Sunday, May 22, 2011

MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [May 21st]” plus 4 more

MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [May 21st]” plus 4 more

Link to MakeUseOf

Cool Websites and Tools [May 21st]

Posted: 21 May 2011 08:31 PM PDT

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 here.

Add Your Website Here!

 

GoPileus – is a new entrant in the league of really simple file sharing websites. Just drag and drop your file on the box on their homepage and it'll generate a short URL of the file that can be shared with friends online via various social networks. The uploaded file will remain for a maximum of 30 minutes on the website. Read more: GoPileus: Quick Drag And Drop File Sharing

 

RSS Replay – RSS feeds to interesting websites contain all of the latest articles from the site. But if you have just discovered an interesting RSS feed and do not have the time to read all the articles, you can now subscribe to only certain items using RSS Replay, a free to use website. Read more: RSS Replay: Selectively Read Posts From Interesting RSS Feeds You Discover

 

 

Beetailer – If you already have an online store set up somewhere, then you'd probably want your wares in Facebook too. Beetailer is a nice app that makes all of this possible. This Facebook-based tool lets you import your web store to your Facebook Page so you can instantly sell directly to your social audience. Read more: Beetailer: Add Your Online Store To Facebook

 

 

NoteLeaf – Are you the type who always forgets the names of people you are meeting? Then you should check out Noteleaf. This mobile app allows you to schedule meetings in Google Calendar and be reminded when and who you are meeting with so you don’t forget again. Read more: NoteLeaf: Schedule Meetings In Google Calendar & Get Reminders On Who You Are Meeting

 

 

Guardian Travel Advice Map – The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the UK provides travel advice to British citizens regarding international travel. The folks at the Guardian – probably the most revered name in print media in Britain – have put together a travel advisory map as well as a table that lets users quickly understand the travel advisory for a particular country. Read more: Guardian Travel Advice Map: Interactive Travel Advisory Map Online

 

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.


Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers!


 

Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...

 

 

More articles about:

Similar articles:


4 Ways To Easily Embed Part Of A YouTube Video

Posted: 21 May 2011 06:31 PM PDT

embed part of youtube videoWe have shared quite a few useful YouTube-related tips so far. Here are 10 YouTube URL tricks to play with as well as some YouTube annoyances and ways to get rid of them. You may also get inspired by this post listing 10 cool things to do with a YouTube video. This post shares another quick tip: embedding only part of a YouTube video.

While there’s really only one way to do that (the first one listed below), there are also a few well-used tools that can help you cut off a part of the video and embed it. This post is intended to shed some light on how these tools work and what they actually do.

1. Use the Embedded Player Parameter

The most straightforward way to embed a video while skipping the first XX seconds of it is to use the &start= parameter which works both for the “old-style” (“classic”) and iFrame player:

Old-style player:

<object width=”425″ height=”349″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9_eRmA2ea8E?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0;&start=38“></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/9_eRmA2ea8E?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0;&start=38” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”425″ height=”349″ allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true”></embed></object>

embed part of youtube video

iFrame player:

<iframe width=”425″ height=”349″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/9_eRmA2ea8E?rel=0&start=38” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Likewise, there’s also the &end= parameter that makes the video stop playing at a specified time.

2. Chop With TubeChop

TubeChop (see our review here) offers a clean interface allowing you to easily cut any part of the video out. You just need to specify the time frame to chop either using the time controls or the pink slider. The tool also lets you add your own comments to embed with the video.

embed youtube videos

As a result, you get a new code to embed. The major drawback of using the tool is that your new embed code is based on the tubechop.com domain which might be less reliable than using the youtube-run code (I tend to think that TubeChop’s servers are much more likely to go down than YouTube’s servers which may mean that your embedded videos will be frequently inaccessible):

embed youtube videos in website

There is also no iFrame-based alternative for the embedded code (which is believed to be more mobile-friendly).

3. Slice With Splicd

Splicd (see our review here) is another alternative online tool that lets you specify the time frame to play any YouTube video within. It also requires absolutely no extra effort (like registration or anything similar). All you need is to provide the direct link to your video page on YouTube.

embed youtube videos

The resulting code is youtube-run and contains a link back to splicd.com (the latter can be obviously easily removed if you want):

embed youtube videos in website

4. Snip With SnipSnip

SnipSnip (see our review here)  is a web-based tool that cuts a part of any video out and lets you easily share it using the shortened link:

embed part of youtube video

The resulting code is YouTube-based and also contains a link back to the service.

To Sum Up

To avoid any confusion, let’s sum up what you can do with any of the above methods and how they are different:

Video sourced fromA link back to the serviceBest partDrawbackiFrame-based player option?
Manual methodYoutubeNoThe most reliable methodMight be complex for non-tech-savvy peopleYes
TubeChopTubeChopYesUsable visual interfaceRelies on TubeChop (if the service is down, the video stops working)No
SplicdYoutubeYesSimplifies the manual methodOffers no additional functionality to the built-in Youtube player optionNo
SnipSnipYoutubeYesOffers a short URL to share the sliced videoOffers no additional functionality to the built-in Youtube player optionNo

Which of the above methods would you prefer and why?


Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers!


 

Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...

 

 

More articles about: , ,

Similar articles:


Hot Tech Deals – Dell Laptop Deals + more

Posted: 21 May 2011 01:30 PM PDT

The Dell laptop deals are back and today’s featured deal is the Dell Inspiron 17R Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz Sandy Bridge 17.3in laptop which is going for $674.99 using the coupon codes in this post — that’s $200 below the retail price.

For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.

  1. Dell Inspiron 15R 15.6in or 14R 14in Intel Core i3-380M Dual-Core 2.53GHz Laptop $449 via code HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  2. Dell Inspiron 15R Intel Core i3-2310M 2.1GHz Sandy Bridge 15.6in Laptop $499.99 via code HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  3. Dell Inspiron 15R Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz Sandy Bridge 15.6in Laptop $624.99 via code 0CQ6F64K$ZCPV$ and HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  4. Dell Inspiron 14R Intel Core i3-2310M 2.1GHz Sandy Bridge 14n Laptop $549.99 via code HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  5. Dell Inspiron 14R Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz Sandy Bridge 14in Laptop $624.99 via code 0CQ6F64K$ZCPV$ and HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  6. Dell Inspiron 17R Intel Core i3-2310M 2.1GHz Sandy Bridge 17n Laptop $549.99 via code HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  7. Dell Inspiron 17R Intel Core i5-2410M 2.3GHz Sandy Bridge 17.3in Laptop $674.99 via code 0CQ6F64K$ZCPV$ and HLSKSR06S9ZG0F (Exp Soon)
  8. Logitech Performance Mouse MX Cordless Laser Mouse $59.99AR Free Shipping via rebate
  9. Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB 7200RPM/32MB 3.5in Internal SATA Hard Drive via code EMCYTZT479 (Exp 5/22)


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 ...

 

 

More articles about:

Similar articles:


Re-Add The Weather Indicator To Ubuntu 11.04′s Panel [Linux]

Posted: 21 May 2011 12:31 PM PDT

ubuntu weather indicatorPut the current weather where it belongs: in Ubuntu’s panel. If Unity’s left you without your favorite weather panel applet, worry not: you can install an indicator applet that’s just as good, and in some ways better, to the antiquated Gnome weather applet of old.

Okay, we get it: most of our commenters don’t like Ubuntu’s new Unity interface. I still think it has huge potential, but any transition is going to cause some frustration.

The lack of a customizable panel will doubtless be a problem to many, which is why I’m glad to see many developers are starting to design various indicator applets. OMG Ubuntu’s in-depth reporting on indicator applets is probably the best found anywhere on the web, if you want to find more applets right now. But by far the most useful thing I’ve seen is this indicator for the weather, probably because I spend as much time outside as I can.

Being able to see the current temperature, along with an icon representing conditions, at a glance is awesome, but there’s more than that here.

Using the Ubuntu Weather Indicator

Using this application isn’t any more difficult than it needs to be. Like I said, you can see the current condition, represented by an icon, by default. Click this and you’ll get more information.

ubuntu weather indicator

As with all indicator applets, the information is presented in a clean manner. Wind speed, humidity and sunrise/sunset times are all provided for you. There’s also a forecast, but you have to click to bring it up. When you do you’ll see a simple rundown:

weather weather applications

A rare rainy week in Boulder. I’m looking forward to it.

Configuring The Program

You can configure the program by clicking “preferences”, of course. There are three tabs of options: General, Units and Locations. Units and Locations, of course, are self-explanatory: you can change the units of measurement used to present information.

Under General there are a few things you might want to change. For example, I highly recommend adding the temperature to the panel with this checkbox:

ubuntu weather indicator

You can also decide whether or not you want to have notifications, which is useful if you need to be reminded that there’s weather outside. I turned this off.

Installation

Want to install this indicator applet? Time to add a PPA! Run the following code in the Terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:weather-indicator-team/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install indicator-weather

Not using Ubuntu 11.04 yet, or using a different Linux distro?  Weather Indicator will only work on desktops that support indicator applets, but you can head over to the project’s home page to potentially find installation instructions. Source code is all that’s offered, so you might need to compile this; sorry about that!

Conclusion

I really do prefer indicator applets to Gnome’s old panel applets. They’re better integrated – move your mouse from side to side to switch the applet you’re using – and they bring a polished feel to Ubuntu that it was lacking. As time goes on, more quality indicator applets like this will make Unity increasingly useful for home users. I’m looking forward to writing up a list of other indicator applets in the week to come, so stay tuned.

For now, feel free to recommend your favorite indicator applets below, or to comment on the value of the weather one. Also feel free to talk about how you personally dislike Unity, and why this means Ubuntu is now crap. That’s a very productive thing to add.


Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers!


 

Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...

 

 

More articles about: , , ,

Similar articles:


10+ New & Free Portfolio WordPress Themes For 2011

Posted: 21 May 2011 10:31 AM PDT

free wordpress themesWe’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again. One of WordPress‘ greatest strengths is its flexibility. The blogging platform can be pretty much anything you choose to make it. So it’s no surprise that it’s an extremely popular platform amongst photographers and designers.

The flexible appearance combined with an easy-to-use backend, and plugins to add just about any feature you can think of, WordPress offers photographers a great way to put together a portfolio. If you’ve been looking for a theme, and aren’t sure where to start, check out this list of some of the latest, professional looking portfolios available for download for free. Also be sure to check out our previous posts featuring some great free WordPress portfolio themes.

Revolt Theme

Ideal for graphic or web designers, Revolt is a fun and quirky theme which allows you to showcase your best work. If you use the theme on your website, you can also get yourself featured in the community section of the website.

free wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Imbalance

Imbalance is a clean, grid-like theme which puts all of the focus on the images. If you want to accompany your photos with some text, it is displayed when you hover the cursor over the images. Imbalance is suitable for anyone looking for a fresh theme to showcase their work.

wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Portfolium

From the same designers as Imbalance comes Portfolium, another clean, grid-like theme, but this time with a darker background. Portfolium is suitable for photographers, designers and artists.

wordpress themes

View the Demo or download the theme.

Mansion

Graph Paper Press is a great source for impressive themes for free. Mansion is another grid-based theme, which takes up all of the screen real estate with your photos. Mansion also makes it easier to manage a photoblog with a great backend where you can upload, resize, and crop your images all in one place.

wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Big Square

Big Square is the ideal theme if you want to feature a set of photos in each post. This can be a great tool for featuring series of photos or all the photos from one specific shoot.

best free wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Fotofolio

From the same designer as Big Square, comes Fotofolio, a great theme for photographers or designers who are using their site as a means of attracting new clients. The theme has a professional landing page, space for a portfolio, blog and testimonials.

best free wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Pure II

Pure II is a good theme for a photographer or designer who finds blogging just as important. The theme which focuses primarily on the blogging side of things also comes with a custom page template for a portfolio.

best free wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Praseodymiumic

Praseodymiumic is a free theme with a small slideshow, space for a testimonial and grid-based portfolio all on the homepage. The theme makes it easy to throw together a professional looking site in no time.

Praseodymiumic.jpg

View the demo or download the theme.

Video

If you’re looking for a free WordPress portfolio theme to showcase videos, look no further than Templatic’s succinctly named Video. The homepage features a video slideshow, as well as thumbnails of various video categories.

video.jpg

View the demo or download the theme.

Dessign

Design have several impressive free themes for the typography buff, but they are all quite similar, making it even harder to choose which one you might use. The slight variations between each theme include colours, background and various ways of putting the grid-based theme to good use.

Modern is a minimalist black and white, grid-based theme with a sidebar.

Modern.jpg

View the demo or download the theme.

Contemporary brings in a dash of yellow the theme, along with a graph-paper like background.

contemporary.jpg

View the demo or download the theme.

Studio is less traditional and more quirky in its layout. The black and white theme is great for the innovative and creative designer.

Studio.jpg

View the demo or download the theme.

Minimal, the last of Dessign’s theme, is also black and white theme which lives up to its name. The theme comes with a custom page template for a portfolio, a blog, and a homepage with incorporates both.

free wordpress themes

View the demo or download the theme.

Do you have a favourite, free WordPress portfolio theme? Let us know in the comments.


Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers!


 

Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...

 

 

More articles about: , , , ,

Similar articles:


No comments:

Post a Comment