Latest Tips from MakeUseOf.com |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [August 23]
- Thank You To Our Friends
- How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part 1)
- Top 10 Websites For PlayStation 2 Free Game Cheats
- Immunet Protect – Free Anti-Virus Protection From The Social Cloud (Windows)
- How To Automatically Keep Your Mac’s Apps Fresh & Updated
- Create Online Mindmaps With Seavus DropMind
- Top 5 Current Email Scams You Should Know About
| Cool Websites and Tools [August 23] Posted: 23 Aug 2009 06:01 PM PDT
(1) HowPack – This site offers printable paper folding designs and templates to help you pack a wide variety of things which range from tiny items like cigarettes to big hexagon cartons. According to site, it's the most powerful online guide and value added one stop station for packaging designs, construction, materials and package printing, manufacturing etc. Read more: HowPack – Great Collection Of Packaging Designs & Templates
(2) MyTextTools – Simple and an extremely useful site which offers a collection of some nice browser-based text manipulation tools which aren't always easy to find. There are tools like Find/Remove Duplicate Lines, Number Each Text Line, Sort Text Lines, Spelling Checker, Binary Code Generator and many more. Read more: MyTextTools – Web Based Text Manipulation Tools (3) SiteJabber – Consumer advocacy web service that protects users against fraudulent and untrustworthy websites. It provides a platform where everyone can share their experiences using popular websites and buying from online retailers. Read more: SiteJabber – Online Retailer Ratings & Reviews (4) SiteRedeemr – If you are a blogger or web designer and have websites which you don't need anymore. Here is an easy-to-use option to monetize them. SiteRedeemr is a web service that can turn your unwanted and old website/blog into cash with three simple steps. Read more: SiteRedeemr – Scrap Websites For Cash (5) SpeedCine – New search engine which can tell you where you can watch whole movies online for free and for fee. It indexes around 13,000 movies from sources which have the legal rights to distribute them online. You can find movies as old as the 1940's ones and as new as the ones released just a year ago. Read more: SpeedCine – Find Where You Can Watch Whole Movies Online Legally
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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| Posted: 23 Aug 2009 05:30 PM PDT It's time to say thanks to our friends who often help us out with different projects and sometimes even offer their services at discount prices. Thank you guys! TrueKolor – Cheap Custom Logo and Banner Design
Pair – Reliable Web Hosting
Walyou – Blog About Cool Gadgets for Geeks
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| How To Turn Gmail Into A Multitasking Machine (Part 1) Posted: 23 Aug 2009 03:01 PM PDT
In the following tips, I will show you a couple methods to streamline your email browsing, and turn Gmail into a multitasking machine. Mind you, my method of organization takes a whole lot of setting up, and a bit of getting used to, but considering how much more integrated your email will be with your life, the time spent will be worth it.
First Things FirstThe first and most important aspect of revamping your inbox is stopping the inflow of junk. Start by unsubscribing from any newsletters that you do not read on a daily basis, and filter out the stubborn ones (for which you can’t find an unsubscribe link) for automatic deletion (I’ll cover this more in Part 2). Then, you can start clearing out your inbox. If you have a pile of unread messages that you never plan on reading, Gmail’s search has a useful function that can isolate all of your unread messages. Simply go up to the search box and type in ” is:unread ” and click Search Mail, and you should be seeing all of your unread emails. Then, you can either delete all of them, or then selectively isolate each sender and deal with the associated emails you see fit. Before we start configuring your revamped inbox, you’ll need the Better Gmail 2 Extension written by Gina Trapani over at Lifehacker. 1. Better Gmail 2 Configuration
This is how I set up my Better Gmail 2 options. Of course, yours may not be exactly the same as mine, but this setup works with the rest of my configuration just fine. I have “Support This Add On via Amazon” enabled because it helps donate a bit of money to keep this app in development each time you make a purchase on Amazon. Make sure you have Hide Labels in Message Row checked, unless you like to see your labels before the subject line of every single email. It’s very important to have Folders4Gmail checked, as you will see in point 3. Now, we will go over Gmail Labs settings, which is the tiny green beaker that should be to the left of your Settings link in the upper right corner of your Gmail page. In Labs, make sure you enable Quick Links, the Mark as Read Button, Multiple Inboxes, Search Autocomplete, Google Calendar Gadget, and Add Any Gadget by URL. I will cover what you will do with each of these later. 2. Consolidating Your Email An important part about streamlining your email process is making sure all of your emails come through a single stream. For some, that means using Thunderbird or Outlook, and for this particular writer, it means channeling all of my email into Gmail. Jack Cola wrote a great article about importing mail from Hotmail here, and you can find directions for importing from Yahoo (the procedure for other services is the same) here, although right now it seems as if YMMV with Gmail’s Import Emails function. Now that you have all of your internet accounts set up to import to Gmail, it’s time to set Gmail as your default mailto: handler. Tina wrote a very useful tip in her article, Make Gmail Your Default Desktop Client, to set mailto: links to open with Gmail in Firefox. Go to >Tools >Options >Applications tab and type >mailto into the >Search field. Do NOT hit enter, the matching selection will appear automatically. You can select an action for mailto links in the >Action drop-down menu. You can set it to open Gmail.” 3. Setting Up Labels
First of all, make sure that Folders4Gmail is checked in Better Gmail 2. This allows you to use the ‘ / ‘ symbol to denote nested labels in Gmail. I use a modified GTD approach to my labeling: I have a [Gmail]/Action label and a [Gmail]/Hold label that I assign to emails that I need to respond to or enter into my schedule, and emails that I am waiting for a response on, respectively. Then, you could either go further into GTD and set up context subfolders for your Action label, or you can do what I do and leave the rest of your labels as categories that your emails may pertain to (I have Financial Aid, Classes, etc).
Now, what you can do is go into the Labels tab under Settings, and there, you’ll be able to set up which labels you want to be displayed on the sidebar. If you feel hesitant to disable anything on the off chance you may want to access All Mail or Starred messages, again, have no fear! This is where the Auto Complete feature we turned on earlier comes in. Type “Starred” into the Search box, and you should see a drop down list that includes the entry “is: Starred.” If you search for that, you’ll see all of your starred messages. You can do this with any of the other system labels. Now you’ve learned a bit about how I configure my Gmail to multitask. We learned a bit about labels, Lab features, using Firefox extensions in conjunction with Gmail, and importing email from other services into Gmail. In Part 2, I’ll cover a bit more about labels, but in relation to setting up filters for specific labels. I’ll also be talking about setting up your sidebar with your favorite To Do list manager, Quick Links, and Google Calendar, and using Multiple Inboxes to keep track of what you’ll need to respond to. How do you keep track of your inbox influx? Any tips of your own to help other readers organize all their emails? 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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| Top 10 Websites For PlayStation 2 Free Game Cheats Posted: 23 Aug 2009 01:01 PM PDT
Cheat codes are actually generated and implemented by game developers for the purpose of testing the games. Cheat codes allow the gamer to play with some additional features that a normal game play normally won't provide. Activating cheats on consoles is completely different to the way they are activated on computer games. Cheat codes in console games are activated by pressing a combination of buttons. Now many cheat cartridges are available in the market for all console games. There are many websites which serve the PS2 gamers well for Playstation 2 codes, cheats and some useful tricks.
IGN
This is one of the most popular websites where you can find Playstation 2 free cheats and handy tips for your PS2 game. Its database is huge and it keeps updating with all the latest games. The best thing about IGN is that it provides detailed information about each PS2 game. You can get to watch the videos and read the reviews of your favorite game. You can read the in-depth explanation of each level of the game in its comprehensive game guide books. Gamespot
This is a great website for passionate gamers. It is one the most popular websites in its genre. It updates you with all the latest releases and upcoming games and you can also find reviews and ratings of games. Its cheat code database is huge and up to date and you can find some useful tips to break down deadlock situations in your PS2 games. Cheatcodes
This cheat code portal is popular because of its simple graphical interface. All the PS2 games are categorized alphabetically, which enables you to find your favorite game without too much hard work. It supplies you with cheats to unlock many hidden features and some authentic tips and tricks. The most significant feature of this cheat code portal is that a gamer can find his game with so much ease. The hints published in this portal are very resourceful. PS2 Gamezone
This game is especially dedicated to PS2 gamers. You can find all the valuable information for all the latest PS2 console games. It is the virtual store house of Playstation 2 free cheat codes. You can check out the all the latest game reviews and ratings. You can read the interviews of game developers. The site renders trailers of all the latest upcoming games and every bit of information regarding all the PS2 games. Cheatcc
This is a contemporary web site for console gamers to find cheats and tricks. The cheat section of each game is published in full detail. This makes it easier for a gamer to understand and implement the tricks. You can also view the videos of most of the recent games as well as reading all the latest news of the console gaming industry. Apart from that, its website acts as an agent to trade PS2 games. Planetcheats
This website lives up to its name. It is truly the planet for the cheat codes of the most ancient and latest PS2 games. This website is completely dedicated to providing cheats and tricks to unlock the special items. You can see the user rating of the cheats submitted on the website and this ensures their authenticity. The most innovative thing about this portal is that it allows you to give your own rating for the published cheats. Supercheats
This website is the complete guide book for a PS2 gamer. You can check out the articles and reviews written by expert gamers and there is a special section in this portal, where you find the detailed statistics of each game. You can even take part in discussions in the forum, where you can update yourself with lots of information about PS2 related stuff. It has an fully updated cheat code database. Gamers can post their questions on the website, which will be answered by experts. Cheatcodesgalore
As the name implies, this website has cheat codes galore. All you need to do is select a particular game and you can view the cheats, tricks and walkthroughs of that particular game. Its cheat code database is huge, and is always up to date. Each game section will be provided with a genuine description and the link, through which you can ship yourself gaming gear. Cheatmasters
This is the ultimate website for a console gamer. You can find all the secret walkthroughs and unlock items. The provided database for cheats and tricks of the PS2 games is vast and completely updated. In this portal, a section of any particular game is managed and monitored by a particular cheat master. So this facilitates the website to maintain the information which surely works. Cheatextreme
This is not only a store house for cheats of PS2 games but it also consists of some proper storylines and descriptions of the games with authentic reviews. Apart from cheats, you can find unbiased games ratings. There are many gamers who do not find much time to enjoy their favorite games. Cheat codes allow such passionate gamers to complete the game more quickly than playing it by conventional ways. Cheat codes allow you to play in God Mode (infinite health), it provides you unlimited ammunition and deadly weapons, and make the whole game play easily. Cheat codes also come in handy when you are running out of cash in the game. Now, when you are stuck at some point with your PS2 game, just log into any of these websites and take advantage of the required resources to make your gaming continuous. Are there any other PS2 cheat sites that we missed out? Got any good cheats you want to share? 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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| Immunet Protect – Free Anti-Virus Protection From The Social Cloud (Windows) Posted: 23 Aug 2009 11:01 AM PDT
How exactly Immunet does so using the cloud is the first part of the Immunet story. How effective is its clout, is the second part. To those who have come in late, here's the Internet nuance of the term – cloud computing. The term 'Cloud' is basically a figure of speech for the Internet itself. It generally covers services which can be hosted and delivered over the internet. The user just needs the hardware (a computer) and bandwidth. The software and services are provided by the vendor. This allows a user to interact with the software/service from anywhere. The term cloud computing came symbolically from the cloud drawing that’s commonly used to indicate the Internet in graphics and diagrams.
The Men behind ImmunetA critical product like Immunet needs a stamp of credibility. That's given by its developers – Oliver Friedrichs (former Director at Symantec) and Alfred Huger (former McAfee and Symantec executive). Both are gurus in the field of internet security. The Premise of Immunet
Cloud computing is not a new fangled concept anymore. Google Apps is perhaps the most in-our-face example we have today. Or even the online games we enjoy. Though cloud computing has its own set of pros (scalability, maintenance free) and cons (security, privacy), it is starting to offer new ways to do hitherto desktop based tasks. Immunet takes this approach one step further by bringing the web community on board in the defense against malware and viruses. Citing the fact that a collective defense against virtual scourges is better than a standalone rearguard fight, it best defines what it does –
Immunet works on four fronts –
Immunet in Action
Circle Your Wagons with ImmunetThe sum of parts is greater than the whole. The Immunet cloud is at the center of the harnessing this community power. With your internet connection you are always connected to the cloud (i.e. the data center). The cloud aggregates virus definitions and every user taps into this security umbrella. This is Immunet's version of collective immunity. If one user in the social chain gets threatened by a virus, this information passes through the cloud to the others in the circle. The threat is identified and neutralized at the central server. Immunet protection thus kicks in for the entire community. This inter-linked detection and cure happens in real time. Thus every user shares in the collective wisdom gathered from each virus attack.
The community is built up through your existing Facebook account or a new Immunet account. (The Facebook button wasn't working for me though).After logging in, the community building process works similar to social networks. Invite others from your Facebook, Google, Yahoo accounts or using Email. A broader based group should translate to more effective protection. Even if you do not log-in, you get the default protection offered by the Immunet global community. So, will you bet on Immunet?Cloud computing has inherent advantages and some prominent drawbacks as well. With the server doing the bulk of work, you don't have to worry about updates. Centralized updates removes the risk of bloatware. The software is light and low on system resources. The community based protection is a good idea in theory. Its real power will be realized only when greater numbers log-in. Its early days…last figures suggest 1,800 users were logged in and were protected from 3.5 million threats. The real disadvantage of Immunet is true for everything that's on the cloud. Dependency on bandwidth comes at a premium in some places. For a high-priority need such as an antivirus, effective protection is the absolute bottom line. The one singular feature (though traditionally people advise against it) of Immunet is that it can ride along with our existing antivirus solution. Thus, when it's time to circle the wagons, Immunet can gallop in and along with the other antivirus, give double barreled cover. If industry experts reckon that more than two million viruses will be created in 2009 alone and established protection has a 50-50 chance of catching all of them, then Immunet becomes a vital addition to our defense armory. The numbers may not match up, but even if a few sneak in they can become wreckers in chief. With the first version label, it’s early days yet. But will you be a part of the community? 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 Automatically Keep Your Mac’s Apps Fresh & Updated Posted: 23 Aug 2009 09:01 AM PDT
Surely updating all of your applications manually one by one is not an option. The process should be done as automatically as it can. That’s what computer and technology is all about, right? Mac OS X comes with its own software update application, but it is limited only to its native applications. That leaves the 3rd-party applications on the stone-age manual-updating world. There are applications that has automatic update features but you still have to open the application to activate it. So much for an automation, huh? There are several alternatives for Windows; while for Mac there’s AppFresh, the app that will help Mac users to keep all installed applications, widgets, preference panes and application plugins always up to date.
How to keep the rest freshThe idea behind this app is to provide an easy to use central place – which is fully integrated with Mac OS X – to update all of the 3rd party apps. No more “always updating just before using” thing (or worst: “go online and find the updates yourself”). AppFresh will keep your apps in the latest top notch condition and have them ready to use everytime you open them. To ensure the “freshness” of its performance, AppFresh integrates the most popular and most common update checking technologies into itself such as Apple Software Update, Sparkle, Microsoft AutoUpdate, Adobe Updater, OSX.IUseThis and more. However, as with every other beta version application out there, please note that there might be glitches with this one also. So, it’s better to backup than be sorry. Freshen Up the ListAfter downloading and unarchiving the 1.4 Mb small zip file, you can directly put AppFresh to use. The first window that you’ll see upon using the app for the first time is the warning window telling the users that the preview 8 version of the app is still under development process and that the users should always do backup.
There’s also an optional offer to integrate AppFresh with the IUseThis service. Then AppFresh will scan your system for all of the installed apps,
followed by the process of finding updates to all of those apps.
The result will be listed and grouped into several main categories: Status (Updated, Unknown, Update Available), Type (Applications, Plugins, Widgets, PrefPanes), Vendors (Apple, Third Party), and My Categories (which you can customize to fit your needs).
Here’s the scan result from my Mac: There are 391 applications inside my system (I know there are many, but I’ve never guessed there were that many). 117 of them are updated while the other 109 can be updated with the available newer version. The status of the remaining 165 are unknown. Select one of the apps and you will get some information about it on the right pane. Right click on the app and you will have several choices of action from the pop-up menu. To update the app, choose “Install”.
You can also update many apps all at once by selecting several (or all) apps on the list, right click and choose Install. After the updating process is finished, a Growl notification will pop up.
I also found another useful usage of AppFresh: to delete apps. From the list of installed apps populated by AppFresh, I found many apps that I’ve never used and totally forgotten about. So I just right click on them and choose “Send To Trash”. Spring cleaning comes early this year Have you tried AppFresh? Do you know other alternatives? Share your thoughts and opinions using the comments below. 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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| Create Online Mindmaps With Seavus DropMind Posted: 23 Aug 2009 07:01 AM PDT
If you’ve never worked with mindmaps (on paper or on your computer), it’s time to start. Web Seavus DropMindDropMind is an online and offline mindmapping application. We’ve discussed a few of these in the past, like WiseMapping and WisdoMap, but DropMind is without doubt one of the most extensive suites on the market. For this, and other reasons, DropMind comes with a pricetag. The offline software version costs you about $99 for a lifetime license. Sadly, the full-fledged online variant doesn’t come much cheaper, but Seavus does offer a free license with stripped functionality.
It’s possible to add graphical context aids, including symbols, arrows and callouts, to annotate and clarify your different topic levels. To make your mindmap not only easy, but even pleasurable on the eye, DropMind comes with a flexible format editor and allows you to fidget with the design until it fits your needs. After you’ve spend some time toying around and getting to know the different options, you’ll discover how intuitive and easy to manipulate DropMind’s mindmaps are. Whether for corporate or studying purposes, you’ve got a new friend in DropMind that makes explaining things a lot easier. Premium FeaturesSo what exactly are you missing in this ’stripped down’ free version? What are those golden premium features which you’ve been locked out from? In essence, most premium features are aimed at the power users, like online-offline DropMind synchronization and Powerpoint export functionality. Nevertheless, there are some missing features that you could benefit from, like the possibility to save your mindmaps as an image, creating templates for future reference, or the celebrated Presentation Mode. The biggest miss, however, is that you can create and store only 5 mind maps simultaneously as a free user, contrary to the ‘unlimited’ of premium users. You’ll either have to export and delete the mindmaps you’ve made, or make several mindmaps in a single file. In truth, a single file is big enough to house quite a few maps (check the ‘navigator’ in the topmost screenshot to get a basic).
A full overview of all version differences can be found on DropMind’s Edition comparison page. Academic Licences
This gives you a 12 month license of the premium version (worth $39) with all it’s features. If that isn’t enough to put a smile on your face, DropMind will give you a 30% discount on your next (if ever) purchase! What do you think about Dropmind? Best online tool so far, or a waste of time? Perhaps you think the free version is too limited, or know a better alternative? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Related posts
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| Top 5 Current Email Scams You Should Know About Posted: 23 Aug 2009 05:01 AM PDT
Today, I'm going to talk about the top 5 email scams that litter inboxes all over the world. Now, given the fact that 90% of e-mails sent world wide can be regarded as spam, undoubtedly a large proportion of that spam will be scams trying to get your hard earned money. Fortunately, given the huge amount of inactive email accounts most of this spam will go unopened and will lie dormant forever. But some of it is opened in offices, schools and homes all over the world. They deceive you into thinking they are something they are not. Here are five email scams you should watch out for.
The Bank
When opening a bank account of any kind you are informed beyond any doubt that the bank will never, ever, send you an e-mail asking for your information. Why would they? They already have it. But millions of people still reply to e-mails asking for just that. These e-mails will normally have a professional layout and will have originated from a domain very similar to the banks in the hope that when you see the e-mail address you assume it is from the bank. Popular ones include telling you your bank card is about to expire and they need your information or there is a sum of money on the way to you and they need your information to process the transaction. Don't believe a word. They want your details to rob you of every cent you have. Nigerian Inheritance
Ever got a poorly written e-mail from a bank manager in Africa telling you that a rich guy died along with all his family in a plane crash and he wants to transfer money to your account? These kinds of email scams are called “419 emails” or Nigerian scams. If you reply and begin talking to them they will shower you in promises and may even up the amount of money you're going to get. Then, before the transfer can be made they'll ask you for a few thousands dollars to cover their expenses. More like their holiday next summer. Phishing Email Scam |
In today’s world, efficiently processing large quantities of information is a must-have skill for anyone who needs to keep track of more than one thing at a time – that is, everyone. Because e-mail is the most mainstream form of communication, it is the channel through which all aspects of our lives pass through. That is why learning how to sort through volumes of emails with minimal effort, separating must-read from can-be-skipped, and integrating emails into your to-do list or calendar, is so critical to boosting productivity.
Are you looking for some super powers for a character in your PS2 game? Are you stuck at any level of your PS2 game? Playstation 2 free cheat codes will surely find you the answers for such questions.
It is perhaps an idea whose time has come. 
I think I don’t need to re-emphasize the importance of software updates. Bug fixes and security patches are only two of the many reasons why you have to keep your computer’s operating system(s) and all of your applications updated.
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Whether you need to make corporate presentations, need a visual learning aid, or simply want to picture your thoughts, mindmaps can greatly simplify things.
The schoolgoers amongst you are in big luck. It doesn’t matter what school you’re in, or what kind of education you’re in, if you’ve got an email address with an .edu domain, you automatically validate for an academic license.
There are numerous ways to be scammed nowadays. Pyramid schemes, 'too good to be true' investments and of course the good old internet. There are literally millions of websites that will gladly take your money, personal info, bank details and a host of other things from you and then skedaddle.
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