CrossReader

CrossReader is still in closed beta, but it is a promising content discovery tool for tablet and mobile devices. It can find relevant content for the page you currently reading, suggest in a non intrusive manner and allow to preview it.

You can watch their introduction video here.

They are funded by JVP Media and started with their idea 2 years ago.

Let's hope they will be out of private beta soon.

Beta test AIM 6

This week AOL started new series of beta test for AIM 6.
Some examples of features slated to be added are proxy settings, several cool skins, and a one-click method to send an SMS text message to your buddy. This is just a subset of upcoming features and you will be the first to use and submit your comments against them.

The new version of the AIM 6 beta software is 6.2.14.2. You may determine this by going to Help and then selecting About AIM. This release incorporates the following new features:

• The Buddy Notes feature, also known as Buddy Notes in AIM 5.9. The Edit/New Buddy window now offers a Notes field. The Notes entered against a buddy are surfaced in the Quickview tooltip for that buddy.
• A new theme, black chrome, has been added to the color changer, accessible from the small circular button next to Help on your Buddy List.

The new build also offers some functionality changes:

• A self-extracting installer will be used to deliver the build to your machine. This means that there should be fewer problems with downloading installers for this and future versions of the software.
• The Notifications window has been redesigned to look much smaller and use Arial font text as opposed to the Times New Roman font that was used in previous versions of the software.
• The Settings window is now accessible from the Sign On screen. To get to it, simply select or enter an already-saved user name in the Screen Name field and then either click the Settings link below the Sign On button or go to Edit then select Settings.

They look forward to your active participation in another round of beta testing.

"We encourage you to use the resources provided in this site such as Known and Fixed issues, Message Boards , and the Feedback or Bug Report forms." [via Beta AOL]

So download beta AIM 6, and get started.

Help Test Democracy Player

If aren't familier with Democarcy Player here something from their About:

"There's an opportunity to build a new, open mass medium of online television. We're developing the Democracy internet TV platform so that watching internet video channels will be as easy as watching TV and broadcasting a channel will be open to everyone. Unlike traditional TV, everyone will have a voice." [via About Democracy]


The new Democracy Player 0.9.6 release candidate includes some nice new features:

• ability to watch any folder on your computer for new videos
• resume playback functionality
• more keyboard shortcuts
• better Windows Vista compatibility.

You can download it here: Democracy Player 0.9.6 RC

You can report bugs here: file a bug report.

Keep in mind that this is pre-release software and may contain serious bugs.

Beta test Office On Demand from Box.net

Box.net has released a feature for the Office addicts - Office On Demand (tentative name). It will allow you to save Microsoft Office documents to you Box and currently available for Windows XP and Vista for Word, Powerpoint, Excel, and Access both in 2007 and 2003.



"A small “Save to Box.net” button will appear as a button in your toolbar section of the Office app - upon clicking, you’ll be able to login and upload your file to Box. Extremely useful if you’re jumping between computers or devices. We’ll be adding Box Network sharing functionality soon as well." [via Box.net Blog]

Download and let them know what do you think.

Something off topic. Blogger added a new feature that automatically saves drafts. they should call it a beta feature, since it didn't work, and I had to write this post again.

Opera Mini Beta - new Dimension

Opera is getting ready new beta for their Opera Mini, and you can be notified by email or on your IM when it is ready.

"Be the first to look at the next generation of Opera Mini, code-named Dimension! Sign up to receive an alert when the beta is ready for the world. You can leave your email address or one of your usernames for an instant messaging client.

People like you are actively shaping the Web and that's why it's so important for us to collect and act on your feedback." [via Opera Mini]

CA Protection Suite Beta Program

CA invites you to participate in the Protection Suite r3.1 Beta Program.

From the product data sheet:

"Designed to meet the unique needs of small and medium sized businesses, CA rotection Suites provide cost-effective, easy-to-manage solutions that help ensure your IT assets are secure and available, enabling you to focus on running and growing your business. CA Protection Suites provide comprehensive data protection for your ritical IT assets, combining security, backup and desktop migration capabilities into egrated solutions that help minimize risks, prevent downtime, and reduce IT management costs."

To participate you will have to register and provide basic personal information.

Online forms are used to submit issues and send your feedback.

VMware Player 2 Beta Program

VMware has released the VMware Player 2 Beta.

"Welcome to VMware Player 2 Beta Program! We invite you to download the beta to try out several new and exciting features, such as:

• Experimental Support for 2-way Virtual SMP - Assign more than a single CPU to a virtual machine to experience better performance
• Share data seamlessly between the virtual machine and host computer - Leverage Shared Folders or simply drag and drop files between the virtual and physical machines to share data efficiently
• Support for Windows Vista - Use Windows Vista as host and guest operating system
• Support for USB 2.0 devices - Use peripherals that require high-speed performance in your VMs, such as MP3 Players and fast storage devices
• Appliance view - Start a virtual appliance in the appliance view to review brief description and other relevant information provided by the appliance author
• New Home Page - Leverage an intuitive home page interface that lets you open existing virtual machines or browse the VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace to download any of the 425 virtual appliances. Virtual appliances are pre-built, pre-configured and ready-to-run enterprise software applications packaged along with an operating system within virtual machines
• Broad host and guest operating system support - Run any of the over 60 supported 32- and 64-bit guest operating systems including Vista, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, Ubuntu 6.10 and many more"

[via VMware Betas]

There is a dedicated forum to discuss this beta for registered users.
Only self-help and web-based support is offered for Beta users during the term of the Beta period is . No support will be provided by phone.

They also have other ongoing betas that can be discovered here.

Being a tester for Microsoft Live Hotmail

I just received a letter from Microsoft thanking me for participating in the Hotmail beta.
The letter also contains offer for mail signature indicating I was Beta Tester and also a Windows Vista offer.

The Vista Offer includes:

• Save $100 on a high-performance Gateway FX530 Series PC with Windows Vista Ultimate.
• Get 4 FREE hardware accessories from Epson, Kingston, D-Link and Artec with a custom-built system running Windows Vista Ultimate from a local PC builder.

I'm not sure if I'll use the offer, but it is nice to know that your help is appreciated.

Pidgin, formerly Gaim, version 2 beta

Pidgin, formerly known as Gaim, has released the last beta of version 2.


"While previous betas in the 2.0.0 series have been extremely stable, and we recommended their use, this release is actually of beta quality. This is our first release to reflect the name change from Gaim to Pidgin, and so there are a lot of fairly significant changes here, which we'd like to see have broader testing before declaring it ready for release...

I strongly recommend that you backup your ~/.gaim directory before running Pidgin for the first time. Windows users should see where their version of Windows stores their configuration files at our Win32 FAQ. Things you should be on the lookout for include problems with preferences being lost or forgotten, buddy icons not working as you expect, plugins or other external files not properly being found. If you find an issue that severely prohibits you from using 2.0.0beta7, please report it at http://developer.pidgin.im/. There are a bunch of less fundamental, more cosmetic changes in this release that are sure to jump out at you" [via Pidgin News]

If you would like to help with testing, grab a copy from Sourceforge.net

Microsoft Windows for Home Programs

Microsoft is rolling out two beta programs that are aimed for home users.

The first one is for Windows Home Server.


The program requires having

• two or more PCs,
• a broadband connection and router,
• and a spare PC or server that can be dedicated to Windows Home Server software.

In order to participate you will have to answer initial survey and based on your results Microsoft will contact you (or not) with the next steps.


The second one is for Windows Media Center.


The application process consists of a series of questions that are required for participation in the beta program. Once they receive your application, it will be reviewed for consideration.

Only the chosen will be contacted via e-mail by May 31, 2007.

Imity, the social radar in beta

Imity Pocket radar is aimed for bluetooth enabled phones.

"If Imity is active on your phone, you don't have to do a thing. From your pocket, it will sense other Imity users and mobile phones with discoverable Bluetooth."

So, when it is active on your phone, it searches for bluethooth enabled devices near you like PDAs, phones and laptops. When it finds, it logs those devices, so you can know when was the last time you met them, mailed them, called them, visited their blog or just was near them.

There is also a web application to expand the data about yourself, and the ability to receive from your Imity friends data about what is going on their location, helping you decide whether to go there on not.

If you want to be Imity Pocket radar beta tester go to imity.com/pocket-radar, enter your email and get an invite.

[via WIRED Blog]

uTorrent new beta

uTorrent released a new beta version of their Bittorrent client, as part of Bittorent Inc. . The new version 1.7 beta was already updated to solve some immediate problems and is ready for mass testing. Lots and lots of updates and fixes waiting for you at this link.

Yahoo's alpha beta

Yahoo just rolled out a new search engine called alpha that is currently in beta. This story probably would not be mentioned here unless the name of the new service: alpha beta - that is surpisingly similar to this blog's name: alpha beta 3.

Sign up for GameTap's Beta Test

"AOL is seeking beta testers for TimeWarner's GameTap network, which provides on-demand access to games of old such as Asteroids and Zork. The service frequently adds new features such as customizable controller mappings, and needs a team of testers to provide feedback." [via BetaNews]





To apply, visit GameTap's beta site and use the password: CoralSea. Fill out GameTap's beta application with as much detail as possible. Not everyone who applies will be accepted, and your answers will be used to determine your qualifications for beta testing.

Goggle Desktop on Mac

Today Google released Google Desktop for Mac users. The long waited release is in beta and is available for download for you, Mac owner.

More Mac stuff from Macs inside Google Blog.

Box.net needs beta testers

Box.net provides secure online file storage and sharing functionality, serving files to millions of people around the world. Box.net's unique platform allows personal and commercial content to be accessible, sharable, and storable in any format from anywhere.

"We’re about to launch an all new Box widget that has many additional Professional and media-friendly features. We’d really like some help beta testing the feature - it shouldn’t take much time, and could be a lot of fun." [via Box.net Blog]

Here’s the ideal beta tester for them:

1. Has their own website or blog
2. Uses Box to distribute files to 10+ people regularly (can be family, friends, colleagues) or, uses Box to collaborate with a group of people
3. Willing to be quoted in Box literature

If you’d like to help test their product, just send an email to aaron@box.net

Deepfish for a try

Microsoft just released a limited public preview of Deepfish.

"Deepfish is a new type of mobile information browsing experience, aimed at preserving the rich layout and full form of documents on mobile devices while providing novel ways of effectively navigating that content on small screens. Deepfish's unique interface enables you to zoom in and out of page, quickly getting to the areas you are interested in without screen length after screen length of scrolling. And because the layout is preserved, navigation menus, lists of search results or news headlines, and other elements that might have been bent so thoroughly to fit the usual single column layout that they were no longer legible can now be browsed simply and easily. A consequence of Deepfish's multi-resolution approach to browsing pages is that it loads a thumbnail of pages initially and then only what is needed for more detail when requested or in the background as you browse the initial the view, resulting in substantially quicker load times for most pages." [via Microsoft Live Labs]

To really understand what they are talking about check the demo.

The preview is available for download now for Windows Mobile 5.0+ devices. There are a limited number of slots available, and they will be distributed on a first come, first serve basis.

System requirements:

• Device: Windows Mobile Smart Phone or Pocket PC.
• Operating System: Windows Mobile 5.0+
• Internet connection: Required.
• For Desktop setup: NET Framework 2.0, ActiveSync 4.0+ or Windows Mobile Device Center(WMDC) for Vista.
• Minimum Device Memory: 64MB Program Memory. Deepfish supports external storage when available.

Register and give it a try. They are waiting for your feedback.

Opera 9.2 Beta

Opera 9.2 Beta was released today (March 28, 2007).

"Here's your first look at Speed Dial, a brand new way to get to your favorite sites. Speed Dial opens in any blank tab to give you immediate access to your favorite sites." [via Opera Labs]



Other related news: "Adobe has announced Creative Suite 3 where Opera is used by several components as a rendering engine". [via Opera Desktop Team]

Read the changelog and download a copy to test.

Skype 3.2 beta for Windows

Skype 3.2 beta for Windows is available from today. If you’re adventurous and an experienced Skype user, download now.

Here are the most significant changes in this version.

Send Money with PayPal

You may have heard Niklas talking about this just last week at the VON conference down in San Jose. We have also referred to this feature previously. And now it’s finally out as part of this beta.

It’s very easy to use. Both the sender and receiver just need to have a PayPal account. The receiver may also create the account later after you have already sent the money.

This feature is subject to PayPal limitations — you need to be in countries where Paypal supports respectively sending or receiving money. If you use it to send money to someone who cannot receive it, the funds are returned to your account or credit card, so it’s fine and no money is lost.

See our user guide for more information about how exactly to use this feature.

You may also say that Skype is now your PayPal contact list. PayPal itself didn’t have a contact list feature. And now all your PayPal send/receive transactions can happen right within Skype.

Video snapshot

Do you have a webcam and you thought it would be great to shoot your profile picture with it? So that even if you didn’t use video, people could still see you. Previously, you needed to use some other program for this and shoot the picture and move files around and resize and crop and save in different formats and do all these many little things until you finally got your picture to Skype.

So we thought… why not have this capability right within Skype itself? Now you can take your picture with your webcam and use it as My Picture in Skype, saving all this trouble. Just click “Personalise”, “Change your Picture” and “Take video snapshot”. After you shoot the picture, you can resize it and select a part of it that you wish to use. See the user guide for more info and instructions.

Easier account access

If you use our paid products, you may have some Skype Credit, Skype Voicemail and one or more SkypeIn numbers. You may have made several purchases and called various numbers with SkypeOut. From time to time, you may want to review your history or even buy new things. You previously needed to go to Your Account on the web to do all this. While you can still do it this way, there’s an easier method now available. Just click the “View Account” button in Skype and see all the essential information right in Skype. You can then do more transactions right within Skype, or when necessary, we will automatically take you to the relevant part of our website or shop.

Import contacts from more sources

Not everyone is on Skype yet — but you can help them get to it. We had Import Contacts previously available, but it could only import from Outlook and Outlook Express before. In this version, we have added support for importing from Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail and Gmail. You will need to enter your account info for importing the contacts.

Importing contacts may help you find out that your friends are already on Skype, just not in your contacts yet. When the importer has downloaded your contacts from the various sites, it does an intelligent search on the Skype network to see if these people are already on Skype. They often are, and so you don’t need to pursue them to download Skype or anything — you can just add them to your contacts right away. But if they are not on Skype yet, you can send them an e-mail to invite them to Skype straight from Import contacts wizard.

If you’re an experienced user and want to try out Skype 3.2 beta now, download it here. See also this page for information about how to report bugs and give us feedback.

[via Skype Share]

Fusion Beta Program

Fusion is a code name for VMware Desktop Virtualization for Mac and recently entered second beta.

"VMware's desktop virtualization for the Mac, codename Fusion, allows you to run any PC application on your Intel-based Mac. Fusion's Cocoa-native user interface is designed from the ground up to make running Windows or other x86 operating systems side-by-side with Mac OS X simple and painless."

What's new in Beta 2

Experimental 3D graphics: The rumors are true! You can now play select DirectX 8.1 games in a Windows XP virtual machine. See the release notes for details.

Rollback: Take a snapshot of your virtual machine configured just the way you like it, so you can quickly roll back to that ideal state whenever you need to, with a single click.

Run Microsoft Vista on your Mac: Want to run Vista on your Mac? Run Vista Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate 32-bit or 64-bit editions side-by-side with Mac OS X.

Improved networking support: Full support for AirPort networking with seamless switching between wired and AirPort/Wi-Fi connections.

Improved ability to add virtual hardware: Add virtual hard drives for more storage capacity, add up to ten virtual network interfaces to support private and public networks, and keep an eye on your laptop's battery level from inside your virtual machines.

Beta 2 also includes scores of improvements that make it faster, more reliable, and easier to use. See the release notes for more details.

If you are a Mac owner, you can download and try Fusion Beta 2.