Firstly, I want to say Chirpscreen is a nice screensaver and a great idea to use my social account. But, I can't see my own private photos of my Flickr account and it's really frustating...
Hi William - thanks for using chirpscreen. We're working on using the authenticated Flickr API to access private photos, but we haven't enabled it yet. Stay tuned to our blog though for when we have turned this on (we agree that it would be great to have that content as well).
Some comments:
Color wheel - FUN! I love to change the background since there are some days I am in the mood for red and some days blue. It is an emotional outlet service from Chirp :) And it is good for the eyes to change colors on the screen.
Ebay window slides based on my preference - Very cool guys! What a great way to view my current interest while hanging and working at my computer. Also, I am working to gain the level - Trading Assistant on Ebay and having Ebay items show up keeps me in the loop and up to date on the item's events while I work on other interests.
Chirp business use, it is not just personal anymore. I envision Chirp as a required element of office communication: from manager to employee communication; send tasks, photos of tasks, to do lists, brief comments. Themes would be task or project based. Good for human relations department pulling staff together and getting them to know one another, etc. Good comm tool for corporate too.
Education and training: There are many users of the over 45 crowd that are confused by Facebook and its mulit-functions and then add Chirp, Twitter, etc. they may end up in frustration. Plus they are finding it frustrating to deal with so many usernames and passwords. Also, the function of managing and sharing their photos seems challenging. Once you guys are set and go into personal outreach mode, maybe an education/training department is in order. It could be an onscreen/online training interactive and/or you can send Chirp ambassadors out to communiites to train and get their buy in. Then word of mouth will span the horizon.
Keep on keepin' on, remember it is tough in the beginning. But you must be deliberate - as Captain Jason Tagert of Galaxy Quest leads in saying - Never Give Up, Never Surrender!
First off... I think this is a neat app. But I'm sure you're not satisfied with "neat" and want "awesome". As more features get added (and it needs A LOT) I'm sure it'll reach "awesome".
I'd love the ability to do flickr Groups instead of just keywords. I've got several groups I like to check and this would be PERFECT for that.
Something that seems critical to me is the ability to set up "channel" presets that I can switch between. Like, say I want a flickr channel that's all about hotrods. I could add a bunch of keywords and save it. Then I could make another for "friends' vacation pics" and just add their usernames (with keywords!) and just get those.
We agree - we want everyone to think we're awesome! We are in fact in the midst of designing "channel" functionality that will be similar to what you just suggested - we'll have more on that out soon.
The Flickr groups idea is a very good one - we'll look into that.
For the non-screensaver app, you should allow the window to be resized.
Additionally, it would be nice if you could set a transparency level to it, and place it "in front" of everything else. Rainlendar (www.rainlendar.net) allows you to do this kind of thing with their calendar, if you want to see an example. They go a little further, allowing you to set two transparency levels, one when your mouse is over it and a different one when not.
Thank you for your feedback - we're working on resizing at this very moment, should have that out soon. Thanks for the heads up on Rainlendar - we'll check it out!
I would like to be able to disallow certain pictures, certain people, certain photo albums or even only show my pictures and not other peoples', and it would be great to easily and dynamically edit those security features, (i.e. I don't want pics of bars and body-shots coming up at work.). But don't worry I'll still use Chirpscreen on my home computer!
We totally agree. So far we've enabled blocking of particular users (if you see a piece of content from someone you'd like to remove from your chirpscreen, just click that piece of content and then click the "block" button). But our goal is to let you view your social networks the way you want to see them - so we plan to release more customization features soon.
Also, you may want to try out the desktop viewer we launched today - you can download it from our home page at www.chirp.com. With the viewer running on your desktop next to your other applications, only you will see your chirpscreen, and it's there whenever you're working at your computer.
I uninstalled only becuase I would prefer to be able to select which friends I can view photos of. I am not interested in seeing all of my friends photos.
We do enable you to block friends from your chirpscreen when you'd prefer not to see their photos (just click on a piece of content from that friend, and click the "block" icon), if this helps solve the issue.
I used Chirpscreen for a while as a screensaver until I realised that it has a huge security loophole (especially for those users who elect to lock the computer once the screensaver starts).
When Chirpscreen starts, I am unable to get back to the system (because windows locks the computer). However, I noticed that I could start my browser through chirpscreen, and (seemingly) be able to post messages on my facebook account, even though the computer is supposedly locked.
I think it might be more of an oversight, but it would be good if it were possible to simply allow one to simply display pictures only, and for all other actions, one would have to log back into the computer first.
The window shopping feature is a spectacular addition to chirp but does little to curb my shopping habit -- with streaming eBay auctions, who needs a subprime mortgage? I'm sharing auction items as birthday gift hints.....can't wait for the Holidays with chirp shopping!
I would really like to see some more flexibility with the Flickr tags feed. At this point, it only seems to bring in photographs based on "Interestingness" (and, does this very well!). However, I would like the option of simply bringing in the most recent photographs of a given tag. And, perhaps the ability to track a single group and a single user.
Nonetheless, this is the best screen saver that I have used (and, I have used many over the years) ...
Steve - really glad to hear you're enjoying the product, thank you for using it! We actually started with a more recency-based Flickr search but found it collected many very similar photos from the same users, and resulted in a less engaging experience than sorting by "interestingness". That being said, we should offer you more controls to get exactly what you'd like to see, as there are definitely tags for which recency is more appropriate.
We'll also put the single group/user on the list - in the meantime you can add users as your contacts and connect to them that way, but we'll look into the more granular selections as well.
Have no idea if this works properly or not, I simply couldn't be bothered using it. It looked fasinating but I have neither the time nor the patience to learn it.
loved the concept especially because I often don't go to my friends/ family's online photo albums. I did not use Chirpscreen for several reasons though:
(1) where I would use this feature the most is at work but I could not block inappropriate photos, if any, from running across my screen.
(2) I did not always want to be connected - it eats up bandwidth and risk security.
(3) It did not access some of the online photo sites that my heavy-photo taker family members use. (Pegasus?).
You actually can block individual users, but not individual photos (yet). We'll note the request for not wanting to be connected all the time. We've had a few requests around that idea. Is Picasa the photo service your family uses?
Do you mean that you would like to see what your friends are listening to on iTunes, like an 'available' message in AIM? That would be fun. So not only would chirpscreen be broadcasting what's happening in your social networks but from your music application. Crazy. I like it.
For Mother Russia, why your program don't show our ABC? )
Like АбвгдЕЁжзиЙкалмнопрстУФХЦЧШЩЬЫЪЭЮЯ
)
please)
it would be perfect!
I know, there are a lot of russian tweterr users there and non less flickr users
i will hardly recomend your program to everybody i know ^_^
I have two monitors (1600x1200 and 1200x1600) and would love things to fly between the two of them. When chirpscreen comes on today, it only shows my my 1st monitor.
i like this but i don't spend time watching it go across my screen. Can you make a vertical bar on the right side that scrolls pics and comments down the side. that way i can see what is going on and do work at the same time. Sling did a great job with this putting the TV in a small corner to watch while you are still working.
Our friends from This is POP came by for a user experience review a few weeks ago. They are game developers, so their point of view was very interesting for us to hear. Having controls over controls, speed, animation, narratives, skins, all came up. We want to keep hearing different experiences from different audiences of our users.
the screensaver shut down when my computer went to sleep - it drains my batteries every time! (I love this product tho, all my colleagues want to download it when they see it come on!)
Sorry about that! You may be able to fix this problem by going to:
Start->Settings->Control Panel->Power Options->Advanced tab, and making sure that for the "When I close the lid of my portable computer" option, "Stand By" is selected. Let us know if you still have issues after that.
The exit button stopped working, so I neeed to CTL-ALT-DEL to wake it up so that the exit would work. There should be an option to turn off and on the screensaving function.
Private photos from Flick
Firstly, I want to say Chirpscreen is a nice screensaver and a great idea to use my social account. But, I can't see my own private photos of my Flickr account and it's really frustating...
Re: Private photos from Flickr
Hi William - thanks for using chirpscreen. We're working on using the authenticated Flickr API to access private photos, but we haven't enabled it yet. Stay tuned to our blog though for when we have turned this on (we agree that it would be great to have that content as well).
Eve from Chirp
Notes from Diana
Hey Chirpsters! You are the best!
Some comments:
Color wheel - FUN! I love to change the background since there are some days I am in the mood for red and some days blue. It is an emotional outlet service from Chirp :) And it is good for the eyes to change colors on the screen.
Ebay window slides based on my preference - Very cool guys! What a great way to view my current interest while hanging and working at my computer. Also, I am working to gain the level - Trading Assistant on Ebay and having Ebay items show up keeps me in the loop and up to date on the item's events while I work on other interests.
Chirp business use, it is not just personal anymore. I envision Chirp as a required element of office communication: from manager to employee communication; send tasks, photos of tasks, to do lists, brief comments. Themes would be task or project based. Good for human relations department pulling staff together and getting them to know one another, etc. Good comm tool for corporate too.
Education and training: There are many users of the over 45 crowd that are confused by Facebook and its mulit-functions and then add Chirp, Twitter, etc. they may end up in frustration. Plus they are finding it frustrating to deal with so many usernames and passwords. Also, the function of managing and sharing their photos seems challenging. Once you guys are set and go into personal outreach mode, maybe an education/training department is in order. It could be an onscreen/online training interactive and/or you can send Chirp ambassadors out to communiites to train and get their buy in. Then word of mouth will span the horizon.
Keep on keepin' on, remember it is tough in the beginning. But you must be deliberate - as Captain Jason Tagert of Galaxy Quest leads in saying - Never Give Up, Never Surrender!
Later, Diana
Here's some things that would make me use this.
First off... I think this is a neat app. But I'm sure you're not satisfied with "neat" and want "awesome". As more features get added (and it needs A LOT) I'm sure it'll reach "awesome".
I'd love the ability to do flickr Groups instead of just keywords. I've got several groups I like to check and this would be PERFECT for that.
Something that seems critical to me is the ability to set up "channel" presets that I can switch between. Like, say I want a flickr channel that's all about hotrods. I could add a bunch of keywords and save it. Then I could make another for "friends' vacation pics" and just add their usernames (with keywords!) and just get those.
Re: Here's some things that would make me use this.
We agree - we want everyone to think we're awesome! We are in fact in the midst of designing "channel" functionality that will be similar to what you just suggested - we'll have more on that out soon.
The Flickr groups idea is a very good one - we'll look into that.
Thanks!
Eve from Chirp
Resize that window!
For the non-screensaver app, you should allow the window to be resized.
Additionally, it would be nice if you could set a transparency level to it, and place it "in front" of everything else. Rainlendar (www.rainlendar.net) allows you to do this kind of thing with their calendar, if you want to see an example. They go a little further, allowing you to set two transparency levels, one when your mouse is over it and a different one when not.
Re: Resize that window!
Thank you for your feedback - we're working on resizing at this very moment, should have that out soon. Thanks for the heads up on Rainlendar - we'll check it out!
Thanks,
Eve from Chirp
hard drive pics
I'd like it if I could select to have pics from specified directories on my hard drive worked in with the rest of the pics being displayed.
Re: hard drive pics
We totally agree. It's on our list of items we'd like to include as well, and we'll be letting users know when it's available.
Eve from Chirp
couple of thoughts
I would like to be able to disallow certain pictures, certain people, certain photo albums or even only show my pictures and not other peoples', and it would be great to easily and dynamically edit those security features, (i.e. I don't want pics of bars and body-shots coming up at work.). But don't worry I'll still use Chirpscreen on my home computer!
Re: couple of thoughts
We totally agree. So far we've enabled blocking of particular users (if you see a piece of content from someone you'd like to remove from your chirpscreen, just click that piece of content and then click the "block" button). But our goal is to let you view your social networks the way you want to see them - so we plan to release more customization features soon.
Also, you may want to try out the desktop viewer we launched today - you can download it from our home page at www.chirp.com. With the viewer running on your desktop next to your other applications, only you will see your chirpscreen, and it's there whenever you're working at your computer.
Regards,
Eve from Chirp
Feature req: monitor selection
I would love to be able to redirect the chirp screen to a different monitor, or even span multiple monitors if desired.
Add myspace and Deviantart please
Much of my family uses myspace and I frequent Deviantart.com for images. Please add both for image fishing.
Also add a text confirmation to this forum to avoid the ads. That's just wrong.
Re: Add myspace and Deviantart please
Raum, thanks for the feedback! MySpace is definitely high on the list, and we agree about the cool images at Deviantart - we'll look into it.
Also sorry about the spam - the spammers caught us before we had a chance to lock them out. Should be fixed now, thanks for the heads up.
Eve
lagged
it lagged so much i coudent turn it of with the exit button top right corner. so i had to CTRL ALT DEL to get out from it
and no dual screen support.
re: lagged
We've got a fix for the exit issues and is being pushed out as we speak - apologies for the hassle.
Dual screen support is on the list.
Eve from Chirp
Enjoyed the product
I uninstalled only becuase I would prefer to be able to select which friends I can view photos of. I am not interested in seeing all of my friends photos.
Re: Enjoyed the product
We do enable you to block friends from your chirpscreen when you'd prefer not to see their photos (just click on a piece of content from that friend, and click the "block" icon), if this helps solve the issue.
Eve
the Mac version was available!!!
the Mac version was available!!!
Hi, I used Chirpscreen for a
Hi,
I used Chirpscreen for a while as a screensaver until I realised that it has a huge security loophole (especially for those users who elect to lock the computer once the screensaver starts).
When Chirpscreen starts, I am unable to get back to the system (because windows locks the computer). However, I noticed that I could start my browser through chirpscreen, and (seemingly) be able to post messages on my facebook account, even though the computer is supposedly locked.
I think it might be more of an oversight, but it would be good if it were possible to simply allow one to simply display pictures only, and for all other actions, one would have to log back into the computer first.
Tim.
Security issue?
By the way, I thought that the product was amazing, and I loved it! (Though it kinda lacked my slow PC).
Cheers,
Tim.
Security issue?
*lagged
window shopping
The window shopping feature is a spectacular addition to chirp but does little to curb my shopping habit -- with streaming eBay auctions, who needs a subprime mortgage? I'm sharing auction items as birthday gift hints.....can't wait for the Holidays with chirp shopping!
It would be better if I
It would be better if I could have it run in the background while I do my work in the foreground.
Re: background
Glad to hear you say that - we'll be releasing a desktop version soon that lets you get work done and still experience your chirpscreen.
Flickr flexibility
I would really like to see some more flexibility with the Flickr tags feed. At this point, it only seems to bring in photographs based on "Interestingness" (and, does this very well!). However, I would like the option of simply bringing in the most recent photographs of a given tag. And, perhaps the ability to track a single group and a single user.
Nonetheless, this is the best screen saver that I have used (and, I have used many over the years) ...
Re: Flickr flexibility
Steve - really glad to hear you're enjoying the product, thank you for using it! We actually started with a more recency-based Flickr search but found it collected many very similar photos from the same users, and resulted in a less engaging experience than sorting by "interestingness". That being said, we should offer you more controls to get exactly what you'd like to see, as there are definitely tags for which recency is more appropriate.
We'll also put the single group/user on the list - in the meantime you can add users as your contacts and connect to them that way, but we'll look into the more granular selections as well.
Thanks for the feedback!
Eve
Have no idea if this works
Have no idea if this works properly or not, I simply couldn't be bothered using it. It looked fasinating but I have neither the time nor the patience to learn it.
Commenting
I love the commenting on facebook. We now need this feature for flickr and twitter :-)
commenting
No kidding! We're on it. - jeff from chirp
loved the concept especially
loved the concept especially because I often don't go to my friends/ family's online photo albums. I did not use Chirpscreen for several reasons though:
(1) where I would use this feature the most is at work but I could not block inappropriate photos, if any, from running across my screen.
(2) I did not always want to be connected - it eats up bandwidth and risk security.
(3) It did not access some of the online photo sites that my heavy-photo taker family members use. (Pegasus?).
loved the concept
Thanks,
You actually can block individual users, but not individual photos (yet). We'll note the request for not wanting to be connected all the time. We've had a few requests around that idea. Is Picasa the photo service your family uses?
Keep it coming.
- jeff from chirp
Itunes
goota show what is currently playing in itunes and control it too!
awesome. cant wait for mac version
itunes
Thanks for this new direction in feedback.
Do you mean that you would like to see what your friends are listening to on iTunes, like an 'available' message in AIM? That would be fun. So not only would chirpscreen be broadcasting what's happening in your social networks but from your music application. Crazy. I like it.
Please send more ideas anonymous poster.
- jeff from chirp
Now Playing
Actually, using the last.fm recently played history would be very cool.
Russian
For Mother Russia, why your program don't show our ABC? )
Like АбвгдЕЁжзиЙкалмнопрстУФХЦЧШЩЬЫЪЭЮЯ
)
please)
it would be perfect!
I know, there are a lot of russian tweterr users there and non less flickr users
i will hardly recomend your program to everybody i know ^_^
Mother Russia!
Stuart, Thanks - Not only would your request be a help to people like you, it would look really cool too! We'll add it to the list.
- jeff from chirp
can't open
Hello there! When i'm starting this program its opening in note pad =P
I think i dont have some software
I'm on Windows Vista
just let me check on my XP other PC..
on XP it's fine.
Needs multi-monitor support
I have two monitors (1600x1200 and 1200x1600) and would love things to fly between the two of them. When chirpscreen comes on today, it only shows my my 1st monitor.
multi monitor support
Branden. I agree. We've got this on the list.
Any other feedback? Have you tried leaving comments or inviting your friends?
Thanks again,
jeff from chirp.
small chirp
i like this but i don't spend time watching it go across my screen. Can you make a vertical bar on the right side that scrolls pics and comments down the side. that way i can see what is going on and do work at the same time. Sling did a great job with this putting the TV in a small corner to watch while you are still working.
small chirp
We're thinking about something very similar to this... stay tuned!
Eve from Chirp
faster
I want to make the pictures and comments go faster. Can I fast forward or hit a next button?
faster
KD, That also is on our list.
Our friends from This is POP came by for a user experience review a few weeks ago. They are game developers, so their point of view was very interesting for us to hear. Having controls over controls, speed, animation, narratives, skins, all came up. We want to keep hearing different experiences from different audiences of our users.
Let us know what else makes sense.
Really appreciate it,
jeff from chirp.
the screensaver shut down
the screensaver shut down when my computer went to sleep - it drains my batteries every time! (I love this product tho, all my colleagues want to download it when they see it come on!)
shutting down
Sorry about that! You may be able to fix this problem by going to:
Start->Settings->Control Panel->Power Options->Advanced tab, and making sure that for the "When I close the lid of my portable computer" option, "Stand By" is selected. Let us know if you still have issues after that.
Eve from Chirp
speed up the photos
let me speed up the photo display.
it had better randomization
it had better randomization among my friends' photos
btw... saw this at ETech and loved it!
it used less power when active...
when the screen saverkicks in my labtop fan also starts.d
Better Controls
The exit button stopped working, so I neeed to CTL-ALT-DEL to wake it up so that the exit would work. There should be an option to turn off and on the screensaving function.
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