The internet ought to have made it dead simple to share files long ago. But for some reason, I still scratch my head every time I want to send a batch of photos or a collection of documents to a non-technical friend without resorting to email (which is not a dead simple solution in my book).

That’s why I get excited when I see companies like Stixy attempting to make file sharing not only as easy as it should be, but more pleasurable and intuitive along the way.

Stixy’s underlying concept is simple, and one that we have seen elsewhere in different forms: provide a desktop-like space in the browser where you can upload and share files. We recently gave out a batch of invitations to another new service, Wixi, that does this very thing.

Stixy provides a “free-form” area to drop your files, but it’s also very much like PikiWiki in the sense that it doesn’t settle for simple desktop icons. The files and other items placed in a Stixy workspace are more expressive. For example, photo files are displayed as small versions of themselves and sticky notes can be stuck anywhere. Therefore, Stixy is less like a traditional operating system desktop and more like a bulletin board.

The ability to access and interact with elements in a Stixy workplace (whether they be files or other widgets) is not yet very extensive. Currently, you can add only four element types to a workplace: sticky notes, photos, documents, and to-do notes. Both types of notes are pretty simple widgets and documents are displayed as simple icons. But there is a lot of potential for Stixy to expand the collection of widgets (and perhaps eventually create an open platform for widget development) as well as to improve the current widgets so they are more interactive. It would be great to be able to preview Word documents and PDFs in the bulletin board environment instead of downloading a local copy or opening them in another window. The same thing goes for video and audio files.

Despite the usefulness of the free-form workspace for files, it would also be great to see a more traditional file system view built into Stixy as an option for when I want to sort quickly through a bunch of files stored in the system. Currently, you wouldn’t want to add more than a couple dozen elements to Stixy because it would get too crowded. If Stixy were to develop more standard file views (as an alternative, mind you), it would be moving in the direction of a Web OS while remaining cognizant of the fact that preview functionality is paramount in an online storage environment (people don’t want to download a file each time they want to check it out).

It is important to keep in mind that Stixy is ultimately a collaboration tool (as any Web OS-like service probably should be). The company has decided to keep ownership of Stixy workspaces very simple, in fact so simple that usually there is no real ownership. If you share a “stixyboard” (it’s name for a workspace) with one or more other users, you give those users equal power over board management. Any participating user can edit any aspect of the board, and any user can delete the whole thing completely. Therefore, this is a tool for people who trust each other and not one suited for a broad social networking environment. Stixyboards can be kept entirely private, shared with other users, or opened up to the public at large (for either editing or just viewing).

Currently, Stixy has placed a 10mb cap on each file upload but no cap on total disk space usage (which will inevitably change as traffic increases). The company plans on making money from advertisements (not yet on the site) and premium memberships (also not yet available). The company is currently working on chat and messaging functionality to enhance collaboration. The ability to drag-n-drop files straight from the desktop (a la PikiWiki) is also in the works. And in the longer term, Stixy will probably feature a file versioning system along with an activity history log.

Stixy, which is based in Karlshamn, Sweden but also operates in Mill Valley, CA, launched just a couple weeks ago around the same time it exhibited in TechCrunch40’s DemoPit. I’ll be looking forward to seeing whether Stixy remains as a standalone product and/or becomes incorporated as a feature of other websites that facilitate file sharing.

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Media-centric social network Wixi, which launched at TechCrunch40 a couple of weeks ago, is giving away 5,000 invitations to its private beta to TechCrunch readers.

To claim yours, go here and enter “havefun” as the Wixi access pass. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to invite six of your friends. After these 5,000 invitations run out, users will be put on a waiting list for future batches of invitations.

Wixi users get 3GB of free storage that they can use to share photos, videos, and music with their friends and family. While the service is browser-based, Wixi designed the interface to feel like a desktop environment with drag-n-drop functionality. Files hosted on Wixi can be accessed through the Wixi website or displayed on users’ websites using an embeddable Flash Player (an example of which is shown at the bottom of this post).

The company is currently self-funded and plans to open up to the public in December.

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We’re live blogging each session, adding to the summary of each company direct from the floor of TechCrunch 40. Click Refresh to view.

XRT3D

XTR3D develops software that lets users interact with computers and gaming consoles using 3D human motions. Their real-time software analyzes 3D human motions using only one simple web cam. It will allow users to play games and interact in virtual worlds using natural human motions instead of keyboards, mouses and joysticks. They refer to their technology as a “3D Human Machine Interface”

mouse movements in the air via a web cam…pretty damn cool.

Demo includes moving around Google Earth by hand movements.

As can be used for virtual worlds, games.

Demo includes boxing, works well. Definitely one of the best product/ presentations of the conference.

More at CrunchGear here.

BroadClip

BroadClip’s MediaCatcher for Facebook offers a way to search and listen to DRM-free music that is optimized to deliver music to portable media players such as iPods and cell phones. All users have to do is “clip” streaming music and they can transfer the recording to their portable media player in a legal way similar to other “time-shifting” technologies like TiVo, VCRs and tape recorders.Bizarre Star Wars demo…WTF? one line was this is very bad…he’s right, a shame thoough, I like the idea, even if the copyright side is a big question mark…they claim it’s legal yet the RIAA was demanding that webcasters put stream rip blocking software into place as part of the royalty negotiations…Broadclip is a easy to use stream ripping service.No one on stage…some sort of streamed presentation, not sure if they are even in the building. Sorry to be negative, but it’s not a good effect.

mEgo

mEgo lets users create personalized avatars that carry their online network aggregation profiles and can be integrated into users’ blogs, social networks, websites, and IM clients. The online profiles display user-picked content like profile details, videos, photos, feeds, and widgets.

A couple of giggling chicks…Jason Calacanis notes that it’s great to have someone on the stage presenting.

Tag team with the presentation which works well.

Interactive widget, sample is shown in Facebook.

Lots of features, provides social aggregation including pulling in RSS, Twitter etc.. can be any size as is vector based.

Site will be live as at 4pm

Wixi

Wixi is a media focused social network where users interact with each other by privately watching, posting, and sharing content of all media types, including photos, audio, and video. The site offers a unique interface whereby media can be managed in the same way files are organized on a computer desktop, creating a true “drag and drop” and “click and play” experience.

Looks like a Web OS, smells like a Web OS…but it’s a “media sharing platform”

visit main.wixi.com use code tech40access for free unlimited storage.

Zat waz ok..I think.

BeFunky

BeFunky provides users with online tools for creating digital online representations of themselves for use on their blogs, websites, and social networks like MySpace. Their online tools Uvatar and Cartoonizer enable users to turn themselves into an avatar, cartoon, digital painting or comic.

I hate the name, but political correctness means I can say what I think about it.

It’s a pic to cartoon/ avatar tool. Not bad, demo worked well.

Can also manipulate pics, they demoed it on a picture of Michael Arrington and took “20 pounds off him”

Also does video, demonstrated on a scene from Matrix. Impressive…very impressive.

Avator package creates cartoon like avatars, free at first, $5 a pop later.

Expert panel

MC Hammer likes Mego, BeFunky. Brad Garlinghouse (Yahoo) likes Mego, BeFunky is cool as well. Sarah Lacey likes XTR8. Caterina Fake is sceptical of widget providers.

Loic feels sorry for Broadclip.

Discussion on XTR8: Brad says it reminds him of an old Intel product, s not convinced that there is anything wrong with the mouse or remote

Wixi discussion: also does mashups, syndication

Broadclip talks about their product…about 15 minutes after they were suppose to on stage doing that very thing. Explains that it’s TiVo for internet radio. Can go on to iPod.

Question from audience: copyright issue with Broadclip. A: we are increasing the revenue of record companies, but doesn’t fully answer the question, despite being an IP lawyer. MC Hammer rips on the into the company, money doesn’t work. Can’t touch this one!

Don Dodge in the audience, Broadclip is wrong, they aren’t increasing revenue and it doesn’t matter what they say, they are going to have trouble.

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