digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Pownce: Up close and personal

downloadsquad.com — We've mentioned Pownce previously on DownloadSquad, but instead of just a little preview, here's an in-depth look at the Kevin Rose start-up that is the object of desire right now for invite-junkies everywhere.

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • typicaljoe, on 10/11/2007, -21/+4very cool product, I'm excited to see they are using Adobe AIR
    • ToadLeg, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2What does it do, and does it do it well? I've seen a few articles about it but little information. From what I gather it's like digg except you submit the articles to your friends and they propogate that way instead of submitting them to the world. Is that right?
  • superpixel, on 10/11/2007, -14/+12I'm not exactly sold on AIR, but Pownce looks interesting for some uses
    • hoisen, on 10/11/2007, -8/+3Pownce looks interesting?!?! For who, the myspace generation? Maybe if there is a firefox extension it will replace USB memory sticks....gosh, silliness.

      Will it be profitable, yes, most likely, but that is why there are such things as late night infomercials.
    • Toupee, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1It does have potential, I think. It's got a nice interface. It could be brilliant as a sort of "You've just got to check out the song I'm listening to" impulse thing where you can distribute something to a number of people without the hassle of transferring it to multiple people, or uploading it to a server and linking everyone to it. It has the potential to be something of an RSS Reader for your friends. The file uploads could be a great replacement for sites like imageshack, but it handles images poorly so far, and you can't link the public to files. A 10mb max is far too small.

      It's kind of like a social file sharing (in an email attachment kind of way) Twitter. I don't know. It's kind of dumb right now. It could be really cool, but people don't really know what to do with it. It needs focus.
  • halosniper7, on 10/11/2007, -16/+2i was skeptical but now after using it a bit it looks promising.
    and since its so close to digg its like having private&public messages!

    http://www.pownce.com/Halosniper7/
    • sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7Digg will have private messaging. Kevin already eluded to its imminent release in a post a few days ago.
  • CptZap, on 10/11/2007, -14/+2Does anyone else think that if Digg and Pownce merged it would be extremely sweet? I mean since Digg doesn't have a messaging system and lacks ways of conversing with others besides comments. At least that way I would have a reason to use it.
    • Sun.Surfin, on 10/11/2007, -0/+14No, I think the two should stay seperate. Simple is good, and we don't need Digg clustered with a ton of other features. It's good for news and interesting locations on the web; Pownce is good for keeping tabs on what your friends are doing. They have two entirely different functions that, in my opinion, will work better seperated.
  • dgaspard, on 10/11/2007, -7/+1I haven't had the chance to use either product yet. The article sounds like the guys is trying to call out Kevin just to get some attention to his product. I'll digg it anyways just to see if Kevin responds.
  • bakkouz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+34If i wanted to keep tabs on what my friends are doing i have facebook, this is a news website, lets keep it as it is without turning into another myspace.
  • AndrewDB, on 01/10/2008, -9/+2A Digg Pownce merge will probably be inevitable..
  • catylist, on 10/11/2007, -2/+42ftp anyone?
    • j4son, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Ba-zing!
    • rhynoric, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yah I think I'll stick with FTP.
    • dbr_onix, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Surely pretty much any IM client is a better alternative? I really can't see the benefit of Pownce over IM-file-transfer..
      The only benefit I can see is "If you want files while your away from your computer" - In which case you're probably fairly technically-minded and could setup an FTP server, and port forwarding, or something like Hamachi or OpenVPN.. Or get some webhosting somewhere and shove the files there.

      As for the instant messaging bits.. I *really* don't see the benefit of Pownce over an IM network a) that actually has a reasonable sized user-base, b) an IM network people stand a chance of knowing about (MSN in the UK, and AIM in America would be the best examples I suppose)

      Then again, this article compared it to Twitter, another "tech fad" which I had absolutely no clue as to why it was so popular..
      *Ends comment muttering about you damn kids and your new fangled IM service thingys*
    • yabos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1How many people want to set up an FTP server and accounts, permissions etc.? If you're a business then you should for sure, but if you're a home user then no one is going to bother with that. The 10MB limit is lame as hell though.
  • RonAcierno, on 02/07/2008, -12/+4personally i have really been enjoying Pownce ... I like the features it has with being able to send friedn files and stuff... but it seems like alot of people wish there was a way to add notes through SMS... I dont really care about that though
  • sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -3/+57Pownce. It's like email, with colors.™
  • DonSlice, on 10/11/2007, -9/+14Buried as lame.
  • Barbarino, on 10/11/2007, -5/+28Help out a non geek, did these guys invent what email can do or myspace etc??? What is so special about this?
    • Razster, on 10/11/2007, -4/+10Adobe paid the *team money to make an app to show off AIR.
      Personally AIR takes too long to install
      AIR is miles behind what Microsoft Silverlight already has not to mention MS and XAML.
      Silverlight > AIR
      • Bamborzled, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5"Personally AIR takes too long to install"
        It took me no longer than one minute. Is one minute too freakin' long for you?
      • seanalltogether, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Silverlight and AIR are too different platforms. Silverlight is a web plugin, AIR is a desktop runtime.
    • toekneebullard, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7At first I liked it when I heard it was for sending files...but 10 MB? You've got to be kidding me. This thing seems to do a lot of stuff ohter things already do.
    • Namesbond, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1No idea
  • sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -0/+27Am I the only one who thinks it looks like and Urban Outiftters catalog?
    • sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2and = an. Sorry my browser crashes when I try to edit. :(
    • Razster, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Good call, I didn't even notice it tell now.
      Now I can laugh even more.
  • DiggzDE, on 10/11/2007, -2/+20Doesn't Digg have something against featuring so much information about a pay service such as this? It seems almost contradictory to their terms of service.

    But oh well. I suppose Kevin Rose isn't the one pushing it upon Digg, so I guess it is different. Of course, I am assuming all this under the specifications that Pownce is listed as a fully independent company and not some sort of subsidiary or side project of Digg.
    • coldfusion1970, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Digg is all about the users 'digging-up' things they like.
      So the masses will have their say as to whether it makes the front page.
      • RussellDovey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1And if some of those masses have been paid to digg up a story, that's fine, because advertising is always of the same quality as regular news.
    • schrodingercat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The service is not paid. You can get a regular account (with an invite) or a pro account ($20/yr).
  • urel, on 10/11/2007, -8/+1I think this looks cool. Does anyone have an invite?
    • benlundquist, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2email?
      • crushfan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Would you send me one?

        lionelboydjohnson@gmail.com

        Thanks in advance.
  • TheNik, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18Pownce: Up close and probably giving you an internal error.

    This ***** is so dumb.
  • anagoge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+23Can someone please explain to me why I would use Pownce over MSN, when everyone I know who I would ever want to send a file to uses MSN and I'm always on there anyway? What's the benefit of using Pownce over an IM? Or indeed an email address book?
    • NinjaBoy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Cause its web 2.0 silly
    • randomgeek, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2The MSN sharing folders are really cool, actually. I've been using MSN for a while but just discovered that feature. It basically syncs any files that you put in your "sharing folder" between all the contacts you select. Sounds similar to what Pownce seems to be all about. If it's true that there are file size restrictions, MSN still remains the better option.
  • felchdonkey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+25I tried it out, but honestly can't see what the advantage is over a standard IM client. Not only do you have to install Pownce's desktop client, you have to install AIR as well. Too much to ask of my friends, whose first question is "what is this thing?" and whose second question is "why do I have to install all this stuff?"

    We weren't sure if the messages were private or on a board (looks like they go on a board), and I couldn't think of anything under 10mb that I want to send someone that I couldn't just put in a Gmail message.

    Despite the appealing and simple-looking interface, it actually isn't that easy to grok right away and start using, either.

    Glad I got an invite, but I'm not sure why I would use it for now.
  • phatmikey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Funny: If you Google 'pownce', it says: "Did you mean: Ponce"

    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ponce
  • estacado, on 10/11/2007, -2/+13Why not make it direct p2p? Why must the data go through Pownce servers?
    • invader, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7So they can dangle fee structures in front of their fanboys to go "Pro"
    • clos, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2ensure faster downloads maybe.... :-/
    • MCHampster, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7Is this a serious question?

      If you wish to share it with a friend or group of friends and they aren't currently online, where would this file go using P2P until they signed back on? Magic, happy fairy land?
      • RussellDovey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1You have a point; the bandwidth costs to Magic Happy Fairy Land are too high for casual use these days...
    • halter73, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0As far as I know it is impossible to do direct p2p file sharing through the http or flash 9 platform. Now this might be slightly different with AIR, but I do not know what functionality AIR adds to flash applications other than basic OS level IO support.
  • juicys, on 10/11/2007, -0/+11Digg and Pownce merge would be terrible - digg thrives because of its lack of content, and people come to digg solely to go to other websites. Content sites and content directories should be separate.
  • Po0py, on 10/11/2007, -5/+3I keep pronouncing it as "Ponce". Which is a "term of endearment" over here in Britland.
  • doggybum, on 10/11/2007, -7/+0pownce AIR app looks, and works awesome. Im giving Apollo a chance.
  • indicas, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18Honest question, can someone explain why I should use this? What advantages does it give over IM? Maybe I'm blind but I really don't see any use.

    Hopefully I don't get dugg down to oblivion, it seems man others have the same questions.
    • digboy99, on 10/11/2007, -4/+8Perhaps you didn't get the memo. Its a Kevin Rose creation, therefore it must be a necessity and uber-cool. If you deny it, please turn in your secret decoder ring at the door. You obviously aren't cool enough to be here.
      • indicas, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Thanks for the informative response. I know Kevin Rose made it, and I know that's most likely the sole reason this ended up on Digg.
  • digboy99, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18Please kill me now! The Pownce spam is getting almost as bad as Apple/Iphone fanboy posts.
  • mariachi, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7Pownce = Qweer
  • clos, on 10/11/2007, -3/+4i got invites if someone wants it...though it looks like no one does...reply to this thread and i'll send away
    • Dropkick715, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0Can I get an invite please?

      wc0ST6PdngkNDGR3@spambox.us
      • clos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2I tried too and its says 'Must be a valid email address.'
    • clos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Tried too and it says 'Must be a valid email address'
    • crushfan, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I'd love to have one if you still have some spare invitations.

      lionelboydjohnson@gmail.com

      Thanks.
    • mikehc, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1Please invite me: i6U1nXnsSK3jGdTl@spambox.us
      Thank you!
    • clos, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1spam box doesn't work
    • Absalon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1AbsalonPrieto@gmail.com if u got any
    • spiffytech, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I'll take one please! spifffytech -at- gmail -dot- com
  • fpssledge, on 10/11/2007, -0/+12Anyone find it ironic that in an old episode of Diggnation, Kevin Rose was making fun of "Roomba" because it was a stupid name? I mean I know he isn't the only person in charge of Pownce, but come on. POWNCE!?!?!?!?!?
    • sockpuppets, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Rownce.™ Robotic inter-room messaging- for when you're too lazy to talk.
  • reddit, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13"""Subscribe to a pro account for only 20 bucks a year and get some sweet benefits:
    * Send bigger files. You can send files up to 100 MB with a pro account.
    * Eliminate the ads. When you're signed-in you won't see ads on your profile.
    * Get a sweet badge next to your name. Kind of like a Scout badge, only different.
    """
    Yea, right!
    • Razster, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Come on Reddit! It's a GREAT offer which I think that the whole digg community should embrace.
      How else do you plan on sending files over the Internet which are under 100mb? How I ask!
  • degenerategoat, on 10/11/2007, -0/+8Why on earth would you name a site that? It makes me snigger every time I hear it though...
    • Cimlite, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1... because all the other Web 2.0 sounding names were already taken. :P
    • RussellDovey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yeah, because a silly name can totally ruin a product. Just look at Google, and the Wii! Where are those losers now?

      Oh, and check the name on your graphics card sometime. There's been nothing cool since the Voodoo2.
      • Cimlite, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Yeah, Google and Wii works. It's luck of the draw if one of those names work or not. For me, "Pownce" does not resonate at all though. It just sounds stupid, like a combination of pounce and own... two words that pretty much has nothing to do with the service at all. Not that "Google" actually makes any more sense but at least that service is easy to wrap your head around what it is, a search engine. In the case with Pownce, people don't know exactly what it is or how you use it... add to that having a name that tells you absolutely nothing... well I'd not bet on it.

        Here's a good article on the subject:
        http://www.firewheeldesign.com/sparkplug/2005/December/four_concentric_circles_of_a_web_20_name.php
  • u16085, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3There is so meny different apps out there my head is beginning to spin.. BUT NOT ONE offers all I want... I'm not going to get into a whole list BUT this is what its coming down to.. My Family is scattered - different states & countries. We do the email thing... Then we tried myspace.. that lasted about a day.... moved on to facebook - old folks didn't like it... Tubes came out (tubesnow.com) still in beta, still slow as fu*k but we tried it... Search goes on, and relatives want to settle down on a single sharing/messaging web app/desktop - GIve it another week before something else hands you the kitchen sink, wrapped with a rounded logo - promising the world... - Im not holding my breath.
    • yournightmare, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Either make a free forum at one of the countless websites that let you make free forums or host a site on your own PC.
  • avnerlevit, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1I find it a much more fancier alternative to twitter.
    Although I hate it how the pownce window is always minimized on my window bar instead of the taskbar or the siderbar (vista) for that fact.
  • fastball1945, on 10/11/2007, -3/+3I have some invites. email me if you would like one. fastball1945@yahoo.com
    • crushfan, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I've just send an email.
    • sexyjill, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1I'm sending you an e-mail. Thanks in advance if you have one left!
  • NiVeKz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+0i aswell have some invites
    email me if you want one

    nivek.sayz@gmail.com
  • digitallysick, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1I have invites to if you want to be *cough* linux friends
    http://pownce.com/digitallysick/
  • Namesbond, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6It completely confuses me why anyone would use this service. There is absolutely no way that myself and enough of my friends would use this to make it worthwhile. How many ways are there to transfer files? How many ways are there to communicate? I do not care what my friends are doing every second of their lives and am objective to them knowing what I am doing. If I want to swap a file I have my thumb drive, external HDD, yousendit, flickr, ftp, hamachi share, or I don't know IM client. As for scheduling events can't we just use the phone since I don't carry my laptop every second of my life. Kevin you are always criticizing Microsoft for not being functional. What is the worth of Pounce? I know that I am going to offend people on Digg but while I am a huge tech junkie I feel that people who use myspace, facebook, twitter need to find something positive to do.
  • JayCruz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1Ponce is a town in Puerto Rico.
  • Chip_whitly, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4this has been said already but its also how i feel,

    Pownce is lame.
  • digitallysick, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1Pownce invites digg me down

    http://pownce.com/frode/notes/26891/ http://pownce.com/frode/notes/27074/ http://pownce.com/frode/notes/27095/ http://pownce.com/frode/notes/27034/ http://pownce.com/frode/notes/27320/
  • pNoyr3D, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0POWNCE is awesome! Just got invited today and having tons of fun.
  • snikt, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0Looks pretty sweet, I signed up and am waiting for the invite, anyone know when they'll be doing another round of them?
  • slapthemonkey, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I wont use this service.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.