June, 2007 - Softonic English

HiPiHi interview part 2

Here is the second part of the interview we had with Cindy Jiang, head of marketing for HiPiHi. If you haven’t yet, check out the first part of the interview, where we learn about the Chinese virtual world and some elements of interaction between users.

The private beta is built around Genesis, which includes 5 episodes, associated with the development of your HiPiHi world. Will this be the same with the final version? Will every user go through this introductory process?

“Hipihi –Genesis” includes five episodes, following the principles in the real world. The first section is called “the making of heaven and earth”, we will explore the new world together. Next, we will utilize the character image editing system and the powerful creating system in the episodes of “the making of human beings” and “the exploitation of the works of nature”. The preliminary system of social economy and transaction will be created in the episode of “the insubstantial mirage”. In the last episode, “appearance of the society”, every resident of Hipihi sees the new world and society created by themselves.

How is it specific to Chinese culture? Are you aiming exclusively at Chinese users?

The site is currently in beta testing mode with about 10,000 users – about 15 percent are from overseas. Although we are currently focusing on the Chinese market, we are thinking globally in the long-term. We are aspiring to create a 3D net standard, engendering a global virtual community, and are working to offer HiPiHi in multiple languages.

What is the state of the web in China? How do you place HiPiHi in China’s web and tech industry today?

We believe a major trend will be the gradual move from a 2D to 3D web environment. As time goes by the whole social networking arena will shift into the 3D environment. The contextual web as we know it today will become a truly experiential web, as users and providers explore new ways to effect functionality, creativity and generally improve the online environment. In this respect, we hope that HiPiHi will be ahead of the curve.

When will HiPiHi be launched to the public? Are you also planning on an English version?

Our public test will happen in August, and the full commercial launch will hopefully be sometime in the autumn. The English version is under development, and we are planning to release it later.

In a recent interview, the founder of HiPiHi, Hui Xu, said that you had invited sociologists and economists to create “a shared and fair world which will finally embrace the various cultures of the real world”. What steps are you taking to reach this goal?

Now the HiPiHi world is under limited beta test. So during the period our main goal is to make the creation function more powerful and foster our resident community, and form HiPiHi’s unique value.

Will HiPiHi support Windows Vista?

Yes. It will support Windows Vista. Right now there are little problems with the compatibility between the HiPiHi world and Vista. Fortunately, the solution is on the agenda.

A great tool for all your digital photo editing needs

Sometimes we find real treasures in the shape of free applications. Today we discovered one of them: its name is Photoscape and it’s an excellent free photo editor with which you’ll be able to view pictures, optimize them, create and print collages or spice them up with some of the dozens of filters included in the program. A color picker, a file renamer, a screen capture and a RAW converter add the final touch to this amazing application.

Power up your Fruity Loops sound library

When it comes to laying down beats in your bedroom, they don’t come much better than the Fruity Loops Sound Studio. The popular application has become renowned for its powerful mixing and editing tools, and perhaps its only drawback is the fact that there are never enough samples bundled with it.

However, there are plenty of sites around that offer royalty-free loops and samples for you to play about with. For instance, Q-Music serves up a bumper selection of top quality royalty free music tracks via download. While if it’s drum loops you’re looking for then Silicon Beats is a good bet, as it packages thousands of loops into easily downloadble packages. Perhaps our favourite though is Platinum Loops, a whopper of a site where you seem to be able to get hold of anything from bangara basslines to flute samples. What’s more you can get hold of a decent selection of free loops.

Google Docs receives makeover

Google Docs and Spreadsheets has received a big makeover today with an entirely new interface. The new look features a new Docs list which looks a lot better compared to the old plain look. It also seems a lot quicker and responsive than the old version. One of the best features is that you can drag and drop things into the new folders which replace the old tag system. Email migration makes it easy to import email from IMAP email servers, and the shared address book makes it simple to email and share documents. Finally, the search box now predicts searches for you in much the same way as the Google Toolbar works.

However, reaction has been mixed. Wired is disappointed by the look saying:

Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a way to re-order the folder list hierarchy other than with creative naming conventions. But the real problem with the new folders is their inconsistent behavior. Files can be be placed in multiple folders, but rather confusingly this only works from the main list.

There’s other big Google Apps news though. The Intranet Journal reports on the the release of Google Apps Premier Edition with advanced features for companies and organisations. The Journal states:

Pricing is a flat $50 per user per year, which is a big savings over a full office suite, although there’s no bulk discount. Google offers a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee for Gmail for paid users, but no guarantee for the other apps in the collection.

However, even this Premier version still requires an internet connection to access the documents which leads to the question – when will Google Gears work with Google Apps so that we can use the documents and spreadsheets offline. For a complete look at the new Google Apps, click here.

Bean: a sleek free word processor for Mac

Bean is a stylish alternative to Microsoft Word, Open Office or Nisus Writer. We were impressed by the selection of tools in Bean like the inspector, font manager, dictionary and statistics. The glossy interface makes everything easily accessible. Even though Bean suffers from limited editing features, it offers all the tools you should expect from a good word processor.

Use the Vista Start menu in Windows XP

We’ve already seen a few Vista themes for Windows XP but none of them included the new Vista start menu, which enables you to find and open files and applications just by entering the first few letters of their names. Now you can have that on Windows XP with ViStart, a Vista start menu clone that replaces the standard XP menu and adds that same Vista functionality. It’s just the perfect complement for your Vista themed XP!

Tony Blair’s top software timewasters

Tony on guitar So, after 10 historic years as British Prime Minister, Tony Blair has left Parliament for the last time. The retiring PM will no doubt be spending some time basking in the praise he’s been getting from people like George Bush and Bono (and of course, trying to ignore everyone who’s glad to see the back of him), but what will he do next? Well Tony, if you’re back home reading insideTonic and wondering how you’re going to fill the days from now on then why not download some PC software to pass the time? We think these will come in particularly useful:

1. AbiWord – Typing up your memoirs is going to take you a while. Save yourself some money now you’re unemployed by using this impressive free word processor rather than paying for MS Office.

2. Risk – If you ever get hungry for power again then you’ll have to settle for pretend politics, I’m afraid. This computerized version of the classic game of world domination might be just what you’re looking for.

3. Guitar Pro – We all know you like to play the guitar so why not resurrect your dreams of becoming the next Jimi Hendrix with this comprehensive guitar tuition application?

4. Peacemaker – Rumour has it that you’re thinking about a move into the UN to help resolve conflict in the Middle East. The object of this game is to try and resolve the crisis by playing as the Israeli or the Palestinian leader, so you can see if you’re up to the job.

5. Envisioneer Express – Now that Gordon Brown has turfed you out of Number 10, you’re going to have to get yourself a new pad. Put a smile on Cherie’s face by creating a dream home using this 3D home design tool.

Snapshot of the tech world 10 years ago

Old computer Ten years are nothing – except in the world of technology. Computers, the Internet and the software industry have evolved a lot in the last decade as a result of the implementation of new protocols, programming languages and advanced hardware capabilities.

Ten years ago many people were using Windows 95, which sold more than one million copies in just four days. Apple hired Steve Jobs as a consultant, Macromedia launched Flash 1.0 and two young students at the Stanford University began developing Google. Other famous sites like eBay, Hotmail and Amazon had been launched just a few months before. These were also the years when the DVD and the wheel mouse were born, when Sony released its first VAIO and the IBM computer Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov in a chess match.

In 1997 our computers had 233 MHz processors and we connected to the Internet with 33.6 modems. And how did web pages look ten years ago? The answer is in the Wayback Machine, where you can view archived versions of many websites across the years. Plain designs, just a few graphics not to overload connections and pure, simple HTML that has little to do with today’s Ajax technology. It’s real time travel and it’s just a few clicks away!

Google launches news in images

Google Operating System has the scoop on a new interface which the search giant has added to its news pages. ‘Google News Image Version‘ displays headlines as thumbnail images in the main panel and includes an animated sidebar which highlights your chosen story when you hover over an image.

The interface is attractive and easy to use. It definitely adds a new dimension to reading the news but it will be even better when it uses video. There is some criticism that claims that Google has gone slightly over the top with its implementation of AJAX on the page but we think the interface is pretty snazzy. Currently, the new look is only available for the US, Australian, Canadian and Chinese news sites.

uTorrent soon on Mac

A while back we brought you the news that Bittorrent had acquired uTorrent (also known as µTorrent), one of the best torrent clients for PC. We argued that it was a good thing because it would give the small torrent company more financial push to keep improving uTorrent and take advantage of the Bittorrent back catalogue and know-how.

It certainly looks like uTorrent has been working hard since the deal was called. While they were the first ones to introduce a Web UI for their torrent client it has now been confirmed that they’re turning towards the Mac platform. Judging from the mini review on TorrentFreak, uTorrent for Mac will have a number of close similarities to its PC version: simple interface, speedy downloads and quick load times. Disappointingly though, the search function should only take you to the Bittorrent.com site. We’re hoping it will feature the customization features and all the download statistics that you get in the PC version. uTorrent faces some stiff competition on Mac though with the likes of Transmission, Bits on Wheels and Xtorrent .