15 New Articles on MakeUseOf |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [May 8th 2013]
- Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? [We Ask You]
- No Theater Facebook Image Gallery – Facebook Images Made Simple
- OUTDATEfighter: Keep Your Computer Updated And Bloatware-Free With This Fantastic Tool [Windows]
- Bad Piggies Finally Puts The Bad Guys In The Spotlight [iOS]
- Blogger To WordPress, WordPress To Blogger – Switching Blogs Tested
- Busted – How To Deal With a Broken Screen On Your Laptop
- Need Help Fundraising? Here Are 5 Alternatives To The ChipIn Widget
- 6 Websites That Will Help You Find the Best Places To Live
- Did You Know Windows 8 Has a Built-In Time Machine Backup?
- If Pinterest Doesn’t Interest, Try These Alternatives For Men
- Document Your Life With Moving Images: How to Make a Video Diary [iOS]
- Taking Photos & Managing Images With Windows Phone 8
- An Apology – & A Lesson In How To Secure WordPress Better
- 6 iPhone Communication Apps to Write Notes, Message and Tweet Faster [iOS]
| Cool Websites and Tools [May 8th 2013] Posted: 08 May 2013 09:31 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. The post Cool Websites and Tools [May 8th 2013] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? [We Ask You] Posted: 08 May 2013 08:31 PM PDT
Most of us are worried about maintaining some level of privacy online, but it’s insanely hard to embrace the new opportunities the Internet presents while anonymously hiding away in a dark recess of the Web. It’s all good until things go pear-shaped, at which point there is really no option left open to you. This Week’s Question…We want to know, Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? This question is prompted by a discussion between Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and economist Nouriel Roubini at the New York University’s Stern business school, as reported by Fast Company. Roubini grilled Schmidt about Google’s role in devolving privacy online, with some people suggesting that the search and advertising giant is one of the main offenders eating away at the idea of privacy. Schmidt defended his company, saying, “Let me be very clear that Google is not tracking you … it’s not doing all these things.” But then conceded the point that the Internet represents a challenge to the sense of fairness when it comes to an individual’s right to privacy.
He stated that “[the] lack of a delete button on the Internet is in fact a significant issue,” continuing to say, “there are times when erasure [of data] is the right thing … and there are times when it is inappropriate. How do we decide? We have to have that debate now.” A debate? Now? MakeUseOf delivers. We want to know whether you believe the Internet needs a ‘Delete‘ button, which obviously wouldn’t be a literal button but an accepted process by which an individual could wipe their online slate clean, removing all traces of themselves and their activities from databases. Should companies be allowed to track you across the Web as they currently do? Is it our own fault for giving up so much of ourselves to the Web companies that use us as their business models? Do you worry about your privacy on the Internet or do you accept that it’s an outdated concept that those of us who spend our lives attached to Internet-connected devices have given up on? Drawing ConclusionsAll comments will be digested to form conclusions in a follow-up post next week where we will detail what You Told Us. One reader will be chosen for the coveted Comment Of The Week, getting their name up in lights, the respect of other readers, and 150 MakeUseOf points to use for MakeUseOf Rewards. What more motivation than that do you need to respond? We Ask You is a weekly column dedicated to finding out the opinions of MakeUseOf readers. The questions asked are usually open-ended and likely to necessitate a discussion. Some are opinion-based, while others see you sharing tips and advice, or advocating tools and apps to fellow MakeUseOf Readers. This column is nothing without you, as MakeUseOf is nothing without you. Image Credit: Matt McGee The post Does The Internet Need A ‘Delete’ Button? [We Ask You] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No Theater Facebook Image Gallery – Facebook Images Made Simple Posted: 08 May 2013 07:31 PM PDT
Ideally, I think that we could have a fully-customizable Facebook with personalized layouts and possibly even colors. However, what appears on your Facebook style doesn’t appear the same way for others. I wouldn’t be having any of that MySpace 2.0 crap happening in my Facebook. That’s never going to happen, though.
Admittedly, it’s a tough issue. Each company that develops social networking products knows that they can’t make everybody happy. Why waste their time by developing specialized features that cater to each and every crowd? People would just find a reason to complain anyway…
However, there’s a small Chrome extension available that reverts Facebook back to its old mode of displaying photos: No Theater Facebook Image Gallery. Simply put, it gets rid of the theater mode and shows the images on their own individual pages – just like the older version of Facebook. It’s nothing special, but it does get the job done. Its creator isn’t very elegant about its origins, either:
Those last three words are the most elegant I have ever seen in a description of an extension. Seriously. Personal UseThe app doesn’t provide many options for customizability, really. I mean, how could it? It has one single purpose, and that’s all it’s really good for. I can’t explain it much better than that, but I can say that I have been using it for several months, and my experience has gone relatively well. No slow loading times. No frozen screens. In all honesty, my Facebook experience was just as seamless and fluid as before.
I will say that staying away from theater mode does have its disadvantages. For one, every single image has its own page, so that’s a lot of backtracking if you want to go back to the website you were visiting before Facebook. Minor inconvenience? Yup. However, it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Granted, theater mode has its advantages as well. The main perk is that you can browse the someone’s album without even having to leave your news feed. So it all comes down to this: it’s all based on your preference. If you like theater mode? Don’t get this extension for Chrome. If you don’t like theater mode? Try this extension out. It’s the kind of extension that’s so useful you might even forget that you have it installed. In fact, I did! That’s why I wrote this article so many months after having it… ConclusionThere’s not much else we can say about No Theater Facebook Image Gallery except, well… that there’s not much else we can say about No Theater Facebook Image Gallery. It made our list of Best Chrome Extensions, and there’s obviously a reason for that. With that said, there are a a few other Facebook “enhancers” you can check out to make your social networking experience more streamlined. In face, we have an article all about it: 8 Great Chrome Extensions For Facebook You Could Get To Like. For those of you who tend to use Firefox, you may want to take a look at 5.5. Firefox Extensions To Make Facebook Awesome. You can install No Theater Facebook Image Gallery from the Chrome Web Store. That’s it, folks. Do you like No Theater Facebook Image Gallery? Do you dislike theater mode for Facebook? Or maybe you’re one of the ones that actually like it? Fancy that. The post No Theater Facebook Image Gallery – Facebook Images Made Simple appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| OUTDATEfighter: Keep Your Computer Updated And Bloatware-Free With This Fantastic Tool [Windows] Posted: 08 May 2013 07:00 PM PDT
Do you ever feel like keeping all your software updated is too much of a hassle? You already know why it’s good to run the latest security patches and updates, but it just takes too much time and isn’t simple enough. I agree – updating software on Windows should be much easier, but unfortunately Microsoft hasn’t done much to allow its users to easily update 3rd party software. OUTDATEfighter, created by FIGHTERtools, is a new program that allows you to scan for software and Windows updates, without leaving the program’s window. That means no need to open a browser and manually download each program, like some other programs do. The Interface
The interface for OUTDATEfighter is simple to use and relatively clean. On the left side, there are five tabs for various functions. In the top right corner, icons of the other programs by FIGHTERtools are displayed and include links to view the product’s webpages. At the bottom left corner, the program version number is displayed, as well as help and support links. And on the bottom right corner there are links for the company Facebook page, About page, User ID (for the Pro version) and a software update link. The Home Screen
The Home tab on the left simply gives an overview of the last scan, a summary of total scans versus total programs updated, and some device information, such as computer name, operating system, processor model, etc. It also includes an easily accessible red button to start a new update scan with. Viewing Scanning Status and UpdatesTo start a new scan, view the status of a current one, or see what updates were found, click Last Scan, the second tab down on the left. When a scan is in progress, the window will appear like the one below.
Of course, you can download and install each one manually by clicking the download/install buttons as well. You might notice a few icons in the row of each software update. The “army helmet” icon in the Check column shows the status of the virus check (you can click it to see what the symbols mean).
The “folder” icon in the Info column opens the file location of the download. And the icon with an “I” in a speech bubble provides additional software details such as the version, size and link to software page.
Uninstall Unneeded Programs
The third tab down in the let panel, titled Uninstall, allows you to view all the programs installed on your computer and includes information such as the software publisher, install date and program size. You can easily uninstall any program by clicking the red Uninstall button. Unfortunately there is no “bulk uninstall” option at this point. Update Windows From The Same Window
OUTDATEfighter conveniently allows you to update Windows as well. On the left side, click the Update Windows tab. The main screen is separated into two tabs: Important updates and Optional updates – just like the standard Windows Updater. In each row for an update, there are three columns: Name, Size and Info. The Info column has an icon you can click that provides more information about the update.
In the bottom right corner, there’s a link to view Windows update history.
Exploring Some SettingsThe Settings tab contains the General Settings, Windows update history and the Ignore List.
Here, there are a variety of languages you’re able to choose from: Czech, Danish, German, Dutch, Thai, and of course English. Other settings include auto scanning upon launching the program, running the program when Windows starts up and manually checking for software updates for OUTDATEfighter. Conclusion
Overall, OUTDATEfighter is a great piece of software created by a reputable company. OUTDATEfighter isn’t the first program to solve the problem of out-of-date software – there are other programs out there, such as File Hippo’s Update Checker and SUMo, but OUTDATEfighter is a solid alternative. So now we turn to you – what do you use for keeping your software updated? Or do you even bother? If you don’t check for updates regularly, do you think you would if it was easier? I encourage you to look into OUTDATEfighter as a viable solution. However, if you found something else that works better, by all means, use that instead – the end goal is to have up-to-date software, no matter what method you use. So now it’s your turn to share with us your thoughts on OUTDATEfighter or even other solutions that you have used in the past. Download: OUTDATEfighter The post OUTDATEfighter: Keep Your Computer Updated And Bloatware-Free With This Fantastic Tool [Windows] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bad Piggies Finally Puts The Bad Guys In The Spotlight [iOS] Posted: 08 May 2013 06:30 PM PDT
In the background are the pigs, the bad guys of the Angry Birds world who just don’t get the same attention as their bird counterparts. That is until Rovio gave them their own game called Bad Piggies. In this game, the birds are no where to be found, so it’s the pigs turn to take center stage. As expected, the game did not sell nearly as well as the Angry Birds, but that’s no reason to discount it yet. If you have not yet tried it, you definitely should, as it is another fantastic physics-based puzzle game. GameplayBad Piggies doesn’t stray far from Rovio’s comfort zone of physics puzzlers, but it is definitely a different kind of puzzler from that seen in Angry Birds. Instead of using a slingshot to launch birds at structures, you are building a structure with the ultimate goal of moving your pigs from one location to the other.
The game provides plenty of tools to accomplish your pig moving goal, including items like soda bottles, balloons and fans to propel them forwards through each level. Each level will require you think a great deal about how to use the tools provided to get your piggy from one side to the other. Of course, the levels get harder as you progress, so Bad Piggies will certainly test you.
Thankfully, there are hints available for when you get really stuck on a level. These will not give you an exact solution, but they will point you in the right direction. If you need to find out exactly how beat a level you can use the mechanic who will show up and build the correct contraption outright. The game provides some mechanic help free, and additional help is available via in-app purchase.
Overall, the gameplay in Bad Piggies is very good. Personally, I enjoy Angry Birds a little more because it feels more involved, while this game features more of a “build and let it run” mechanic. It’s a fun concept that most puzzle gamers will enjoy. Audio & VisualsThe visuals look exactly like Angry Birds. The art style, level design, and character models are clearly created using the same assets from the Angry Birds games, and that’s just fine with me because I’ve always been a fan of Angry Birds style. Of course, if you did not find Rovio’s other games to be aesthetically pleasing, you will not like the look of Bad Piggies either.
Background music is lighthearted and fun, and it matches well with the rest of the game. Like the visuals, the musical style should feel very comfortable to anyone who enjoyed Angry Birds. It’s clear that this game was made by Rovio, a team that clearly understands how to make a game that is appealing to iOS gamers. Game LifeThere are in excess of 100 levels in Bad Piggies, so there should be plenty of enjoyment to be had. These levels are split into three main categories, such as When Pigs Fly, where you are focused on putting the pigs in the air with the help of balloons. The overall gameplay remains the same in each level type, but the tools at your disposal change. There are also race and sandbox modes to keep you coming back for hours on end. In addition, some of the levels are pretty challenging, so it might take a good amount of time to find the solution, provided you don’t turn to the mechanic as soon as you have trouble.
For perfectionists, this game has an even longer game life because going back and earning three stars on every level is really hard and will take quite a while. Unlike Angry Birds, stars in this game are earned through different means on each level. On some levels it might involve reaching the goal, collecting a star and not using any explosives, while a different level might require you reach the goal in a certain amount of time, and not popping a balloon. ConclusionNo longer are the pigs stuck in the shadows of their more famous bird brethren. With their own game available on the App Store, the piggies can finally get the credit they deserve. While I personally like the Angry Birds games a little better, this is still a fantastic puzzle game that all fans of the genre should have installed on their iOS devices. Have you played Bad Piggies? Do you prefer it, or Angry Birds? What will Rovio think of next? Add your thoughts in the comments, below. The post Bad Piggies Finally Puts The Bad Guys In The Spotlight [iOS] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Blogger To WordPress, WordPress To Blogger – Switching Blogs Tested Posted: 08 May 2013 05:31 PM PDT
It’s a rather simple operation, but one that requires a bit of testing to see how your content will look on a different platform. It doesn’t help that these are two remarkably different platforms, with WordPress making heavy use of categories which are replaced completely with tags in Blogger. In order to see what will happen, I’ve put the import and export functions of both hosted blog services to the test. Read on to find out what I discovered. Note: This procedure is for blogs specifically hosted on WordPress.com. While this might work for “normal” self-hosted WordPress.org blogs, it has not been tested (though if WordPress have got it right, both export and import functions should be identical). In The Name Of BloggingDue to the fact that I don’t currently have a blog of any length on either service, I chose to use the same two accounts I established for my recent comparison article. I realised I didn’t have much content, and so decided to create two separate posts on each platform (to accompany my Hello World entry) each with formatted, justified and bulleted text and the other with a remotely-hosted image and an image hosted on the service. I know the screenshot below specifically mentions videos, but they’re absent largely due to the fact that WordPress charges you for the privilege. This should provide a good overview of the results, albeit on a much smaller scale than a busy blog that’s been worked on for years. On the WordPress side of things I created two categories, and left one post in the “Uncategorized” placeholder that WordPress creates when you sign up. For my Blogger posts I simply tagged them appropriately, and both sets of posts are identical on either service. My plan was to export then nuke both blogs so that they are blank canvases, then import the counterpart backup and assess the results. Before exporting, my Blogger posts looked like this:
And WordPress, like this:
Exporting each blog is rather easy. Within Blogger’s main control panel, access the blog of your choice and head over to the Settings menu option, followed by the Other sub-menu. At the very top of the page you will see options to import, export or delete your blog. On clicking Export Blog, Blogger told me that it would create a file in the Blogger Atom export format and that I could use this to move to another service or simply have a backup on my local hard drive. In WordPress this is a similar affair – head to the Tools menu and click Export. This is another point of sale for WordPress.com, who offer to help you move your blog to a self-hosted WordPress install for $129. You can also just click Export to grab your own local backup then choose whether you want all content, just posts, just pages or just feedback. According to WordPress this will work with another WordPress blog, but there is no mention of other platforms. We’ll see about that!
Blogger left me with a 133 KB .XML file, and WordPress.com produced an .XML file of 12 KB. According to WordPress, the file is not intended to be a full backup of my site. Frustratingly, WordPress.com doesn’t offer a clear backup solution that I could see from a good look around the admin menu. Does the $129 cover this? Erase & RewindBoth Blogger and WordPress.com have options for deletion, but as expected these involve the entire deletion of the blog including the domain and personal settings. WordPress advised me to contact support to clear my content, but seeing as I only had three posts anyway I chose to do it manually. This might be a problem for you if you have hundreds of posts across a couple of categories. On each service I deleted all posts, all categories (on WordPress) and tags (on both) and left only the barebones – my blog’s name, a few settings I hadn’t changed and my domains remained in tact. This is essentially the same as registering and having a crisp new blog at your disposal. I then tried to import Blogger’s backup into WordPress.com and the WordPress backup into Blogger. Blogger to WordPress.comWordPress actually has an import from Blogger option which you can choose when you visit the Import menu under Tools. There are two ways of making the jump, either by authorising WordPress.com to access your Blogger account and migrate the content across for you, or by using the method I had prepared for in the form of an exported .XML database. There’s a maximum file size of 15 MB while using this upload method, so larger blogs will need to pair accounts.
I chose the 133 KB Blogger export file and clicked upload. The import happened instantly, and everything was in place by the time I clicked on Posts. WordPress.com to BloggerBlogger asked me for my Blogger export file, into which I fed it a WordPress.com export. After about five minutes watching a spinning GIF, I decided that things weren’t happening and tried again. Once again Blogger just sat there, telling me it was “writing blog posts” but each subsequent visit to my blog in a new tab showed no content. At no point was I given an error message, I just had to stare at the screen until I became too impatient to bother any more.
So I did a bit of searching and discovered WordPress2Blogger, a simple tool for converting the WordPress export file into a format that Blogger could understand. The only catch is that you can only use it for files that are less than a megabyte (in my case, I was fine). I fed it the WordPress file of 12 KB and it spat out a 5 KB .HTML file. I then gave this to Blogger, which imported my posts in a matter of seconds. Success! The ResultsHere is what Blogger did with my tiny converted WordPress file:
As you can see, it’s pretty much perfect. Categories, which do not exist in Blogger, have instead been added as labels (tags) which is somewhat useful. This is what my formatted text post looks like, note the odd spacing:
And my image post, with only the remote image shown:
Both images work fine, though the hosted image is pointed at its location on the WordPress servers. Text resulted in some odd line breaks, though timestamps are all intact. Here is what WordPress.com did with my 133 KB Blogger export file:
Not quite so good – tags are completely missing, instead they’ve been added as categories. I’d rather this be the opposite as mass categorising content is easier than mass-tagging. It will also create individual categories for every tag. This is what a formatted text post looks like:
And the media post:
Again the hosted image is pointed at Blogger’s servers and hasn’t been locally imported. Timestamps are present and correct and text looks perfect. ConclusionsTo conclude, Blogger to WordPress results in perfectly formatted posts but tags are imported as categories and will require quite the cleanup if you have a lot of content. This is surprising considering WordPress.com has a dedicated tool for making the jump, and you’d expect it to know the difference between a tag and a category. WordPress to Blogger seems to add some odd spacing in text posts, though images and timestamps survive in tact. This could have been because of the converter I used, but without that converter I wouldn’t have been able to import anything at all. If Google were to add a proper tool for importing from other platforms then they would probably have a lot of happy WordPress refugees who have reached the limits of their free account. Neither solution is perfect. If you’re considering changing from one to the other I’d recommend you try it and see how your own content looks after the transfer. You won’t lose anything so long as you don’t delete your old blog until you’re happy with the new one, though you might find that you’ve got a lot of formatting to tidy and categories to delete, as well as tags to reapply in some instances. Have you switched from one to the other? Did it go smoothly? What could WordPress or Google do to make you change your mind? Have your say in the comments below! The post Blogger To WordPress, WordPress To Blogger – Switching Blogs Tested appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Busted – How To Deal With a Broken Screen On Your Laptop Posted: 08 May 2013 04:31 PM PDT
What do you do when you depend on your laptop; to look up information, submit work, and meet deadlines? Well, I am here to tell you that you will survive. A broken screen certainly isn’t the end of the world and it’s less pain than a broken hard drive in any case. A laptop is such a compact unit that breaking one part makes the entire device useless. Yet it’s built in a modular fashion. Hence, many of its parts can be fixed or upgraded, including the hard drive and RAM. With the broken screen it’s not that easy, but it can still be repaired. But that’s not the only solution.
Your OptionsWhen your laptop display breaks you have several options. You can attach the device to an external monitor, fix the display, or buy a new laptop. If you have read my feature story on consumption and electronic waste, you already know what I did. Attaching An External MonitorI needed to work and I dreaded working from my old netbook, so I decided to attach an external monitor to my laptop. I first had to go out and buy one, but I had wanted a second monitor anyway, so that wasn’t a big deal. Using an external monitor is a quick fix that buys you time. At the very least, it lets you examine whether the rest of the laptop is really OK. If you don’t have a spare monitor at home, you may be able to borrow one from a friend, buy it second hand, or get a good deal from a local store; TFTs aren’t that expensive. You might even find a free one via local classifieds like CraigsList. If you do decide to buy a new TFT, be sure to invest in a model that will be of use to you, even if you end up repairing the laptop or getting a new one later on. Repairing The Broken ScreenNow that the screen is busted, you have nothing to lose. After attaching an external monitor, you will probably find that the display is in the way. At least that was my experience, so I removed it…
…and used a beheaded laptop for a short time. Suddenly, the webcam became much more useful! I think they should build laptops with webcams that can be pulled out. I really enjoyed having a webcam on a string.
When you remove the display, don’t be afraid, but be careful. Try not to break anything and document your every step. This will help you put the thing back together. Take special note of how cables are wired, e.g. cables for the screen, the webcam and antennas. Also don’t forget to write down in which order you removed the parts, where you released screws (if any), and which ones went where. Finally, be sure to keep all the parts together and store them in a safe location.
To be honest, I neglected to document the dis-assembly. While reassembling the display, it happened twice that I figured out mistakes several steps down the line, meaning I had to go back and do them all over again. That’s enervating because breaking something as you’re putting in the new display would be a real drama.
But before you can think of putting everything back together, you first have to find a replacement display. I thought this would be hard, but in the end it wasn’t. Look at the back of the broken screen for a model number. Mine was LP156WF1 and it was an LG Display. You can use that number to search for a spare part. Using the model number I searched on eBay and found several merchants that sold brand new displays. The price for my Full HD 15.6″ display was €77 (ca. US$100) plus shipping. In the US you will get a better deal. I ordered and within two days the display arrived.
If you were smarter than me and documented the dis-assembly, the reassembly will be a breeze. It will still take some time; just be patient and don’t forget to breathe. In the end, you will have your old laptop back!
Buying a New LaptopPersonally, I think it’s drastic to buy a whole new laptop if you just have a broken screen. Since my laptop was only a year old, this wasn’t an option at all. However, if your laptop is old and you really wanted to replace it anyways, go for it. Before you trash the old one, note that you can salvage several valuable parts that still work, for example the hard drive or RAM. Whatever is left over after you removed the useful parts, should be recycled. Electronic waste contains a bunch of rare materials that do not belong onto the landfill or into an incinerator. Please recycle! Take Home MessageA broken laptop display can be repaired and it is not that hard. Even girls can do it! What was the last electronic device you successfully repaired and was it worth it? The post Busted – How To Deal With a Broken Screen On Your Laptop appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Need Help Fundraising? Here Are 5 Alternatives To The ChipIn Widget Posted: 08 May 2013 04:01 PM PDT
When used in a fundraising context, crowdsourcing is an online method where you set up a central location for your fundraising campaign and point people there, where they can make the choice to donate to your cause or not. It's the inverse of traditional fundraising; instead of going to them, they come to you. In tandem with other tools like social networking and online marketing, crowdsourcing can be extremely effective at raising lots of money very quickly. ChipIn used to be my fundraising widget of choice, but on February 4 they announced the discontinuation of their service and on March 7 they shut down completely. That sent me on a wild chase for viable alternatives to ChipIn and here are the 5 best alternatives that I've found. PitchInBox
PitchInBox is eerily similar to ChipIn. The account creation process is the same, the widget looks almost identical in design, the feature sets are as close as can be, and the names even sound the same! Instead of chipping in, people can pitch in to help you with your fundraising. All you need is a website where you can embed the PitchInBox live widget. Then again, none of that should be a real surprise since the developers of PitchInBox is meant to be a near-perfect substitute for ChipIn. As people make donations using your widget, the money will instantly be added to your PayPal account; there's no need to meet a minimum goal before you receive your funds. It's real-time and convenient. PitchInBox only works with PayPal (no idea if they have plans to expand later) and you'll incur PayPal-related fees on each donation, but otherwise PitchInBox is entirely free to use. Kickstarter
I'm not sure Kickstarter even needs an introduction, but those of you who still haven't heard about this awesome website should pay attention. Kickstarter is probably the most well-known fundraising platform in the world. Launched in 2009, Kickstarter has helped raise over $500 million for over 90,000 creative projects. Here's how it works. After you create your project on Kickstarter and set your final goal, users can pledge any amount of money to help you out. However, you only receive your money if the amount of pledges you receive meets your final goal. You can also set certain rewards depending on how much a user pledges. In the end, this system is great motivation for project leaders to work hard while keeping users safe from (most) snatch-and-run scams. We have a series here on MakeUseOf where we look over various Kickstarter projects with cool concepts and executions. Some of them succeed and some of them fail, but Kickstarter has proven to be a wonderful tool when it comes to crowdsourcing funds. ImRaising
Like ChipIn, ImRaising provides users with a live donation widget that collects donations and tracks progress on the fly. It's fast, it's free, and it's new (launched in early March of this year), so you can expect nothing but improvements over the next few months. Even though it's such a recent startup, ImRaising has helped raise over $70,000 already. It works. At the time of writing this article, there are two widget types available: a Live Bar widget that displays custom donation stats as well as the default ImRaising widget which shows goal information and current progress. In the future, ImRaising will release two more widgets: one for the latest donor comments and one for displaying the top/latest donations made. ImRaising has a slight fee for private ventures but it's entirely free for non-profits. Widget appearances are customizable, donation payments are made in real-time, and the widgets work flawlessly on mobile devices. In addition, ImRaising provides you with a donation landing page and provides analytics/reports for your fundraising campaigns. GoFundMe
GoFundMe is a really nice platform that lets you create your own campaign page for collecting donations. While most donation platforms will be either real-time donation campaigns OR all-or-nothing campaigns, GoFundMe lets you choose which type of campaign you want to run. Plus, there's a "charity campaign" option where all proceeds are immediately forwarded to a charity of your choice. That's pretty awesome in my book. In terms of features, GoFundMe is spectacular. The setup process is extremely easy and you can have it ready to go in less than 5 minutes. The website makes it painless to share your campaign through Facebook and Twitter. And if you're wary of GoFundMe's efficacy, there are tons of success stories and testimonials for you to check out. There is a fee associated with GoFundMe, though: they deduct a 5% fee from every incoming donation. This fee is on top of any fees incurred by your money handler, whether it be WePay or PayPal or whatever else. If you're a US customer, GoFundMe automatically creates a WePay account for your donation campaign. International customers can use PayPal. I tried to use PayPal as a US customer but I couldn't figure it out; maybe it's not possible. And, unfortunately, there's no live widget option. PayPal Widget
If you don't need all of the bells and whistles of a donation platform (like a campaign page), then maybe the official PayPal Widget is the best fit for you. As long as you have a PayPal account, you can easily set up one of these widgets for your website. There are no fees except for the standard PayPal transaction fees so there's really no reason NOT to use it. The widget itself has a pleasant design, which is something I find important. After all, nobody likes an ugly widget that detracts from their site aesthetics. The widget makes it easy for your website users to make a donation, which may even increase the number of people willing to chip in for your cause. If you're just looking to run a campaign through Facebook or MySpace, you're in luck. PayPal offers two specific widgets that work specifically for Facebook and MySpace. They're just as easy to use as the original widget, but if your users are mostly social networkers, then those widgets might be more effective in the long run. ConclusionFundraising is a difficult task, but you can make it much easier and much smoother by utilizing a donation aid. ChipIn may be gone but there are many viable alternatives to ChipIn that can fill the void that's been left behind. Between the 5 services described above, you should be able to find the perfect solution for your needs. The post Need Help Fundraising? Here Are 5 Alternatives To The ChipIn Widget appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 Websites That Will Help You Find the Best Places To Live Posted: 08 May 2013 03:30 PM PDT
The prospect of trying to learn all of these things about a new community, no matter where you’re moving to, can feel like an overwhelming task. There’s just too much information to collate and from too many different sources. Many times in the past, MakeUseOf has had you covered when it comes to moving, from finding a decent flat to live in, to mobile apps that will help you find an apartment. In fact apartment hunting articles are a bit of a specialty here at MakeUseOf. However, it’s one thing to find a house or an apartment to live in, but learning about a State, town or a community where you’re planning to live is a whole different story. At least if you currently live within driving distance, you could always drive into the area, hang out at the local businesses and talk to the folks that live in the area to learn a little more about what it’s like to live there. But, if you live too far away, getting the real story about a place becomes a whole lot harder. Luckily, there are a number of useful websites that can really help you out when you’re looking for a new place to live. Finding the Best Places to Live That Suits YouThe bottom line is that when you’re looking the best place to live, you’re really looking for not only the comforts of a decent home or apartment, but you’re looking for a community of people and a general culture that meshes well with your own values and interests. Obviously, if you’re an avid golfer and you live in a community where there are a lot of fellow golfing enthusiasts, you’re a whole lot more likely to make friends and really enjoy living there. The same can be true for religion, income level, available jobs, gender makeup, and a whole litany of other demographics that can mean the difference between finding a community where you fit in and thrive, or entering into a nightmare situation where you feel like an outsider in the community. Research the StatisticsThe truth is, almost every region of the world has some organization that is keeping track of the demographics and statistics for a particular area. For example, if you’re looking for a place to live in Europe and you’d like to know what areas suffer from pollution issues, what communities struggle with not having enough resources, or whether there are public health concerns, the European Commission is the place to go. The Commission provides very useful information in simple formats, so at a glance you can see the statistics that matter. For example, click on the link for reports on Socio-economic development throughout Europe, and you’ll find a table showing the change of GDP per capita and growth rates from year to year. Seeing the trends can help you identify a country that offers a lot of promise when it comes to economic opportunities. You can also click on “Graph” to see details by country at a quick glance – a lot easier than trying to pour over the numbers in the table to figure things out. Actually, my favorite tool at this site is the color-coded map, which lets you select the data that you want to see as a comparison between different areas. This shows you how living in a certain region may put you in a location with moderate economic growth, but if it borders on other areas with a poor economy, it could result in increasing crime rates. If you live in the U.S. and education is a primary factor for you when house or apartment hunting, then the Department of Education Dashboard is definitely the first place you’ll want to go. This dashboard – similar to the European Commission website – provides links to graphical tools that’ll show you important indicators of a good or bad school system for certain states in the U.S. For example, one map gives you a quick glance at which states have the higher percentage of 3 and 4 year old kids enrolled in preschool (an indication that the community values education). Another great international resource is a website called the OECD Better Life Index. This is a very creative online tool that lets you rate about 11 indicators of things you value the most in life. As you select options, an ultra-cool graphical symbol for each country shows you how the countries “measure up” in those areas by displaying a color-coded petal for that particular value. One tool that is more focused on the United States is an online tool called Find Your Spot. This is actually a very thorough quiz that will gather a wide assortment of information about you, in preparation for matching you with your ideal “spot” in the country. It’s sort of like a dating site, I guess. Except you’re looking to date, you know, a community. Okay, that didn’t come out quite right.
In case you’re curious about the best places to live in the world, Norway tops the list on this map, and interestingly enough, Germany and Sweden round out the bottom (at least for the short list of countries rated on this map. So, are you in the process of looking for a new place to live? Have you used any of these or other tools out there to help you figure out where you want to go? Share your own resources and experiences in the comments section below! Image Credit: Young Woman Moving Box via Shutterstock The post 6 Websites That Will Help You Find the Best Places To Live appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Did You Know Windows 8 Has a Built-In Time Machine Backup? Posted: 08 May 2013 02:31 PM PDT
File History requires a removable hard drive or network share, as it can’t save files on your main Windows drive. This ensures that, even if your main Windows hard drive dies, your File History backup drive will still have copies of all your important files. This feature essentially replaces the Windows 7 backup feature in Windows 8 – the Windows 7 backup tools are still present so you can use them if you want, but Microsoft considers them outdated. Enabling File HistoryYou can open the File History control panel by pressing the Windows key, typing File History at the Start screen, selecting the Settings category, and clicking the File History shortcut that appears.
Connect an external hard drive to your computer and click the Turn On button to enable File History. You can also click the Select drive option in the sidebar to select the exact drive Windows should copy previous versions of files to. Using the Select drive screen, you can optionally set up File History using a network share instead of a hard drive connected directly to your computer. Windows will save copies of the files in your libraries, desktop, contacts, and favorites to this location.
After clicking Turn On, you can choose to “Recommend this drive to members of your homegroup.” This will automatically share it with computers in your Homegroup so they can use it as a network backup location for File History. After you turn it on, you’ll see an indication that it’s saving copies of your files.
It’s that simple – Windows will now automatically save copies of your files every hour. If you disconnect your removable hard drive or the network share becomes inaccessible for a period of time, Windows will create a local cache of files to save on the drive when you next connect it. You can customize the frequency of saving, size of this local cache, and other settings by clicking the Advanced settings link in the sidebar.
Excluding & Including Specific FoldersYou can exclude specific folders and entire libraries by clicking the Exclude folders link in the sidebar of the File History control panel. Add folders and libraries you want to exclude from file history backups. For example, if you have many large video files in your Videos library and you don’t care about backing them up, you can exclude your Videos library to save space.
Bear in mind that only files in certain folders – your libraries, desktop, contacts, and favorites – will be backed up. To force another folder to be backed up, you can simply add it to one of your libraries. From within File Explorer, select a library and click the Manage library button on the ribbon. Add any folders you want backed up to the library.
Restoring a FileWhether you’ve accidentally deleted a file or want to restore it to a previous version – perhaps you’ve saved over the original document – you can now get the file back from your File History backup. You can get started with this in several ways:
You can use the arrows at the bottom of the window to switch between backups taken at specific times and choose the version of the file you want. After selecting a file, click the green Restore button at the bottom to restore the file to its original location.
Your file will be restored. If it would overwrite an existing file, Windows will ask you what you want to do Have you made use of the Windows 8 “time machine” File Backup yet, or do you prefer another backup solution? Leave a comment and let us know! The post Did You Know Windows 8 Has a Built-In Time Machine Backup? appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If Pinterest Doesn’t Interest, Try These Alternatives For Men Posted: 08 May 2013 02:01 PM PDT
There is one small problem with Pinterest – it attracts mostly women. It’s estimated that around 70 percent of the Pinterest user base is female, with men being nothing more than bit-part players on the site. While this should be applauded — after all, the Web needs more corners where women reign supreme – it does mean men and their interests can get crowded out on Pinterest. Thankfully some enterprising folk saw a gap in the market and seized upon it, and sites which are like Pinterest but aimed solely at men popped up across the InterWebs. What follows is a list of what we consider to be the four best “Pinterest for men” websites, presented in no particular order. NB: Some of the following sites have been known to contain risque images, so you visit them entirely at your own risk. It should be noted, however, that the images are no worse than you can find from a quick Google search. Manteresting
Manteresting clearly exists to offer a place for men to pin images of things that interest them. Rather than “pin” things, you “nail” them to a “workbench.” A quick look at the homepage reveals food, cars, and women seem to be the main focus of Manteresting. Content can be sorted by category, while there is also a ‘Random’ button and lists of the top posts made Today, This Week, This Month, and All Time. Notable categories include ‘Architecture’, ‘DIY’, ‘Sports’, and the exquisitely titled ‘Manly Things’, but there are many more to choose from. Manteresting is a well-designed, simple-to-use Pinterest-alike. Gentlemint
Gentlemint looks more akin to the new Digg than Pinterest, but it offers a similar experience to the latter. Rather than “pin” things, you “tack” them, because tacking is more masculine than pinning, I guess. A quick look at the homepage reveals infographics, memes, and weapons of all kind seem to be the main focus of Gentlemint. Content is sorted by popularity, with posts popular Right Now, This Week, This Month, and All Time. Notable categories include ‘Cars’, ‘Fitness’, and ‘Popular Culture’… as long as it’s manly then it’s welcome. Gentlemint looks classier than most of the other Pinterest clones, but it essentially does the same thing as the rest of them do. Dudepins
Dudepins makes no secret of the fact it’s a Pinterest clone, just one that caters solely for men. Women aren’t banned, of course, but the content on offer has an especially manly feel to it. Rather than “pin” things you “pin up” images and videos. A quick look at the homepage reveals hipsters, interesting designs, and lots of clothes. Which leads me to suspect this is more for refined gentlemen than laddish dudes, despite the name. Content can be sorted by category, with a button specifically bringing that which is trending to the front page. Notable categories include ‘Animals’, ‘Travel’, and ‘Man Caves, the latter referring to rooms that generally feature lots of hardwood and gadgets. Dudepins is, for my money at least, the best looking of the Pinterest-style sites on this list. Tapiture
Tapiture has a distinctly Facebook feel to it, which will immediately put off those people who hate Mark Zuckerberg and co. It’s no surprise to find that joining via Facebook is heavily recommended, though there is an email option as well. Rather than “pin” things you “tap” content, including animated GIFs and SoundCloud audio. A quick look at the homepage reveals male celebrities that all men aspire to be, and once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities. Content is sorted by category, with an added option to pare it down to what’s popular. Notable categories include ‘Body Art’, ‘Science’, and ‘Men’s Style’, the latter of which brings those damn hipsters into focus once more. Tapiture boasts some great content, especially thanks to its embracing of more than just still images. ConclusionsI feel more manly for having browsed these sites. Pinterest is nice and all, but it definitely has a slightly overpowering feminine touch to it. When I use Pinterest I often come over slightly funny, in exactly the same way I do when I get dragged into a women’s clothes shop. I think it’s the perfume ominously and omnipresently hanging in the air at all times. These do all feel like Pinterest clones, but they fill a niche that needed filling. Unless and until Pinterest starts to cater for men and women on more of a 50/50 split, then these manly alternatives will continue to breed. As will the websites lightly mocking Pinterest. What do you think of Pinterest? Does the disparity between the amount of content geared towards men and women bother you? Why do you think Pinterest appeals more to women than it does men? Which of the manly male alternatives to Pinterest listed here do you feel best caters for men? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Image Credit: Alan Cleaver The post If Pinterest Doesn’t Interest, Try These Alternatives For Men appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Document Your Life With Moving Images: How to Make a Video Diary [iOS] Posted: 08 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT
The hardest part about these projects is to remember to actually take some videos. Pulling out your phone, bringing up the camera, switching to video – it’s all quite laborious. Hopefully, Google Glass will fix all that, but for now phones will have to do. I’ll be honest here: my life is fairly boring, and I’m pretty bad at remembering to do things. So I missed a lot exciting events, and didn’t do this every day. There’s also an issue of privacy of course; I don’t think it’s always appropriate to just whip it out (a camera, that is) and start filming! Still, the process is the same, and hopefully the results are somewhat interesting. 1 Second Everyday ($0.99)This is the dedicated iPhone app that kicked the whole cultural phenomenon off, which Bakari wrote about before. It began life on Kickstarter, after this stunning TED talk. Usage Take a video in-app or choose one from your camera roll, but the clip MUST be taken on the right day or you can’t add it – there’s no cheating, so no saying that cool video from yesterday is your pick for today instead. When video is available, the day glows orange, meaning you can go ahead and pick 1 second of footage. The editing interface is easy enough – scrub back and forward until you find just the right second, then tap in the top right to accept that and add it to the timeline. The interface is slow but pretty; the main view shows thumbnails for days where footage has been assigned.
To create a compilation video, click the create button; you can then choose either predefined month, year, or custom. Tap finish, and your videos will be “mashed up”. You’ll be shown a preview, and can instantly share either to Facebook, YouTube, or simply save the video the device.
If this is the first time you’re connecting, you’ll need to grant permissions, but you need only ever do that once. Here’s what I could come up with, exported directly to YouTube. Yes, it’s pretty much all chickens, the dog and the ferret. And a fox. What else were you expecting? Limitations
FrameBlast (Free)FrameBlast is a more automated solution that provides more professional results. It doesn’t have any strict restrictions as such, but each style of video uses a different length of clip, different cut and filter. You can also add any music from your library, or use some presets. The app is also completely free – there aren’t even any in-app purchases. Usage It’s incredibly easy to use – just add clips, and hit go. You can adjust the sequence of clips using an innovative spinner selection, but there’s no real need.
Once you’ve picked a filter style that you like, hit Save Blast to export the finished file. It’s a nice, speedy interface overall, and the completed percentage is a nice touch beyond the usual progress bar.
Vimeo, YouTube, Tumblr and Facebook share options were provided, so again, I uploaded to YouTube and was required to authorise access to my account first. One nice touch is that the uploading is done in the background, so you can continue to use the app in the meantime if you have other “Blasts” to produce. Here’s what I made (sorry to Canadians and Germans, UMG blocked the video in your country for my choice of music): Note: HD isn’t enabled by default, so be sure to turn that on first. And make sure you have a lot of room on your device – these things aren’t small. Limitations
One Second Epic (Free)An obvious knock-off of 1SE, this app is actually better in some ways. Again, you can either capture through the app, but you also have access to your full video library, though sadly this crashed the app for me. The interface is far more responsive too.
You can create a number of “epics” at the same time. These are projects which you can save at any point, edit and add clips to – you’re not limited to simply exporting time periods. This means you can easily separate videos of your kids from everything else, for instance, until you’re ready to export. Fundamentally then, it’s like 1SecondEveryday, only with less restrictions, a better interface, and free. The concept is somewhat different though, so if you’re actually interested in the arbitrary restrictions placed by the original 1SE, then this app isn’t for you. Limitations
The WinnerFrameBlast gets my vote; for ease of use, automatic handling of video clips and the ability to use your own tunes and existing iOS video library. 1SecondEveryday is an interesting project to take on and perhaps will cause you to examine your life everyday in a new light, but the videos it produces aren’t actually that compelling and getting content into the app is just too difficult in my opinion. How about you? Have you had a go at documenting your life in video? Post some links in the comments and let us take a look! The post Document Your Life With Moving Images: How to Make a Video Diary [iOS] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Taking Photos & Managing Images With Windows Phone 8 Posted: 08 May 2013 12:01 PM PDT
We previously looked at taking photos with Windows Phone last year, but since then things have changed quite a bit. In addition, management of images has also been overhauled, with better synchronization options both to the cloud and to your local PC. This can have massive benefits for sharing and archiving, and is improved even further if you are using a Windows 8 computer. Do you want to take photos and view them instantly on your computer? Windows Phone can do this, thanks to SkyDrive and Windows 8. Although this guide is written using a Nokia Lumia 920, the same steps and processes apply across all Windows Phone 8 handsets. If you’re a Windows Phone 7/7.5 user, details about image management can be found in our free Windows Phone guide. Taking Photos On Windows Phone 8Snapping photos on a Windows Phone is quick and easy. Available by holding the camera button on the side to launch the camera, images can be snapped either by pressing the same button or tapping the subject on the display.
You'll notice by sliding out the menu that a choice of modes (still and video) are available, as is the ability to switch between back and front cameras (the main, “back” camera is set as default). There is also a switch to toggle between flash on, automatic and flash off, while the double arrows button displays the available lenses (see below). Photo and video settings are also available, with Scenes (presets for taking different types of photo), ISO, Exposure Value, White Balance, Aspect Ratio and Focus Assist can all be toggled or set – depending on the quality of your camera hardware. Once you have taken a photo, you will have a wealth of options, from sharing and editing to saving it to your SkyDrive, adding it to your phone favourites or even setting it as a lock screen. Opening the image in a third party app is also possible, as is deleting it. Lenses & Third Party AppsTaking photos is easy, and if you spend time at it and get the settings right you can get great results, regardless of the camera hardware. However, there are various tools available that you can use to add new features to your camera. These are known as “lenses”, and can be activated via the double arrow button as described above. Lenses might be third party apps, or they might be provided by your mobile phone device manufacturer.
In the accompanying image, for instance, Cinemagraph, Panorama and Smart Shoot are all provided by Microsoft or Nokia. Fhotoroom, meanwhile, is a third party app. By tapping one of those tiles, you launch the camera with the tools offered by the appropriate app. For instance, Smart Shoot will work to help you take the best photos when your subjects are smiling, while Fhotoroom offers timer, burst and time-lapse photo options. Among the lenses you can install are:
Many more are available in the Windows Phone Store. You can find these by tapping the find more lenses link. Managing Snaps In The Photo HubAfter taking a photo on your Windows Phone you can edit it using the built in crop, rotate and auto-fix tool or use a third party – all installed options are available from the menu. If you prefer to take a look at your gallery of images first, you can do so via the Photo Hub, where images can be sorted by date and the people tagged in them, as well as placed into your Favourites folder (useful for third party apps to find).
The Photo Hub also displays images shared by yourself or friends on any social networks you have setup on Windows Phone 8, it lists available image apps (those installed as lenses and editors), while dragging the ellipses menu (look for the “…”) enables you to choose a background for the Photos Hub or set the phone to select a random background from your images.
You can also access the Photos+Camera settings menu, where you can toggle the methods of taking a snap (camera button vs tapping the screen), using the camera button to wake the phone into camera mode (the rest of the phone remains locked) and preventing accidental camera launch when the phone is locked. Syncing Photos To SkyDrive & Windows 8Also in the settings menu you will be able to toggle whether you use SkyDrive as your auto-upload service or a third party cloud storage solution. Additionally, SkyDrive can be configured to upload images and videos based on your connection type.
Photos can either be uploaded manually by selecting them in the Photo Hub album, by using the Save to SkyDrive option in the camera software, or by tapping the Share… option in the camera menu and selecting messaging service, email account, social networking app or suitable cloud storage alternative. You can also sync a Windows Phone snap to your PC. Windows 7 users have the rather lo-fi Windows Phone Sync Client that they can use, while owners of Windows 8 computers have the benefit of a far superior piece of software that will auto-load when the phone is connected by USB. Photos are synced to the named folder on your PC. The only exception are screenshots, which are saved in an appropriately-labelled subfolder (screenshots are made by holding Power+Start). ConclusionWindows Phone 8 builds on its predecessor with some excellent camera add-ins, known as lenses, which enhance the way in which users can take photos. With camera hardware such as that found on the Nokia devices, this proves an extremely useful new feature. While sharing is largely the same, the ability to launch a photo editing tool is also very useful. In addition, screenshots can also be made, which are then saved to the phone in a separate photos sub-folder and synced only to your PC. Windows Phone remains extremely fast as a photo sharing tool. Uploading a photo to Facebook is almost always quicker than on other platforms, for instance, and sharing through SkyDrive is also quick. The post Taking Photos & Managing Images With Windows Phone 8 appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| An Apology – & A Lesson In How To Secure WordPress Better Posted: 08 May 2013 11:19 AM PDT
Regardless, we’re sincerely sorry for the risk we exposed you to. We pride ourselves in being a trustworthy site for all of your computing needs, and we let you down. We’ve been targeted many times in the past, and ridden the waves of extreme DDoS attacks to domain hijacking. We thought our defences were sufficient, but they weren’t. So What Have We Done About It?
As you can see, we’ve decided to be overly cautious. The hack involved the theme editor within WordPress, so disabling that alone should be sufficient to prevent any future occurrences, but we’ll be erring on the side of caution from now on. Again, our sincerest apologies. Even the experts get hacked sometimes. The post An Apology – & A Lesson In How To Secure WordPress Better appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 iPhone Communication Apps to Write Notes, Message and Tweet Faster [iOS] Posted: 08 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT
These type of iPhone communication apps include Triage for quickly checking emails, Pastie for pasting quick snippets to text, Swipy for quickly emailing myself, Reach Fast for quickly locating contacts, and Scraps for quickly writing notes and saving or exporting them somewhere else. I have covered similar apps for using your iPhone while driving, but these are apps for anytime, and anywhere, including in and beyond the car. Triage ($1.99)I’ve written about novel mail client apps for the iPhone, including Mailbox and Mail Pilot, but when I want to cut through my emails like slicing up an apple, I launch Triage. Like the other apps below, Triage has a simple swipe up and down feature for archiving or keeping individual emails, delivered to you in a stack.
That’s it. That’s all it does. Swipe down to keep a message in your inbox, or swipe up to remove it. You can also of course, reply to selected messages. Triage is compatible with Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, iCloud Mail accounts, and most email services that support IMAP. Swipy ($0.99)Unfortunately in order to get messages off our iPhones many of us still email ourselves. This is where Swipy comes in. It allows you to write notes on virtual scraps of paper, swipe the page to the right, and the app will send the note to your designated email or Dropbox account. There’s no tapping, selecting folders, or even responding to an annoying pop-up.
Swipy also allows you to attach a photo, and it’s compatible with popular services like Evernote, Remember the Milk, and the iOS version of TextExpander. Scraps for iPhone ($0.99)Scraps is similar to Swipy , but it conveniently saves all your scrap notes in a list and folders. There are plenty of notes apps with similar features to Scraps, but this app is just for writing a quick note that probably would not go into your Apple Notes, Evernote or Sprinpgad notebook. I’ve also reviewed five other alternative notes apps for iOS devices that you might be interested in.
Notes can be password-protected, managed in folders, copied to the clipboard or exported to Mail, Messages, or Twitter. The app includes iCloud integration for syncing notes between iOS devices. Fliite ($0.99)Fliite is a Twitter client that is not so much fast as it is convenient. Even though you may already have a favorite Twitter app on your iPhone with all the bells and whistles, Fliite does one simple thing well: it allows you to send a tweet to a group of selected Twitter contacts.
You don’t have to write the contacts’ names, just select their icon from your Twitter list and your tweet is ready for sending. Pastie ($0.99)I use Pastie (there’s also a free lite version) for quickly pasting snippets of text to designated family members and a few select friends. For example, when I pick up my daughter or when I’m running late, I can choose the snippet, “I’m here,” or “5 minutes away,” both of which are set up to message my daughter directly. I have similar snippets for my wife.
If I need to message someone directions to my house, I have a Pastie snippet to do just that. I also have snippets for written responses to phone calls, such as ”I’m in a meeting. Will call you back.” Of course, in the latest version of iOS 6 for the iPhone, you can create similar voicemail snippets. Reach Fast Contacts (Free)There’s something about Apple’s default Contacts app that has always felt a little slow and cumbersome. Though I’ve tolerated all the tapping that needs to be done to locate a contact, a recently developed app called Reach Fast does what its name says. It incorporates the handy swiping features of the iPhone so you can quickly search, locate, call, and add contacts on your iPhone.
Instead of scrolling down and tapping to send a message to a contact as you do in Apple’s Contacts app, simply swipe left on a name and up pops the message window. If you want to make a quick call, simply tap on the name. There is also an optional feature to confirm calls before they are made.
You can arrange the contacts list by first or last name, or chronologically. It also lists your Favorites and most recently called contacts, inline. I especially like that you can view the photo icon of each of your contacts inline as well for faster searching. And finally, when you want to add a new contact (see the above screenshot), simply tap on the plus “+” button and type in the info. Other nimble features include Swiping left or right on the number keys to move between text and number fields. It’s these kinds of quick features that have caused me to move Reach Fast to the first Home Screen on my iPhone, and put Apple’s Contacts app in a folder of least used apps. That’s it for this round of quick notes. There are several more iPhone communication apps out there, so let us know a few of your favorites as well as what you think of this list in the comments, below. The post 6 iPhone Communication Apps to Write Notes, Message and Tweet Faster [iOS] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Over the past couple of years I have traveled a lot and took my work with me wherever I went. I worked from the most ridiculous and beautiful places all over North America and Europe. My office was wherever I set up my computer. And for a while my desktop felt like home. And then I broke my laptop screen. Disaster!
Fundraising is a difficult task. In the old days, you'd have to throw an event or go door-to-door in hopes of soliciting donations from people in person. That still happens today, but the magic of the Internet has taken the idea of fundraising and elevated it to the next level – crowdsourcing. Never before has fundraising been so easy.
Moving is never an easy prospect. Not only do you have to be concerned about all of the different pros and cons about the house, apartment or flat where you’re going to live, but you also have to worry about the community and whether it’s one of the best places to live. How safe is the neighborhood and what’s the crime rate? Are there other people around in your age group and with your interests? And if you have kids – how good is the school system and are there family things to do in the area?
We sometimes forget with all the focus on Windows 8′s new “Modern” interface, but 
Most home movies are boring, tedious lengths of footage with little to no editing. But impose some strict rules, cut it down to the good bits, and you might just end up with something pretty cool. Take just a second of interesting video a day, and in a single year you’ll have 6 minutes of highlights. That’s the premise behind todays article, and I look at 3 different ways of documenting your life with short 
The upgrade from Windows Phone 7/7.5 has brought with it several benefits, in particular increased integration between the camera and third party apps.
Last week, in the early hours of Friday morning, some malicious code was injected into the MakeUseOf theme, and began redirecting visitors to a Spanish malware site, reporting to be a Flash update. We took the site offline as soon as we had identified the issue and began rectifying the changes. We heard from a few concerned users about the obvious malware, but we have had no reports of anyone actually downloading it.
While I have a long term relationship with my iPhone, the true meaning of mobile for me is pulling out my iPhone and getting something done quickly while waiting in traffic at a stoplight, in line to order fast-food, or in the morning after my alarm goes off.
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