Filed under: World wide web, Utilities, Productivity

Snackr is an Adobe AIR-based RSS ticker that pulls random headlines from your RSS feeds and scrolls them along the bottom or the side of your screen, letting you click through to read anything that looks interesting. It’s not a replacement for your regular RSS reader, but it makes a great supplement. Snackr’s well worth checking out if you’re an information addict who has to have the fire hydrant open at all times.

Because it’s an AIR app, Snackr is cross-platform and sports a look that won’t feel out of place on your OS. Ticker speed and position on screen are adjustable, and you can force the ticker on top of your other windows if it suits you. Snackr supports OPML files, so it’s very easy to populate with the feeds of your choice. It also minimizes to a little tab when you want to put it away for a while, and shows a preview of each story you click on, instead of going directly to your browser. Snackr doesn’t interrupt what you’re doing unless you want it to.

All in all, this is one of the most useful, best-designed AIR apps we’ve seen yet. It’s essential for heavy RSS users, or anyone who wants to stay on top of breaking news. Don’t ditch your full-featured feed reader, by any means, but do supplement it with Snackr if you’re looking for a faster, more dynamic way to consume information.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

EDIT: The URL for the first link is fixed. It’s Snackr.net, not .com. Thanks Ian, Jake and David!

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Filed under: Good news, Products and services, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Marketing and advertising, Oil

With gasoline prices going through the roof lately, the main question on every motorists’ mind has been how to save some money at the pumps. The obvious answers are to either drive less, or buy a vehicle that uses less gas, preferably a gas-electric hybrid. Hybrids, unfortunately, are pretty high-priced, but Honda (NYSE: HMC) has announced plans for releasing an inexpensive gas-electric hybrid next year.

Honda plans on this new hybrid to be a brand new vehicle model for the company, and the model will only come in the hybrid version. In addition, it will also be coming out with new hybrid versions of its already popular Civic and CR-Z.

The company’s President, Takeo Fukui, said that there has been a lot of attention placed on hybrids recently, and that now was the time to “go to the next step.” He did not make any predictions on just how much the new hybrid-only model would cost, other than it would be affordable. There was also no mention of the name for the new model, but some descriptions were given, including that it would be a 5-door sedan with new weight reduction technology to help improve the vehicle’s efficiency.

While discussing costs, though, Fukui did get on the topic of the difference in prices between traditional gas-powered models and their hybrid counterparts. Currently, when consumers go to make the choice between a gas-only automobile and its hybrid cousin, the price difference can be quite a deterrent, with the hybrid models costing close to $5,000 more. That extra 5K could be just enough to keep vehicle shoppers from going with the more “green” substitute. Allowed, with the way gasoline prices have been moving lately, that extra $5,000 could wind up paying for itself much quicker than anyone expected.

Regardless, Fukui mentioned that the current gap between the gas-only and hybrid car models was simply unacceptable. He hinted that the new versions of his company’s hybrids would not carry such a massive additional cost as compared to their gas-only versions. Fukui said that he felt the gap could, and should, be brought down to under $2,000. He called this “a must.”

So as gasoline prices continue to surge, and with no apparent relief on the horizon, it is good to know that at least a few more inexpensive options should be coming to a showroom near you at some point in the foreseeable future.

I am curious to hear from our readers on this subject. Do you own a gas only vehicle, or a hybrid? Have you considered a hybrid vehicle in the past, only to be put off by the price? If you do own a hybrid, what has your experience been with the vehicle?

Looking forward to hearing from you on this one!

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last four years working as an analyst for the on the web investment advisory service Investor’s Observer.

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