In their own words
“KiwiTorrent is a site where you can search in the biggest torrents' trackers.”
Why it might be a killer
It does return a wide range of results that are certain to provide you with what you need, even if you have to sift through them a little.
What it does
KiwiTorrent can be described as a new search engine that makes for looking up torrent files in all major trackers available today on the WWW. This is a list that comprises more than 30 names that those in the scene will be instantly familiar with, including Torrentz, MyBitTorrent and BitTorrent.am to mention but three.
From a structural point of view, the site will let you choose your desired tracker and then display the results in a window (or “frame”) for you to weigh up. By clicking on a different tracker, you can get a new set of results. Note that you are seeing the actual files on the tracker’s page – none of these files are stored at KiwiTorrent.
As you can see, the system is quite simple to put into practice. Some advanced tags for carrying out more concise searches could come in quite handy, and there’s hope that this issue is eventually addressed. In the meantime, if you don’t mind having to sift through results manually you can set your browser to the KiwiTorrent website and take it to task.
Some questions
When will the search process become more configurable?
Link: http://www.kiwitorrent.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/kiwitorrent-com-for-all-your-torrent-download-needs
In their own words
“Artiklz enables conversational search by aggregating discussions around the social media, answering the question of who, where, why, when, and what people are discussing across the social media.”
Why it might be a killer
Bearing in mind the relevance of the social web as a whole, such a resource can play out an important role.
What it does
A project that has just moved out of private beta, Artiklz can be best-defined as a conversation search engine that aggregates discussions appertaining to social media, and answers the questions of what is being talked about at any given time, by whom, and right where.
The purpose of such a tool is a clear one: a very encompassing number of internauts communicate through resources such as blogs and the like, and as such a search engine that caters specifically for that activity can but be a very valuable resource.
As it is fit, when carrying out a search you can circumscribe it to fields such as social news, blogs, and micro-blogging via the provided refinement tags. An advanced search is likewise featured for you to further focus your efforts.
Eventually, Artiklz hopes to become the centralized aggregator for content generated in the social web. Only time will tell whether it can achieve that goal or not, but the project as a whole is quite well-headed, and the website certainly deserves at least a brief visit and some consideration.
Some questions
Are there related or similar sites?
Link: http://www.artiklz.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/artiklz-com-a-conversation-search-engine
In their own words
“Twitter search by authority.”
Why it might be a killer
Whether we like it or not, it gives at least some sort of representation of the way things work in the Twitterverse.
Some questions
How could we grasp the true essence of what makes a Twitterer not only popular but also insightful, via a resource such as this one?
What it does
Presented by Daymix, Twithority will enable anybody to carry out an authority search as regards the increasingly-famous micro-blogging platform. Both this site and the recently launched Twitority have caused a bit of a stir – it has been repeatedly claimed that they do not give an accurate idea of how things work out in reality. That is, the amount of people that follows somebody does not give an unequivocal representation of how valuable his or her input really is.
This is certainly a valid argument, although it can be said that if someone is mass-followed the contributions made by that person deserve at least some consideration, if only because a sizable following should be compared to a certain level of acceptance, and a certain level of acceptance speaks of a certain prominence in the scene. I would dare to say that if other word were employed instead of “Authority”, the attacks would probably be less vociferous.
At the end of the day, this search tool does it job in a correct manner – it gives back a plethora of results for you to ponder on, and (to a bigger or lesser degree, depending upon your position) showcases the way the Twitter ecosystem is configured and structured. Give it a try at the provided URL in order to draw your own conclusions, and which viewpoint seems more accurate to you.
Link: http://www.twithority.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/twithority-com-twitter-search-by-authority
What it does
It can be said that one of the problems on the WWW today is not only the preponderance of inappropriate contents, but the way this information can be readily accessed. Worse still, this information can even be accessed accidentally. Enter Catholic Google, a new endeavor which is powered by the popular search technology, and which is there to ensure that surfing the web is a safer task indeed.
That is, this new search tool employs technology that eliminates unsavory contents and produces results that lean on catholic websites and similar resources.
All in all, this new initiative adheres to its tagline of “The best way for good Catholics to surf the web”. If you are looking into safer ways of accessing the web yourself, or if you wish your loved ones (especially your children) be protected from some of the evils that unfortunately can be found online, then this site is certainly worth a visit. Check it out at www.catholicgoogle.com in order to learn more.
In their own words
“Catholic search engine powered by Google striving to provide an easy to use resource to anyone wanting to learn more about Catholicism and provide a safer way for good Catholics to surf the web. CatholicGoogle is powered by Google using 'safe search' technology, it produces results from all over the internet with more weighting to given to Catholic websites and eliminates the vast majority of unsavoury content, such as pornography.”
Why it might be a killer
Those who are looking into ways of browsing the web in a more controlled environment are certain to relish such a resource becoming available.
Some questions
How much can you refine a search?
Link: http://www.catholicgoogle.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/catholicgoogle-com-catholic-search-engine
WhosTalkin, a new entrant into the social search space, is another free web-based tool, much like Social Mention, designed to help users track and monitor buzz around the Web.
Ironically, the WhosTalkin.com URL could easily be mistaken for “who stalkin,” which seems very appropriate given that social search includes Twitter mentions, blog entries, news articles, videos, images, tagging, and social bookmarking - it provides an easy way to “stalk” topics (and people) across the Web.
To use the site, just enter in your desired search term. Search results are returned, sorted by a custom WhosTalkin algorithm, from over 60 social media sites. Results appear within seconds and are categorized by type - like video or images - and users can drill down to specific sites within each category, like Vimeo or SmugMug, to see all results per site.
WhosTalkin might be one the quickest social search tool we’ve seen, but the site is still in beta mode and is missing a few essential features. This means that for now you can’t grab RSS feeds for search words, save searches, or take advantage of a Firefox or Wordpress plug-in, which are all reportedly in the works.
Additional Brand Reputation Resources From Mashable
-Top 10 Free Tools for Monitoring Your Brand Reputation
-Top 10 Reputation Tracking Tools Worth Paying For
-Ten Tactics That Could Save Your Online Reputation
Some questions
How is the setup process carried out?
In their own words
“SideStripe is a social network search engine that provides answers from the only source of information that you can really trust: your friends. Your days of searching alone are gone forever.”
Why it might be a killer
It makes for a more versatile search experience that takes into account social aspects and considerations.
What it does
The inspiration behind this new initiative is quite a simple one in itself, as exemplified by the chosen tagline: “You have questions, your friends have answers”. SideStripe has been conceived as a way of accessing this information in a streamlined fashion.
That is, SideStripe is something akin to a search engine that looks up information on the different social networking sites where your friends and contacts reside. This is achieved via a Google widget and a Facebook search tool.
As you can imagine, the Google widget will enable you to expand any search you conduct by adding social elements to it such as the results that your friends have already come across and liked. For its part, the Facebook app lets you see your friends’ thoughts right away, as well as contacting them to have their insight as regards any specific matter.
Moreover, using this system is not only inexpensive but also hassle-free – all you have to do is create an account and carry out a setup process from within Facebook in order to get started.
All in all, this solution acts as an effective way of putting collective intelligence to good use. Wend your way to the site in order to see some examples for yourself, and maybe sign up for an account.
Link: http://www.sidestripe.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/sidestripe-com-answering-questions-the-social-way
So it’s almost the new year, and you want to start being more organized and productive, right? Well we’ve put together a list of great iPhone apps to help you manage your tasks, track your time, store passwords, and stay organized.
With these 30 apps you can create to do lists, invoice for contract work, access your computer remotely, manage all your online accounts in one place, print files to your phone, and more. We’re hoping that these handy apps can make 2009 the most productive year for you and your mobile lifestyle.
Your productivity on the go is important to us. Which apps make your life a little easier? Let us know what you think of these apps, and any we may have missed, in the comments.
Tasks, Lists, and Notes [Free]
Jott - (App store rating: 2.5 stars) - As a mobile note taking tool, the Jott app transcribes your voice notes to text. Your notes are automatically synced to Jott.com and the Jott desktop app. Now that both texting and talking on your mobile while driving are illegal in California, I just might start regularly using my Jott account. While testing the Jott iPhone app, though, I did notice the voice-to-text conversion still needs a little work. I said, “Make sure to finish Mashable post on iPhone productivity apps.” Jott got, “Make sure to finish Maxible post on iPhone productivity up.” Not bad, but not great.
Remember the Milk - (App store rating 2.5 stars) - Remember the Milk users can download this app for full-featured task management on the go. Bonus features include the ability to swipe to complete tasks quickly, and sort task by priority, due date, or task name. While the download is free, you must have a RTM Pro account.
Evernote - (App store rating: 3 stars) - The ever popular and free Evernote app is perfect for taking quick, geo-aware, voice, text, and image notes to use later. The app can also sync with Evernote’s desktop and web versions, and Pelotonics, a web-based group collaboration solution similar to Basecamp. Pelotonics users will love the ability to save voice notes as messages or tasks, which can be shared or assigned to project resources.
reQall - (App store rating 2.5 stars) - Make to-do lists, set appointments, and manage shopping lists with voice or text notes from the reQall iPhone app. reQall will remind you of your tasks via text message, IM, email, calendar alert, or voice. You’ll need to call the reQall service to create your account, but once you do, you can add smart voice notes—reQall recognizes time, date, and other keywords—right from the app.
EasyTask Manager - (App store rating: 2.5 stars) - This app follows the GTD method and gives users the ability to easily add and sort tasks with context.
YouNote - (App store rating: 3 stars) - YouNote is pretty unique and makes it easy to take and tag notes of all variety. Of course the standards are covered–audio, text, and image notes—but YouNote also adds in the ability to draw notes and bookmark web pages with notes.
Tasks, Lists, and Notes [Paid]
OmniFocus - (App store rating 3.5 stars) - This $19.99 iPhone app, which syncs with OmniFocus v1.5 for Mac, brings sophisticated task management to your phone. The app supports text, image, and voice tasks, creates a custom list of nearby tasks to complete, and keeps track of tasks by project, place, person, or date.
Things - (App store rating: 3.5 stars) - Manage to-dos, notes, due dates, and projects for about 10 bucks. Things is perfect for GTD types because it lets users sort tasks into either the inbox, today, next, scheduled, or someday folders. Unfortunately, Things does lack the ability to sync to iCal or Outlook, and only Mac users can sync to a desktop version of Things.
Checklist - (App store rating: 3 stars) - For 99 cents, Checklist doesn’t offer much—just a single list—but it’s an extremely simple alternative for managing a to-do list.
Time Trackers
Timewerks - (App store rating 4 stars) - With a robust feature set including data export, multiple active stopwatches, customizable rates per task type, sales tax calculations, and HTML-formatted invoices, Timewerks is an essential app for independent contractors.
iTimeSheetLite - (App store rating 2.5 stars) - Use this free and limited feature app to manage times per task. Just open up the calendar, select a date, add a task, select if the task is billable, set task start time, end time, or total duration, add notes, and save. For a more sophisticated and advanced approach to tracking time, try the $5.99 version.
TimeLogger - (App store rating: 3.5 stars) - Perfect for anyone who needs to track their time, TimeLogger, which costs $2.99, works even while other programs are running. You can also start multiple timers, adjust times, associate tasks with clients and categories, and create custom text or CSV reports of your logged time.
Account and Password Management
A Personal Assistant - (App store rating: 2.5 stars) - Access and manage all your online accounts in one place with the free A Personal Assistant app. Once you add your accounts (like bank accounts, social networks, and online shopping accounts), you can continue to manage those accounts password-free from the app. The app also provides users with a master itinerary, and financial overview complete with transactions and balances. For security purposes, the company behind the app, Pageonce, uses 128 bit SSL encryption, and users can remotely disable access should the iPhone get lost.
eWallet - (App store rating 3.5 stars) - For $9.99, eWallet, from Illium Software, offers password management with 256-bit AES encryption, and the ability to sync information to a PC. Store passwords, PIN numbers, user names, bank accounts, travel clubs, calling cards, health info, and travel club info.
LockBox - (App store rating: 3 stars) - A free alternative to eWallet, LockBox lets users store and protect private notes, passwords, credit card numbers, and PIN numbers. User data is encrypted and protected by an additional custom-created secret code.
File & Computer Resources
Mocha VNC Lite - (App store rating: 3 stars) - Control your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer from your iPhone with this handy app. If you’re like me, you’ll need to use the setup wizard to get started, but once you’re server connection is setup you’re good to go. This app is 100% free, ridiculously cool (just play around with your comp while the app is running, you can watch it update in real-time), useful, and a new personal favorite. The $5.99 version, which doesn’t seem necessary, comes with a few additional keys, as well as support for right-click, hover, and mouse wheel maneuvers.
FileMagnet - (App store rating: 3.5 stores) - This $4.99 app lets you copy files from your PC or Mac onto the iPhone, making it easy to use your iPhone as a portable drive. You can also transfer files wirelessly with FileMagnet Uploader, an additional (but free) download.
MobileFiles - (no reviews) - At $9.99 the MobileFiles app doesn’t come cheap, but it does come with the ability to access, view, and manage Office (you can even edit Excel docs), iWork, and PDF files right from your phone.
ACTPrinter - (App store rating: 3 stars) - Print from your Mac to your iPhone? At $1.99, this app, in conjunction with the companion software, gives Mac users the ability to “print” documents for easy iPhone access. As a nice bonus, all bar codes from documents can be scanned right from the iPhone’s screen, making it more convenient than printing physical copies of boarding passes or electronic tickets.
Search
Cooliris - (App store rating: 3 stars) - This is a really neat little free app that lets you search and discover images (or YouTube videos), across sites like Flickr and SmugMug, via a beautiful 3D wall.
Google Mobile App - (App store rating: 3.5 stars) - Along with the myriad of other things you can do, the Google Mobile App lets you search Google with your voice. Just open the app, select the Search tab at the bottom, lift the phone to your ear and speak very clearly. Make sure you really enunciate those voice queries, though, because the voice recognition software can be tempermental.
YPMobile - (App store rating: 3 stars) - For the yellow pages enthusiast, YPMobile takes the heavy lifting and time-suck out of searching. With a plethora of features like nearby business and event search, the ability to create custom plans, add favorites, and share with friends, YPMobile is a much handier resource than its hard copy older sibling.
Reading Online and Off
Instapaper - (App store rating: 3 stars) - Instapaper lets users create offline versions of web articles for easy access and viewing when the web is just out of reach. You’ll need to visit the Instapaper website to create an account and get the Read Later bookmark, but once that’s done you can use the app to view your bookmarked pages. The pro version costs $9.99 but adds position-saving, tilt scrolling, and adjustable fonts.
BookShelf - (App store rating: 3 stars) - A multi-format eBook reader that supports text, HTML, Palm, and FB2 formats. This $9.99 app also enables users to save bookmarks with names, and customize font and color schemes. Books are downloaded using the ShelfServer application from iphonebookshelf.com.
Read Demon - (App store rating: 3 stars) - You’d probably be more productive if you could read faster, right? Read Demon, at $4.99, has speed reader lessons with adjustable reading speeds, customizable text size, and a words per minute counter, to help you master speed reading.
If You Jailbreak
Search - (rating: 4 stars) - Install Search (not to be confused with Searcher) to do just that—search. You can search your phone and the web for pretty much anything; search through your mail, SMS, notes, and contacts. Available via Installer and Cydia.
Insomnia - (rating: 3 stars) - This app will prevent the iPhone from sleeping, allowing background apps and WiFi to continue running even when the screen is switched off. It’s especially handy if you’re using one of the many IM apps and still want to continue receiving messages, or make yourself appear available.
iPhoneNotes (NA) - Mac users will need to install the OpenSSH app from Cydia or Installer, and the iPhone notes Mac desktop app, but the end result is a simple notes application that you can access from your phone. iPhoneNotes just enhances the standard Notes app by adding colorization, and the convenience of being able to edit notes from your phone or desktop.
Kate (rating: 3 stars) - Kate offers a package of tools that you can install separately. It’s pricey ($22.50 sale price for an unlimited license), and a little bit more complicated to install, but Kate offers Smart Dialer for faster calling options, FaceLift for screen customization, uCalendar for a quick Calendar view, Reminder for audio or silent reminders of missed calls or messages, System Font to change fonts, and Privacy to turn off certain notifications.
i2Reader - (rating 3 stars) - An eBook reader for FB2 and TXT formats. The trial period, just 3 days, lets you test out i2Reader and cool features like full FB2 support (for annotations and hyperlinks), auto-scroll, book grouping, dictionary support, and themes. Should you choose to buy, be ready to spend $35.
Interested in more resources? Check these out:
- “100+ More Ways to Organize Your Life”
- “100+ iPhone Games That Use the Accelerometer”
- “Beyond YouTube: 10 Top iPhone Video Apps”
- “11 iPhone Apps That Will Clean Out Your Junk Drawer”
- “11 Great Tools for Making VoIP Calls on the iPhone”
- “HOW TO: Convert Videos for Your iPhone”
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, DNY59
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In their own words
“Authority based Twitter search.”
Why it might be a killer
A service such as this one can let anybody weigh up why some users are followed more than others, in a simple and instant manner.
Some questions
How could the search process gain further flexibility?
What it does
A new service that deals with a very specific concern, what Twitority does is to let anybody carry out an authority-based search on Twitter. Of course, it is debatable whether the concept of “authority” gives a real indication of how influential a Twitter user is or not, but it can’t be denied that it gives at least some sort of indication on an Twitterer’s standing. The actual quality of his posts is a different matter altogether, and it is something which can’t be gauged in a manner such as this one, for obvious reasons.
When it comes to the implementation of this service, all you have to do is furnish a query that reflects your interests in order to be presented with a set of results which can be filtered by relevance. This is done by choosing “any authority”, “a little authority” and “a lot of authority” from the provided drop down menu. Every user that comes up can there and then be followed, and you can send that person an immediate reply to his latest tweet (which is always the one displayed on the results' page).
At the end of the day, resources such as this one make for a more ordered experience in the Twitterverse by letting both new and seasoned users have some sort of idea about who are arousing the most attention and why. Pay it a visit at the provided address if you want to know what makes other users stand out from you when it comes to micro-blogging, and how to redress the situation.
Link: http://www.twitority.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/twitority-com-authority-based-twitter-search
In their own words
“The next generation of web search technology won't be about keyword search. Google already does this well, and any improvement will likely be incremental. Rather, the future lies in providing you what you aren't finding through keywords--sites you currently find through friends, colleagues, blogs, or simply by chance. We call this “discovery” rather than “search” because the goal is to introduce you to new and interesting information rather than to give you just what you searched for.”
Why it might be a killer
It is a compelling development in the field of web-based search and discovery.
What it does
Worio is a new search engine which emphasizes the role that social aspects play on the WWW today, and lets you find sites of interest not by providing keywords but by letting you visualize the preferred online destinations of your peers and colleagues. In actuality (and as it is pointed out online) this process should be termed “Discovery” instead of “Search”.
As regards the implementation of this process, Worio (which stands for “Web of Research”) learns about your interests through your tagging and click-through behavior. This process can be personalized as you see fit, too, so that your privacy will be respected.
On the other hand, you can easily invite your acquaintances to join Worio and see what they are tagging by looking at your “Friends” page. Likewise, the discovery pane always highlights what those in your close circle have been up to as of late.
As it is pointed out online, keyword search has already evolved to a satisfactory level, and any improvement will just be incremental. Resources such as this one stand as a healthy start towards a different approach with the potential to modify the way we access information on the web. As such, it merits at least a brief visit and some consideration.
Some questions
How does the tagging system works? How can it be expanded?
Link: http://www.worio.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/worio-com-a-new-search-engine-surfaces
What it does
This new resource attempts to play out a very specific role, namely “bringing deliciousness to the masses”. In order to do so, it enables anybody to carry out searches and find the most suitable restaurant for every given situation.
The site aims to provide satisfactory results to all kind of users. Those who are looking to arrange a romantic dinner and those who have to hold a business lunch are duly accounted for, and the same applies to those who simply want to catch a quick bite near their location.
The opening screen includes an interactive map that can be clicked upon at will, whereas a list of the most searched cities is thankfully included for immediate reference.
Note that this site is actually user-fueled, so that if you feel the area where you live is currently underrepresented it is always possible for you to submit your very own leads for the benefit of everybody.
To sum it up, this online initiative can help you have a meal as befitting to the circumstances as you need. Give it a spin for yourself in order to draw your own conclusions.
In their own words
“There is nothing more essential to life than food, so why not make it an amazing experience? Whether you are looking for a romantic dinner, a quick bite, or even a sunday brunch let us help introduce you to new places to feast in. Fast nosh is a user-driven community to help find the best restaurant for you no matter what your taste might be, or where you live. Our favorite restaurants were all discovered by word of mouth, so why not expand that knowledge to anyone and everyone.”
Why it might be a killer
Those who need to arrange a related event and could use a hand are certain to find such a resource compelling to say the least.
Some questions
Will the site branch out in the future and support neighboring countries?
Link: http://www.fastnosh.com
Our Review: http://www.killerstartups.com/Search/fastnosh-com-the-need-for-feed