Houstonist Tech Buzz - 072907

Local tech news in a compact, digital format.

Chronicle Tech Round Up
The tech guys over at the Chron are pumping out the technology news and we are going tell you about it.

---Dwight Silverman
Dwight Silverman reviews and discusses the newest version of the popular image editing software, Photoshop. The new version is called Photoshop CS3. Dwight also informs us that Houston is the 5th most e-mail-addicted city in the U.S. A fact that the Tech Buzz is very proud of.

---Jay Lee
Jay Lee helps readers with computer questions much like he does for Technology Bytes, except you don't get to hear his sexy voice. This week in his HelpLine column he discusses PDF Spam, how to make IE7 in Vista remember your passwords and discusses the Windows Event Viewer in XP.

---Bob Levitus aka Dr. Mac
Meanwhile over on the Mac side of the room, Dr. Mac, waxes fondly over his iPhone.

More Houston Web-Based Apps
We love to find out about new web-based apps that have a Houston connection! Last week we mentioned iRazoo. Now we have the skinny on two new sites that we just discovered (thanks Monica.)

From Houston based Hush Labs, LLC comes Natuba, which "gives your friends a single place to follow everything happening in your online life." Natuba does this by providing you with a single page that links all your social networking sites like MySpace, LiveJournal, Flickr, YouTube and the ever popular Twitter. It's all web-based so there's nothing to install or download.

Another new site that is fresh on the scene is sk*rt, while not completely Houston based, one of their developers, Laura Mayes is from here and that's enough to warrant a mention here in the Tech Buzz. sk*rt is kind of like "a Digg for women and men who want to get in their heads." Ladies, check this site out. Guys, take a look at what the ladies are up to.

Portable Hydrogen Power
A Houston based company, Trulite, is developing a small, portable hydrogen powered generator that will produce enough power to recharge power tools, run a laptop or a small appliance, like a blender! (that's for you Houstonist Bartender) Now we realize that's not a lot of power, but to contractors working in enclosed areas or near residences this type of generator could be much appreciated due to the lack of noxious fumes and noise you would get if you were using a conventional generator. Here's the catch, right now the hydrogen generator runs close to two grand while more powerful, noisy, polluting, gas generators run about three hundred bucks. We think the green and noise reduction aspects of this hydrogen generator far outweigh the conventional generator.

Spotted: The Microsoft Local Live Street View Truck
Flickr user catoctin86 spotted and photographed Microsoft's Local Live Street View truck in a Houston area hotel parking lot. He snapped up a few photos and threw them up on flickr. It's a black truck with cameras mounted all over. What are all the cameras for you ask? Why this of course, http://maps.live.com/

The Comcast Switch
Comcast is reporting that its switch from Time Warner Cable is going "very smoothly". Unless you are one of the many who have experienced temporary outages, long waits for home service or being put on eternal hold. Comcast does say that those who have the new Internet service are experiencing download speeds from 5-6Mbps, which ain't too shabby.

Houstonist Social Networking Info
We love the internet and we love you! If you use any of the sites we are about to list, join us and follow us through this amazing series of tubes. We have a Twitter account and we try to update daily. We use our MySpace to send out bulletins and announcements for upcoming events. We also enjoy photos and have a Flickr group. Come play with us on the web.

If you have something you would like to see in the Tech Buzz, drop us an email or leave us a comment.

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