Microsoft Popfly

Microsoft has just released its latest mashup program, Popfly, which is part of Web 2.0 technology. It is a free service that can be used to create applications or gadgets, as well as a variety of other web services.

It is based on another program of Microsoft’s, Silverlight. As a result, Popfly can function on both Macs and Windows. It can also be used with both Firefox and Internet Explorer. Currently the program is still in beta testing, however, the reviews for it have been very positive.

Unlike other mashup tools, the user isn’t required to know that much about Web Scripts, in fact for simple tools, they don’t need to know any. It has a user-friendly interface, allowing users to click, drag and drop and fill in information on form-based fields.

However, the programs don’t have much to provide, as far as cross-platform capabilities are concerned. Users can log into the program, with any of their Microsoft account information, for example MSN. There are tutorials available for users to familiarise themselves with the technology.

There are gadgets, blocks, and even WebPages. The interface is made up of online visual tools, which are common for Web pages and mashups. You can create games and applications for your social media sites, such as Facebook, or Windows Live Space.

You can create your own home page, with over 150 themes to choose from, 10 styles and 30 unique colour themes. Photos can be uploaded or get an RSS feed. Earth maps are also available as an option. For Facebook, you could create slideshows by combining the application with your Flickr account. Alternatively, you could feed in videos from YouTube.

Another useful tool is being able to unify your online profiles and stick together all your social media accounts. The programme over all has tremendous power to create and recreate a web-programming environment and social network for all your data sources. It is also a means to having new ways of displaying your information, and for embarking on full Visual Studio projects.

Celeste does writing for Data Recovery Resource, which is the number one site for data recovery information.