Friedbeef’s Tech

Happy new year, and happy birthday to Friedbeef’s Tech!

Born on December 31st 2005, this blog is now officially 2 years old :)  It’s been a busy year for Friedbeef’s Tech.  Here are some of my favorite moments:

• Having the site featured in a video podcast appearance on Command N
• Kick starting an ongoing site campaign to help 3rd world entrepreneurs on Kiva.org 
• Debunking two of the most widely spread Alexa myths
• Getting featured several times on Lifehacker.com
• Being syndicated in a print magazine (Surf!)
• Helping hundreds of readers get Joost invites
• Meeting local bloggers in Malaysia’s largest ever blogger gathering
• Getting involved in Blog Action Day to aid an environmental cause
• Reaching the 1 million unique visitor mark
• Interviewing the guy who invented e-books

and so much more…

It’s been a blast… thanks so much to all of you for reading, and subscribing to this site. 

You guys really, really, really make all the effort worth it.

Here’s to a bigger and better 2008!

[tags] happenings [/tags]

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Ah, 2007 is almost over, and around about this time last year, I wrote a post outlining my tech predictions for this year… let’s see how I did - and let me once again stick my neck out on what I predict for 2008.

3 out of 5 ain’t bad

2007 Prediction #1: Google will allow cross-product searching

Result: Miss.  Despite the obvious advantages of having the ability to search across all your personal Google stored documents (Gmail, Google docs, Google calendar etc), Google still hasn’t gotten down to it yet…

2007 Prediction #2: Open widget API’s will become a reality

Result: Hit. It started with Netvibes launching their Universal Widget API, and Google soon following suit with their Open Social effort.  Finally, platform providers have adopt a common development plan where development efforts are no longer duplicated and widgets (or gadgets) become interchangeable between services.

2007 Prediction #3: Podcasts will have a more structured business model

Result: Miss. Adsense for Podcasts?  News of this buzzed around early in the year, but nothing came out of it. 

2007 Prediction #4: Large Enterprises will start embracing Web 2.0 business suites

Result: Hit. While Web 2.0 didn’t inspire a massive change in the business landscape, we have started to see big businesses having a more open mind.  One of which is Mozy, an online backup startup which snagged a big deal from GE.  Countless companies are also embracing Web 2.0 in the form of having their own Facebook presence.

2007 Prediction #5: Microsoft will open up Internet Explorer 7.0 to everyone which will usher in RSS for the masses

Result: Hit. Previously only available to validated Windows users, Internet Explorer 7.0 removed the need for validation this year, also resulting in a mass exposure to RSS feeds and possibilities. 

2008 predictions

I’m going to stick to my guns for my first two predictions.  I really believe that in 2008…

1. Google will allow cross-product searching
2. Adsense for Podcasts will become a reality

2008 Prediction #3: Facebook will join Open Social

Conspicuously left out of the Open Social launch, all of Facebook’s competitors including MySpace, Bebo, and Friendster have joined hands with Google to create an open platform for widget development.  2008 will see both sides reach a mutual agreement as they both realize having an open platform is the best way to grow.

2008 Prediction #4: The Basic PC will take the world by storm

2008 will see the rise of the cheap PC optimized to run web-apps, and be dirt cheap.  The rise of machines like the OLPC and the Asus Eee PC will sound the death knell for their portable high end cousins - the UMPC.

2008 Prediction #5: One of the new Web 2.0 financial management sites will be hacked

Mint, Wesabe and Geezeo have made quite a lot waves this year because of their financial management tools.  The information (which may include bank and credit card info) stored on these web services make it a particularly lucrative target for hackers, and I predict at least one of them to be compromised by the end of the year. 

What are your predictions for 2008? Tell us in the comments!

[tags] happenings [/tags]

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Really Simple Syndication just got simpler.

While certainly speeding things up, using RSS can lead to information overload if you’re the type of person who loves to subscribe to a large number of blogs (like me).  I have previously discussed my current method of RSS management, but if you’re looking for something really simple rather than my methodological approach, try FeedBlendr.

FeedBlendr:

1. Takes the feeds you give it
2. Pulls the individual entries from each of them
3. Attempts to sort them in date order (combined across all feeds)
4. and then provides you with a new, blended feed of all entries

…so you get a single ‘river of news’ rather than flipping through multiple RSS feeds looking for interesting stories. 

The interface is as bare bones and intuitive as you can get, and there is no sign-up required.  Two thumbs up from me :)

Bonus Tip: What is RSS and how can it help me surf the web faster?

[tags] rss, web 2.0 [/tags]

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