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IMified: A command line for Web 2.0

A little Web service called IMified caught my attention this morning. It is an ambitious service that lets you access several popular Web applications from your instant-messaging client. IMified is a messaging bot (like SmarterChild) that lets you manage your apps via text commands. In theory, it could also be used on any IM-equipped mobile phone to turn the phone into a remote control for your Web apps.

Signing up to the service requires no site registration or passwords. To begin, you just add the messaging bot to your buddy list and send it a message. Adding additional services (like … Read more

Ask gets pretty with Ask X

One of the things I love most about Google is how it has made other search competitors focus on simplicity and elegance in their interfaces. A prime example of this trend is Ask X, which can be described as the better-looking sibling of Ask.com.

Ask X uses Ajax to provide users with a refresh-free searching experience. Clicking among various search options such as images or video automatically refreshes your results without having to reload the page. The same goes for any new search you enter. Ask X has three window panes: one for typing searches, one for viewing results, … Read more

News Roundup

-- Find toxic wastelands via Google Earth. The EPA released a master list of landfills and other offenders to the public today in hopes of getting some recognition on mapping services such as Google Earth and Windows Live Local. Here's hoping for a Toxic button next to the beloved satellite view on Google maps. (CNET News)

-- Global digital-music sales nearly doubled in 2006. It was a good year for digital downloads, but they're still coming in at only 10 percent of the total music market. (CNET News)

-- MTV to buy RateMyProfessors.com. With more than 900,… Read more

AMD takes Live platform to notebooks

You might remember how last year AMD followed Intel's Viiv platform with its own Live Project. Both monikers were essentially lists of compatible hardware and software designed to bolster multimedia computing experience (the way Centrino did for wireless networking).

After a year of not much action on the Live front, AMD has just announced the laptop version of the spec, called (you guessed it) the AMD Live Notebook PC. The company calls it, "an easy-to-use mobile media center designed to help consumers simplify and enjoy their digital lifestyle."

What makes a laptop eligible for the AMD Live … Read more

Cingular customers get more cowbell

When Saturday Night Live premiered in the '70s, I bet its fans never imagined they'd be able to watch clips of the late-night sketch comedy show on their phones. But now, thanks to a deal between SNL parent NBC Universal, Broadway Video Entertainment, and Cingular Wireless, it's happening. The partnership, announced Tuesday, brings various forms of SNL media content, including original mobile-only programming, to Cingular's phones.

It's the second media-related announcement that the carrier has made this week: On Monday, Cingular began a partnership with MySpace to make the social networking site's mobile service available … Read more