100 Webmaster Videos from Youtube

July 30, 2008 at 7:54 pm (Computers) (, , , , )

Getting Started

These videos offer an introduction to webmastering.

  1. How to Make Your Own Web Site: In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use online tools to create a profitable Web site.
  2. Matt Cutts Discusses Webmaster Tools: In this video, Matt Cutts explains how you use webmaster tools and optimize your site for Google.

SEO

Learn about strategies for improving your site’s search-engine rankings.

  1. SMX Seattle: Matt Cutts on Duplicate Content and Paid Search: This Matt Cutts interview explains what you need to know about paid search with Google, as well as duplicate content.
  2. Search Engine Ranking — Google Webmaster Guides: Check out this video, which goes over Google’s webmaster guidelines.
  3. Google On-Page SEO Tips and Strategies: This video shares some page-level SEO techniques that you can put to work on your site.
  4. SEO Title Tags: Check out this video tutorial to learn how you can make title tags work for you.
  5. Why Google Likes Old Web Sites: Find out why Google and other major search engines tend to favor sites that have been around for a while.
  6. Search Engine SEO Google Tips — Ecommerce Webmaster Guide: Gareth Davies offers five useful SEO tips for e-commerce Web sites.
  7. Create Google- and SEO-Friendly Page Titles: This video explains a few strategies for page titles that will help get you better search-engine returns.
  8. TrustRank Explained by Matt Cutts: Matt Cutts discusses the concept of TrustRank in this video.
  9. SEO Best Practices: In this video, you’ll get a good look at some of the best practices for SEO.
  10. Google’s Subscribed Link Feature and Webmaster Tools Gadget: In this video, you’ll learn about a useful new gadget on Google’s Webmaster Tools, subscribed links and more.
  11. SEO Title Tags: Get an introduction to title tags and learn how to make them useful in SEO.
  12. Google SEO Web Site Health-Check Tool: See how to diagnose SEO issues with this free tool.
  13. Network Solutions Senior VP: Beginner Tips for SEO: On MSNBC’s “Consultants Corner,” Network Solutions senior vice president Stephanie Leffler discusses how you can get started with improving your search-engine rankings.
  14. What Should SEOs Focus on in 2008?: Check out this video to find out what Google’s Matt Cutts thinks are important SEO issues these days.

Content and Link Building

Check out these videos to learn how to spread the word about your site.

  1. Social Bookmarking in Plain English: This video offers a simple look at social bookmarking.
  2. Webmaster Strategy: Cross-Linking Your Web Sites: Take a look at this strategy for linking your sites.
  3. Linkback Tool at Google’s Webmaster Central: Take a look at this useful tool for researching internal links.
  4. How to: Create Link Bait Every Day: SEO Book.com explains a few strategies for creating content worthy of linking.
  5. Avoiding Duplicate Content: This video shows you how to find duplicate content and rid your site of it.
  6. SEO Link Building 101: This video describes the types of links that will help you improve your site’s ranking.
  7. Follow Your Tail: This interesting clip explains how to manipulate your links so that you’re focusing on the ones that matter.
  8. Social Bookmarking Plus Social Networking Plus Instant Traffic: See how this webmaster uses social networking and bookmarking to create a site with heavy traffic and profit.
  9. Link Building for SEO: Wil Reynolds explains how you can use link building to strengthen your SEO.
  10. What Is Social Bookmarking: In this video, you’ll learn about social bookmarking and how you can use it to drive traffic to your site.

Design and Building

Get details about creating and designing your site.

  1. How to Create Web Site Header Graphics Using Photoshop: In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to make a snappy header for your Web site.
  2. Matt Cutts Discusses the Importance of Alt Tags: Find out why alt tags are so important and how you can put them to work in this clip from Google.
  3. How to Create a Basic Web Site Layout: Check out this video to see how to create a no-frills Web site layout.
  4. How to Build a Content Minisite in Under 10 Minutes: Learn how to create a small site full of content with this video.
  5. Follow These Principles When Designing Your Web Site: Use these design guidelines from Hot Studio when you’re building your site.
  6. C.R.A.P. — Basic Layout and Design Principles for Web Pages: This video offers a number of layout and design principles for Web design.
  7. Typography School: Typography expert David Dabner discusses design, letterpress and properly using typography on computers.
  8. Preparing and Planning for Internet-Marketing Success: This video will show you how to get started with marketing online.
  9. Meta Tags: How to Edit Them: This clip teaches you how to edit meta tags.
  10. Matt Cutts’ Three-Step Process to Building Up a Really Good Site: In this clip, recorded at PubCon Vegas 2007, Matt Cutts explains how to improve your site to get more traffic.
  11. Create a Web Page Using Photoshop: This video teaches you how to create a Web page out of a graphic using Photoshop.
  12. IP Delivery: Background and Considerations: Learn about using IP delivery on your site from this Google engineer.
  13. Photoshop Tricks: Editing Web Templates for Web Sites: Use this video to learn how to manipulate Web site templates in Photoshop.

Blogging

These videos will teach you how to improve your site with a blog.

  1. Purchasing and Setting Up a Custom Domain through Blogger: This video from Blogger will show you how to set up a custom domain.
  2. Why You Should Start Blogging Today: Find out why blogging is vitally important to new Internet marketers.
  3. Finding Photos for Your Blog: Use this video as a guide for finding free and legal images that will add value to your blog.
  4. How To Remove the Blogger Navigation Bar: Find out how you can get rid of the bar that Blogger automatically puts on top of your blog.
  5. Optimizing Your Blog for Traffic: Get your blog set up for traffic using the tips in this video.
  6. Optimize Your Blog Posts for SEO: Follow these tips to get your blog posts high in search-engine rankings.
  7. Blog Marketing With Trackbacks: In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to take advantage of the trackback linking strategy.

Authority

Build authority using the strategies outlined in these videos.

  1. What Is an Authority Site?: Learn about the basics of building an authority site in this video.
  2. Building an Authority Site: Find out what you need to do to create an authority site.
  3. Benefits of an Authority Site: In this video, you’ll learn why it’s so important to have an authority site.
  4. How to Get Top 2 Percent in Alexa Rankings by Using Authority Sites: This video shows you how to use authority sites to build your own ranking.

Legal and Security

Check out these videos to learn how to protect your site.

  1. How to Check for Duplicate Content?: This video offers a tutorial for using Copyscape to discover duplicate copies of your content online.
  2. Use Google Webmaster Tools to Create a Robots.txt File: Check out this video to learn how to protect sensitive areas of your site.
  3. Domain Name No-Nos … Interview with a Domain-Name Lawyer: Hear from a domain-name and trademark lawyer about what you need to know when creating, buying and selling a domain name.
  4. What Every Engineer Needs to Know About Security: This video discusses security, emerging threats and design.
  5. Eric Enge on Duplicate Content: This expert discusses how you can deal with duplicate content.

Usability

Make your site more user-friendly with the advice in these videos.

  1. Understanding Web Vision: Understand and learn how to manipulate the way users view Web pages with this video.
  2. The Science and Art of User Experience at Google: See how Google handles user experience and learn how you can implement its principles in your own site’s design.
  3. Eye Tracking Demo: Get a look at how users see your Web site with this demo.
  4. Why Interaction Design Matters: This video considers why designing for the user is so important.
  5. User Interface Technology, Experience and Usability Analysis: See how you can improve the customer experience with this video.

Monetization and Advertising

These videos will teach you how to make more money with your site.

  1. Contextual Advertising Options: Clicks Equal Cash: Joel Kamm discusses a number of different ways to monetize content-based sites.
  2. 5 Surefire Ways to Increase Google AdSense Earnings: Mal Keenan explains how you can ramp up Google AdSense.
  3. 404 Error-Page Money: Watch this video to consider how you can monetize every page of your Web site.
  4. Keyword Research: Here you’ll see how to do keyword research with free tools.
  5. Top Paying AdSense Keyword Lists: Aaron Wall discusses how you can create keyword lists based off of free information.
  6. How to Use Google Trends for Keyword Research: This video explains how you can research keywords with Google Trends.
  7. AdSense Optimization: Find out how to take AdSense to the next level.
  8. How Ads Kill Web Sites: Find out why displaying ads too aggressively can be detrimental to your site.
  9. AdWords Critical Metrics: Find out about three important metrics you need to analyze.
  10. AdSense Arbitrage: Shoemoney offers a nice view of the concept of AdSense arbitrage.
  11. Is It Risky to Build a Business on Sites for AdSense?: In this video, you’ll learn the risks of creating an AdSense content site.
  12. The Keyword Tutorial — Find the Best Keywords for Your Site: Find out how to use Google AdWords’ Keyword Tool to research the keywords that you’d like to buy.
  13. Google AdWords Tutorial: This tutorial walks you through the process of creating an AdWords account.
  14. Finding Good Keywords for Google: Learn how you can locate and research useful keywords for your site.
  15. Paid Links — Don’t Make Google Look Stupid: Shoemoney warns against abusing paid links.

Affiliate and E-Commerce

In these videos, you’ll learn how to better manage your affiliate or e-commerce site.

  1. Affiliate-Marketing Site Basics: Learn how to get started with an affiliate site.
  2. Affiliate-Marketing Guide for Affiliate-Marketing Newbies: Learn the basics of creating an affiliate- marketing site with this clip.
  3. Finding Your Niche: Learn how you can find a profitable niche for affiliate marketing.
  4. Exactly How to Set Up a Blog for Affiliate Marketing: Avoid mistakes and optimize your blog for affiliate marketing with this video.
  5. Super Affiliate-Marketing Handbook: Check out this guide to take your affiliate-marketing site to the next level.
  6. E-Commerce Home Shopping — Six Business Web-Design SEO Tips: Here you’ll learn about 6 common mistakes that many e-commerce sites make and how to fix them.
  7. How to Create a Successful E-Commerce Web Site: Check out this video to learn the basics of creating an e-commerce site.
  8. SixKey Web Pages for E-Commerce Web Sites: See which pages your e-commerce Web site should contain.
  9. SEO Google Tips — E-Commerce Webmaster Guide: This video offers useful SEO tips for e-commerce sites.
  10. SEO as Key to E-Commerce Success: Take a look at how this Web site uses SEO for success.

Domains

Learn more about buying and managing domains with these clips.

  1. Find Keyword-Rich Domains with Traffic: This video shows you how to identify domains that will be profitable.
  2. How to Buy a Domain Name: Chris Pirillo covers the basics of getting your hands on a domain name.
  3. Domain-Name Registration — How to Set Name Servers: Learn how to set up domain-name servers with this video.
  4. Tutorial: Finding Available International Domain Names: This video shows you how to use the IDN Research Tool to quickly find international domain names.
  5. Selling Domain Names at Auction … Interview with a Domainer: See what Mickie Kennedy has to say about domaining and selling domain names through auctions.
  6. Domain-Name WHOIS Registration Privacy: Chris Pirillo considers whether you should register your domain privately.
  7. Domain Names amd Search-Engine Marketing: Check out this video to learn how domain names play a role in SEO.

Competition

Stay on top of what other Webmasters are doing with the strategies found in these videos.

  1. Competitive Research Under $100: Use these low-cost tools to get the scoop on how your competing Webmasters market their sites.
  2. Adwords007.com — Destroy the PPC Competition: Find out how to use this tool for competitive research.
  3. How to Use SEO for Firefox: This video explains how to use the SEO for Firefox extension for competitive research.

Fun

These videos show off the lighter side of being a Webmaster.

  1. Social-Media Addiction Rap: Let this rapper diagnose your social-media addiction.
  2. The SEO Song: This guy has dedicated a song to SEO specialists and pro bloggers.
  3. Webmaster Gets Kicked in the Crotch: This Webmaster gets punished for not finishing his work.
  4. Design Coding: In this marketing rap, you’ll learn how to make Web standards and proper design work for your site.
  5. Domain-Name Buying Spree: Comedian Brian Malow discusses buying domain names.

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How to Hide a Folder Without Programs

July 30, 2008 at 3:47 pm (Computers) (, , , , , )

1- make a new folder ( name it as you like )

2- inside this folder make a text file & copy inside it this:

Code:
cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Private
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Private goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure you want to lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Private "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%== password here goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Private
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER
md Private
echo Private created successfully
goto End
:End

3- after u copy the Commanding go to line ( 23 ) u will find this word : password here, change it to any password u like.

4- After that click ‘save as’ & name it locker.bat

5- Now back to the folder & u will find a LOCKER commanding (locker.bat).

6- Click on it & u will find a new folder (Private)

7- Now copy what u want into the folder and after that go to (locker.bat) by click on it , it will open and ask you want lock your folder? Y/N ?

8- Type Y

9- If you want UNLOCK your folder, go to (locker) & type your pass and you will see your private folder.

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18 Quick Windows XP Tips and Tricks

July 24, 2008 at 3:19 am (Computers) (, , , , , )

This includes 18 windows tips and tricks that may speed up your windows experience. Some of them also just get rid of annoying and unnecesary stuff.

1. Remove MSN Instant Messenger Program
Some of us just don’t like to use this IM program. I myself have looked in the Add/Remove Program panel and can’t find any way to remove it there. I found out how to do it with a little research. Just go to Start->Run and type in rundll32 setupapi,InstallHinfSection BLC.Remove 128 %SystemRoot%\INF\msmsgs.inf and hit ENTER. Do a copy and paste to avoid typographical errors.

2. Remove Internet Explorer Completely – All version of Windows
Microsoft said that removing IE may make Windows unstable because it has key components that makes Windows function properly. Well, there is a way to remove it completely. Go to this site and get IEradicator. Many people have used it before and removed IE with no problems afterwards.

3. Shutdown Windows Faster
All versions of Windows have the same problem. It usually takes a little longer to shutdown when you have the Exit Sound enabled. To disable this go to Start->Settings->Control Panel->Sounds and Audio Devices->Sounds. Scroll down and look for Exit Windows. Click on it once and then under Sounds, choose None. You should see faster shutdown times.

4. Clean out files in Prefetch Folder
There are files located in the Prefetch folder (C:\Windows\Prefetch) that you may safely delete. These files are usually left there by other programs that were using. You can either manually delete them or use this batch file that is created to do it. All you need to do is unzip the file called prefetch.bat into your Desktop and then double click on it. You will see the command prompt come up shortly and disappear. That’s it.

5. Remove temporary files from Temp Folder
You may have noticed that .tmp files appear in the Temp folder (C:\Windows\Temp). You may delete these files. Since these files might be accessed by another program, it’s a good idea to delete these when you don’t have any programs open. It’s best to do this right after you login to ensure that no programs are using it. If you don’t want to bother going into that folder every time to delete it, you can download xp_downloads.zip which contains a file called del_temp.bat. Just extract that file and double click on it to run it.

6. Add programs/folders to SendTo menu
When you right click on a file/folder and choose SendTo, you will get a list of programs/folders to send it to. Let’s just say that you want to add or delete one of your own programs/folders. This could be accomplished very easily. Just navigate to C:\Documents and Settings\your_username\SendTo. In this folder you may add or delete any program/folder shortcuts. All you need to do is right click on the program you want to add, and drag and drop (choose Create Shortcuts Here) it into the SendTo folder.

7. Make XP stop displaying zipped files as folders
In XP, zipped folders could be viewed just by opening up the file. If you have a third party zip program that you want to use instead of the built in one by XP, you can stop XP from displaying the zipped files as folders. This may also be useful for those who are on a slow PC and don’t want to open zip files using XP’s built in zip program.

To disable this in XP, go to Start->Run and type in regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll. You may just copy and paste the command into the Run menu. If you want to undo it, just type in regsvr32 zipfldr.dll. Zip away.

8. How to Create a Password Reset Disk
Windows XP allows you to create a password reset disk, just in case you forget the password and can’t login. This is only for computers that are not on a domain. Those that are on a domain may or may not work the same way.

Go to Start->Control Panel->User Accounts and click on your username. Under Related Tasks on the left pane, click Prevent a forgotten password. A wizard will show up. Click next and then insert a floppy disk into your floppy drive and choose to save the reset disk on the floppy.

Enter your current password and then click Next and Finish. The floppy will now contain your encrypted password. If you forget your password, you can just use the Password Reset Wizard to create a new one. Just make sure to create another reset disk once you changed your password. So if you forgot your password and changed it to a new one, create another reset disk by repeating the above procedure again.

9. Set User Logon Hours
You can restrict a certain user to only use the computer at a certain time interval. Let’s say you have a username called Bill and you want Bill to access the computer only from 9AM – 9PM from Monday through Friday. You can do this by going to Start->Run and type in net user Bill /time:M-F,9am-9pm. For 24-hour time, you can replace the time with 09:00-21:00 instead. This will only allow the user to login during those hours on those days.

10. Disable XP Messenger Service
Disable the messenger service built into Windows XP to prevent ads or other popups from coming up when using Outlook (and maybe even Outlook Express). Anyway, just disable it for better performance. To disable it, right click on My Computer->Manage->Services and Applications->Services and right click on Messenger and choose Stop. This will stop the service. There may be cases when the Messenger Service is required for some programs to run properly, so if that’s the case, I would set it to Manual instead of Stop.

11. Customize SendTo Menu – All versions of Windows
Have you ever wanted to use some other program to open up a certain file but had to go through My Computer->Program Files and then click on the program’s folder and then the program itself. You can open a file with any programs you have with ease by adding them to the SendTo menu. You know, when you right click on a file and choose Send To. To do this, go to Start->Run and type in sendto to open up the SendTo folder. Now go to My Computer->C: Drive->Program Files and open up any of the program folders you want. Then right click on the individual programs and drag it to the SendTo folder and choose Create Shortcuts Here. Do that for each program you want to be listed there. The next time you right click on a file and choose Send To, you should see those programs listed there.

12. Disable Personalized Menus
Some XP users might not like the personalized menus that XP has. One example of this feature is the highlighting of newly installed programs in the Start Menu. Some users might find this annoying. To turn this feature off right click on the Start Button->Properties->Start Menu tab->Customize->Advance tab->uncheck Highlight newly installed programs. Click OK. Now when new programs are installed they shouldn’t be highlighted.

13. Using XP System Restore
One important feature in XP is System Restore. This makes a backup of your data. To create the restore points go to Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools->System Restore. Click Create a restore point and click Next. Type in a description for the restore point and click Create. You’re all set. If your system fails for some reason you may use the restore point by hitting the F8 key repeatedly during boot time until a menu comes up. Choose Last known good configuration. This will restore everything to the last time when everything was working ok. It’s using the most recent restore point that you created. If you can get into Windows XP, you can go to Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools->System Restore.

14. Clear System Restore Points
 System restore points can take up a huge amount of space due to the many restore points created. You can delete all these restore points by right clicking on My Computer->Properties->System Restore and check Turn off System Restore on all drives. Then make sure to create them again manually for each drive using the method above (Using XP System Restore). That will get rid of the older restore points and leave you with the new and updated one.

15. Disable/Remove Hibernation Mode
The hibernation file which allows a user to use hibernation mode takes up a lot of space. If you use this feature you are allocating/creating space so that when you come back everything (programs and folders) are still open. If you don’t use it that much then there’s not much sense keeping it. So you may remove it. Go to Start->Control Panel->Power Options->Hibernate tab and uncheck Enable hibernation. That should remove the actual hibernation file. You may double check by doing a Search (F3 key) and search for hiberfil.sys in the C: drive. It shouldn’t be found, but if it is, you may safely delete it.

16. Disable Indexing Service
 Speed up XP by turning off the Indexing Service for your hard drive. This feature is used to make your searching needs faster, but it’s affecting the overall performance so it’s best to turn it off. Go to My Computer and right click on the drive that you want the feature to be disabled. Choose Properties and uncheck the box where it says Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching. When a box come up choose to Apply to all folders and subfolders.

17. Rename Multiple Files
This is something new in Windows XP – renaming multiple files. Let’s say you have a huge photo collection and want to name them in sequential order. You can do this very easily. Just select all the photos you want to rename (you may use the ctrl key and click on individual files if desired). Then hit the F2 key and type in the name of the file. Hit Enter. It should all rename. So if you entered VacationPhoto, you will have VacationPhoto (1), VacationPhoto (2), VacationPhoto (3), etc.

18. Reinstall Windows XP Without Repeating Online Activation
This has probably happened to most of us already. We have XP installed already and when we reinstall it, we are asked to go online and activate it again. You can avoid doing that by backing up a very small file that has the activation information. Before you do this, keep in mind that your hardware should be the same as before when you activated in order for this to definitely work. Go to C:\Windows\System32 and look for wpa.dbl. Copy that file to a floppy. After you finished reinstalling XP, just rename the current wpa.dbl file in C:\Windows\System32 to something like wpa.old.

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100 useful web tools you now know about

July 11, 2008 at 4:28 am (Computers)

Productivity

Find ways to take notes, schedule meetings, and plan your day with these handy tools.

  1. orangoo. Either paste your text into this site or give it a URL for a blog or website and you will know immediately if you have any spelling errors.
  2. Jotlet. Create an online calendar and share it with friends, family, or co-workers through your website.
  3. MeetWithApproval. Plan a meeting at work or organize a happy hour with friends with this meeting planner.
  4. FLEXLists. Create online lists that you can share with others. This is a great idea for getting a grocery list to your partner or organizing your book group’s reading list.
  5. Evernote. Never forget anything again with this tool. Capture an image, be it a photo, web page, to-do list, or whatever you want to remember, then this tool makes it accessible from your computer or phone with tags attached so you can easily find your stuff.
  6. Stickies 6.5a. Create virtual sticky notes on your computer desktop with this fun tool. Just like real stickies, they stay there until you remove them, but unlike the real thing, these can be iconified and remind you of tasks.
  7. Jotcloud. Similar to Stickies 6.5a, but with a bit fewer bells and whistles, you can write down your notes on virtual stickies with this tool. No download is necessary.
  8. HassleMe. If you need a little nudging in the right direction, this tool will give you a hand. Let it know about how often you want to be hassled and what you need to do and you’ll receive an email reminder. If you need to go to the gym every three days or call your mother every seven days, you won’t be able to forget.
  9. Remember the Milk. This to do list tool will not only keep you on track, but you can use it with your cell phone, Google maps, and more.
  10. Bla-bla List. If you want something more simple than Remember the Milk, this to-do list is simple and you can email it to yourself or update others via RSS feed.
  11. SlimTimer. If you work from home, this tool will help you track your hours, create tasks, and run reports for free.
  12. l8r. Send emails up to five years in advance with this tool. You’ll never miss a birthday again.

Making Life Easier

In this world of multitasking and busy schedules, everyone can use a little help to make life go more smoothly. The following tools will help you with getting a real person on the phone, finding the perfect music, creating a goal chart, and more.

  1. DailyLit. Think you are too busy to read? Now you can select a book and have daily installments sent to you via email or RSS feed. Many of the books are free, but others require a small fee to read.
  2. Bringo! Calling an 800 number and not being able to reach a real person is quite frustrating. This handy tool makes it all better by cutting through the phone tree and getting a human on the line.
  3. eSnailer. Write a letter and mail it through the postal service with this fun tool. You just fill in the envelope, write the letter, and have eSnailer send the letter.
  4. Surprise.com. Buying gifts can be difficult, but this tool just took the work out of gift-giving. It even links you to presents you can purchase online.
  5. Franceradio.net. Search for music for you MP3 player with this fun tool. You can listen and download your favorite tunes free of charge.
  6. Podlinez. Listen to your favorite podcast on your phone by calling a number associated with each podcast. If the podcast you want isn’t available on this site, add it and you can listen within minutes.
  7. My 50. This tool will help you keep focused on your life goals by managing your list of places to go, things to do, and anything else you want to do in your lifetime.
  8. Joe’s Goals. This simple chart allows you to input your goals (or what you want to avoid doing), then you check off each you complete daily.
  9. Musicovery. Choose your mood, decade, and genre and you will receive a web of music to choose from.
  10. Alphabetizer. Need a list alphabetized quickly and easily? Just paste your list into this tool and get results fast.
  11. Timeanddate.com. Find out what time it is anywhere in the world, look at a calendar for any year, or determine time zones with this handy tool.
  12. Sizeasy. If you are shopping online or need to visualize a size dimension for any reason, use this tool to get a visual comparison to help you know what the numbers mean.

Mobile

Using your mobile phone to get things done more efficiently is even easier with these tools.

  1. TeleFlip. Send your email messages to your phone as text messages with this free tool. You do have to pay any text fees your carrier may charge, though.
  2. GrandCentral. Consolidate all your phones into one with this tool that gives you one voice mailbox and one number for all your phones.
  3. bitBomb. Set up reminders that will come to your mobile phone as a text message with this tool.
  4. Cha Cha. Call or text a question to Cha Cha (242242) and within minutes you will receive the answer.
  5. phonezoo. Use this tool to convert your MP3 files to ringtones for your cell phone. You can also use other people’s music posted at this site.
  6. flurry. This tool will send emails, allow you to read RSS feeds, and participate in group messaging all on your mobile phone.
  7. mShopper. While you are out shopping, just jump on your phone to see if you can find your item for less money online, and then buy it right from your mobile phone.
  8. Qipit. Take a photo of any document with your phone, then use this tool to convert it to a PDF file that you can fax, email, or store.
  9. Berggisearch. Powered by Hakia, download this application to your cell phone to get an efficient search that brings results recommended by librarians, not advertisements.
  10. TelePixie. Get wake-up calls, reminders, stock alerts, severe weather alerts, and more right on your mobile phone.
  11. ShoZu. Don’t know how to get that photo you took with your phone on to your computer? No problem. Use this tool to upload photos and videos to many photo sites like Flickr. You can also send photos from Flickr to your phone and do much more with this tool.
  12. Mobyko. Back up the names, numbers, and information on your mobile phone with this handy tool. The next time you lose your phone, you won’t lose your information.

Making Computing Easier

These tools will help you do everything from combining IMs to reducing spam to converting files.

  1. Bugmenot.com. If you’ve ever had to register with a site just to read an article or watch a video, then you will want this tool. Find login information for many websites that require registration and never have to give your information again.
  2. The Complete Word. If you’ve ever been at school or work and couldn’t see what your friend posted to you on MySpace or were unable to view the YouTube video your girlfriend sent you, then you’ll love this tool that unblocks popular sites.
  3. Trillian. Combine all your IM accounts from Yahoo!, MSN, AIM, ICQ, and IRC into one with this free tool.
  4. 10 Minute Mail. Use this tool to get an email address that is good for 10 minutes, then expires. This is a great way to register with sites that require an email validation. Use a disposable email address and keep out all that unwanted spam.
  5. Protopage. Create your own homepage complete with sticky notes, your favorite website links, and more.
  6. PageTiki. This tool will let you know when your favorite webpages have been updated so you don’t have to keep going back to check for new information.
  7. TinyURL.com. If you would like to send a link to someone, but the long URL address is too cumbersome, then this tool will help you out. Just simply paste the long URL into the tool and it immediately gives you a smaller URL that links to the same page.
  8. LabPixies. Add any number of fun widgets like Google maps, calorie counter, games, calendars, and more on your home page, blog, or website.
  9. Agatra. Never worry about forgetting a password again. This encrypted tool securely stores all your passwords so that you don’t have to remember them yourself.
  10. Mail2Web. If your email is not web-based, it can be frustrating not being able to check your email when you are away from your computer. Now you can use this tool and check your email anywhere, anytime.
  11. YouConvertIt. Convert any kind of media file (documents, images, audio, video) to a different format without installing software on your computer.
  12. Down for everyone or just me? If you are having a hard time getting a web page to download, paste the URL for the website into this tool to discover if it’s down for everyone or if the problem is just with you. Super simple!

Google Tools

With the popularity and functionality of Google, many people are sure to find something handy in this list. Even non-Google folks can use some of these tools.

  1. Google SMS. Finding directions, addresses, phone numbers, and more is easy with Google SMS. Send a text to Google (466453) and put keywords in the body of the text for whatever you want to find, and Google will reply within a minute or so with the answer.
  2. Google Send to Phone. Take short clips off websites and send them to any cell phone in the U.S.
  3. Google Reader. Download this reader to get all your RSS feeds in one place. If you read blogs, this will make it so much easier.
  4. Google Alerts. Get email updates on a specific topic you are interested in following.
  5. Google Maps for Mobile. Get Google maps on your mobile phone–where you may find you need them most.
  6. Google Notebook. While you are browsing around the Internet, use this tool to save information you find.
  7. Goog-411. Call 1-800-GOOG-411 and get connected to local businesses for free. You can also get the business information texted to your phone and maps sent as well.
  8. Google Ride Finder. Find taxis and shuttles by city using real time Google Maps.
  9. Google Transit. If you’d like to use public transportation in your city, use this tool to map your route with Google Maps and learn how to get where you need to go.
  10. Google Web Accelerator. Download this tool to make web pages load faster. This works with DSL or cable connections only.

Finances

From managing your money to paying bills, you can use these tools to stay on top of your finances.

  1. mint. Manage your money with this free software. Connect with your bank, credit cards, and mutual funds to effortlessly gain control over your finances.
  2. wesabe. getting out of debt can be a struggle, but not with wesabe. This free software helps you track spending and create goals towards getting out of debt or saving money. Take advantage of the discussion groups with other members to find support while reaching your goals.
  3. Zopa. This social finance company brings borrowers and investors together to work out loans that benefit both parties.
  4. Retailmenot.com. Online shopping just got less expensive with this site that provides coupon codes to use for over 13,000 online stores.
  5. PriceProtectr. Shop from over 120 online stores and use this tool to let you know if the price on your new purchase goes down. If so, you contact the store for a refund of the difference.
  6. BillMonk. Keep track of your money with this fun tool. It also tracks items you’ve loaned to people or that you have borrowed.
  7. BudgetTracker, Inc. Create and track your budget with this tool. It helps with bills, investments, bank accounts, and more.
  8. StockCloud. This cloud shows stock ticker symbols with varying degrees of font size indicating how frequently that company issues press releases.
  9. PayScale. Compare your salary with others who have similar job titles, education, location, skills, and experience.

For the Family

The following tools will give most families a hand with gift wish lists, chore organizers, meal planning, and more.

  1. Handipoints. Create a task or chore chart for your children with this online tool, then your kids can check off each task as they go and monitor their progress until they reach the goal.
  2. MyHomePoint. This online calendar keeps track of your family’s activities, birthdays, reminders, and more. Easy access makes this a winner for families.
  3. myfamily.com. Get your entire extended family together with this tool. Family members can upload photos, videos, recipes, and more as well as plan events or map out the family tree.
  4. trydrugs.net. For parents who are talking with their children about drugs, this tool is handy. By going to this site, you will be taken through an experience for each of the most used illegal drugs. Try moving that mouse and clicking on the appropriate spot while under this influence.
  5. GreedyMe. Create a list of things you want and share with friends and family members. Despite the name, this tool is actually handy for families sharing wish lists for birthdays or other holidays.
  6. VisualDxHealth. Identify skin disorders with this visual health tool. From acne to skin cancer, you will be able to find it here.
  7. Calorie Counter. Find out how many calories you are burning with a specific exercise or how many calories your family consumed during that last fast food binge with the calorie counting tools here.
  8. Geni. Create your family tree with this tool. You can also share photos, remember birthdays, and memorialize loved ones.
  9. WujWuj. If you’ve ever tried to organize gift-giving as a group, you know how difficult it can be. This tool organizes the whole process so next time several family members want to go in on a wedding gift or baby shower present, it goes more smoothly.
  10. WeGottaEat.com. Manage recipes and shopping lists and share with family members with this helpful tool.
  11. Chore Buster. Enter family members and chores, then designate how difficult or undesirable each chore is and how often it must be done, then each family member will receive an email with their chores at the correct time.
  12. ChoreWars.com. Another way to get chores done, this approach uses a game. Family members can create their own character, too.

Travel

Whether you are going on vacation, traveling for business, or just keeping track of a traveler, you will find helpful tools from this list.

  1. TripIt. This travel organizer will and compile all your travel arrangements and create an itinerary for you. You can get your itinerary on your mobile device, too.
  2. ePassportPhoto.com. Take a photo at home with your digital camera, then use this tool to convert it to a passport photo that meets the specifications for over 60 countries–for free.
  3. The Universal Packing List. Enter the information about your trip and you will get a complete packing list customized to your needs.
  4. Jumpclaimer! Send text messages while traveling to create pins on a Google map that friends and family can access to follow along as you explore the world.
  5. Yapta. Plan your flight with this tool and it will alert you when prices drop so that you can purchase the ticket. If prices drop after you purchase, it will alert you again so that you can get a refund from the airline.
  6. YourGMap. Create a custom Google map that shows where you went or where you plan to go. This is not a Google tool.
  7. Happy Median. If you are meeting someone during your travels or back home for a night on the town, use this tool to find the halfway point between the two of you.
  8. Universal Currency Converter. If you are traveling internationally, this handy tool will help you know the exchange rate of each place you’ll visit.
  9. MizPee. Find a public toilet in the U.S. or Canada. You can have the results of your search sent to your mobile phone, too.
  10. Weather2Travel Climate Guide. Click on any place in the world to find current weather conditions. This is a great tool to use when packing for your trip.
  11. iSubwayMaps.com. Choose from cities worldwide and download subway maps to your iPhone, iPod, or iPod Nano.

Entertainment

While none of these tools are likely to change your life, they might make it a little more fun with party planning, movie selections, and more.

  1. MyPunchbowl. Planning a party is simple with this online planner and invitation generator.
  2. What Should I Read Next? Enter a book title or an author and other readers will recommend books to you based on their shared appreciation of the same literature.
  3. MyFilmz. Use this tool to discover what movie you should watch tonight. Type in a movie you like and you will get a list of several other movies that are similar.
  4. FreeRice. Play this word game to sharpen your vocabulary skills and help feed the hungry at the same time. Be careful, it’s addictive.
  5. someecards. Stay in touch with friends and family by sending one of these funny e-cards. Choose from several categories to find just the right one.
  6. soundjunction Composer tool. Create your own music with this online composing tool.
  7. Sloganizer. Enter a keyword and this tool will instantly come up with a slogan for you. You can even get your slogan put on a t-shirt.
  8. geoGreeting. Email a greeting to someone with this fun tool. Whatever your message, aerial views of buildings around the world create the letters for your text.
  9. Listen to a Movie. Download a movie or TV show and listen to it on your computer while you work. Be sure to hit “pause” when your boss comes in, though.
  10. Good Things Should Never End. This never ending website offers tons of fun graphics that you can interact with just by clicking your mouse. You can even share some of them on your website or blog.

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