MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [November 28th]” plus 7 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [November 28th]
- Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends!
- Do You Actually Like Facebook? [MakeUseOf Poll]
- 7 Free Useful eBooks That Every Blogger Should Read
- Hot Tech Deals [Nov 28th]
- 10 Free MP3 Albums To Download [Sound Sunday]
- MacKeeper and Kingston SSDNow V+ Drive Giveaway Winners
- 3 Ways To Bypass The MegaVideo Time Limit
| Cool Websites and Tools [November 28th] Posted: 28 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.
    
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| Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends! Posted: 28 Nov 2010 06:31 PM PST
Thank you, guys! Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!
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| Do You Actually Like Facebook? [MakeUseOf Poll] Posted: 28 Nov 2010 05:30 PM PST
Out of 438 votes, Hootsuite topped the results with 39%. Tweetdeck came a close second with 28%, while the Twitter web interface scored 13% of votes. Seesmic gained 7% of the vote, Tweetie had 5%, Twitterfon/Echofon got 3% and Twitterific got 2% of the vote. All other services got less than 1% of the vote. Full results and this week's poll after the jump.
This week's poll question is: Do You Actually Like Facebook? We need to give thanks to a opinionated Australian MakeUseOf reader for this week’s poll idea. Worldwide, internet users have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. So, where do MakeUseOf readers stand? Tell us both your horror stories and successes with Facebook 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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| 7 Free Useful eBooks That Every Blogger Should Read Posted: 28 Nov 2010 02:30 PM PST
There is no end to the wealth of free eBooks available online today, from literature to books on social media, to teaching yourself how to use Linux. There is one topic, blogging, with countless eBooks available, both paid and free, and it just takes a little bit of digging to find some of the best ones out there. This list of 7 books is a good place to start, with advice for both beginners and advanced bloggers alike. Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging
It may be a few years old, but the wealth of information contained in Chitika’s Deep Secrets of Successful Blogging makes it just as relevant a book today as when it was first posted on their site. Featuring the words of wisdom of 30 prominent bloggers including Chris Pirillo and Darren Rowse amongst others, the free eBook contains encouragement, advice and guidelines for the aspiring blogger. Get the free eBook here. 279 Days to Overnight Success
279 Days to Overnight Success by Chris Guillebeau is available for free download in PDF format from his website. Not only useful for bloggers, the free eBook is a must-read for any writer, artist or modern entrepreuner who wants to create an online presence for themselves. Guillebeau uses his own journey to becoming a full-time writer as a guideline for others to follow. The free PDF is available for download here. If his style appeals to you, be sure to check out his earlier tile, A Brief Guide to World Domination available for download here. Viral Copy
Viral Copy by Brian Clark of Copyblogger takes on a very straightforward approach and can truly be seen as an essential guidebook for any blogger to read. From the art of writing headlines to link baiting to how to use humour in your writing, Clark leaves no stone unturned, on how to drive traffic to your blog. In fact, you can see him put his own advice to good use with the links used in the eBook, making it hard to read the book offline. Viral Copy is available for downlaod here. Make Money Online With John Chow dot Com
At first glance, Make Money Online by John Chow book probably sounds like one of those get-rich-quick scams but don’t be fooled. There is no hidden secret that will make you reach instantaneously. Instead, John Chow gives you an outline on how to drive traffic to your site, as well as giving specific recommendations on ad networks, and most importantly, how to monetize your blog. The book is best suited for beginners who are just getting started and don’t know much about how to make money in the blogging world. While the book is available in paperback from Amazon, John Chow offers it as a free download on his site here. Traffic Roots
You’ll find that a lot eBooks about blogging focus on one specific topic – traffic. And rightly so, because without an audience to read what you’re writing – it all starts to feel futile. Traffic Roots by Jens Berget covers important topics like Search Engine Optimization, Email Marketing, Keyword Search and much more in over 130 pages of advice, tips and tricks. Traffic roots is another ideal title for beginners, and may also contain some interesting tips for the slightly more advanced blogger. Download the PDF here. Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimization
If your focus is to learn more about Search Engine Optimization, and need an introductory explanation, the Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimization is a great place to start. The guide covers the basic terms, explains how it all works, and tells you what you need to do to make use of these concepts on your own website. There is no direct link to download the book, but rather can have it emailed to you by submitting your email here. Viral Marketing
Getting people to your blog is not just about SEO and link building. You also have to know how to market yourself. Viral Marketing by David Meerman Scott has been available for a couple of years but is a good place to start to understand what viral marketing is and what it takes to get in on the game. The title is available for download here, along with a few other interesting titles by Scott. What eBooks for bloggers are on your virtual shelf? Let us know in the comments. Image credit: Shutterstock Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!
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| Posted: 28 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 Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!
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| 10 Free MP3 Albums To Download [Sound Sunday] Posted: 28 Nov 2010 11:30 AM PST
This edition concludes the month of November with an emotional ride through genres. Peaceful ambient, soul, pop, folk, and gospel is mixed up by funk, rock, and metal. I hope you enjoyed the widgets introduced last week because they’re back. However, music from sources that don’t provide a stream will not be excluded, so this week I included both. Finally, I would like to draw your attention to the first item in the list. Herbst (autumn) is not an album, but a free song. It’s a bonus for the first Advent weekend. Enjoy! Dada – HerbstGenre: pop, soul
brk – a chronicle of our explorationGenre: drum n bass, electronic, space, glitch hop brk is an artist from Los Angeles, California. He doesn’t reveal a lot about himself. His album a chronicle of our exploration has been out for a year. Hence, the free download credits on Bandcamp may be coming to an end. It’s an album worth having, so get it for as long as it lasts! The album is a name your price download from Bandcamp. Machinae Supremacy – FuryGenre: alternative, metal, rock, sid metal, game music, soundtrack
Machinae Supremacy MySpace and Homepage. Modern Science – selftitledGenre: alternative, indie, funk, pop, rock Best friends Kane Churko and Mike McHugh have made music together for several years. Modern Science is their band and their 2009 debut album. Warm up to this funky music as they are getting ready to release their second album. Modern Science is a free download from Bandcamp. Alternatively, you can buy a physical copy for 10 bucks and get the band’s autograph on it! Modern Science MySpace and Homepage. RockMastersBand – Taking LibertiesGenre: rock, psychedelic, blues
RockMastersBand MySpace and Homepage. Kudos Fiasco – ChangerGenre: lyrical, rock, soul Changer is the debut EP of the Australian band Kudos Fiasco. Formerly the Brothers Juengling, Benny and Dan are nor joined by Matt Milns and Tim Mac. For this album they transformed a spare room at their house into a studio. They are currently hoping to be elected as support act for Bon Jovi. Changer is a free download from Bandcamp. Kudos Fiasco MySpace and Homepage. Artillerie – EradefiledGenre: metal, metalcore, thrash
Artillerie MySpace and Homepage. The Max – I Need A FriendGenre: indie, pop, rock Born out of several other bands from in and around Nashville, Tennessee, The Max unites well experienced musicians that have great fun making music. Professional recording engineers Adam Deane and Matt Coles have worked on “numerous hit records with the best Nashville has to offer“, so they know how to make records. Download I Need A Friend from NoiseTrade or preview and download from the NoiseTrade box on the lefthand side below. Love is Like Pancakes – EarthGenre: ambient, electronic, game music, open source Love is Like Pancakes is the solo project of Kole, a tech journalist and SEO expert. A former composer of music for video games and a die hard fan of the open source movement, he decided to combine both skills and produce open source music. You may download and use his work free of charge. More information here. Download the album from their Homepage or preview and download it through the NoiseTrade box on the lefthand side above. Love is Like Pancakes Twitter and Homepage. Jane Lui – Goodnight CompanyGenre: pop, indie, folk Classically trained in voice and piano, Jane Lui’s singing is skillfully tender, soulful, and vulnerable. “The third record, Goodnight Company, was co-produced with Aaron Bowen (San Diego). Bursts of electronica, funk, old-timey, & folk give away her eclectic influences with uses of melotron, dixieland jazz, field recordings, gospel choirs, and music boxes.” Download Jane’s album from NoiseTrade or preview and download from the righthand NoiseTrade box below. Jane Lui MySpace and Homepage. Sara Groves – O Holy Night Tour Live: The Prison ShowGenre: alternative, christian, pop, gospel Christmas will soon be upon us. Hence we close this edition of Sound Sunday with something for the season. The album was recorded at a women’s prison in Illinois. The talented singer/songwriter Sara Groves says: “We are giving this recording away for free so that you can enjoy the rawness of this night of music, and hear the fellowship we experienced.” This album is a free download from Noise Trade. You can also preview and download the album from the lefthand NoiseTrade box above. Sara Groves MySpace and Homepage. Browse past editions of Sound Sunday here. Feel free to get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material or suggestions and feedback you don't want to post in the comments below. Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!
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| MacKeeper and Kingston SSDNow V+ Drive Giveaway Winners Posted: 28 Nov 2010 10:00 AM PST
Now it’s time to give them all away and announce the winners. MacKeeper
Kingston SSDNow V+ Drive
Congratulations! An email has been sent with your registration information and Taylor, your drive is in the mail! Enjoy! Check back tomorrow. We’ll be giving away another SSD. How awesome is that? MakeUseOf would like to thank Kingston Technology and ZeoBIT 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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| 3 Ways To Bypass The MegaVideo Time Limit Posted: 28 Nov 2010 09:30 AM PST
It’s fun and easy to browse, has an incredible array of videos and sports one of the best web players I’ve ever seen. The whole shebang is integrated by default; dimming the lights, different aspect ratios and even downloading those videos to your computer. Here’s the catch; it isn’t free. Not that it should come as a surprise to those of you who are already familiar with MegaUpload. Everything works fine at the start, but after exactly 72 minutes of viewing pleasure, the dreaded pop-up appears. The 72 Minute LockThe 72 minute mark seems to be a crucial point in many documentaries and TV series. It might be me, but the MegaVideo time limit seems to appear when it’s least wanted. You have watched 72 minutes of video today. It means you’re not about to finish that show.
You can finish your prescribed dose of waiting and enjoy your next 72 minute batch, or upgrade to a premium account at $9.99 per month to enjoy unlimited use of MegaVideo. Below are three workarounds to bypass the MegaVideo time limit. All of these will work regardless of your operating system. 1. Using CacaoWeb or IllimituxCacaoWeb is a free, cross-platform application that removes so-called cyberlocker limits, as used by RapidShare and a batch of other file sharing websites. It also effectively removes the 72 minute time lock of MegaVideo.
CacaoWeb uses peer to peer (P2P) technology to make this work. Instead of downloading your video from the server to your client computer, you’re downloading small parts of the video via other users. That way, no one user should reach the time limit. Using CacaoWeb from Rapidshare works the same way.
Illimitux is from the same minds, and based on the same technology as Cacaoweb, but instead of installing a full-fledged application, it works by installing a Firefox add-on or Chrome extension. 2. Work OfflineThis second workaround requires no third-party software except your web browser. On the flip side, it’s harder and less forward to use. First, you buffer part of the video. This means you’re letting it load without actually playing it. When you’ve buffered the entire video, or a good enough part, switch your browser to Work Offline mode. While you’re still in Work Offline mode, you’ll be able to watch the video without adding to the time limit. Keep in mind that you have to disable Work Offline mode to continue browsing or buffering the video.
In Firefox, this is done by navigating to File -> Work Offline. In Internet Explorer, to Tools -> Work Offline. There currently appears to be no Work Offline alternative embedded in Google Chrome. 3. Watch Video on MegaStreaming or EzyWatchLast but not least, you can use MegaVideo embedded sites to surpass the time limit, by using a variety of techniques. If you copy your MegaVideo URL to MegaStreaming, you’ll be redirected to a page with said video embedded. Here you can watch the video like normal or, depending on the video, even in HD.
Once you reach the limit, press the button at the top right, shown below. This will redirect you to a different page with the same video embedded and you’ll be able to continue watching.
So how does this work? Apparently, different players all have different time limits. By using two different embedded players, you can watch up to 134 minutes (72+31+31) instead of just 72 minutes. An alternative website that also allows you to bypass MegaVideo’s time limit is EzyWatch. It does not share how it circumvents said limit.
EzyWatch looks more professional, but has regular performance issues; slow buffer times, videos that won’t load, and similar problems. Do you know any other tools or websites that allow you to eliminate the MegaVideo limit? Have you used the ones above? 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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