MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [September 4th]” plus 6 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [September 4th]
- Top 5 Websites with Fun and Insightful Psychological Tests
- Money-saving App Ookong Debuts for Safari and Updates Chrome Extension
- Hot Tech Deals [Sep 4th]
- Gmail’s Priority Inbox Solves The Bacn Problem
- 10 Cool Full Length Amateur Movies on YouTube
- Speck CandyShell iPad Case Giveaway Winners
| Cool Websites and Tools [September 4th] Posted: 04 Sep 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. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
    
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| Top 5 Websites with Fun and Insightful Psychological Tests Posted: 04 Sep 2010 06:30 PM PDT
There aren’t silly pop psychology tests that have no basis in fact; they’re legitimate psychological tests that are either backed by significant research or are actually parts of ongoing studies that are using your results to obtain more data. They’ll help you dig into your mind and explore your subconscious, memorization abilities, personality, and much more. BBC’s TestsThe BBC has a surprisingly large collection of free psychological tests online. The subjects that they cover really run the gamut: you can find out how good your memory is, whether you experience synesthesia, what sex your brain is, and much more.
Many of the tests are parts of ongoing studies, so rest assured that the results you’re getting are coming directly from professional psychologists and researchers. Cognitive FunCognitive Fun is an excellent website with tons of unique psychological tests. Many will test your reaction time and memorization abilities, and you’ll also find the classic Stroop color test on the site.
One of the site’s best features is that you can register an account and save your stats on all of the site’s tests. Then you can compare your results to those of everyone else who took the tests. Jung Typology TestThe Jung Typology Test reveals your personality type using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a well-established personality test first published in 1962.
Results of the test will provide you with four letters that summarize your personality type (don’t worry, it also explains, in detail, what those letters and your particular type actually mean). You’ll also find out what famous people had your personality type. Project ImplicitProject Implicit is an excellent Harvard study that may reveal your subconscious biases regarding race, gender, religion, and more. It does this by requiring you to distinguish between different images and words and group them into correct categories. For example, in the race test, you have to distinguish between faces of European and African origin and good words (like “joy” and “love”) and bad words (like “agony” and “terrible”). Then you have to group bad words and images of European American faces together and good words and images of African American faces together (and vice versa). Face ResearchThe face research tests also primarily use images of faces. Here, however, you are making choices like whether faces look healthier, more trustworthy, or more attractive.
To participate in the tests you have to either register an account or login as a guest. These tests could reveal how you subconsciously assume things about the people you’ve just met based only on very subtle changes in their faces. ConclusionPsychological tests are both fun and can reveal a lot about us. If you want more information behind the results that you’re getting from these tests, consider checking out some informative psychology websites. In all of your pursuits to better understand yourself and the workings of your mind, I wish you luck. Image source: Obscenity Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| Money-saving App Ookong Debuts for Safari and Updates Chrome Extension Posted: 04 Sep 2010 03:30 PM PDT
The Ookong team has made new developments with their service, including a brand-new extension for Safari and a substantially updated extension for Google Chrome. In this article, I'll show you how to use Ookong to save some of your hard-earned cash when shopping at Amazon, and cover some features you might not have seen before. Ookong for SafariNow that Safari supports extensions, you can enjoy some sweet money-saving goodness while using Apple's browser. First up, make sure to install the latest version of Safari from Apple's download site. While you can get Ookong from the Safari Extensions Gallery, you should get it from Ookong's official Safari homepage to install the newest version (as of this writing, version 1.6.0 was available from Ookong.com while only 1.1 was available in the Safari Extensions Gallery). Click the link in "Please get the latest version from here", as shown below.
Once you've installed Ookong, you'll have a new icon in your toolbar (a big K). Clicking this button will instantly pull up a search box where you can look for anything on Amazon.com. You can also enter a friend's email address to view their Amazon Wish List, which is great for finding deals on gifts.
When you find something you're interested in, simply click the Follow it button and Ookong will automatically track that product's price history and provide you with alerts when the price drops!
To see a product's price history, click the Graph button. This allows you to observe any trends the item might currently be experiencing and make better decisions about when to purchase. If it's at an all-time high, you might want to Follow the item and come back later.
All of the features I just mentioned are also available when using Amazon normally. The Ookong browser button will change to a graph, where you will once again see historical price information and have the option to follow the item.
Ookong for Chrome, UpdatedWhen I first covered Ookong for Chrome, it was missing some features that were available in the Firefox version. Not anymore, however – Ookong version 1.5 for Chrome offers everything its open-source counterpart offers. To install Ookong for Chrome, head over to its Chrome Extension page and click the blue Install button.
After installation, a new icon will be in your toolbar (bearing the familiar Ookong logo). Clicking this icon brings up Ookong's Amazon search just like in the aforementioned Safari extension.
When browsing a product listing on Amazon, the Ookong for Chrome icon will show a red badge when price history is available. From here, you can follow items to receive price drop notifications and also view historical data.
ConclusionWe're all looking to save a little money nowadays, and shopping online is often much cheaper than shopping in brick-and-mortar stores. With Ookong, you can get the upper hand on the ebb and flow of prices on your favorite products, letting you know exactly when you should make your next purchase. And with historical data, you'll be much less inclined to make an impulse purchase! If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out the rest of our articles about browsing tools! Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!
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| Posted: 04 Sep 2010 01:15 PM PDT
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated. Keep reading to find out today’s Hot Tech Deals.
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| Gmail’s Priority Inbox Solves The Bacn Problem Posted: 04 Sep 2010 12:31 PM PDT
The service recently added free phone calls from your browser. It long ago made spam a thing of the past, something other email services have now almost caught up with completely. And now, with the new Priority Inbox, Gmail is taking care of bacn - those annoying yet not unrequested emails that tend to clutter our inbox, getting in the way of emails you need to attend to now. This is done by dividing your into “priority emails”, “starred emails” and “everything else.” Enabling Gmail Priority InboxOpen up your Gmail and you just might find an invitation to use Priority Inbox. It will be in the top left, beside the settings button. Go ahead and click it if you want to use the new service; check out the screenshots below if you’re not sure yet.
Enabling the service will refresh your Gmail session, bringing you to an inbox divided into three categories: Priority Inbox, Starred and Everything Else. Longtime Gmail users will doubtless recognize the “Starred” section. It simply shows messages you’ve starred in the past. The new priority section, however, is different. It is programed to only show you emails that you actually need to respond to quickly. For me, this means email from other MakeUseOf writers as well as iSupportU clients. In the “Everything Else” category I can find newsletters from companies I subscribed to, forwards from friends and the occasional survey I might be interested in doing. Stuff that isn’t important, but isn’t spam. Like this:
You can hide any one of these categories by clicking the “minus” button to their right. Or, if you want to go back to your standard inbox, you can just click “Inbox” in the left panel to bring it up. ConfigurationYou’ll find a configuration page for the feature in “Settings,” once you add it. It looks like this:
As you can see, the three main fields on the priority page are completely configurable. You can remove the “Starred” field, or replace it with emails from a particular tag. This could be useful if you manage more than one email address with your Gmail account, and want to keep the email in seperate categories. Personal OrganizingNaturally, a feature like this is only useful if you actually stay on top of your email. If you’re the kind of person who has 51,576 unread emails they never intend to get to, Gmail Priority Inbox probably isn’t for you. I, however, find the feature quite useful as a personal organization tool. My email acts as a to-do list in many ways; I only keep things I need to respond to there and archive or delete everything else. The priority inbox feature hides stuff I don’t need to be thinking about, allowing me to stick to only the stuff that matters while I’m busy without giving me the option of reading the other stuff later. Additionally, the built-in starred view in this mode allows me to keep longer-term projects in view everytime I look at my email. My new job as the editor of MakeUseOf’s PDF Manuals leaves me with many long-term projects I need to keep track of. I keep emails related to these projects in my Starred section to help me remember to follow up with the writers periodically. But enough about me. What do you think you could use the Gmail priority inbox feature for? Or are you already using it? Feel free to discuss any of this, or how you’re just sick of tech bloggers talking about how great Gmail is, in the comments below. I’ll join right in, because I love hanging out with you guys. Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.
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| 10 Cool Full Length Amateur Movies on YouTube Posted: 04 Sep 2010 10:31 AM PDT
The movies will make you laugh, will make you think, and some will simply leave you in awe. We’ve sifted through a long long list of movies on YouTube and selected a few that stood out. Bartholomew’s SongBartholomew’s Song, a 10 minute student film, is A Brave New World-esque story about the consequences of individuality in a society in which conformity is the norm. Through music, Bartholomew 467 finds a sense of individuality and you’d be surprised at the unexpected twist in such a short film. A great short that will make you think. The Sound MachineThe Sound Machine, based on the short story by Roald Dahl, is a thought provoking and beautifully made 10 minute short film. The lack of dialogue, coupled with some of the sound effects and music may be unnerving for some, but the film has an interesting and compelling message. A must for all Roald Dahl fans, but definitely not for the faint of heart. Fifty People, One QuestionMore of a journalistic endeavour than a film, Fifty People, One Question deserves a place on this list just for how beautifully it has been made. As the title suggests, in the original film, they ask 50 people one question – What would you wish to happen before the end of the day? It’s interesting to see people answer with a combination of spontaneity, superficiality, thoughtfulness, and honesty. It’s an interesting human experiment. The original video was shot in New Orleans, but there are quite a few other videos, with some additional questions, shot all over the world from New York, to London, to Perth. Heavenly AppealsIf you want a bit of animated fun, the short 2 minute film Heavenly Appeals will definitely bring a smile to your face. Appealing his case of Eternal Damnation, Raymond K. Hessle has high hopes for finally passing through the gates of Paradise. Or will he? DeadlineDeadline, a CGI car action short film, is more about special effects than plot. And that’s fine. In this Spanish film (subtitled in English of course), a man is instructed to steal a mysterious object, and a high speed car chase ensues. The film was created for a Lightwave 3D training course and shows you just how much can be done as far as computer generated special effects are concerned, even on an amateur level. There is a second version of the film in which professional actors dubbed the audio. Why?Why is a short monologue by one man, asking one question. You guessed it – Why? Why am I here? The film is a brilliant combination of elements that will keep you on the edge of your seat. We won’t say more than that because we’d end up giving it away. Why was shortlisted for a Thinksync Award in 2008. Love and HamburgersLove and Hamburgers is a sweet short film about two neighbours leaving short messages for each other on each other’s doorsteps. Will it have a happy ending? Watch to find out. ControlControl is a short film where the screen is split in two. Think of it as the Short Film version of Sliding Doors. It starts in 1981, with a mother telling her daughter not to go outside because it’s too cold. The film takes a look at the concept of how the smallest of decisions can shape your entire life. An Inclusive SocietyJust under one minute, this film from India aims to convey the message, “Ignorance of the Ability brings Disability.” The film deals with a very sensitive topic, but does so in a thought provoking way. MemoriesMemories is an award winning student film, just over 2 minutes long. The story follows a man as he walks through the street, finding rolls of film – representing his memories. A combination of striking cinematography and beautiful original music by a Slovenian band make for a very touching film. What are your favourite amateur movies on YouTube? Let us know in the comments. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| Speck CandyShell iPad Case Giveaway Winners Posted: 04 Sep 2010 10:00 AM PDT
But for now, let’s find out who won themselves a brand spanking new CandyShell iPad case! And the winners are… Congratulations! An email has been sent to your inbox. Please reply with your shipping address and we’ll make sure that your iPad case reaches you! MakeUseOf would like to thank the fabulous team over at Speck for their generosity while participating in this giveaway. Interesting in sponsoring? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us via email. NEW: Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!
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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 
I intend to open up to you the corners of the internet that can help tap into the darkest corners of your own mind. Last month, I brought you 
To get accurate results, you have to sort quickly. Based on whether or not you make mistakes when grouping images, the test purports to reveal whether you may have a subconscious preference for faces of European or African origin. The results of this test and others on Project Implicit may astonish and unsettle you.
Ookong is a free application that helps you find the best deals on Amazon, and it's so useful that I've mentioned it in two of my previous articles about saving money when shopping online (
When the price of an item on your Follow list drops, you'll see a notification on the Ookong icon (shown on the right). You can also view items you're currently watching by clicking the Ookong button and selecting Follow List. The Follow List will show you current prices as well as historical highs and lows.
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 tech deals and unifying them into a single post for your convenience.
I don’t need to explain my love for 
The art of the short film may be the most underrated film style today, although with our 21st century attention spans, they are the ideal way to pass 5 or 10 minutes of spare time. 
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