Scopetech

The Xbox 360 Spring Update earlier this year added MSN Messenger integration to Xbox Live and to be honest, it seemed like a pretty useless service until last week when Microsoft released the highly anticipated Messenger Kit for the Xbox 360 on the 4th of September… Unfortunately for me, I had to wait until the 7th (the UK release date) before I could get my hands on one.

After I spent half an hour trying to open the annoyingly secure package…I finally got a chance to try out the Chatpad itself. At first I thought it might be a little clunky and that it might weigh the controller down slightly, but after several hours of gaming I barely noticed a difference at all. I was skeptical of it’s design, but you soon get used to it and it becomes easy to forget that it’s even there.

The way the Chatpad plugs in is simply genius. It fits tightly in to the bottom of the controller and stays well in place whilst playing, so it doesn’t wriggle out and cause you to lose concentration. Now, because the Chatpad is using the conventional headset port, the Messenger Kit ships with a brand new headset that plugs directly in to the Chatpad. The new headset features in-line volume controls which is rather annoying when you wish to mute your mic or turn the volume down while playing a game.

Typing with the Chatpad can be a little tricky at first, it’s easy enough to get a good typing speed but whether or not your typing is efficient is a different story. I often found that the tiny little backlit buttons were sometimes difficult to push as I typed faster, and therefore caused spelling errors and plenty of annoyance as I tried to reach for my beloved mute button… only to find that it requires more physical movement than a flick of the thumb.

Microsoft did a great job of integrating MSN Messenger in to Xbox Live. It’s obviously not suited for long chats in the evening with your friends but it’s great for a quick message or two back and forth in between games. However, this was the downside I found with the service as I felt constant notifications of my MSN contacts signing online and leaving messages was rather distracting. Luckily, you’re only notified of the initial message you receive from a particular contact. Other messages from the same contact won’t interrupt your play as the Messenger button on the Chatpad flashes when you’ve received a new message from anyone you’re currently talking to.

At first I was doubtful about how useful the Messenger Kit would actually be, but it’s turned out to be a great tool that really makes the whole system much more efficient as it can be used for more than just Instant Messaging on your Xbox. At just $29.99 USD (£25 GBP) the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit proves to be the most useful accessory for your 360 to date. It really is worth checking out.

Online software options grow with the development of Flowchart.com. Searching for a new way to enhance documents or to create charts for business needs? Flowchart.com has several options you can use for that and more! Unlike some applications that need plug-ins, other software, and/or require a download Flowchart.com has an easy to use interface and nothing else is needed! Just register and you are ready to start creating your charts.

Chart Manager

Upon logging in, you will be presented with the Chart Manager. This section organizes your charts, displays thumbnails of new and existing templates and shared charts.

Design a new chart or use one of the several existing templates:

Engineering
Flowcharts
Mind maps
Networks
Organizational charts
Project Management

Within each template category, there are thumbnail samples that can be seen by hovering over each one. If you design a new chart, you can make it a template, too. Once you choose a chart, then you are given options to customize it such as add a chart name, choose options for page size and set the DPI.

My Images

My Images allows you to upload images for your charts and for sharing with others. You can also browse and choose images uploaded from other users. Uploading JPEG images is discouraged in favor of using PNG for bitmaps and SVG for vector graphics. This area seemed very lacking in content, but I assume once live this deficit will disappear. Users can even add a price for their images if they choose. If you do not have a need for charts, you could make some money by selling your images! However, the terms and conditions have not been added yet, so I am not certain as to the specifics.

Design Area

The design area is a real time editor and it displays typical word processing options with additional flowchart features for lines and shapes. Since I felt a little let down in the My Images section, seeing the large selection of clip art and other objects was appealing.

The collaborate feature was pretty impressive. Individuals working on team projects, especially when they are not located in the same area, should find this convenient. When collaborating, the changes one user makes can be seen by the other and they can discuss it in the chat environment.

Another nice feature was the preview window, in which the document remains intact as you move the preview window around to view various areas. The inability to see the entire document in the design area was frustrating, but the creators of the site assure users that they are working on a fix to this for version 2.0. This feature also has a Properties tab for details on selected images/objects such as position and size. The History tab is a nice addition to the application. After getting carried away with too many changes/additions, having this feature is reassuring. With one click, you can go back to a certain point and the changes are erased. For most instances like that, this can be a lifesaver.

The features were user friendly and the site design simple but effective. There is a nicely developed demo on their home page, I recommend checking that out for a visual demonstration of the features of Flowchart.com. Overall, the benefits seemed to outweigh the drawbacks. Once the site goes live I expect users will find few, if any, negatives. This application should enhance user experience in creating flowcharts without the need to purchase new software, download plug ins or any type of file.

Sharogle is an interesting search engine that gives users money for using the search engine. According to their About page - the search industry is a multi billion-dollar industry, so the money is there and instead of wasting money on advertising, more will be gained by giving people money to use the search engine which will in turn make you get more people to use it.

One gripe I do have with the service though is that the search results look like Google’s adsense advertisments.

For starters, the homepage isn’t too much to look at, going with a green and white colour-scheme.

A referral system will be put in place to help you make money through doing that as well as through doing searches.

As of this writing, the company blog has not been updated since July 11th, 2007, but it’s still good that there’s actually one since I’m sure some of you reading may be wondering about the legitimacy of the site. Admittedly, we did not try making any money with the site but it seems like an interesting take on making money with search. If anyone sees it fit to try out and want to report back to us, contact us and let us know.

Fichey is a flash-based site that allows users to easily browse websites, as ranked by services such as digg and del.icio.us. The site caches jpegs of the websites which can easily be viewed by the site’s flash interface.

It’s an interesting concept that is great for quickly going through the various sites’ pages.

The site’s navigation consists of a floating box which you can use to choose which site you want to view pages from, choose the date to get sites from and buttons to go to the next image.

Clicking on an image you’re viewing takes you to the actual site.

While it’s certainly no replacement for digg or any of the sites it uses, it is a quick way to check out a bunch of sites generating buzz, one after the other.

Have you ever wished that you could share the social networking experience with your family without exposing Mom to the webcam girls of Myspace? If the answer is yes, Genoom might be exactly what you’re looking for.

Genoom is a service that allows users to build a closed social network, specifically for their family. The site allows you to create a network, add family members, and create a central hub for them to keep in touch and reach out to others within the family tree.

Users can sign up for the site, flesh out their family tree, and then invite those family members to join them. To keep things interesting, Genoom offers a map interface (leveraging the Google Maps API), photo albums, and message boards, letting the entire family share the fond memories of Christmas 1998 and the shame of Uncle Floyd streaking through the park last Easter.

The site is easy to use and navigate, so your less tech savvy relatives should have no trouble filling out their profiles and helping to build the family tree. It also offers social networking stalwarts like private messaging and event announcements for family get-togethers and parties.

Genoom hopes to fill a void for people seeking an easy to use, family friendly social environment and looks like it’s well on it’s way to doing just that. The site is in public beta right now, much like similar services Geni and KinCafe. No word on an official launch date at this time.

Though often criticized, Alexa’s traffic statistics are used to measure the popularity of websites. These statistics can be shown to prospective advertisers, making websites money even if the statistics aren’t accurate but are in their favour. Many people have been turned off of the service because it requires the installation of a browser toolbar which was available solely for Internet Explorer, until now. The Alexa toolbar is now available for Firefox meaning even more people can choose to not use it.

If you’re not interested in using Alexa, consider using Compete to track website popularity. Ultimately, a website’s internal statistics will be of most use to advertisers while sites like Alexa will be useful if you’re just curious enough to get a basic idea of how websites stack up against each other.

Wikipedia is broad and features just about anyone that’s done anything, giving you all the information you could want on a person and more. Spock aims to get a little more personal, giving you some basic information on people, things they’ve done and the ability to find other people based on those things thanks to tags. Gleamd has found itself a niche, allowing users to enter people into their system, place a small biography on the person, then allowing users to comment on the person. While Wikipedia will have information on Robert Scoble, mentioning he has a blog, Gleamd allows users to say what they think about the person. Think of it as Wikipedia lite, with comments. It’s actually an interesting idea. Consider that many people have heard about Robert Scoble but may not know why he’s so popular. Gleamd will tell you exactly what he’s known for and allow users to comment on the person, giving you an idea if this person is generally liked or not. It’s safe to even compare this to testimonials.

The site is moderated so people who aren’t “interesting” probably won’t get their own page on the site, so don’t try submitting yourself unless you know you’re of actual interest (rules me out totally). There is a point-giving system to the site where users gain points the more they participate, however, it doesn’t do anything other than rank users. Users can also vote on stories if they so wish. Gleamd will fill that void in helping people know why some people are so popular and what people generally think about them. Be sure to check out the screen shots below.

Looking for invites? We have some to give away, leave a comment and we’ll send you one. We love you that much.