What it does

pHome.us is a web tool that allows users to create their own personalized homepage. Users first register with the pHome.us site. Once they have created their account, users may then begin adding their own links, thus molding their homepage however they wish to customize it to reflect their individual preferences. Users can add any website, blog, or any other frequently used weblink to their homepage. The simple format of the customized homepage makes it easy for users to manage, import, and export links. Users also have complete control over their settings, as they may manipulate them to fully accommodate their individual site.

In their own words

“pHome.us is your new homepage. It's here to hold all of your most used links so you can get to them quickly from wherever you are, and it's super customizable.”

Why it might be a killer

pHome.us is a concise and very customizable application. It takes very little time to set up, and minimal effort to maintain. Users will find this tool to be a great time saver.

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What it does

DesMp3.com is a simple and straight-forward search website that enables site surfers to hunt for their favorite song lyrics and Mp3 audio bits. The homepage of the site lists several popular Mp3’s and song lyrics, and also offers a search field for users to look for their own music. When users select an artist, all song lyrics by that musician are listed. Current popular artists may have pages of lyrics listed. Furthermore, users have the option of either downloading songs to their computer, or sharing the Mp3 files through the “Listen and Share It” feature, which allows a link for the song to be copied and pasted into a personal profile.

In their own words



Why it might be a killer

Although the site does not offer all lyrics and Mp3’s, it provides a fairly comprehensive list of downloadable and sharable music files, as well as lyrics. This is a simple and fast way for users to access their favorite music. It is also a great outlet for users to find rare music that they may not be able find through other sites and media outlets.

Some questions

How does DesMp3.com compete with other similar music download sites? How does DesMp3.com handle legality issues? How may more users learn about this site?

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What it does

Midnight Beep Softworks has launched Midnight Inbox, a downloadable tool that is bound to simplify our lives as we know it. Midnight Inbox is an organizational tool, used to keep users’ email, calendar, lists, notes, files, and to-do lists accessible and in order. This tool is intuitively organized to help users work more effectively by organizing their data, and alleviating the headache of checking numerous sources to ensure all information and obligations are in one central location, at the right time. The look of Midnight Inbox encourages users to maintain their “zen,” thus taking the stress-free mentality a step further. Midnight Inbox is compatible with all standard Mac applications.

In their own words

“Midnight Inbox helps you work smarter, not harder, by organizing your projects, email messages, files, contexts and tasks so that you can always be on top of your world. Users of Mac OS X will find its clean lines and elegant typography make it the best in its class for keeping lists and notes.”

Why it might be a killer

Midnight Inbox has organizational features that can’t be beat. Once downloaded onto users’ desktops, it will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable tool, particularly for users that currently do not employ an organizer. Most importantly, the tool is very simple, hence reiterating the decrease of expended effort, and increase of productivity.

Some questions

What additional features can be added the new version of Midnight Inbox to enhance the experience? How may this tool compare to handheld or personal organizational tools that users may already use? Should the website be reorganzied with links, instead of having all information on one page?

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What it does

MetaASO is a self-funded start-up firm based in India. This company specializes in peer-to-peer (P2P) technology, which allows users to broadcast data, text, and audio and visual media across the globe, without the use of servers and heavy infrastructure. MetaASO has launched its Mermaid product line to drive this technological revolution. All Mermaid product users have the ability to create their own network ID and password, which links them to their personal profile. Through this profile, users can broadcast various forms of media, including movies, webcam feeds, audio bits, and news files to all the people connected to his or her network. There is no limit to the number of users linked to a network—the more, the better!

In their own words

“Mermaid is a line of products based on a revolutionary new Peer-To-Peer technology, which is completely serverless and allows users to broadcast data/audio/video/text to millions around the world, without the need for heavy infrastructure, and over their very own private, secure peer-to-peer network.”

Why it might be a killer

MetaASO and its Mermaid line are at the head of radical technological change. Servers and heavy infrastructure are being done away with, and users, or “peers,” are being linked directly. The Mermaid products are simple to install, and supported by a detailed frequently asked questions link. The product website is simple, informative, and has an easy-going, conversational tone which will put new users at ease.

Some questions

How can MetaASO entice users who are unaware of the value of peer-to-peer technology? What other information exchange Mermaid products can be developed? Could the tone of the webpage turn off certain potential users?

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What it does

You’ve been there. You’ve been in a boring meeting, on a bad date, or in some other situation where you really wished that your phone would ring and save you. With PhoneMyPhone.com, you can do more than pray or cross your fingers for that rescue phone call. You can actually set it up ahead of time. Enter your phone number, the scheduled time to call (if you are setting it for the future), and the number of times to call. PhoneMyPhone will then call you per the settings you entered. You can request an instantaneous call if that is what serves your needs – for instance, if you’ve misplaced your cell phone and need it to ring so you can find it.

In their own words

"phonemyphone calls your phone for you"

Why it might be a killer

This service would be extremely helpful if you can’t find your cell phone and don’t have a landline or roommate’s phone to call it from. There certainly will be people who would use it to ring them in the middle of a meeting or blind date, though this would take some foresight and some good acting skills when you answer a call with no one on the other end.

Some questions

Could there be a problem with people using this site to make prank calls?

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What it does

Tweetshots is a handy new Twitter application that allows users to morph their Twitter Tweets into automated screenshots. These shots can then be instantly embedded into various online outlets, such as users’ Tumblerlog, as well as other blogs and various web pages. To utilize this application, site users navigate between their Tweet and the Tweetshot page to produce an image code for the Tweet. Users follow a series of steps that lead them to the final result of the image code, along with the two options of either copying the image or code to embed, or posting directly into that user’s Tumblelog.

In their own words



Why it might be a killer

Tweetshot is a useful Twitter app that is easy to use, once users are familiar with the steps. Although the page is a bit jumbled, once users are comfortable with the application, they will undoubtedly find it valuable. Although the site is simple, the necessary information, such as related links, is accessible.

Some questions

How can the Tweetshots page offer more information to make the steps to create the image code simple to follow? How can the text on the page be simplified? Should any additional links be added to enhance the application?

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What it does

Services like Skype already let you make free calls over the Internet, but Phone-Me-Now, from the company IfByPhone, makes it even easier by providing a way to link to your phone on your Facebook profile, MySpace, blog, or even in a Microsoft Word document or PowerPoint presentation. On Facebook, it acts as a third-party application, so when you add Phone-Me-Now, it places a Phone-Me-Now icon in your profile. Anyone who views your profile can then place a call to your phone by entering their own phone number, and within a few seconds, they will receive a call that connects them with you. Phone-Me-Now does not reveal your actual number to the caller, nor can you get any caller ID information about who is placing the call. To avoid possible abuse by prank callers or telemarketers, there is a way to block unwanted callers. Phone-Me-Now users get 100 free minutes of calling time per month, and can pay to add minutes to their account.

In their own words

If you can type your telephone number into a blog, email message or web page, you can add Click-to-Call capabilities to your business. I’s that simple! In fact, Phone–Me–Now even works in Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint Presentations and PDF documents.

Why it might be a killer

The Phone-Me-Now application makes it easy for friends on Facebook or customers on your web page to call you, and you get 100 free minutes of calling time each month. For those who want privacy, they will appreciate that you don’t have to post your phone number if you have Phone-Me-Now, and you can always block unwanted callers if you have a problem.

Some questions

What are Phone-Me-Now’s rates like after you use up your 100 free minutes each month? Will companies choose this route over just having a standard 1-800 number for customers to call for free? Can you use Phone-Me-Now to talk over the Internet, like with Skype, or only to have the free call made to your phone?

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What it does

OpenKM is a web-based document management solution that allows for easy storage of files and sharing and collaboration through a web interface. By using open technology, OpenKM is an appealing solution for small and large businesses alike due to the low cost of implementation. The solution allows companies to better organize their data in an easily accessible Web 2.0 environment where files can be dragged and dropped for easy organizing and sharing and content can be searched with a variety of filters. Other tools at your disposal with OpenKM include the ability to set security roles, auditing features, and the finding of enterprise documents and registers.

In their own words

“OpenKM is an multiplatform application for document management based on open technology (JBoss + GWT + Jackrabbit). Thanks to its elegant and intuitive interface, OpenKM transforms complex operations into easy tasks. It allows the storage, classification and use of all kind of files and documents within a user friendly framework.”

Why it might be a killer

This solution will appeal to businesses who recognize the need for better file storage and collaboration but who don’t necessarily have the budgets to adopt a more costly enterprise solution. Therefore, this solution should be especially appealing to small and medium sized businesses across the world.

Some questions

Other than the price, what will they be developing to help them differentiate themselves from the plethora of other companies in this space? Will they also be developing more interactive tools for project management collaboration like the addition of spreadsheets etcetera?

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What it does

Although the website is minimalistic to a fault, oEmbed is a handy tool. It allows users to embed media on a website through posts with direct links. It’s an open format which basically standardizes formats—video, picture, etc—bypassing the media’s API which means no parsing is necessary. So any link is turned into XML or JSON for easier embedding. Currently, Viddler, Pownce, Flickr, Qik and Revision3 are sites using oEmbed. Users can test it out for themselves using Viddler’s test form created specifically for that purpose. oEmbed makes accessing various formats much simpler. Users can simple post URLs to a site which in turn doesn’t have to go through the trouble of sorting through numerous different API’s.

In their own words

“oEmbed is a format for allowing an embedded representation of a URL on third party sites. The simple API allows a website to display embedded content (such as photos or videos) when a user posts a link to that resource, without having to parse the resource directly.”

Why it might be a killer

oEmbed is interesting. It allows for easy media indexing and display without having to worry about types. You can easily combine media types as oEmbed essentially standardizes the data. It makes things easier for developers, thus making for richer experiences for the end user. There could be a lot of different opportunities here.

Some questions

How well does this work? What’s the business model?

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What it does

Twitsay is a new Twitter app that allows Twitter users to record a voice message to accompany their Twitter accounts. With three steps, users can add a voice memo to enhance their use of Twitter. With the first step, users register their Twitsay account, as well as the phone number they wish to associate with the account. In the second step, users call their own regional Twitsay number, and leave the desired voice message of up to ten seconds long. Finally, users log on to their own Twitter page to hear their recorded memo. From their Twitter page, users, as well as all of their Twitter followers, can listen to the voice message.

In their own words



Why it might be a killer

Twistsay is another fun Twitter app that enhances the Twitter networking system. Twitsay, however, takes it a step further by allowing Twitter users and their followers to vocally interact. This app adds a more personal element to the network.

Some questions

How can users be ensured that their entered phone numbers are protected? How can Twitsay expand, and what other services can it offer? How could a message and response system enhance this application even more?

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