New Media Picks Of The Week: Sharewood Picnic 21

Here is a great set of new tools and online resources found this past week. Some of these are breaking new tools and services, others are unknown little gems I have just discovered.

Photo credit: Paul Harvey

Feel free to download, test and try-out any of them. They are all free and readily available for immediate access. Here is wat I've found:

1. A Web 2.0 Clearinghouse

2. RSS Aggregator And Podcast Player

3. Keyword-Based RSS Feed Generator

4. RSS Search Tool With Podcast Player

5. RSS Search Tool With Email Notification

6. RSS Update Toolbar

7. Video Hosting And Publishing Service

8. Site Dissector And Link Popularity Reporter By Yahoo

9. The Skype Toolbars For IE And Outlook

10. Branded Toolbar Creator For Your Own Site

11. Secure Encrypted Instant Messenger

12. Teacher Presentation And Monitoring Software For The Networked Classroom

1. eHub
   
   
   
   eHub is an online clearinghouse for the latest web applications, services and resources, with a strong focus on Web 2.0. A project of Emily Chang, a San Francisco web designer, eHub showcases a large list of sites and applications, including resources on: blogging, bookmarking, coding, open source, calendaring, geotracking, podcasting, music sharing, mash-ups, search tools and social sites. eHub also posts daily interviews, is customizable by category or alphabetically, and has a search feature.
   http://www.emilychang.com/go/ehub/
   





2. Gritwire
   
   Gritwire is an RSS aggregator/reader service/software. Users can browse their favorite blogs, RSS feeds, podcasts (a player is built-in) or other information through their MyGritwire page, or by using the Gritwire Toolbar. Gritwire also makes it possible to set up personal profile pages, community networks and wiki pages. Free.
   http://www.gritwire.com/
   





3. Kebberfegg
   
   
   Kebberfegg makes it easy to set up multiple keyword-based RSS feeds (feeds generated with search engines) at once. Just type in the topic of your search, select the categories of feeds you want to generate (news, blogs, press releases, etc.) and then plug the RSS results into your aggregator. It speeds and streamlines the process of setting up feeds across several search resources, and gives choice of HTML or OPML.
   http://www.researchbuzz.org/tools/kebberfegg.pl
   





4. Search4RSS
   
   A search tool and directory with a podcast player built in, Search4RSS has thousands of news feeds and other syndicated feeds already indexed. Feeds can be added, searched and accessed without registration, and feeds can be added easily as well.
   http://www.search4rss.com/11/
   





5. Atiki
   
   Atiki is an RSS search tool that scours websites and blogs automatically for the keywords and tags you specify, and sends you the results via RSS or by email each day, weekly or bi-weekly. The site works in English or French, and searches the content of feeds, not just the titles. A free version is available and a premium version is coming soon.
   http://www.atiki.com/en/index.php
   





6. KnowNow eLerts
   
   eLerts is a service (still in beta) from KnowNow.com that offers notification instantly whenever relevant RSS content is posted, without the use of an RSS aggregator or web site. Instead, users receive notifications via a toolbar, in real time. The toolbar works in conjunction with PubSub, includes with a directory of RSS feeds, and features drag-and-drop subscription for new feeds. A free download.
   http://www.knownow.com/about/...
   
7. etVlog
   
   etVLOG is a resource for posting video to a blog easily and without downloading any software or paying for the hosting. Developed by video services company ETVMedia, etVLOG is aimed at any individual or business looking to add video content to their website, blog, IM, email, or eBay auction page. To use the software, registered users just upload the video and receive a secure URL they can link from their site immediately. Captions, transcripts or other information can be added as well. Content producers can also decide whether to give away the videos for free or charge a fee, of which etVLOG will take a percentage. Supports Windows Media 8 or higher at 100 kbps or higher, with audio at least 70Kbps. A basic version is free.
   http://www.etvlog.com/log/index.jsp
   





8. Yahoo Site Explorer
   
   
   Yahoo! Site Explorer (beta) is a database containing detailed information about the architecture of the web. Aimed at webmasters, it allows users to explore any web site in-depth, including finding information about its popularity and identifying precisely all the sites that link to it. Yahoo! Site Explorer also lets you see all of the pages within any specific web domain, or even within a specific directory. A Site Explorer API is also available.
   http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/siteexplorer/learnmore
   





9. Skype Toolbars
   
   Skype Toolbars work as a supplement to their online phone service, enabling users to combine the information on their browser or email with the ability to call them instantly with Skype. The Internet Explorer toolbar allows users to call or chat contacts, dial numbers displayed on web pages, find country code prefixes automatically based on page domains, and more, all from the toolbar. However, the toolbar only works with Internet Explorer. The Outlook toolbar enables users to bring their Skype and Outlook contacts together in one place, call contacts from emails, make SkypeOut calls to contacts not on Skype, send IM, and allow users to attach a "Skype Me" icon to their email signature. The toolbar does not work with Outlook Express. Both toolbars are free, are easy to install, and include the ability to search with Google or Yahoo, change online/offline status and view credits as well
   http://www.skype.com/products/skypetoolbars/
   





10. Effective Brand Toolbars
    
    
    Effective Brand is a company that makes it possible to create a toolbar for your site, customizable with your logo, choice of buttons and search engine, RSS feed, and other options. The service creates a toolbar that suits the specific needs of frequent visitors to your site, allowing news feeds from yours or other relevant sites to be delivered automatically to their browser. Effective Brand's toolbars are equipped to support a media player for video, audio and podcasts, and any changes made will show up immediately, without the need for users to download it again. Free and without ads.
    http://www.effectivebrand.com/Intro.aspx
    





11. Trilogy EC
    
    The Trilogy EC Professional Edition is an encrypted communicator platform supporting chat, IM and file transfer that uses the Rijndael algorithm (Advanced Encryption Standard) with a key length of 256 bits. The producers state the technology was developed by the US Department of Defense for military applications, but is now available for civilian use, allowing up to five people to communicate simultaneously and securely. TrilogyEC does not depend on a third-party server, it instead uses private multipoint relays to create a secure communication topology. Designed for people looking to keep their communications very private, the free software is available in Spanish and English.
    http://www.trilogysolutions.com/products-trilogyec.html
    





12. Redianet Class
    
    Redianet Class is a network program that gives instructors access to their students' PCs while in the classroom. It allows instructors to directly display content on their students' screens, observe the screens from the teacher terminal, guide the students browsers, and use an enlarged on-screen pointer to bring attention to specific locations. Redianet Class enables teachers to show multimedia presentations on all screens simultaneously, eliminating the need for using VCRs and DVDs. A trial version is available, but loses usability after 30 days.
    http://www.redianet.com/en/products/index.htm