MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [November 27th]” plus 7 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [November 27th]
- Organize Your Gmail Inbox Better With ActiveInbox
- Hot Tech Deals [Nov 27th]
- Get Hulu’s Free Videos Working In Boxee Again
- The Complete MakeUseOf 2010 Holiday Gift Guide
- How To Watch Almost Any Type of Video On Your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch
- New Designs Are On The Way In The MakeUseOf T-Shirt Store
- Miro 3.5 Comes With Built-In Video Conversions [News]
| Cool Websites and Tools [November 27th] Posted: 27 Nov 2010 07:31 PM PST
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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| Organize Your Gmail Inbox Better With ActiveInbox Posted: 27 Nov 2010 05:31 PM PST
There are a lot of ways to. For example, you can use scheduled reminders not to forget to get in touch with the person again. Or you can schedule emails and delay replies in Gmail or use Gmail Priority inbox to reduce the clutter. And of course don’t forget our Ultimate Guide To Gmail for plenty of tips on how to make the most of Gmail.
Step 1: Install & Set Up ActiveInboxThe first thing you will need to do is to install the tool. It is installed as a regular browser addon and can run on FireFox and Google Chrome. After installing the tool, you will need to create your first Status labels that help you turn emails into tasks. Status labels are regular labels in Gmail – you can add or remove them later to suit your needs as you start using ActiveInbox. After this is done, you will see the following taskbar on top of each of your emails:
Playing With New Label TypesBasically, what the tool does is rearrange your existing labels to make your inbox easier to manage. You can see it in action in this video : Status LabelsWith the tool you’ll be encouraged to mark every message using the main three status labels:
Once you choose any of the statuses, the message becomes trackable via ActiveInbox’s sidebar.
You can now quickly load the list of messages which, for example, are waiting for a reply and even preview them in the pop-up screen:
From there you can also change the status label or archive the email as done or skipped. Projects & ReferencesWhile status labels categorize the emails as tasks based on which action they require, projects are meant to organize your messages thematically. You can turn your existing labels into projects or create new ones:
Reference labels are meant to make your messages easy to retrieve later, e.g. R/MeetingNotes, R/Invoices, R/Receipts. Browse Emails More EfficientlyApart from helping you to organize your inbox, the tool also adds a few nice features that let you quicker dig into each specific email conversation:
PreferencesThe best thing about the tool is that you can use it “as much as you want of it”. ActiveInbox’s preferences hiding behind the About & Help link in the sidebar let you set every bit of the tool feature range:
Tips and TricksAll in all, the tool does a great job helping you make sense of your Gmail (or Google Apps) inbox. Here are a few helpful tips to make the most of it (note: you can do most of these with Gmail even without the tool but with ActiveInbox it seems just so much more fun):
Do you think this tool might help you organize your inbox? Please share your thoughts! Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!
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| Posted: 27 Nov 2010 12:15 PM PST
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.
Image credit: Modified from Svengraph’s icon set Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.
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| Get Hulu’s Free Videos Working In Boxee Again Posted: 27 Nov 2010 11:30 AM PST
Lucky there’s an easy fix. The enthusiastic community over at the Boxee forums found a way to get Hulu working on Boxee, at least for now. By masking Boxee so that Hulu can’t tell it’s not a desktop browser, this simple hack will give you access to your favorites once again. Get Hulu working on Boxee again, quickly, without having to pay for Hulu Plus. Just follow these simple instructions. What HappenedSo you fire up a video in Boxee, and instead of seeing your show you see this message:
With the recent release of the Boxee Box, Boxee is trying to get as many for-pay services working on the platform as possible. The NHL, Netflix, Vudu and MLB are all signed on; Boxee’s hoping Hulu will sign on too. Hulu, incidentally, recently launched their new pay service: Hulu Plus. It would seem Boxee is posed to become an official platform for Hulu Plus, but support for free Hulu videos needed to go as a condition. That’s a shame. Guess we’ll just have to get it working ourselves. Get The ScriptFirst things first: you need to download a script. Don’t worry; it’s easy. Head over to this posting on the Boxee forums and download the text file in post number four. If you download the script from here you’ll first need to register, and you’ll also need to rename the .txt to “hulu.js”. Too complicated? Fine. Check out this handy post on 9minutesnooze, which features a download you don’t need to register for or rename. Drag And Drop
Now that you have what you need, it’s time to put it in the right place. Where the right place is, of course, depends on your operating system of choice. For Windows users, the right place is “C:\Program Files\Boxee\system\players\flashplayer\”. Ubuntu users should move the file to “/opt/boxee/system/players/flashplayer/hulu.js”. Finally, Mac users should move the file to “/Applications/Boxee.app/Contents/Resources/Boxee/system/players/flashplayer”. That’s it. Fire up Boxee, if you closed it, and try to play something on Hulu. It should be working! Enjoy
Note that Boxee is starting to show content only available on Hulu Plus, meaning some of the videos listed as working on Boxee won’t work. But if you just use Boxee to watch Hulu’s free content, you’ll find everything working beautifully. This is how it should be. In a blog post back in March of 2009, Boxee founder Avner Ronen promised Boxee users they’d always have access to legal online content:
It would seem Boxee’s dropped this commitment, in the name of becoming an officially approved device for the Hulu Plus store. Sad. AlternativeIs this hack not working? I guess they patched this hole, for now. I’ll try to keep you up to date about alternative solutions, but until then here’s an alternative. Download the Hulu Desktop app. You’ve now got an easy way to watch Hulu shows from your couch. You can even launch this app from within Boxee, thanks to the Launcher app. Check out my article about using Boxee as the ultimate ROM and game launcher to find out how.
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| The Complete MakeUseOf 2010 Holiday Gift Guide Posted: 27 Nov 2010 10:00 AM PST
We’ve asked the MakeUseOf team to share some of their favourite gift ideas. And they happily complied. So if you were wondering what geeks wished for this holiday season, wonder no longer — dive right in! This isn’t one of our conventional posts where we list the old, boring money savers. This time, we’ve let our hair down (so to speak) and really went all out. Happy shopping! AibekThe MakeUseOf Editor-in-Chief is obsessed with the new iPod Touch 4G. Prices start at $229 for the 8GB model.
JacksonI’m pretty much entranced by the indestructibility of the ioSafe SoloPRO and wished I could get one for myself. Prices start at $249.99 for the 1TB model. By the way, we featured one on MakeUseOf before.
In home entertainment, the Netgear Roku has got me hooked. It streams online content like TV shows from Netflix or Amazon Video On Demand directly to a TV. Priced at $89.99, it’s much cheaper than the D-Link Boxee Box. Get it from Best Buy, Radio Shack, Fry's and online at Newegg, Amazon and Buy.com. Stylish yet maintaining functionality, the Flipside wallet 2X is unlike anything you’ve ever put in your pocket. It stores up to 7 cards and shields them from RFID theft. Get one for yourself at just $39.95 from their online store.
If you’re looking to get a new digital camera and would like to get the best compact camera in its class, go for the Leica D-LUX 5 which was recently released at Photokina. It’s going for $799 from B & H and is much cheaper than its predecessor. It sports a 10.1MP sensor, 24-90mm (Equivalent) 3.8x zoom F/2.0 Leica lens, 3″ LCD display and can record 720p HD video.
If that’s a little too rich for your blood, get the Panasonic Lumix LX5 instead. It’s essentially the same camera, just branded differently. To distinguish itself, it uses Panasonic’s in-house firmware. The LX5 will set you back $413.03 from Amazon.
In the audio category, you’ll want the Etymotic ER4P for the best sound accuracy in a non-customised in-ear monitor. They’ll cost you $299 from Amazon.
We’ll be taking a close look at these later on in December with a review but you could try on the Sleek SA1 with the wireless bundle from Sleek Audio. It sounds great and costs only $169.99 for the bundle. Or you could just get the SA1 earphones for $79.99
JorgeJorge recommends the über-versatile and super-portable iPod Shuffle 4G. Prices start at $49 for the 2GB model but you can easily find it for $46 with free shipping at Target.
JustinJustin suggests pre-ordering the Back To The Future Game from Telltale Games — the same guys who made the Strong Bad game (which he loves) and the Wallace and Gromit game (which is also on his Christmas list). It’s only $24.95 and you get a free copy of Puzzle Agent ($9.95) with every pre-order!
Justin also loves the Boxee Box. He thinks that it’s the best media centre around. It allows you to stream TV shows from Hulu, watch your movies, view your photos and listen to your music — on your television. Although it retails at $219.99 directly from D-Link, you can easily get one at $199 from Amazon.
On a more serious note, Justin finds the Kobo Reader with its sexy quilted back panel and Wi-Fi support very enticing. It comes loaded with 100 free ebooks to help you get started. It’s also the lightest eReader around, weight only 221 grams. Prices start at $149 CAD.
TinaTina has got several great gift ideas that are fun and affordable. These cute App Magnets resemble iPhone app icons. For the iPhone-obsessed and Apple geek, they’re actually pretty coveted trophies.
Looking for a new wallet but really don’t want to get one in a traditional design? At just $15, you can mix it up with a Mighty Wallet. Using the same material that’s used to make express mail envelopes, these wallets are super durable. With over 70 designs available, your wallet is going to be one of a kind.
Fancy a geeky t-shirt that you can show off? Interactive T-shirts from ThinkGeek are made by geeks for geeks. Prices start at $4.99 for sale items and shoot up until $39.99.
More eReader goodness, Tina recommends the Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS 650 as a great alternative.
TimTo spice up gaming, Tim recommends getting the Kinect for Xbox 360 that allows you to use your body as the controller. Available from major online retailers for just $149.99.
SimonFor busy students, Simon suggests getting the Livescribe Smartpen which records everything you hear and write, and allows you to replay your notes instantly. The 2GB Pulse Smartpen is available from the Livescribe store for $99.95, limited-time offer.
A survival tool that every outdoorsy person should have at the ready, the Leatherman Skeletool is an amazingly light multitool sheds weight by featuring only the essentials: a premium stainless steel blade, pliers, a universal bit driver, and a carabiner/bottle opener.
JeffryJeffry also recommends getting the iPod Touch 4G. In addition to that, he thinks the iPad is worth a mention. It’s a fantastic touchscreen device that can be used for a lot of purposes and has a huge, ever-growing App Store to boot. Prices start at $499 for the 16GB Wi-Fi only model.
For music enthusiasts, Jeffry recommends the Yahama Silent Guitar, which is available from Amazon at $559.99.
BakariBakari reckons that instead of the Netgear Roku or D-Link Boxee box, the AppleTV makes the perfect gift. Available from the Apple Store at just $99, this little black box allows you to stream your entire iTunes library, rent TV shows and movies from the iTunes Store and watch Netflix or YouTube on your home television.
DaveDave’s really in the giving mood and suggest that the best gift is to allow your recipients to shop for themselves. Hand them a a couple of iTunes or Amazon gift cards and let them go nuts. Have a couple of friends who are avid gamers? Buy them a game instead with Steam’s easy-to-use online buy and gift system. The iPod Touch, iPad and AppleTV have all been mentioned but what about the Samsung Galaxy Tab? Dave hasn’t forgotten about it! This Android-powered tablet is making headlines everywhere. Even the President of Russia tweeted about it.
Get one from Amazon for just $599.99.
If cords tangle up your life, try this wireless headphones on for size. Dave recommends the Sennheiser RS120 926 MHz Wireless RF Headphones with Charging Cradle for just $49.99 from Newegg.
And if you’re constantly running out of juice, why not harness the power of the sun with PowerMonkey Portable Solar Charger. Compatible with all PDAs, mobile phones, iPods, PSP and Nintendo DS; this mobile charge is a little pricey at $105 from Amazon.
SteveIf you’re a road warrior and enjoy the occasional good read, Steve disagrees with both Justin and Tina, and recommends the Amazon Kindle. Perhaps it’s because the Kindle can last for a month between recharges. The Wi-Fi model is available at just $139. Pay $50 more and get the 3G+Wi-Fi model.
As an accompaniment to the Kindle, Steve suggests the new iPod Nano. Get the 8GB model at just $149.
When you’re finally back at home, Steve thinks you should switch on the Sonos S5 wireless speaker system and stream music from your iTunes library, online or play internet radio. And control the entire system from your iPhone. Available from Amazon at $385.
Road warriors should always recuperate with a good night’s sleep and wake up when the time is right. WakeMate is a really cool device that analyses your sleeping habits and wakes you up at the optimal time in your sleep cycle. Get better sleep at just $49.99.
NancyNancy loves her iPhone and adores the CandyShell Flip for iPhone 4. Now, you don’t even need to remove the case to dock the iPhone! Get it from Speck at just $34.95.
Any self-respecting geek would have used (or at least dreamt of) a Moleskine at some point. How about coupling a Moleskine and iPhone/iPad together? That’s some major geekery. Get the Moleskine Folio Digital Tablet Cover for Apple iPad from Amazon at just $64.99 and the Moleskine Folio Digital Smartphone Cover for $34.65 also from Amazon.
If you love Pac-Man, check out the Pacman Heat Changing Mugs. Shipping commences on December 1st 2010 but you’re able to pre-order now for £5.99
And just as you thought Nancy couldn’t get any geekier, she surprises us with this gift idea: the Mini Robot Vacuum for your desktop. Your own personal desktop vacuum! It’ll cost you $20 from fred flare.
MattAs our very own in-house technophile, Matt has a few good gift ideas up his sleeves. For $599, get the ultimate, best in class LCD monitor — the Dell Ultrasharp U2410 24″ IPS monitor. No geek will dare argue this.
If you’ve got the best monitor, you just got to have the best performing gaming mouse. The $24.99 Logitech MX518 Optical Gaming Mouse is worth every penny and more.
Do you play most of your games in the dark? What else is new? Well then, you’ll probably want to spend $59.84 on the Saitek PK24 Eclipse III Wired Keyboard. Better not miss those frags.
If your gaming takes you late into the night, plug in these $149 Shure SRH-840 audiophile cans and carry on gaming. And if you do happen to get everything Matt suggests, you’ll end up with some sweet gear that will make other gamers green with envy.
JessicaIn the midst this geek frenzy, Jessica manages to hold her cool and recommends the very sensible Sansa Fuze Video MP3 player from SanDisk. Prices start at $49.95 for the 2GB model up to a moderate $79.28 for the 8GB model.
AngelaIf you’ve got loads of gadgets like Angela, you’ll appreciate the Grassy Lawn Charging Station. It uses your existing charging cables but hides them under the realistically artificial grass. Get it from ThinkGeek and it’ll set you back $24.99.
Want to surprise a very special male geek and just happen to have $195 of spare change lying around? Then you could probably get these Flash Drive Cufflinks. They’re 2GB each, a total of 4GB a pair and they’ll set you back — yeap, you guessed it — $195!
If you’re a geeky father and would like to impart some of that innate geekiness to your children, check out this book by Ken Denmead: Geek Dad: Awesomely Geeky Projects and Activities for Dads and Kids to Share. Available from Amazon at $11.56.
It may sound risky but is absolutely safe. Fifty Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do) is about interesting and challenging tasks that families should engage in. Get it now at $25.95 from Amazon. And for LOTR fans, what better gift could you ask for than the leather-bound Lord Of The Rings (50th Anniversary Edition) book set? Get it today at $56.05.
JamesIn every way, our newest writer James Bruce agrees with Tim and thinks that the Xbox 360 console with Kinect bundle will make the best gift this holiday season. Prices start at $364.99 for the 4GB model and $539.49 for the 250GB model.
That’s it! We hope you enjoyed this list of great, geeky gift ideas! Anything to add? What’s your ultimate gift this holiday season? Tell us all about it in the comments.
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| How To Watch Almost Any Type of Video On Your iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch Posted: 27 Nov 2010 09:31 AM PST
While VLC seems to have cornered the market with its multi-platform video player for Macs, Windows and Linux users, another lesser known app has come to the iOS platform, in the form of OPlayer Lite, with far more features that may leave VLC in the dust. There are two versions of OPlayer available in the iTunes store, OPlayer Lite for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and OPlayerHD Lite for the iPad [iTunes link], while the VLC Media Player [iTunes link] app is compatible with all iOS devices. How To Transfer Videos From Your ComputerThe easiest and fastest way to transfer videos from your computer to your iOS device is by using your USB. Hook up your device to your computer, launch iTunes and navigate to the tab which shows all installed apps. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to ‘File sharing.’ Any apps that allow direct file transfers from the computer to the iOS device will be listed here. Select OPlayer Lite or VLC Player and you can add files to your video library.
Another method in which you can transfer files using OPlayer HD Lite is over the air. Connect to the same wireless network and launch OPlayer HD Lite. At the bottom of the screen, select the ‘More‘ tab, and select Wifi Transfer.
Make a note of the IP address and enter it in your browser. You will be then be able to upload files one by one directly from your computer. Of course this is a much slower method, and has been said to affect your device’s battery life. Using the USB takes about 1 minute at most to transfer files as large as 1.5GB. Be sure to keep the WiFi transfer window open as you copy files otherwise the connection will be lost.
With both VLC and OPlayer, you can close the program and resume your video at the exact point where you stopped. How To Watch Videos From Your InboxIf you want to watch a video sent to you via email, download the video in the native mail client. When you come to open it, if you’ve already installed VLC, you will be prompted to open it using VLC, or another program.
If you would prefer to use OPlayer, click on ‘Open in…‘ and a list of available programs will be displayed. Select OPlayer and your video will launch immediately.
The main difference between VLC and OPlayer when it comes to watching videos from your inbox is that OPlayer saves them on your device whereas to play them again using VLC Player, you would have to download it to your computer first and then transfer it to your iOS device. Why Choose OPlayer?
If your priority is functionality, OPlayer is probably better suited for you. Where OPlayer is ahead of VLC in the game is that it allows you to create playlists, and organise your videos into folders, directly on your iPad. VLC’s playback of HD video also leaves something to be desired, and is accompanied by a warning that the iPad will not be able to playback the video properly. While OPlayer handles it much better, the quality still isn’t as good as you’d expect it to be. Subtitles have been temporarily disabled in VLC Media player, so if you watch a lot of foreign films, you’d be better off using OPlayer Lite, at least for the time being. Another major difference between the two is the extent of control you have over the video settings. With VLC, you cannot adjust your settings at all, whereas with OPlayer you have control over the aspect ratio, audio stream index, subtitle stream index and more. OPlayer has additional features including streaming videos, an inbuilt browser and direct downloads to your iOS device. Why Choose VLC?
If you want a little bit of eye candy, VLC will appeal to you more. While there is no organisation available in VLC, the general UI is much more appealing than OPlayer’s plain appearance. Unlike OPlayer Lite, VLC is ad-free. A small ad is featured at the top of the screen in OPlayer Lite during video playback which can be a little bit distracting.
Both players allow you to delete videos directly from your device and resume playback if you close the app, in the same place where you stopped. How do you watch videos on your iOS device? Let us know in the comments. Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.
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| New Designs Are On The Way In The MakeUseOf T-Shirt Store Posted: 27 Nov 2010 08:31 AM PST
Is there a particular T-shirt design you would like to see MakeUseOf take up and sell? If so, let us know and we will pass it onto the artists to see what they can come up with. In the meantime, our very own Mr November, Matt, is here for us today to model the Wi-Fi shirt.
If you would like a T-shirt like Matt’s, just head on over to here and place your order. The price is $16.95 (shipping not included). Or check out our other offerings in the store. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| Miro 3.5 Comes With Built-In Video Conversions [News] Posted: 27 Nov 2010 07:30 AM PST
Miro is a great cross-platform application for viewing high definition video podcasts and even publishing your own video content. This month, Miro announced the release of a significant update to their app which adds some interesting features and tweaks, including built-in video conversion for a lot of popular devices. Let’s take a look at what’s included inside Miro 3.5. What Is Miro?If this is the first time you’re hearing of Miro, check out this short video to see what it’s all about: New FeaturesNow let’s see what’s different in Miro’s new release. As stated on the Miro Internet TV Blog:
Needless to say, this is a significant overhaul of what was already a pretty impressive video application. With this announcement, now you can download your favorite podcasts/internet shows and convert them to your portable devices to watch them while you’re on the go. What do you think of the update? Do you use Miro? Source: Miro Internet TV Blog Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.
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We send and receive lots of emails daily. Many of the messages we receive are important ones requiring some further action or reply – but most of these emails are automatic notifications and updates from our social networks and subscriptions. How to make sense of all this clutter? How do we not miss something really important in that mess?
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