If you think you fall on the low end of charitable giving, and feel sort of guilty for going on those weekend shopping escapades without tossing a few bucks here and there for charities like Habitat for Humanity or the American Cancer Society or some other set of endeavors that subsist largely on the contributions of the world’s philanthropic souls, GivingPal hopes to net you - and corporations, too - some of that karma you’ve been craving. Or maybe just some warm fuzziness to go along with your credit expenses.

A service that bridges shoppers and sellers with charities of all sorts, including the ASPCA, the Conservation Fund, the Humane Society, the World Wildlife Fund, the American Red Cross, Direct Relief International, ONE, Unicef, and many more, GivingPal is essentially a filter through which a percentage of purchases made at various sites is divvied up to organizations. The number of cooperative sites is really quite extensive, too, so you won’t be lacking for variety. Shops like Cooking.com, the Apple Store and iTunes, Target, eBay, Amazon, BestBuy, Fandango, Hotels.com, MusiciansFriend, and Netflix are all listed as participants of the “giveback” program.

How the service works is fairly straightforward. First, of course, you must sign up for an account with GivingPal. Name, email, password. That sort of thing. After you’ve completed your registration, you can search for products through the main GivingPal website, or click on the site’s “Bookmarklet” icon, scroll to the bottom of the page, and simply drag the bookmarklet to your Firefox browser bar. You can then visit GivingPal-compliant storefronts on the Web, search for a product you’d like to purchase, and click the bookmarklet to add the product to your GivingPal wishlist. If GivingPal recognizes that product as one that will secure a donation, the seller will devote a percentage of the sale for donation to a preferred cause. (A brief video tutorial of the bookmarklet is shown at the bottom of this post.)

GivingPal estimates that the average giveback for estimated annual user purchases of $500 to be about 3.5%. If a particular non-profit organization manages to obtain a support base of 1,000-10,000 individuals and sustain such relations through a twelve month period, the organization can receive anywhere between $17,500-175,000. If one is to consider the possibility that GivingPal might procure a user base of hundreds of thousands of members, if not several million, some charities could benefit quite a bit from just a few extra clicks on the part of consumers.

How does GivingPal intend to spread the word? In addition to the press it receives in the days and weeks following its launch, it will rely on its initial support base to make connections with friends and family, as well as other contacts that they may have listed in email accounts. GivingPal also provides a badge to display on websites and social networking profiles and the like.

mashable109:http://mashable.com/2008/05/21/givingpal/

Filed under: Displays, Household

What else can we say? The concept here is pure genius, and it totally makes those pricey security systems seem way pointless (okay, slightly less critical). The FakeTV is a strobe that sets up in an occupied room at night and flashes up beams of light. From the inside, we can imagine it looks fairly curious, but from the outside, it gives prospective burglars the idea that someone is actually awake and watching a television program. It promises to produce the effects of "scene changes, fades, swells, flicks, on-screen motion and color changes," just like they were generated by a bona fide set. We can't speak for how well (or not) this thing actually works, but at just $49, we'd say it's a solid buy if you're the paranoid type.

[Via BoingBoing]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apparently there’s a need for “premium” micoSD cards (and the like), otherwise SanDisk wouldn’t bother producing them. The company has just revealed premium models of microSD, microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (M2) flash cards, all featuring faster transfer speeds than conventional, non-premium cards. If you’re asking yourself, “That’s all that makes these cards premium, faster transfer speeds?” Well the answer is yes, that’s all it means.

The cards, which come in 2, 4 and 8GB capacities, should be in stores by early June.

What it does

BlogAmp is an on demand audiocasting service. It comes with a complete content management and admin system, allowing users to customize their presentations and to broadcast them over the internet. Features include free embedding to any blog or website, built in podcast feeds, custom color generator, links to external mp3 files and audience tracking tools. Users can add their own logos and customize skins, and images. The basic plan is free including all of the major features listed above; the only difference is that users have to store their files on a different site. BlogAmp offers hosted paid versions of their software, with an enterprise version coming soon. Feeds can be uploaded to any number of sites including iTunes, Yahoo, Odeo, and Pluggd among many others.

In their own words

“Blogamp is a web-based audiocasting solution that combines a rich media on-demand experience with podcasting. Blogamp's robust administration utility and content manager allows site owners and bloggers the ability to customize the on demand presentation as well as utilize the many add-on features depending on who the target audience is.



Blogamp (originally K-AMP Player, now our B2B company name) was designed to deliver on-demand audio via a variety of web-based flash player widgets just before podcasting was established, back when audioblogging was the term used. We continue to use our slogan "Audiocasting for the Masses" as we feel the term still applies as Blogamp combines and enhances the end user experience beyond podcasting only.”

Why it might be a killer

BlogAmp features a range of tools for every type of podcaster. Users have complete control of their content and are able to customize each presentation as they wish. Blogamp is simple and straightforward. It gets to the point, offering a solution for everyone.

Some questions

Can podcasts be monetized via Blogamp? How much do paid subscriptions cost? How easy is it to manage content?

Updates


 » original news

What it does

ViewMyLife is a surprisingly robust new social network which aims to attract various different interest groups including: Business and Professionals, Hobby enthusiasts, Friends, Family and Personal Life. The site contains an impressive array of features including unlimited photo and video sharing and storing, IM, email, ecards, events and much more. The more business minded can take advantage of a robust calendar which includes auto-reminders and live updates. Also included within the business portion is the ability to backup email accounts, contacts, calendars, files and tasks and store them all in one convenient and easy to find location.

In their own words

“Resources for life: People connector for friends, family, business and more. Custom privacy settings that enable you to control who can see what. Unlimited photo and video storage, calendar with auto reminders and live updates. Instant message, email, ecards and eVents."

Why it might be a killer

This is a very robust solution which could appeal to various segments of the population to the multiple features. It is well-designed easy to use.

Some questions

They run the risk of being too broad a solution and may have troubles appealing to anyone because of this. Have they considered focusing their solution on the business community instead of creating confusion by appealing to multiple sectors at the same time?

Updates


 » original news

Way back in 2005, Bill Gates announced that one way that Microsoft could beat Google would be to pay users to use Microsoft's search engine. At the time, we noted all the problems with this approach. First off, it's been tried and failed many times in the past (even Google once had a program to pay users, though almost no one remembers it). Many such systems are also prone to gaming. Also, while we were just noting yesterday that money doesn't "ruin everything," it can change the way people view a service -- and not always in a positive manner.

Either way, Microsoft is finally moving forward with this plan, as Bill Gates is announcing a new program to give cash back to users who end up buying things following a Live.com search. It's not a pure "pay-for-search" offering, instead focusing on offering cash back after the fact for buyers. That's certainly better than a pure bribe 'em strategy, but it still seems like something of a desperation play. Basically, it's admitting that Microsoft hasn't been able to compete with Google in terms of overall user experience and now has to resort to paying users instead. In situations like this, implementation is everything, and while people will definitely use this to get certain discounts, it's not clear that it will really make a huge dent in Microsoft's efforts to lure users away from Google's overall search. In general, though, business models that pay people for doing something useful tend to make sense (it's paying them for their effort). Business models that simply pay people to attract their attention don't tend to work nearly as well (and are much less sustainable). In this case, it seems like Microsoft is doing the latter, rather than former, which may make it difficult to succeed.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

I could have used one of these when I was traveling, although at the time I owned only one lens and no flash, so I suppose my laptop bag was just as good. The Inverse AW beltpack, left, and the Nova AW shoulder bag at right are both weather-sealed and provided with all the little pockets, padded compartments, and accessibility options that a pro photographer could need.

I’m not sure if they’re available to order yet (they were only announced today), but when they are, they’ll be at Lowepro’s site or your local camera store.

What it does

Sometimes students need help learning. Finding the right tutor isn’t always easy, which is where HappyTutors comes in. This is a free listing service for teachers, coaches, instructors and tutors. Students can register as Tutees or they can simply search through the site’s database to find someone who can help them out. Tutoring companies can register for $25 a year (promotional price). Users can schedule sessions directly from within the site. There’s also a section for tutoring jobs in which students list the rate they’re willing to pay and the subject they need help with. Additionally, users can sell and buy used books on the site’s used book marketplace. The site offers 24/7 online support.

In their own words

“HappyTutors .com is a free online community for tutors, teachers, instructors, coaches, students, tutees, parents and anybody else who enjoy learning and teaching.”

Why it might be a killer

HappyTutors gives users an easy way to find the right tutor/student. Registration is free, making the site accessible to all and any. The site also doubles as a used book market, which means users can supplement their learning with affordable books as well.

Some questions

Are tutors screened in any way? Is this site international? Are tutors classified by subject?

Updates


 » original news

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Hot on the heels of that Rebel XS / 1000D leak from last week comes a handful of specs and new info on the rumored DSLR. According to the camera fanatics at Photography Bay, the new model will sport a 10.1 megapixel CMOS chip, Digic III, 7-point auto-focus, 3 FPS, a 2.5-inch LCD display, will weigh 540 grams, and should feature simplified 450D-like menus. The camera's price-point is rumored to be on the low end of things, which furthers our suspicions that this will be a replacement for the aging Rebel XT. You'll know more when we know more, so stay tuned.

[Thanks, Eric]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments