Author: Chris Messina

Inventor of the hashtag. #1 Product Hunter. Techmeme Ride Home podcaster. Ever-curious product designer and technologist. Previously: Google, Uber, Republic, YC W'18.

Luke Dorny on which apps to try

Luke DornyI have noticed that more beta-y and more independent software developers are more likely to put newer services and features than larger developers though. Like integrating audioscrobbler into an itunes controller, etc. These days the first thing i do is try to weigh how grassroots and forward-thinking a developer is when weighing a decision to download and try.

Much like Todos was a few weeks ago.

Sleep better with Pzizz (discounted today only!)

Pzizz on sale

Pzizz, a highly rated nap/sleep aid that works by generating unique binaural soundtracks for better snoozing, is on sale today for $24.95 at MacUpdate (38% off).

Normally I wouldn’t throw something like this out there, but I happen to know Edward, the guy behind Pzizz, and have been chatting with him ever since he showed up on my blog (thanks Digg!), and know that he’s a great guy.

Personally, I’ve found Pzizz really handy not just for how it helps me fall asleep (which it does) but for both the quality of rest that I get and the way in which it wakes me up; unlike an alarm that zaps you into consciousness, Pzizz is designed to gradually bring you out of sleep in waves, slowing reviving you and helping you feel refreshed.

LifeHacker and 43Folders have been all over Pzizz, so if you’ve had any doubt (or if you have an iPod!), you should definitely consider this a great opportunity for grabbing some Pzizz’s.

Goplan offers competition to bellwether Basecamp

GoPlan Screenshot

GoPlan logoI got an invite from the good folks at WebBreakStuff today to check out Goplan, their latest product beta (but it’s apparently not a beta).

If you’re not on the invite list, you can go check out their Flickr set or mine (very cool to offer that, by the way).

The base feature set includes Notes, Blog, Calendar, Tickets, Tasks, Files and Campfire-like Chat rooms. When creating new Projects, you can select which of these features that you want to include.

I have to say that I love the feel of this app… if they can offer single sign-on with something like OpenID and Microformats, I think I’ll be in love. Or infatuated at least. For a little while.

There are a few quirks (like the Add Event form and date validation) but the biggest problem so far seems to be adding other users… unless it’s a project space of one, this might be the loneliest collaboration software I’ve ever seen! 😉

So bottom line — Basecamp still has the edge, but with competition like this (no word on the pricing model yet), I’m eager to see how these loose pieces coming together can help empower the independents really building the future of the web.

. . .

While I’m at it, I should shout out to Fred and co. for organizing a very successful BarCamp in Portugal. Perhaps the most inspiring result of this event relates directly to Goplan:

The event was a success and made us consider working closer to the portuguese IT market – something we’ve been kinda skeptical about mainly because it always seemed like it wasn’t ready for the kind of services we offer. Check out the event photos over at Flickr.

If BarCamp can bring a tighter focus on local communities outside the valley, that’s a true accomplishment, and a goal that we set for the event from the very beginning.

We are not robots

Max MishaMicrosoft has delivered what looks to be its competitor to iLife, codenamed MicrosoftMax (a codename is kind of like saying “beta”, except that they can change the name and confuse you later on). And by “competitor to iLife”, I’m looking squarely at the Podcasting, Photocasting and SafariRSS features and product.

According to Niall, it features news displayed in a newspaper layout and two-pane interface, a bit different approach than many other aggregators on the market.

Sounds also like an attack on Google’s Reader but what do I know? I can’t install it on my Mac anyway.

Anyway, Flock might also take note, since this technology does indeed, from the outside, look pretty attractive — and hints at more to come in the realm of syndicated content in Vista and beyond.

Oh, and the team building it are not robots, according to their own reports.