ZCubes - Advanced Features Reviewed

ZCubes. Something I covered a while back very briefly. When covering it, I'd only gotten a feel for just a few of the portal's many features, and Parag Mathur, the company's VP of Product Management, invited myself and Svetlana Gladkova to an online presentation to find out more about the advanced features that ZCubes incorporates.

Currently, ZCubes full features are only available to those of you using Internet Explorer, and I know for a fact, that quite a large number of Profy's readers use Firefox. Well worry no more! When talking with Parag, it was revealed that Firefox will be fully supported sometime soon. We were told to expect it 'within a month' or so, and with any luck, we'll be able to report on it right here at Profy.

“Imagine a net with n dimensions. Web N.0 - Not just 1, 2 or 3. But n. Yes, that includes time. It is possible. It is clear that the face of the Internet is quite static, with minor dynamics introduced by primitive technologies like AJAX. Truly flexible Internet is created when you enter n dimensions of bit matter, organized by the whims and fancies of the user - not the creator.” Last time I looked at the startup, I loved the slogan, and still do. But having witnessed the raw power that ZCubes holds, with practicality, functionality, speed and design, I can now say, that I am a true believer.

So what got me so hyped in the 30-minute presentation that has changed my mind so much? Various things, which when doing my initial review of ZCubes, weren't available, and I wasn't aware of. For example, using Google or Yahoo Image search, you can drag and drop pictures right into your ZCubes home page, just like you can with a real desktop! Except that with ZCubes, you can edit the image directly. You can apply effects, and add filters, such as 'Engrave', which applies a stone-like effect, reminiscent of Photoshop's distortion filters. You can also drag and drop videos from Google Search, YouTube, and many other online media websites.

We were also shown, how the ZCubes browser pane is synchronized to work flawlessly with the YubNub service. For example, if you wanted to directly search Amazon.com for a book on Web 2.0, you'd type in the ZCubes search box, 'am web2.0 book", and instantly, the Amazon Search results will be streamed into your window.

In fact, so much was discussed at the conference, it would literally take me hours to type it all up, and look at all of the features in-depth, so instead, I'll pick perhaps my favourite things.

Fill Patterns. So what are these 'fill patterns'? Well, I'll do better than explain all about it, I'll even show you! This Fill Pattern has been used to fill in the inside of a shape. I've used the 3D Drawing tool to write the 'Profy' & 'Web 2.0' bits, but the shape was created by ZCubes, by simply entering the URL of the image into the side panel.

Personally, in my opinion, for browser created graphics, that isn't bad at all! In fact, it's incredible! And then of course, there's the 'Browser In Browser' Internet surfing I talked about last time. The mini-browser renders almost all sites perfectly.

But that's not all ZCubes provides (Oh trust me… I'd be here for days)! The last thing I'll cover though, is the RSS feed features that are provided by ZCubes. Start by going to the 'ZViews' button, which lets you flick stations on demand, and select the 'News' icon. A cube will popup, letting you choose which preset feeds you'd like to incorporate into your design. For example, here, I've chosen BBC Europe.

The list of features is endless, it really is… Try it yourself, and I'm sure you'll agree. There's no need to even register to use the service, provided you don't plan on uploading any media there. Enjoy, Web.N awaits!