Note: Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to do something that I have rarely done before on the Free Line – I am going share my opinion. Don’t worry; this will be a one time thing. Everything will go back to normal soon enough. With that said, here we go:

Over the past few days, I have seen roughly 5.3 billion ads for the Motorola Droid, an Android-powered smart phone that is currently calling Verizon Wireless home. In the spots, an ominous looking red light tells us that “Droid Does” nearly everything we ever wanted a mobile device to do, from running multiple apps at once to allowing Windows/Mac style widgets to having an “open” development system. The not-so-hidden message, of course, is that these are the very things that the current generation of the iPhone is simply unable to pull off. Many of those “in the know” love the ads, saying that they are exactly what is needed to “sway the masses” away from the cold steel grip of Apple. “The Android platform allows for innovation,” they cry as they load their copy of Google Voice onto their brand new Droid. “Apple holds down technology in favor of keeping their profits up. It’s a proven fact. These advertisements are making people see that.”

Now for those who are not fluent in “righteous guy,” allow me to translate:

“Google can do no wrong. They say all the right things, use all the right buzzwords. They support Net Neutrality. They encourage open source programming. They love Linux, genuinely believe that being ‘open’ is the only way to go, and make it their mission not to ‘be evil.’ We once thought that Apple was in the same boat. That all changed when they kept the Google Voice app in limbo. Since Google is pretty much infallible and is always right about everything, we figure that Apple is playing the role of the ‘evil corporation’ here. With that in mind, we officially renounce the iPhone and officially proclaim Google Android as the mobile platform of choice. It is only a matter of time until the rest of the world joins us in our fight against Apple. The ads for the Motorola Droid are merely the first step. Long live the Droid and it’s 512 megabytes of built-in storage capacity!”

For all of the seemingly well-intentioned anger and hip buzzwords used in the statement above, the “Droid rules over all” crowd is missing one key factor here: Normal people. Now I’m not saying that the iPhone platform is perfect or that the general population of the world is too stupid to appreciate the technological nuances found within the Android operating system. What I am saying, however, is that most people who own a mobile phone have better things to worry about than the budding Google/Apple rivalry. When it comes right down to it, “average guy x” could care less whether or not their phone is able to run Google Voice or has access to music stores other than iTunes. They simply want something that is accessible, fairly easy to use, and will actually be relevant to their lives. The folks in charge of the iPhone realize this fact. The Android team does not. Until they stop trying to win over the people who will support them anyway and actually try to “get through” to “regular people,” Android will be doomed to be a permanent “runner up” to the iPhone.

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of that “web 2.0 news you can use … among other things.” Until then, I bid thee a fond adieu.

Due to a variety of reasons (Thanksgiving, nearly everyone having a day off due to Thanksgiving, the fact that I just accidentally poked myself in the eye in a way that would have made Larry, Moe, Curly, and possibly even Shemp proud), there will be no Free Line today. Come back on Monday for more of that “web 2.0 news that you can use … among other things.” Have a great weekend.

…Nine down, two to go:

App #10: Aprex

Fun With Portuguese: To say that signing up was difficult would be an understatement. Before physically using the program in question, we first had to wait for a confirmation email. We waited a fairly long time — nearly twenty-fours, to be precise — without hearing anything of note. Tired and frustrated out of our minds, we attempted to sign up for the service again, only this time using an alternate email address. Within seconds, we found the email nestled comfortably within our spam filter. It turned out that our original mail service had deleted it because it “thought” it was a piece of spam. After fumbling our way through the newly recovered email — it was written entirely in Portuguese — we found a link that would finally get us to the main program. Unfortunately, that link led to a site that was also in wall-to-wall Portuguese. It took five minutes of blind clicking until we were able to activate English again.
Positives: For an online office suite that doesn’t contain a word processor, it’s pretty nice. Everything is fairly easy to use, and addition of the blogging software was a welcome surprise. The supposed compatibility with Google Docs doesn’t hurt either.
Negatives: The language barrier is a killer, pure and simple. It’s shouldn’t take a day-plus to get an office suite to work. The fact that it randomly switches from English to Portuguese and back again just adds to the frustration.
Overall: 7; Fix the various language issues, then we’ll talk.

Bonus Apology App: ThinkFree Online

Website: http://member.thinkfree.com/member/goLandingPage.action
Developer: Haansoft, Inc.
Country of Origin: South Korea
Specialty: Office suite
First Impression: “…And in about two seconds, I linked my ThinkFree account to my Google account. That was easy.”
Underlying Concept: Think Acrobat Online, only far less “basic.” Sadly, that isn’t as good as I just made it sound.
Positives: It is extremely easy to sign up for and use. That’s about it.
Negatives: Apparently, you only have three “free” projects to work with before it starts charging you money. It’s Shopify all over again.
Public Service Announcement: As I have mentioned before, we here at the Free Line love capitalism. If you want to charge a fee, go ahead. What we hate, however, is when a company thinks it’s a good idea to hide their true motives behind the word “free.” So I will say this one more time: If you want to sell me something, say it up front. Otherwise, you won’t see me anywhere near your product. Thank you.
Overall: 7 (for the program alone); 2 (for the “bad form” that accompanies said program.)

…And there you have it. We sincerely hope you enjoyed our little “trip around the world.” We will be taking Thanksgiving off, but will return Friday. So on behalf of everyone here at the Free Line, may you and yours have a happy and wonderful holiday.

…We have a short one today, but trust us — it’s worth it. So join us, if you will, for a brief  journey through the The Power of Politics.

App #9: The Power of Politics

Fun With the Austrian Political Machine: As we clearly hinted at above, The Power of Politics is designed to simulate the thrill of Austrian politics. Players start from literally nothing, using only their powers of persuasion and ability to stab “friends” in the back quick thinking to make headway. Now obviously, a game such as this not only requires a strong grasp of the German language, but a near encyclopedic knowledge of the European political scene. Our tester for today has neither. The “knowing German” thing can easily remedied by our friends at Google Translate. The other part, however … that’s another story. Needless to say, this is going to be very interesting.
Angela, After Ten Minutes: “Google Translate is helping, but not much. I can read it now, but it isn’t telling me how to actually play the game. I still don’t know why they’re talking about ‘politicians in their underwear,’ or why it wished me a ‘Happy Easter.’ It should make some sense later … I hope.”
Angela, After Fifteen Minutes: “I still don’t know how to play, but it seems to be very, very involved. I signed up, but I still have no idea as to what I am supposed to be doing. They are also asking me for money. I have no idea why.”
Angela, After Twenty Minutes: “Maybe this game is like playing World of Warcraft. If I, say, kill six wild boars in an hour, can I rise to the rank of ‘civil servant?’ Will twelve boars get me onto the National Council?”
Final Thought (For Now): “Remember that game Political Tycoon? That looks like child’s play compared to this. This game is heavy duty.”
Overall: N/A, as we haven’t gotten far enough to make an informed decision. Come back later.

…And there you have it. Be sure to to come back tomorrow for our final two reviews. Until then, I bid thee a fond adieu.

Our trip around the (digital) world continues. So join us, if you will, for more the best that our planet has to offer.

App #6: Zlio

I Can’t What Now?: As we have mentioned before, Zilo does not allow you to sell your own products. Instead, you have to choose from a pre-existing list of goods and services. The owner then receives a commission for anything sold at his or her personal store. While the idea of “franchising” is nothing new, the concept seems rather “awkward” when applied to a digital storefront.
Positives: It’s a nice way to start a small “side business” without actually having to do much “heavy lifting.”
Negatives: The search based “catalog” makes adding new merchandise surprisingly difficult. We also ran into moments of untranslated French on more than one occasion.
Overall: 6; It’s interesting, but the “digital franchising” concept is definitely not for everyone.

App #7: InternationellaBiblioteket.se

Explain This One to Me Again: We having been fiddling around with this site for the better part of five days, and we’re still not exactly sure what to do with it. It’s a nice way to explore the ins and outs of a foreign land, but that’s about all we know at the moment.
Positives: As we mentioned above, it’s a nice way to familiarize oneself with modern Swedish culture without actually going to Sweden. It also makes getting a library book (and a Swedish driver’s license, apparently) an almost pain-free experience.
Negatives: We don’t know about you, but we never really had a desire to borrow a book from any foreign country, let alone one written in a language that we cannot comprehend. As for the driver’s license, well … taking a driver’s test online might be a tad difficult.
Overall: 8.5 (for citizens of Sweden); 4 (for everyone else)

App #8: Telesa.tv

The Setup: Picture, if you will, a network full of original, high quality programming. This network is so respected that other networks actively tell you to watch it. It is a hugely successful venture, even in a “questionable” economy. Sounds great, right? Here’s the thing: It’s real.
The Horrible Catch: …And it’s entirely in Russian. I’m sorry for leading you on like that, but I’m a writer. That’s what I get paid to do.
Positives: It really seems to be a well thought out, well put together site. The content we watched — an small angel that tells the weather, an animated news anchor that looks vaguely like Geraldo Rivera talking about Google and Microsoft, and a Martha Stewart/butterfly/fairy godmother hybrid telling us how to cook a chicken — was incredibly well-produced and entertaining. The site was also easy to navigate, given our limitations.
Negatives: It’s in Russian, a language that none of us here at the Free Line speak.
Bottom Line: If you speak Russian, this is definitely worth checking out. Everyone else, well … just keep moving. Nothing to see here.
Overall: 9 (For those fluent in Russian); 2 (for everyone else)

…And there you have it. Tune in tomorrow for our final two reviews, plus one surprise. Until that time, we bid thee a fond adieu.

Sorry folks, but I’m hip deep in research (and other things) right about now. Be sure to come back Monday for part two of our Showdown. Until that time, I bid thee adieu.

…Now that you have been “properly introduced” to our programs, it’s time to see what these things can truly do. As always, we will be reviewing the first five today. Be sure to check tomorrow for the latter half. That said, here we go…

App #1: Shopify

Houston, We Have a Problem: Upon further research, we found that Shopify is actually a pay service masquerading as a free service. On top of that, you need to enter a credit card number in order to even try it out. While we have no problem paying for a program — again, capitalism = good — we believe that hiding your true motives behind the “free” label is simply bad form. Because of this, we will not be reviewing this program. We will make it up to all of you. We promise.

App #2: YubNub

Upon Further Reflection: “That poor snail [the YubNub logo] looks like it hasn’t slept in days. It also has a candle on it’s back. Why does it have a candle on its back?
What Does it Do, Exactly?: YubNub combines the basic principles of the command line interface — easy to use shorthand, minimal graphics, etc — and the average search engine to make an alleged searching masterpiece. To use a real world example, let’s say you wanted to use Google to search various PDF files for the word “marginalization.” You also have no desire to see any ads. In YubNub, all you have to do is type “g site2pdf scro marginalization.” It’s as easy as that.
Positives: It’s extremely powerful and useful … provided you’re into that sort of thing, that is.
Negatives: It’s not for everyone. The average person would find YubNub insanely frustrating.
Overall (Out of Ten): 9.5 (for geeky people); 4.5 (for everyone else).
Might We Suggest: At the main YubNub screen, type in the string “dinorand,” then press enter. You will not regret it.

App #3: Zapr

Clarification: When we say “file sharing,” we don’t mean “Napster circa 1999″ here. All of the shared content is in the form of a link. Unlike the peer-to-peer applications of old, said link can only be shared by the user or users that created that link. Random people cannot go and start downloading your content without your say so.
The Program: It looks like Live Messenger, only instead of talking to people, you’re sharing files and whatnot.
Positives: Sadly, none that we can see. It isn’t working for us.
Negatives: At the present moment, we can only thing of one problem: It is not working. That’s somewhat of a big deal.
Overall: N/A, as we couldn’t get it working.

App #4: Pixenate

Have I Seen This Somewhere Before?: Pixenate would have fit right in to our Image Editor Showdown.
Positives: Quick and dirty photo editor. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Negatives: The overall “work area” is limited, and the ads that sit at the bottom of the screen can get to be annoying.
Overall: 7; It’s nothing fancy, but it will work in a pinch.

App #5: Trexy

So … What Exactly Is a “Trexy?”: To be honest, we still have no idea. We found ourselves randomly clicking on things, hoping that something exciting would happen. The best we could come up with in our initial go-around was a search for “eight inch floppy disks.” Upon further research, we found that Trexy is based upon the idea of “trails” — a list of links that all relate to one another. A search for “cats,” for example, got everything from “All About Cats” to “The Cat That Saved Thanksgiving.”
Final Thought: It certainly looks interesting, but we still have no idea as to what is going on. If we do figure it out, we will post a score.

…And there you have it. Tune in tomorrow for part two of our “trip around the world.”

There are times in life when we simply need to a break from the ordinary. Home might be great, but every now and again, you need to get out and see the world. That is exactly what today’s Showdown is all about. So join us as we look at some of the best apps, services, and online book depositories the world has to offer. We begin our journey in Canada.

App #1: Shopify

Website: http://www.shopify.com/
Developer: JadedPixel Inc.
Country of Origin: Canada
Specialty: Web store construction
First Impression: “Well, it certainly looks interesting…”

App #2: YubNub

Website: http://yubnub.org/
Developer: Jon Aquino
Country of Origin: Canada
Specialty: A “social command line”
First Impression: “I am not familiar with the thing that I am seeing.”

App #3: Zapr

Website: https://www.zapr.com/index.aspx
Developer: Zapr
Country of Origin: Australia
Specialty: Simple file sharing
First Impression: “Neat. Do I have to download something, or is all of this done from their website?”

App #4: Pixenate

Website: http://pixenate.com/
Developer: Sxoop Technologies
Country of Origin: Ireland
Specialty: Image editor
First Impression: “Ooooh … free hand drawing. I can draw a shaky line onto a mountain!”

App #5: Trexy

Website: http://trexy.com/
Developer: Trexy Limited
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Specialty: Um … We’re not exactly sure at the moment…
First Impression: “What is this? Did Rudolph switch to Linux or something?”

App #6: Zlio

Website: http://www.zlio.com/
Developer: Zlio Inc.
Country of Origin: France
Specialty: Web store creator
First Impression: “Wait… You don’t even sell your own products? That’s weird…”

App #7: InternationellaBiblioteket.se

Website: http://www.interbib.se/default.asp?id=13552
Developer: The city of Stockholm, among other governmental agencies
Country of Origin: Sweden
Specialty: social network/library database
First Impression: “So … Want to borrow a book from the Stockholm Public Library system?”
Second Impressions: “It seems as if I can also go to the Diet Library of Japan, get a Swedish driver’s license, or visit the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. This should definitely be interesting…”

App #8: Telesa.tv

Website: http://telesa.tv/
Developer: Telesa
Country of Origin: Russia
Specialty: Original, professionally produced, web-based television programming … in Russian.
First Impression: “Is there any way to switch the language to English? Also, a cartoon angel may be telling me the weather. I have no idea why.”

App #9: The Power of Politics

Website: http://www.powerofpolitics.com/StartNew.aspx
Developer: TPM Games GmbH
Country of Origin: Austria
App Type: Web-based, politically charged strategy game.
First Impression: “So I play as a politician, right? [Pause] Man … I’m going to lose. I’m going to lose bad. As soon as the other players find out how bad I am, they are going to attack me. ‘She’s terrible at this. Let’s bomb her district for fun!’ “

App #10: Aprex

Website: http://www.aprex.com.br/home.php
Developer: Aprex Solutions
Country of Origin: Brazil
Specialty: Office suite/online storage
First Impression: “Now this could be useful.”

As about 95% of you have noticed by now, yesterday was what is known as a “slow news day.” Everyone reacts to days like this differently. Some panic. Some just toss it to the understudy, hoping that he or she has more luck than they did. Personally, I react to these “situations” the same way Superman reacts when his Kryptonite allergy flares up: Lying on the ground dramatically, trying desperately to attract as much unneeded attention as possible. In a strange way, however, Supes actually has it easier than me. Yes, he’s in unimaginable pain, but it can all be reversed with a few well-placed strikes to Lex Luthor’s abdomen. If that doesn’t work, he can always take a Zertec and hope for the best. I, on the other hand, don’t have that luxury. There is no “miracle allergy pill” that will cause Biz Stone to be incredibly cryptic, Google to do something unexpected, or Mark Cuban and/or Chad Ochocinco to do or say something incredibly stupid, yet still entertaining newsworthy. I could go and beat up Lex Luthor, but let’s face facts here: Gene Hackman isn’t getting any younger. It reaches a point when you’re just beating up an old man. So I just sit here, waiting for the news to pick up. Some days, it does. On others, it doesn’t. Sadly, today is the latter.

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back tomorrow for more of that “web 2.0 news you can use … among other things.” Until then, I bid thee a fond adieu.

…And now, part two of our “date with Rhapsody.” Before we can get the new material, we need to see where we have been.

Website: http://www.rhapsody.com
Developer: RealNetworks
App Type: Music store/audio streaming
The Test: After an astonishing three overtime periods, the Rhapsody player beat the Slacker app in terms of sound quality, three to two. It must be mentioned, however, that the Slacker service has a much bigger back catalog. (More on this later.)

…And with that, we can finally move forward. Enjoy!

The Positives: Starting at one and working towards three…

1. You would be surprised how handy having an “entire library of music in your pocket” can be.
2. The entire “streaming” process is incredibly smooth and pain free. Just click on the song you want and away you go.
3. Discovering new music is a breeze. Thanks to Rhapsody, I found myself listening to bands and tracks that I haven’t heard from in years, such as experimental rock band Self and the undisputed king of “Avant-garde bubblegum” himself, Todd Rundgren.

Of course, every list of positives has to be accompanied by a list of negatives. From the top:

1. The library itself is rather “incomplete,” shall we say. I find it interesting that Rhapsody has music by little-known, Southern gospel tinged, jam band Sweet Vine but has a grand total of five songs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not five albums, mind you. Five songs. I understand the “limitations” put upon services like this by record labels and whatnot, but that is borderline ridiculous.
2. How much would you pay for an app such as this? Five dollars a month? Seven? According to the fine folks at RealNetworks, the “correct” price for the Rhapsody service is a whopping fifteen dollars a month. I really am enjoying myself, but not that much.
3. According to Rhapsody, every soundtrack, film score, and multiple-musician live album was actually produced by a band called “Various Artists.” No other names are listed. That little “omission” gets to be extremely annoying, especially when you find yourself digging through some little known compilation album looking for your favorite band or artist.
4. I like it when radio stations, both traditional and otherwise, throw the listener a proverbial “curve ball” and play something a bit unexpected. Rhapsody Radio, on the other hand, abuses the privilege on a fairly regular basis. The “Soft Sounds” station, for example, featured terminally depressed new wave band The Cure, southern folk super group The Thorns, and Neil Sedaka all in a row. I like being “challenged,” but that is, once again, ridiculous.

Final Thoughts: Despite my initial misgivings, I really did enjoy using Rhapsody. That said, there are still a few “kinks” that need to be ironed out before it can be considered an alternative to iTunes or Slacker. Fix those “issues,” and then we’ll talk.

Overall (out of ten): 6. Great idea; mediocre execution.