SugarSynch – File sync and online backup provider SugarSynch is making Dropbox look a bit weak. SugarSynch offers sweet file storage and sharing (including large-sized files) using the cloud. Dropbox has been, up to this point, the leading provider of file backup that’s automatically synced on multiple devices, but their free track only allows for 2 GB. SugarSynch, on the other hand, offers more than twice as much – 5 GB of space for free plan users. What other features make SugarSynch stand out? You can backup and sync any folder on your computer, upload files via email, share folders with permissions and passwords, publish photos to facebook and many other perks you won’t find elsewhere. In addition, SugarSynch works with Android, Blackberry, Symbian and of course iPhone and iPad. For the complete list of comparison, click here. I’ve already signed up for the free 5 GB file storage plan. What about you? To learn more watch the video below.

The Next Web – With over 100 thousand Facebook fans and millions of unique visitors each month, The Next Web is undeniably one of the most prominent technology resource out there. The site started out as a spin-off to The Next Web Conference, and soon became an authority on startups, Internet and culture in and of itself, with the added value of offering an international perspective.

The Next Web provides insightful news stories on a number of topics including gadgets, the World Wide Web and its cultural by-products, design and development, entrepreneurship and many others. The posts are well-written and to the point, which I can’t say about other leading tech blogs. My personal favorite section is The Next Web’s Lifehacks category, which is filled with productive tips and tools for startups and entrepreneurs. That’s where I found the post Getting Started with LinkedIn by Alex Wilhelm.

Hidden Heroes – What would life be like without, say, thermal flasks, light bulbs or even baby pacifiers? It’s almost impossible to imagine and indeed, these and many other mundane, widely used -obvious- objects have made our life much easier. Vitra Design Museum has collaborated with plastic-based multipackaging systems supplier Hi-Cone to give the daily objects -the ‘hidden heroes’- we all take for granted the thanks and respect they deserve.

The beautiful exhibition is physically showing at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, but also online, on this website. At the homepage, pick a number of products and click Enter Exhibition. This will prompt a visual continuum where each of your selected products gets a page of its own with historical background, designer info and product use details.

To give an example, see the product page of the Thermos Flask, patented in 1903. Interesting, isn’t it?

Onavo – Mobile data can really cost your device downloads data from your carrier, using the Internet without you even knowing. The end result is hard cash you pay for that accumulated Internet usage. When traveling abroad, these costs can grow to an extent where it makes more sense to leave the mobile device at home and rent out a local cellular phone for your trip.

Rome – As the browser war rages on (remember the brilliant Pac-Man collaboration with Internet Explorer 9 we reviewed a couple of weeks ago?), Google Chrome is giving a fantastic fight with ROME. This whimsical and fabulous film by Chris Milk -works only on Chrome, of course- is a “hardware-accelerated 3D graphics” built onto the Chrome browser and requires no download or install of any software. Don’t forget to move your mouse sideways while the film is playing.

This Google Chrome Experiment is a whimsical film with a beautiful soundtrack by Danger Mouse, who have a new album out called -you guesses it- Rome.

If you wish, you can add your own dreamy additions to this project by clicking ‘add to the dream’ and see how others have already contributed. ROME is an amazing collaborative adventure of creativity, 3D technology, great music and a powerful browser showing off for a good reason. Enjoy.

Defringe – This minimalistic-looking site is actually bursting with rich creativity, and it offers a wealth of inspiring posts showing today’s innovation in a variety of fields, including advertising, illustration, music, product design, typography and many other fields. Defringe is an elegant, sophisticated design and talent hub that is packed with cool ideas and products. It wasn’t a Weekly Blog winner for nothing.
Here’s an interesting post I found in Defringe’s Product Design section: Miniot, innovative and organic solution to protecting the iPad.

Genius Scan – This cool iPhone app offers quick and easy creation and sharing of scanned documents using only your iPhone. Simply take a picture with your iPhone or pick one from your library (pics can be of a board, a note on the table and many other forms), crop it and straighten it, and you’re good to go. Using Wi-Fi internet connection allows you to copy scanned documents to your computer. Genius Scan offers a most productive tool you will appreciate having on your iPhone. Available on the App Store.

Photosynth – This cool photography tool by Microsoft invites you to create amazing panoramic, 3D photos using the digital camera you’re already using to take pics (mobile phone cameras work just as well). Although a program download is required, as is creating a Photosynth account, this powerful set of tools is so rewarding you won’t believe it’s free. In addition, your created 3D pics can be added to Bing maps, shared on facebook and even added to your website or blog.

The idea of creating 3D pictures with your mobile phone is phenomenal, although one can’t avoid the evident similarity between Photosynth and Google’s street view technology. Either way, I’m curious to know what effect will this concept have on the way we all take pictures in the future. Either way, here’s the full explanation on how to create mobile panoramas.

Now that we’re done with all the (justified) geeky raves, here’s an actual example.

IdeasWatch – For those of you who have experienced a moment of epiphany about a piece of technology, device or concept that is in need but not yet available, you will appreciate IdeasWatch. It’s the place for visionaries everywhere to pitch their startup idea, and where creative professionals can discuss these ideas with entrepreneurs and see if the idea can become a reality. Here’s a video explaining what IdeasWatch is about:

So what kind of innovative ideas will you find on IdeasWatch? Virtually everything, from every field. To start you can browse ideas (each can be voted for by Likes) or go straight to the most liked ideas. Here’s a popular one I found:

To submit your own idea, click on Share idea. I hope to see great things come out of this creative initiative by the community, for the community!

WolframTones – For those of you unfamiliar with Wolfram|Alpha, it is Stephen Wolfram’s computational knowledge engine based on the British scientist’s New Kind of Science approach. WolframTones is an intriguing experiment based on the same scientific premise, and “works by taking simple programs from Wolfram’s computational universe, and using music theory and Mathematica algorithms to render them as music. Each program in effect defines a virtual world, with its own special story–and WolframTones captures it as a musical composition.” In other words, Wolfram Tones creates music from algorithms.”

The nice thing about WolframTones is you don’t have to be a computer science graduate to appreciate the beauty of composing melodies based on computational processes. The user interface is fun and easy, and the WolframTones magic really shines when you add more variations to your creation. Another great perk this experiment offers is a free download of your music creation which can be applied as a ringtone. To learn more about how to compose music on WolframTones, consult the FAQ page.

World’s Biggest PAC-MAN – Who doesn’t like Pac-Man? It’s fun, it’s exciting, and eating ghosts is the best feeling ever. Pac-Man creators have teamed up with Microsoft to show off the goodies of Internet Explorer 9, MS’ newest browser edition. One must admit, this marketing campaign is a brilliant and successful approach.

The World’s Biggest PAC-MAN offers numerous mazes for you to eat dots and chase ghosts in, and you can hop from one maze to the other by going through the side exits. Sign in with your Facebook account and start off with the main navigation page and choose your maze. As you gain more points you can earn rewards, see your stats compared to the current global high scores, and challenge your friends to play PAC-Man as well.

So what’s so special about Internet Explorer 9? Microsoft promises accelerated speed, smoother high-definition videos and  clearer graphics, among other special features. For more info visit the IE 9 download page.

SkyView – This amazing iPhone app (compatible with 3GS, iPhone 4 and iPad 2) offers a unique planetary experience using cool augmented reality technology. Watch your favorite stars and constellations fade in and out of your camera view, search for stars and planets’ current location, and track celestial objects’ path through the skies in a 24 hour period (including satellites and the space station!) Tilting your iPhone to landscape view prompts the SkyView’s scientific mode which gives real-time azimuths and elevation of starts.

SkyView not only offers captivating images of celestial objects and zodiac constellations, but also offers a fantastic way to learn astronomy and physics. Available on the App Store on iTunes.