messaging

Trillian Astra gets desktop widgets

This nearly slipped by our radar last week, but in the latest build of the upcoming chat client Trillian Astra, Cerulean Studios has snuck in desktop versions of its widgets. Users can now place widgets in their Trillian buddy list or right on their desktop, similar to what you'd get with the Yahoo Widget engine, or other desktop widget tools. Users are also able to send them between the buddy list and desktop via right clicking, or they can simply drag and drop.

For now there are just five sample widgets, but assuming Cerulean Studios opens things up a bit, or goes with universal widget coding, Trillian users could get what is typically two applications in one, along with a wide array of desktop widgets.

Customizing the widgets is a little harder than it should be, as you can't just configure each one once it's on your desktop. Everything is handled through a preferences menu, although I'm assuming this will be changed as the application gets closer to release. Some sample widgets do look neat; the weather widget in particular is easy to read and fully animated. And the world-time widget shows when the sun is hitting your current location, which is totally nerd eye-candy.

Similar to other widget tools, Astra has a hot key that let users pull up all the running widgets at the same time. Pressing the Windows key and space bar accomplishes this easily, although it doesn't have nearly the same effect you get with OS X's Dashboard widget.

I wouldn't recommend you ditch your current widget engine just yet, since this is a brand-new feature on an application that's still in private alpha. I am, however, excited to see if this feature will be integrated into the forthcoming browser-free version of the app.

For more shots of the new widget runtime environment, keep reading.… Read more

California plans to use text message alerts

California plans to launch a text messaging alert system in the next 12 to 14 months, according to a story posted Thursday on Insidethebayarea.com.

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi told lawmakers at a hearing that California is working with federal officials to develop an alert system that will use SMS text messaging to disseminate emergency information. He said that the state is willing to move along without the feds in order to get the service up and running as quickly as possible, the story said.

Several universities throughout the country have already begun using text message alerts to inform students … Read more

Improve your life while you work

At this very moment, I'm utilizing breakthrough psychological software to make me feel happier and less stressed. Or at least that's supposedly what I'm doing, according to developer Ded Pyhto, the publisher of the self-improvement tool Subliminal Flash.

The concept is simple. You select as many of the 33 areas of self-improvement, such as Happiness, Self-Esteem, Improved Memory, or Better Skin, as you want the program to include, and the software will present you with subliminal affirmations that improve those areas of your life. Sounds crazy? From the company's press release: "According to Ded Pyhto'… Read more

Take me out to the ball game

The Washington Nationals may not have the best record, but they're ahead of the game in creating new ways to use your cell phone. As of April 26, the team is letting fans use digital tickets on their handsets to gain admission to games. After buying a ticket from the team's Web site, you can request to have it sent directly to a phone in a multimedia message (MMS). You then take your phone directly to the admission gate where they scan the bar code from your handset's screen. Then it's off to enjoy the ball … Read more

Win some, lose some

Database and mobile software maker Sybase reported its first quarter results Thursday. Pro forma earnings reached 27 cents a share, beating Wall Street analysts' estimates by a penny.

That's the good news.

Revenues, however were slightly weaker than what Wall Street soothsayers were expecting, coming in at $230 million, verses their expectations of $231.6 million. The company's stock got punished, falling 6.8 percent to $24.42 a share at the close.

That's the bad news.

John Chen, Sybase's CEO, says he's baffled by the street's reaction, given that revenues overall were up … Read more

BuyYourFriendADrink update: It works!

I'd initially been skeptical about BuyYourFriendADrink.com (BYFAD), the Web site that just opened today (see previous coverage) in which you can remotely order drinks for your friends that they can redeem at participating bars by showing the bartender a code in a text message. It's available at about 40 bars in New York City and the surrounding area, and the company plans to gradually expand to other urban areas over the course of the year.

I'd been pretty confident that the site itself would work, but I hadn't been entirely positive that the bars involved … Read more

Texting your way to $25,000

After crowning the West Coast champ last month, the winner of LG's National Texting Championship will be determined tomorrow night in New York, with $25,000 at stake.

The East Coast "texthletes" will use their enV or V handsets to compete in single-elimination brackets to determine the East Coast champ. That person wins $10,000, and later that day they will take on Eli Tirosh (who won the West Coast crown) for an extra $15,000.

Registration is still open as of press time, and it seems like it could be worth your time even if you … Read more

Happy hour by SMS, with BuyYourFriendADrink

How many times have you been IMing with a friend or co-worker across the country, placed a bet ("If that Sanjaya guy gets the boot tonight, you owe me a beer!"), completed said bet, but had no immediate way to fulfill it because the other person involved was miles away? Well, now there's a brand-new solution--but just for New Yorkers, for the time being.

BuyYourFriendADrink.com was launched today and announced on the New York edition of e-mail events service Thrillist. BuyYourFriendADrink, or BYFAD, is a way to purchase libations for your friends online, which they can … Read more

Voicemail for the family, on the fridge

Let it be known that Crave is always looking out for your communication needs. Last week, you may recall, we offered up the "Memo Motion Sensor," which automatically plays a message to anyone who walks into your office at work. But as fond as we are of this idea, it's not the most practical for most households.

So to leave messages for your loved ones at home, we suggest something like the "Message Magnet," a simple but effective way to leave the equivalent of a 10-second voicemail for up to six individual recipients (or all … Read more

Wetpaint adds private messaging to Wiki service

Wetpaint, the wiki editing and hosting service, added private and group messaging this morning. The new service allows users to communicate one-on-one just like e-mail, and gives wiki administrators a new way to communicate to those moderating and contributing to their pages.

Sending a message in the service is pretty simple. If you're signed in, just click a user's name to pull up a "send message" pop-up. If you want to send out a group message, just start typing in names and the service will pull them up (like Gmail does).

In comparison, wiki juggernaut Wikipedia … Read more