Stan wrote a fairly simple rant, this morning. This rant rings true with me as well. I haven’t gone so far as to enumerate my personal Firefox issues here with a Mashable piece, but my followers on Twitter and FriendFeed are likely all to familiar with the battle I’ve had browsers in trying to find […]
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What it does
Although government action like the creation of the Do-Not-Call List has helped to stem unsolicited telemarketing calls, the problem is far from solved. CallerComplaints.com is a site established to help consumers fight telemarketers, who can range from an annoyance to borderline harassment. Federal agencies where you can make complaints do exist, but Caller Complaints says their site will be a more effective way to take action. Anyone can sign on and search for the phone number of a telemarketing call they received. If the number is already in the database, they can add their complaint to the list, or start a new entry if the number hasn’t been registered yet. There is a CAPTCHA system in place to screen users. There is also a section on the site for ‘spoofed numbers’ - those telemarketers who trick Caller ID devices into displaying an incorrect phone number. All data collected by CallerComplaints.com is available to the public, and the data could be used in the future to file class-action complaints with the government.
In their own words
“We’re Building The Leading Telemarketer Database. By combining the data from users all over the world, CallerComplaints.com provides unique information about a phone number not available anywhere else. This data can be used to file joint-action complaints with government agencies, allow other users to learn more about a phone number, or any of a dozen other uses.”
Why it might be a killer
Unsolicited telemarketing calls are an annoyance that almost everyone deals with, so lots of people will probably appreciate having a website on which to vent, document their complaint, and hopefully discourage future telemarketing calls.
Some questions
If filing a complaint with a government agency or registering on the Do-Not-Call List isn’t a very effective way to combat telemarketers, how will making your complaint on a non-government website really make a difference? Can this site do anything to discourage those telemarketers who circumvent Caller ID’s with an “unknown number” message?
Updates
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Strands has been around for a couple of years now, and has made quite a name for itself in th realm of social media recommendations. Often considered a competitor to sites like Last.fm, Strands built a brand around providing a service that spanned the web and mobile devices for introducing you to new music, […]
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Last.fm is reporting that the new single from Coldplay, “Violet Hill” is getting played about once every 2-seconds. This is of course a similar tactic pioneered by Radiohead last year, and Last.fm is reporting that its rate of play is outstripping the trend setters own song, “15 Step”.
It may be a bit disingenuous to compare […]
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What it does
When you purchase music from iTunes or many other digital music stores, you receive a highly-compressed mp3 file that’s a lower quality recording than you would get from a CD. HDtracks is a new site that sells only CD quality digital downloads, all of which are DRM-free (so they can be played on any machine) and come with a PDF file of the full liner notes and cover art. The albums available on HDtracks are all from independent labels, so you will not find many big names here, though Norah Jones, Nina Simone, Joan Baez, Tony Bennett, and Shania Twain are among those artists offered on the site. When you purchase music at HDtracks.com, you can choose from three file formats: AIFF, FLAC, or 320 kbps mp3. Because HDtracks are of better quality than iTunes, downloads are more expensive: complete albums cost $11.98, and individual songs go for $1.49. Both Mac and PC users can access this site, though it is currently available only in the U.S.
In their own words
We are an online music store offering high-definition digital music downloads from the world’s leading independent labels. We offer thousands of titles across a multitude of musical genres as well as in-depth information about the artists and albums.
Why it might be a killer
Since most digital-music stores only offer heavily compressed mp3 files, more refined audiophiles will appreciate the CD quality of HDtracks downloads. Since all HDtracks purchases are DRM-free, customers can play their downloads on an unlimited number of machines. A lot of digital music stores also don’t offer full cover art and liner notes with your download, so that is a nice bonus that comes with all HDtracks album purchases.
Some questions
Will this site’s success be limited by the fact that it does not include artists from any major labels? Will some potential customers be discouraged by the higher price and larger size of HDtracks downloads?
Updates
What it does
PicArtia will get your creative juices flowing. Remember those posters of your favorite celeb made up of hundreds of thousands of tiny little pictures of that celeb? The digital mosaic picture was quite the fad on par with the likes of Magic Eye and America Online. Now there’s an outpour of technology that allows you to create your own photo mosaics. Among them is PicArtia. PicArtia is a web-based application It requires no downloading or installation. Getting started is easy. Just click on the Start Button. PicArtia lets you use pics from your flickr or PhotoBucket account; pics from your hard drive work as well. Mid-Resolution Photo Mosaics are free and you can purchase your own creations for a nominal price. Register to get news and tips.
In their own words
“PicArtia helps you create your photo mosaic online for free. It’s fast and easy to use.”
Why it might be a killer
PicArtia is a fun little tool that’s free to use. It’s great for making cute gifts for mom, dad, or baby and purchasing your creation won’t break the bank.
Some questions
PicArtia has a lot of competition. How will it beat them? What makes them better than the others? Will users be satisfied with the end product?
Updates
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Picnik has done a lot in the past few months, like make its services readily available for integration amongst other social media-sharing sites, embark on global growth, seek out additional revenue through peripheral products and make all of its services free, in the ad-supported kind of way.
That’s a lot going on, especially as […]
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The recording industry group known as the IFPI, one with international support from some 1400 companies located all around the globe, has come to terms with a hard truth. No, it hasn’t caved to the pressures of the peer-to-peer crowd. That war is still very much in play. Rather, they understand that children are quite […]
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Del.icio.us fans will be glad to know that they have finally released a Firefox 3-compatible add-on.
As our own Stan Schroeder mentioned last night in a piece titled “Are You Frustrated With Firefox?,” he has held back from switching to Firefox 3 because one of his favorite extensions wasn’t supported. I’ve heard the same argument from […]
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