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- Cool Websites and Tools [October 5]
- 4 Sites To Find Stores Going Out of Business And Buy Up Surplus For Cheap
- Create Cool Fantasy Nicknames with Ryder – A Macho Name Generator [Mac]
- How To Build A Home Media Server From An Old PC
- 5 Free Parental Control Software That Will Set Your Mind At Ease
- How to Read PDF Files and Other Docs on iPhone & iPod Touch
| Cool Websites and Tools [October 5] Posted: 05 Oct 2009 05:00 PM PDT
(1) CellPhoneRadiation – If you ever wanted to find out radiation levels emitted by various mobile phones and check which are the safest models, there is a website that can help you with that. CellPhoneRadiation is an online cell phone radiation chart launched by the Environmental Working Group. The site lists data for over 1,000 phones currently available on the market. Read more: CellPhoneRadiation – Online Cell Phone Radiation Chart (2) KingStyles – Web application that allows you to easily create graphics online including things like banners, buttons and logos. The site has a simple online editor where you can quickly design elements by selecting custom sizes, colors, backgrounds, layers, gradients and adding custom text or badges. Read more: KingStyles – Create Graphics Online (3) TextureVault – Directory of free backgrounds and textures for digital artist & designers. It currently hosts around 3000 textures nicely organized in different categories, you can search for textures using keywords or view the most popular ones. Read more: TextureVault – Free Textures For Artists & Designers (4) Matrix Calculator – Anyone who is a Math major or took fundamental Math courses in college, sooner or later has to deal with matrices and perform matrix calculations. Doing these calculations manually takes quite some time. If you want to quickly perform these and other matrix operations online, check out Online Matrix Calculator. Read more: Matrix Calculator – Do Matrix Calculations Online (5) CopyTransManager – If you find iTunes very slow and bloated, meet CopyTrans. It is a free, fast and lightweight iTunes replacement app to manage your iPod or iPhone. It requires no installation (simply download and start using), takes only 3MB of hard drive space and loads in less than a second. Read more: CopyTransManager – Manage Your iPod, iPhone & iPod Touch Without iTunes
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 Twitter ? Now you can follow MakeUseOf on Twitter too. Related posts
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| 4 Sites To Find Stores Going Out of Business And Buy Up Surplus For Cheap Posted: 05 Oct 2009 01:00 PM PDT
Unfortunately, due to the overwhelming popularity of Ebay, the field isn’t anything like it used to be. I originally had a bit of a niche in the antiques business thanks to my Ebay powerseller account and my trusty and rare mobile internet device, and therefore I had a major advantage over the old-school antique dealers. Today, you’ll find that 20-30% of the people attending antique auctions are now Ebay sellers, and these days everyone has mobile internet access. Because of the growing competition and difficulty to draw out decent profit from those antique purchases, I turned to buying direct from stores going out of business. These are often auctions as well, but they are a whole different breed. With antique auctions, the people attending are usually there for a very select type of item that was advertised, such as Hummels, Steuben art glass or Waterford for example. At auctions where stores are going out of business, it’s a completely different ballgame. Many specific items are not advertised and when you go, you pretty much get what you get. This is still an area where the technically savvy person can create a very sweet niche for themselves. I eventually turned to writing and editing as a primary form of income – but buying up surplus for cheap is definitely a promising money-making venture. So, let’s get to a few online resources and tools that will give you that competitive advantage. Buy From Business Liquidation CompaniesBefore you get into this business, it’s important to understand the various forms of inventory cutbacks businesses go through. Before they’ve gone as far as bankruptcy, many businesses try to save the company by turning excess assets into cash so they can pay down debts. This is called liquidating assets, and there’s an entire industry built on helping companies liquidate their assets – including vehicles, electronics, household goods and more. You name it – it’s probably being liquidated somewhere. The way to make money as a reseller (that’s you), is to buy up huge lots of liquidated assets (surplus) at about 30 to 40 percent under retail. Then, turn around and sell them to your customers at retail (or if you really want to do well – offer 10 to 20 percent discounts to your customers on Ebay or your online store). Where do you find these liquidations? Online, of course. Go to the surplus inventory section of Business.com and you’ll find a long list of liquidation companies where you can buy pallets of goods. Now, keep in mind we’re talking pallets and truckloads here. These businesses are used to dealing with brick-and-mortar stores that will buy a truckload of these surplus items at a time (which can cost tens of thousands of dollars) – so only take this option if you’re very serious about starting such a business. Startup costs are high – but your potential profit is tremendous, especially in the area of surplus electronics. For example, at that Business.com page, I found Discount Wholesalers, where you can buy pallets of surplus electronics at 35% discounts or more.
A downside to the liquidation industry is that there are also scam artists throughout who will send boxes filled with returns or otherwise non-working items. Just check out any online feedback available on them or check with the Better Business Bureau, but when you do find a legit one – hang on to it and run because not many people have the courage (or money) to invest, so if you do, you’ll be rolling in profits. Buy Your Products From AuctionsUnless you’re a licensed auctioneer or a liquidation firm, the odds of success by contacting a business directly that’s facing bankruptcy in order to purchase their assets directly is slim to none. The bankruptcy or liquidation process usually involves a law firm that contracts out the asset liquidation to large firms or auction companies. This article has already covered the liquidation route, but what about buying those “going-out-of-business” goods at auctions? The biggest problem I had when attending auctions is that you had to go to the location and register to buy so you could sit in the audience and hold up your bidding number. Well, with the Internet the world of auction buying has completely changed. You can now sit in your pajamas, in the luxury of your own home, and take part in these auctions live. I’m going to cover the top four resources you can use to locate and take part in these auctions. These are the most effective resources to purchase going-out-of-business merchandise. The first, and in my opinion the best, live auction website is BidSpotter.com. When you first go to the site, you’ll see that you can choose from three main auction categories – antiques & collectibles, agriculture & construction and industrial & commercial.
For businesses that are going belly-up, you want to go for industrial & commercial. When you view the listings page, you’ll notice auctions for businesses of all types.
Now, something to keep in mind when you search through these is that just because the auction is for something like a bakery doesn’t mean there won’t be anything useful there. These auctions sell off everything the business used – and many times these are items that are not even related to the particular industry. This is why it’s the best way to get awesome deals – you may be competing with bakery business owners or tool machine shop owners – so when electronics, computers or other items you’re interested in come along, you can bid low and often win. The experience is pretty cool too – it’s like being right there at the auction in person. Here, I am attending a toy auction going on in South Dakota (I live in Maine).
Two tips if you decide to try this. First, call the auction house early and register to bid so you’re ready when the auction starts. Second, don’t take your time when bidding starts – bid fast! There are people sitting around waiting for you, so when you sit there thinking, it gets very annoying for the people who are actually there. Be a courteous online bidder and the auction house will love it when you virtually attend. There are a couple more sites that also offer live online auctions like this, and by using all of them you’ll increase your chances of finding the going out of business auctions that suit your needs. LiveAuctioneers is the next one, and in my opinion it seems to feature more auction listings than any of the others I’ve seen.
There are a lot of categories and the chances are very good that you’ll find the sort of auction that you’re looking for. All of these are live – just find the scheduled auction and be online when it takes place. Another one of the best live auction sites to locate bankruptcy auctions is definitely iCollector.com. This is another site with a constantly updated stream of upcoming auctions.
What makes this site special is that you can find auctions from all around the world. For example, at the moment there are live auctions scheduled and listed for Spain, Canada and Switzerland as well. While this particular site is weighted a bit more toward antiques and collectibles, you can find closeout auctions here as well. Have you ever taken part in a live auction online, or have you ever bought liquidated items to resell before? Share your own experiences and insight in 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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| Create Cool Fantasy Nicknames with Ryder – A Macho Name Generator [Mac] Posted: 05 Oct 2009 11:00 AM PDT
It’s inspired by Mystery Science Theatre 3000 (MST3K) and Space Mutiny, apparently. I haven’t watched either of them so I’m clueless if the names resemble the characters from these shows. If you are an avid follower of MST3K, do try Ryder out and let us know the verdict in the comments. This app is simple. There’s only one button which you click in order to generate a new name. But don’t let the lack of features dismay you — it’s bloody hilarious. It’s written all over the title, Ryder generates macho names. Not fancy Superhero names or Celebrity names. Macho, carnivorous, bullet-grinding names. These names (or nicknames) will deliver spine-shivering terror to your opponents, yet it’s questionably light-hearted that will make them laugh initially then cower in fear after the meaning truly sets in. Like I mentioned before, the app only has one button. Click on ‘Who?’ and it will generate a new name. It also provides you with a ‘Speech’ checkbox. Enable that, click on the ‘Who?’ button again and it uses Mac’s speech utility to read the name out loud. I’ve just had it read “Bolt Hardpeck” to me and it undoubtably felt like I was introduced to a macho firefighter. Alright, this is starting to emasculate me so I’ll move on. I don’t really know how many names are stored in the generator but while using it, I did see some duplicates although they’re not really obvious. I’ll list down some of the names it generated:
Hilarious yet macho, don’t you think? The first names are really masculine and undeniably butch. The last names have a tinge of humor, mellowing the whole “I’m gonna rip your head off” effect.
Speaking of name generators, Simon wrote about something similar in his article, The 4 Funniest Online Name Generators which includes Superhero names, Pirate names, Vampire and Music Star names. Be sure to check those out as well. We’ve also covered NameMasher, an online name generator that takes two different words and mashes them to create a name like Bennifer (Ben + Jennifer). Ryder is an open-source application. If you are a developer, you can actually download the source code, take it apart and tell us exactly how many names are in there. For the rest of us, this is all that matters: Ryder is free. Remember, it requires Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and higher to run. Download it here. Do you think Ryder really generates macho names or do you have a better alternative? Tell us 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 Build A Home Media Server From An Old PC Posted: 05 Oct 2009 09:00 AM PDT
Today, I will show you how to put your old otherwise junky desktop to great use as a Home Media Server. Lets begin! (For more cool articles on how to build home media servers, check out these articles by Damien on how to set up a Media Server [Part 2] using Linux. Or if you are ready to invest some cash check out our PDF guide on How To Build A Great Media Center For Your Home.) In this installation guide on how to build home media servers, I am using an old, reinstalled version of Windows XP SP3 with a 1TB Hitachi hard disk drive. (Note: This should work equally well on Windows Vista with User Account Control (UAC) off and an Administrator account set up on the server.)
Start by clicking “Start” and “Control Panel.” Select “Network Setup Wizard.” Press next twice and then select “This computer connects to the internet thorough a residential…” and then select “Next.”
Enter a name and description for your server and then click “Next.” In the next window, leave “MSHOME” as the workgroup name and then click “Next.”
Now, select the “Tun on Windows File and Printer Sharing” option and click “Next.” Make sure the info is right and click “Next” again. On the following screen select “Just finished;” and then click “Next” and “Finished.” Since we now have your home server connected to your home network we need to actually start allowing for the storing and sharing on files on the network. To do this, find a directory, for example, C:\ and then create a new folder called whatever you like. Now, right-click on the folder and click “Network Sharing and Security”. When the Security and Sharing window loads, select “Share this Folder on the Network” and “Allow Network User to Change My Files.”
Now that you have a shared home server directory set up you need to be able to start sharing your files! To do so, simply go to your other computer(s) that you wish to access these files at and click on “Start” and then right-click on “My Computer” and select “Map Network Drive.” Now, click “Browse” and select the name of the home server and click the “+” beside it to expand the options and click the folder that we just created.
To access your newly established home media server, simply go to “My Computer” and double-click on the drive you created and your in! You should now be able to copy and paste files to your hearts desire! (If Windows asks you for a username and password, enter your username and password for your home server account.) Do you use a Home Media Server? What do you use it for? Tell us 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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| 5 Free Parental Control Software That Will Set Your Mind At Ease Posted: 05 Oct 2009 07:00 AM PDT
There are a number of free parental control software packages and some tools designed to assist parents in this very task. Here are five that are worth a look. Windows Parental Control SoftwareWindows has been offering parental control features (or some that are close to the feature) from some time now. Internet Explorer has had a content advisor since ages ago. The recent version of Windows offer even greater control. Barring the Business edition, all other Windows editions ship with parental control. You would have to create a separate account for kids (which is the sensible thing to do anyway), then you can access and manage parental controls from the Windows Control Panel. You can limit the amount of time your kids spend on the computer, the applications they can use and for how long; and you can also get an activity report of what they have been up to.
OpenDNSOpenDNS not only resolves web addresses quickly. It also offers a host of other interesting features similar to free parental control software which you can use to protect users from phishing attacks of unsuitable content on the Internet. All you need to do in order to use OpenDNS is to set the nameservers for your computer or router. Once this is done, go ahead and create a free web account. This will let you manage what to allow and give you detailed statistics as well.
OpenDNS maintains a list of websites, broken down into categories that you can use to make browsing a little safer. You can also create your own blacklists to restrict access to any sites you don’t want your kids to view.
KidzuiKidzui is safe, free parental control software in the form of a web browser for kids. It let’s the children access games, videos and content that have been approved by parents around the world. One really nice feature of Kidzui is that it takes up the entire screen by default, hiding the Windows interface so that children don’t wander off elsewhere on your computer. Kidzui is great if you want to set up a hassle-free, safe and educational window to the web for your young ones. Here is the complete scoop.
VisikidVisikid is more of a monitoring application with a strong focus on your kid’s activities. It monitors the applications that are accessed and the sites that are visited along with the time spent on them. All this information is presented to you nicely categorized should you choose to know what your kids have been up to. There are graphs, custom categories and much more on the Visikid dashboard that you can access at their website. Here is the complete review.
PiklukPikluk also allows you to create list of websites that you deem suitable for your kids. Similar to Kidzui, it provides a safe means to access educational websites, games and all the usual features. A distinguishing feature is that you can create a Pikluk email address for your children and create a white list of users they are allowed to communicate with. Any email to or from anyone not on the list will be blocked. Video sites for kidsVideos are generally very popular among kids but allowing access to something like Youtube is fishing in troubled waters. Although they are not strictly parental control tools, sites like ZuiTube and Totlol take a lot of burden off your shoulders when letting your kids watch videos online. These sites list videos that are fun, educational and moderated to be child-safe.
With all the tools combined and a careful strategy, you can be reasonably sure your kids are safe on the computer. However, nothing can match the caring and watchful attention of parents. We suggest you stick to that from time to time as well. Also check out 5 sites that promote internet safety for kids for some serious in depth information on the topic What do you think about these? Do you know of some other useful tools for similar purposes? Sound off 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 Read PDF Files and Other Docs on iPhone & iPod Touch Posted: 05 Oct 2009 05:00 AM PDT
One innovation over the last couple of years has been the e-reader, which should solve some of the problems of reading off the computer screen. While these look very promising to me, they’re still in the early stages of adoption and above all, they are still quite expensive. And many of you already carry around a perfectly good e-reader substitute in your pocket, in the form of an iPhone or an iPod Touch. I’ve been using my iPod Touch and I’ll tell you how to read documents such as PDFs or even MS Word documents on your iPhone’s native apps as well as a third party application. Using your emailThe easiest way (and quite usable) to read pdf files on your iPhone is to email yourself the PDF as an attachment. This is simple and you don’t need to install any app to do this. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to organize your emails in folders, so it really is best used for something simple to read. It does have a way to read in landscape mode. It works for MS Word, MS Excel files and most images. The attachments are saved on your device after loading them once so you don’t need a connection the next time you want to read it. Using Files liteFiles lite is actually the best free app to read documents and PDF files on the iPhone or iPod touch. You create a virtual folder on your computer into which you drag and drop the files you want to read. You can create folders in the application or the virtual folder, so it’s easy to manage a lot of books and articles. I tested this on Windows 7 but it should also work on other version of Windows, Mac and even Linux. I’ll quickly show you how to set it up so you’ll have an idea of how easy it is. The app also comes with a good guide too.
It’s that easy. Now you can carry around your documents and read them wherever you go, without having dying forests on your conscience. And you read it correctly, you don’t need any cables to synchronize the documents. If only iTunes would work that easy when syncing your music! AlternativesThere are many apps in the App Store that can perform similarly to Files lite, but that you have to pay for. One restriction of Files lite is that you only have 200 MB available to play around with on your iPhone, but that can hold many PDF files. The other apps differ from each other mostly in the way you transfer files, such as over the air, via USB, FTP or downloading from a web address. A good paid app is Good Reader ($0.99) and another is Stanza (free), which is more a complete e-reader which has a PC suite to manage your books and the possibility to download many free e-books. Do you find reading from your iPhone as comfortable as reading from paper? If you like the e-reader apps, then you don’t really have an excuse to not read your articles and books. Image credit: nxb 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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After being involved in the antiques business for years, I started getting curious about other ways that it might be possible to earn income from buying and selling items. Buying at antique auctions is a very hit-or-miss activity, and building a business upon your auction purchases takes a great deal of knowledge and a lot of luck.
The next time you crack your head trying to think of a great nickname while playing 
Almost all of us geeks have at least one or two old computers hanging around the house, in a corner, in a basement, attic, etc. Most of the time these, possibly, useful computers go to waste and eventually sit in that same corner, basement, or attic for years until being wastefully thrown away out of necessity. Fortunately, this does not have to be the case for all past acquaintances.
The Internet is a wild, wild place. It has plenty of advantages for sure but it also has its fair share of disadvantages, traps and scams. Hardly an ideal place to let kids roam around unwatched. They can learn a lot from the Internet these days. The nature of what they learn is mostly up to the parents to monitor and guide, especially when kids are young.
Most people prefer reading documents on paper over reading on a computer screen. Especially anything longer than a blog post is more easily read from good old paper. I believe this has something to do with the position of your head, but also the fact that you’re basically looking right into a lit screen for hours. Whatever the reason may be, people are looking for other ways to read stuff. Myself included, since I have to read quite a lot of articles for my studies. I don’t want to print everything out, because I only read it once or twice and don’t want have to carry it around with me.
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