MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [May 16th]” plus 5 more

Cool Websites and Tools [May 16th]
Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends!
Have You Used The Mobile MakeUseOf.com? [MakeUseOf Poll]
Hot Tech Deals [May 16th]
5+ Free MP3 Downloads To Play On A Lazy Day
The 4 Must Have Google Android Applications For Students

Posted: 16 May 2010 08:31 PM PDT

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.

List Your Website Here!

SaveMyNing – Now that Ning have announced that they will be phasing out the free networks in their site, SaveMyNing is a website that offers a backup system so that you can still access a static version of your site. However, since it's just a backup, you cannot upload or add new posts in your network. Read more: SaveMyNing: Backup Service For Your Ning Network.

		CaptureFullpage – There are several web services that provide automatic screen captures of webpages, however not all of them support full page screenshots. CaptureFullPage is a simple and lightweight web app that lets you easily obtain full page screenshots of any website. Read more: CaptureFullPage: Capture Full Page Screenshots For Any Website.

		FashionAdExplorer – Are you a fashion aficionado or just interested in finding out the latest in the fashion scene? FashionAdExplorer is a website that compiles latest fashion ads and campaigns from various sources such as websites, submissions, books, magazines, and others. Read more: FashionAdExplorer: Browse The Latest Fashion Ads.

		Plank – Have you ever faced a situation where you require public opinion and the best possible answers to your questions? Plank is here to solve all of your query problems; with this small nifty Twitter-based web app you can get many public opinions in a matter of time. Read more: Plank: An Easy Way To Get Answers To Your Questions.

		SuperGenPass – SuperGenPass is a nifty bookmarklet that uses a universal/master password to generate many complex passwords for different website accounts. In order to remember passwords just install SuperGenPass on any computer and gain access to all your online passwords right away. Read more: SuperGenPass: Browser Based Password Manager.

List Your Website Here!

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.

We NEED Your Comments!!! Please do share your thoughts in article comments.

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Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends!

Posted: 16 May 2010 06:31 PM PDT

It's time to say thanks to MakeUseOf’s friends who, once in a while, tip us great story ideas, help out on different projects and in some cases offer their services at discounted prices. Thank you, guys!

ShrinkTheWeb – Website Screenshot Thumbnail Service

Ever wanted to add website screenshots to your website? In my professional opinion ShrinkTheWeb is one of the best services for that, both in terms of performance and pricing. The free account gets you a whopping 250,000 impressions with nearly no delay. See it in action in our daily Cool Websites and Tools series.

Walyou – Cool Gadgets for Geeks

Walyou is a fun blog covering all sorts of new cool gadgets and other stuff every geek is likely to find entertaining. Everything from world’s largest Gunny Bears to E-hookah gadgets. Make sure to check them out.

PXLEyes – Photoshop Contests and Tutorials

The place for graphical artists! An awesome community with one common interest: a big passion for computer graphics! There are contests, prizes, tutorials, forums and an active community!

Pair – Reliable Web Hosting

Finding the right hosting provider is VERY important. Along with choosing the right domain name it's the most important decision you have to make at the beginning. Here at MakeUseOf when someone asks for hosting advice we always recommend Pair. Speedy servers, excellent tech support, over 99.95% guaranteed uptime.

rade | eccles – iPhone Application Development

The perfect iPhone development team, rade | eccles managed to put our iPhone app together in record time yet exude professionalism and dedication every step of the way. Our collaboration wasn’t happenstance. We would make the same decision all over again. Our only recommendation for an iPhone developer – rade | eccles.

Thank you, guys!

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Have You Used The Mobile MakeUseOf.com? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Posted: 16 May 2010 03:31 PM PDT

Last week we asked you if you are a paperless person. The top answer, at a whopping 52%, was that you were trying to become paperless, and you were trying to get your bills online instead.

Only 22% of you said you were completely paperless and 13% said you may try going paperless in the near future. Only 4% of you claimed not to know what we were talking about!

This week, we are asking you if you have ever used the mobile version of MakeUseOf.com?

For those of you who did not know about MakeUseOf's mobile site, its URL is http://m.makeuseof.com and can be accessed from any mobile device. The site is then optimized for your small mobile phone screen.

More and more people are accessing the web on their mobile phones or netbooks. Do you use mobile websites or do you always use the real full featured site? We are curious to know who is using what and how often.

Please answer the poll below, and if you have any questions about our mobile site, let us know in the comments.

Have you used the Mobile version of MakeUseOf.com?online survey

Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!

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Hot Tech Deals [May 16th]

Posted: 16 May 2010 01:46 PM PDT

If you’re in the market for a new computer, laptop, mobile phone, games and other accessories; don’t waste your time searching online. We’ve taken the liberty of locating the best deals tech deals and unifying them into a single post for your convenience.

For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.

Image credit: Modified from Svengraph’s icon set

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5+ Free MP3 Downloads To Play On A Lazy Day

Posted: 16 May 2010 12:31 PM PDT

free mp3 music downloads When was the last time you enjoyed a lazy day? Just you, no appointments, and no obligations. What did you do?

How about listening to some relaxing music? Here is a selection of relaxing songs from five different artists from varied backgrounds. A mix of genres, including grunge, blues, soul, bluegrass, and electronica, guarantees that you won’t get bored.

In case you like the songs I picked and you’re wondering where I can download these as free MP3s, you’ll be pleased to see that further material to fill your mp3 player is available on the respective homepages. Enjoy the music and let us know what you think!

The Sky Drops – Swimming With Fishes

Genre: gaze-grunge

The Sky Drops is a duo formed by two artists from Delaware, who have previously played in various bands. Their first EP Clouds of People became available in 2006. The song Swimming with Fishes is from their debut album Bourgeois Beat, which was released in August 2009.

Download this song and several more from their homepage.

The Sky Drops MySpace and Homepage.

Blueprint – Deeper Shade Of Blue

Genre: blues

Blueprint has been around since 2002. They are covering a wide range of styles and artists, mixed with original songs of their own. Deeper Shade of Blue is a very relaxed blues song that lasts for seven minutes.

Preview and download from their homepage, where you’ll find many more free MP3s.

Blueprint Homepage.

Tom Fox – Wait

Genres: rhythm & blues, jazz, gospel, soul

Tom Fox released his EP Ocean’s Caress in October 2009. Two of the four songs can be downloaded legally from his website. All songs are available through MySpace. It’s the perfect background music for a rainy and lazy Sunday.

Download the song from his homepage and find one more free track there.

Tom Fox MySpace and Homepage.

The Mighty Ghosts – Look Down That Lonesome Road

Genre: bluegrass

The Mighty Ghosts interpret old-time music and perform their own material, using a very diverse combination of instruments. Their arrangements accommodating ukuleles, fiddle, standup bass, tenor banjo, mountain dulcimer, and countless percussion instruments make for a unique sound.

The melancholic song Look Down That Lonesome Road is from their self-titled album The Mighty Ghosts of Heaven, released in 2007. Since the departure of a founding member earlier this year, they have renamed themselves to simply The Mighty Ghosts.

Preview and download this and other songs from their homepage.

The Mighty Ghosts MySpace and Homepage.

Nehoryn – Golden Hyphen

Genres: electronica, pop, alternative

Nehoryn is an artist from France, releasing his work under the Creative Commons License (CC BY.NC.ND). He also founded the independent label “Hack My Music!”.

Preview and download the title track and the entire album Golden Hyphen from his homepage. Right-click on each track and select > Download This Track to download select songs or look for the > Download with Dogmazic link on the right for a ZIP download of the full album.

Nehoryn MySpace and Homepage.

Would you like to be featured on MakeUseOf with your music? Or is there a band you would like to recommend? Feel free to send me a link (tina at makeuseof dot com) or post it in the comments below.

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The 4 Must Have Google Android Applications For Students

Posted: 16 May 2010 10:31 AM PDT

android phone applications There are many aspects of studying, all requiring their own habitat and instruments. Most importantly, there’s note-taking, studying, and exercising.

All of these come with specialised tool-sets. Each rendering additional costs and practical difficulties.

Most people don’t realize how powerful their smart phone really is – and how diverse the applications are.

It’s often hard to find the right applications for the job. To get you started, here are four incredible Google Android phone applications that every student should know of.

1. Evernote

Evernote is, or should be, known to practically every computer-user. It’s a cross-platform note-taking application that knows no equal. There are mobile Evernote clients available for your iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android, allowing you to create new, or view older notes, literally wherever you are.

android phone applications

Apart from regular text notes, you can also create audio notes, upload a file, or take a snapshot. The most remarkable is Evernote’s ability to recognize, and make text in images fully searchable. There’s only one downside; the capped monthly bandwidth.

Mark reviewed Evernote in full detail a few months back in December.

2. RealCalc

That phone you’re holding has a power exceeding many older computer systems. And yet there’s an incredibly simplistic calculator, hardly allowing you to do anything more complicated than division and multiplication. If you’re allowed to use your cell phone in class, your Android can be a nifty replacement for that (almost as expensive) scientific calculator.

android phone applications

RealCalc, a free Android application, does everything you’d expect from your HP or Texas scientific calculator – and often a lot quicker as well. Some of the features include trigonometry, factorials, permutations and combinations. As a surplus, RealCalc also comes with a multi-purpose unit converter.

3. StudyDroid

Taking notes or making scientific predictions doesn’t cover all there is. If you’re studying languages, it doesn’t even come close. A lot of your time will actually be spent trying to memorize heaps and heaps of data. Flashcards are an always-popular simple studying system. Read the notes on one side of the card, and try to guess what’s on back.

android applications

StudyDroid doesn’t do away with this time-tested system, but rids you of the need for pen and paper. With your Android phone in your pocket, you can continue studying at any given time – in the car, or in another (admittedly boring) seminar.

Additionally, registering for an account allows you to download other people’s flash cards, or synchronize your own sets.

4. Thinking Space

Another hugely popular studying (and note-taking) system are mind maps – diagrams used to represent words and ideas. These aren’t limited to studying. Whenever you can’t manage to jot down your thoughts in a linear fashion, try graphically. It has helped many to see through otherwise confusing theories.

android applications

Thinking Space works very intuitively, better even than a lot of PC and web alternatives. It allows you to create schemes unrestricted by your worksheet. Zoom in, out, or use colored nodes to create order out of that chaos.

Do you know any other cool Android phone applications that could be of use to fellow students? Tell us what you’re using, and why, in the comments section below!

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