Tag: web service

Learn, or teach, a language online with Myngle

myngle-logo.jpg

It’s tough learning a language. It’s easy to start, but it takes a loooong time to become proficient, and if you’re not using it every day it’s difficult to keep it in your head. If you need to learn a language, for work or just for fun, then Myngle might be for you.

The language-learning service has just hit 100,000 unique users a month, and left beta status. It allows anyone to learn or teach a language from their computer. The latest stats say that students from 152 countries are learning a language from teachers in 62 countries. Languages offered right now include Arabic, Kazakh, Finnish, Sanskrit and Cebuano. If you know where Cebuano is spoken, then give yourself a pat on the back.

If you want to find out more then there’s a delightfully cheesy infomercial style video here, or just click over to the website and look around.

Myngle

Related posts: Voxswap social networking site could help you learn a new language, launches today | Google Translate adds new language conversion features to web searching

Duncan Geere Websites

NOISE GATE: Lala launches idiotic "web song" concept

noisegate.jpg

After the joy (and surprising popularity) of Spotify the other day, my palm is firmly back on my face thanks to Lala and their launch of “web songs” – cut price music that’s locked up tighter than a… actually I probably shouldn’t pursue that simile any further.

Lala is offering music for 10 cents a track. “Great!”, you cry. But wait a sec. The only way they’ve got the record labels to agree is to limit you to only listening to that song in your browser. You’re essentially paying 10 cents for something that you can get for free on Spotify, Last.FM, MySpace, or even YouTube, for god’s sake. As the unnamed head of a digital music service once said, “you want the world’s best on-demand music service? Go to YouTube and close your eyes…”

Duncan Geere Columns & Opinion, Digital Music, Noise Gate