I’ve been using Foxmarks for awhile now, and it’s become something I’d have a hard time giving up. For those that don’t know, Foxmarks is a bookmark synchronizer for the Firefox web browser. Between my laptop and my desktop, my bookmarks are identical. Foxmarks works in the background to make sure that […]
I’ve been using Foxmarks for awhile now, and it’s become something I’d have a hard time giving up. For those that don’t know, Foxmarks is a bookmark synchronizer for the Firefox web browser. Between my laptop and my desktop, my bookmarks are identical. Foxmarks works in the background to make sure that both browsers are the same. For some this might not matter, but I’m a ravenous link hound and will rapidfire save a multitude of links on one or the other. It was a pain in the ass when I wanted to check out a site that I saw from home when I’m out at the coffee shop. Now I don’t have to worry about forgetting an important link.
However what spawned this entry is that I finally discovered Foxcloud. I’m not sure why I couldn’t get to this earlier, but regardless, I’m glad it inevitably happened. (ed. note: I promise that it was hard to find before!) Foxcloud is the online storage of your bookmarks, available from any computer utilizing Firefox. When you log into my.foxcloud.com your page separates into 2 sections just as if you were looking at your bookmarks in the browser itself. It looks just like it would if it were on you own computer w/ all the folders and the hidden links w/in them.
While I’m a huge fan of tags and alternative bookmarking, I still like the old hierarchical system; especially if it’s the same that I use all the time. I remember where everything is, and it seems faster this way. If I’m looking for all files I may have tagged under CSS, then tag based systems like del.icio.us and Pocket are pretty cool. They’re also great for seeing who else is tagging the links that you are, as well as seeing everything else they’ve saved.
I have to say that this is one of those apps that is absolutely what I wanted. As I launched it watching the bookmark bar open on the left I had to smile. Nothing like perfection that works!
And YES, I do find myself on the computer w/out my laptop around me. I haven’t had it surgically attached, yet.
Technorati Tags: Foxmarks, web app, bookmarks, syncing, Firefox
My music renaissance continues. I’m still using and enjoying last.fm, but I’ve recently been turned onto another service named Pandora. One of the reasons I joined last.fm was to discover new artists and to see how people are classifying artists I already listen to. Pandora does this as well, but from a […]
My music renaissance continues. I’m still using and enjoying last.fm, but I’ve recently been turned onto another service named Pandora. One of the reasons I joined last.fm was to discover new artists and to see how people are classifying artists I already listen to. Pandora does this as well, but from a more methodical approach; something they call the Music Genome Project. Essentially they’ve categorized over 10,000 artists based on their musical traits; things like: beat style, vocal intonation, lyrical depth (or lack thereof), and countless others.
After creating a free account (w/ ads) you can then begin fashioning your radio station. Your choices start w/ either an artist, or a song. The way I’ve been thinking of this is to use a favorite artist that you feel is the epitome of their style genre. For example, I wanted something very chill but electronic so I named a station “Thievery Corporation”; one because of their music, and two because I live in the DC Metro area. Pandora loads a song from your selection giving a description of their music and what you’re to expect from future selections. While the song is playing you have some added interaction you can participate in. Give each song either a thumbs up, or thumbs down depending on how you feel it fits w/in the framework of your custom radio station. There is also another menu selection where you can bookmark the song or artist, add/create another station, learn why the song/artist was selected, learn more about the artist/song/album, or even buy it from iTunes or Amazon.
I also have to say the sound is excellent. They manage to produce a rich, full sound that you typically don’t associate w/ streaming media. There’s so much more to Pandora that I’m not going to try to write about it all. For one, I haven’t tried everything, and two, it’s taken me since the first of the month to finish this entry. My words aren’t coming like they were before the break.
Shouldn’t be long until I’m back grindin’ this blog, holding down my URL.
Technorati Tags: Pandora, internet radio, web app
