Sweetcron is a service that brings you the features of friendfeed and tumblr. Apart from the fact that it’s build for being hosted at your own web server. Kind of a wordpress for feeds. Check the developers site yongfook.com for a working demo blog.

Update: Sweetcron Beta is out for evaluating:

• Sweetcron program files
• Seetcron documenatation

It’s closed beta right now, but the developer, Yongfook, promises to launch it soon. It is going to be 100% open source and offers some more features:

• Automated Imports: Uploaded a photo to flickr? Bookmarked a new site? In a few minutes it will show up on your blog, thanks to the power of RSS feeds
• Easily Customisable: Edit simple templates to change your Sweetcron look.
• Self Hosted: You can keep alll the data safely on your own server and run Sweetcron on your own domain.
• Fully extensible: Write your own php classes and slot them right in!

Check the Interview with Yongfook on Lifestreamblog.com

via t3n

I just gathered some interesting news from Mister Wong:

Zattoo is a RIA [Uhm, just call it a program] that let’s you watch TV on your Compu without extra hardware [PCI tv-card] or a subscription to a commercial service. Zattoo is currently focussed on European channels and licensed content, and it’s completely free.

I was disappointed when I realized that I can’ watch BBC2 or Canal+, because my IP address is recognised as being German, and legal regulations prevent us to watch programs we probably haven’t payed broadcasting fees for. Maybe you can bypass this limitation using an Open Proxy Service, see the link below.

On the other hand, it’s just as simple as switching on the Telly.

Zatto is based on peer-to-peer technology, just like Hobnox, Pando, Joost: or Miro. In a Peer-to-Peer TV system, each user is simultaneously downloading the program to watch it, but also uploading the video stream to other users. This way, all users contribute to the overall bandwidth of the service. The streams are usually slightly delayed to the original sources. But the video quality is better if there are more users, which makes powerful servers farms needless.

Zattoo itself provides very smooth streaming quality and might be considered the service experts were waiting for - due to it’s simplicity.

Check the links for more information:

• Open proxy Services
• Quick summary on popular TV streaming services on ReadWriteWeb
• Interviewing zattoo.com’s co-founders

Zattoo delivers live TV legally, just like a cable network. Presently Zattoo doesn’t create its own channel from archival contents, nor do we yet carry user-generated content. Instead, we work with broadcasters to re-distribute their content simultaneous, unaltered, and unabridged. Compared to Joost, we provide live TV viewing instead of archival content delivered on-demand.

Sugih Jamin, Chairman and Co-founder of Zattoo

Great news for everyone who can not decide about going open source from the scratch:
You can now download the [stubidnamed] software Wubi from wubi-installer.org. Wubi installs a full Ubuntu Hardy Haron system within windows.

No need to burn a CD. Just run the installer, enter a password for the new account, and click “Install”, go grab a coffee, and when you are back, Ubuntu will be ready for you. You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different bootloader, and does not install special drivers.

After starting the application, you have options for the user interface to choose from:

• Ubuntu with GNOME interface
• Kubuntu with KDE interface
• Xubuntu with XFCE [for older computers]

Then, Wubi starts to download the operating system from a Ubuntu server repository and installs it automatically regarding to your hardware. After rebooting, you can choose whether to start your computer into Windows or Ubuntu. As simple as making a sandwich.

Minimum requirements:

• 256 MB memory
• 5 GB harddisk space
• Windows 98, 2000, XP or Vista

Sounds great. I am trying it just now. Really curious if it can compete in the everyday system battle.

I stumbled across a popular buzzword just a few days ago: OpenMac, a promising base operating system that is ready to be obtained from a company called Psystar in a bundle with an “Open Computer”. Based on this, customers are able to install MacOS Leopard on a simple Intel / x86 hardware:

With the EFI V8 emulator it is possible to install Leopard’s kernel straight from the DVD that you purchased at the Apple store barring the addition of a few drivers to ensure that everything boots and runs smoothly

Psystar is marketing this as a cheaper and more expandable alternative to a genuine Apple Mac. I don’t know what these machines are capable of. We all think: Hopefully, finally, a legal MacOS Clone might hit the scene. Perhaps it will help people who don’t want to afford expensive Apple hardware to run Apple software on their cheap machines?

Actually, the OpenMac company Psystar clone is close to a Cease and Desist order tasked by Apple. Which basically means that Apple will make use of their copyright rules included in Leopards License Agreement:

You agree not to install, use or run the Apple Software on any non-Apple-labeled computer, or to enable others to do so.

Let’s wait and observe. Surely Apple will not tolerate that. Either by weapons of law or by technical regulations [That means non-compatible updates].

BTW: There is another open source project called “OpenMac” powered by Meshnetics, but this one regards to the Medium Access Control Layer and not to the Apple computer.

Here is a new toy for wannabe graphic designers and photographers:

Adobe just released it’s online image proccessing tool Photoshop Express. After creating an account, you are able to upload, edit and publish your photos. Let’s see if this becomes a valuable photo community.
Some info:

• It’s 100% Flash
• There are functions to integrate your work into Facebook, Photobucket and Picasa. Why not Flickr?
• The interface actually does not convince me: Too slow, too much fading effects and shaded buttons.
• Image processing capabilties are reduced, somehow. Do not forget: It’s an online tool, not an replacement of a desktop version of Photoshop.

And Beware: In Adobes General Terms and Conditions it says:

Adobe does not claim ownership of Your Content. However, with respect to Your Content that you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Services, you grant Adobe a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, derive revenue or other remuneration from, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into other Materials or works in any format or medium now known or later developed.
“Publicly accessible” areas of the Services are those areas of the Adobe network of properties that are intended by Adobe to be available to the general public.

Did I get that right: Adobe is allowed to earn as much dough with my pics as they want to? Without sparing me a dime? No way, this is not going to be used by me. No matter what you think about it - think twice.

Here’s a demo video:

[via]