MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [February 2]” plus 8 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [February 2]
- 3 Popular Teenager Websites That Are In Fact Useful
- How To Get Started With Macro Photography
- Twitter Clients – Web Apps or Desktops Apps? Which is Better?
- Pencil Project – Turn Firefox into A Diagramming and Prototyping Tool
- 3 Sites With Free Cocktail Recipes To Help You Make The Perfect Drink
- How To Add A Cool Twisting Tag Cloud For Your Wordpress Blog
- How to Change the Color of the Windows XP Start Button
- How To Make A Printer Wireless
| Cool Websites and Tools [February 2] Posted: 02 Feb 2010 07:01 PM PST Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For more cool websites and web app reviews subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory.
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!
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| 3 Popular Teenager Websites That Are In Fact Useful Posted: 02 Feb 2010 05:30 PM PST
What's even more frustrating is when teenager websites have little or no value. Nothing we can take away from the experience there. Over the past few years, I've found three teenager website which have either helped me or have been recommended by friends and have heaps of value. Teen Forums
On the technical side of things, this website is just like any other forum. But the community and the content is much, much different. Instead of 'Celebrity Gossip' and other such superficial threads, realistic topics such as 'Life Advice', 'Technology', 'Entertainment' and of course your standard conversation area add depth to the discussions. It's run by a guy called Shane who is a teenager himself. Thus, he's cut of all this excess fat which many other teenager sites deem to be ultra-important in the average teen's life when in fact, they are not. Some people may be into that stuff, and that's fine, but Teen Forums is aimed at your average, run-of-the-mill person who needs a forum with a very active community and great moderation. Healthy Strokes
This site has been running for a number of years and is held in a very high regard by many people. It's nothing special to look at. In fact, it appears as though it was first designed in the 1990s and hasn't been given a facelift since. However, it does have an active owner who takes questions from young people (and some older people as well) and answers them honestly on the site. He also has plenty of guides, tips and surveys on the site. As you have probably assumed from the title of this teenager website, the main theme is sex and related issues. Because the website has been running for so long there is an enormous bank of previously answered questioned in reverse-chronological order. You can also submit your own via email. The site is divided into male and female sections and then divided further into sub-categories to address certain issues. The guy who runs the site is a Christian and that does come into play. However, I'll make it clear that he neither promotes his own faith or suppresses others. He merely addresses issues which some religious teenagers have which is understandable when it comes to sex, in a separate section of the site. Overall, this site is probably one of the best resources in its genre. Others are less personal, biased or patronising. With Healthy Strokes, clear answers are given. Nothing more. Wire Tap MagazineI know I'm starting to sound like a broken record here but it cannot be denied that many 'glossy magazine' style sites demean teenagers. That's why I think Wire Tap Magazine is such an excellent website for teenagers who like to be informed, have opinions and read high-quality content about stuff that matter and more importantly, stuff that matters to them.
The website's tagline, “Ideas and action for a new generation” pretty much sums up the whole website. Topics such as education, environment, immigration, racial justice, elections and lifestyle are all addressed in great detail by a team of analysts, columnists, reporters and writers. You can also write for them yourself and be paid for the privilege. Their submissions guidelines are on the website and they actively encourage readers to submit stories and columns for publication. They also have a video section which is regularly updated with reports and case studies. So there you have it! Three teenager websites that are in fact useful! Do you know of any other websites or web apps which are useful for teenagers? Jackson has some great suggestions in his article ‘Top 8 Things for Bored Teenagers to Do Online‘. Image Attribution: ChuckP 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 Get Started With Macro Photography Posted: 02 Feb 2010 03:30 PM PST
Most compact and 35mm cameras can handle macro photography, especially if they feature a macro shooting mode. A 50mm prime lens works well with 35mm cameras for macro photography. You can also purchase lenses specifically designed for macro photography, but don't let not having a dedicated lens keep you from taking macro shots.
Most digital cameras have a macro mode feature that can be useful for close-up shots. This setting is usually indicated by a flower icon inside the camera's menu settings on the camera dial settings. Note, however, that using the macro mode or any preset mode your camera may not allow manual control over other settings like the flash. In other words, in these modes, the camera may force you to use the built-in flash if it thinks extra light is needed. A sturdy tripod and a way to trigger the camera's shutter without pressing the shutter with your finger is very useful macro photography. A camera's self-timer or a wired or wireless remote trigger can also be used for hands-free firing of the shutter. Subjects for Macro PhotographyWhen we think of macro photography we usually think of flowers as the subject. But that's not the case. You can start learning macro photography using household items. In fact, practicing macro photography indoors is recommended before venturing outside for nature shots. The photo below is one of about hundred shots I took of two forks. I simply put them on my kitchen table near a large window with the early morning light coming through. Using the macro mode on my Canon Powershot G9, I spent about thirty minutes shooting from different angles and arranging the forks in different formations. I kept the camera's widest aperture setting of f/2.8 for a shallow depth of field.
Keep the Camera SteadyMacro photography requires a really steady shot. And though most digital cameras have an image stabilization feature, it can't be counted on for macro photography. The closer you zoom in on a subject, the more likely you will experience noticeable camera shake. So mount your camera on a tripod to get the best and sharpest macro images. Also, check to see if your camera has a self-timer that can be used to fire the shutter, say after to 2 seconds. If you have a remote trigger, that works even better. Auto vs. Manual FocusSometimes when doing macro photography, depending on the subject, the camera may have difficult time focusing. If camera is not locking the focus automatically, your lens may be too close to the subject. Try pulling back the camera and then zooming in or out. If that doesn't work, try using manual focusing. If the subject itself is lacking distinctive contrast, try locking the focus by pointing the lens to the edge of the subject and the contrasting background, then re-frame the shot after focus has been achieved. After taking a few shots review and zoom in on them on the camera's LCD screen. Images always look sharper on the LCD screen, but at least it will give you some idea if your shots are out of focus.
Low ISO and Wide ApertureSince you're using a tripod and are typically shooting in well-lit setting, avoid using a high shutter speed. Shooting at ISO 100 or 200 will help keep what is called digital noise out of your photo. It will make the macro shots sharper with less grain or digital artifacts. Also set your camera's setting at about f/2.8 for a nice shallow depth-of-field. That will distort the background and help bring more focus on the foreground subject. Floral Arrangements and Rain ShotsIf you happen to give or receive a bouquet of roses for Valentine's or some other special day, use the gift for macro photography. Set the flowers near an open window for even lighting. I personally don't like using flash with macro photography, but if low ambient lighting is an issue, trying using an external camera flash to bring more light onto the subject.
During the rainy season, raindrops can also make for awesome and unique macro photography. If there's no raindrops to be had, fill up a spray bottle with water and lightly spray a floral arrangement to get the rain drop effect. Post-ProcessingAs with any other digital images, processing your macro images in Photoshop or similar image editor can greatly improve their contrast, color saturation, and sharpness. Cropping macro shots can also improve the overall composition of the photo. Click here for more articles on photography. So what's your experience with macro photography? What do you recommend for great shots, or what issues have you encountered trying to do macro photography? Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| Twitter Clients – Web Apps or Desktops Apps? Which is Better? Posted: 02 Feb 2010 01:30 PM PST
In the past, I have written articles on several different web apps including Tweetfunnel and HootSuite. Notice that both of those are web apps, meaning that you don’t install them on your computer but run them directly from the Internet from your web browser. There is another whole category of Twitter clients that you install on your PC, including Tweetdeck, Twhirl and Seesmic. Therein lies the debate! Which type of Twitter client do you prefer — the web app or the desktop app? Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each and see where we land! The web app Twitter client
There are many reasons someone may choose to use a web app as their Twitter client of choice. In fact, Mahendra wrote a great article about 4 good web based alternatives to some of the popular desktop Twitter apps. In his post, he listed several good reasons someone might choose to go web-based, including:
Using web-based applications in general have certain advantages such as having access on any Internet connected computer with a web browser, not worrying about installing and updating, and hard drive space is no longer an issue. It almost seems everything is moving toward the “cloud” doesn’t it?
Currently my web app of choice is still HootSuite because it’s easy to use, easy to track stats, and the Hootlet bookmarklet makes sharing links easy. However, there are some reasons why I find myself using a desktop app also. The desktop app Twitter client
Desktop apps do have their benefits. One of most used Twitter clients is Tweetdeck and that is a desktop app. So, why do people still choose to use desktop apps in light of the benefits of web apps?
Aside from the typical power apps such as Seesmic and Tweetdeck, there are the browser plugins such as Echofon and Chromed Bird.
I prefer to use this type of app because I get notifications directly in my browser window. Cast Your VoteOK, now it's time for YOU to weigh in on this topic. What did I miss? What is your preference: desktop-based OR web-based Twitter applications? Which application do you use most often? 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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| Pencil Project – Turn Firefox into A Diagramming and Prototyping Tool Posted: 02 Feb 2010 11:30 AM PST
Does it sound very technical and not for common use? Probably I am creating an image of a complex software and an especially skilled guy sitting in front of a large monitor, drawing incredibly complex diagrams. In some cases, this might be true. But for us amateurs, a new breed of GUI tools, a lot of them web based, have arrived.
Pencil (ver.1.1) is a Firefox prototyping add-on to do GUI prototyping and simple sketching. The Pencil Project is an Open Source attempt to create a tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping easy for the masses. Though it is available as a standalone program too, as a Firefox add-on, you can run it on any platform that supports Firefox 3 (and that makes it multi-platform). The Look of PencilFrom the browser toolbar, select Tools – Pencil Sketching. The Pencil Firefox prototyping tool opens in a new window. This is how it looks (the look is influenced by my Firefox Theme)…
The arrangement of tools is intuitive and one look at the different shapes tells you something about the possibilities with this little program. You have common shapes (rectangle, oval, straight line, text etc.), shapes for annotations, comments and instructions (balloon, bullet, arrows etc.), web page elements (hyperlink, HTML, headings, table etc.) and a few widget collections (GTK+, Windows widgets, Native UI widgets).
Rapid prototyping is just a matter of having the idea of the design in your head and then creating it in Pencil by simple drag and drop operations. A range of control handles gives you the flexibility to arrange the shapes into a final design. Customize them further with text and the full complement of fill colors. The final prototype can be exported as PNG images, web page, OpenOffice file, PDF or as a DOC file.
The Tools to Look Out ForPrototyping has a lot to do with creating lines and shapes and manipulating them into designs. Pencil includes two Firefox prototyping tools which make creating a gallery of shapes as easy as a snap. Stencil Generator
Each stencil has attributes like color, background and border color, and opacity etc which can be tweaked to define the final shape.
Clipart Browser
Apart from these two Firefox prototyping tools, Pencil also supports the use of external objects. Both raster and vector images can be brought into Pencil using copy-paste or drag and drop. After creating a page or a document, the entire thing can be exported to a folder as PNG images. Pencil is a great tool to have if you want to do some mockups in a hurry right from the browser. One of its simplest uses can be designing a mockup of a webpage. Also, any webpage can be sent to Pencil with a single click. Using the annotation shapes and the other available shapes, one can create a plan for a webpage in a jiffy right in the browser. The Pencil Project page also directs us to the user guide and a few screencasts on how to go about with the program. As a quick and dirty (strike out dirty) tool for rapid prototyping and diagramming, do you think Pencil deserves a place in your Firefox browser? Pencil (ver.1.1) is available for download as a Firefox prototyping add-on and also as a standalone installer (for Windows and Linux). Note: The Pencil Project is not to be confused with the animation program of the same name (featured here). Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| 3 Sites With Free Cocktail Recipes To Help You Make The Perfect Drink Posted: 02 Feb 2010 10:30 AM PST
But knowing how to make a perfect cocktail can be more than just yummy, it’s impressive. Better than any other party trick, knowing your drinks can win the people to your side. Books were the go-to source back in the old days (only second to ‘trying them out‘ in the bar yourself), but you can save yourself the walk. Here are some of the best sites with free cocktail recipes to make the perfect drink. Drinks Mixer – Free Cocktail RecipesDrinks Mixer has an incredible database, with over 12,300 free cocktail recipes. Leave a comment when you’ve tried them all. Seriously. You can further narrow it down to champagne, creamy, frozen, hot, long, short and tropical drink cocktails; or just browse the directory alphabetically. More interesting, perhaps, is to flick through the recipes by base-ingredient, flavor, or popularity.
To find yourself a free cocktail recipe, Drinks Mixer is by far the most incredible site I’ve encountered so far. You might be met with a few pop-ups, although those can be easily fended off by your browser. On the same site, you’ll also find a lot of non-alcoholic cocktails and – to keep the spirits up, pun intended – drinking games. Are you really serious about your mixing ambitions? Check out their bartender guide. Drinkolic – Use What You’ve GotMost people don’t have a liquor cabinet the size of a small room. A left-over bottle here and there is far more likely. When choosing a cocktail, first look at what you’ve got lying around in the kitchen, before barging off to the supermarket. With Drinkoholic, you can find a cocktail befitted to your supplies.
Browse the (equally impressive) cocktail database by liquor type, from (grain) alcohol to Whiskey. Alternatively, check out the ingredients and glassware. You can narrow your choices down to cocktails that contains a specific ingredient (e.g. fruit or syrup), or even by the kind of glassware that’s used. Most of these categories can be further narrowed down into liquor or ingredient type. Mind you, not all listed ingredients and liquors have cocktails listed. Want to help out? You can submit your own recipes. Cocktail Cost CalculatorEqually important is the price. Expensive cocktails are a quick way to get rid of all your money. With the Cocktail Cost Calculator, you can keep these expenses in hand. Check out how much money you’re going to loose before chosing those definite recipes.
Cocktail Cost Calculator will tell you the price of the most famous cocktails, or even of your own concoctions. If your own fancy brew isn’t listed, you can list the ingredients below, by selecting the type and quantity of liquors, fizz, mixes and juice. You can name it, and even add mixing instructions before you calculate the price. Do you know any other great cocktail mixing resources? Don’t be shy, and let us know in the comments section below! Related posts
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| How To Add A Cool Twisting Tag Cloud For Your Wordpress Blog Posted: 02 Feb 2010 09:30 AM PST
For those who are unfamiliar with tag cloud, it is a visual depiction of user-generated tags, or simply the word content of a site, typically used to describe the content of web sites. Tags are usually single words and are normally listed alphabetically, and the importance of a tag is shown with font size or color. Thus, both finding a tag by alphabet and by popularity is possible.
I never really put much attention to tag cloud, but one recent discovery altered the path of my focus a little bit. It’s (not) gonna rainWhat I discovered was a tag cloud with a twist – literally. What made it different from ordinary tag clouds was the way the content of the cloud twisted around in 3D. I personally thought that it was cool and it added the visual richness of the blog. Translation: I wanted it. Problem was, I didn’t know what it is called and whether or not it will work with Wordpress. After some searching and asking around, I finally could exhale a sigh of relief because I found the wordpress tag cloud plugin to produce that kind of effect. The plugin is called WP Cumulus.
With a clear target to pursue, I went directly to the installation process. Note: This plugin is Flash-based. So, there might be several factors (type of browser, browser plugin, internet connection, etc.) that might cause it not to display properly. Installing Wordpress PluginsI picked the easiest way to install the plugin. I logged in to my Wordpress dashboard and continued to the sidebar. I chose the “Plugins” link and “Add New“. I did the plugin search, and…
Clicked the “Install Now” button.
After the installation, I chose to activate it directly. But if you want to activate/deactivate it, you can do so from the Plugins page.
Controlling the CloudOne of the ways to tweak the display options of the wordpress tag cloud plugin is by going to the Tools > Settings > WP Cumulus menu from the sidebar.
There are many tweakable elements including the size of the WP Cumulus box, the font and background color and the rotation speed.
You can show WP Cumulus as part of your blog theme, use it as a widget, or insert it into post and/or pages using simple codes. Look at the plugin’s “Installation” page at Wordpress.org for more detailed instruction.
If you want to use it as a widget, you have to make sure that your blog’s theme supports widgets. If it does, go to the Appearance > Widget menu.
You will find the WP-Cumulus item in the widget list. All you have to do is drag it to the widget bar.
WP-Cumulus as a widget also provides its users with settings pane.
Don’t forget to click “Save” after adjusting the settings.
The color of the cloudYou will notice that all the colors used are written in hexadecimal HTML color codes. One trick that you can use to find out which code belongs to which color is to search for it via any application through the options to change the color of its element. For example, you can use any word processor and begin the steps to change the font color. Then you can use the color palette to search for the color code. For those who work with graphics and images, you can utilize your graphic applications.
Or you could search the web with the search string: “web color code” or “hexadecimal color code” (or something similar). Life beyond the cloudBecause the WP Cumulus plugin produces moving images, it’s a bit difficult to show it here. To see how this twisting tag cloud looks on a real site, there’s no better place to visit than the plugin creator’s page. The site is also a good place to start finding similar plugins for other blogging platforms. There are other interesting variations of tag cloud plugins for Wordpress. To find out more, you could search for “moving tag cloud” (or other similar search strings) in the Plugins section of Wordpress.org. Do you use tags to enhance your Wordpress blog visually? Do you know other cool tag cloud Wordpress plugins? Share using the comment below. Image credit: kevindooley Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| How to Change the Color of the Windows XP Start Button Posted: 02 Feb 2010 08:30 AM PST
The XP start button consists of three layers: a bitmap file, a start text, and a hover text. Thanks to this circumstance you can simply change the color of the underlying bitmap image layer. Disclaimer: MakeUseOf is not responsible for any damage caused by making changes to your Windows system files. Please follow the instructions at your own risk.
First of all, you will need to download and run a tool called Resource Hacker. It will show you the contents of the file that we’re going to edit. Before you start, I recommend to make a backup of any files that you are going to change. To make a backup, open your Windows system root folder, typically found under C:\Windows. Alternatively you can go to > Start > Run, type %systemroot% in the field, and click OK. Within the folder, go to > Resources > Themes > Luna. You can also go there directly by tying %systemroot%/Resources/Themes/Luna in the Run dialog box. Make a backup copy of the file “luna.msstyles”.
Now run Resource Hacker and open “luna.msstyles” and expand the following folders: > Bitmap > BLUE_STARTBUTTON_BMP. Here, you see the dreaded green color background image that is going to be changed. Save the bitmap image to your desktop through > Action > “Save [Bitmap: BLUE_STARTUPBUTTON_BMP: 1033] …” and leave Resource Hacker open.
Open the saved bitmap image in a program such as Photoshop or Paint and work on the colors until you’re happy. Don’t change the original dimensions of the image and save it as bitmap (.bmp file). For this demonstration, I simply inverted the colors. Once you have a new image, go back to Resource Hacker, click > Action, > “Replace Bitmap …”, and a window will open. In the top left click on > “Open file with new bitmap …”, select the .bmp file you edited, and click > Replace in the bottom right.
Don’t forget to save your changes in Resource Hacker, then close the program.
As mentioned previously, this hack describes changing the start button color for the “Default (blue)” and “Olive Green” designs. To change the button for the Silver design, edit and replace the bitmap image for METALLIC within the Bitmap folder of the luna.msstyles file. If you would like to change other elements of the XP start button, for example the text, check out Will’s article WinHack – How to Change the Windows Start Button (Win XP). What is your favorite Windows hack? Image credits: gradient 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 Make A Printer Wireless Posted: 02 Feb 2010 07:30 AM PST
The answer is quite simple and the logic behind it is quite sound. No matter what the make or model the printer is, you can simply send print jobs to it through the wireless network by connecting it to a computer that is always on and share the printer from that machine.
First things first. Make sure that you have the same username and password set up on the machine you want to use as your print server and the machine you are going to print from. This is required so that you can communicate with the other machine. Once you have the machines’ usernames and passwords synced up, you can turn to the machine with the printer attached to it. From this machine (which we will call the print server), we will need to set up the printer on it (if it is not already completed). Test that you can print and the output is what you expected. Then we will need to go to Printers and Faxes in the control panel.
You need to right click on the printer that you want to share and choose properties like so:
When you get to the properties page for the printer, you will want to click on the tab that says Sharing. Chances are sharing will be turned off like it is in the screenshot below. Simply click on the share this printer button. That will enable the box to type in the printer’s name. It will be grayed out until you click the radio button to share it.
You will want to name the printer something memorable. I called mine HP1100 (this was the default the machine offered me)
Now depending on what other operating systems that may connect to the print server, you might want to click the Additional drivers button to load up drivers for other operating systems besides Windows XP.
That will take you to this screen:
Simply check off the system types you want to use and point it to the correct drivers. You may have to find the CD that came with the printer or go download them from the manufacture’s site. Now, when you are done walk on over to the computer you want to print from wirelessly. Hit Start – run and then type \\ and your IP address or host name. Mine is 192.168.1.29 so I typed \\192.168.1.29
If you see this dialogue then you do not have the same password and username on both machines.
Hit Control+Alt+Delete on each machine and verify that the username is the same. When you are done, run the command again and you should now see this:
Double click on the printers folder, then on the actual printer. It will install the drivers and you will be good to go and able to print from any application as long as the print server is on. To learn to share a printer over the Internet, check out an older post of mine. Did you expect a more technical way to share a printer wirelessly? Would you modify your printer to enable printing over a wireless network? Tell us your solutions in the comments. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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If there's one thing that always annoys me about 'teenager' websites, it’s that they're all the exact same. Very stereotypical and stereotyping. Patronising and 'dumbed-down'. They also seem to only offer what older folk might assume would appeal to teenagers. Quite often, they miss the target completely.
Macro photography is one of the great art forms of the image-making genre. Most novice photographers rarely try it because they are accustomed to point-and-shoot photography, which is the complete opposite to approach macro photography. But this art form can be achieved by anyone interested in learning how to handle some essential macro photography techniques.
At the very beginning, I owe everyone who reads this an explanation as to what a prototyping tool really is. A 'Prototype' is a mock up. You can think of it as an image or a model of the final thing. Prototyping tools are drawing and sketching tools which help in designing the outlines of the final object. A prototype can be created on anything, from simple paper to Photoshop. But being a specialized function, it's better if one does it through a prototyping tool.
Mixing drinks is lost on too many people. No, I don’t expect your mother to rock my socks of with her Mojito, but that fancy bartender didn’t even seem to try. I guess it’s as they say: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
The vast amount of cool customizations maybe one of the reasons why people choose to go through hoops installing their own 
For those of you using Windows XP and getting tired of the green start button, listen up! Here is a straight forward article showing you how to change the color of the Windows XP start button for free.
This hack describes how to change the color of the windows xp start button from the “Default (blue)” and “Olive Green” sub-designs of the “Windows XP Style” to a color of your liking. The same procedure can also be used to change other elements and designs.
So you have yourself a wireless network and a printer. The printer is not wireless. The challenge is that you would like to print over the wireless network from any computer connected to your network either wired or wirelessly. How do do it?
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