MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [June 18th]” plus 4 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [June 18th]
- 2Lingual: Search Google & Twitter By Voice In Multiple Languages [Google Chrome]
- Courteous.ly – Manage Email Expectations & Inform People When They Can Expect A Reply
- Top 5 Gnome Shell Themes For You To Install [Linux]
- Facebook One-Ups Send Button, Adds Send Dialog [News]
| Cool Websites and Tools [June 18th] Posted: 18 Jun 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. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| 2Lingual: Search Google & Twitter By Voice In Multiple Languages [Google Chrome] Posted: 18 Jun 2011 06:31 PM PDT
The 2Lingual developers have incorporated the new browser feature into their multilingual search tools and have now provided us with Google Multilingual Voice Search and Twitter Multilingual Voice Search. Both the tools support 51 Speech-to-Text Languages including various regional variations. For example, for English, there’s American English, British English, Canadian English, Australian English, Indian English and South African English. Obviously, both tools work only in Google Chrome. In other browsers you simply won’t see the microphone icon to speak. Voice Search requires a Speech-to-Text capable browser like Google Chrome version 11.0.696. You’ll also obviously need a headset and microphone to speak into. 1. Search Google By Voice
If you don’t select any of the suggested alternative search queries, they will disappear in a few seconds.
The tool works surprisingly fast fetching results almost instantly. It does look like a huge time-saver for multi-lingual search engine users. 2. Search Twitter By VoiceTwitter multilingual voice search is a later addition to the tool that lets you search Twitter by voice. Similarly, just click a microphone icon in the search field and speak your search term:
More tools from the same developer which were previously reviewed on MUO:
Other Voice Search & Speech Recognition Tools:
The tools look both fun and useful and they may come in handy for heavy search users. What do you think of them? Hey Facebookers, make sure to join MakeUseOf on Facebook and get access to some exclusve stuff. Over 105,000 fans already! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Courteous.ly – Manage Email Expectations & Inform People When They Can Expect A Reply Posted: 18 Jun 2011 12:31 PM PDT
Courteous.ly, a new service provided by the University of Georgia, gives you a link you can add to your email signature. Anyone who clicks this link will be told, in brief, how heavy your current email load is. The idea is that people will understand if you don’t respond to an email instantly. For many, email is central to workflow. In some ways this makes people more productive, but an overflowing inbox can frequently feel like a burden. Web apps like The Email Game can help make responding to emails more fun, but unless you actually use it regularly people will still be waiting for you to get back to them. Courteous.ly won’t get back to them for you, but it just might help some people understand why your responses aren’t automatic. It works with Gmail accounts, including Google Apps. What It’s ForThis video sums up Courteous.ly quite well: As depicted in the video, people perceive you as busy if your desk is messy. A full email box is another sign of business, but other people cannot tell how full your inbox is. For example, writing for MakeUseOf means that dozens of comments show up in my inbox every day, usually while I’m sleeping. Combine this with my other job and personal emails and I’ve typically got about 30 emails to respond to every morning when I wake up. But not everyone knows about my email volume. Courteous.ly gives me an opportunity to share that information, so people can get a rough idea of whether they can expect a message soon. How To Use ItGetting started with this service is very easy. Just head over to courteous.ly to begin what may be the simplest sign-up for a service ever:
Once you’ve done that you’ll have to tell Gmail to authorize the service, ideally after you’ve read the consent form. This being a research project, anonymous information will be utilized for academic purposes, but the privacy promises are solid. All signed up? You’ll be given your link, which you should place in your email signature. People who click this link will see your current email load described:
Note that no personal information whatsoever is shared, so your contacts have nothing to worry about. You can change the rationale for this message however, in the settings:
An optional message, alerting people to the kinds of emails you’re likely to respond to quickly, can also be added. This is good, because it can teach people proper email etiquette: basically, be brief and to the point if you expect a quick response. People can even use a simple subject tag, “[whenever]“, to have messages only reach you once your email load is back to normal. RationaleAs previously mentioned: this project is part of academic research. The purpose is, in essence, to see if increased information about the way email works can reduce frustration. To quote the project’s stated rationale:
Eric Gilbert, Ph.D, is on to something here, I think. I cannot wait to see the results of his study, and hope he shares it with his users. I also hope this service continues to work after the research is done, because there’s something brilliant about it. But what do you think? Let me know how useful you think this is in the comments below, along with any recommendations for alternative services. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Top 5 Gnome Shell Themes For You To Install [Linux] Posted: 18 Jun 2011 10:31 AM PDT
Be Ready For ThemesThere are two ways for you to install themes. One way is the hard, manual way of copying and pasting files into a specific folder ( You can then launch Gnome Tweak Tool, head over to the Shell category, and find a nice little place for Shell themes along with a box to pick out new ones for installation. ThemesNow that we have a way to install our themes, let’s check out my top 5. Atolm
Atolm is a great choice for those who would like to have a soft, dark Shell theme to have something different to look at aside from the default Awaita theme. There is also a nice touch of blue for highlighted, clicked, and active items. The combination is great on the eyes, and the theme as a whole gets some simplicity points as well. There is also a GTK theme that can go along with it, though personally I find that the pane backgrounds are too dark for me. However, that doesn’t mean that the theme is excellent. Smooth Inset
In case Atolm is too dark for you, Smooth Inset may be a great alternative. It offers much of the same simplicity as Atolm does, yet the lighter colors might brighten your mood when you turn your computer on. There’s really not a whole lot to it, just different shades and opacity levels of white, along with a little light blue. The theme, though simple, still keeps it interesting. There is also a version available for smaller screens. The main difference presented by the small screen version is that the application icons are smaller, so more fit into view at one time. The panel at the top is also smaller to allow more screen space for applications. Dark Glass
Another one in the simplicity pool is Dark Glass. This theme represents exactly what it’s called – dark glass. Again, there’s not a whole lot to it, just shades of gray and black, along some glassy effects. Another great choice if you want a crisper look than Atolm. Orta
Orta comes in two variations, which you will discover if you open up the original .zip folder. One contains almost all white while the other one contains a mix of white and black/gray colors.
The themes represents the original GTK2 theme very well and the combination of the two works great. The Orta theme contains a couple more curves, so it doesn’t have the full simplicity as the previously mentioned choices. Gaia
Gaia is yet another theme that doesn’t really fit in the simplicity pool. Although it isn’t necessarily as fancy as Orta, the combination of white and green colors creates an interesting appeal that may not always work with every GTK theme or wallpaper. But if you have a wallpaper and GTK theme that work with this Shell theme, you’re in for a treat. Honorable Mention
Finally, I can’t finish this article without giving an honorable mention to the Tron Shell theme. It is a superbly made theme that makes your computer about ten times cooler, instantly. It would top the list, but sadly it is too specialized compared to the others, so it isn’t exactly something everyone can use (or is a fan of). However, you should at least look at the screenshots to decide for yourself if you would like to use it. ConclusionGnome Shell is a great desktop environment that still has plenty of potential, as one can see in the quality of themes. As the Shell gains more features in future releases, the potential will increase even more, and we’ll really see what kind of customizations we can make. Do you like to theme your Gnome Shell? How much better do you think the themes are compared to Gnome’s default “Awaita”? Let us know in the comments! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras. Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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| Facebook One-Ups Send Button, Adds Send Dialog [News] Posted: 18 Jun 2011 10:00 AM PDT
Facebook developers now have another tool with which they can encourage users to share their apps and websites. Called the Send dialog, this prompt can now be added to the site's content to encourage users to share with friends. If this sounds familiar, it's probably because Facebook implemented a Send button approximately two months ago. However, the Send button was a very simple and direct way of sharing information privately. The dialog will still serve the purpose of sharing content that a user likes, but will also give that user the opportunity to attach their own message when they share.
Developers now have access to this feature, and it's already available on a handful of sites like Airbnb, Keespy and Jetsetter. Facebook's own documentation about the feature suggests that it will be particularly useful for sites containing information that users want to share, but only with specific individuals. This includes eCommerce, travel and local events. Keespy's quick implantation of the Send dialog is one of the better current examples of how it will be used by sites in the future. The company allows for users to create photo albums that can be printed and shipped. The new dialog lets Keespy users to share a photo album they've created with friends and family who may be interested in ordering. The creative uses of this new functionality will be interesting to see as more sites and apps implement it. Source: The Next Web Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers! Read comments: Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here ...
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