Citizendium

Citizendium is a new (beta) site that is very similar to Wikipedia. It is trying to become a more accomplished/accurate online encyclopedia. The way this is done is by using accredited appointed people, to "author" content on their site. However, that does not mean you can't register and become a "citizen". This is a community where members can create and collaborate content.

After giving Citizendium a try I feel like it is on the right track. There are a lot of options for a user to choose when using their search. It is a bit more complex then Wikipedia and you may find getting the results you are looking for a bit of a struggle.

Below is an example of my search on the term "web 2.0"

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Give Citizendium a try by clicking here.

Shape Collage

Shape Collage is a free application that you can download for creating amazing looking collages. There are a bunch of applications/sites that do this kind of thing, but this might just be the best.

What makes SC so good is the ability to upload any shape (must be in png format) and then add your pictures. For example, I added the Apple Logo, and selected the photos I wanted to include in it.



Another great feature is that you can customize almost anything... draw your own shape, edit the background, save it as any kind of file, it's all here. Plus, it works on any platform!!!

Below is my Apple example....



Download Shape Collage by clicking here.

Bookmash

Bookmash is a new application that runs on Adobe Air. This means it is flash based and has a really nice looking user interface.

The best way to describe BM is that it is an application that acts like a search engine looking for: video, music, photos, people, and news. All this is done by looking through the most popular technologies of today, such as: You Tube, Flickr, Digg, etc.

Another nice feature is the ability to download, share, and bookmark all content. For example, if you are watching a video in You Tube, you can just click on the download icon and download it to your desktop.

If you like Adobe products then this is definitely worth a look especially since it is multi-platform.



Download Bookmash by clicking here.

Collecta

Collecta is a new (beta) search engine which gives you up to date information based on monitoring "LIVE" RSS feeds of various sites. This reminds me a lot of Scoopler in that sense.



This is actually very cool and has a rather unique user interface. For example, you can actually edit your search preferences similar to how you would edit a "cloud" in Search Cloud. Also, you can preview your hits before visiting the site, which is a nice feature shared by many engines.



My only "gripe" I have w/ this site is how long it takes to get your results. I'm guessing this is because it still is in beta and there is not a lot of data right now. However, when you do type in a term that is in their database, you get fast and up to date information.

Below is search on the term, "Steve Jobs"....



Give it a try by clicking here.

Book Seer

The Book Seer is a fun site that determines what book a reader should read next. This is done by typing in what book you just read and by what author and clicking return. Then the all knowing "oracle" tells you what you should read.



Actually, it takes you to a page w/ recommendations based on hits from Amazon, but it sounded cooler the other way.

Give it a try by clicking here.

3D Image Commander

3D Image Commander is an application designed to create cool looking icons/thumbnails. Users of Picturesque will find this application very similar and easy to use.

3D IC is rather user friendly which is ideal when dealing w/ photo manipulation. Basically, you just upload your photo, click on a dial and adjust your picture settings. Some of the things you can control are: shadows, corners, curving, and rotation.

Also, you can add text to your photo which is nice especially if you want to put a copyright/water mark on there.

Download 3D Image Commander by clicking here ($39.95 all platforms).

iLovePhotos

iLovePhotos is an application that is very similar to iPhoto 09 in the sense that it has face recognition. Ideally, this would be great for a Windows user who doesn't have iPhoto, but for those that are still on an earlier version, this is a must see.

First, it gives users the feel of iPhoto 09 w/out having to upgrade to it. Second, it's very easy to use and creates some nice looking slideshows similar to 09. Finally, it has a very nice tagging/grouping ability, and built in user interface w/ the Mac's Address book. This makes it very easy to organize and annotate your photos.

I highly recommend checking this out for those that are interested in face recognition software to see how easy it is to sort your photos. (I wonder how this works for pets ;-).

Below is the tutorial from their site...



Download (free) it by clicking here.