This post is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark as a new part of the Spark of Genius series that focuses on a new and innovative startup each day. Every Thursday, the program focuses on startups within the BizSpark program and what they’re doing to grow.
In your inbox, who can matter more than what. If the sender is someone you know, a coworker you collaborate with or a sales lead you’ve identified, the email becomes infinitely more meaningful.
Dallas-based RedCritter connects the who to the what with RedCritter for Outlook, an app store for Outlook that includes 25 applications ranging from the social to the practical.
RedCritter’s approach is not dissimilar from Xobni’s. The email add-on lives in the right-hand side of the user’s inbox and displays a plethora of dynamic data on the sender or emails.
Founded in January 2010, RedCritter aims to be more than just a tool to enhance your email experience. It wants to be a company that builds enterprise software that incorporates the latest technologies and social media innovations to make business systems easier to use.
“I want to build a new breed of enterprise application,” says RedCritter CEO Mike Beaty. “It’s always been an interest of mine to streamline business processes.”
Apps for Outlook
RedCritter’s most consumer-friendly product is the Outlook app store, where you can install any of the company’s 25 Outlook applications. Beaty describes it as converting standard email to Inbox 2.0.
Many of the apps simply add a social media layer. The Tweets app cycles through your email senders’ recent Tweets. The Klout app displays contacts’ influence scores. The Foursquare app highlights their profiles and badges.
Business users can opt to install the sfContacts app, which creates a connection between Salesforce and Outlook. The Attachments app highlights attachments from senders, while the Office Docs and Google Docs apps find documents related to your email or contacts.
With a Basecamp app, Highrise app, Constant Contact app and even a Dual Clock app for seeing the email sender’s time, there’s no shortage of convenience and context that can be added to the inbox experience.
RedCritter Labs
The startup is developing more enterprise products, such as RedCritter Guide and RedCritter Tracker. Beaty lumps them all under the RedCritter Labs label but suggests that individual products may be spun out as their own entities in the future.
RedCritter Guide is for website owners and is designed to help them enhance the usability of websites with easy-to-create interactive guided tours and online product demos for site visitors. The product is in an invitation stage, but readers can enter “MASHABLE” as the invitation code to gain access.
RedCritter Tracker, a web-based project management tool slated for July release, aims to improve the work relationship between companies and their developers. Tracker weaves gamification elements into the project management experience — so companies can reward developers for completing tasks.
“RedCritter Tracker offers streamlined project management for Agile methodology along with tightly integrated message feeds, gamification and rewards,” Beaty says.
The product includes a rewards store so developers can exchange their achievements for gift cards and other prizes.
“Developers will have a day-to-day incentive to complete more complicated tasks,” says Beaty, himself a long-time developer.
Critter Who?
RedCritter has been under the radar, Beaty says, focused on building and releasing new products. Meanwhile, other startups in the email-meets-social intelligence space command headlines on a regular basis.
Still, Beaty says investors are very excited by the Outlook tools. They have the opportunity to reach more than 500 million Outlook users. The investors he has talked to are also enthusiastic about Tracker’s gamification elements.
Beaty’s next big decision will be whether to take funding and move out west. While he doesn’t need outside capital to continue research and development on RedCritter products, he admits to being at a disadvantage by not being in Silicon Valley.
“You’re not in the club if you’re not out there,” he says.
Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark
Microsoft BizSpark
The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.
Read the views of online Certification Experts, which provide the real questions and correct answer and explanation for the students / professionals who are seeking or enhancing their level of expertise. more at certkingdom.com
April 26, 2011
April 25, 2011
Next stage in mobile device battery tech: rapid charging
Mobile device enthusiasts may argue about what is the best in class device, but when it comes to battery technology all agree that it isn’t progressing fast enough. While devices can run longer now on a battery charge than in the past, that’s due to hardware power optimization, not improvements in battery technology. That may be about to change as two new products are using faster battery charging to extend mobile usage of devices.
The BlackBerry PlayBook is getting a less than outstanding reception since hitting the market recently, ranging from lukewarm to downright hostile reactions. Few folks sharing these reactions point out one area that is unique to the PlayBook, and that is the special charging port that works with two rapid charging accessories. While the conventional power brick that ships with the PlayBook plugs into the microUSB port on the bottom of the device, these rapid chargers plug into the unusual port to the right of the microUSB port.
According to RIM, these chargers work “up to 2 times faster” than the conventional power brick included with the PlayBook for recharging the battery. This is designed to allow the PlayBook, with already decent battery life, to take advantage of short periods of opportunity for charging that come along. That would allow travelers waiting for flights to double the amount of charging possible by using these special chargers working with the special port on the PlayBook.
Lenovo, the folks behind the ThinkPad notebook line, have been extending the useful battery life of its laptops through innovative hardware design. A new notebook, unconfirmed by Lenovo, has recently leaked to the web that promises rapid battery charging over two times faster than normal. The thin ThinkPad X1 is obviously taking on the MacBook Air given its thin and light form, and is reported to have special battery technology designed to charge “up to 2.5 times faster than previous ThinkPad batteries, charging 80% in 30 minutes”.
ThinkPad notebooks are already pushing the limits for battery life, as reported in my recent review of the ThinkPad X220. This hardware optimization coupled with this new rapid charging technology for the batteries will usher in a new era in long battery life for mobile devices.
The BlackBerry PlayBook is getting a less than outstanding reception since hitting the market recently, ranging from lukewarm to downright hostile reactions. Few folks sharing these reactions point out one area that is unique to the PlayBook, and that is the special charging port that works with two rapid charging accessories. While the conventional power brick that ships with the PlayBook plugs into the microUSB port on the bottom of the device, these rapid chargers plug into the unusual port to the right of the microUSB port.
According to RIM, these chargers work “up to 2 times faster” than the conventional power brick included with the PlayBook for recharging the battery. This is designed to allow the PlayBook, with already decent battery life, to take advantage of short periods of opportunity for charging that come along. That would allow travelers waiting for flights to double the amount of charging possible by using these special chargers working with the special port on the PlayBook.
Lenovo, the folks behind the ThinkPad notebook line, have been extending the useful battery life of its laptops through innovative hardware design. A new notebook, unconfirmed by Lenovo, has recently leaked to the web that promises rapid battery charging over two times faster than normal. The thin ThinkPad X1 is obviously taking on the MacBook Air given its thin and light form, and is reported to have special battery technology designed to charge “up to 2.5 times faster than previous ThinkPad batteries, charging 80% in 30 minutes”.
ThinkPad notebooks are already pushing the limits for battery life, as reported in my recent review of the ThinkPad X220. This hardware optimization coupled with this new rapid charging technology for the batteries will usher in a new era in long battery life for mobile devices.
April 24, 2011
HOW TO: Make Craigslist Better & Prettier With a Browser Extension
Craigslist is one of the most useful and yet one of the ugliest tools on the Internet. And its bare-bones, basic feature set is both a blessing and a curse.
So, how to ease the pain of using Craigslist while keeping its simplicity and utility? Allow us to introduce you to Craigslist Helper.
This handy browser extension (available for Chrome, Firefox and Safari) lets you preview text and thumbnails from your Craigslist search results. You can also bookmark listings and even make your own notes on them.
For example, if you’re househunting, you might use the app to see images of your new pad options without having 30 tabs open; then, you’d be able to prioritize them and even keep track of conversations with potential landlords, all without leaving Craigslist.
Other features include:
* Alerts when new listings that match your search appear
* Multiple searches by geographical area, or even a whole-site search
* Hide ads
* Filter by keyword; for example, choose not to see listings with “freeway”
* Map popups to show locations
* Phone number highlighting
Here’s an example screenshot showing housing listings within 350 miles of San Francisco:
As the extensions’ mysterious developer writes on Quora, “My guess is, [Craigslist doesn't] innovate simply because they can afford not to — at least until a Facebook to their MySpace comes along.” And until another classifieds startup successfully challenges Craigslist — and believe us, a few of them are trying — apps like Craigslist Helper will have to do.
Will you be trying Craigslist Helper next time you have to do a classifieds search?
So, how to ease the pain of using Craigslist while keeping its simplicity and utility? Allow us to introduce you to Craigslist Helper.
This handy browser extension (available for Chrome, Firefox and Safari) lets you preview text and thumbnails from your Craigslist search results. You can also bookmark listings and even make your own notes on them.
For example, if you’re househunting, you might use the app to see images of your new pad options without having 30 tabs open; then, you’d be able to prioritize them and even keep track of conversations with potential landlords, all without leaving Craigslist.
Other features include:
* Alerts when new listings that match your search appear
* Multiple searches by geographical area, or even a whole-site search
* Hide ads
* Filter by keyword; for example, choose not to see listings with “freeway”
* Map popups to show locations
* Phone number highlighting
Here’s an example screenshot showing housing listings within 350 miles of San Francisco:
As the extensions’ mysterious developer writes on Quora, “My guess is, [Craigslist doesn't] innovate simply because they can afford not to — at least until a Facebook to their MySpace comes along.” And until another classifieds startup successfully challenges Craigslist — and believe us, a few of them are trying — apps like Craigslist Helper will have to do.
Will you be trying Craigslist Helper next time you have to do a classifieds search?
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