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- Cool Websites and Tools [October 4]
- 3 Apps That Help You Find Ways To Stay Healthy
- 5 Ways to Print Folder and Directory Contents in Windows
- Integrate Email and Social Networking with Threadsy (with Invites)
- The Best Freeware To Do An Easy Wordpress Auto Install
- Orb – A Free File Sharing And Streaming Program For Your Computer
| Cool Websites and Tools [October 4] Posted: 04 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT
(1) CleanScores – If you are planning to dine at a local restaurant, but worried that it might not be safe in terms of hygiene and sanitation, CleanScores can help you find it out. It rates restaurants based on the scores given by local health inspectors. The site currently has data for over 200,000 restaurants across US. Read more: CleanScores – Avoid Dirty Restaurants In Your Area (2) NiceSharing – This application lets you combine two separate web pages and then share them as a single URL. It also provides options which allow to customize the way webpages are presented (columns, rows, or hidden). Read more: NiceSharing – Combine Websites & Share As Single URL (3) QuickDiff – Simple but useful tool which lets you quickly compare two paragraphs of text or code and see where are the differences. While this tool is built primarily for developers so that they could easily compare lines of code, it can be used by just about anyone looking to find changes in text. Read more: QuickDiff – Compare Text & Code Online (4) TwitterGram – Online service that can automatically post your Flickr images as Tweets on your Twitter profile. The application has a number of customization options which let you set your own preferences. For example, if you only want a few of the photos you upload to be sent to Twitter, you can create a special tag for these photos. Read more: TwitterGram – Automatically Post Flickr Photos to Twitter (5) Rapidshare.net – Rapidshare.com is a popular file hosting service, which lets anyone upload files and share them online, by posting their download links. However, if the download link expires you end up with a broken link. Rapidshare.net provides a solution to this problem. Next time when you upload files to Rapidshare simply change the extension of your Rapidshare links from .com to .net. When a user clicks the Rapidshare.net link, they are redirected to the official Rapidshare download page. If the link is dead, the user is offered alternative download links to similar files. Read more: Rapidshare.net – Search Engine for Rapidshare Files
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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| 3 Apps That Help You Find Ways To Stay Healthy Posted: 04 Oct 2009 01:00 PM PDT
Well, I'm no doctor but what I do know is that there are tonnes of web apps and tools that you can use to find ways to stay healthy and physically fit. We'll look at the three main areas of health that affect us in our day to day lives which can be made easier by our web apps; sleep, nutrition and medication for when all else fails!
iSleepDiaryAny doctor will tell you that a good night's sleep is extremely important. Sleep allows your body to perform at its optimum level whether you're running a marathon or fighting off a nasty infection.
Basically, in iSleepDiary, you answer ten questions every day about how you slept the previous night. You can see an example in the screenshot where I was asked about how long and how well I slept and about my routines before I went to bed. All of this is recorded over time and in a few weeks results start to appear as to whether or not you are getting enough sleep and whether you have a sleeping deficiency. This can all be printed out or simply viewed as an easy to read chart in your account. TwoFoodsMany of us eat food that we think are healthy but in actual fact, they aren't. This web app will show you the nutritional value in food that we eat every day and it will also compare them to one another. What's more, it tells you the nutritional value of items without a label such as apples and fresh bread.
In the example above, we compared apple pie and spaghetti. You can see their calorie and other nutritional information displayed below the item. I found this app useful as it raised quite a few warning flags for me. It turns out that spaghetti isn't healthy if you laze around afterwards! Who knew? iPillsEveryone, at some point in their lives will be put on medication. It could be antibiotics, anti-depressants, birth control pills (can't forget that one!) or something more specific to treating an illness. Normally, you're given strict orders from your doctor to take them at a certain time each day – obviously one of the most important ways to stay healthy is to take your medicine. iPills is an iPhone app that acts as your virtual pillbox. Instead of simply setting an alarm, your 'pillbox' contains all of the pills that need to be taken that day. When you take it, you simply tap the pill (which can be customized to look different to the others) and it goes into the 'Taken' box.
Your pills can be set up to re-occur daily, hourly etc. And because it involves almost no interaction other than tapping the pill you just, it's easy to use and it eliminates the painstaking procedure of organizing it on your iPhone's generic calendar. I have selected the three apps above because they all have one thing in common; simplicity. Health issues target everyone, not just web savvy folks like ourselves. Using these apps will get you on your way to being a lean, mean fighting machine. Just remember to eat your apple-a-day! Which apps do you use to keep yourself healthy and stay in shape? 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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| 5 Ways to Print Folder and Directory Contents in Windows Posted: 04 Oct 2009 11:00 AM PDT
Did I forget to mention that the ebook folder was really filled with a lot of titles? It must have had almost 120 ebooks. I almost started manually typing the names when I figured that there must be a less laborious way to print out the directory contents. Printing directory contents seems so mundane an activity that we forget it has very useful applications in our day to day usage. Especially in a professional setting where you might be told to send over a list of so and so files about such and such subject. In a jiffy. If it's a small bunch of files then manually writing it down is not a problem. But what if it numbers a few dozen? Instead of searching for a poor flunky to lend a hand, you can just tap a few keys and get it for yourself. All in double quick time with a few methods. So let's work on not one but five ways to print folder and directory contents and get that file list. Command DOSThis is one command line that's easy to remember and easy to do.
Setting A Contextual MenuA print directory feature can be added to the right-click context menu for a folder. This sends the folder content list directly to the printer. For Windows XP follow these steps:
The above instructions and those for Windows Vista can also be found on the Microsoft Help and Support page. Software solutions introduce a lot of ease and flexibility to the above process. Here are three freeware apps for the listing job: Karen's Power ToolKaren’s Directory Printer brings with it a GUI and rich features that let you print the name of files on your computer with the file’s size, extension, date and time of last modification, and attributes. Also, the list of files can be sorted by name, size, date created, date last modified, or date of last access. Files can also be selectively listed using a filter. Some limited formatting options and selective highlighting for executable files and macros are available.
Karen’s Directory Printer can be included in the right-click context menu. It also works for networked computers. The file list can be sent to the printer or saved as a text file. Karen’s Directory Printer (v 5.3.1) is a 1.25MB download compatible with Windows XP and Vista. Display it with Directory List & PrintDirectory List & Print is a simpler and smaller solution to the earlier one. The generated lists can be copied to the clipboard and incorporated in other programs. It can be directly inserted into Word and Excel with a click as the data is separated by tabs allowing error free pasting directly into a program like Excel as a table. Along with the file attributes, the program can control the display of file names with or without file extensions. Sorting of the list and integration into the context menus make this a nice alternative to use.
Directory List & Print (v 1.9) does not need an installation which makes this 603KB software a portable solution. The freeware is compatible with Windows 98/2000/XP/Vista. More Options with JR Directory Printer This freeware comes in as an even smaller download of 173KB. Select the folder or directory to list, check the display options and click on start to get the list as a text file. The freeware supports lowercase/DOS style filename, file size in KB/bytes, attributes and custom file length. Though the freeware lacks the data control options of the previous applications, it's a simple utility for a simple task. The download can be unzipped and used without an installation.
JR Directory Printer (v1.2) is compatible with Windows 95/98/2000/NT/ME/XP. Windows may not have given us the ability to print out folder contents in a user friendly way. But thanks to the workarounds and the freeware, it's actually a snap. Do you know any other utility to print the contents of a folder? Let us know your way if it differs from any of the above. 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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| Integrate Email and Social Networking with Threadsy (with Invites) Posted: 04 Oct 2009 09:00 AM PDT
The Unique People FocusWhile handling all your email and social networking communication from one place is a no-brainer, there is a tremendous benefit of using Threadsy that is not readily apparent before you use it. Imagine you're responding to a friend or colleague's email discussing a specific topic. With your regular webmail, you will simply respond to the topic being discussed in the email, right? Now, in Threadsy, while you are replying to her via email, you see her Facebook status or recent tweet – "Just got tickets for the U2 concert!" – and you just might add something to your email. Threadsy makes this possible via the automatic Profile View, which you shall see below. In this way, Threadsy lets you focus on people, not the medium of communication you or they might prefer. You don't miss a person's recent status updates just because you don't use Facebook or Twitter often enough. The Integrated ViewThreadsy keeps it simple by showing all your email and social networking communication in two columns or streams. The Inbound column has messages specifically addressed to you. This includes Email, Twitter @replies and Direct Messages, and your Facebook Inbox. The Unbound column shows feeds that you follow, such as your Twitter stream and Facebook friends' status updates. You can adjust the width of the Unbound column using the arrow sliders in between the two panes.
Note that Threadsy is not a Personal Information Manager. If you want calendar, notes, RSS feeds, etc. all in one place, check out Life.io. Threadsy focuses on communication and excels by keeping it simple. At present, you need to add a webmail account to use Threadsy, so for example, you can't use it with just your Twitter and Facebook accounts. Adding AccountsAdding your email and social networking accounts is as easy as pie, but you do need to provide your login credentials to Threadsy. Twitter OAuth is coming soon and you can use Facebook connect after you have logged in. For webmail accounts, Threadsy supports AOL, Gmail (and Google Apps), Hotmail and Yahoo! US. Inbound: What's Sent To YouThe Inbound column shows all your messages in a chronological sequence, whether they are email, Twitter replies, or Facebook messages. Icons at the right of each message help you quickly identify the type of message. You can quickly filter messages by type using the tabs at the top for your webmail, Facebook, and Twitter.
Simply hovering your mouse over a message without actually opening it gives you options to quickly reply, retweet, delete, favorite or archive it. Click an email or Facebook message to open and read it. Unbound: What You're FollowingThe Unbound column displays your Twitter and Facebook feeds also in chronological sequence. You can filter the stream using the Facebook or Twitter tabs at the top. You can post your own Facebook status updates or Twitter tweets from within the box at the top.
The Chat tab in the Unbound column allows you to use Instant Messaging with your IM contacts. Twitter StreamThe Twitter stream in the Unbound column shows pictures and videos inline. This allows you to play videos without leaving Threadsy.
Hovering your mouse over a tweet brings up quick Reply, ReTweet, and Favorite buttons. Facebook FeedLike many desktop clients, Threadsy has inbuilt support for interacting with your Facebook stream – without installing anything. You can like items, view comments and enter your own comments.
View Profiles AutomaticallyWhenever you click on a tweet or view an email message, Threadsy shows you a profile snapshot of the person in the right Unbound column. I found it a quick and easy way to connect with people on other networks. For example, here is a profile view of Kristen, one of our new writers at MakeUseOf:
Threadsy collects information from dozens of sites; and shows you a bio, recent photos, and recent status updates on Facebook and Twitter. This is incredibly useful as it provides the context for you to respond appropriately to the person. You can directly jump to the person's profile on any of the listed networks to connect. Want to start using Threadsy right away? Click this link to get an instant invite, exclusively for MakeUseOf readers. Don't forget to give us your feedback 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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| The Best Freeware To Do An Easy Wordpress Auto Install Posted: 04 Oct 2009 07:00 AM PDT
But even with all of the past fuss, Wordpress was (and still is) the ultimate blogging platform for everyday folks like us. Today, almost every part of the installation has gone from manual to automatic. With the help of the installer script that basically does a Wordpress auto install, you can have Wordpress up and running with just one click. Most web hosting services have included at least one script in their cPanel. The most popular two are Fantastico and Elefante. A Better Wordpress Auto Install AlternativeBut “most web hosting services” means “not all web hosting services”. For those who use webhosts without this one-click-install luxury, their options were only to install manually or move to another service.
SimpleScripts is available in two versions, free and pro. The free version has a limit of three installation while the pro version has no such limitation but will cost you US$15 per year. Besides providing users with easy, one-click Wordpress auto installs, SimpleScripts will also send email notifications every time the installed web app has an available upgrade. Using SimpleScriptsTo use the service, you first have to register. Just click on the signup link at the top right corner of the web page. The registration process requires you to provide your email address and the web hosting service. There are a number of supported hosting companies in the drop down list. Choose “Other” if the one that you use is not there. After clicking on the “Create Account” button, you will get an email with your login information and you are ready to begin. Choose “Wordpress” from the script list. You can see that SimpleScripts has already provided its users with the latest version of Wordpress. This is another advantage of using this service over other similar installer scripts which are usually not updated frequently enough. The installation is easy as 1-2-3:
If all of the information you provided were correct, and if your hosting service met the system requirements, your Wordpress should be installed successfully. You can also use SimpleScripts to upgrade your existing Wordpress installation. To do this, choose “Import” instead of “Install” in step one. Choose the “I need to update my FTP information” link under the “Install” button if the Wordpress you want to upgrade is different from the one that you’ve already installed, or if you want to install a new one in a different location. I personally like this service better than other similar installers simply because it puts the user in control yet being easy to use. Have you tried SimpleScripts? Or do you know other free ways to auto install Wordpress? Share using the comments section 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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| Orb – A Free File Sharing And Streaming Program For Your Computer Posted: 04 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT
Other times you just want to share with yourself. If you ever needed to transfer your files to another computer to read, carry, or print them — you know what I mean. And when that sharing has to be done wirelessly, you’re in for a lot of trouble. Initiating the sharing (whether by email, uploading, or enabling a P2P connection) is the biggest bother, simply because you have to do it time and time again. The most simple solution would be to put all of your files online, or at least those you’re thinking about sharing. This sounds strange, a bit scary even, but if you do it right, it can spare you a ton of trouble. Orb 2.0Orb is an free file sharing program that allows you to share all of your stuff over the internet. All that needs to be done on your home computer is install the program and a simple indexing of your files. It’s evident you’ll want to monitor the latter – you don’t want all of your personal stuff to wind up on the internet. Once that’s done, you can access the data from any computer or other device with an internet connection.
The application uses P2P to share your data. This means your home computer must remain turned on if you need to access the data. When you’re at home, this poses no problem, but if you want to keep accessing your files over long-distance, you better prepare for a seriously large electricity bill. All Types of MediaAfter you’ve spent some time indexing your computer, the amount of media you can share with this free file sharing program is close to limitless. Apart from the conventional file sharing, like music, video and – very importantly – documents; Orb offers a ton of additional sharing functionality.
If you’ve got a TV tuner installed on your computer, you can even broadcast live and recorded TV programs. You can read more about this aspect of Orb in Dave’s article about Total Media Domination – Your TV, Video and Audio on any Device. Sharing PossibilitiesOnce you’ve decided what to share, there are a few different ways to do so; email, hyperlink, flash widget and Orb’s public page. They all have one thing in common – the recipient needs nothing more than an internet connection and a web browser!
A simple hyperlink is one of the easiest ways to share your data — text it to a friend, or paste it in an IM window, Orb takes care of the rest. If you share your stuff over email, a hyperlink is used as well, but this time the recipient gets a personal Orb account, so they’re the only ones to access the data! A few of the more interesting features that Orb provides are the flash widgets and Orb Public Place. The flash widget can be embedded on any HTML-enabled website or blog, and allows visitors to quickly browse music, pictures and videos. The Public Place is a personal blog-like site, on which you can post text entries, as well as share your media – it’s unlimited. Here, everyone can browse through the different kinds of data that you’ve made available. How do you use any free file sharing programs to share your media and documents? Tell us all about it in the comments section 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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Keeping in tip-top shape, or somewhere close to it is important for most of us. In fact, it's in most Top 5 lists along with family, friends, love and work and so on. In one ear, we have the media telling us that we’ll die if we eat the salads in MacDonald's; and in the other, your own heavy breathing as you gasp for air having jogged for 2 minutes. What to do…
It's one of those simple tasks that suddenly come upon us and we have no idea how to go about it. I had a whole fat folder filled with ebooks and someone casually asked me to send over a list. A list… that sounds really simple.
Threadsy weaves all your conversation threads into a consolidated user interface that is simple and easy to use. You can use your email, Twitter, Facebook, and Instant Messaging all from within this free web app, without installing a client like 
I still remember the time – not too long ago – when installing 
Luckily, that too is a problem of the past because there’s a web service called 
People like to share. Be it to show off their vacation pictures, or want others to enjoy their fantastic movie and music collections (which I might add, is often illegal).
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