Nerd Stalker

(4 mins) Nerd Stalker interviews Ben Hester, Program Manager of Architecture For Humanity at the Web 2.0 Conference. Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit design services firm founded in 1999. They are building a more sustainable future through the power of professional design. By tapping a network of more than 40,000 professionals willing to lend time and expertise to help those who would not otherwise be able to afford their services, they bring design, construction and development services where they are most critically needed. You can also view this video at YouTube , Yahoo , MySpace , Metacafe , DailyMotion , Blip.tv and Veoh .

(3mins) Nerd Stalker interview with Startforce CEO, Jin Koh at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco. Startforce is a complete Operating System, with all kinds of applications all within a browser, no installation of any kind required. All you need is a device with a web browser and nothing else and your good to go. He showed us a full office suite, media players and so much more, again all within a browser. I can see this being helpful if you travel and want a full custom os experience from some internet cafe and you don't want to mess around with remoting into your home machine. G.ho.st does something nearly identical with a slicker ui but that solution requires Flash support and according to Jin is slower than his pure AJAX solution. Startforce is free for personal use and they give you 1gb of free storage, of note G.ho.st is also free and offers 5gb of free storage with an additional 1gb with each person you refer, lets hope Startforce matches that offer soon. You can also ...

(4mins) Nerd Stalker attends the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco and speaks to the CEO of ooVoo , Phillpe Schwartz. ooVoo is essentially a video conferencing solution with all the bells and whistles of any other solution. The differentiators seems to be the quality, the video streaming is very nice and you can choose weather to go hd or lower quality by a simple drop down selection. The ui/design is very nice, you can tell they spent some key time on this which is refreshing to see. Another big win is that the install supports both win and mac os, there is also a browser based solution such that if you conference someone in who does not have the app installed they will be supported. oovoo also has an api available to developers and a contest which offers $2500 for the best app. Or watch this video at YouTube , Yahoo , MySpace , Metacafe , DailyMotion , Blip.tv , Veoh and i2TV

Seesmic has just released a Twitter client called, "Seesmic Desktop" and although it's only a 0.1 preview release I have to say that this application has set the new standard for this space. What I found most interesting was: This was a Total Code Rewrite, they are working with Adobe and seem to really be pushing what AIR is capable of. Columns are all in one container, a great ux (and Tweetdeck like) improvement Duplicate post killer, smart enough to feed you one, very nice. A dropdown at the top that is smart enough to know what acct your replying from based on which it was sent to, very slick. Detachable columns Same partner services for distribution and url shortening with more coming. Drag and drop twitpic integration. Video is currently not supported but coming soon. Groups or as they call them "userlists". Again I must emphasize the support for multiple accounts is the absolute slam dunk, until everyone supports that, they aren't even in the same le...

(7mins) Nerd Stalker interviews Dan'l Lewin , Microsoft Corporate VP of Business Development at the MIX09 conference. Dan'l talks about a compelling program targeting new startups called BizSpark . Think three years of all Microsoft tools and technology, and hosting with production licensing for FREE. Plus, it helps facilitate partnerships. And given that this is a global effort (in over 80 countries so far), the pool of talent available for your startup is significant. Dan'l also mentions other fantastic initiatives targeting both college and high school students. Nerd Stalker is pleased that Microsoft is helping startups develop and grow through BizSpark. This helps Microsoft remain relevant in emerging business. You can also view this video at YouTube , Yahoo , MySpace , Metacafe , DailyMotion , Blip.tv and Veoh

(7mins) Nerd Stalker interviews Bob Thomson, Founder of Scotland based company Storm Ideas at MIX09, they are a BizSpark featured startup featuring an amazing web application called COLAAB . Colaab showcases some of the most practical real world usage of both Silverlight and Deep Zoom technology we have seen. I was blown away by the way they efficiently handle gigantic image/asset sizes, I see this solution ideally suited for ad agency types, though perfectly capable of solving most other collaboration requirements as well. Colaab has one of the most impressive and just plain gorgeous interfaces, we are just blown away by all the features as well. Another plus is that this is all done in the browser and is hosted by Colaab so no overhead to you. Colaab has a free account and tiered pricing model, again nice to see a service charging for a compelling solution. Bob and Johnathan were two of the nicest guys we met at the MIX09 conference, I mean how can you not like a guy in a Kilt ?