Posts Tagged ‘Web 2.0’

Websites: Spock.com and Wink.com

October 26, 2008

I discovered two interesting site spock.com and wink.com.  Spock.com will find people on the web with just a name search.  I searched my name and found there were many Vu Nguyen’s out there, there was a lot.  More interesting is the fact that I saw at least two female profiles with my name.  It’s more of a fun tool than an actual people finder.

Wink.com asks for a bit more info, name and location.  This gives a more refine search.  I’m placed at the top of the list on wink.com but i was nowhere to be found on spock.com.  You’re not gonna find missing people on these sites but it’s still fun to see all the people with your name.

Both sites have a free registration to sign up.  Spock.com offers very little reason to sign up for an account. However wink.com allows you to update your info, find out how many people searched for you, get notified when someone searches for you, get alerts when someon leaves you a message.  Probably the most spy worthy thing is both sites let’s you track your friends online activities.  I signed up for wink.com just for fun.  So far two people have searched for me.  Try them out and see how many people search for you.

The new Yahoo Calendar.

October 14, 2008

There are plenty of calendars out there to chose from.  Any major site from Google, MSN, AOL, etc., will provide you with a basic online calendar.  Yahoo came out with a new beta Calendar.  Not clear why they waited so long to revamp their calendar, better late than never.

I’ve been using the old Yahoo calendar for about a year now and it was pretty basic.  You had your different views for day, week, month.  The calendar had a little picture at the top corner, probably from Flickr.  Very basic stuff, nothing fancy.

The new calendar looks much better.  Tabs for the different views, flickr images randomly placed in your calendar.  A feature I like is the multiple calendars.  I created a calendar for my girlfriend and made it pink, mine is blue.  Her events are highlighted in pink and mine are in blue.  It makes it easy to read.  The thing I like most about the new calendar is the “To Do” list on the right.  It is easy to read and easy to add more to the list.  So far everything is working great, no glitches.  This might be my favorite online Calendar (for now).

Follow the ->

October 8, 2008

If you are new to WordPress, like I am, you might wonder how do I find random WordPress blogs?  I like to browse randomly because it gives me a chance to find a blog I might not otherwise find with tags.  It’s very simple but I just wanted to point it out in case you didn’t know.

I Prosper.com, you Prosper.com

October 8, 2008
Prosper.com

Prosper.com

With the credit market frozen like a huge ice block what are consumers to do if they need a loan.  Banks stop lending to anyone including other banks.  Credit terms are changing without consumer agreeing to the new terms.  I’ve even heard on the radio today that because of the credit market some consumers have seen their rates hike for no reason – even if they have been making timely payments.

If you’re in need of a short term, 3 year, fully amortized loan you might be in luck.  Prosper.com allows anyone to post a loan request and let regular people like myself bid on them.  The borrower would have to provide personal information like income, ssn, and a full credit report.  Lenders, not banks, will able to view a summary of all information and place bids on the loan.  A lender can bid on any loan that is still open, even if it’s fully funded, at any rate they want.  The more people bid the lower the rates get. The minimum bid on a loan is $50 and up to the full amount of the loan.  The average loan rate at Prosper.com is around 8.68%.  Not bad if you can’t get a loan anywhere else.

Once the loan is fully funded there is a loan agreement between the borrower and all of the lenders with terms and agreement.  Nobody signs the agreement but it is there if it is needed.  I have had a few bad loans that did default but the majority is in good standing.  The defaulted loan goes to a collection agency.  So far, none of the defaulted loan have been recoverd.  I’m still working out a method for picking good borrowers.

You do the Hulu

October 6, 2008
Hulu

Hulu

Hulu.com is a site where you can watch full length TV episodes legally.  Hulu was founded in March of 2007 by NBC Universal and News Corp.  Unlike Youtube.com all contents here are legally obtained from the networks.  Currently there are more than 100 content provider including Fox, NBC, WB, USA Network, and a bunch of other small networks.

I recently tried out the service to watch Fox’s new thriller Fringe.  I saw the pilot episode but have missed the next three.  I went straight to the lateste episode 4 – The Arrival.  The total time for the show was 49 minutes with only six commerical breaks all less than 1 minute each.  Hulu offers a few social networking features such as star rating, reviews, and discussions.  I plan on signing up for an account and see what other features are available for registered users.  The service was great, too bad I can’t say the same for the episode.


Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.