ziphi.com – apps reviews

Software back to homepage

Tinychat Hits 20 Million Registered Users, and Growing(0)

Tinychat, the Web-based video-chat application, has reached a staggering 20 million registered users. The site sees about 400,000 daily users plus 50,000 new signees per day.

Tinychat, No Small Talk

If you are not familiar with Tinychat, it is is basically a video-conferencing service (though conferencing may not be the best word here) not unlike Messenger or Skype. I know, if you are familiar with Tinychat, you would say that it is nothing like that. And you would be right. It’s all in the name.

Tinychat has a more informal, friendly feel to it than other Web-based video-chat services. Video chat is the more apt term here, as the service seems to be designed to be a casual meeting place for friends and strangers alike. Tinychat differs from other popular chat sites like Chatroulette in that the site has various themes to choose from, such as Comedy, Entertainment, Hanging Out, and Late Night.

You can create your own rooms and invite up to 11 of your friends for private chat sessions. The actual rooms give users the ability to share files and a whiteboard, not unlike Adobe Connect, for all you enterprise clients. However, the idea here is fun, not versatility.

DiskAid Makes Transferring Music (and Data) from Your iPhone to Any Computer a Breeze(0)

DiskAid is a desktop software for Windows and Mac OS X that allows you to transfer music and other files from your iPhone or iPod to your computer without the necessity of using iTunes and with the sort of ease and intuitiveness that users expect from computer programs. And if you have ever used iTunes, you know exactly what I am talking about.

The iTunes Conundrum

I was once again struck with the iTunes conundrum when I tried to transfer music from my iPhone to a new computer. I consider myself to be a pretty tech savvy individual, and although the initial transfer was a straightforward process, subsequent transfers proved to be costly.

The problem was that when I tried to transfer purchases I made from my iPhone after the initial transfer to my computer, iTunes wanted to sync what was in my desktop library to my iPhone, which meant that it would be overriding the new purchases I had made (not to mention that in the initial transfer, only iTunes-purchased songs were copied, not those that were copied from CDs in my own collection, but I digress).

4ormat Takes the Bold Approach of Saying No to Internet Explorer(0)

The people behind 4ormat, the online portfolio startup, decided that when they would finally present their website platform to the public, one browser in particular would not be supported: Internet Explorer. Since Google Chrome has fast become the second most popular browser in the world, perhaps this might not seem as bold a move as it is. But make no mistake ─ not inviting Microsoft to your little online party is indeed a brazen act and the stuff of John Hughes movies.

4ormat ─ The Ferris Bueller of Website Platforms

In every good John Hughes movie, there is the constant theme of the outsider who eventually has to make the decision to stand for what they believe in. Well, in Hughes-like fashion, 4format has made an intrepid stand to not compromise their vision and design philosophy ─ even if it means snubbing Microsoft.

The 4ormat website platform is an easy-to-use online portfolio solution that provides amateurs and professionals alike with an intuitive tool to showcase their creative work. 4format has some excellent features, such as automatic formatting for iPhone, Android, and other mobile platforms. There is also iPad touch interface support for every website, and no HTML knowledge is required.

The Subtle Battle of Svbtle and Obtvse(0)

What do you get when two UX designers and bloggers go to battle? Something very pretty, indeed.

Obtvse ─ Not so Svbtle

Tired of the often flatline experience of many blogs and websites, UX designer Dustin Curtis built a blog from the ground up using some very sleek layout and management tools. The result was something compelling, both visually and practically: Svbtle. Anyone who has ever used a blogging platform like the competent, but bottom-heavy Joomla will tell you that something this basic and pared-down would truly be a breath of fresh mountain air.

The problem is that Curtis doesn’t want you to use the Svbtle platform ─ at least not yet. Enter Nate Wienert and Obtvse. Wait, no. Let’s stay with Curtis and Svbtle awhile longer. Curtis decided that before he made Svbtle an open-source program, he would first make it available to a select group of individuals, an elite, you might say.

Google Chrome Takes Top Browser Spot First Time Ever(0)

Google Chrome has done what it has never done before: it has edged out Internet Explorer as the top browser, even if it was just for a day. What is amazing about this story is not that it actually beat out IE, but that it hasn’t done so before.

Google Chrome, “The Hunted One”

Yesterday we wrote about the antitrust investigation into Google’s mobile deal with Apple. It seems that everyone these days is after Google. The tables have turned so much that Google now finds itself in the kind of center-of-attention that Microsoft once ‘enjoyed’. It reminds one of the scene in the Godfather when Sollozzo tells Michael Corleone that in fact he is the “hunted one”.

The Chrome Wars

Google Chrome launched in 2008 and has since then been steadily increasing its user base. The initial reaction to Google Chrome was favorable; many found it to be faster than some of the other more popular browsers like Mozilla and Internet Explorer. Although that might have been the case originally, most of the top five browsers now have similar browsing speeds.

Six3 App Wants to Bring Back a Little Love and Science Fiction to Our Lives(0)

British developers Six3 Ltd. want to bring back some good old science fiction mystique to video communications with their Six3 app for the iOS.

“Happy birthday, Frank.” “Thank you, HAL.”

Ever since Dr. Frank Poole sat in his spacecraft and watched a video message from his parents wishing him happy birthday in 2001: A Space Odyssey, we have dreamed about the day when we would be able to use a phone or a computer to see the face of our loved ones from some remote spot on the plant or, as it turns out, from space. So why did the novelty so quickly wear out?

Perhaps the reasons are obvious. It might have to do with the fact that most of the times when we answer a phone, we neither have the presence of mind or the appearance to speak to someone face-to-face. Although most people would deny it, many of have taken the phone with them to the loo at some point in a telephone conversation. Needless to say, adding video to that scenario is not particularly appealing.

Indiscretions aside, the iPhone was reinvigorated our interest in video conferencing with applications like Tango, Skype, and Apple’s Facetime. Now, British startup Six3 wants to bring back some of that science fiction mystique with the Six3 app.

SessionM at the Forefront of Mobile Advertising(1)

The SessionM platform for mobile advertising is not only engaging mobile consumers; it is also attracting ad dollars from some very big-name clients. And the answer is media, of the ‘rich’ variety.

Mobile Advertising

There is good reason for advertisers to always be on the lookout for new ways to engage consumers on the mobile front. By year’s end, almost 40 percent of mobile users in the U.S. will have a smartphone. The smartphone has opened up the consumer market in part as a result of the streamline application interfaces required for iOS and Android devices.

Now consumers can quickly and easily browse their favorite sites and make a purchase, all with a finger’s touch. And advertisers are taking notice. For the first time ever, U.S. mobile ad spending is predicted to top $1 billion.

Halo 4 — Cinematic Gameplay(3)

Halo 4 is set to be released for the holiday season in 2012, and if the Halo 4: First Look video that was recently released is any indication, the results are going to be glorious.

The Halo Effect

It is hard to say exactly what has propelled the massive success of the Halo series. The games themselves have sold over 40 million copies, and the merchandising has brought in more than $3 billion, which point to a legion of fans not seen since the days of Star Wars.

Does the success have to do with the cult classic Aliens, which has a similar storyline and feel with its hard-boiled Special Forces unit battling it out with aliens in some far-off corner of the galaxy? Maybe it’s the iconic faceless character named John-117 “Master Chief”. Whatever it is, the phenomena of Halo caught on immediately, and with the teasers out there for the fourth instalment, the Hallo effect continues to grow.

YouTube Downloader Converts Internet Videos for You(0)

YouTube Downloader is a program that allows you to convert Internet videos so that they can be downloaded to your computer for later viewing, sharing, or otherwise. YouTube Downloader is presently the third-most downloaded program at the CNET Download site. It has been downloaded over half a million times. Given the success of YouTube since it launched in 2005, the program’s success is not a mystery. Do you recall what life was like before YouTube?

YouTube Downloader — A Misleading Name

YouTube Downloader is a bit of misnomer. If you go to the developer’s website, you will see that in fact the downloader can be used to convert more than just videos from its namesake. You can also convert videos from popular sites like Funny Or Die, ESPN Videos, Vimeo, Yahoo Videos, and of course Facebook, to name a few.

Back Up Your Computer with My PC Backup(1)

My PC Backup is an online backup solution that makes it easy to backup and safeguard your valuable computer files.

The Blue Screen of Death, Crashes, and Other Fender Benders

At some point or another, if you are a PC user, you will have seen the proverbial blue screen of death. The first time it happens to you, the shock is immediate and just a little unsettling. And to be honest, it never gets easier.

There are many causes for the blue screen of death and other computer crashes. It could be an error on your disk drive. It could be the result of malware, a virus, or a Trojan. Whatever the cause, crashes are a sign that there is something wrong with your operating system, software program(s), or possibly even your hardware. They may not always be serious issues, but they do need to be addressed.

Backup Plan

As in life, so too with your PC: always have a backup plan. These days, people are using their computers, tablets, and smartphones for more diverse activities than ever before. The problem is that we are amassing files and data at such a fast rate that few of us ever take the time to back things up. Years ago, most PC users would occasionally copy files to a floppy of a CD, but more and more, people are just trusting that their data is safe on their computers.

Add that to the fact that we are buying movies, music, and apps from Internet sources like iTunes, the Android Market, and the App Store, and you begin to see that we have hundreds maybe even thousands of dollars of data on our computers. It only makes sense to back up you information.

Enter My PC Backup

My PC Backup is the best online backup solution we have found. You simply backup your files to My PC Backup. Your files can then be accessed from any device, including your mobile devices, such as an iPhone, other smartphone, or a tablet. Files can also be synced from multiple computers and shared with family and friends.

My PC Backup uses a small desktop application that backs up all your computers to the cloud. Your files are continuously backed up and can be accessed from anywhere in the world at any time. All files are securely accessed and constantly encrypted using a 256-bit secured socket layer encryption. Files are stored in My PC Backup’s home cloud data centers where they are monitored 24 hours a day.

Best of all, you can join for free, and there is unlimited storage. Backing up information to CDs and flash drives are always a good idea. However, most of us don’t have the time or inclination to do so. My PC Backup is therefore an excellent alternative to securely and safely back up your data.