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- Cool Websites and Tools [July 7]
- 20 Tips to Manage Your Online Social Life – Part 1
- How to Fix & Repair the Lost Link to The iTunes Music Library
- BonusLevel – Play The Games, Create The Levels
- How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account – Part II
- Make Your Own DVD Movie Covers with DVD Print [Windows]
| Cool Websites and Tools [July 7] Posted: 07 Jul 2009 04:00 PM PDT
(1) Alice – Free household organizer which aims to take charge of your entire household shopping and provides a better way to manage your household essentials online. It helps you choose from a large number of products, find coupons for them so that you pay less for each item, organize them under different labels and set up reminders. Read more: Alice: Free Online Household Shopping Organizer (2) PodShifter - Online tool that can easily make any slow podcasts up to 2 or even 3 times faster. To speed up a podcast or any other audio feed, simply enter its RSS feed, set how much faster you want it to be (from 0.6x to 3x) and hit on the "shift it" button. Read more: PodShifter: Speed Up Podcasts For Faster Play (3) SampleResumeTemplate – If you don't have much time and want to quickly create a simple and presentable online resume, check out a sample resume template provided at SampleResumeTemplate.net. It is simple to use, has a nice layout and allows you to quickly customize it with your own data. Read more: Free Sample Resume Template (4) Tuxpi – Simple and fun app that lets you create your own WANTED poster just like in old Western movies. All you need do is upload a picture from your computer, preview and modify the caption, enter the reward amount, and then download onto your computer. Read more: Tuxpi: Make Your Own Wanted Poster (5) Ultrasonic-Ringtones – Website that lets you test your hearing and see how far your can hear into the range of ultrasonic sound. Alternatively, you may download ultrasonic ringtones and use them on your cell phone. Apparently, these ringtones are very popular with teenagers because teachers can not hear them when phones ring. Read more: Download Ultrasonic Ringtones & Test Your Hearing
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/ Related posts
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| 20 Tips to Manage Your Online Social Life – Part 1 Posted: 07 Jul 2009 02:00 PM PDT
I no longer knew what I had dugg, found delicious or stumbled upon. Keeping track of groups of friends on multiple networks, commenting on their updates, updating my status, responding to email, and pretty soon, I had 'social networking fatigue'. If this sounds familiar, don't lose heart: these tips may help. If you have not yet dived deep into social waters, these tips can help you stay afloat and in control. 1. Visualize Your Social MapUse pen and paper or mind mapping services like MindMeister to draw your social network or social map. There are several ways in which you can group and design your lifestream: Capture–Process–Share, Discover–Consume–Collaborate, Create-Share-Discover-Collect, etc.
Don't be disheartened because it may be a mess. The process of visualizing it will bring much-needed clarity, and help you identify what you need to change and where. 2. Define Your Target AudienceFor each network where you share data, define your target audience. Who are the target audience of your blog, your photo-sharing account, your Facebook/MySpace account? Whom do you want to interact with on email, IM, Twitter? Do not mix family with friends, or friends with business. Use multiple accounts in Twitter so that your tweets are relevant to your followers. This also helps you set appropriate privacy settings for that network: I might wish to keep my family Twitter account updates protected, and keep the other one public. 3. Use a Password ManagerWhen we sign up with a lot of different web services, we are tempted to use the same password across several websites. The problem with using different passwords was remembering all of them. With Password Managers to the rescue, you can now have both security and convenience. Never use the same password for multiple sites.
Use a browser-independent desktop application like KeePass, or LastPass, which integrates with all the major browsers. 4. Separate Private & Public Photo-SharingUse two or more photo-sharing sites for different types of photos. One example: private photos go to Picasa, friendly photos go to Facebook, public images/photos go to Flickr. I find this a safe and convenient approach because all social networking sites keep changing their privacy settings and options regularly. I do not want to risk my private photos being exposed just because some site changed its default options and I was too busy to notice it. 5. Use One Social Bookmarking SiteSocial bookmarking helps keep all your bookmarks together, easily search and tag them, and share them with your friends. Do not spread your bookmarks across different sites. Choose Digg, Delicious, Redditt, or any other service you fancy and stick to it. For example if you use Delicious, get the Delicious for Google Reader script to save bookmarks directly from Google Reader, and digg.licio.us Greasemonkey script to save Digg stories on Delicious. If you're spread out across different sites, look for export/import options to consolidate. If you are starting afresh, check out Twine. Twine uses artificial intelligence to automatically tag and sort your bookmarks. 6. Use a GravatarUse an avatar that looks good in both 64×64 and 128×128 sizes and save them for reference. Using a gravatar helps you get a consistent avatar across multiple sites. Gravatars also help create a brand identity for your profile, allowing people to instantly recognize you. Not sure how to get a gravatar? It's simple!
7. Use Social SurfingDo you browse a lot of websites, open separate tabs to social sites, and copy-paste to share interesting stuff with your friends? Or keep several tabs open to check updates in Twitter, Facebook, and Friendfeed? If you're using IE or Firefox, get the Yoono plugin to make life easier. Yoono also supports popular IM networks. Or if you're a power social user, try using the Flock browser.
8. Integrate IM, Email, and Social NetworkingIf you use a browser that doesn't yet support plugins or are a heavy user of IM, check out the latest version of Digsby or Trillian. Both of them support all popular webmail accounts, IM networks, and social networking sites.
9. Use a Consistent UsernameFor people to easily recognize you, use a common username across all sites. Use specialized sites like Knowem, Namechk, or Usernamecheck to check availability of your preferred username. Maintain consistent brand names across networks using these tools. As individuals, avoid signing up on services you are never going to use.
10. Track Your CommentsEver leave a comment on some blog or site and never visit it again? You may be disgruntling those who respond to your comment with a question. Get control of your comments across blogs, sites, and social networks, with comment tracking systems like BackType.
In Part 2, we will look at tips for more seasoned social networking aficionados. Were these helpful for a start? Are there any aspects of social networking you need help on? Let us know in the comments! Image Credit: Brian Solis, єvαиdяσ иαรciмєитσ Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too. Related posts
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| How to Fix & Repair the Lost Link to The iTunes Music Library Posted: 07 Jul 2009 12:00 PM PDT
A music library is a coveted digital playground for a serious audiophile. While I don't exactly fit the stereotype, I do like my music to be organized with tags and playlists. Organizing a collection of a few thousand songs is a painstaking feat. Losing that can be sheer anguish. There are a few common reasons for losing the file link to the iTunes music library.
Here's where Apple says – Don't despair. Help is just a few clicks away. But what are iTunes Library files?iTunes library is nothing but the iTunes database that it creates to manage your music. Two iTunes library files are created – iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml. Both can be found in the iTunes folder in the following default location: In Microsoft Windows Xp
In Microsoft Windows Vista
The iTunes Library.itl file is a database of the songs in your library and the playlists you’ve created. This file stores information from the song's tag (the ID3 tag, for example) and also records information like play count and rating. This is the file iTunes reads to build your library. The iTunes Music Library.xml is a secondary file with some of the same info as the earlier file but not all. This file also tracks the changes in iTunes and the song contents. The other purpose of this file is to make your songs in iTunes available to other Apple applications on your computer like the iPhone. The iTunes Library.itl file is a binary file and won’t any sense to us. But the iTunes Music Library.xml file is – if opened in a text editor. This is how it works – iTunes falls back on the iTunes Music Library.xml file if the iTunes Library.itl file gets corrupted or is lost. It tries to auto-recreate the library by rebuilding the iTunes Library.itl file using the info stored in its XML counterpart.
If the automatic process fails, we can essentially get into the iTunes folder and rebuild it on our own. Here's how we can recreate the music library and get our playlists back
Any device which connects with iTunes will resync with the fresh rebuilt library in all cases. Right off the cuff, the first thing to be emphasized is the need to always backup your media and the library. iTunes allows you to easily backup the entire iTunes library and playlists along with the Apple store buys.
We spend a great deal of effort to beg, borrow, buy and steal for our music collection. Precaution and preservation is the mantra. Take a look at all we can contribute from our posts on iTunes and iPod for that end. As the music plays on, let us know your worst iTunes gripe and how you troubleshot it. Love iTunes but don’t know how to use it to its full potential? Worry not, check out our PDF Manual – MakeUseOf’s Big Book of iTunes. Image credit: maury.mccown Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/ Related posts
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| BonusLevel – Play The Games, Create The Levels Posted: 07 Jul 2009 10:00 AM PDT Nearly every gamer has crossed a point in life where he or she has considered, thought, or fantasized about a career in video game development. After all, there’s nothing more wonderful than to be able to make your job out of your hobby.
But not all of us have intricate knowledge of Python or C++, and few are prepared to really go down the learning route (someday, perhaps). So dreams stay dreams, and we get over to the reality side of business. Oh really? MakeUseOf showed you could have your non-coding hand in games before, when Damien wrote about Sploder, a game where you could create the next chapter. However, BonusLevel takes this concept to the next level. Literally. BonusLevelBonusLevel hosts several really fun flash games, but that just makes it one of many sites for flash gaming. The reason this site is different, is because it’s about creating and expanding the games, as well as playing them. The GamesBonusLevel was launched by 3 game developers, with a few of their flash games. Since then, it has changed to a user-supported system for games and game levels. Anyone who wants to develop a game with the BonusLevel API is welcome to do so, but that’s not always an easy objective. As a result, the total number of available game is very limited, only seven at the moment. But that certainly does not limit the fun that’s to be had. The available games are top quality, and sometimes even genre-redefining, like Push, which comes highly recommended.
Apart from the level-creating system, about which you’ll read more below, registered users can keep themselves busy by competing for the charts and earning various awards.
Creating LevelsThis is what makes BonusLevel stand out. This is where the site gets its strength. To create levels, you must register for a free account on the site. Once that’s done, you can summon an editor from every game page on the site. Each and every game that’s available on BonusLevel, is accompanied by a simple level editor. This means anyone can produce new content for the games. As a result, these games never end. If someone writes a good game engine with merely five levels, you can come back in a few days and play some more, or continue the game yourself.
To make sure the site isn’t bombed with crap, all newly created levels are played, judged and moderated by a special group of selected members. If your level is deemed worthy and fun, it’s shared with all other users, registered and guests, to enjoy.
These days, a lot of levels are seeing the light of day, thanks to the size of the community and the user support. This self-maintaining system keeps even the oldest games up to date and ensures a whole lot of additional fun. What do you think of the idea of creating your own game levels? Have you tried making your own games? What were the tools you used? Let us know in the comments. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/ Related posts
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| How To Access Hotmail Email Messages from Your Gmail Account – Part II Posted: 07 Jul 2009 08:00 AM PDT
My default mail client is Gmail for online access and Thunderbird for offline. In this demonstration, I am going to use Mozilla Thunderbird, but the same principle can be used for other desktop clients such as Microsoft Outlook or Windows Live Mail. Step 1: Download Install ThunderBirdTo download Mozilla Thunderbird, just visit the Thunderbird Home Page and download the latest version for your operating system.
Step 2: Create your Gmail Account in ThunderbirdOnce you have successfully installed Thunderbird, it is time to set up Gmail. When you first launch the ThunderBird after installing it, the below dialog box will appear. If you want to set up more accounts later, you can access it by going Tools –> Account Settings –> Add Account.
Click on the Google Mail or Gmail radio button and click Next. Then enter your name and Google email address. What you type in as Your Name field will appear as the sender when you send emails to other people.
Click Next, and do not click Download Emails now. We'll download our emails later after we have checked the settings and set up our folders and filters. The setup should be now complete. In order to make sure the settings are correct and to alter the settings if we need, go to Tools –> Account Options. Under your email account, click on Server Settings and make sure you tick the box Leave Messages on Server. This allows you to check all of your emails online as well as offline after you have downloaded them. If you want, you can click the “Until I Delete Them” box. Step 3: Managing IdentitiesSince we are in Account Settings, we can set up and manage our identities. Identities are a way we can send mail from other accounts. On the main Account Settings page, you'll see a button that says Manage Identities. Click on that, and set up your identities for the accounts you are forwarding.
Then click on Add to add a new identity and to fill in the details of your other email accounts. You can change the settings in “Copies and Folders” so your sent mail is stored in another folder if you want.
Step 4: Create folders to sort your mailSince mail from different email accounts are coming to this one account, we will first set up folders so we can sort mail so we know which email account we will send the email from. To do this, right click on your account and click New folder.
Create folders for all your email accounts that you are forwarding to this Gmail account. Step 5: Automatically filter your mail from different accountsNow we have to set up Mail Filters to sort our mail into correct folders. To access message filters, go to Tools –> Message Filters. You have to create a new filter for every email account you are forwarding that you want to go into its own separate folder. Click on the New button and give the filter an appropriate name. Select To from the first drop down box, Contains from the second and type the email address in the third. In the bottom half, select Move Message To and select the folder that you want to move the emails too.
Magnified view
Repeat the steps for every email account. Message Filters are great if you get a lot of mail from one address for example MySpace and Facebook, you can set message filters to your move all mail from those sites to different folders. The below screenshot is how I effectively sort all my MySpace and FaceBook messages into one folder.
Step 6: You are now doneBy reading the Part 1, you should now be able to access your emails online in one simple location. By reading this part, you should now be able to access your emails offline. Combined these posts together and you will now be able to successfully managed your mail more efficiently and effectively. However, I do suggest that you check your other email accounts just in case there are some important emails filtered as Spam and that everything is still working correctly. There are other ways to do this, but this is what I have been doing and it works great with my mail. Especially if you change your email addresses a lot. What do you think? Has this helped you to manage your email more efficiently? Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/ Related posts
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| Make Your Own DVD Movie Covers with DVD Print [Windows] Posted: 07 Jul 2009 06:00 AM PDT
The file is just under 700KB and has been downloaded from the author’s website almost 3 million times. And today, I needed to create some cases for my um, well… ahh, MY Enter DVD Print which can be grabbed from here http://www.dancemammal.com/dvdprint.htm. Once you have downloaded the application, you just need to extract it and run it. This is a portable application, so you do not have to install anything. Once you run the application, you will see a screen similar to this. Also, note that the application asks for registration information that is not discussed on the website or in the documentation. But I have used it for a while now without having any issues. So, if you run into issues or know how to obtain a registration code by all means let us know in the comments!
The left side of the program's window is what you see above and the right side is a link to a free resource for CD/DVD covers (FreeCovers.co.uk).
Now that you have seen the program – let's try to make a cover for a movie. Let’s try it with The Simpsons.
Next, you will see the results below the search box. Each result will show what it contains – in this case, I wanted the front DVD Cover so I was looking for the word front. Then, I saw it and clicked on it. The application opens an external website and requires you to download and save the image to your machine to use it.
That's it! I found it and proceeded to download the cover by clicking Download Cover. The website requires registration but we used BugMeNot to get a username and password. I saved the image to my desktop. Next, I opened the image in DVD Print by clicking on Open Image.
Then my image appeared in the main window. I hit the drop-down box to choose what I was looking to print. In this case, it is a DVD Box Cover. I hit Preview and it looked great! This was what I saw:
I printed it out and it was perfect! This is a huge help for me and my monsterous DVD collection. Maybe I will start on my music next. Only 750GB of it – that shouldn't take me too long, right? Maybe this Batch mode from the application will help. I could not find any documentation on it but maybe one of you readers have used it – if you have let us know in the comments! Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section! New on MakeUseOf ? Get cheat sheets and cool PDF guides @ www.makeuseof.com/makeuseof-downloads/ Related posts
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Don't let the name of this application fool you! DVD Print can print DVD 
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