MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [December 11th]” plus 5 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [December 11th]
- How To Block All Facebook Widgets & Buttons Throughout The Web
- Hot Tech Deals [Dec 11th]
- How To Use Calibre To Read Instapaper On Any E-Book Reader
- Create a Budget in Minutes with Sprouty
- The 5 Best Questions From You [MakeUseOf Answers]
| Cool Websites and Tools [December 11th] Posted: 11 Dec 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. NEW: Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!
    
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| How To Block All Facebook Widgets & Buttons Throughout The Web Posted: 11 Dec 2010 05:30 PM PST
First, you are concerned about your privacy and don’t want Facebook to personalize your browsing or to give away your information to third-party sites. In this case, besides using the tools listed below, don’t forget to edit your privacy settings (to be on the safe side): navigate Account -> Privacy Settings -> Edit Your Settings (below Applications and Websites) -> Edit settings (Next to Instant personalization).
As a website owner, I do understand why we would want to get better connected to our readers through various social media channels, but I do accept the point of those who don’t want to see the widgets all over the web. So here are a few ways you can block the Facebook widgets in case you want to: FireFoxFacebook Blocker is an experimental FireFox addon that stops Facebook social plugins (including those within iFrames) from running on sites other than Facebook itself. This includes ‘Like’ buttons, ‘Recommended’ lists, widgets, etc. Note: sites that use Facebook Connect for sign in purposes will continue to work as previously While it did seem to work as described for me (as you can see from the screenshot below, it even blocked the “Causes” widget), it strangely kept one of Facebook buttons below the post (others were gone). I wasn’t able to tell why.
Google Chrome1. Facebook DisconnectFacebook Disconnect is a Google Chrome extension that “turns off the flow of your data” to third parties by blocking all traffic from third-party sites to Facebook servers. The extension won’t prevent you from using Facebook from its own interface though. Facebook Disconnect works by injecting JavaScript into every page you land on to disable the component Facebook links. Note that the extension only removes integrated components (those widgets and buttons that send your data back to Facebook) – simple HTML links will naturally be kept.
2. WidgetBlockIf Facebook is not the only annoyance you come across on the web, consider WidgetBlock for Google Chrome that removes all major social widgets from pages your browse to including Facebook, Twitter, Google Buzz, Disqus, etc. This considerably enhances your browsing experience as it speeds up the web and you are likely to notice web pages load much faster. WidgetBlock disables the Widgets by preventing them being requested from the server in the same way the popular AdBlock works (By the way, AdBlock can be used to block any social media widgets as well. You just need to play around with it a bit). WidgetBlock has very handy options that allow to enable or disable blocking of any supported widget. (Note: there are more supported widgets than those you see on the screenshot – the list is too large to make it to one image):
Disclaimer: I have played around with the tools above but I am not currently using any because I still “like” things on Facebook (shame on me) – what about you? NEW: Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!
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| Posted: 11 Dec 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.
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| How To Use Calibre To Read Instapaper On Any E-Book Reader Posted: 11 Dec 2010 11:31 AM PST
Instapaper is a great way to queue articles and blog posts for future reading. It even features a great app for Android and iOS devices, and a subscription service for the Kindle. Those of us with certain e-book readers may feel left out from this. They don’t have to. Calibre, the ulitmate ebook management program, can download entire newspapers, blogs and magazines. It can also download your entire Instapaper queue, as it turns out, formatting everything for a staggering number of e-book readers. Heck, you can even schedule this process to happen automatically – all you’d need to do is transfer the file and get ready to read at home! Let’s break this down. Step 1: Set Up InstapaperDon’t have Instapaper? Get it. Head over to instapaper.com and sign up for an account. Once you’re done that, be sure to drag the “Read Later” button to your bookmarks toolbar:
Now the fun begins. Find any article you want to read and click this button; the article will automatically be sent to your Instapaper queue. You can read them online, if you want, or send them to your ebook reader using Calibre. Keep reading to find out how. Step 2: Set Up Calibre To Download InstapaperIf you haven’t already, download Calibre. It’s a free program for Mac, Linux and Windows that helps manage e-books. Follow the prompts to set it up to sync with your e-book reader of choice and you’ll soon see the default interface. Click the “Fetch News” button to bring up the automatic downloading function of Calibre. Search for “Instapaper” and you’ll see the following window:
Enter your username; no need for your password. Schedule a regular time for this to all happen, if you like. Click “Download Now” to grab everything immediately, or set up a regular time for this download to happen and click “Save” if you want this to happen regularly. Step 3: Profit!
You’ve got it now; your Instapaper queue is now an e-book that can be quickly sent to your e-book reader. Everything you download will be automatically marked as “Read” on Instapaper, which means you’ll never download the same article to your ebook reader unless you intend to. Enjoy! Supported DevicesSo what ebook readers will this process work on? Well, Calibre supports many different eReaders, so this hack will work with any of them. Those supported as of late November 2010 include:
Depending on when you’re reading this Calibre may support more devices. Check out the Calibre FAQ for more information. I have to thank Evil Genius Chronicles for this great idea, which I plan on making use of a great deal in the future. Let me know how it works for you in the comments below, or feel free to suggest any other ways of achieving this sort of setup. Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!
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| Create a Budget in Minutes with Sprouty Posted: 11 Dec 2010 09:30 AM PST
Sometimes keeping it simple is a lot more useful and that’s exactly what Sprouty aims to do. Unlike Mint and other popular money management systems, your personal bank account information does not even come into play; making it a secure option that can be used no matter where in the world you live.
Of course, the budget will most probably not reflect your own personal spending habits, and you can modify it to suit your lifestyle.
You can add additional budget items by clicking on the ‘Create a Budget’ button, determine the amount allocated to that category, and add tags. Using the same method, you can add additional sources of income, which is particularly useful for a family in which there are several breadwinners.
Existing budget items can also be edited or deleted by clicking on any given item, adding or removing tags of your choice, and adjusting the amount. This will be one of the very first steps you take when using Sprouty, in order to adjust the budget to suit your personal needs.
Once you have your budget in place, you can begin to add the actual transactions as they occur. New transactions are accompanied by the date, tags or description, and the amount.
As you add tags, Sprouty will also suggest tags that are commonly used.
If you add a transaction by mistake, it can easily be edited or deleted by clicking on any part of the transaction’s information. Sprouty’s best feature is undoubtedly the overview it provides of your spending. Once you have your budget in place and have added your transactions, you can see a monthly overview of your budget, and see exactly where your money is being spent, and what remains.
This is especially useful because you are able to visualise the areas in which you spend the most, and this could make for an easier way to understand where you need to cutback on your spending. Sprouty is as no-frills a budget system as they come, but sometimes that is all that you need. It is extremely user-friendly, with barely any learning curve at all. The website can be accessed from mobile browsers, making it possible to add transactions on the go. That said, it is not optimised for a mobile browser, and that would be one of the first welcome changes to the site. Adding transactions while you’re out and about is an integral part of the success of any budget system, so that payments don’t fall between the cracks. Whether it is a mobile website, adding transactions by email, or any other method, it will definitely improve Sprouty’s user friendly service. How do you keep track of your spending habits? Let us know in the comments. Hey Facebookers, make sure to check out MakeUseOf page on Facebook. Over 24,000 fans already!
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| The 5 Best Questions From You [MakeUseOf Answers] Posted: 11 Dec 2010 08:00 AM PST
The winner of this week’s Best Answer of the Week contest is Mike for his answer to this question: How can I get best and free software for 64-bit Windows 7? Thank you for donating your time and way to go! If you’re open for a $50 prize via Amazon voucher or PayPal, go ahead and solve Unanswered Questions. All comments qualify automatically. The only requirement is that we can contact you in case you win. Guest, Disqus, and Facebook logins preferred. Care to learn something new? Check out the best questions this week:
MakeUseOf Answers is an information resource. Browse by Latest Questions, Most Popular Questions, or Unanswered Questions. For regular updates subscribe to the Answers RSS Feed. Need help? Ask A Question at MakeUseOf Answers. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. All listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. 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 
There may be actually more than one reason for you to want to block Facebook widgets you see on almost any webpage you land on:
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.
Find yourself constantly distracted at work by long articles? Stop reading them at work. Send them to Instapaper and read them on your e-book reader of choice with Calibre, regardless of whether that e-book reader has a network connection.
Do you find that when you try to use a budgeting system, the more complicated it is, the more overwhelmed you become; and eventually you stop using it? If that’s the case, 
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