MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [January 2nd]” plus 6 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [January 2nd]
- Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends!
- Hot Tech Deals [Jan 2nd]
- Do You Live In The Cloud? [MakeUseOf Poll]
- 7 Useful Extensions For Chrome Users To Ditch Twitter Clients In Favour Of The New Website
- 10 Free MP3 Albums To Download – New Year’s Edition [Sound Sunday]
- 5 Microsoft Xbox Kinect Hacks That’ll Blow Your Mind
| Cool Websites and Tools [January 2nd] Posted: 02 Jan 2011 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. Got Questions? Ask Them Now FREE on MakeUseOf Answers!
    
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| Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends! Posted: 02 Jan 2011 06:31 PM PST
Thank you, guys! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| Posted: 02 Jan 2011 05:32 PM PST
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.
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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| Do You Live In The Cloud? [MakeUseOf Poll] Posted: 02 Jan 2011 05:30 PM PST
We got 393 votes in total, with this breakdown: 17% want the latest tech gadgets; 13% want handy peripherals; 12% want something from their wishlist; 11% like gift vouchers; 8% want geek t-shirts; 7% want a geeky toy; 7% want computer games; 6% want books; 6% prefer tech magazine subscriptions; while things you’ve been researching, DVDs, snacks, board games and other excellent ideas all scored less than 4% each. Full results and this week's poll after the jump.
This week's poll question is: Do You Live In The Cloud? Never in the cloud? Always in the cloud? Where do you stand? The cloud/local debate will rage into eternity for all we know, but the most constructive thing we can all do is to give each other tips. What cloud storage do you use? Why? What will you never store in the cloud? 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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| 7 Useful Extensions For Chrome Users To Ditch Twitter Clients In Favour Of The New Website Posted: 02 Jan 2011 02:31 PM PST
There are definitely advantages to using the website – the most obvious of which is that it will use less resources on your computer.That said, you’ll find that there are quite a few features that Twitter has yet to implement on the website and they could easily be a deal breaker when it comes to making the switch. You’ll instantly lose notifications, integrated URL shortening and much more. Chrome users, however, have at their disposal a variety of extensions that will turn the Twitter website into the ultimate tweeting experience. NotificationsOne of the first things you’ll miss if you decide to use the Twitter website as opposed to a client, is notifications. Want to be alerted when someone replies to your tweets, DMs you, or even when your feed is updated? Install the Twitter Chrome extension, Twitter Notifier and configure the extension, deciding which alerts you want to receive.
Notifications appear at the top right hand corner of the screen, regardless of which website or program you have open at the time.
Retweet OptionsRetweeting seems to always be an issue when it comes to using the Twitter website. In the past, there was no way to quickly retweet, and you had to resort to the copy-and-paste method. Now, you can retweet, but only using Twitter’s updated version which only allows you to quote the entire tweet word for word. If you want to retweet the good old way, giving yourself a chance to edit, or add your own comment to the tweet, install the extension Retweet Old School. The extension adds a link to each tweet, next to Twitter’s native reply, retweet, and favourite buttons, that reads Retweet Old School.
Automatic RefreshAnother staple feature in most Twitter clients is that your feed automatically refreshes every so often so that you can instantly see the latest tweets from your friends. While the new Twitter website does let you know how many new tweets are waiting for you, rather than have to click a button, install Twitter Refresh and new tweets show up automatically. Hide RecommendationsTwitter clients are blissfully devoid of follow recommendations, promoted Tweets, and everything else that Twitter has recently added to the sidebar. If you’d rather remove that content from Twitter, the Twitter Chrome extension Hide Twitter Guff will do the trick.
Anything promotional is automatically removed, but you can configure the extension to remove follow suggestions and Twitter trends.
Bit.ly IntegrationIf you’ve become accustomed to integration Twitter with your Bit.ly account, you’ll be happy to know that there is a quick and easy way to shorten URLs directly from the Twitter website, using PBTweet. If you have a Bit.ly account, entering your username and API key to the extension will ensure that you can also keep up on the stats for all the links you share.
After installing the extension, a new ‘Shorten URL’ link will appear under the status update box.
And that is just one of the extension’s features. In fact, it does offer some of the features that have already been covered, such as auto-refreshing your timeline, removing ads, old school retweeting, and growl notifications for mentions. Notifications are only useful however, if you happen to be on the Twitter website making Twitter Notifier a more useful extension as far as this feature is concerned. Additional features include translation options, and the resizing of fonts. Filter TweetsWant to remove a certain word from your timeline? Or possibly have a friend who’s live-tweeting a soccer match? You can temporarily remove certain words or users from your timeline with Tweet Filter. This extension really gives you a way to weed out tweets that aren’t of interest to you, and ensure that you don’t miss the tweets that count.
Upload Photos, Videos Or FilesTwitPlus gives you the capability to upload photos and videos directly from the Twitter website. The file sharing capability comes courtesy of YFrog.
Other features include auto-refresh and integrated URL shortening. That said, as far as URL shortening is concerned, PBTweet seems like the better options because there is no authentication, and Bit.ly is not included on the list of shorteners available. Would you ditch your favourite client for the Twitter website? Let us know in the comments.
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| 10 Free MP3 Albums To Download – New Year’s Edition [Sound Sunday] Posted: 02 Jan 2011 11:31 AM PST
As we enter 2011, which is going to be an exciting year, just as every year, we can dare to take a look back at some of the best music from the previous year. This edition features Best of 2010 compilations and samplers. As always, the comments are open for you to share your thoughts on this week’s edition or suggestions for future articles. You can also eMail me [tina at makeuseof dot com]. Happy New Year! SPIN – Best of 2010Genre: compilation, alternative, rock, pop
SPIN Homepage. INQ Mag – Best of 2010Genre: compilation, indie, ambient, electronic
INQ Mag Homepage and Facebook. WFMU – Best of 2010: Life from 43 MontyGenre: compilation, rock
WFMU Homepage. AllSaints & Clash – Best of 2010Genre: sampler
Clash Homepage. Pretty Much Amazing – Best Songs of 2010Genre: mixed
Pretty Much Amazing Blog. Young & Research – Tough Love Sampler 2010Genre: sampler, indie, electronica, li-fi, new wave, post punk, shoe gaze Tough Love Records released this sampler in late summer 2010. It features the music of friends, family, old flames, and future lovers. They have also put to gether two Best of 2010 samplers, which you can download one tune at a time from their homepage: Part I and Part II. The Tough Love Sampler 2010 is a free download from Bandcamp. Tough Love Records Homepage. Star Slinger – Remixes 2010Genre: alternative, electronic, soul, easy listening, hip hop Created by Nottinghamsire born Darren Williams in April 2010, Star Slinger has put out three full albums in just about 8 months. His August release Remixes 2010 was so well received that Darren was approached for official remixes by bands like The Go! Team, The Morning Benders, and Broken Social Scene. Since Bandcamp limits free downloads, Star Slinger made Remixes 2010 a free download from MediaFire. Star Slinger MySpace and Homepage. Good Luck – Demonstration 2010Genre: punk, pop Bloomington, Indiana pop punk band Good Luck wrote their first song in a basement in April 2007. They have since released two albums, one being Demonstration 2010. Demonstration 2010 is a name your price download from Bandcamp. Good Luck MySpace and Homepage. Gizeh Records – Winter 2010Genre: ambient, experimental, neo-classical, post rock Gizeh Records is an independent label based in Leeds, England. This free record label sampler features a selection of artists from the Gizeh roster, including some older songs and some from forthcoming releases. The Winter 2010 sampler from Gizeh Records is a name your price download from Bandcamp. Gizeh Records Homepage. Forfolkssake – The Best of the FFS New Bands Panel 2010Genre: folk This old music website focuses on the folk scene in London, UK and beyond. With bands like Alessi’s Ark, Noah and the Whale, and Mumford & Sons folk music has made a return to the limelight. In their New Bands Panel, FFS introduces artists new to the scene. The Best of the FFS New Bands Panel 2010 is a free download from Bandcamp. Unfortunately, you have to download the album one song at a time. Forfolkssake MySpace and Homepage. Enjoyed the selection and looking forward to more? In the meantime you should browse past editions of Sound Sunday. You can also get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material, suggestions, and feedback that you don't want to post in the comments below. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| 5 Microsoft Xbox Kinect Hacks That’ll Blow Your Mind Posted: 02 Jan 2011 09:31 AM PST
What is it about the Kinect that’s so special? Isn’t it just like the waning Wii, or the more recent but somewhat flailing Playstation Move? Well, no actually – while the software and games Microsoft builds around it may as well be the same, the Kinect is especially interesting because of the incredible hardware inside of it.
Since the Kinect plugs in the Xbox through USB, it was obvious to many that it could potentially be used by standard computers, and the race to hack it was on. Microsoft is also rumored to be toying with the idea of integrating the Kinect officially into Windows 8. I thought now would be a good time to show you some of the amazing things that people have already managed to do with the Kinect, in a roughly chronological / order-of-awesomeness from a simple 3D live camera to an automated attack drone. 3D Video CameraThe first impressive hack to make use of the quickly knocked together open-source drivers, was Oliver Kreylos. He managed to take the video stream, and the 3D data, and combine it into a crazy 3D video stream. Just watch the video – though it may initially look a bit janky, you may very well be blown away when he begins to manipulate the camera angle. Of course, when someone suggested 2 cameras to take care of the black “blind-spots”, he tried that too. Optical CamouflageObviously, the next step after having established a 3D video stream is to then paint the person out of the video stream, effectively providing them with optical camouflage! Not quite sure what the use of this one would be, but a cool hack none the less. Lightsaber Boy & Puppet GirlMan, geeks are so predicatable sometimes. Give ‘em a camera, and soon enough they’ll want to pretend like they have a lightsaber. With the Kinect though – there’s no need for fancy post-production! On the other end of the geek spectrum – by which I mean, the girls – there is an inherent desire to create something *cute*. The Kinect-powered shadow-puppet is a great first step. The Quadrotor Autonomous Flight with Obstacle AvoidancePerhaps one of the most incredible hacks yet is putting the thing a-top a quadrotor (a helicopter with 4 blades), and giving it a Linux brain = Autonomous flying death machine. Messing With Your MindFinally, I’d thought I’d include this one for a bit of fun, even though it’s basically completely useless. Matt Bell took 2 3D video streams of the same physical space and combined them. Though it doesn’t sound so great, the video is incredibly well done, and the mutant objects created are quite fun. Enjoy! Let us know if you got a Kinect for Christmas and what games you’re genuinely enjoying. My wife has promised we can get one for my birthday in February, and after watching all these I can’t wait!! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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Last week, we asked you all to tell us the 
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Welcome to the first Sound Sunday edition in 2011!
The Microsoft Xbox Kinect is undoubtedly a special bit of kit, and something we haven’t yet covered here on MakeUseOf (although Tim did recommend it in the | You are subscribed to email updates from MakeUseOf.com To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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