MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [March 19th]” plus 10 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [March 19th]
- The 5 Toughest Tech Questions [MakeUseOf Answers]
- A Wide Area Network (WAN) Tutorial [Technology Explained]
- The 5 Coolest Voice Apps For Your Android Phone
- The 9 Best iPhone GPS Apps In Case You Get Lost
- How To Easily Create & Annotate PDF Documents [Mac]
- 10 Automator Apps You Can Create in Under 5 Minutes [Mac]
- 3 Great Free Online Fitness Programs To Help You Get In Shape
- 6 Twitter Web Applications That Help Us With Our Questions & Answers
- Create Your Own Niche Q&A Site With Qhub
- How To Install Java For Windows Mobile
| Cool Websites and Tools [March 19th] Posted: 19 Mar 2010 08:31 PM PDT
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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| The 5 Toughest Tech Questions [MakeUseOf Answers] Posted: 19 Mar 2010 07:31 PM PDT
The good news is that during the past two weeks no question went unanswered. Nevertheless, some problems have not yet been resolved. Maybe you can help? Please have a look at our 5 toughest questions this week:
Would you like to browse other popular questions or see which questions we weren't able to answer? You can switch back and forth between latest, unanswered, and most popular questions using the respective buttons at MakeUseOf Answers. You can also follow Answers via RSS. And if you have a question of your own, don't hesitate to ask! No sign up or registration is required. Related posts
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| A Wide Area Network (WAN) Tutorial [Technology Explained] Posted: 19 Mar 2010 06:31 PM PDT
A wide area network (WAN) is a large telecommunications network that consists of a collection of LANs and other networks. WANs generally span a wide geographical area, and can be used to connect cities, states, or even countries. Although they appear like an up-scaled version of a LAN, WANs are actually structured and operated quite differently. This wide area network tutorial serves to explain how WANs are designed/constructed and why their use is beneficial.
Wide Area Network – Connection Options"Many WANs are built for one particular organization and are private. Others, built by Internet service providers (ISPs), provide connections from an organization's LAN to the Internet." Several options are available for WAN connectivity: leased line, circuit switching, packet switching, and cell relay. Leased Line
WANs are often built using leased lines. These leased lines involve a direct point-to-point connection between two sites. Point-to-point WAN service may involve either analog dial-up lines or dedicated leased digital private lines. Analog lines – a modem is used to connect the computer to the telephone line. Analog lines may be part of a public-switched telephone network and are suitable for batch data transmissions. Dedicated lines – digital phone lines that permit uninterrupted, secure transmission at fixed costs. At each end of the leased line, a router connects to the LAN on one side and a hub within the WAN on the other. Leased lines can get pretty expensive in the long run. Circuit Switching
Instead of using leased lines, WANs can be built using circuit switching. "In telecommunications, a circuit switching network is one that establishes a circuit (or channel) between nodes and terminals before the users may communicate, as if the nodes were physically connected with an electrical circuit." In other words, a dedicated circuit path is created between end points. The best example of this is a dialup connection. Circuit switching is more difficult to setup, but it does have the advantage of being less expensive. Packet SwitchingPacket switching is a method that groups all transmitted data together into bits called packets. Devices transport packets via a shared single point-to-point/point-to-multipoint link across a carrier network. Sequences of packets are then delivered over a shared network. Similar to circuit switching, packet switching is relatively inexpensive, but because packets are buffered and queued, packet switching is characterized by a fee per unit of information, whereas circuit switching is characterized by a fee per time unit of connection time (even when no data is transferred). Cell RelayCell relay is similar to packet switching but it uses fixed length cells instead of variable length packets. Data is divided into these cells and then transported across virtual circuits. This method is best for simultaneous voice and data but can cause considerable overhead. WANs vs LANs
Depending on the service, WANs can be used for almost any data sharing purpose for which LANs can be used. The most basic uses of WANs are for email and file transfer, but WANs can also permit users to access data remotely. New types of network-based software used for productivity, like work-flow automation software, can also be used over WANs. This allows workers to collaborate on projects easily, regardless of their location. Unlike LANs, WANs typically do not link individual computers. WANs link LANs together. They provide communications links over great distances. The Existence Of WANsWANs have existed for decades, but new technologies, services, and applications have developed over the years to dramatically increase their effect on business. WANs were originally developed for digital leased-line services carrying only voice (not data).
At first, they connected the private branch exchanges (PBXs) of remote offices of the same company. WANs are still used for voice services, but today they are used more frequently for data and image transmission (like videoconferencing). These added applications have spurred significant growth in WAN usage, primarily because of the surge in LAN connections to the wider networks. A wide area network allows companies to make use of common resources in order to operate. Internal functions such as sales, production and development, marketing, and accounting can also be shared with authorized locations through this sort of network. In the event of a problem – say a company facility is damaged from a natural disaster – employees can move to another location and access the network. Productivity is not lost. ConclusionThe wide area network has made it possible for companies to communicate internally in ways never before possible. Because of WANs, we (the consumers) can enjoy benefits from companies that we wouldn't have been able to in the past. What do you think of WANs? What's next for connectivity? Leave your thoughts, ideas, and comments below. Image Credit: 4shaws, pseudoxx, nazreth, jaylopez, svilen001 Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| The 5 Coolest Voice Apps For Your Android Phone Posted: 19 Mar 2010 04:31 PM PDT
Still, while Google Voice is awesome, it has a long way to go to provide a lot of very useful features that work really well. So, I continued searching for cool mobile voice applications that would enhance the mobile Android experience. This article is a collection of some of the best voice-enabled mobile apps that I discovered in the Android Marketplace. Searching for applications that incorporate voice features is a difficult task, because there’s so much junk out there – apps that just don’t work right. So, I’m pleased to offer you this list of high-quality, useful apps that will help to transform your mobile experience into one that is a bit more hands-free and convenient.
Using Your Android As A Personal AssistantWouldn’t it be nice to have a computer system that’s with you all the time, constantly plugged into the Internet, and constantly prepared to answer any question or assist you in any way whenever the need arises? Well, if you have an Android phone, then you have that computer system. The following mobile voice applications offer a few extremely convenient ways to obtain information or perform some useful task without going through the trouble of typing on your phone – you can just use your voice. The first app that deserves a honorable mention is Trippo-Mondo by Cellictica. It is an application that performs the sort of language conversion that you’re used to with apps like Google Translate. The difference here is that once you convert your phrase to the target language of choice, you can have the application speak the sentence for you.
Here I’m using the conversion utility to go from English to Spanish. There’s no voice to text feature with this app, you have to type your phrase into the first text box.
Just about all major world languages are covered in this mobile utility. First click on “Translate,” to get the text translation of your original sentence. Then, if you need to speak the sentence in the new language, just click on the “Speak” button and your Android phone will do the talking for you. When I read the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I always thought it would be pretty cool to have one of those babel fishes to stick in my ear every time we took a family trip up to Quebec. Well now the Android is even better, because it doesn’t only translate, but it also speaks the foreign language for you.
Have you ever been in the middle of a conversation, a class or a meeting and a word comes up that you just can’t remember what it means? Well, now you have a personal assistant sitting right in your pocket that can instantly look up any word for you. This particular Android app is called FreeDictionary, and it’s powered by FreeDictionary.
The speech recognition is a little rough with this app. It took me a few tries to get it to correctly recognize that I was saying “salmon” and not “CNN.” Speak slowly and clearly, and you should be all set. Just speak the word you want to look up, press the magnifying glass, and get your instant definition.
The next voice app that deserves a honorable mention is Koememon. This application is amazingly simple, but just as amazingly impressive at the same time. I can give you a full rundown of this application with one sentence – speak your memo and it automatically converts it into text. How is this handy? Well, what if you’re driving and you came up with a brilliant idea that you don’t want to forget? Just launch this app and record your memo. Better yet, the application doubles as a Twitter plugin to post status updates to your Twitter account using your voice.
Just record your update, and when you click on the transcribed text, you’ll see an option to “Send to Twitter.” Once you click that – your memo immediately gets posted to your Twitter status. Now you can Tweet with just your voice! This app requires that you have both Google Voice and Twidroid installed for all features to work.
The next cool voice app is the Recordoid Dictaphone by SomYac. A simple voice recorder may seem like a simple concept, but believe it or not, there aren’t a lot of fantastic apps out there for this. Luckily, the Dictaphone is one of the best. Unfortunately, the free version is limited to 2 to 30 minutes of recording time, but if you use the app just to keep short audio clips or memos, that’s really all you need.
When you press play, you’re presented with a list of your previous recordings to choose from. This app is awesome as a short term audio memo tool. Now you don’t have to worry what your wife told you to pick up at the store – just repeat the list into your personal audio recorder and you don’t have to worry about remembering anything.
Have you ever had those moments when you’re having a debate with a friend or family member, and you’re both absolutely convinced that you’re right and the other person is wrong? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to call on someone who knows the right answer? A few years ago, Kaly wrote about the experimental ChaCha search engine. Well, ChaCha is experimental no longer. Now, Chacha has it’s own mobile Android app that lets you get the answer to just about any reasonable question you could think of. Best of all, you can click on the microphone and simply ask your question with just your voice. Click on the magnifying glass and get the answer back almost instantly. You may be wondering why you wouldn’t just use the voice search feature now available from Google on the Android, but it’s actually the simplicity of the results that makes ChaCha so much more useful. Instead of providing an answer in the form of tons of useless information filtered in, ChaCha pulls out the reference material and presents you with sources that are sure to answer the question that you’ve asked. I must say, I was very impressed by the accuracy of ChaCha’s voice recognition algorithm. Have you found any other great apps that incorporates voice features into them – apps for any mobile phone? What’s your view of the quality and effectiveness of voice recognition features in these mobile voice applications? Share your insights in the comments section below. Got Tech Questions? Ask Them on MakeUseOf Answers! Related posts
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| The 9 Best iPhone GPS Apps In Case You Get Lost Posted: 19 Mar 2010 02:31 PM PDT
I must admit; I am a GPS addict. As an avid geocacher, I rely on a Garmin Nuvi, a Garmin eTrex H, an iPhone, and a compass to locate tupperware in the woods. The Garmins are fantastic, but I love to tinker with the iPhone apps, too. After spending too much money on paid apps, I figured it was worth a shot to see what the best iPhone GPS apps are out there, and how they measured up against the paid apps I had been using.
The bottom line? These apps are so powerful that it would not have been necessary to pay a single penny for any other GPS apps. The Best iPhone GPS AppsAmAze GPSAmAze GPS is a free turn-by-turn voice GPS app for the iPhone. You can view in 2D or 3D, and it offers many of the features of expensive GPS apps! The graphics are decent, and the voice part is really helpful when you are driving. Even though AmAze pops up a screen to buy the full version, there really is no need to do it. Simply tap on “keyword” or “local search” and you will get what you request! Download AmAze [iTunes link]
AutomilezThis is a perfect app for people who need to track mileage for reimbursement. If you need to really keep track of where you are going and how much time and money you are spending, this is the perfect app for you! Automilez has a sweet interface, but you do need to create a free account first. Then you simply add in your odometer reading when you start and click “stop” when you are done!
Download Automilez [iTunes link] Free GPSThis is one of my favorite apps. This is a no-frills GPS system that works quite nicely. It is totally simple. There are no bells and whistles, and that is just fine because my kids can’t understand all the other twiddly bits anyway. GPS is so simple; you can tag locations fairly easily by clicking on “Make Current Position New WayPoint.” You can also enter in a WP manually.
Download Free GPS [iTunes link] GPS LogbooksI don’t actually fly a plane, but this app is pretty wicked sweet if you do. You can share your flight log book with the world using this handy dandy app. Even though I am not a pilot, this is a cool app for travelers! As you are flying, simply write a note, and it will update your online logbook with where you are when the post was created.
Download GPS Logbooks [iTunes link] GPS-LoggerThis app is awesome for geocachers! I take a load of pictures out in the woods, and sometime (ye gads), I forget to lock in where the pic was taken. While it is true that lots of apps give the coordinates of a flashy snappy picture right on the spot, few let you go back in and ADD pictures that came off of other cameras or phones. GPS-Logger is sweet because you can go back and ADD those photos taken on “un-smart” cameras. GPS-Logger is a great app because you can take pictures or add them in later and connect them to a specific location on a specific date.
Download GPS-Logger [iTunes link] GPS-RThis is the perfect app for my husband. Not only does it track where you are going, it also tells you when you are near something that you have to do…like buy milk or take back library books. This is an awesome mashup between a to-do list and GPS! GPS-R is sweet because it will remind you of certain tasks when you are near them geographically. My husband will chuckle when he drives home tomorrow and is reminded to take out the trash!
Download GPS-R [iTunes link] GPS TrackerInstaMapper’s GPS Tracker is quite nice. While it is a little tricky because you have to apply for a free code, it is a nicely done app. Basically, it tracks your phone, so if you are lost in the woods, someone can find you. I hope to never need it, but it will be awesome if I do! While InstaMapper’s iphone interface isn’t all that exciting, the web tracking is very cool if you are a hiker or geocacher. The iPhone updates every few seconds so folks back home can see where you are on the map!
Download GPS Tracker [iTunes link] iWantThis is a sweet little app that lets you know what is around you. Since we go on a lot of hiking trips in areas we don’t know all that well, this helps us find gas and places to eat. Even though iWant wants you to buy the full app, don’t…the free version is awesome. You can find anything around you within seconds!
Download iWant [iTunes link] WazeWaze is probably one of my favorite apps on the iphone. This is my favorite one! It is a social networking meets GPS application, and it allows you to share your location details with Wazer friends. The awesome part is that you can report traffic jams to others or locate nearby Wazers. Finally, Waze is a social appie that lets you connect with other Wazers via chatting and map pinning. The BEST part, though, is that its main purpose is to help you navigate traffic. It is kind of like a Way Cool Updated Smokey and the Bandit kind of tool!
Download Waze [iTunes link] Why 9?There are, literally, hundreds of GPS apps out there, and I didn’t review them all…so I am hoping you will help me figure out the 10th! Which GPS app is your favorite? Image Credit: One Eighteen 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 Easily Create & Annotate PDF Documents [Mac] Posted: 19 Mar 2010 01:31 PM PDT
But this “highly uneditable” feature is also PDF’s disadvantage to other “easily editable” formats like txt, rtf and doc. While it’s possible to create PDF documents with fillable forms (you can download an example of such a thing from Adobe’s site), the creation process requires advanced PDF tools – which are expensive and not accessible by most people.
So should we get the expensive PDF tools just to create a so-called interactive document? If you are using Mac, there are better solutions to this problem. Mac systems come with native tools to create and annotate PDF documents easily. How to Create PDF Documents | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 10 Automator Apps You Can Create in Under 5 Minutes [Mac] Posted: 19 Mar 2010 12:31 PM PDT
Mac Automator workflows need not be complicated. They can simply be 1-3 step workflows that can save you some time on your computer. We have published a few longer Automator how-tos here on MUO. This article, though, is going to introduce you to ten practical workflows that you can create in under five minutes. Once you create a few of these, I guarantee that you’ll want to see what other type of workflows you can create.
How Do Automator Applications Work?Automator applications work pretty much like any another application. When you click on an Automator application, it opens up and you tell it what to do. You can also configure applications to simply perform a task without opening up. Just click on the application and it will execute the commands. How To Create An ApplicationOkay, first off I will explain how to create an Automator application, and then I will briefly describe nine other similar applications that you might want to create. Step 1: Launch Automator, found in your application’s folder. I’m using the Snow Leopard version of Automator for these examples. When the template window drops down, select Application, and then select Choose.  Step 2: This step introduces you to different parts of Automator and it also shows you to create your first application.
1. In the far left column, select Mail in the list of actions. These actions are a part of the Automator library. Send Mail Message ApplicationSo what is the purpose of this workflow? Why use it when you can just simply create a new mail message in Mail? Well, if you have a person that you regularly send email to, and typically that email contains a similar message, you can use this workflow to set up an email that will be automatically addressed to a specified person or persons, with any preset message and subject line. So basically feel out the New Mail Message with the addresse(s) of the recipient(s), the subject line, and the content if it's going to be similar each time. Now click on the Options button at the button of the action. There is a box that says, "Show this action when the workflow runs." This means that the new mail message will pop up and provide you with the opportunity to add any additional content to the message before you click send. If you don't click this button, Automator will send the message automatically when you launch the application. So click that button.
Now click Run and see what happens. If it doesn't work for you, write me a comment below. Save As ApplicationAfter doing the test run, simply save the workflow. In the drop-down save box, click on the File Format button and choose Application. You probably should save this application in your Applications folder. If you plan to create more applications like this, you might want to create a special folder for your Automator applications. All the Automator apps will be saved with this icon. Yeah, it's a little ugly, but you can customize it like you do any other icon. See this MUO tutorial.
You can treat these Automator apps like other applications. They can be dragged to your dock or even put into your Finder toolbar.
Alright, now that you have completed this first really simple workflow, let's explore others that you can do quickly. To find each of the actions below, simply type in the name of the action in the search field at the top of the second column of Automator. Document PrinterThis action, when saved as an application, will automatically print any document that you drop onto it. After creating it using the steps described above, put it in your dock or Finder toolbar. Now grab a document file and place it on top of the saved app. That will cause Automator to run the action and print your document using your default printer. Note, you can also select the "Show this action when the workflow runs," if you want to make some changes to the printing configurations before the action is executed.
Play PlaylistThis app action plays a selected playlist from your iTunes library. It requires two actions. First open iTunes, select your favorite playlist and slide it into the Automator workflow pane. Next, locate Play iTunes Playlist in the Automator library and slide it also in the workflow pane under the playlist action. Now save it as an app. When you click on that app it will play the specified playlist.
Copy Items Of A FolderThis app will copy any files moved onto it, to a designated folder. Again, you might want to put this one in your dock or Finder toolbar. When you need to use it, simply drag files onto the app and it will run.
Hide Apps & Launch An AppThis little workflow app simply hides all your running apps and opens a specified application so you can get focused and begin working.
Create ArchiveIf you need to quickly archive a bunch of files, this workflow is the easiest way to do it. Park it on your dock, put the selected files on top of it, and it will create a Zip archive of those files.
Copy Clipboard to Text DocumentOkay, say you frequently copy text and paste it in a text editor document. Well, this workflow app will save you a few clicks. Copy the text as usual to the clipboard, click this app and it will automatically paste the copied text into a TextEdit document.
New Dated FolderIf you regularly create folders that need to be named with a date, simply click this workflow app and save yourself a few steps.
Set Desktop ImageIf you have a favorite desktop image that you like to switch to from time to time, use this workflow app to set the desktop image, saving the steps of opening System Preferences. In this workflow, drag your selected image into the workflow pane, and right under it, drag the Set Desktop Picture action.
Launch WebpagesThis workflow app will launch specified webpages. You can park it your dock and click it when needed. This saves you the trouble of digging through your web browser bookmarks. Grab the two actions and replace the http://www.apple.com URL with your selected web page(s)
That's it. Let me know what other time saving Automator actions you come up with. If you run into any problems with these actions, let me know by dropping a line in the comment box below. Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| 3 Great Free Online Fitness Programs To Help You Get In Shape Posted: 19 Mar 2010 11:31 AM PDT
However, on the other side of that coin, various web apps, online fitness programs and supplements promise to make you extremely healthy and fit but in reality, they’re misleading and rarely ever work. Unfortunately, in terms of fitness and physique, there is little one can do except eat right and exercise correctly in order to reach a point they’re comfortable with.
One Hundred Push-Ups, Sit-Ups Etc…
This series of free online fitness program have been very popular and has expanded in recent months. When the first program launched a while back we did an article on it here. Since then, numerous other programs have become available so that everything from push-ups to sit-ups to squats to chin-ups are covered. They all work on the same principle and that is to gradually increase the reps over a period of weeks until you have reached the goal of the program. They also give you an initial test to determine your current strength and stamina. Based upon the results of this you’ll start on a certain week and work your way up. An iPhone app is also available to keep track of your progress but you can do this only using the websites just as well. Couch to 5KThis program became something of an Internet Meme when it was first released and is still very popular given its success in transforming couch potatoes into runners. Once again, this program works on a chart which you are to work your way up over a period of time. Initially, it comprises of a certain amount of time jogging followed by a certain amount of time walking. The jogging is gradually increased over time as you become more fit until the end of the program, at which point you should be able to run 5K (or half an hour).
Because free online fitness program became so popular so quick, there are numerous websites which specialise in it instead of just one. I recommend this particular site because of the wealth of information on there compared to the others. Firstly, it’s regularly updated with articles related to the program on every subject such as nutrition, running gear and the most important of all; motivation. They also have a great chart which you can print out which details the running schedule with plenty of tips. Zero To One Mile – SwimmingRunning and strength exercises aren’t for everyone though. Swimming, widely considered to be the best exercise because it gives you a full body work out, is a favourite of many people trying to get in shape. Swimming just one length of a pool is a challenge for some people so one mile might seem light years away. However, with the Zero to One Mile program you could achieve that target in a few weeks.
The website, however basic, is packed with valuable information for swimmers including the essential chart to give you targets as well as track your goals. Along with a new Facebook support group this program also features a lot of information for adults learning how to swim for the first time and further challenges once you reach the one mile target. Obviously, as with any fitness program, it’s the motivation and proper exercise that counts, not new workout machines or dietary supplements. All you need to get fit is a good training schedule and your body. The above programs should get you well on your way to achieving that. Is there another free online fitness program that you prefer? If so, let us know about it in the comments. Image Credit: Brass n'Roll Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| 6 Twitter Web Applications That Help Us With Our Questions & Answers Posted: 19 Mar 2010 10:31 AM PDT
Of course, there are dedicated community boards and Q&A websites that help a great deal to tap into the collective consciousness, but with the microblogging phenomenon called Twitter, another channel has opened up. How helpful are these Q&A web services? For that I won't send you elsewhere but plug a bit about our very own MakeUseOf Answers section. Sample the questions and the prompt responses from our community of readers and you will realize that there's someone out there who can answer what has stumped you.
Do ask those who are following you for the solution that's vexing you. If that fails, here are six Twitter question and answer web applications that can help you dip into Twitter's collective pool of wisdom. TwitQA
TwitQA is a Twitter-based question and answer web application that lets you write a 140 character limited question and post it in any of the categories on the site. The categories also help to put all questions in context. The site also displays the best questions and best answers. There are a few more filters like Question Spy which fetch conversations based on prefixes like Who, When, How, Why etc and certain other hashtags. Twitter easily allows you to catch conversations as and when they are happening. Create a Poll allows you to catch opinions in a more figurative way and with the real time speed of Twitter. LazyTweet
Tweet your question, and add the words 'lazytweet' or 'lazyweb' in it. The inclusions can be as #lazytweet (or #lazyweb), or a reply @lazytweet (or @lazyweb), or simply include the specific words. LazyTweet scours the Twitter streams and picks them up and makes them available to the users who are following LazyTweet. Putting a question out via LazyTweet also makes it easier to track using tags. TweetBrain
Sign in with your Twitter account and type your question in the box provided. TweetBrain is a bit different because it also allows you to specify a reward for the correct answer to your question. You can pick a category for your question and also set a deadline to close it. Answers also can be protected by the responder or the questioner, so that they are only visible to both and not to the rest of the crowd. As the TweetBrain's FAQ states, you get the advantage of a larger audience to come up with a solution for you. Generally, any question posted directly on Twitter with hashtag – #help, #needhelp, and #question, or if it contains 'anybody knows' gets picked up by TweetBrain and displayed on the site. The most appealing part is of course the angle of a reward. TweetBrain credits your account and gives you the good news with a tweet. TweetRSVP
TweetRSVP is a search engine with a difference. TweetRSVP searches for and catches the tweets which are asking something and tweets that are offering something like jobs, rewards or freebies. The Twitter question and answer web app displays the queries as Questions Tweeted and the other 'more interesting' part as Offers Tweeted. You can also do a search for either using the site's search box. TweetRSVP gives you the platform to reply directly through Twitter.com or copy and pasting it to your Twitter client. You can also register for receiving emails alerts that mention tweets based on the key words that you select. RSVP by the way, means 'Répondez s’il vous plaît', a French term that means 'Answer please'. Twook4It
Twook4It doesn't let you ask a question but it searches Twitter for tweets that indicate if someone is looking for something. It can be a medical cure, an apartment or simple happiness, but you can help out with an answer if you have one. You can search all the past tweets for solutions and hopefully apply them to your own problem. Twttrstrm
This service is an offshoot of Squidoo and it lets you create a Squidoo lens (a page) around the answers that you get for your query. Twttrstrm creates a hashtag for the particular question and all replies that use the hashtag find a place on the special page for the question. It is akin to threading all responses together and placing them on a single page. Ultimately, this is like a normal Squidoo lens where you can place the other Squidoo modules and also monetize it. Social networking tools are about keeping in touch. But at a deeper level they are proving themselves as digital genies. Maybe they aren't granting us all our wishes, but they are surely helping us by indicating part of the way. Twitter is spawning many tools that help to exploit the collective wisdom around us. These six are just examples which are helping us to reach out to a bigger crowd than our immediate followers and touch base with other Twitter users out there. The ultimate advantage is that we get solutions and friends in the same 140 character spaced box. Do you like to ask or answer on Twitter? Perhaps, a bit of both. In that case, do you have a Twitter tool in mind? 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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| Create Your Own Niche Q&A Site With Qhub Posted: 19 Mar 2010 09:31 AM PDT
Websites like Yahoo! Answers and Blurtit have filled a market niche, where the clueless are paired with amateur professionals. But the creators of Blurtit believed the potential of Q&A was still being underestimated. Rather than just a single niche – the mainstream audience targeted by Answers and Blurtit – they saw a need for more specialized groups. Especially the most wayward and atypical communities could make use of such a Q&A platform.
QhubQhub, developed by the Blurtit guys, is such a platform. It can be used by anyone to create their own highly customized Q&A sites to handle visitor questions and answers. Even you can, and in a matter of minutes. Right now, those sites are still hosted locally by Qhub, but even so, they can be easily integrated with other, existing sites.
In general, Qhub looks a lot like the mainstream Q&A sites, with a few remarkable differences. For starters, Qhub lets you choose between a public, or private community. For the more tech-savvy amongst us, Qhub also features a developer API. How To Create Your Own Q&A SiteSo how do you create a Q&A site like that? It’s very easy, and hardly takes longer than creating an email address. We’ll walk you through the process.
On the Qhub site, start by naming your hub, and picking a suitable URL. You’ll be redirected to the page pictured above. If necessary, you can change the name, but also supply relevant tags and a tagline. Remember we talked about a private option? Here you’ll be able to choose between community- or personal Q&A. The latter one ensures that you can only answer questions yourself. Next, you can make your hub public or private, where only invited people can join in.
These hubs are highly customizable, and it isn’t too hard to make them fit in with an existing site or brand identity. There are four main themes, and you can specify the color scheme of each. More importantly, you can also upload custom background and header pictures.
Adding questions at this stage is optional, but it gets your site running and looks a lot better than lorem ipsum. With the tags specified at the start, Qhub will look for matching existing questions, which you can add with a flick of the mouse. Adjust the tags to look for better matching questions. Surprisingly, I was even able to find a number of questions for my dummy Q&A concept. The last step, also optional, allows you to invite people from your email address book, and pair your hub with Facebook and Twitter.
Five minutes well spent, you’ve now got your own Q&A hub! You can proceed by adding more questions, aggregate an audience, or work on your website integration. What’s your personal opinion of Qhub? We’d love to hear from you! Did you like the post? Please do share your thoughts in the comments section!
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| How To Install Java For Windows Mobile Posted: 19 Mar 2010 08:31 AM PDT
There is not much information out there on how to do this. But I have found JavaFX that can be installed on your Windows Mobile device. It also comes bundled with The Sun Java Wireless Client and several test applications.
JavaFX Mobile 1.2 For Windows Mobile
Click the check box next to JavaFX Mobile 1.2 for Windows Mobile and then check the box that says I agree below it. Then click the download button. That will download the 5.2MB zip file. Inside the zip file you will find a directory called DIST and below that BIN. In the BIN directory there will be a CAB file that you can install on your device. If you are downloading the zip directly to your phone, skip to the next step. If you are extracting on your PC, drag the SUN_JAVAFX.CAB out of the archive and copy it to your device.
If you copied the zip directly to your device, find the zip file and open it with Zip Mobile by clicking on it.
Then select the CAB file and double click on it to execute the installer.
I strongly recommend you use your device's memory for installing Java unless you have a fast memory card. It uses about 8 MB of space.
Next you will see a progress bar as JavaFX installs. It took about 3 minutes on my HTC Tilt 2 running Windows Mobile 6.5
JavaFX will let you know when it is completely installed. You will see the message below when you are ready to launch JavaFX.
Now you will need to locate the program file. I found mine in my start menu. If yours is not there (depending on your version of Windows Mobile) then you will need to navigate to your Program Files directory and find JavaFX. Click on JavaFX to start it up. You will see a file menu inside JavaFX. There are a few bundled Java applications such as a calculator, DisplayShelfMode, Fish Simulator and Twitter Mobile. These applications are here to show you the power of Mobile Java as well as allowing you to test your Windows Mobile ability to run Java applications.
Go ahead and attempt to run one of them by clicking on it. You will see a JavaFX splash screen like you see below. When that disappears you will see your application.
I chose the Fishing Simulator. It allows you to click on the water or fish and create ripples in the water. This is not like any fishing I know. Creating ripples would frighten the fish off – wouldn't it? But anyway you get the idea that Java is functioning on your Windows Mobile device.
You can load other Java applications from the programs main menu as you can see below:
You can also create folders, manage network options and certificates. Enjoy fellow Windows Mobile users! For more Windows Mobile tips and tricks, check out my Windows Mobile manual that I wrote. Related posts
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