Bizman's Tools

notifinder - craigslist postings directly to your email

2010-08-26T20:54:00.002-05:00

Notifinder is a FREE service that sends you email alerts when listings that match your specified keywords appear on Craiglist.

notifinder - craigslist postings directly to your email

Using the service is very easy. Simply plug in your keyword search and specify which subcategory—For Sale, Jobs, Housing, etc.— you want to search, and then specify how often you want to be notified. Notifications can occur immediately after the post is detected, daily, or weekly

How Secure Is My Password?

2010-07-01T11:20:00.001-05:00

How Secure Is My Password? is a new, FREE web service that let's you quickly check your password's strength.

It is fast, easy to use and contains links on how to Choose a Secure Password.

Definitely worth a visit.

FollowUpThen: Free, Fast and Simple Email Reminder

2010-02-08T08:37:00.002-06:00

FollowUpThen is a FREE and EASY email reminder.

FollowUpThen: Free, Fast and Simple Email Reminder via kwout

On your next email just include time-interval@followupthen.com and we will follow up after the time interval you specify.

Free! No Account Required.

ChipIn - a FREE and easy way to collect money

2009-12-23T08:22:00.002-06:00

ChipIn is a web-based service that simplifies the process of collecting money from groups of people.

ChipIn’s mission is to make it easy to collect money.

ChipIn via kwout

ChipIn enables users to organize group payments and fundraisers (”ChipIns”) in a quick, easy, and secure way. It also makes it simple for organizers to publicize their ChipIns, by providing powerful fundraising widgets that can be embedded in social media.

ChipIn allows anyone to collect money for a personal cause, group purchase, or fundraiser using their own custom ChipIn page.
ChipIn enables bloggers to create an interactive widget that allows them to raise money directly through blogs and other social media.
ChipIn empowers non-profit organizations to engage a distributed network of supporters in “blograising” campaigns for major fundraising efforts.

Stop the Arguments in a Shared Household with Bills Are In

2009-12-15T14:43:00.002-06:00

Bills Are In is a FREE web service that helps you manage, keep track of bills, IOUs and keep it hassle free.

Bills Are In | Welcome via kwout

When a bill comes in, eg. the internet bill, simply add it to the system and an email is sent to all the people in the house with how much is due and when.

Nice and simple. If problems come up with who paid what when. Simply look at the history and statistics to get a clear answer and solve the problem.

BillsAreIn.com Walk Through from coops on Vimeo.

Movieclips.com - Browse, Watch, Search and Share...Movie Clips

2009-12-03T10:30:00.006-06:00

movieclips.com is a NEW, FREE service for movie fans made by movie fans.

The site that has a HUGE collection of...that's right - movie clips.

The clips are completely searchable by actor, title, genre, occasion, action, mood, character, theme, setting, prop, and even dialogue.

This makes it simple to find a scene fast.

Online Event Registration for Everyone!

2009-11-30T16:37:00.002-06:00

Everbrite is a provider of online event management and ticketing services.

Online Event Registration for Everyone! Eventbrite is the World's Marketplace for Events via kwout

Eventbrite makes it easy for anyone to hold a successful event of any type and size.

Eventbrite is free if your event is free.

If you sell tickets to your event, Eventbrite collects a small fee per ticket.

The Eventbrite service includes many features and tools intended to let you perform three basic tasks really well:

Publish: Everything you need to create and easily personalize a custom web page for your event. Read more.
Promote: The tools you need to spread the word about your event and maximize attendance. Read more.
Sell: The immediate power to sell tickets and collect moneyonline. Read more.

Eventbrite is a San Francisco-based company, and is backed by the European Founders fund.

Luggage Limits - Airline Baggage Allowance Policies

2009-11-30T13:48:00.001-06:00

Luggage Limits is a FREE Search Tool for Flight-Specific Baggage Information.

Luggage Limits - Airline Baggage Allowance Policies via kwout

Detailed baggage allowance information is available on all routes and ticket classes for over 100 airlines! All of the information you need to avoid expensive airline luggage fees is provided along with helpful airport specific links.

Using Luggage Limits is simple:

Select an Airline
Select departure and arrival airports
Hit Search

Search results by ticket class include:

Weights and dimensions permitted for checked and carry-on baggage
The number of free bags permitted
Fees for oversized, overweight & excess baggage
Maximum weights and sizes permitted
Route embargo information
Possible online discounts
Special baggage policies
General airline information

You're invited to join Dropbox! - Secure backup, sync and sharing made easy.

2009-11-24T08:34:00.001-06:00

Dropbox - You're invited to join Dropbox! - Secure backup, sync and sharing made easy.

Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. There's no complicated interface to learn. Dropbox works seamlessly with your operating system and automatically makes sure your files are up-to-date. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

How To Get a Free Disposable Phone Number

2009-09-09T17:32:00.001-05:00

If you ever need to hand out your phone number in a public forum or, say, give your number to a stranger on Craigslist, you rarely want to give away your real number.

inumbr is an auto-expiring, FREE anonymous phone number that forwards incoming call to your home or mobile phone. Callers do not see your home or mobile numbers.

Free Disposable Temporary Phone Number to Keep your Phone Number Private

To get your disposable number, simply go to the site, pick your city, set your expiration time (one hour, one day, one week), then tell it where to forward your calls.

2009-05-03T08:57:00.004-05:00

TrueCar is a NEW and FREE web service, that promises to be a handy tool in the car buying process. At least for the buyer.

TRUECAR - The Authority on New Car Pricing

It helps bring transparency to the sales process by aggregating data from many different sources to show car buyers and dealers how much people actually paid for a particular car in their geographic area.

Lifehacker - TrueCar Shows You What Cars are Really Selling For - Saving Money

Consumers no longer walk into the dealership only partially informed and fully suspicious. Instead, they show up with the Price Report in hand and know how to strike a fair deal.

How To Find A Good Place to Meet

2008-10-11T15:17:00.004-05:00

Let's say you need to meet a friend or client for lunch on the other side of town...How do you pick the best place that would be "fair" to both of you?

Meetways.com, A new, FREE web service, aims to solve just that.

MeetWays - Find a point of interest between two given addresses - Lets Meet!

Meetways.com was created to allow users to find a point of interest between two addresses.

Simply enter both addresses and the type of restaurant you are looking for ==> MeetWays will give you the exact halfway point and a list of restaurants in that area.

Save hours trying to figure out the halfway point on a map and instead find it in one simple click!

How To Create Free Marketing Materials For Your Business

2008-05-30T10:02:00.003-05:00

BrandDoozie is a new and FREE web application that creates marketing materials in minutes.

You can easily create your logo, business cards, brochures, direct mail, flyers and more!

BrandDoozie: Marketing Materials in Minutes.

BrandDoozie offers easy-to-use online marketing tool that provides start-ups and small businesses with professionally designed brand systems. With quick access to brochures, business cards, direct mail, flyers and more, you’ll be marketing in no time.

Created for small businesses and start-up companies, it’s an effective and professional way to jump-start your marketing efforts.

Create your own marketing materials without having to buy software or learn any graphic skills; and manage every component of your company’s marketing from one central location.

Build your logo, create and edit marketing documents and use our photo gallery all for FREE! Try it now, or if you still want to learn more before getting started — check out the demo.

How To "See" Where Crime Is In Your Neighborhood

2008-05-22T19:31:00.002-05:00

SpotCrime is a new, FREE service that lets you "see" where crime is taking place.

A very comprehensive online source of crime information, the site offers local maps, crime reports classifications -- all on real-time, interactive maps.

Houston, TX Crime Map (beta)

Best YouTube Mashup ever!!

2008-05-09T17:03:00.001-05:00

A very cool way indeed to put some order into a wonderful, yet chaotic universe.

read more | digg story

How To Escape Boring Meetings And Sucky Dates

2008-05-08T08:53:00.004-05:00

PhoneMyPhone offers a FREE, simple yet quite useful service --> it calls your phone for you.

PhoneMyPhone.com: find your cell phone, escape boring meetings, or end sucky dates early!

When would you use it?

to find your cell phone
to escape boring meetings
to end sucky dates early

How To Find Out Nutrition Facts Before Going To The Store

2008-05-06T08:02:00.005-05:00

We've all heard the saying "you are what you eat." But how many of us really know what we're putting in our bodies?

Zeer is a grocery product community that helps people "believe in what they buy." It connects people to product information, communities full of like-minded people, and buying advice.

Zeer | Consumer reviews for healthy eating, organic food and green products.

Know Before You Go

Overwhelmed in the grocery store?

With Zeer you can research products in advance, read reviews get nutritional info tailored to you and use our advanced product search tool to find exactly what you're looking for.

Join Communities

Going green or organic? Looking for a healthier diet? Or are you passionate about wine, beer or your pet?

With Zeer you can join communities that match your needs and interests and get advice that's relevant to you.

Share Advice

What's your specialty? On Zeer, you can boost your karma by writing product reviews, starting conversations and being an active part of your your communities.

With Zeer as a guide you can be confident in your decisions.

How To Make Your Photos Look Like They're From An Old Newspaper

2008-05-05T08:47:00.006-05:00

I just came across Wanokoto, a Japanese website that offers a COOL and FREE service -- upload (or use a URL of) your photo, and Wanokoto will make it look like it's from a 150 year old newspaper.

How To Create a Logo For Free

2008-05-01T09:16:00.005-05:00

Previously, I have posted about getting a professional e-mail and business cards, as two of the basic, must-haves for people starting a new business.

Today we'll discuss how to create a professional looking logo for your new business, using a new tool -- LogoEase.

A logo should be a unique representation of your business or product. People should look at your logo design and see what your company stands for.

LogoEase offers a totally FREE, professional grade logo maker.

An intuitive and simple design interface allows you to create your own free business logo designs in just minutes.

You then receive various electronic files for both web and print use including the VECTOR source files.

File formats include eps, png, jpg and tiff. You can save and download as many as 10 free logo designs at any one time.

You can view logo samples here, or simply start to create a logo for FREE.

How To Get A Free iChat Alternative For Windows

2008-04-29T07:15:00.005-05:00

Have you been envious of your apple-totting friend's iChat?

Well, now you can get ManyCam -- a FREE iChat alternative for your windows machine that let's you use your webcam with multiple applications at the same time and add cool graphics to your webcam video window.

ManyCam - Home - webcam graphics plus use your webcam with multiple programs simultaneously!

With ManyCam you can:

Use your webcam with multiple programs simultaneously.
Add text to your webcam video window with any application.
Add cool animations to your video window.
Show your local day and date in your video window.
Add live CGI graphics like fire and water effects. You can even make it appear as if it is snowing inside your house!

You can download the FREE program, or get started by learning how to start using your webcam with multiple webcam applications.

How To Get Nutrition Data On Your Mobile

2008-04-27T10:21:00.003-05:00

There are many resources for finding the nutritional contents of foods.

But what do you do when you're at your favorite restaurant trying to decide what to order?

Enter Diet.com's Nutrition on the Go service:

Using the new Diet.com Nutrition on the Go service really is as easy as 1,2,3:

You put your phone in text message mode, type in the menu item you need help with, then send that info to DIET1 (34381).
In a flash you receive a text with the information you requested
Make an informed decision! Feast on tasty, guilt-free, diet-friendly food!

The site offers access to over 36,000 foods from 1700 restaurants in North America!

*Note: Try to be as accurate and specific as possible - the less words you include from the menu item, the less likely you are to recieve information for the item you want to look up.

How To Learn About Health Insurance Alternatives

2008-04-23T10:21:00.002-05:00

Have questions about Individual, Small Business, Group, Student, or Family Health Insurance?

Health Plan One is a FREE service that allows consumers to compare and select health insurance plans from a wide range of providers.

Health Insurance Alternatives By Health Plan One

Users enter their specific details and receive free health insurance quotes and can compare features among multiple options rather than researching individual plans from different sources.

The site also provides a lot of useful information and is a good place to learn about HSAs or COBRA alternatives.

Get Online Help With Your Next Test Preparation

2008-04-21T09:27:00.006-05:00

Socrato is a new and FREE site that can help make your learning effort easier and more productive.

Socrato: Test Preparation Getting Smarter - Track progress, focused test preparation

Most other learning tools replicate pencil and paper learning processes. Socrato brings the power of computing and data analysis to your studies.

"We constantly analyze your learning patterns, quantify your strengths and weaknesses and allow you to customize your practice session based on your goals"

What practice tests does Socrato currently have available?

Socrato has imported 5 years of prior MCAS tests (i.e., questions and answers) for 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The tests are organized by grade year (6, 7, and 8), and include Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science and Technology/Engineering, and History and Social Science.

In all there are over 1000 MCAS questions available from 27 previous tests.

So try out Socrato and get better prepared for your next test -- signup for a FREE account.

How To Get A Free Personal Travel Assistant

2008-04-17T14:27:00.007-05:00

With today's myriad of travel sites, even the most experienced traveler has their hands full managing all the details of a typical trip.

Booking airline tickets, hotels, rental cars and restaurants leaves you with lots of separate pieces of paper. Throw in maps, directions, things to do, and weather and the chaos multiplies.

Enter TripIt -- a FREE, personal travel assistant that automatically organizes all your travel plans.

TripIt | Organize your travel

TripIt turns chaos into order by making it easy for anyone to:

Organize trip details into one master online itinerary -- even if arrangements are booked at multiple travel sites
Automatically include maps, directions and weather in their master itinerary
Have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities and more right from within the online itinerary
Safely access travel plans online, share them, check-in for flights, or print an itinerary

How it Works:

The easiest way to get started with TripIt is to simply forward all your travel confirmation emails to: plans@tripit.com

Once they receive your bookings, TripIt will email you a link to view your itinerary and your new TripIt account. Using TripIt is free and your travel plans are kept secure and confidential.

What happens to my travel booking?

This is when the cool stuff starts -- the TripIt "Itinerator" takes over and automatically combines your related travel bookings into a single master itinerary. Then the Itinerator searches the Web to add related information, including daily weather, local maps, driving directions, city guides and more.

You'll get an email from TripIt once your new itinerary is ready.

What can I do with my TripIt itinerary?

You can simply print your itinerary and head out the door with all your travel plans and confirmation numbers in one place. Or you can customize your itinerary with additional maps and directions, meetings and activities, or even other Web pages that you'll need on your trip.

You can also access all your travel plans while on the road from your mobile device or automatically sync your detailed itineraries to your personal calendar.

It's easy to create a network of TripIt Connections so you can view each other's travel calendars and get alerted when your travel plans overlap with each other. It's also easy to share complete itineraries with friends or family who need to know your travel plans, or collaborate with fellow travelers on a trip.

Here's some other information about TripIt that you may find helpful:

TripIt Sample Itinerary

TripIt Blog

TripIt Media Coverage

How To Avoid Police Speed Trap

2008-04-14T12:32:00.005-05:00

If you ever had, or considered having, radar or laser detectors to help you avoid getting speeding tickets -- then you're going to love Trapster.

Trapster™ - Speed Trap Sharing System

While there are several sites that allow users to input locations of usual speed trap locations, red light cameras, speed cameras - a map of speed traps on a Web site will NOT help you avoid a ticket.

Police are not stupid. They change the locations where they set up speed traps many times per day. Only real time data is useful.

Trapster™ data is real time data -- with Trapster your mobile phone alerts you as you approach police speed traps.

How trapster works:

When you see a trap, report it by pressing a button on your phone, or calling a toll free number.
Other user's phones will alert them as they approach the trap.

Trapster™ learns the credibility of traps based on how many users agree. It also learns the credibility of each user, over time.

Here's how to get started using Trapster™ on your mobile phone:

Create a Trapster account from your Web browser (not mobile) using the "Sign-up" button on the home page.

To get Trapster on your Mobile Phone you can either install the Trapster™ application or simply use the voice and SMS features (no install required).

Click Here to watch a demo video of Trapster or simply signup for a FREE account.

A Free WebEx Alternative

2008-04-11T08:34:00.008-05:00

If you have remote friends, colleagues or clients odds are you are familiar with WeEx - the remote collaboration tool, now owned by Cisco.

Although it's a very good product; it has two drawbacks:

it requires participants to perform an install on their machine (which they seem to always postpone to AFTER the meeting begins) and...
it is pretty expensive (plans start at $39/month)

Dimdim is a FREE web conferencing service where you can share your desktop, show slides, collaborate, chat, talk and broadcast via webcam with absolutely NO download required for attendees.

Dimdim: Free Web Conferencing With No Downloads Needed

Dimdim is extremely easy to use. It has a very simple user interface, and is designed so the people you invite to your meeting do not have to install anything (even to broadcast audio or video!) A single click starts your meeting.

Dimdim’s built-in VoIP capability is great for attendees with limited access to quality phone service, providing free calling to and from any computer with a microphone and an Internet connection.

With no software to download or install, Dimdim democratizes web- based live meetings. In seconds - right from your browser - you easily host or attend web meetings complete with audio and video conferencing, screen and application sharing.

You can read more about DimDim and the people behind it; or simply signup for a FREE account.

How To Get The Best Cell Phone Plan For YOUR Needs

2008-04-09T20:38:00.005-05:00

There are many cell phone plans out there.

So what are the odds that you're signed up for the cheapest cell phone plan and add-ons for your personal calling pattern?

Pretty darned close to zero.

It's hard enough to understand how all the different plans work, let alone to figure out which one of the millions of combinations will cost you the least.

BillShrink, is a new and FREE service that aims to save you time and money through highly-personalized analysis of your particular usage.

Cell Phone Plan Recommendations | BillShrink

The BillShrink application for Wireless enables you to discover the best cell phone carrier and plan that meet your personal usage requirements, with the best call quality, at the lowest cost.

With all this unavoidable complexity, there is no single “right” answer for everyone; rather, the optimal choice depends squarely on how you personally use your cell phone (i.e. who you call, when you call, how much you call, whether you use SMS, etc.)

To solve this problem, our application allows you to interactively describe your wireless usage profile, and in return, receive comprehensive, real-time analysis and feedback on which plans are the best fit for you.

Plans are ranked as a function of the two parameters that wireless subscribers tend to care most about: a) how much a plan costs; and b) which carriers will provide the best call quality.

For cost, BillShrink calculates how much YOUR cell phone usage would cost on that plan -- plans that support your usage with the lowest associated cost are rated highest in the cost dimension.

For call quality, they perform a comparison of the expected signal strength provided by each carrier’s network at the locations that matter most to you (i.e. at home, at work, etc) -- carriers with the strongest network in those areas will rank the highest in the call quality dimension. Lastly, we combine the cost and coverage sub-rankings to come up with an aggregate plan rank.

Here's more information on how it woks or simply see them in action.

How To Get Free Legal Forms

2008-04-07T09:27:00.005-05:00

If you need some basic legal forms for business (e.g. - Limited Liability Company (LLC) Articles of Organization) or personal reasons (e.g. - Power of Attorney (Husband and Wife) --> then you should definitely check out ILRG Legal Forms Archive.

ILRG Legal Forms Archive boasts the Internet's largest collection of FREE legal forms with over 2,000 forms; many of their forms are adapted for state-specific use.

The site offers basic agreements (buying and selling, credit and collection, employment, leases, loans, assignments, personal and family, and divorce) and is NOT meant to substitute for official legal advice, but if you need a basic form, this is the place to get it.

Free Online Invoicing Software From The Makers Of QuickBooks

2008-04-04T08:43:00.005-05:00

If you are a small business owner, you'd probably prefer to spend your time providing your customers with great products and services; and not creating, sending, and tracking invoices.

Intuit Billing Manager is meant to help with all that by being fast, easy, and FREE.

Billing Manager is an easy way to create and manage your invoices online. And it's from Intuit – the makers of QuickBooks, Quicken, and TurboTax.

To get started just pick an invoice style and add your logo. Your company and customer information is remembered as you enter it, so each invoice is faster and easier than the last.

With one click, you can see your overdue invoices or who owes the most. Browse or search your online invoices or customers—instantly!

Billing Manager is FREE — you can create online invoices for free, you can track your customers and payments for free, you can use your own logo for free and so on.

So what's the catch? how do they make money?

There is an optional electronic payment service (QuickBooks Merchant Service) that is fully integrated with Billing Manager. It costs money.

It lets you process credit cards in Billing Manager. It also lets your customers pay your invoices online.

You don’t have to do this (ever), and you can happily use Billing Manager for free.

But the idea is that for some businesses, accepting credit cards and letting their customer pay online will help them get paid faster and more easily.

That’s it, that’s the catch.

Here are some other things you can do with Billing Manager:

Select from professional invoice templates
Email or print online invoices
See each invoice’s history—when it was sent, received and paid
See what’s overdue and easily send reminders
They do the math (sales tax too!) for fast, accurate invoices

For more information, take the online tour; or simply sign up for a FREE account.

How To Get Free Free Technical Advice For Your Stuff

2008-04-01T08:42:00.003-05:00

Whether it's a digital camera, printer, or laptop - most manufacturers of gadgets, electronics and consumer products do not provide adequate technical support through their web sites, despite these products becoming more and more technologically advanced.

Enter FixYa - the largest online source for FREE technical advice on gadgets, electronic equipment and consumer products.

Tech Support, Manuals & Troubleshooting for Consumers

FixYa users can quickly and easily post technical questions for Experts in the FixYa troubleshooting forums - seeking solutions for problems or advice/instructions on proper usage of a product.

Users can also upgrade to Premium Assistance to get fast, guaranteed technical assistance from Top Experts - via posting or Live Chat.

The power of FixYa stems from the unique, community-generated content found in the FixYa troubleshooting forums.

Technical problems and solutions posted on FixYa are based on users' real life experiences, rather than the hypothetical scenarios presented in product manufacturers' FAQs.

In addition, through FixYa's unique rating system, problem solutions are continually refined, with the goal of offering users the most helpful and accurate technical support information possible for any consumer product.

Besides connecting users with Experts who can provide technical advice, FixYa also stores manuals and troubleshooting guides for over half a million products, provides a forum for postings product tips and user created wiki-manuals, offers Extended Warranties and warranty management tools, maintains a directory of Repair Service providers, and makes it easy to purchase new consumer products.

How To Get Price Drop Alerts For (Almost) Any Product

2008-03-31T09:16:00.004-05:00

Most of us do not have the time to keep an eye on the price of all the products we're interested in.

Price!pinx is a quick and convenient solution to notify you about price drops of any product on almost any website.

New to Price!pinx ? Get started, receive your price drop emails and save!

It can save you time and energy by monitoring the price for you! It will also send you a price drop alert email if the product goes on sale.

You simply provide your email address to Price!pinx, then add their bookmarklet to your browser's links bar. When you see a price you think/hope will go lower, highlight it and then hit the "!pinx" link.

Teach Your Kids Good Habits...By Having Fun Online

2008-03-28T09:51:00.007-05:00

What do kids enjoy doing the most? -- talking with their friends, playing video games, and watching cartoons.

So the key idea behind Handipoints is to motivate kids to do their chores and act responsibly in order to earn the right to do the things that they enjoy the most.

For kids, Handipoints is a fun way to earn cool Rewards for completing your chores, homework, and simply lending others a hand!

As a parent, you have a special area in Handipoints just for you. With the Handipoints Parent Portal you can keep track of your child's Tasks, Goals and progress while helping them learn responsible, healthy habits.

The powerful and easy-to-use interface of the Parent Portal is highly customizable, so there's no limiting your imagination.

Work together with your child to add Tasks and Goals to fit your life. It's the perfect toolkit to teach your kids to be Happy, Healthy and Smart.

For more information you can read parents' testimonials or simply sign up for a FREE account and give it a try.

How To Switch Banks In 3 Easy Steps

2008-03-27T09:05:00.006-05:00

I bank with Comerica; and I hate it.

The reason I started banking with them in the first place; is that they were the only branch on campus at my previous employer (BMC Software), which was a big plus.

But I've left BMC in 2003, and I'm still stuck with Comerica, their non-existing service and exorbitant fees.

Why?

Because switching banks is a hassle.

Most consumers have direct deposits, automatic withdrawals and online bill payees set up with their current bank.

Each one of the companies that deposits and withdraws from your account needs to be informed if you have new account information.

Calling around to get instructions and forms is the kind of task that always gets pushed down a to-do list. And, if you use your bank's online bill payment system, you could have 5 to 30 different payees, some with automatic payment schedules that need to be re-typed and moved over as well.

So naturally, when I came accross BankSwitcher; I just had to write about it.

Switching banks can be hard...

BankSwitcher was invented to make it much easier to go to a new bank.

Now, you can bank with the company that is offering the best products, rather than staying with a bank we don't like - just because it's an overwhelming task to move.

BankSwitcher looks at your banking activity to identify things you will need to do if you want to switch banks (e.g., change direct deposits and automatic payments). You progress through BankSwitcher in three steps:

Gather bank activity. BankSwitcher looks for items that will need to be changed when you switch banks, such as direct deposits and automatic payments.
Choose what to switch. You select the Billers and Depositors you want included in your Switching Checklist based on the items compiled in Step 1.
Print your Switching Checklist. Then, BankSwitcher generates a printable document (PDF format) with everything you need to change banks. You can use your Switching Checklist whenever you want.

BankSwitcher "...follow strict standards to protect all personal information submitted to us...":

All data is transmitted using secure socket layer technology (SSL).
Our network is highly secure, firewalled, and fully encrypted.
Any information that we don't need to keep (e.g. bank login information, account numbers, etc.) is never written to disk and immediately erased from memory after use.

BankSwitcher empowers you to find a better bank, but switching is up to you. So if you do use it; please give us some feedback.

A Free Photoshop Alternative For Professionals

2008-03-25T09:16:00.003-05:00

Previously, I have posted about Picnik - a hosted, free Photoshop alternative.

While most users (like me) will find Picnik intuitive and easy to use, professional users may miss some of the more advanced tools and features that Photoshop offers.

And that's exactly where Splashup comes in.

Splashup

Splashup, formerly Fauxto, is a FREE, powerful editing tool and photo manager.

With all the features professionals use and novices want, it's easy to use, works in real-time and allows you to edit many images at once.

Splashup runs in all browsers, integrates seamlessly with top photosharing sites, and even has its own file format so you can save your work in progress.

To learn more about Splashup, take the online tour
or simply jump in and try it out.

Once you're ready, simply sign up for a FREE account.

Life Changing Disease? Help and Get Help From Patients Like You

2008-03-24T19:47:00.010-05:00

Have you been diagnosed with a "life-changing" disease?

PatientsLikeMe is a new, FREE site with the goal to enable people to share information that can improve the lives of patients diagnosed with life-changing diseases.

PatientsLikeMe : Patients Helping Patients To Live Better Every Day

To make this happen, they've created a platform for collecting and sharing real world, outcome-based patient data (patientslikeme.com) and are establishing data-sharing partnerships with doctors, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, research organizations, and non-profits.

The site was inspired by a young carpenter named Stephen Heywood, who in 1998 was diagnosed with ALS.

The Heywood family began taking charge of Stephen's care, searching the world over for ideas that would extend his life and improve the way he lived.

This set in motion a series of events that have led to PatientsLikeMe, a new system of medicine by patients for patients.

Using the site, you can read all about the experiences of other real people who are afflicted with certain illnesses as well as share your own experiences. The purpose, then, is to allow users to interact with one another, track how treatments are working for other members, and explore the side effects patients are seeing with certain treatments.

How To Create an Internet "Safe Zone" For Your Kids

2008-03-21T08:58:00.007-05:00

Previously, we covered How To Child-Proof The Internet For Your Kids with PikLuk -- a FREE service that provides a safe Internet experience for your children.

Today, we'll cover KidZui - a paid service, that may be well worth the price.

KidZui - The Internet for Kids

KidZui creates a "safe zone" for your kids inside the "internet", using a custom built browser.

The company has hired around 200 teachers and parents from across the United States to scour the net for appropriate sites and content. So far they’ve whitelisted about 500,000 websites, pictures and videos.

Parents receive weekly emails that will keep you up-to-date with what your kids are searching for and looking at on KidZui.

Use the parent account on KidZui.com, accessed from any browser to tune in to what your kids think is cool and plan family activities around their evolving interests.

KidZui - The Internet for Kids

Here you can adjust each of your kids’ age settings to ensure that KidZui is appropriate for their motor skills and reading ability. Find the level that is best for now and change it as they grow.

Overall, KidZui guarantees kids’ safety and provides them with a portal into the best parts of the web. I have no doubt that parents will be willing to cough up $10 for the monthly subscription fee (or $5/mo, its current promotional rate).

Ladies...Get A Free Extreme Makeover

2008-03-18T09:11:00.005-05:00

Would you like to try a virtual makeover?

Taaz.com is a fun, FREE and easy-to-use website that gives women the opportunity to “try on” the hottest makeup and hairstyle looks from the convenience of their homes.

From creating the perfect smoky eye to painting on a dramatic ruby-red lip for a night out on the town, taaz.com allows you to become a makeup artist and try out different looks.

Users start by uploading their own digital photo and then experiment with a palette of thousands of colors and shades in products ranging from foundation and concealer to multi-tone eye shadow and lip gloss – even colored contact lenses!.

With the addition of a hairstyle or change of hair color, the look is complete.

The effects are immediate, simple to use and so life-like that the saved result looks like a real photograph.

The new "look" can be saved, printed, emailed to friends; put on greeting cards; or used as online profile pictures on Facebook or MySpace.

How To Turn Your Pictures Into Videos

2008-03-13T08:50:00.003-05:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand pictures.

But making a video clip used to be a hard, lengthy process; mostly reserved to apple-worshiping, design freaks (just kidding honey).

That is until now.

Animoto is one of the coolest services I have seen in a while.

It offers a web application that automatically generates professionally produced videos.

Look at what I have been able to produce in a few minutes of work:

Each video is a fully customized orchestration of user-selected images and music.

Produced in widescreen format, Animoto videos have the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer.

The heart of Animoto is its newly developed Cinematic A.I. technology that "...thinks like an actual director and editor...".

It analyzes and combines user-selected images and music with the same sophisticated post-production skills and techniques that are used in television and film.

The technology takes into account every nuance of a song: the genre, song structure, energy, rhythm, instrumentation, and vocals.

Videos can be emailed, embedded on websites including blogs and social network sites like Facebook and MySpace, and downloaded onto your computer.

How To Find Your Next Roommates

2008-03-12T08:31:00.008-05:00

Roomapes.com is a FREE a resource where you can post, search and rate roommates.

Roomapes.com: Post. Search. Rate. Housing and Roommates.

"...Roomapes was started by rentpayers who were frustrated with the crapshoot process of picking roommates. Sure, you might have previously met them at some social function or even had a conversation at a coffee shop, but how in the world do you find out how they behave as a roommate?..."

You can search for available shares by geographic region or by zip code. To list your residence, enter a profile complete with rent amount, housing situation, listing description, and a picture.

So start you search for your next roommate at Roomapes.com --> and research those potential roommates BEFORE living with them.

Teach Your Kids Math With A Video Game They'll Love

2008-03-10T08:29:00.002-05:00

Timez Attack is a high-end educational game built specifically for multiplication tables -- and it shows.

Mastering multiplication Tables is a critical turning point in a child's education.

Because math builds on itself, a failure to master the multiplication tables will keep them from conquering all their future mathematic challenges. Without these core math skills, children will quickly fall behind, causing them to permanently label themselves as "bad at math" or decide they "hate math."

The problem, of course, is that multiplication tables are tough. Very tough. And the tools we get to tackle this challenge are extremely ineffective.

Flash cards can teach multiplication tables, but few parents or children have the patience and desire to keep banging away on something so boring for weeks on end.

The obvious alternative is a multiplication tables game.

Your kids will love it because it's a cool game. You will love it because they'll be learning.

Download the FREE, base version or, for more info watch the demo below:

Help Your Kids Improve Their Spelling Skills And Expand Their Vocabulary

2008-03-09T10:13:00.004-05:00

SpellingCity is a new, FREE educational site that can help children of all ages improve their spelling skills and expand their vocabulary.

It can also be used by teachers and parents to teach their students how to spell properly with their own spelling lists.

Home - SpellingCity.com

You start by entering words into the spelling test, and test your spelling skills. You can also play a game with the words you entered.

If you’re a teacher or parent, you can register, which will allow you to enter your own spelling list, and test your students/children with your list.

Students can also play several games with your spelling lists.

Other features SpellingCity offers:

contains over 25,000 words, including plurals, contractions, 3rd person tenses, and more
uses a REAL human voice that says both the word and the word in a sentence
'Teach Me' function that spells out a word
teachers and parents can enter their very own spelling lists to test their students/children on
students can play games with the words they enter or with their teacher’s spelling lists

How To Turn Your WebCam Into a Free Photo Booth

2008-03-06T08:28:00.008-06:00

Mac users have long had Photobooth.

Now everyone else can join the fun.

Cameroid, is a FREE web version of Apple's famous program.

Taking pictures of yourself has never been more fun.

Add a special image effect such as Sepia, Black & White, Glow, Comic Book, or X-Ray. See the screen flash white.

Cameroid - Use your webcam to take photos online!

Instantly you have a photo you can save to your desktop, print or share with friend and family.

A Free, Online Alternative To Quicken And MS Money

2008-03-05T08:14:00.005-06:00

Mint is a powerful, easy and secure Web–based solution for managing your finances. And it’s FREE.

You simply register anonymously using any valid email address, and then add the log–in information for the online bank, credit union, credit card and investment accounts you want to consolidate in Mint.

Mint connects to more than 5,000 US financial institutions. Your account information is updated daily. Mint automatically categorizes all your purchases, showing you how much you spend on gas, groceries, parking, rent, restaurants, DVD rentals and more, with amazing precision.

An advanced alerting system highlights any unusual activity, low balances, unwanted fees and charges, and upcoming bills so you’re in constant contact with your money—effortlessly.

Mint goes way beyond just reporting. Mint constantly searches through thousands of offers from hundreds of providers to find the best deals on everything from bank accounts to credit cards; cable, phone and Internet plans; and more. Mint’s suggestions are “unique to you” based on your individual spending patterns. For example, if you have $20,000 in a bank account that’s earning no interest, Mint might recommend a high interest rate savings account from ING or HSBC. Acting on that suggestion would give you an extra $900 in interest income over a year.

For more information, you can review mint's features or watch the demo below, by their founder Aaaron Patzer:

How To Get Your Pic On A Magazine Cover

2008-03-03T07:19:00.009-06:00

MagMyPic.com is a FREE website that allows users to combine their picture with custom made Magazine covers in the likeness of popular Magazines.

MagMyPic.com is an affiliate marketing effort that works to distribute and market subscriptions to each of the magazines displayed on MMP while providing a fun and entertaining way for users to display their picture.

MagMyPic - Fake Magazine Covers with your Photo!

So play around with it and have some fun...

Plan & Decorate Your Room in 3D

2008-02-29T09:37:00.003-06:00

If you'de like to make your home more you, now there is help.

mydeco is a FREE website that brings together a set of 3D tools to help you plan your room before you even open a can of paint.

Create your unique style using our layout planning tools | Plan my Room | mydeco

mydeco offers a wide range of products from high street stores to niche retailers, thousands of inspiring looks to fit your budget, expert designers on hand for advice, and you can also join their community to share ideas, swap decorating tips and show off your designs.

To start planning your room's new look, simply get started here.

PicniK: A Hosted, Free Photoshop Alternative

2008-02-28T15:19:00.003-06:00

Picnik is a FREE, online photoshop alternative.

It's the easiest way on the Web to fix underexposed photos, remove red-eye, or apply effects to your photos.

What can I do with Picnik?
With plenty of Edit tools you can fix just about anything that could possibly go wrong with a photograph.

Many of the editing tools are one-click fixes, including auto- fix, exposure, colors, and red-eye.

And the others, like rotate, crop, resize, and sharpening, can be controlled with easy-to-use sliders.

Also available are custom-made Effects (most of which have the ability to be painted into just the areas of your image where you want them), an awesome text tool with dozens of fonts, dozens of shapes, including seasonal shapes for holidays and events, and some super customizable frames and much more.

Picnik lets you upload photos from your computer; and it can also pull photos directly from photo sharing sites like flicker, Picasa, facebook, WebShots, PhotoBucket etc.

They used to have FREE and Premium type accounts, but Picnik has just announced that users will now have full access to all of Picniks editing features for free.

Tools now available to all users include advanced edit tools, special effects, additional fonts and shapes. The service will be ad supported, but those wanting an ad free experience can sign up for Picnik Premium for $24.95 a year.

So to use ALL of the editing features for FREE simply sign up for a FREE account.

Free Wedding Invitations & Event Managment

2008-02-26T14:32:00.007-06:00

These days, cell phones, MP3 players, and even our sneakers are stylish, personalized, and technologically progressive. So why are online invitations stubbornly stuck in the past?

A new web service, Pingg.com aims to change all that.

So far they seem to be doing a GREAT job.

The site offers FREE and advanced event management and reporting tools WITHOUT compromising style.

Its designs are stunning and very inviting (pun intended) making for invitations that express personality and deliver excitement.

Pingg is the next generation of free invitations, delivery and event management tools, and more:

Stylish and sophisticated invitations that reflected our taste and personality as well as our event style

The ability to send invitations and follow-up communications in a way that was compatible with our modern lives, via email, sms, personalized event web page, social networks (facebook) and also printed and mailed ... because sometimes people want an old-fashioned invitation

The ease and convenience of advanced management tools for organizing guest lists and tracking open-rates so that we could manage personal and professional events from one place

To create your next event and invitations simply register for a FREE account.

Project2Manage: Free Web Alternative to MS-Project and BaseCamp

2008-02-24T22:01:00.005-06:00

Project2Manage is a FREE, hosted project management solution.

It is simple and easy, and can be used by everyone involved in a project.

Publish Post

Project2Manage

Project2Manage is a great tool to keep you and your projects organized. It has a ton of features that allow you to create, manage and complete projects in your day to day activities as well as your professional life.

Your team doesn’t have to be located in one place with Project2Manage - Project2Manage includes tools, like Spot2Jot, which allows you to create documents and then edit them from anywhere.

This especially comes in handy when your team is spread out in different locations.

You can also set up milestones that alert you when a task is due and never miss a deadline again.

For more information, check the online tour, or sign up for a FREE account.

Xpenser: The Free & Easy Way To Do Your Expense Report

2008-02-24T11:28:00.003-06:00

Fed up with how painful expense reports and tracking are?

Then try Xpenser - a FREE and efficient way to manage your expenses and reports.

Xpenser offers "Fire and Forget" expense tracking. Simply record expenses as soon as they happen and forget about them.

Xpenser - Mobile Expense Tracking and Reporting

Xpenser lets you record expenses via whatever means are available to you quickly and painlessly. Send them in via Email, SMS, IM, or voice (call a number and say your expense).

From your Blackberry, email "Lunch 78.50 with BigClient" and it's recorded.

From your phone, SMS "exp groceries 27.13".

From your computer, IM "Equipment 889.19 backup server".

From your phone, call and say "taxi 39 office to airport".

Use the Web interface to edit and finalize them or export them to your favorite financial management software.

No more forgetting your cash expenses, no more half-day expense entry sessions.

For more info take a look at the online tour, or simply sign up for a FREE account.

PickUpPal: The Easy Way To Carpool

2008-02-22T08:19:00.006-06:00

Fact: With millions of vehicles on the road, someone is definitely going your way!

So finding a ride, or someone to share the expense with should be easy, right?

It is with PickUpPal - a new web service that provides an easy way to carpool by matching up Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way.

PickUpPal: match up Passengers with Drivers who are going the same way

Launched in January 2008, PickupPal allows a private vehicle engaged in a transportation event (a one-way trip from A to B) to be matched intelligently and dynamically over the Internet to a pickup location (someone or something) along its planned route anywhere in the world.

PickupPal's core service is providing a venue for either passengers or packages to find or be matched to a driver—typically already traveling in a certain direction or destination.

PickupPal DOES NOT have a fee for "using the site". So joining the community, posting routes and viewing opportunities is FREE.

PickupPal's only fee applies to the drivers who decide to charge their passenger an amount to offset their driving costs (such as gas or the cost of owning a car), something they make clear in their offer. PickupPal charges a 7% fee on that transaction.

So for example a driver offers to drive a passenger across town for let’s say $20. The passenger pays the driver in cash at the end of the drive and the driver puts the money in their pocket. PickupPal then charges the driver 7% on the $20 fare – so that is $1.40. When it is convenient for the driver he/she pays us via PayPal. Usually we like to let the charges accumulate a bit until the driver owes us say $10 (10 Euros) or more and then at that point we ask to get paid. The passenger does not pay PickupPal.

See PickupPal in action:

With millions of vehicles on the road, someone is definitely going your way!

Delegate Effectively With a Monkey On Your Back

2008-02-21T08:37:00.004-06:00

Waiting on someone to do something for you?

Just send a specially trained monkeys to remind them!

Monkey On Your Back is a FREE, to-do list for things that you want other people to do.

Create a monkey for each task you want to delegate to someone else. Monkey On Your Back will send that person email reminders about the task, and email you a reminder when the deadline for the task has expired.

Monkey On Your Back

To send a monkey
Simply give your monkey a recipient, a description, and a deadline. Monkey On Your Back will send the recipient regular reminder emails to make sure they don't forget.

See & manage all your monkeys
You can see all the monkeys you've sent, or all the monkeys that others have sent you, in one place; where you can edit your monkeys and review each monkey's history.

All in all it's an effective way to follow up on delegated tasks.

To give it a try; sign up for a FREE account.

StuffSafe: Protect Your Possessions With a Home Inventory

2008-02-20T10:05:00.006-06:00

What is a home inventory and why do I need one?
A home inventory is simply a detailed list of the stuff you own and should be a big part of your theft or disaster recovery plan.

Your up-to-date inventory will help you purchase the correct amount of home owner insurance protection, get your insurance claim settled faster if you suffer property loss or damage and verify losses for your tax returns.

However, even the best home inventory is not worth much if you can't find it after a fire, flood or other disaster. And keeping your inventory on your home computer is fine until it gets stolen or destroyed.

Enter StuffSafe - a FREE solution that keeps your inventory securely online where you or your insurance agent can get quick access.

StuffSafe : Online Home Inventory Software

How do I start making my home inventory?
Cataloging all the stuff you own can be a daunting challenge so start with the big ticket items like appliances, computers, home electronics, jewelry, furniture and power tools.

Gradually work to the less expensive items like books, linens and clothing. For each item, give a brief description, date purchased, make, model, serial number (if appropriate) and replacement value. A photo of the item is helpful too.

How do I get started?
Creating a StuffSafe account is fast and easy! Just enter your email address and name to get started - no phone number, address or billing information. Your account is free forever and you cancel your account at any time.

Once you create an account, just follow the instructions for adding locations, rooms and items to your inventory.

In case of emergency?
On any computer with an internet connection, you simply log into your StuffSafe account. Then, you can print or download your entire inventory.

Also, you can let your insurance agent, partner or friend have read-only access to your StuffSafe account with separate passwords. Read-only access means that the user will not be able to add, edit or delete anything in your inventory - the user can only view, print or download your inventory.

Multipe locations
You can add an unlimited number of locations (home, office, lake house etc.) and separate inventories to your StuffSafe account.

Watch What You Eat. Literally!

2008-02-19T09:22:00.005-06:00

Figuring out food labels is not for everyone, but simply seeing what you are eating can be surprising to all of us.

A new site, Foodsel.com helps us do just that.

Foodsel

The site contains detailed nutrient information, ranging from the usual information about sugar, fat and carbohydrate all the way up to detailed information about lesser known nutrients (potassium, beta-sitosterol, essential vs. non-essential amino acids etc.

The information covers over 7,500 foods and is neatly organized by group, manufacturer or nutrient.

Extensive activities & exercises
Had a nice meal? Then have a look what you can do to burn the calories you have just gained. Of course, sports are listed, but non-sport activities such as child care are listed as well.

How To Get Out Of (Or Into) An Existing Cell Phone Contract

2008-02-18T08:55:00.009-06:00

A good friend of mine recently took a new job on job on the west coast, and will be moving there from Houston.

His new position includes a company cell phone; so he won't be needing his current cell phone anymore.

Unfortunately, he has, not long ago, re-upped his cell phone contract in order to get the latest phone (blackberry pearl) for free. So now he is "stuck" with ~18 months of contract for a phone he doesn't need anymore.

Obviously, he can simply cancel his contract; but all the cell phone carriers charge a hefty early termination fee of $150 to $250. In his case, T-mobile charges $200.

So...I'm writing this post to help him (and anyone else) get out of an existing cell phone contract WITHOUT having to pay the early termination fee.

The way to do that is to basically find someone else to take over the reminder of your contract.

Finding someone else to take over your contract can be difficult. Fortunately, two sites, CellSwapper and CellTradeUSA can help you with exactly that.

Cellswapper.com - Get out of your cell phone contract - mobile contract - wireless contract

Both sites are very similar and basically serve as a market place for people wanting in and out of existing cell phone contracts.

Celltrade, America's Online Cellular Exchange Place

How it works:
Cellular customers register to list their remaining contract obligation. Other members can browse and make contact with them. Once a match is made they can follow through with the respective cellular service transfer of responsibility process.

What are the fees for the service?
For the party that wants OUT of the contract: Both sites charge a flat fee of $20-$25 for to actually connect you with interested parties (though you can gauge interest in your plan before paying anything).

For the party that wants IN: Nothing. It is absolutely free to register and take over someone's contract!

Cookthink: Free Recipes That Match Your Cravings

2008-02-17T07:58:00.005-06:00

Cookthink.com is a personalized cooking and recipe website that helps you find recipes to suit your cravings.

"..the “Cookthink It” feature was inspired by the many conversations we've had over the years: with ourselves, with each other, with friends and family. Those conversations went something like this:

"What should I cook tonight?"
"What are you craving?"
"I don't know. Maybe fish. But something hearty. And something easy. Kind of feeling like Mexican."
"What about fish tacos with avocado, cabbage and feta?"
"Ooh, that sounds good."..."

The “Cookthink It” feature was created to recreate this process online. It lets you search for recipes by a combination of ingredients, dish types, cuisines and moods so that we can answer the question: What are you craving?

Cookthink

When you’re craving something to eat, what is it that you really want? Do you want a specific ingredient? Do you want a particular dish or the flavors of a certain cuisine? Do you want to feel a certain way?

Every recipe is made up of all these things. Cookthink's , Recipe Mapping Project aims to figure out all the little bits and pieces that go into making a good recipe.

Each recipe is broken down to its components , analyzing dozens of characteristics about what goes into a dish — what it tastes like, smells like, feels like, and how it makes you feel to eat it.

You can tap into this process when you use the “Cookthink It” tool to search by ingredient (pork chop, zucchini), dish type (salad, burrito) cuisine (Italian, Thai) and mood (exuberant, summery).

When you “Cookthink It” , what you’re craving is and compared to all of the recipes, returning the one recipe that best fits what you’re looking for.

How To Get A Free Computer Security Checkup

2008-02-15T08:02:00.005-06:00

Are you ready to step safely into the online world?

To be sure that you can be safely online, check your computer with a FREE health check by F-Secure.

It makes sure that your computer has the necessary security products, and the operating system and programs on your computer are up to date.

No sign-up or registration required -- simply launch Internet Explorer, and head to over to the free, computer security check.

After the check is complete, you get a status report:

Not all of these programs necessarily put your computer at risk at the moment. However, by updating the programs, you minimize the future risks in using the programs.

The report will also point you to the web sites where you can grab your upgrades.

So go take the free security checkup and be sure that you can be safely online.

How To Find Out If There Are Violent Criminals In Your Neighborhood

2008-02-14T08:44:00.004-06:00

FelonSpy is not the typical site I usually write about. With BIG gun ads and an aggressive vigilante attitude, this is not a site I would want my kids to visit.

However, there maybe more dangerous things, or rather people, in your own neighborhood ==> and that's where FelonSpy could be useful (which is what THIS site is all about).

They say that safety starts with information and this is what FelonSpy provides by mapping convicted and accused criminals who live in your neighborhood.

How it works
Simply type in the desired address, click enter. "...Felon Search technology mines data from across the nation, from the web and otherwise, and combines it into a single, easy to use interface..."

So whether you're checking your own neighborhood; or trying to find out if that hotel you've been eyeing is in a safe place, check FelonSpy and "...let your new knowledge be your peace of mind..."

dizzywood: Explore an Incredible and FREE 3D Virtual World for Kids

2008-02-13T09:57:00.007-06:00

Dizzywood is a FREE, virtual world where the focus is on fun. Kids can play games, interact, and have a good time in a safe and positive environment.

Kids start by creating a character (sometimes referred to as an avatar) and then they can explore the many areas of Dizzywood. Along the way, they'll have the opportunity to interact with other children, engage in challenging activities, and earn many rewards, such as items, achievement badges and even super powers.

Dizzywood actively encourages kids to play and interact in a positive manner with other kids.

Since many of the activities are designed to foster a sense of cooperation -- it is and highly recommended that parents discuss personal safety online with their kids.

Dizzywood has a straightforward parents guide with a few simple tips.

Dizzywood is an exciting, fun virtual world and kids game filled with activities and exploration. You can join right now for FREE here!

How To Back Up Your iTunes Library

2008-02-12T12:49:00.000-06:00

How-to video site, Howcast, features -- How To Back Up Your iTunes Library.

"...You've spent months, years, decades updating your music collection from vinyl to 8-track, from 8-track to cassette, from cassette to CD, from CD to this new-fangled digital format. Don't let all that hard work disappear with one fried circuit—back it up..."

How To Back Up Your iTunes Library [Howcast]

How To Easily Compare Mortgage Rates

2008-02-11T08:30:00.000-06:00

One of the (few) good things to come out of the sub-prime credit mess is a lower interest rate.

With interest rates at their lowest in years, now maybe the time to re-finance or take out that second mortgage.

The Mortgage Professor has a FREE online tool to compare wholesale mortgage rates.

Mortgage Wholesale Rates

Simply select your geographic area, and time period to look at. Choose whether you want your data in chart or table format, and what kind of mortgage you want to look at.

You can further sort the results by FICO score , loan purpose, loan size, type of documentation, or size of down payment.

This is an easy way to compare mortgage rates, and find out how strong you have to be to get them. Or simply use it to see how much of a markup your broker is charging.

So take a quick look at the Mortgage Professor to see and compare today's mortgage rates.

Traveling? Get Free Wake Up Calls You Can Count On

2008-02-10T08:44:00.000-06:00

When you're away from home and have a meeting, flight or any other "can't miss" appointment; you need a wake up call you can trust.

The hotel's radio alarm clock certainly isn't it!

Enter WakerUpper - "...the web's easiest telephone reminder tool..."

Wakerupper.com - Free Wake-up Calls and Telephone Reminders

Wakerupper is a FREE service that aims to make telephone alerting as easy as possible.

No more need to pay a wakeup call service up to 6 dollars to arrange a one-time wakeup call.

It's FREE and easy -- just input the date and time when you want to receive the call, your time zone, your e-mail address and your phone number.

You also have the option of typing a message to yourself; and Wakerupper will “read” the message to you when you answer the call.

You can also use Wakerupper to:

Remind yourself of important events
Remember to take medication on time
Escape from a boring date or meeting
Remind child or spouse to do chores
Set reminders for tasks and follow-ups

Want to test drive Wakerupper before you trust it to wake you up for your flight to Chicago in the morning? Schedule a test call now.

More Ways To Find Cheap Airfare

2008-02-08T10:00:00.000-06:00

Previously, we have written about how to Pinpoint The Best Time To Buy Your Ticket.

Now, new how-to video site -- Howcast, features additional ways to help you find cheap airfare, like:

planning ahead
using alternate airports
buying on Wednesdays between midnight and 1 a.m. (that’s when most airlines readjust their prices for the week).

How To Find Cheap Airfare [Howcast]

How To Find Free Music Downloads

2008-02-07T08:51:00.000-06:00

SkreemR is a search engine for locating audio files on the web.

Unlike some other music search engines, SkreemR has bare bones functionality.

But they have one feature that the others do not; a direct link to the file on the third party server --> that means downloading the song to your hard drive is just a right mouse click away.

There is nothing to install - you simply use your web browser to find and listen to music that you are interested in.

SkreemR Mp3 Search - World's Greatest Mp3 Search

How it works:
Enter the artist, song or album you're looking for; and get back links to MP3s files.

SkreemR ranks the results using AudioRank --> SkreemR's new scoring system to help put the best quality, most reliable files at the top of the results.

Every file in the search results gets a score from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the better the file.

Note on Copyright:
While SkreemR claims that since it does not host the files it has no responsibility for its content; download copyrighted material at your own risk etc. etc.

Genealogy: Start Your Family Tree And Watch It Grow

2008-02-06T06:06:00.000-06:00

Geni is a FREE tool for understanding and staying in touch with your family. Geni lets you create a family genealogy tree through a simple interface.

You can expand your tree by adding relatives' email addresses. They will be invited to join your tree and can add other relatives. Your tree will continue to grow as relatives invite other relatives.

Geni - Genealogy - Free Family Tree

Each family member has a profile which can be viewed by clicking their name in the genealogy tree. This helps family members learn more about each other and stay in touch.

Family members can also share photos and work together to build profiles for common ancestors.

Geni is private -- only the people in your family tree can log in to your tree and your profile.

For more info, watch the following video tutorial on how to start and grow your family's genealogy tree.

Super Tuesday: Join The Fight With Kung-Fu Election

2008-02-05T08:52:00.000-06:00

Tired of just watching others duke-it-out on TV?

Join the fight today in a no holds bar fight to the death with the game Kung-Fu Election.

Choose your favorite candidate (Clinton, Obama, Huckabee, Romney, McCain etc.) and then put them head to head in a Kung-Fu fight for the presidency.

All come equipped with their own weapons, and there's a training mode so you can get acquainted with your candidate before making a run for the white house.

10 Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online

2008-02-04T09:04:00.000-06:00

Previously, we covered how anyone can get the best online courses from the best schools, for free.

Today, we take it a step further, with 10 Universities Offering Free Writing Courses Online.

Whether you are a current writer or looking to break into the craft, formal writing courses can help you hone your skills. If you don't have the money or the time for a campus-based course, there are plenty of universities that offer free writing courses online.

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit.edu)

MIT offers dozens and dozens of free writing courses online through the MIT OpenCourseWare initiative. Course topics include everything from writing fiction, poems and essays to analyzing all forms of literature. Lecture notes, videos, suggested reading lists and more will help you become the writer you want to be. No registration is required.

2. Utah State University (usu.edu)

Utah State University's Department of English publishes three free courses devoted to the art of writing through the school's OpenCourseWare program. The courses are extensive and may take up to 16 weeks to complete if you study at the average pace. No registration is required.

3. Open University (open.ac.uk)

The UK's largest academic institution, Open University, offers a number of different writing courses through their OpenLearn website. The free curriculum includes both undergraduate and graduate level courses that are available to everyone regardless of your country of origin. No registration is required.

4. University of Utah (utah.edu)

The University of Utah's English Department offers free courses to self-learners around the world. Currently, there are only two free writing courses. Both offer strong preparation in their topic and are built for beginners. No registration is required.

5. Western Governors University (wgu.edu)

Western Governors University has made free course materials available through an open content license. There are several free writing courses courtesy of the university's Liberal Arts Department. All courses are split into convenient self-study modules. No registration is required.

6. Purdue University (owl.english.purdue.edu)

Purdue University brought their writing lab to life online in 1994 to offer a writing resource to students no matter where they were located. Online Writing Lab (OWL) materials are now free to everyone regardless of location or student status. The OWL site offers writing instruction, grammar and usage information, individualized help from tutors and much more. No registration is required.

7. Steven Barnes' UCLA Writing Course (lifewrite.com)

9-Week Introduction to Screenwriting Course

Best selling author and screenwriter Steven Barnes offers the free version of the writing class he has been teaching at UCLA for years on his website. The course offers in-depth instruction on writing, which is why Barnes suggests completing each part of the nine-week course one week at a time. Nevertheless, it can be downloaded all at once. No registration is required.

8. News University (newsu.org)

News University has a solid e-learning program designed to providing training to journalists. Most of the courses offered at News U are free, especially those that are self-directed. Courses cover everything from writing and editing to reporting and ethics. News U also offers a newsletter, a blog and other great resources. Registration is required, but it is free for everyone.

9. E-Zine University (ezineuniversity.com)

E-Zine University offers quite a few courses written by Internet publisher Kate Schultz and visiting professors. Although the courses offered at E-Zine University are designed mainly for web writers and e-zine writers, they would be helpful to almost any scribe. Courses are very short and do not take long to complete. No registration is required.

10. Wikiversity (wikiversity.org)

Wikiversity is an active learning project that encourages people to create and benefit from online courses and tutorials. There are currently several different writing courses that can be found at Wikiversity. Although these courses vary greatly in length and content, there is something for everyone. No registration is required.

[Education Portal via Red Ferret Journal]

ShipGooder: The Easy Way To Find The Best Shipping Option

2008-02-03T08:28:00.000-06:00

Last month I wrote about How To Get A Shipping Clerk That Will Work For Free.

Today, we'll introduce you to ShipGooder --> a site to help you choose who to ship with, by quickly comparing rates from local, regional and national couriers.

Since all couriers aren’t competitive to and from all locations, this service offers you a way to double check and compare rates.

Just enter your location postal code, the destination postal code of your package, and the total package weight and you’ll get instant price comparisons and delivery options from a range of couriers.

From there, you pick the best option for you, and click that courier’s link to go to their site, and start shipping, either with a phone call or online.

It’s that simple.

ShipGooder is FREE, has no advertising, and does not need your personal information!

Culinary Seductions: The Guy's Guide To Cooking For Girls

2008-01-31T23:56:00.000-06:00

"...The best things in life happen in the kitchen, around the dinner table, and sometimes on the dinner table..."

Culinary Seductions is based on the premise that "...most women love when guys cook for them...".

Culinary Seductions is the place to "entertain and educate" all those who believe that food is the key that unlocks hearts and minds -- and are interested in winning their dates over with food.

Culinary Seductions has a wealth of great cooking 101 lessons, tips, entertainment and much more to help you get what you both want.

Disclaimer: Results may vary from woman to woman.

Students, Ace Your Tests With Quizlet

2008-01-31T08:56:00.000-06:00

Quizlet is a FREE, interactive tool for learning vocabulary.

how it works:

1. You enter a vocabulary list of any words or data you want. (ex. SAT words, history dates, French-Spanish translations, etc.)
2. Quizlet gives you a specialized learning mode, flashcards, randomly generated tests, and collaboration tools for classmates to help you study those words.
3. You ace your test.

For an overview of Quizlet, watch the following demo (given by Quizlet's founder):

some neat features:

1. Quizlet keeps track of the words you know and only retests you on the ones you don't.
2. You can share your vocabulary sets with classmates and get email notification when others make sets for you.
3. You can import words from a file without having to retype them into Quizlet.
4. Quizlet has accent buttons for typing letters in foreign languages.
5. You can discuss sets (and gossip about teachers!) with classmates via instant discussion boxes.
6. Quizlet works in any language. If you can type it into your keyboard, you can study it on Quizlet.

So sign up for your FREE Quizlet account now, and ace your next test.

How To Get A Shipping Clerk That Will Work For Free

2008-01-30T08:50:00.000-06:00

TrackMyShipments is a new, FREE service that serves as your own shipping clerk.

Until now, wondering what happened to that shipment which was to have been shipped last week, meant searching through your Inbox to find the 'We Have Shipped Your Order' confirmation email.

After finding it, you had to Cut & Paste the Tracking Number into the shipping company's website and luckily discover that the shipment is being delivered tomorrow.

With TrackMyShipments you simply forward all your 'We Have Shipped Your Order' emails to:

track@TrackMyShipments.com

That's it.

TrackMyShipments will automatically track your shipments with all the major shipping companies and keep you up to date (via email and/or SMS text messages) on each shipment's status, location and any delays. It's as simple as that!

No more Tracking headaches.

TrackMyShipments means no more shipment worries. You can sit back and relax - safe in the knowledge that your shipments are being tracked - you're always up to date with their status.

You can log on at any time to see all your shipments in one place, their status, location and the original shipping email.

Sign up now -- It's Free and Easy to use.

How To Save Money On Digital Photo Prints

2008-01-29T08:12:00.000-06:00

PrintRates is a simple web site that does one thing really well --> save you money on digital photo printing by comparing digital photo printing prices and reading reviews.

Just use the search box to select the number of digital prints that you looking to print, the paper size and shipping method; and you'll be presented with a table comparing dozens of digital photo printing sites for prices and reviews.

There's also a forum, where users can share their experience and comments and a section that lists the latest sales & coupons from the various printing shops.

If you like to print your digital photos, PrintRates can help you get them for less money and better quality.

GreenPrint: Saving Money Today, Trees Tomorrow

2008-01-28T08:56:00.000-06:00

GreenPrint is a simple idea, but it solves a problem nearly everyone can relate to --> the wasted page.

You know, the page with just a URL, banner ad, legal disclaimer, etc.

These wasted pages occur many times a day littering homes and offices around the world and wasting money, trees, and time.

GreenPrint eliminates wasteful pages in any printout automatically, saving you time and money, and maybe more importantly, saving trees, reducing greenhouse gasses, and decreasing waste.

It does this by analyzing each page of every document sent to the printer and looking for typical waste characteristics (like that last page with just a URL, banner ad, logo, or legal jargon).

GreenPrint also incorporates an easy to use PDF writer, a fantastic print preview called GreenView, and a reporting feature which keeps track of the number of pages and the amount of money you have saved.

The product line offers a FREE options for home users: Greenprint World, the free version of the software.

Having a meaningful impact on the environment has never been so easy. To learn more about GreenPrint, click here. or watch a demo of GreenPrint

GreenPrint is perfect for anyone who wants to eliminate the frustration and waste of unwanted pages and have a positive environmental impact right at home.

Scrapblog : Create Stunning Online Scrapbooks

2008-01-27T09:11:00.000-06:00

Scrapblog is a FREE website, that lets you create online scrapbooks with powerful editing tool.

It includes tons of options --> from templates, stickers and shapes to using your own photos and videos, all of which you can resize, rotate, and customize.

When you're done, you can add an audio track and share your Scrapblog with friends, family or everyone.

If you like scrapbooking you will LOVE Scrapblog!

For more info, watch the online tour below:

Liked what you see? then jump right in and sign up for a FREE account.

Tired Of Going Over On Your Cell Phone Bill Every Month?

2008-01-26T09:58:00.000-06:00

Nobody like paying overage charges on their (or someone else's...) phone bill.

The challenge is how to find out you're about to "go over"?

This is exactly what WhatchMyCell does.

Think of it as your very own little gnome that periodically checks your cell phone account and sends you SMS (text message)/email alerts when you're close to going over!

How does it work?
First, you download the application. It should auto-start and ask you to configure your alert. You set up the alert and that's it. The application checks your online account every 3 hours. If you are about to run out of minutes it just sends you a SMS and/or email!

Is it safe?
All information saved on your desktop is as safe as your computer is, really. All information transmitted to cell provider site to check the account is sent over standard 1024 bit encryption (over SSL). So that's as safe as that gets! Your information is not stored on any watchmycell.com databases so nothing to worry about there either.

Currently Supported Carriers:

Cingular/ATT
Sprint/Nextel
T-mobile
Verizon

How To Watch Live TV On Your PC With No Extra Equipment

2008-01-25T09:02:00.000-06:00

In the past we wrote about watching streaming video of movies and episodes of popular TV shows with Netflix and FanCast.

Today we'll talk about live TV.

Nowadays, you can find live TV streams from stations such as CNN, ESPN, Bloomberg, CNBC, C-Span, and hundreds of other local or internet-only TV stations broadcasting in the US and around the world.

Of course, nobody wants to bookmark every single live TV stream one by one.

Enter AnyTV -- a FREE program, that is both a media player and a channel guide. It includes a huge, updateable, list of channels, and you can also add your own favorites.

Using AnyTV means you can watch numerous of international TVs without a television, TV Tuner Card or a satellite receiver.

You can simply watch anywhere you have your internet. No additional equipments required.

Watch local TV, world TV, Live TV, satellite TV from countries of all world: watch 2630+ Online TV stations and 6910+ Video clips or listen to 4750+ Online Radio stations.

You can download AnyTV for FREE.

Unleash Your Child's Creativity

2008-01-24T08:34:00.000-06:00

KerPoof is a place for kids to explore and develop their creative tendencies.

It lets kids create, color, print, and share:

Here's a short video on drawing with KerPoof:

Children can use the site to draw pictures and write their own illustrated stories.

Even more interesting is the animated video creation tool, in which children are provided with a set and a crew of characters and objects whose movements they can direct.

All is done with just a browser -- no download needed. All for FREE.

Get Free Tax Advice By Phone From TurboTax

2008-01-23T16:03:00.000-06:00

A special TurboTax promotion offers FREE tax advice by phone until the end of this month (1/31/08).

Just fill this form with your question, contact info, and best time to reach you, and one of their Tax Advisors (IRS-Enrolled Agents) will call you and help you out.

The FiLife blog tried it, and although they had to submit their question twice, they got a very good answer.

So if there's anything on your mind just take advantage of this opportunity.

divorce360.com: Free Expert Advice & Support

2008-01-22T08:28:00.000-06:00

Divorce360.com was created to help people contemplating, going through or recovering from divorce.

Approximately 1.3 million couples divorce each year. It is difficult, painful and complex. From making the decision to leave to going to court for custody or alimony, divorce is an emotional, financial and legal roller coaster. It doesn’t just impact the two people involved. It impacts their children, friends and other family members. The decisions made before, during and after a divorce can touch many lives.

Divorce360 is a FREE web service, that strives to offer the essential information needed to help people make educated choices about those important decisions.

What does divorce360 offer?

Immediate answers to the questions you have today, as well as information and advice for what’s next in the process and in your life as you move past the divorce. Professional reporters and experts write about those issues in an easy-to-understand way.

Plus they have videos, calculators and worksheets that can help you every step of the way.

And the active community includes real people talking about real issues in divorce.

Signing up is free and easy.

Get Answers On The Go With AskMeNow

2008-01-21T08:37:00.000-06:00

AskMeNow is a FREE service with a different approach to the way we search for and receive information.

Especially when you're on the go.

You can ask virtually any question and receive an answer in return.

Instead of the traditional list of links, you'll receive a specific answer to your question.

You simply submit your question, then, through their proprietary search technology, and some human help, AskMeNow will research and find the answer.

The accurate, detailed response is sent back to your cell phone within moments.

Using the service is EASY as 1,2,3:

There’s no sign-up needed. Simply text your question to 27563 (ASKME) and you’ll get back an SMS answer in moments.

All you need to get started is a phone that sends and receives text messages, then just start asking.

How To Get A Buzz...Without A Drink

2008-01-20T09:23:00.000-06:00

It all starts with binaural beats - sounds, which theoretically can change your brainwave patterns and make you feel a certain way.

I-Doser is the maker of a computer application that claims to achieve a simulated mood or experience through the use of binaural beats.

I know it sounds dubious, but here's what DownloadSquad wrote about using the "Alcohol Dose":

"...When we first heard about I-Doser, we were understandably skeptical...We patiently listened to the entire dose, stood up, and proceeded to sit back down rather sloppily...Amazingly enough, the dose did what it claimed!..."

I-Doser normally sells "doses" for its application, which are basically scripts that help the program generate a series of binaural beats to simulate various effects in the user, but now, they are offering the "Alcohol Dose" as a FREE demo.

For more info check out the i-Doser tutorial, and if you're not about to drive, go for a "drink" (and please leave us a comment to let us know how it went).

Weekly Top 5

2008-01-19T14:49:00.000-06:00

Here are this week's top 5 posts:

Website Creation For The Rest Of Us - Now Fast Easy & Free

2008-01-18T09:19:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine asked me yesterday to write about tools that help "regular" people create a website.

Obviously, in order to qualify for this blog, the tools have to:

Let you build your website in minutes with no programming knowledge!
Offer many templates!!
Be FREE!!!

Today I will cover 3 of my favorite online website creation tools - SynthaSite, Weebly and WebNode:

SynthaSite is a website creator that's "Fast, Free and EASY".

It allows you to create pages using template and content widgets, which means that you simply drag-and-drop content elements like pictures, text, video and Google Maps.

They also have many additional features for more advanced users, such as contact forms, guestbooks etc.

Take a look at this video tutorial to understand how SynthaSite (and online website creators in general) works:

Weebly is another favorite of mine.

They also offer "...fast, easy and FREE website building experience for everyone that wants to publish content onto the web..."

With Weebly you can:

Create a website & blog
Switch designs on the fly
Drag and drop interface
Buy a new domain instantly, or
Host your existing domain for free

The best way to get a feel for Weebly, is by trying their live demo.

WebNode is another online tool that provides a way of creating and editing advanced websites by just using a web browser.

The system is very easy to use and is fully interactive.

Real-time fast editing as you see it in the browser.

By using Drag-and-Drop from the toolbar you can add new content such as polls, forums, articles, catalogues, widgets such as PayPal and much more.

Webnode contains more than 40 beautiful templates or you can make your own.

Again, the best way to get a feel for WebNode, is by trying their live demo.

Stop Paying For 411 Calls

2008-01-17T08:47:00.000-06:00

411 service is the big telcos' dirty way of taking money from unsuspecting people.

You are probably in a hurry. You need that info quickly => so you even don't stop to think about the cost of that 411 call.

I mean it's just a call, right?

WRONG!!! It is VERY expensive. Verizon Wireless, for example, charges $1.49 per call!!!

So STOP making these 411 calls and start using Google's GOOG-411 instead.

Google's new 411 service is FREE, fast and easy to use.

Yep. That's all there is to it.

To see it in action take a look at the following video:

babbel: Your Free Online Language Teacher

2008-01-16T09:56:00.000-06:00

Babbel is a FREE online community that offers tools for learning new languages.

You learn to expand your vocabulary and pronunciation through quizzes. In addition, a reminder service and being part of a group -- helps keep you on track in your language learning.

For a free sign-up haga clic aquí.

Netflix Streaming Video ==> Now Unlimited

2008-01-15T08:33:00.000-06:00

Last week I posted about Netflix's hesitation to commit to an Unlimited Streaming Video strategy.

The good news is -- they have listened.

Netflix has lifted its monthly time limits for online video viewing. Previously, users could only watch as many hours of video as they paid for their monthly subscription. For example, I have the $17/month plan which only allowed me to watch 17 hours of video per month.

Subscribers at the lowest level, who pay just $4.99 per month to rent up to 2 DVDs per month will only get to watch a few hours of video.

But everyone else will get access to all 6,000 movies and TV shows currently available.

If you already subscribe to Netflix, make sure to check this out. The video quality depends on your connection, but mine is -- "awesome".

If you'd rather go with free, then check out FanCast or six more ways to catch your favorite shows online.

Meetings: How To Find A Time That Works For Everybody

2008-01-14T08:57:00.000-06:00

Fact: Scheduling meetings can mess up your whole day.

Scheduling is a broken process. It steals your time, triggers an avalanche of emails, stifles collaboration, delays decisions and frustrates everyone. Calendars can't fix it, and email workarounds just make it worse.

Enter TimeBridge - Your Personal Scheduling Manager

TimeBridge is a FREE, web application that works across calendaring systems, companies and time zones.

With TimeBridge's one-step scheduling you select attendees, propose meeting times and send a meeting invitation.

TimeBridge does the rest— collects everyone's availability and selects the best time. Everyone gets a confirmation once the meeting is set.

To make it easy, attendees need only a web browser to respond and no registration is required.

Other Benefits:

Confirm times quickly - Selects the best time from invitees' responses, and alerts you if a meeting cannot be confirmed or responses are not received. Meetings come together in record time.
Invite anyone - Invite anyone with a Web browser, TimeBridge works with every email client and calendar, and prevents time-zone errors automatically. Connect, confirm, complete!
Eliminate busywork - Keeps meeting attendees posted on changes, holds and clears proposed times on your calendar and avoids errors and conflicts, so you stay productive and in control.

Get started! - Start saving time. Get TimeBridge now.

I'm Back In One Piece

2008-01-13T16:20:00.000-06:00

It was a beautiful day for a run.

Great crowd support and lots of water sports.

Couldn't not have asked for anything more.

Going For a Run

2008-01-13T03:31:00.000-06:00

Launching ==> "Bizman TV"

2008-01-12T08:52:00.000-06:00

I'm happy to announce a new feature for this blog --> "Bizman TV"

Bizman TV will be located on the Left Bar of the blog, and will feature segments, picked by me, covering technology, science and anything I find interesting.

Please leave a comment with your thoughts/requests.

Enjoy,

Weekly Top 5

2008-01-12T08:43:00.000-06:00

Here are this week's top 5 posts:

Buying Or Selling A Car? Find Out What Other People Are Paying

2008-01-11T08:33:00.000-06:00

Actual Sales Prices for New & Used Cars, Autos, or Automobiles | PriceHub.com

PriceHub is the creation of two guys who are car enthusiasts. Over the last decade, they have collectively bought, owned, and sold over 30 cars (some new, but mostly used). While doing the research to prepare for the purchase or sale of each vehicle, they realized that there’s not a true source of real, actual car transaction prices.

There’s the published invoice price, MSRP price, book value, trade-in value, private-party value, etc, etc, etc, but there was no visibility on REAL, ACTUAL transaction prices.

So...they decided to create a site that provides REAL prices from REAL people.

PriceHub's provides price transparency for vehicle transactions, as well as provide a community for people to share & discuss prices.

Using the site is very easy. Just browse or search for the car you want, say "Honda Accord", and the site comes back with a list of actual transactions, reported by actual people:

Honda Accord - Actual Sale Prices, Real Car & Truck Values, New, Used & For Sale Prices | PriceHub.com

Here's a comment about this service, that I think says it all:

"...very useful site. good to look at what others paid first before i make my offer on this car at the lot. you know those car dealers, they try to get you every time..."

How To Fix Your Mom's Computer Without Going Home

2008-01-10T08:37:00.000-06:00

You should read this post if:

You're the one family and friends call with computer problems OR
You're "family and friends"

Crossloop is a FREE tool that let's you be the hero WITHOUT going anywhere.

CrossLoop enables you to see the screen and control the mouse and keyboard on a remote computer. It is as if you are working side by side at the same PC.

How it works

In order to give help you need to access your friend's PC who is Sharing a session from anywhere on the Internet. Access a CrossLoop session to effortlessly connect to a friend's PC, view the screen and share control of the mouse and keyboard.

1. Launch CrossLoop

After the installation has finished, you can open CrossLoop at any time by clicking the icon on your desktop or by opening the program from the start menu. If you have not done so already, download CrossLoop here.

2. Enter Access Code

Contact the person Sharing the session and enter their 12-digit Access Code. The Access Code must match the Share to connect.

3. Click Connect

Click the connect button. Your session should begin momentarily. If your session does not start, make sure that both you and your friend entered the same Access Code and your friend allowed the connection.

Select the Disconnect button in the lower right hand corner of the application to end the session at any time.

If you're the one that's going to receive the help, just follow these simple instructions.

Free Unlimited Video Streaming Is Here

2008-01-09T10:34:00.000-06:00

While Netflix contemplates a full rollout of unlimited online viewing -- Comcast is delivering.

Its new site, FanCast, is in a way even better then the Netflix offering, because it's FREE.

You can now watch full-length, TV shows on the site.

Fancast - Fancast: Find and watch TV Shows, Movies, Videos, Celebrity News, and Gossip

Fancast also offers movies and other services on the site. For example, Fancast will direct you to Amazon/iTunes to buy a DVD, Netflix/Blockbuster to add it to your queue, or even let you buy tickets online (throug Fandango) if your movie is still in theaters.

If watching TV online is your thing, check out six more ways to catch your favorite shows online.

How To Upgrade Your Internet Speed For Free

2008-01-08T09:08:00.000-06:00

How would you like to get a faster web for free?

If you do (duhh), then head over to OpenDNS.

There’s no fee, no software to install, you don’t give them any information about yourself, and you don’t have to do anything different once you change your router’s DNS server addresses. (Sounds technical, but the site walks you through the instructions.)

The service caches the billions of DNS requests made by its users into a giant database on a distributed network, which turbo-charges surfing for everyone who uses it.

OpenDNS has servers situated strategically at the most well-connected intersections of the Internet. Unlike your ISP, their network uses Anycast routing technology, which means no matter where you are in the world your DNS requests are answered by the closest datacenter. This makes your Internet faster and more reliable.

As a bonus, OpenDNS protects you from phishing scams and corrects Web-address typos, sparing you those headaches. (The typo-correcting feature is where OpenDNS plans to make its money).

I've been using OpenDNS for years and HIGHLY recommend it.

No iPhone? Get Free Visual Voicemail On Your Cell With GotVoice

2008-01-07T08:49:00.000-06:00

NO iPHONE? NO PROBLEM!

Why shell out hundreds of dollars to get visual voicemail when you can have it on the phone you already own?

GotVoice is a free service that allows you to access your voicemail over the Internet, meaning you can download, listen to, and save your voicemail messages as MP3s from any browser.

GotVoice Visual Voicemail lets you "see" your message before you listen to it. At a glance, you'll know who called and when. Simply scroll through and select the message you want to hear on your cell phone or mobile device.

Get cell, home and work voicemails emailed to you - or listen to them online!

# Get all of your voicemails delivered in email
# Listen online from anywhere, at anytime
# Save them forever or forward as MP3s

Visual Voicemail for your Cell, Home & Work phones
Do you get too many voicemails and need a way to play the most important message first? Need instant access to new voicemail from the road or abroad, or because you have poor cell phone reception? Want to save your important voicemails forever, or easily forward MP3s of your voicemail to others? GotVoice delivers. Your new voice messages are automatically sent straight to your email inbox. Or you can instantly check for and listen to new phone messages, play all of your old messages, delete old messages off your phone and manage all of your cell, home & work voicemail - direct from your inbox on GotVoice.com.

No Changes Required
GotVoice is the only service which effortlessly integrates with all major mobile and landline networks to access & retrieve your voicemail - without requiring either you or the phone networks to change a thing. There are no hidden call forwarding fees, you don't need a new number and there is no software to install. Your voicemail stays on your existing phone's voicemail system so you can access it the way you always have, if you choose. Or you can listen to your voicemail direct from your email, or access them from GotVoice.com.

Signup for the FREE Gotvoice account or compare all the plan options available.

Take A Break With Dangerous Dave & Brutal Bob

2008-01-04T19:44:00.000-06:00

Sometimes the best way to take a break is to occupy your mind with something simple for a short while.

Here's a game that offers just that.

Please let me know if you enjoyed it, and if you'd like me to post more similar stuff.

How To Find The Perfect Baby Name

2008-01-04T10:25:00.000-06:00

Good friends of ours just had a new baby boy this week.

As always, choosing the perfect name is a long, difficult (and sometimes heated) process.

So today I will try to help (not by suggesting names, which is a SURE way to piss off one or both of the parents) by introducing --> Nymbler

Nymbler is an internet baby name guide that responds to your personal taste.

How it works:

You choose a few names that appeal to you or let Nymbler offer ideas.

Nymbler - Your Personal Baby Name Assistant

Then press "Find Names" and Nymbler will start using its expert knowledge to brainstorm names tailored to fit your style.

If you'd like more information about any specific name just click on it.

Nymbler - Name information

Nymbler makes name connections with insights from baby-naming expert Laura Wattenberg, author of The Baby Name Wizard.

Put Skype On Your Mobile Phone With Free iSkoot

2008-01-03T08:27:00.000-06:00

CALL YOUR BUDDY LIST FROM YOUR MOBILE PHONE

PC Calling services such as Skype, allow people to affordably communicate with friends, family and business associates using their broadband Internet connection.

iSkoot extends the reach of PC Calling by allowing users to make and receive PC Calls using only their regular cell phones.

With iSkoot, a mobile phone user gets the power of PC Calling as part of their normal communications capabilities.

iSkoot eliminates the need for special hardware, headsets, microphones, broadband connections, USB phones and even PCs, and consumers don't have to go looking for a WiFi hot spot.

To see iskoot in action, watch this demo:

iSkoot is a small piece of software for your cell phone, that allows you to access the iSkoot network so that you can talk with your online buddies over the Internet anywhere you go.

With iSkoot software you can take advantage of Internet telephony services without being tethered to your PC.

iSkoot loads your Skype contact list right on your cell phone display screen, and with just a quick click of a button, you can call your contacts.

All you pay for is air time on your mobile phone.

You can also make international calls without paying those hefty long distance fees – Internet telephony charges will apply. Talk to anyone around the world for just a few cents a minute: from your cell phone!

Currently, iSkoot's phone application and network support the Skype service, but they're planning to support othet platforms and services, including Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger.

Tellme: Say What You Want And Get It

2008-01-02T08:13:00.000-06:00

With more mobile phones than computers in people's lives, there's more demand than ever for simple, fast ways to get what you want, when you want it.

TellMe, a Microsoft owned startup, makes a nice chunk of the internet available from your mobile. For FREE.

AND...you do NOT need internet access to use TellMe.

For example, 1-800-555-TELL is the only number you need when traveling. With free call connections to over 8,000 major travel companies, you won't have to fumble to look up numbers. Just say "Travel" to connect with airlines, order a taxi, rent a car, or call your hotel (see demo below).

How to use TellMe?

Call, toll FREE, 1-800-555-TELL
Simply say what you want
Hear or see the results

Here's what you can ask for on 1-800-555-TELL:

News Center
Stock Quotes
Business Search
Driving Directions
Sports
Weather
Movies
Entertainment
Travel
Ringtones
Restaurant Reviews (San Francisco Area only)

With TellMe the info you need every day is just a phone call away.

WashingtonPost: More Schools Offering Free Classes Online

2008-01-01T12:09:00.000-06:00

Last year I posted about free online courses from some of the best schools in the country.

The WashingtonPost.com has a very interesting article covering this great trend: Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More and More College Classes

Definitly worth reading.

Internet Access Is Only Prerequisite For More and More College Classes - washingtonpost.com via kwout