to the file via email to a friend from here. If you are sharing a photo or directory, it does have a very nice interface for everyone else viewing the file. Once you click on the photo it brings up bigger with 4 other smaller preview photos and a next and last option. Here is a link to the quickie photo gallery I made of the Dawn and Drew Event in San Francisco.
Next is the Change File icon. You can change the filename, keyword or where it is stored.
Files that are not photos open with an html page and a link to download the file, but not a direct link to the file. This works for all types of files, just make sure you click the share button before you give out the url. I did upload a podcast from Cat Schwartz (formerly of the now dead TechTv) and uploaded it. When finding the link to the file, it shows as a very weird url. No direct link to the file, but it can be accessed: http://box.net/public/nickstarr/files/13092.html
Settings: There wasn’t much here. Update password, name, and email. You can also cancel your account here, but why would you want to do that.
Help: Pretty much any question I had was answered here. They also provide help via their toll free number 1-888-255-5640 or by emailing support@box.net. I called the phone support once and it was one of their first days in operation because the guy was kind of confused when I called in how I was on his line and it never rang. I am going to try calling them at like 3am or something to see if they are there, because it says feel free to get in touch of us at anytime. (Update: Just called at 12:32 EST and got right thru to someone, turns out it was my contact at Box.net so I got to acatually TALK to him instead of just IM)
Misc: I forgot to mention that you could zip up a file or folder. Also, you can change the view of the icons in a folder from a details view to a thumbnail view. I was trying to delete all the files in a directory and was doing them one at a time, until I realized you could delete the entire directory. If you wanted to only delete a certain number of files and not the rest, you WOULD have to do it one at a time. Perhaps some option to check the ones you want and/or a check all option like on most online email sites offer.
Overview: The service is great. Photo sharing is the best feature and done very well. Simple and no ads (unlike Flickr). The 1 gig would allow for plenty of storage space for all of your needs. If you need to upload a few items before leaving work or to access somewhere else, then this is your option. PERFECT for students, people who travel a lot during work or use multiple computers.
All in all, sign up…it is $2.99 a month. I’m sure that you have some files that you have found yourself saying, “Crap! I wish I had this file with me.” I know I have. For podcasting, it’s not there yet and I’m not sure how they will do the file access for this. Using the current method, I’m not sure that it will work without a direct link to the mp3 file. Great for everything else though. I am personally using it to host family pictures for all of my family to see. With picture sizes over a meg sometimes this could kill your personal bandwidth. Why not pass it on to Box.net?
Positives: Plenty of space, price is right (you don’t feel ripped off unlike some services ::cough:: .mac), photo sharing is incredible, ease of uploading.
Negatives: No direct link to the stored files, can’t share all file types yet, and the minor grammar/spelling error I found.
Negatives: No direct link to the stored files and the minor grammar/spelling error I found.
Decision: Pay the $2.99 get a great service!
P.S. A link to the gallery of all of the Box.net screen shots can be found here: http://box.net/public/nickstarr/folders/485.html
I was contacted by the rep from Box.net again about the new photo sharing feature they offer. He gave me a 100meg Box.net account to try it out with. I wanted to put that out there as a disclaimer. Free is nice, but I will make sure to keep my review as objective as possible. That being said...the service is pretty cool. Let's run down the different areas.
Sign up: I really didn't go thru this, but I simulated it for the review. There are three choices of service to choose. First is exclusive to students with an .edu email account. I'm a full time student that pays $1000 per every 3 credit hour course, but I don't have an .edu email address. This option is $15 per year for a 500 meg account. I think this is a great service for a student, especially since wifi is nearly everywhere on campus. Next option is probably the most popular. $2.99/month on the month-to-month option. This offers 1 gig of storage space. The last option is $24.99 per year and also 1 gig. It works out to about $2.09 a month. (Update: More student options to come so you can choose what suits your needs)
Interface: Very clean and easy to use. Everything is accessible and in a few ways sometimes. Shows you the space used and the files in your root box and all of the folders. Simple, clean, easy!
Save: The first thing you want to do is upload files. SIMPLE! There are a variety of options you have. You first select the folder you want the files to go to, or you can create a new folder right there.
Java option: This option is very unique, but very useful. It opens a java window where you simply drag the files into the window. This works on OSX as well as the pc and with every browser I could throw at it. I was STUNNED when I could drag files directly from iPhoto.
When you drag the files you see a progress bar with the speed and amount of files transferred. The upload speed was as fast as my crappy cable modem could upload.
Standard upload: This is the second option you have. It is the same old find the file in your explorer and upload one at a time. The one problem I had with this was on my mac where the window that popped up while uploading using this method didn’t go away. It did however with my pc.
Browse: Now that you’ve got your files uploaded you want to see them and even share them.
Photo sharing is done very well with this service. I noticed a typo when you try to access a file or folder that is not marked as shareable, and I assume that a programmer typed this because there is grammar and spelling errors. (Sorry Box.net I have to call it like I see it…I’m no master speller either). Here is the message:
Sorry but file or folder you requested was foud on the server. Please alert the owner of this folder or file, as well as the server admin by emailing: support@box.net
Thanks,
Box.net
You can click on the photo and it will open up in the browser while using safari or download to your computer using firefox. There is the share icon. It has the link to the html page of your file. MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON SHARE IF YOU WANT THE FILE TO BE SHARED.
You can see the html link, but if it isn’t shared you will get the error message. You can also send a link to the file via email to a friend from here. If you are sharing a photo or directory, it does have a very nice interface for everyone else viewing the file. Once you click on the photo it brings up bigger with 4 other smaller preview photos and a next and last option. Here is a link to the quickie photo gallery I made of the Dawn and Drew Event in San Francisco.
Next is the Change File icon. You can change the filename, keyword or where it is stored.
Files that are not photos open with an html page and a link to download the file, but not a direct link to the file. This works for all types of files, just make sure you click the share button before you give out the url. I did upload a podcast from Cat Schwartz (formerly of the now dead TechTv) and uploaded it. When finding the link to the file, it shows as a very weird url. No direct link to the file, but it can be accessed: http://box.net/public/nickstarr/files/13092.html
Settings: There wasn’t much here. Update password, name, and email. You can also cancel your account here, but why would you want to do that.
Help: Pretty much any question I had was answered here. They also provide help via their toll free number 1-888-255-5640 or by emailing support@box.net. I called the phone support once and it was one of their first days in operation because the guy was kind of confused when I called in how I was on his line and it never rang. I am going to try calling them at like 3am or something to see if they are there, because it says feel free to get in touch of us at anytime. (Update: Just called at 12:32 EST and got right thru to someone, turns out it was my contact at Box.net so I got to acatually TALK to him instead of just IM)
Misc: I forgot to mention that you could zip up a file or folder. Also, you can change the view of the icons in a folder from a details view to a thumbnail view. I was trying to delete all the files in a directory and was doing them one at a time, until I realized you could delete the entire directory. If you wanted to only delete a certain number of files and not the rest, you WOULD have to do it one at a time. Perhaps some option to check the ones you want and/or a check all option like on most online email sites offer.
Overview: The service is great. Photo sharing is the best feature and done very well. Simple and no ads (unlike Flickr). The 1 gig would allow for plenty of storage space for all of your needs. If you need to upload a few items before leaving work or to access somewhere else, then this is your option. PERFECT for students, people who travel a lot during work or use multiple computers.
All in all, sign up…it is $2.99 a month. I’m sure that you have some files that you have found yourself saying, “Crap! I wish I had this file with me.” I know I have. For podcasting, it’s not there yet and I’m not sure how they will do the file access for this. Using the current method, I’m not sure that it will work without a direct link to the mp3 file. Great for everything else though. I am personally using it to host family pictures for all of my family to see. With picture sizes over a meg sometimes this could kill your personal bandwidth. Why not pass it on to Box.net?
Positives: Plenty of space, price is right (you don’t feel ripped off unlike some services ::cough:: .mac), photo sharing is incredible, ease of uploading.
Negatives: No direct link to the stored files, can’t share all file types yet, and the minor grammar/spelling error I found.
Negatives: No direct link to the stored files and the minor grammar/spelling error I found.
Decision: Pay the $2.99 get a great service!
P.S. A link to the gallery of all of the Box.net screen shots can be found here: http://box.net/public/nickstarr/folders/485.html
Radio UserLand theme conversion by Donovan Watts.
© Copyright
2005
Nick Starr.
Always use protection. Browse with Firefox
A Wannabe part of D&D Productions
Bio
Name:
Nick Starr
Age:
24
Birth Date:
September 11, 1980
Height:
5'10"
Weight
Currently on FATKINS
Marital Status:
Single
Favorite Music:
Alternative
Typically anything other than country
Favorite Movie:
Dangerous Liaisons
Favorite Restraunt
Favorite Book:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Favorite Website:
Dislikes:
Onions
Public situations
Embarrassment
Favorites
Dawn and Drew
Adam Curry
Scripting News
Homestar Runner
iPodder
Contact Info
Word of the Day:
\t
No RSS found at http://www.nickstarr.com/categories/wordOfTheDay/rss.xml
Flickr Image:
