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- Cool Websites and Tools [September 28]
- Top 5 Sites With Future Predictions About The World
- Find A Song Title Just by Humming The Lyrics
- Bodega – A Centralized Mac App Store
- How To Organize an Awesome LAN Party
- The 4 Proven Simple Tips to Organize Your Files on Windows
- How To Auto Shutdown The Computer (or Firefox) after Downloads Complete
| Cool Websites and Tools [September 28] Posted: 28 Sep 2009 06:01 PM PDT
(1) TripLittle – Free budget calculator which lets you quickly calculate the estimated cost of your next trip. Enter the number of people and the number of days your trip will last, and it shows you a checklist of common budget expenses you are supposed to incur during your trip. Read more: TripLittle – Free Budget Calculator For Your Trips
(2) BigCrumbs – This site gives you an opportunity to earn percentage of spent cash back while shopping on popular online retailer sites like eBay or Amazon. Every time you visit one of online retailers and purchase something fromthem Bigrumbs earns a commission and shares it with you. Read more: BigCrumbs – Get Cash Back When Shopping Online (3) BillingBoss – Web based invoicing site for freelancers and small business owners. It enables you to easily create professional looking invoices, send them online and track everything in one place. You can add your PayPal or merchant account details so your customers can pay online. Read more: BillingBoss – Free Web Based Invoicing Site (4) MelodyCatcher – Next time you have a music tune stuck in your head and you can't recall its name, try MelodyCatcher.com. It is a melody search engine which lets you search for tunes by playing them on a virtual piano keyboard. Read more: MelodyCatcher – Melody Search Engine (5) NationOfGo – Neat Google Maps based social networking site for those who love to drive. It enables you to share your favorite drives (dirt roads or desert highways) and discover new places where people go. You can join or create groups, upload photos, videos, and check for upcoming driving events in your area. Read more: NationOfGo – Discover & Share Cool Driving Trails & Roads.
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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| Top 5 Sites With Future Predictions About The World Posted: 28 Sep 2009 03:00 PM PDT
What prevents these technologies from being the here and now? Most of it comes down to money. Money to market the product, money for proper consumer safety testing, money for the mass production. Sure, there are other factors as well. In some cases, the inventor just isn’t sure if the world is ready for it. Take, for example, the microwave oven. The microwave oven was released as a commercial product in 1954. The convenience of nuking your food could be yours for somewhere between $2000 and $3000 dollars. Obviously, the public wasn’t ready to pay that much fast food in the home. The technology was shelved for awhile longer. Let’s move on and take a look at some of the best sites to see future predictions about the world. 5. The Hedonistic Imperative
More philosophical in nature, THI still presents strong pharmaceutical evidence that life where varying states of bliss are what motivates a human, rather than avoiding varying levels of pain, is possible! At first glance that sounds like a pipe dream, however, as you delve further into the HedWeb, as they call it, the layperson can begin to see that it could be a reality. Honestly, I don’t think I can do the site justice in a few words. I don’t support everything they say, however, it is worth reading. 4. World Future Society
Here you’ll find articles on future forecasts for everything from nanotechnology to the H1N1 virus. These are not merely the meanderings of of people with too much time on their hands. Some of their contributors are recognized leaders in their fields such as Wall Street Journal columnist Alexandra Levit, Dr. Karl Albrecht (not the German billionaire) and Tsvi Bisk. 3. ZiiTrend
Questions about the future are posed by users in a myriad of different categories ranging from technology to stocks to sports events. Then, the community replies to the question with their thoughts and research and vote as to how likely an event is to happen. An overall prediction is applied, something like Most Likely or Unlikely and then shows the percentage of votes for the likelihood of the outcome. I like this site so much, I’m probably going to join. 2. The Club of Rome
What The Club of Rome really is, is a think-tank of ridiculously intelligent people. They try to come up with ways to make the world a better place through their Systems Integration Programmes. These fields are broken into the areas of Social Transformation, Peace and Security, Environment and Resources, Globalisation and International Development. The Club does definitely have political sway! Your group would too if it had the brainwaves of some of the most intelligent people in the world. A fair number of their policies are adapted by governments and organizations around the world. 1. Long Bets
This isn’t any back-parlor betting though, folks. Luminaries such as Warren Buffett and Ray Kurzweil are throwing down some serious greenbacks here! Here’s a good example: “By 2029 no computer – or “machine intelligence” – will have passed the Turing Test.” The bettors are Ray Kurzweil (against) and Mitchell Kapor (for). The stakes? $20,000. Not rich enough for you? Try out this bet: “Over a ten-year period commencing on January 1, 2008, and ending on December 31, 2017, the S & P 500 will outperform a portfolio of funds of hedge funds, when performance is measured on a basis net of fees, costs and expenses.” Warren Buffet (for) and Protege Partners, Jeffrey Tarrant and Scott Bessent (against) are throwing down One Million Dollars! You can go and read why each person thinks they are making the right bet and join in on the discussion about it. Since these are real players you should also gain some great insight into what might happen in the future. Making the future IS their business. Make the future now. Tell us what you think tomorrow holds. Let us know where you turn to get a glimpse of tomorrow, in the comments below. 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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| Find A Song Title Just by Humming The Lyrics Posted: 28 Sep 2009 01:00 PM PDT
Here at MakeUseOf, we’ve focused on a number of websites and tools that you can use to find a song by its lyrics, such as Brad’s article on the top 5 sites to find song lyrics online or David’s article on how to find song titles with just a few lyrics you do know. Today, I’d like to cover a very new solution that’s available for the most common scenerio – when you don’t know the title of the song or any of the lyrics, but you can hum or whistle the song just fine! Voice Recognition Technology Saves The DayThere are a number of cutting edge computer technologies that have always fascinated me, mostly because they represent areas where computers are finally entering into the realm of artificial intelligence. Two of those include image recognition and voice recognition. While I’ve not followed the state of the art of each field, I’ve always been under the impression that both areas of computer intelligence have a very long way to go. However, what would you say if I told you that I’ve discovered a computer program, an online application to be exact, that you could sing, hum or whistle a tune to and it could accurately guess the title of the song. Images of science fiction movies, where starship crew members seek the help of the ship’s AI computer system come to mind. Well, it’s no longer science fiction – this technology is now a reality at Modomi.
Midomi itself isn’t exactly a very special or unique website. Just like every other website where you can search for and purchase music online, Midomi lets you research music, bands and more. You can watch music videos, listen to music clips or even join the Midomi fan club for any particular music group. However, the true heart of Midomi becomes apparent (and the site absolutely comes alive) when you start becoming “fans” of particular groups. As you enter fan pages, you’ll become aware of a Facebook-like social network of music lovers. As I was browsing through this site, I noticed something rather unique compared to most other music websites. Midomi once again takes advantage of interactive audio by allowing fans to make and upload their own recordings of the music that they’re fans of.
As a fan, you can listen to any of these uploaded recordings. I joined the Green Day fan club and immediately saw user dude34bja’s recording of When I Come Around at the top as the most listened to recording. I clicked on it and was blown away by her fantastic acoustic rendition of the song. You too can record your own version of any of your favorite songs if you click on the “Studio” menu option at the top of the Midomi page.
Record your songs, and if your good enough you’ll very likely develop your own fan base right within the Midomi online community. Get enough votes and you actually appear as a “Midomi star.” In addition to recording music, the Midomi site is just completely integrated with audio at every turn. You can even upload audio comments at the site instead of typing them. Now, all of this is very cool – but what about the whole reason we came to the site? That little box at the top of the first page that reads, “Click and Sing or Hum.” Does it really work? I decided to test the accuracy of this online application by humming Losing My Religion, by R.E.M. After clicking the text box, the recording began.
I hummed the first 16 seconds or so of part of the song – no words whatsoever – just straight humming. I was absolutely convinced there was no way that this application would be able to recognize the song without a single line of lyrics. When I was done I clicked on “Click to Stop” and waited for the results. This is what came up.
The top “guess” was a perfect match. Unbelievable. I figured it was a fluke – a completely lucky guess, so decided to try it again with a more difficult tune that wasn’t so modern – I went back and hummed the first 15 seconds of “Over the Rainbow,” sung by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz. I chose this song because there is absolutely no way I can hum it perfectly in tune. After 15 seconds of forcing the recorder to suffer through my cracking and screeching as I attempted to hum some of the tune, I clicked stop and grinned. No way it’s going to know what that horrid noise was. The following were the results.
I have to say, if anything convinced me – this did. As far as I can tell, you only need to know the general tune of a song – no title and no lyrics required. This amazing little Midomi web app will remind you of the title after just a few seconds of humming. Even better – you can download the app to your iPhone and carry around this little song-title-reminder app with you everywhere. Hard to believe? Visit the site and give it a shot – and let us know in the comments section below whether it blew you away. I know it did for me. Have fun! 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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| Bodega – A Centralized Mac App Store Posted: 28 Sep 2009 11:00 AM PDT
Confused yet? Fret not, things are about to get much simpler. I stumbled onto Bodega a couple of days ago and it got me wondering what the heck it was. Something like AppFresh, perhaps? But the description said, “Your neighborhood store.” What on earth could that mean? It wasn’t until after I downloaded it, only did I realize that it was an App Store for Mac. Something like that anyways.
I can’t help but be impressed by the design of Bodega. It even looks like a store. Hold and move the app around your screen and the signboards swing about! Alright, let’s take a short tour and I’ll show you how to use it. As soon as Bodega launched, you’ll be presented with its Featured apps of the day as seen in the screenshot above. There will also be sections dedicated to showcasing New Releases, Shopkeeper’s Picks, Top Free/Paid Downloads. The Featured page is a fantastic way to be exposed to and try out new apps. Click on a category from the list on the left and you’ll be presented with apps, laid out on shelves. Very shop-like. Click on an app and it will be lit by a spotlight.
To find out more about the app, either click on its label to switch between the name, price and rating. Or you could double-click on the app to be brought to its dedicated page where you can read more about it and view some screenshots.
If you see an app you like and if it’s free, click on the Download button and Bodega will retrieve it for you. No additional browser windows need to be opened. You can view the download process in the Applications page. Downloads are automatically saved in your Downloads folder, naturally. If you happen to like a commercial app and decide to buy it, everything can be done within the app itself. In this example, I chose HoudahSpot and clicked on the Buy Now button. Bodega opened up the Houdah Software Store page and allowed me to complete the transaction without leaving the application.
Besides being an App Store, Bodega also keeps track of the apps you always have on your Mac. It will detect installed applications and then check to see if they’re up to date. All in all, I consider Bodega to be a work in progress. It doesn’t feature enough apps to challenge the big boys like MacUpdate. It is a fantastic idea and I’d love to see it boom. If you’re a developer, submit your app to be featured in Bodega. Where do you go to get your Mac apps? 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 Organize an Awesome LAN Party Posted: 28 Sep 2009 09:00 AM PDT
If you are planning to host your own LAN party, then here are some LAN party tips on how to go about it to make your night a hassle-free and enjoyable one. 1. Planning the EventThis is something that you want to get right before you begin sending out your invites to your friends. Planning is crucial. There is a quote by George Hewell, "Those who fail to plan, plan to fail", and I know that you don't want to embarrass yourself with all your mates over at your house. So here are some LAN party tips to help with your planning. Determine who is comingIf you live in a small apartment, you don't want to be overcrowded, so carefully select who you invite. Try not to do what Australian Corey Worthing did. Carefully select who you want game with, and make sure you don't invite your mates that may worry you. What equipment is required?One thing that you don't want to happen on the night is to invite 20 people over when you only have 10 computers. What will the other 10 people do? If people come for a night of gaming, they expect that they will play until the early morning light. They surely don't want to be sitting around watching chick flicks on TV if there is nothing else on. So make sure you have enough computers set up, and make sure you have enough LAN ports and desk space for the people bringing their own computers. The basic equipment that you need are:
Tell your neighbours about your nightA lot of people = a lot of noise and loud music. So be courteous to the people your neighbours and tell them that there might be a bit of noise at night. Try your best to keep the volume down and shut the windows and doors to insulate the noise.
2. Setting Up A LAN PartyHere are a few LAN party tips for properly setting up for the event. LocationIt is best to try and keep everyone in the same room, but this may not be possible. Just make sure everyone is close together and the distance between the two rooms are close together. This to make sure the mess doesn't spread around your house. PowerThis is very important as you do not want to overload your power circuit or break fuses. So make sure that you don't connect a lot of computers on the same circuit in your house. Use extension cords from different power circuits of your home. DO NOT use double adapters, or connect two or more powerboards together. DO USE powerboards that have inbuilt surge protectors, just in case something goes wrong. Remember to look around for the powerboards that you use as some may warranty of up $100,000 in damages if they fail and destroy your computer. ConnectivityIf people are bringing their laptops, make sure you have wireless. It might be a hassle to give your encryption key to everyone, but what you can do is temporarily change your key so everybody can connect to it. Then after the party, change it back so they can't hide outside your house at night and download movies while you’re sleeping. If you want to restrict access to certain people as (word of mouth of the wireless key can spread) then remove it and enable MAC filtering on your Router or Access Point. This allows you to control individually which computers have access to your network. Make sure that cables are out of the way, bundled or under rugs. We don't want anyone to trip over the power cables and cut half the people of their game. Also ensure that you have enough Internet bandwidth remaining on your account so that you don't get shaped during the night, making the nights online gaming experience hell, and portraying yourself as a bad host. Securing your computerIf you are a bit like me, you might have shared folders on your home network that is available to everyone. Before your guests arrive make sure you disable the sharing of folders on your computer so no one can access them. Also remember to password-protect your computer on that night, or make another user account so people can't snoop around your files. 3. Running the NightFood and DrinksRemember to be very careful with the drinks. Very expensive equipment can be instantly ruined if someone spills a drink over a computer. Since the night has already costed some money, ask your friends to bring some food and drinks along with them. Maybe put BYO on their invite. Advice them to bring along finger foods such as, chips, biscuits, dips. As for drinks, make sure you supply water and softdrinks. Stay away from alcohol (as you can probably see why). Also, have a big table with all the food available so people can take food for themselves and you're not forced to be anyone’s servant. Maybe charge money for this if you want. Turn the night into profit. Have SessionsJust like laserforce, have sessions and make sure you break them up with some other activity. Have a variety of games to play as well, in different sessions. This is also to make sure you don't get square eyes (or rectangle eyes which are more likely now) Have a recovery action planNot everything goes as planned, so make sure you have a backup plan in case something happens such as the internet or the power going out. You don't want to waste all this planning and organisation if a fuse blows as soon as you start playing. Having nothing to do will make you a bad host and people may not come to your party nights anymore. If all else fails and you are still in the mood for gaming, why don't you go to back to the olden day style of gaming and grab the Monopoly, Guess Who or Scrabble? Turn the aircon onMake sure that you keep the computers cool by having the aircon on. Nothing is worse than frying your computer as it overheats.
Well I hope that these tips help you to have a successful night. And good luck with your LAN party, you'll need it. If you have any other tips for a successful gaming occasion, please do share them with us. 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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| The 4 Proven Simple Tips to Organize Your Files on Windows Posted: 28 Sep 2009 07:00 AM PDT
My desktop has only the documents that I am working on today, plus the shortcuts I use each and every day. If I don’t use it within 48 hours, I create a folder and file it. Much like the situation with my desk, keeping my computer organized improves productivity. It also helps my less organized co-workers. The moment they can’t find an important email or paper, they ask me for it. I find it – quickly. Let’s look at some simple and basic tips to organize Windows that you may be overlooking and won’t cost you a nickel. Folder StructureMany people go through their day to day computing work not even realizing they can create a new folder practically anywhere by right-clicking and then selecting New –> Folder. You can then rename the folder to whatever you would like. Your desktop, in Outlook Mail, within My Documents, within My Music, and in your browser’s "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" are all places you can create new folders. If you have all your pictures grouped into one huge folder labeled "Pictures" and you have to spend an inordinate amount of time hunting a specific picture taken on the beach in 2007, you may need to organize your Windows folders a bit. Having a folder within the Picture folder that is labeled "Beach pics 2007" might save you time.
The key to organize Windows folders is to do a little planning first with pencil and paper. I have a strong preference for the "drill down" method when it comes to organizing. For example, you may use a folder that is generically named "Music" or "MP3s". Inside are 857 different songs from various artists and albums. I like it much more organized. Inside my "Music" folder, I have different folders for different genres of music – say "Alternative", "Hard Rock", "Classic Rock", "Country", and well, you get the drift. Inside the genre folders, I have individual folders for each band. Within the band folders, I have individual folders for the albums. Finally, inside these folders are the actual MP3 files. This seems like a lot of work, and it can be, but doing the background work of building the framework secures your organization for a long time to come.
When it comes to free applications out there to help you get organized, there are very few. Fortunately, Windows builds many of these functions right into your operating system. There are plenty of free resources for icons and color templates to organize Windows and dress up your folders, but when I fill up my screen with neat icons and pictures on my folders I find them distracting. Program LauncherEnhancements that you don’t want to miss for organization, convenience and productivity include Launchy, which allows you to have files, folders, shortcuts, etc. at your fingertips with a simple Alt+Spacebar hotkey combo. This free utility has previously been reviewed on MUO (See Launchy).
Bulk File RenamingYou may also want to consider any one of many bulk renaming utilities available. These allow you to seek and destroy those nutty "DCIM002354" file names faster than right-clicking and renaming each one manually. They also give you various capabilities such as changing file names to all caps, all lowercase, capitalize words and many other nifty things. Check out MUO reviews of D-FileMU and Renamer. File ComparatorFinally, if you do use a lot of folders to keep organized, you need to make use of a file comparator. These normally lightweight utilities allow you to basically replace Windows Explorer with a program that has added functionality of comparing files, swapping directories, and oftentimes renaming. You can find multiple copies of your files that have been hidden away in numerous different directories and consolidate your files, deleting unneeded multiples. I used to love the old Windows File Manager, but now that I am using Commander, it feels like File Manager on steroids.
How do you keep your computer organized? How do you find files fast? What free utilities do you use to organize Windows? Share your ideas. 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 Auto Shutdown The Computer (or Firefox) after Downloads Complete Posted: 28 Sep 2009 05:00 AM PDT
Most download managers have it, µtorrent has it and they are perfect for my need. There has always been a great void in this setup due to Firefox. Many a time, I have files downloading in Firefox but no way to auto-shutdown the computer. Some time back, I hacked together an auto script that would sit there and wait for the Firefox’s ‘Downloads finished’ notification to appear, it would then close Firefox and shutdown the computer. Lame I know, but it did the trick. Recently, however, I found an excellent addon that lets you do schedule auto shutdowns in Firefox and a whole lot more, its (aptly) called Auto-Shutdown. The addon is auto shutdown software that provides you with a number of options to perform precisely the action you want once the downloads have completed. You can play sounds, clear downloads, shutdown, logoff, restart your computer or run any command or multiple commands through a script. Auto Shutdown is available at AMO, it works with Firefox version 3 and upwards. Once installed, the auto shutdown software will add a power icon to the status bar. You can remove the icon if you desire, however it provides quick access to its options and can be used to enable auto-shutdown in a flash.
You can use the built-in commands for basic needs like shutdown, hibernate, stand by, etc. There are different versions of these commands for different version of Windows and Linux and Mac.
Apart from the built-in commands you can do almost anything with Auto Shutdown. You can run any JavaScript code or any external application when the downloads finish or when the computer is idle while Firefox is downloading the files. To run custom commands or JavaScript code:
You can easily pass arguments to external applications and Auto Shutdown also provides you with certain reserved words that can be used in your scripts to refer to special locations and files. %sysRoot%, for example, refers to the Windows/system32 directory and %WinD refers to the Windows directory. The complete list is available here.
You can also choose the amount of time Auto Shutdown waits before executing the commands after the downloads have finished. Auto Shutdown will display a countdown for that specified time, allowing you to save any work if you have been working along or cancel the download altogether. You can force Firefox to exit when the command is eventually triggered and choose to restore the session, the next time Firefox is started. If you use DownThemAll, Auto Shutdown has you covered and can monitor DownThemAll as well.
Auto Shutdown is a dream come true if you ever leave the computer running only to let the downloads complete. With Auto Shutdown, you can now automatically close the browser or shutdown the system when downloads complete. Give it a spin and let us know what you like or dislike. Do you have some clever ways of your own to automatically shutdown the computer after downloads complete? Let us know in the comments. 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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Does anyone remember a commercial that said, “The future is now”? Seems like an odd thing to say, especially if you have any grasp of physics. Yet, the statement is not entirely without merit. As far as technology goes, the future is, indeed, now. What is being created and tested in research and development labs around the world is our future. The technology works now, and will be released, maybe, at some point in time.
Don’t let the title put you off. I’m not exactly Puritanical, however, my own beliefs don’t mesh with what most people would consider hedonism. Fortunately, The Hedonistic Imperative is taking the name literally. They are looking to create a life of pleasure through the absence of pain.
As the name would suggest, the World Future Society (WFS) is a sort of professional and amateur futurist organization. Many of the world’s leading futurists submit articles and share their future predictions about the world, or even how they think it should be.
Possibly the most innovative of the futurist sites, ZiiTrend combines the forward -looking principles of futurism with the power of social networking and trending.
This is a group I’d actually heard of before researching the article. In tin-hatter circles, The Club of Rome is considered to be the think tank behind what technology the New World Order or Illuminati is going to use to take over the world. Of course, I don’t believe that stuff. I just find it entertaining.
This is the site that makes futurists, forecasters and predicters put their money where their mouth is. Real people make future predictions about the world on the site and offer up a real cash bet that it will either come true or not, in a specific time frame. The money from the bet goes to a charity of the bettors choosing, thus making it more of a fun, altruistic game.
Have you ever found yourself having one of those mind-numbing moments when you’ve fallen in love with a new song that played on the radio a few times, but you can’t remember the title or the lyrics?
You’ve probably heard of VersionTracker or MacUpdate. Those are the two main websites to visit if you’re in the market for a new Mac app for a certain purpose. Perhaps you don’t really know what’s good, or maybe you’re just not sure of what app in particular to get. These are basically the only instances to visit websites stated above, especially so if it’s a commercial app. Other times, when an app is free, there is barely any hesitation whatsoever — except, you’d need to know what to download.
If you are a serious gamer, then you do not want to skip this post. Who doesn’t love a little clan war during a LAN party? If not properly organized, a night of fun can easily turn into a nightmare. Hours of scheduled fun can turn into hours of troubleshooting hell. No connectivity, not the right sockets or plugs, lack of space and food, uninvited guests – these are just a few of the setbacks that can and will happen.
I am an organizational nut case. My desk has nothing on it except what I am working on right at the moment. Likewise, my computing is clutter-free. I have my desktop, my browser, the ‘My Documents’ folder, and my drives organized and efficient.
I am a download junkie. I have to schedule downloads to start late at night (because of the Internet Plan). So, naturally I am a huge fan of any auto shutdown software that has the ability to shutdown the computer once the downloads are complete.
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