-
Blogrovr!
-
-
-
Proudly Hosted By:
-
Dec
4
BlogRovR, A New Spin on RSS
Filed Under Firefox, Firefox Add-on, internet tools, quick review | 6 Comments
Regularly I find some tool that changes the way I interact with the internet in a positive way. BlogRovR, a Firefox extention, is one of these tools. It was included as part of my Mandriva 2008 system. At first, I didn’t pay it much attention. It would pop out periodically from my browser and annoy me. I decided to check it out, and I am very happy I did. So what is BlogRovR?
Once you install the BlogRovR Add-on, you sign up for the service. Once you are signed up, you can choose from “blog bundles”, which are collections of topics and blogs. You can choose Business, Entertainment, Politics, Sports, Science and Technology and Thinkers. These bundles are prepopulated with subscriptions to blogs. For example, Thinkers includes gladwell.com and kottke.org. You can also import your own personal OPML file of feeds or simply add the URL or feed of a blog you like. Simple enough. You can also add a BlogRovR button, which gives you a link the the BlogRovR page, the option to subscribe to the site you are on, to twitter what you are doing and to get help.
Once this is done, as you surf the web the RovR tray will open when the blogs you have chosen have written about the page you are on. You can then click on a post and the post opens in a small window on the page you are on. The tray pops open, then slides into a small tab you can expand by clicking on a button, listing the number of posts about the page.
There are a few things I like about this immediately. I control the content, so I only hear from sites I’ve chosen. I like seeing what other sites are saying about what I am reading. I go to Mixx.com, and fifteen stories appear about the site. I’m sure the more I use this and the more sites I add the better my results will be. Currently, of the fifteen stories, eight are from TechCrunch and Mashable. Interestingly, I was able to read how Mixx is now the place for Digg refugees and how Digg is still the best, both from TechCrunch, right from the reader. It makes it easier to follow conversations on topics, a big selling point for me.
Another benefit to BlogRovR is the ability to add a button on my sites, enabling people to add me to their BlogRovR. This may become as valuable as anything else I place on the sites. Content that just sits on this site collecting cyberdust will now have new life, if people think enough of this site to add it. My review of the Google Browser Sync Add-on that no one cares about will suddenly pop up and become relevant at that moment (hopefully) someone is reading about it elsewhere. It is a way to keep my site on people’s minds as they browse the web. The only downside to this is I could stand to lose revenue (ha, I crack myself up, revenue) since only the story shows and not the carefully (lovingly?) chosen ads. I think the upside far outweighs any downside though. It is also useful to add my own sites and see if anyone else is talking about what I write.
I can see this catching on, particularly for power surfers. It is one way to stay up to date with what the sites you like are saying, without having to spend all day every day checking them. I easily recommend BlogRovR. It is easy enough to install, and if you do not like it, easy enough to remove. Give it a try, you may end up finding it indispensable.
Screenshot below shows BlogRovR in action. The tray is on the lower right side, the opened window on the upper left side.
Apr
17
Quick Review: Automatix2 for Amd64 Ubuntu Feisty
Filed Under Ubuntu, automatix2, quick review | 2 Comments
Automatix2 for Ubuntu 7.04 has just been released. What is Automatix2? From the site:
“Automatix2 is a free graphical package manager for the installation, uninstall and configuration of the most commonly requested applications in Debian based Linux operating systems. Currently supported are Ubuntu 7.04, 6.10, 6.06, Debian Etch and Mepis 6.
Our list of supported applications include a whole range of multimedia codecs, burning and ripping software, file sharing software, email clients, VoIP enabled chat clients, browsers, encryption software and a lot more!”
I am running 64bit Ubuntu Feisty. The selling point of Automatix2 for me is that it simplifies getting Flash player running (via 32bit Swiftfox), handling installation of codecs, etc… that can sometimes be a hassle using a 64-bit distro. It helps to make a true multi-arch system without any chroot hassles. It does all of the work. It also provides one place to get everything you want to install for a full featured operating system.
Installation was as simple as clicking a link and allowing Gdebi to install it. You can run it later from Application –> System Tools in Ubuntu and Main Menu –> System in Kubuntu.
Starting Automatix2 brings up an Information screen warning you that it is a crime in the United States to install w32 codecs, libdvdcss and other codecs without paying a fee to the concerned parties. It also advises not installing AUD-DVD codecs if you are a US resident. The land of the free and the home of the brave, baby. You have to agree to this screen to start.
Automatix2 gives you software sections:
-
Burning and Ripping
-
Codecs and Plugins
-
Eyecandy
-
File Sharing
-
Miscellaneous
-
Web Browsers
-
Chat Clients
-
Drivers
-
Email Clients
-
Media Players and Edit
-
Office
-
Programming Tools
-
Utilities
Programs include Gaim 2.0 beta6 and Extras, 64-bit Multimedia codecs, 64-bit Sun JAVA 1.6 JRE, Azureus, Frostwire, aMule, Songbird, Mplayer, VLC, 32-bit Skype, Automatix read/write NTFS and FAT32 Mounter, Extra Fonts, KDE Extras, Google Earth, Krusader, OpenOffice Clipart, 64-bit Bluefish and Scribus, KFTPGrabber, 32-bit Swiftfox and Swiftfox Plugins, NDISWrapper, 64-bit Nvidia Driver, KDE Security Suite (includes ClamAV AntiVirus and Guarddog Firewall) and much more. There are other means of obtaining these, but Automatix2 makes it easy. Gnome applications are hidden by default, clicking the “Show gnome apps” button brings up a lot more choices, including VMware Player and Slab (the menu used in SLED 10). There is a description of each program, telling you what it is and what it does.
Everything installed without a hitch. A window opens showing a dialog of what is going on. My only complaint is that it does not provide version numbers, so there is no way of knowing if the Nvidia driver is newer than the one I am currently using, other than exiting the program and using Synaptic or something. Other than that, it couldn’t be simpler. You simply check what you want to install or uninstall, click “Start” and Automatix2 handles the rest.
There are a variety of ways to do what Automatix2 does, but I like its simplicity and ease of use. I continue to lack a lot of free time so I appreciate this program for what it does. If you lack the technical know how to get things installed, or even to know what you are looking for , I recommend Automatix2. It is a fine program. It is so simple, there isn’t much to say about it.