Thursday, November 4, 2010

MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [November 3rd]” plus 14 more

MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [November 3rd]” plus 14 more

Link to MakeUseOf.com

Cool Websites and Tools [November 3rd]

Posted: 03 Nov 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. You can make use of them without spending a dime. If you want to have similar cool websites round-ups delivered to your email daily email subscribe here.

Add Your Website Here!

 

GPU Review – Thanks to today's graphics card technology, computer graphics and visuals are better than ever before. The best part is that GPUs keep improving each day. Whether you are a computer gamer looking for the next greatest card or a technology enthusiast wanting to stay updated on GPUs, you will find GPU Review to be immensely helpful. Read more: GPUReview: Find The Latest GPU News & Reviews

 

FishProfiles – Whether you maintain a full sized fish aquarium or a simple fish bowl with a single goldfish, you will need to learn to take care of fish if you want yours to survive. What to feed your fish and aquarium cleaning techniques are only a few of the things a fish owner should know about. On FishProfiles, you can view all tips on taking care of your fish. Read more: FishProfiles: Provides Advice & Tips On Taking Care Of Fish

 

 

MacroGlossa – Do you have an image of an object you cannot identify? You could ask others to look at the picture and try identifying the object; but they might also not know. MacroGlossa is a web service that has come up with a brilliant solution to this problem. MacroGlossa is an image comparison website. Read more: MacroGlossa: Find Similar Images & Identify Objects In Images

 

 

Blue Backlinks – One of the most important elements of SEO and website popularity are the backlinks generated for each piece of web content. Blue Backlinks is a web app that allows you to check the backlinks for a particular website. This website backlinks checker lists down all of the inbound links for a website that you indicated. Read more: BlueBacklinks: Website Backlinks Checker Online

 

 

WriteMaps – For web developers, a sitemap is the required plan before they begin building a website. A sitemap displays how the webpages on the site will flow and what their connections will be. WriteMaps is a wonderful visual sitemap creator to easily create and share sitemaps. The map can be exported as XML code or as JSON code and saved in a text file for later recovery. Read more: WriteMaps: Cool Visual Sitemap Creator

 

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.


Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Latest Hilarious Picks [MakeUseOf Geeky Fun]

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 07:31 PM PDT

 

Check out the top picks from MakeUseOf Geeky Fun during the last week.

  1. What a Television is For (Pic)
  2. But, are you ready to do Ctrl + Z ? (Pic)
  3. "My world with PSD" (Video)
  4. Internet Tough Guy Syndrome (Pic)
  5. iBelieve: iPod For The Pope (Pic)
  6. Unborn Facebook User (Pic)
  7. Effectiveness of computer problem solving techniques(Pic)

If you would like to keep up with all latest Geeky Fun additions, please subscribe to the Geeky Fun feed here. You can also subscribe and get the latest additions via email.

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Elago Tire Tread Silicon Case for iPhone 4 Review and Giveaway

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 07:21 PM PDT

About slightly over a month ago, we featured some iPhone cases from Elago — the S4 BREATHE to be exact. I personally thought that these perforated snap on cases were a hoot. They were pleasant to look at, insanely light and easy to put on and take off. Now, we’re going to look into another iPhone 4 case from Elago, and that’s the Tire Tread Silicon Case for the iPhone 4.

They come and black and translucenty-white; and are just the thing if you’re looking for a stylish out-of-the-ordinary iPhone 4 case. We’re giving six of these beauties away so chime in if you want to score one for yourself. And this time, your chances are pretty good.


But first, as with all giveaways, we’ll take the mandatory initial look at the product to ensure that what we’re offering you is top notch. And the Tire Tread Silicon Case by Elago doesn’t disappoint.

The Tire Tread Silicon Case is designed to look like, well, tyre tread. Who knew? But don’t mock it because it’s actually quite stylish and eye-catching. It has that whole F1 thing happening and really makes the iPhone 4 a little more sporty. This case is perfect for trips to the gym. And with a soft, rubbery, silicon body; it’s the ultimate candidate for the occasion too.

If you’re thinking that it’s probably made out of low-grade silicon case, think again. This case can hold its own. The material doesn’t feel cheap and after using for it a while, I’m confident that it’ll last; probably longer than the iPhone can. The case itself isn’t very thick and not too soft. While encasing the iPhone, it doesn’t feel loose but isn’t very difficult to take off either.

I haven’t tried stretching it but I get the feeling that it won’t break or tear easily. So again, it’s quite durable. The only unpleasant encounter was the slightly stubborn power button that needs to be press a little harder than usual. Other than that, I have no complaints. Being silicon, it doesn’t really collect a lot of dust and isn’t very sticky.

While the black model is stylish, the only word that describe the white model appropriately is stunning. Seriously, look at it.

It’s made exactly the same. The silicon and the pattern are the same. The only difference is this being translucent. And you know what? It’s perfect for the white iPhone!

So, we’re giving six Elago Tire Tread Silicon cases away — that’s 3 black and 3 white models. Do you want one?

How do I enter?

It’s simple, just follow the instructions.


STEP 1

Join our Facebook page by liking us. If you’re already following us, you may skip this step.

If you can’t see the fanbox, click on this link.


STEP 2

Here’s our giveaway form. Please fill it in accurately. Be sure to enter your real email address so that we can get in touch if you are chosen as a winner. Click here if you can’t view the form.


STEP 3

You’re almost done. Now, all that’s left to do is to LIKE the post. This step is optional but why not spread the love?

And that’s it! You’re done!

Giveaway eligibility
You must be a fan of our Facebook page to enter;
Individuals who are over the age of 18. If you are under 18, get your parents to participate on your behalf;
Individuals who reside in a country embargoed by the United States; Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India are not permitted to enter.

This giveaway begins now and ends after 300 submissions. The winner will be selected at random and announced via email.

Spread the word to your friends and have fun!


Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Join MakeUseOf On Twitter!

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 07:00 PM PDT

If you have discovered MakeUseOf just recently and are one of our 330,000+ subscribers, consider following us on Twitter as well.

You’ll be notified everytime there is a new post on the MakeUseOf Blog, a web app review on the MakeUseOf Directory or something new on Geeky Fun.

Plus, we would love it if you would re-tweet the posts and discuss them, so more people get to know about us and join our community.

Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter Now

Thank you!


Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


2 Alternative File Managers You Should Really Check Out

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 06:31 PM PDT

comparison of file managersI have learned to love Windows Explorer from being able to map Skydrive on my desktop, but it can be slow at times, showing me that “Not Responding” message that I really dislike seeing. I’m almost positive that’s one of the reasons applications such as Explorer++ and other Windows Explorer replacement file managers exist. There’s even more dedicated file browsers for multimedia, as well as open-source alternatives, such as QMMander.

Here are two more file browsers that carry handy features that Windows Explorer lacks. The first one may even be hidden within your installed programs, while the second one is a new application with a twist.

7-Zip File Manager (Cross-Platform)

You probably already have downloaded one of the best file compression/decompression tools out there, 7-zip, which shines with its high compression rate (and fares well compared to other free file archivers), but did you know it also bundles a lightweight file manager? Me neither, up until it was mentioned on How-To Geek.

The 7-zip two-pane file manager just works and doesn’t get stuck like Windows Explorer might if you try to copy or move an enormous file around.

comparison of file managers

If you already have 7-zip installed, you can start using the file manager by simply typing ” 7″ in the Start Menu search box. If you want faster access, you can right-click on it > Send To > Desktop.

open source file managers

Best Features

  • No delays whatsoever: If you’re looking for a fast file manager, you’ve found it.
  • You can browse ISO files as if they were folders. In this screenshot, I’m browsing the ISO file that contains the setup file for Microsoft Expression Studio Ultimate, which I got free for being a student.
  • open source file managers

  • Quickly perform common tasks with keyboard shortcuts, including some that you usually need dedicated programs for.
  • open source file managers

  • Quickly navigate to frequently-accessed folders with keyboard shortcuts (by adding that folder to your Favorites).
  • best windows file managers

  • Change folder and file views with hotkeys (default view is Details).
  • best windows file managers

There’s also a way for you to omit the cascaded menu when you right-click on say a zip file and instead, have the 7-zip options when you right-click.

best windows file managers

To fix that, you just need to head to Tools in the File Manager menu bar and adjust your Options.

Nemo Documents (Windows)

Nemo Documents is also a lightweight, unobtrusive file manager that displays your file structure à la Google Calendar (which is supported!) or Outlook, that is, in a calendar view and provides more intuitive ways to find files, period. I can see the calendar view being useful to anyone that is GTD-conscious and may want to review files that s/he is working on.

Nemo Documents can also double up as a search tool as it integrates with the built-in Desktop Search function in Vista and Windows 7 to help you search for keywords or phrases inside documents.

Thus, as the author’s website indicates, if you can’t remember the name of some file, you can combine these keywords along with “other clues that you can remember about the document, such as a specific month or the file type” to help you find a file.

Windows 7 can bundle search results by month (as you can see in Jim’s screenshot), but now WinXP and Vista users can get this and additional views with the file manager in question.

Another cool thing is that you can tag or label files, regardless of the file type.

comparison of file managers

Usually, you can only add tags to Microsoft documents, JPEG images and nothing else in Windows Explorer, unless you are using third-party applications, such as TaggedFrog or Tag2Find. Thus, if you’re into tagging or could use more efficient file searches with tags, Nemo Documents might be for you.

Nemo Documents is as small as downloads come (the download file size is about 672 KB) and occupies 1.77 MB once installed. It seems like this product is pretty young so it might implement additional features later on as more feedback becomes available to the authors.

Have you got any alternative file browsers you’re extremely fond of? Share it with us in the comments!

Image credit: Andrew Currie


Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Spruce Up Your Linux Desktop With Screenlets

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 04:31 PM PDT

linux screenletsMaking better use of your desktop is all the rage these days. Windows users have Desktop Gadgets and Mac OS X users have Dashboard and its associated widgets.

There’s no reason Linux users can’t join the party too, and thanks to Screenlets you can pimp your desktop and make the most of that unused space. Once installed you can then choose from the many in-built widgets or download community-made contributions.

If you’ve already got an awesome theme, sexy dock and a set of icons to die for then Screenlets might just add that last bit of sparkle to your Linux desktop.

What Do They Do?

Screenlets simply enhances your desktop by providing access to useful organisational tools, web clips and system information. It can be anything from a basic clock that sits in the corner to a weather widget or your unread email count.

linux screenlets

These are perfect for adding extra functionality to a drab desktop. The customization possibilities are somewhat endless – you can choose where to put them, whether to lock them, display them on multiple desktops or simply have one desktop solely dedicated to these oh-so-useful widgets.

The current Screenlets release has support for widgets written for other platforms as well, including SuperKaramba themes, web widgets and Google Desktop Gadgets.

If you want eye candy and an endless stream of sexy looking widgets on your desktop then Screenlets are probably for you.

Installation

You can download the latest stable release for your particular operating system right here, or if you’re running Ubuntu can choose to install straight from the command line.

Simply open a new Terminal window (Applications, Accessories and then Terminal) and type:

sudo apt-get install screenlets

screenlets workspace

You will be prompted for your password, and then warned about how much space will be required. Hit “y” then Enter and Screenlets will be installed.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed you can launch the tool and start adding to your desktop by navigating your way to Applications, Accessories and then choosing Screenlets.

Usage

The main configuration window is fairly self-explanatory. All your available widgets are visible in the right-hand pane, and any you download and install from now on will appear alongside these. If you want to add a widget simply click it and then click Launch/Add.

screenlets workspace

There’s a handy search panel in case you end up installing hundreds and need quick access and the Options button will bring up a menu allowing you to specify the default attributes for each new item added to your desktop.

Once you’ve added a Screenlet you can then right click to bring up a menu allowing you to customize its behaviour. By choosing Properties you will be able to scale, add transparency, decide whether to stick it to every desktop (that’s Sticky, by the way) or lock it in place (with Lock) amongst other options.

screenlets workspace

If your widget has multiple themes (and most of the in-built offerings do) then you can also change the look from this menu.

I’d personally recommend the Terminal widget which embeds a Terminal window directly into your background and Sysmonitor which lets you know exactly what your machine is up to.

Download More Widgets

You’re undoubtedly going to get bored with what’s included, so if you’re after some more widgets here’s a few resources to get you started:

GNOME-Look.org – Screenlets
Widgets designed purely for use with Screenlets.

KDE-Look.org – SuperKaramba Themes
KDE-Look’s dedicated category of SuperKaramba Themes, which are fully compatible with Screenlets.

Google Desktop Gadgets
Google’s official repository for their Desktop Gadgets project.

With these three resources at your disposal you have access to literally thousands of potential widgets. To install a widget simply open Screenlets, click the Install button and select the file you have just downloaded. It should now be available for selection from the pane on the right.

Those of you daring enough to have a go at creating your own will probably benefit from reading this guide at the official wiki.

If you enjoyed this article you might enjoy my previous article about spicing up the rest of your Linux workspace and our round-up of the best Linux docks no money can buy.

Do you use Screenlets? Got any favourite widgets floating around your desktop? Let us know all about it in the comments.


Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


8 Best Websites For Quality HTML Coding Examples

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 02:31 PM PDT

html coding examplesEver since I first started learning about HTML back in the 90′s, I’ve always found it nearly impossible to find good, solid HTML examples on the Internet. It would have been nice to have a few websites that offer the latest, coolest dynamic website coding examples.

Well, a lot has changed since the 90′s, and the advent of dynamic web coding languages like PHP really make HTML old-school. Then again, you have to understand old-school HTML before you can understand the languages that dynamically create the HTML that browsers display.


Thankfully, there are now some awesome websites that do offer well-designed and useful HTML coding examples and tutorials. There are certainly still a whole lot of pretty crappy HTML-tutorial websites out there so I decided to pull together eight of my favorite websites. I should mention that MUO is probably the first place to start, with cool articles like Simon’s on basic HTML, Tina’s article on cool HTML effects, and Guy’s HTML tips to help your website load faster.

The following eight sites not only offer a good, solid foundation on HTML coding, but they also offer the best learning environment, with tools you can use to test out what you learn.

Top 8 Websites For HTML Coding Examples

HTML Dog

One of my favorite sites that I usually check first whenever I forget the basic syntax for HTML statements is HTML Dog. The site is well-designed, unlike 90 percent of the web design websites out there that look like they were built in the 1990′s and never updated.  The format is simple and fast – just click on the tutorial topic on the left and you can read it on the right.

html coding examples

HTML Dog provides clear examples in white code boxes which you can copy and paste into your own HTML code. When you’re ready for more advanced coding, you can scroll down the left menu and explore the “HTML Advanced” or CSS areas.

W3Schools

Now, while HTML Dog is my favorite when it comes to checking basic syntax, W3Schools is the place I usually go when I want to get a bit fancy with my web coding. It’s one of the more popular resources for all simple and dynamic coding examples, from PHP through XML and Javascript – but you’ll also find an awesome section filled with basic HTML coding examples.

The cool thing about W3Schools is that they’ve incorporated a useful split-screen tool where you can test out the code you learn in each lesson. Just tweak the HTML a bit, click “Edit and Click Me” and you’ll see the results in the area to the right. Very useful!

what is html coding

Quackit

Another site that’s on the same level as W3Schools in terms of usefulness and modern design is Quackit. Yes, the name is a little goofy, but the site provides volumes of helpful examples.

what is html coding

In the HTML area, you’ll find lots of example code in text boxes that you can highlight and copy – with the actual display effect shown in the “Example” column.  The HTML Generators at the bottom of the menu on the left are very useful for tweaking the code to the exact formatting you want.

LandOfCode

Another site that offers the useful split-screen tool for testing HTML code is LandOfCode. While the main site offers a fair number of HTML examples, the formatting of the site leaves a little bit to be desired. However, access to the useful split-screen HTML test area more than makes up for it.

what is html coding

This one is actually a little bit more advanced than the W3Schools tool because it has additional buttons that’ll let you view the results in a new window, not just in the display area to the right.

Ove Klykken

Another site that is actually pretty useful once you start branching out into the more advanced formatting areas is Ove Klykken’s blog.

html coding

While you’ll definitely find articles with basic HTML coding examples on the blog, the really cool thing about the site is the new, unique coding examples offered in CSS, such as a CSS photo gallery, rollover images or creating transparent images.

EchoEcho

A couple more websites that I wanted to touch on aren’t the best of the best – but they do stand above other HTML code sites because they’re well written, well formatted and cover the topic thoroughly. The first of those is EchoEcho.

html coding

This site is actually devoted to offering a lot more than tutorials – there’s a forum, articles and more. But the HTML tutorials area is really thorough and useful.

Java2s

The HTML/CSS section of the Java2s website is another example of valuable basic HTML information getting buried within advanced coding tutorials, but once you find it there are lots of useful HTML coding examples.

html coding

Webpages That Suck

Finally, because it’s always a good idea to learn how to code by seeing examples of how not to code, I have to give kudos to one of the most useful sites on the Internet that all students that are new to HTML should bookmark. The site is called WebPagesThatSuck.

html coding examples

Here, you’ll find examples of both good and bad web coding. Some of the daily web-design mistakes uncovered in the “Daily Sucker” section are pretty funny.

Do you know of any other really useful HTML example resources for web programmers that are just learning how to create webpages? Share your own resources in the comments section below.

Image credit: Ilker


Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Hot Tech Deals [Nov 3rd]

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 01:15 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 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.

Keep reading to find out today’s Hot Tech Deals.

  1. Kensington K33374US Wireless Presenter w/ Laser Pointer $24.99AR Free Shipping

  2. OCZ RevoDrive 120GB MLC Internal Solid State PCI-E Drive (Raid 0, SandForce) $294.99 Free Ship via code EMCYTZT217

  3. HP CW450TB 12MP 4X Digital Camera (Touchscreen) $79.99 Free Shipping

  4. Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 5400RPM 2.5in SATA Internal Hard Drive $49.99 Free Shipping

  5. TODAY ONLY Western Digital Elements 640GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive $69.99 Free Shipping

  6. Dane-Elec 8GB SDHC Flash Memory Card $8.89 Free Shipping

  7. TODAY ONLY Sharp AQUOS LC-42LE620UT 42in LED-Edgelit LCD HDTV (1080p, 120Hz) $679.99 Free Shipping

  8. Altec Lansing FX2020 Expressionist Classic 2.0ch Multimedia Speakers $24.26

  9. TODAY ONLY JBL Onstage MP3 Player Micro Speaker $44.99 Free Shipping

Image credit: Modified from Svengraph’s icon set


NEW: Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Catch The News On A World Map With These 7 Map-Based News Aggregators

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 12:31 PM PDT

map based newsNews always finds its place on the map. But we are going to talk in a more literal sense here when we discuss ways to view news on a world map. The large number of choices alone have made digesting news a click and read affair. But if we do not limit ourselves to a few selected tools, we can lose ourselves in a deluge of information.

Just check out all the news apps we have covered over the years; with the sheer number of apps you don't have an excuse anymore to remain unknowing. So, where do map based news aggregators fit in?


Map based news aggregators' present news as a cluster on an online map. One advantage is that you can see newsworthy locations at a glance. The second is that map and news mashup tools allow you to quickly narrow down to the local news of any place you are interested in.

So, let's go around with these map based news apps and see some headlines around the world.

Mapeas

map based news

Mapeas brings video news and puts it on a Google Map. It syndicates news from sources like Associated Press, Fox, NBC etc. The Google Map is spotted with markers which are clickable. The markers are also category specific. Magnify on a region to find more markers; the numbered markers indicate the number of news clips in that area.

Clicking on a marker pops up a box with a news brief and a video thumbnail. If you find that the news clip is not accurate for the area, you can mark it as misplaced. (See Directory mention).

Buzztracker

news mapping

Buzztracker is a more 'diagnostic' tool because it allows you to see the relationships between major happenings around the world. The news app tracks English language news sources and presents the news interlinks on a Google powered map.

Cities which get higher news coverage get larger circles. News connections are shown by lines, and thicker lines stands for deeper links between the news sources. Clicking on a location takes you to an index page which mentions the city and the percentage of news associated with it. Associated locations and the news articles are mentioned alongside.

NewsWorldMap

news mapping

The Google Maps mashup puts news sourced from Google News on locations around the world. The interactive map also uses the geographical database of Geonames.org for location information. The site is very simple, you just have to point your mouse at a spot on the map and a balloon pops up with the headlines for the country.

Washington Post – TimeSpace

news mapping

If it's Washington Post, then the news and opinions has to be worth a read. The interactive map brings articles, photos, video and commentary from around the globe. The large numbers represent news clusters and you have to click once on the icon to drill down. A cool timeline shows peaks of news coverage for the day when you click on the play button. You can also use the little text box at the top to filter the type of news you are interested in.

BBC Live World Map

news maps

BBC's most popular stories (and most emailed) can be grouped according to region using the small clickable map. The color tones also comparatively show where most of the readership is coming from. The world map allows you to see which stories are generating the most buzz in different parts of the world. Clicking on a continent will automatically re-order the top 10 news items for that particular continent. All this happens in real time.

Here is another small example of a BBC News and Google Map mashup. I guess because of BBC's leanings towards the British Isles, you get to see a larger cluster around that region.

News Map

news maps

News Map is a simple mashup of Google Maps and news from Yahoo Search. Clicking on a region of the map brings up a list of 10 news links alongside.

Newseum

map based news

We covered Newseum briefly in 5 Sites to Find Local Newspapers Published Around the World. You can either use Bing (Beta) or a Flash map to pinpoint a location and open up its daily newspaper's front page. The newspapers sourced are quite widespread. It's a really cool way to see what's making the headlines around the world.

The mashup of news and maps show that news can be read differently.  Although the number of news articles is not huge in the maps, depending on need and time, you can go for the straight-laced news portals or try out the more visual and interactive forms of reading map based news.

Tell us about the one you are interested in.

Image Credit: Shutterstock


Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Use Thousands Of Non Web-Safe Fonts To Spice Up Your Website

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 11:31 AM PDT

web page fontsIt’s been mentioned before but it’s worth repeating: if you don’t want your websites/blogs to be just another face in the crowd, you have to make it stand out from the others, and playing with the design is one way to achieve that.  But every web designer knows too well that typography is one area where their hands are pretty much tied.

The launch of Google Fonts brings fresh air to the world of free web typography. But even though Google provide us with many great free-to-use fonts, the addition is still just a speck of dust among thousands (or maybe millions?) of existing fonts out there.


Meet Fonts.com, a web service that provides us with thousands of alternative web page fonts that we can use for our web/blog design – and 3,000+ of them are available for free.

Free Fine Fonts For You

Fonts.com is brought to us by Monotype Imaging, a well known name in the font industry. The company name itself is a guarantee that you will find a vast choices of fonts here. But before we can use the Fonts.com service, we should first sign up to get a free account.

web page fonts

There are three “pricing” schemes available with various features, but I personally think that the free one – with 3,000+ font choices, unlimited websites use and fonts per site, and 25,000 pageviews per month – is more than adequate for everyday bloggers and website owners. The free offer is very generous considering that Typekit – another big player in the same field – limits their users with only one website use and two fonts per site.

free web fonts

Start by building a project: give it a name and add the domains that you want to use the fonts with. Don’t forget to save the project before you continue. You can create several projects to manage, but due to the pageviews limitation, I suggest you create another account for another project if your website could attract high traffic.

free web fonts

The next step is to choose the fonts for your project. You can sort by classification, designer, foundry or language support. If you know the font name, you can go directly to the search box, or – if you have plenty of spare time – you can browse all the available web page fonts alphabetically.

free web fonts

But before you do that, it’s better to take a look at the list of featured fonts.

fonts for web

The language support options will be very useful if you are looking for fonts that support non-Latin characters like Arabic or Chinese.

fonts for web

Adding the fonts to a project is as easy as clicking the “Add to project” button at the right side of the font list. If you find a font with a grey “Upgrade” button, it means that the font is only available for paid users.

fonts for web

After adding the fonts that you like to the project, you can start working on your style sheet. Go to the “Selectors” field, type a selector and click “Add selector“. Repeat the process for other selectors. A little knowledge of HTML and CSS would be very useful here, but using the basic “body” and “h1” to “hx” (change the x with any number) will do for beginners.

04a Work on style sheet.jpg

Then choose a font from the drop down list for each selector. The available fonts are the ones that we chose earlier. A preview of the font usage will appear to the right of the list.

04b Work on style sheet - choose font for header.jpg

The last step is to publish your project. Clicking on the “Publish” tab will give you four options. Beginners will want to stick with option 1.

05a Publish - Easy.jpg

While options 3 and 4 are only available for paid users.

You will get one line of code to apply on your website. Click the “Select code” button and hit Command + C (Mac) or Ctrl + C (Windows) to copy the code.

05b Publish - Select Code-1.jpg

Now let’s move to your website to apply the code.

Applying The Code

The code that you get should be pasted between the “head” tags. I’m assuming that if you have a website, you should know how to do that. However, for self-hosted WordPress blog owners, there’s an easy way to do it without having to edit any code.

Install and activate a WordPress plugin called “Insert Codes” and paste the font code inside the “Blog header” field, and save the changes.

06a Insert Codes - WordPress Blog.jpg

I tried this on my self-hosted WordPress blog and everything worked fine. The elements showed up with their new look.

web page fonts

The beauty of this system is that if you make any changes to your project inside Fonts.com, the changes will be automatically applied to your website(s) without you having to do anything.

So if you are looking for free and easy ways to play with web typography, the service from Fonts.com would be your best bet. I personally think it’s even better than the Google Font directory – at least from the number of choices that free users have.

Do you tinker with web typography? Do you know other alternatives? Please share your thoughts and opinions using the comments below.


Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Some Awesome New Features In iMovie ’11 [Mac]

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 10:31 AM PDT

imovie featuresBack in August, I described ten features in iMovie ’09 that made it as useful and some ways better than the original iMovie HD editor. Many long time users of iMovie, including myself, put off using the ’08 and ’09 versions because their features (or lack of) seemed to make the editing process slower, and the editor lacked support for third-party plug-ins.

While Apple has still kept the application closed to third-party developers, it recently released iMovie ’11, which is a part of the latest iLife suite of applications. iMovie ’11 has a handful of additional features that bring back many of the missing features that made iMovie HD so great.

Timeline

As far as I'm concerned, the number one missing feature is the return of the timeline in iMovie ’11.

imovie features

When you first launch the latest version, this feature is not evident by default. You get at it by selecting a project, then clicking the swap button, which will put the Project Storyboard at the bottom of iMovie and the Event browser at the top.

imovie help

Then you click the rows button to view clips in single or multiple rows.

This feature makes longer video productions a little easier to manage and edit.

Audio Features

Another resurrected feature is the ability to adjust audio levels right on the clip without having to open a separate editor panel. This can only be done with clips in the Event browser. To access this feature, you need to select clips and then click the auto button in the iMovie toolbar.

imovie help

Apple also brought back audio effects and an equalizer. So now you can apply voice and other enhancements to audio.

imovie help

Movie Trailers & Themes

One significant tool I can’t wait to use with my next project is the Movie Trailer feature, which allows you to select clips from a project to create a really professional looking trailer. While it's a template-based tool, allowing for very little customization, it's a great way to share parts of your movie in a fast-paced short clip. In addition, a few other themes are included for making news and sports productions.

imovie tutorial

People Detection

The process involved in building movie trailers is to include individual clips with one person or a group of people in them. The new iMovie helps streamline that process with what is called People Detection. This not like the Face Detection feature found in iPhoto. It doesn't try to find individual unique faces, it simply tracks and tags clips of how many faces are detected in clips, and the distance they are from the camera.

imovie tutorial

It's takes a while for iMovie to analyze clips for this detection, so be prepared to take a coffee break while you wait. After you click the filter search button, you can view tagged clips by one person, two people, or a group; as well as of people in closeup, medium, or wide shots.

imovie tutorial

Sharing

Apple also added options for where you can quickly share your iMovie projects. In addition to YouTube, you can now directly upload to projects to Vimeo.com, CNN iReport, and Facebook.  If you have a Mac Os X Server, iMovie includes a feature for creating and publishing podcasts to what is called Podcast Producer.

imovie features

It's great to see iMovie evolve and start to become a powerful video editor for beginning and advanced users.

Let us know what features you like, or what you still find lacking in the program. Also check out my other article on how to add opening and closing credits to your project in iMovie.


Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


5 Casual Linux Games You Probably Don’t Know About

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 09:31 AM PDT

linux gamesThe sheer amount of software you can find in your average Linux package manager is astounding. For example, Ubuntu offers 502 free game downloads, all a single click away in the software center. Other Linux distributions, including Fedora and Suse, offer just as many choices.

With that many games it’s hard to know what’s worth playing and what’s not. It wasn’t easy, but I spent a couple of days trying various games out. Keep reading to hear about five simple Linux games I personally enjoyed but think many Linux users may not be aware of, and feel free to suggest more in the comments below!

Which Way Is Up?

linux games

Gravity is subjective.

At least, it is in this game. Turn a switch and the entire field of play is rotated, meaning up, down, left and right are all redefined. A puzzle game with a few enemies and obstacles, this game is strangely addictive.

Ubuntu users can click here to install Which Way Is Up; users of other distros should check their package manager or check out the official Which Way Is Up website for more information.

Secret Maryo Chronicles

Does the name sound familiar? That’s intentional. Secret Maryo Chronicles is a not-so-subtle tribute to Super Mario Bros, the quintessential platform game. And everything is here: mushrooms, fire flowers, pipes and more.

Everyone born in the 80′s harbors a desire to play more Mario levels in classic 2D fashion, so this game is certainly worth checking out. Ubuntu users can click here to install Secret Maryo Chronicles, and click here to install the game’s optional music. Check your package manager if you don’t use Ubuntu, or check out the official Secret Maryo page for more information.

Numpty Physics

This one’s just awesome. Have you ever doodled on a pad of paper, wishing you could watch the results follow the laws of physics? Now you can!

In Numpty Physics the objective is to hit the yellow star with whatever red object is on the screen. Your tool for accomplishing this? Whatever you want. What you draw will interact with everything onscreen in accordance with the law of gravity. This is hardly scientific, but it is very intuitive and quite a bit of fun.

Ubuntu users can click here to download Numpty Physics. Other Linux users should check their distro’s repositories, or the official Numpty Physics page for download information. You’ll even find fan-made levels there!

Ice Breaker

Everyone loves penguins, and penguin-related games are appropriately plentiful on the Linux platform. This game, a simple penguin take of the PC classic “Jezball,” isn’t exactly ambitious. Still, if you like the source material odds are you’ll like this game. The penguins are really just a bonus attribute so far as I’m concerned.

Ubuntu users can install Ice Breaker by clicking here; users of other distributions should check their repositories.

Frozen Bubble

linux games

Okay, I’ll admit it: you’ve probably heard of this one. Frozen Bubble is a well-designed puzzle game you should probably check out. Featuring a great-looking user interface and energetic movement, the goal of Frozen Bubble is to clear the playing area out completely this is achieved by hitting clusters of marbles with marbles of the same color.

It’s also a lot of fun, and includes a great two-play mode. You can click here to install Frozen Bubble; users of other Linux distributions should check their package managers or head over to the official Frozen Bubble page to find installation information.

There’s Lots More

This is just scratching the surface, of course. The Ubuntu Software Center offers 502 free games by default, and that doesn’t even include the hundreds more you can find on the web. You should also check out Tim’s recent article eight awesome free and open source games for Windows, Mac and Linux, of course, because there are some great games in there. You can also find 3 applications for discovering and installing awesome games, if you want.

Do you have a favorite Linux game that I’ve missed? Point it out below, including package names and links. I’d love to discover more treasures, and I’m sure I’m not alone on that.


Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Paragon Virtualization Manager 2010 Professional [MakeUseOf Giveaway]

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 09:00 AM PDT

How often do you find yourself upgrading your laptop or computer, or reinstalling the OS on your current machine? Getting everything back exactly the way you had it can always prove to be a huge hassle. With Paragon Virtualization Manager 2010, migration of a Windows system becomes a simple and streamlined task.

This week, we will be giving away 50 Virtualization Manager 2010 licenses worth almost $3500 in total! Find out how you can be in the running to win one after the jump.

Paragon Virtualization Manager allows you to:

Migrate a live Win2K+ physical system to a virtual environment

Restore a Win2K+ physical system from a Paragon backup to a virtual environment

Migrate a Win2K+ virtual system to a physical environment

Migrate from one virtual environment to another

Migrate a Win2K+ physical system to a different hardware platform

Connect a virtual disk as if it’s an ordinary physical disk

So how can you use all these features in your day to day life? If you’ve upgraded your PC, you can easily migrate your entire system over to your new machine. If some of your applications are no longer compatible, you can continue to run them in a virtual environment created using Paragon Virtualization Manager.

You can also clone your current system, creating a virtual one. This can come in handy if you need to backup your system in a virtual enviroment rather than backing it up to a physical drive. This will allow you to use your virtual system in the event that your physical one is not available.

Running the virtual system allows you to try new software without any concerns over the effect it may have on your current physical system.

If you don’t want to limit yourself to one OS, Paragon Virtualisation Manager makes it possible to run different Operation Systems on one machine. Linux, Windows and Mac OS X are all supported.

Paragon Virtualization Manager is the perfect solution for all your migration needs not only because it is jampacked with great features, but because it also performs migrations quickly with a user-friendly wizard.

There are two different ways in which you can use the program – in Express or Full Mode. Express is a simplified menu.

Full Mode gives you access to a more detailed overview of the program and its features.

How do I win a copy?

It’s simple, just follow the instructions.


STEP 1
Join our Facebook page by clicking the Like button or you can follow us on Twitter, if you prefer. If you’re already following us, you may skip this step.

If you can’t see the fanbox, click on this link.

STEP 2
Here’s our giveaway form. Please fill it in accurately. Be sure to enter your real name and email address so that we can get in touch if you are chosen as a winner. Click here if you can’t view the form.


STEP 3
You’re almost done. Now, all that’s left to do is to share the post. There are 2 options to choose from or you can do both!

Like it on Facebook

Or share it on Twitter

And that’s it! You’re done!
Giveaway eligibility
You must be a fan of our Facebook page to enter;
Individuals who are over the age of 18. If you are under 18, get your parents to participate on your behalf;
Individuals who reside in a country embargoed by the United States; Belgium, Norway, Sweden, or India are not permitted to enter.

This giveaway begins now and ends Wednesday, November 10th at 2100hrs PST. The winners will be selected at random and announced via email.

Spread the word to your friends and have fun!

MakeUseOf would like to thank Paragon Software 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.


Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!


 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Leatherbound – eBook Price Comparisons for the Kindle, Nook & iBookstore

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 08:30 AM PDT

ebook pricesBy now I think we would all agree that eBook readers are here to stay. Judging from all of the people I see with them on the subway, I’d say that’s a fair assumption.

Regardless of what hardware you’re carrying, however, we all generally get our content from the same places. Whether you’re reading eBooks on your iPad or iPhone, chances are you purchased them through iBooks or Amazon. If you own a Nook, you may have used Barnes & Noble.

These stores all work the same way, for the most part, but eBook prices are not standard across them, so how do you find the best deal? In this article, I’ll show you how to use Leatherbound to search for books from the three stores I’ve mentioned, all in one place.

A Little Background, Please?

The Rails Rumble is an annual 48 hour web application development competition in which teams of skilled web application developers get one weekend to design, develop, and deploy the best web property that they can, using the power of Ruby and Rails.

I’m telling you this because it was here that Leatherbound was made. The creators decided to create a really simple website that would address this problem:

The reading experience on Kindle, iBook and Nook apps are nearly identical, but it’s extremely tedious to find the book your looking for, at the price you want for each platform. Sometimes the book is cheaper on Kindle, other times iBooks doesn’t have what you’re looking for, but Nook does. That’s where Leatherbound comes into play.

How Does It Work?

As I said, the site is very simple. Enter any book title or author and Leatherbound pulls book results on iBook, Kindle and Nook in a single click, along with price, availability, description, etc.

ebook prices

First, head over to Leatherbound.me and enter the title or author of the book you want. The site will automatically post your search results off to the right, and if you change your search query it will continue to display updated results in real-time.

ebook price comparison

By default, results are displayed in a list and, judging by how common the title of the book you’re looking for is, you may need to click on the More Results button to see all of them. The books I searched for generally showed up in the top 2 or 3 results though, which is good.

ebook price comparison

If you know what the cover of the book you’re looking for looks like you may want to switch to the grid view. You can do this by clicking the little square button at the top of your search results. This will display all of the covers of the books so you can compare them side-by-side.

ebook prices

Clicking on a book instantly takes you to that book’s individual listing. Off to the left, you will be able to see the book’s cover, title and author, as well as a one or two paragraph description of its contents.

On the right, you will see that book’s availability for the Kindle, Nook, and iBookstore, along with the price at each one. Clicking on the Buy button takes you directly to the listing page pertaining to that store.

You can also tweet your findings and even grab an embed code to place a widget on your website.

Will you be using Leatherbound to search for eBooks? What type of eBook Reader do you own?

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


Simon Is Leaving – A Vacancy Opens Up At MakeUseOf

Posted: 03 Nov 2010 05:41 AM PDT

Simon SlangenIt’s with great regret that I have to announce that Simon will be leaving the MakeUseOf staff at the end of November to take up a position at AppStorm.

His departure is a big loss for us and a big gain for AppStorm. Simon has been working for us since 2008 when he submitted an article about securing your PC files. He began our games section later in 2008 with an article about the top 5 free online shooter games and he also became our first PDF manuals editor.  So his absence here at MakeUseOf will be keenly felt by all.   The rest of the MakeUseOf team, and I’m sure you too, wish him all the best in his new job.


Simon’s departure means that we have a staff writer vacancy on the MakeUseOf team.   We need someone of a very high calibre to step into Simon’s shoes starting on December 1st.   Could that be you? If you think you have what it takes to become Simon’s replacement, then read on.

  • We are looking for someone who is able to write 2 or 3 articles a week, on a strict deadline.  Posts should be on a web apps / software / tech subject.   Just browse through MakeUseOf to see the kind of things we normally like.
  • You need to have a thorough knowledge of WordPress and how it works.
  • You need to be able to take great screenshots.
  • You need to devote the time to answering reader comments.
  • You need to have perfect English knowledge. Tip-top English grammar skills a must.
  • You need to be willing to sign a contract with us.
  • You need to be ready to start at the beginning of December.
  • You should be contactable by email and instant messaging.
  • You should preferably have previous experience working with a tech blog and should be able to provide online work samples to show us what you have done.  We will consider people who have had no previous experience, provided you are willing to write a no-obligation test article for us to show us your writing talents.  But previous experience will push you to the front of the line.
  • Knowledge and participation in social media, such as Twitter, would be a huge plus.

If you want to apply then send an email to me at mark@makeuseof.com and CC it to jackson@makeuseof.com .  In that email, tell us why you are the right person for the job, summarize your experience, and provide links to your previous work.   If we decide to consider you, we’ll be in touch as soon as possible.   The successful applicant will get a fixed monthly salary and bonuses, as well as being a part of a great writing team.


Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

 

 

Similar MakeUseOf Articles


No comments:

Post a Comment