MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [May 15th]” plus 8 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [May 15th]
- Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends!
- How Many Programming Languages Do You know? [MakeUseOf Poll]
- Illumination Software Creator Giveaway Winners
- Get Social With Collaborative Lists On ListGeeks
- Hot Tech Deals – Sony KDL-46EX720 46in 3D LED LCD HDTV for $999.99 + more
- From Classical To Metal: 10 Free Albums & A Song [Sound Sunday May 15th]
- Pixelmator – The Image Editor That Mac Users Should Be Using [Giveaway]
- Setup A Perfect Media Center With Plex [Mac & Windows]
| Cool Websites and Tools [May 15th] Posted: 15 May 2011 08:31 PM PDT
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 join MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Thank You To MakeUseOf Friends! Posted: 15 May 2011 07:31 PM PDT
Thank you, guys! Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format.  Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| How Many Programming Languages Do You know? [MakeUseOf Poll] Posted: 15 May 2011 06:30 PM PDT
Out of the 954 votes, we had this breakdown: 51% have 2-5 email addresses; 29% have 6-10 email addresses; 10% have between 10-20 email addresses; 8% have 20+ email addresses; 1% have only one email address; while one voter (or .01%) had no email address at all. Full results and this week’s poll after the jump. The bulk of MakeUseOf readers have 2-5 email addresses), while the rest generally have more.
This week’s poll question is: How Many Programming Languages Do You know? MakeUseOf readers generally seem to have a little geek talent in reserve, so we thought we’d find out just how geeky you all are. In order to decide whether you “know” a programming language or not, think about whether you could honestly tell a potential employer you knew it. Basically, it doesn’t matter if you’d use a cheat sheet for reminders, but you should understand how the language works, have coded with it before and remember it well enough to not need to re-learn it. As for what counts as a programming language, that’s another argument. Be sensible! So, which languages do you know? Why did you choose to learn them? Let us know in the comments! Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Illumination Software Creator Giveaway Winners Posted: 15 May 2011 04:30 PM PDT
Congratulations! You should have received an email from @makeuseof.com confirming your prize. If you haven’t received it yet, please check your spam inbox. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Get Social With Collaborative Lists On ListGeeks Posted: 15 May 2011 03:30 PM PDT
Since ListGeeks really does label itself as a social site, you won’t find any way to make your lists private. All of your lists and comments are public, shared with all other ListGeek users. If you like the idea of creating lists but are looking for a more elaborate social network site, where your lists are illustrated with photos, be sure to check out Pinterest. After signing up for a free account, you can get to creating your first list straight away. Each item on the list can be accompanied by a URL.
Once you’ve completed and saved your list, it will be visible on your profile, and you can also share your list, or other people’s lists for that matter, via Twitter or Facebook. You can also give and receive comments on lists.
You can delve into the social aspect of ListGeeks in either one of two ways. You can either browse the lists that have been posted, by popularity, date or take the staff picks.
Or you can choose to browse other Geeks by most recently active or most active.
You can then choose to follow other users, and a list of their latest lists will be visible in a personalised feed.
You’ll find that there are little numbers accompanying the title of each list. The first number represents the number of people you follow who have done so. The second number represents the number of people on the site who have created their own version of the list. If you want to create your own version of someone else’s list, when you open it, you will be presented with a space to create your own list using the same time. You can also scroll through all the available versions of the list by selecting Everyone and then using the arrows above the list to navigate.
Lastly, you can edit your own profile through Settings. You can add a picture, select a color that will always be used for each of your lists, add your name, location, website and a short bio. The color you select for your profile is the color that will be used for all of your lists.
ListGeeks is built on a simple premise and for that reason it works. It doesn’t claim to be more than a site where you can go and create lists. While other sites, like Amazon for example, have this feature built into their services, sometimes all you need is a place to create lists. ListGeeks can also prove to be quite inspirational if you want it to be. It can be a great way of finding inspiration for your writing, inspiration for things you should try and haven’t done before, or even just a great place to see what makes other people tick. What site do you use to create collaborative lists? Let us know in the comments. Image Credit: Flickr Hey Facebookers, make sure to join MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Hot Tech Deals – Sony KDL-46EX720 46in 3D LED LCD HDTV for $999.99 + more Posted: 15 May 2011 01:30 PM PDT
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.
Hey Facebookers, make sure to join MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 70,000 fans already! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| From Classical To Metal: 10 Free Albums & A Song [Sound Sunday May 15th] Posted: 15 May 2011 12:31 PM PDT
This edition is wild with a little bit of everything and something for everyone. The mix takes you through metal, rock, pop, reggae, folk, country, soul, hip hop, classical, instrumental, acoustic, and electronic music. What else could you ask for? Please post your feedback in the comments or write me an email [tina at makeuseof dot com]. Free Song: Two Cent Revival – Save Our SoulsGenre: americana, folk, rock, roots A few weeks ago I featured the song The Devil’s In This Whiskey on Sound Sunday. In light of the upcoming album release, Two Cent Revival have made a second song available for free download. It will be available for one week only, so get it while it’s out there! Save Our Souls is a free download from Bandcamp. Abused Romance – ShineGenre: alternative, rock Abused Romance is an emerging alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California. They have recently released their debut album Shine and are going to tour the US in June this year. Shine is a free download from the Abused Romance Homepage. Enxo – Black Circus: IntermissionGenre: experimental, pop, soul, hip hop From his ReverbNation profile:”Enxo, born Lorenzo Joseph Burroughs, is a young, vibrant, eclectic artist and producer, who prides himself on innovation and congratulating creativity in all of its forms. To his fanbase, he is known to be a very passionate songwriter and deftly illustrates his Christian Faith through music and a variety of social. Much like a young Michael Jackson, there is an unmistakeable magic that one sees and hears as they experience what Enxo has to offer.” Black Circus: Intermission is a free download from Bandcamp. Damon Amir – Digital IntercourseGenre: instrumental, rhythm & blues, electronica, hip hop From Damon Amir’s Bandcamp profile: “From Denver, Colo comes” Damon Amir” , consisting of Paul P-FUNK Dawan and Derrick CEO Savala, a two man production team . All songs are from our catalog we have built. They are free to use and ask only that you acknowledge where you got them.” Digital Intercourse is a free download from Bandcamp. Slavery – RevengeGenre: heavy metal, death metal, thrash metal Slavery was born as a death metal project between Jimmy Ponce (drums) and Rafael Salgado (guitarist) in early 1990. The band didn’t come together until 1993 and subsequently released their first demo After The War 1994. Slavery is based in Santiago de Chile. Revenge is a free download from Bandcamp. RootDown – SamplerGenre: pop, rock, reggae
From their Facebook profile: “The new ROOTDOWN record "Tidal Wave" features ten songs produced by Grammy-winning producer Christopher Stevens (TobyMAC, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood). The band has shown significant growth and maturity since their last release "Summer of Love" in 2009 (which debuted in the top ten on the iTunes reggae charts).” RootDown’s Sampler is a free download from Music Bailout. Jay Morgans – Burning The PortraitGenre: acoustic, alternative, folk
Download Burning The Portrait one song at a time from The Morgans Project website or stream it from Rhapsody. Music from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum – The Concert: Selections, Spring 2011Genre: classical From the FMA album page: “This spring, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum launched a revamped website and music library to accompany their world-renowned classical music podcast, The Concert. To celebrate, ISGM digs into their library to curate this fresh batch of world-class performances for the Free Music Archive. Enjoy!” The Concert: Selections, Spring 2011 is a free download from the Free Music Archive. Nest – NestGenre: electronic, 20th century classical, minimalism From the FMA album page: “Nest is a project of fellow pianists and record label operators Otto Totland (Deaf Center / Type Records) and Huw Roberts (Serein). They became friends when they were members of the Miasmah free netlabel. This self-titled EP is their first work publicly released. It is apparently no longer available through Serein since their 2009 rebuild, but has been remastered and incorporated into the album RETOLD. The recording is too good to fade into obscurity, so it lives again now at the WFMU Free Music Archive.” Nest is a free download from the Free Music Archive. Amy Courts – NoiseTrade EPGenre: folk, pop, rock From Amy’s hompeage: “With the July 2008 release of the independent follow-up to her 2005 EP,These Cold and Rusted Lungs, Amy Courts shows with effortless fluency that she is indeed here to stay. With her trademark impassioned vocals, captivating melodies, and audacious honesty, she ably takes on love, heartache, spirituality, and personal demons. Though her voice and songs invoke inevitable comparisons to great singer-songwriters like Jennifer Knapp, Patty Griffin, Derek Webb, and Sheryl Crow, her sound and experience are uniquely her own, and are delivered with a rare distinction.” Amy Courts’ NoiseTrade EP is a free download from NoiseTrade. Liza Day – Liza Day and the Northbound Trestle SingersGenre: folk, rock, country From her Facebook bio: “Born Lindsey Czechowicz, her stage name is one half affectionate nickname and one half borrowed from social justice crusader Dorothy Day. Her music reflects this marriage, half diary-page-reflection and half public service announcement, with sounds appropriated from, well, wherever. From Appalachian folk she borrows rustic textures and deadpan storytelling. From the margins of pop she takes a disregard for tired conventions. From classic rock she borrows a dash of grit and recklessness. From old soul and gospel she borrows the secrets of voicing urgent conviction with the most human of all instruments. It’s all there, it isn’t particularly tidy, and ultimately it’s nobody’s but her own. So then, here’s the bargain: let her borrow your ears and a few minutes of your time, and you’ll be glad you did.” Liza Day and the Northbound Trestle Singers is a free download from NoiseTrade. New to Sound Sunday? Past editions of Sound Sunday are available here. Feel free to get in touch with me [tina at makeuseof dot com] to share free material, suggestions, and feedback or simply add your comments below. SuperTinTin – Skype Video Call Recorder Record and save your audio and video conversations on Skype or MSN. Easy to use. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Pixelmator – The Image Editor That Mac Users Should Be Using [Giveaway] Posted: 15 May 2011 11:30 AM PDT
Personally, Pixelmator is my everyday go-to image editor. I use it to create all of the image featured on my website, TheDailyBuggle. Very rarely do I feel the need to use Photoshop for the purpose of simple image editing, plus Pixelmator is more intuitive anyway, in my humble opinion. Perhaps the most significant enhancement since we initially reviewed Pixelmator was the addition of 64-bit architecture support, which resulted in huge performance improvements. I’m not really going to dive into the details about what makes Pixelmator tick and the technologies used to drive it. If you’re really interested in those details, I’d recommend that you read up here — it’s better than me trying to explain it to you anyway. I’ll be showing you how Pixelmator works and how you can integrate it into your image editing workflow. Pixelmator is compatible with over 100 different file formats including PSD, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, PDF and EPS; so you’ll have no trouble opening just about any image in Pixelmator. It can also output images in a whole load of image formats, which we’ll discuss a little later. Did you know that you could get a free 30-day fully-functional trial of Pixelmator? Download it now and give it a whirl. The first thing you’ll notice about it is it’s sleek interface — it belongs on a Mac. Everything else just falls into place. Unlike Photoshop, there’s no bounding window. Instead, you’re presented with floating toolbars which you’re free to re-arrange however you want. It’s very tightly integrated with OS X, providing you access to iPhoto, smart albums, iSight, and Aperture. On the left, you have the instruments you’ll need to edit your images. Pixelmator provides a variety of 4 selection tools: Rectangular Marque tool, Elliptical Marque tool, Lasso tool, Polygonal Lasso tool and the Magic Wand. In addition, you also get an assortment of freestyle painting tools: Pencil, Brush, Eraser, Magic Eraser, Paint Bucket tool and Gradient tool. Not forgetting, the high-sought Clone Stamp tool is also included. Essentially, its a complete toolkit for basic image editing.
If you look carefully on the right-hand side of the screenshot above, you’ll see something that resembles a layers palette. In fact, it is — Pixelmator is a layers-based image editor. Like Photoshop, it allows you to blend layers, adjust their intensities, create clipping and layer masks to accurately edit your photos. In regards to image correction, Pixelmator is no slouch. It has all of the powerful adjustment tools that Photoshop has — Levels, Curves, Exposure, Colour Balance, Channel Mixer, Colour Replacement, Hue and Saturation and of course, Brightness and Contrast. Just about everything you need to properly adjust your photos can be found in Pixelmator, including over 60 Quartz Composer and 130 Core Image-powered filters and effects, which you can preview in real-time. A fun feature of Pixelmator, one which I’m sure a lot of users will utilise is the ability to export directly to Facebook, Picasa and Flickr.
Pixelmator supports the popular image formats and allows you to easily export them as JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD and PDF with a single click. However, what you don’t see are the other formats that it’s capable of exporting: WEBP, GIF, PICT, ART, AVI, AVS, BMP, DNG, DOT, DPX, EPDF, EPI, EPT, FAX, FIG, FITS, FPX, GPLT, JP2, MAN, MONO, MNG, MPEG, M2V, MPC, MSL, MTV, MVG, OTB, PCL, PCX, PDB, PDF, PFA, PFB, PGM, PICON, PIX, PNM, PPM, PS, PS2, PS3, PTIF, PWP, RAD, RLA, RLE, SCT, SFW, SGI, SUN, TGA, TIM, TTF, UIL, UYVY, VICAR, VIFF, WBMP, WPG, XBM, XCF, XPM.
If you’re a preparing an image to be shared online, Pixelmator will grant you the option of saving a web-optimised version of JPEG, PNG or GIF.
If you’ll be using Pixelmator for painting, you’ll be pleased to know that it supports the use of a graphics tablet and almost every brush property can be adjusted; from its size, hardness, spacing, flow, stroke jitter, as well as the graphics table sensitivity. Give it a try. Its tight integration with OS X and beautifully simple interface might just encourage you to stop using GIMP. If you’re happy to purchase Pixelmator, you’ll find it on the Mac App Store for $59.99. We’re giving away 25 copies of Pixelmator this week, don’t miss out on the change to win this fantastic image editor for free! How do I win a copy?It’s simple, just follow the instructions. Step 1: Fill in the giveaway formPlease fill in the form with your real name and email address so that we can get in touch if you are chosen as a winner. Please fill out my form.Click here if you can’t view the form. The giveaway code required to activate the form is available from our Facebook page. Step 2: Share!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!
This giveaway begins now and ends Sunday, May 22nd at 2100hrs PDT. The winners will be selected at random and informed via email. Spread the word to your friends and have fun! MakeUseOf would like to thank Pixelmator 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. Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Setup A Perfect Media Center With Plex [Mac & Windows] Posted: 15 May 2011 10:30 AM PDT
If you read through and decide you’d rather check out some of the alternatives, have a look at Bakari’s round of streaming and converter apps for OsX, Tim’s collection of linux-based media center distros, or Justin’s list of TV-ready media centre apps last month. Is it a player? Is it server?Plex produces a media server and client app for Mac OsX, however there is only a server app for Windows currently available. To view your media on the Windows side of things, you can use a Plex plugin. Since Plex is essentially a fork of the XBMC app, there is very little difference in the client/player side of things. Both Mac and Windows Plex Media Servers can send data to the mobile clients (obviously, there is no media server for mobile devices). I’ve made a little diagram to help explain this:
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Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. Most of the listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. If you want to have similar cool website round-ups delivered to your daily email, subscribe 
Last week we asked MakeUseOf readers exactly 
Winning over $1,200 worth of software to create other software sounds like a treat, doesn’t it? Let’s take a look at the lucky MakeUseOf readers who won themselves a free copy of 
If you’re a fan of making lists and want to turn it into a social affair, 
Today’s featured deal is the Sony KDL-46EX720 46in 3D LED LCD HDTV complete with full 1080p HD (120Hz) and Netflix for $999.99.
Enjoy a Sound Sunday!
Ever since we first featured Pixelmator in March 2010, it has been improved in so many ways. It’s pretty much the affordable Photoshop alternative for Mac. We’re giving away 25 copies of the latest version of Pixelmator this week, worth almost $1,500 in total; and saying goodbye to GIMP.
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