Y Combinator Demo Day Showcases Some Great Apps
Y Combinator is a
VC-slash-Incubator organization that seems to be producing some
interesting companies (with a definite leaning toward Flash based
technologies). They recently held a demo day to showcase some of
their apps. The following ones caught my attention for the reasons
described.
I have been using
anywhere.fm for a couple of weeks now and
really like it. Although I have a bit of an aversion to Flash apps
hosted in web browsers this actually seems like a great
implementation. That said, it wouldn't be that hard to pull off as
an Ajax app. My company's next product code-named m*******t will do
some similar things and with a much better interface :) For now,
you can create an account at
http://www.anywhere.fm, upload
your music collection, the stream it from any other Flash enabled
browser. From a SoNet perspective you can stream, but not download,
your friends music collection too.
Another product out of the Y Combinator world is
Versionate.
While it is yet-another-wiki-as-a-hosted-service it is dead easy to
setup and use. I think one of its biggest attractions to me is that
is has so few features. If you need a feature-rich and robust wiki
solution then look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for
something easy to setup that loads quickly and allows you to
capture a thought mid-stream then this is well worth the
consideration. We have a very informal (aka non-existent)
documentation process where I work. I am finding versionate
invaluable in capturing, storing and organizing critical
information.
I just came across fauxto this evening so I have not had any
opportunity to use it yet. According to the claims it offers a lot
of the functionality of Adobe's Photoshop in a web delivered Flash
app. Since my forte is in server-side development I can not justify
the license for Photoshop. However I do find myself having to do
basic image manipulation from time-to--time and it is almost always
for low/non paying charity gigs where I can not leverage the
kick-ass front-end skills of some of my designer friends. I'm
looking forward to trying out fauxto in the coming days. If you are
interested in learning more about
Y Combinator
then check out the link. If you think you have a great idea that is
worthy of their financing then take a look at
www.ycombinator.com/w2008.html where they talk
about their application process and deadline for next round of
financing and assistance.
Y Combinator Demo Day: The Summer Startups
wtf is buggy rollin?
Buggy Rollin is a new
activity that involves gravity and rollerblades... attached to
points all over your body! Seriously! This clip shows a guy
hurtling down a winding road in the Swiss Alps. Check out the last
couple of minutes as he demonstrates rolling under an amoured
personnel carrier. Let's hope suicide bombers aren't as insane as
this guy :| [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obvDwkfZdXA]
And here is the same guy going up against a motorbike on some
strange Japanese game show.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3WqjH9_Ezs]
Microsoft ASP.NET Ajax, Late Binding & Reflection
Scenario: Want to query server for latest copy of an object. Created getTemplate()
v1. getTemplate(string templateName)
[WebMethod]
publicobject getTemplate(string assetType)
{
switch (assetType.ToLower())
{
case"adbeast.myadbeast.collection":
returnnew adbeast.myadbeast.collection();
break;
case"adbeast.myadbeast.bookmark":
returnnew adbeast.myadbeast.bookmark();
break;
case"adbeast.myadbeast.image":
returnnew adbeast.myadbeast.image();
break;
default:
thrownewException("request for unsupported object type(" + assetType + ")");
break;
}
}
v2
[WebMethod]
publicobject getTemplate(string assetType)
{
return assetObject;
Type t = typeof(assetType);
object obj = Activator.CreateInstance(t);
MethodInfo mi = typeof(t).GetMethod();
ConstructorInfo ci = typeof(collection).GetConstructor(Type.EmptyTypes);
}
v3
[WebMethod]
publicobject getTemplate(object assetObject)
{
return assetObject;
}