Nov 29

Broken iPod? Useless iPod? Get $$ for it!

Posted in: Apple, Gadgets, ipod, Microsoft, Screenshots, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on May 11, 2007 by CyberNet.

BuyipodMaybe you jumped on the bandwagon and purchased an iPod, only to find that you didn’t use it a few months later?  Maybe you’ve dropped your iPod just as many times as your cell phone, but your iPod didn’t survive?  Whatever your reason is, there’s a site that doesn’t mind whether it’s broken, or ya just don’t want it anymore.  They’ll give you cash for your iPod!

The site is BuyMyBrokeniPod.com, and all you have to do is enter in all of the information regarding the iPod, whether it’s a Nano, Video, 3rd generation, etc. Then enter in the condition, and whether or not you have the USB cable, charger, or box. From there you’ll get your quote on how much they’ll pay you for your iPod. You ship it to them via 1st class USPS mail, and upon delivery you’ll get your payment.

So for example, I’ve got a 4th generation 20GB iPod in 100% working order, it’s in OK condition, and it includes the USB cord and the charger.  I’d get $48 bucks back, and if it wasn’t working at all and I didn’t know why, I’d still get $18 back! If you have some idea what’s wrong with it, the value will probably go up. For example, if it had a cracked screen the value would go up to $21. Not bad if your iPod is sitting there broken, or collecting dust.

If you’re planning on purchasing another iPod, another alternative is the Apple Recycling Program that they offer at US Retail stores.  Whether it’s working or not, you can drop off your iPod and receive a 10 percent discount towards the purchase of a new iPod. Not a bad deal.

Submit your iPod at BuyMyBrokeniPod.com

Source:AppScout

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Nov 27

Picnik Photo Editing Firefox Extension

Posted in: Firefox Extensions, Photos, Software, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on November 10, 2007 by CyberNet.

Despite the fact that the list of online image editing services continues to get longer and longer, there is still one that has been sitting at the top of my list for quite a while – Picnik. We first wrote about Picnik back in April, and since then, it has managed to get better and better. If you’re a fan of Picnik and you’re a Firefox user, you’re going to love an extension that I recently came across which makes importing images into Picnik even easier.

picnik extension To start, you’ll want to install the Picnik Firefox extension (download found here), and of course restart your browser. Once you’ve done this, right click on any image and notice the option that’s been added which says “Edit Image in Picnik.” There’s also an option to “Send Page to Picnik.” The “Send Page” option is great because you can essentially take a screenshot of any website and send it to Picnik for editing- either the visible page, or the full page. That means all it takes is two clicks before you’re editing a photo or web page from anywhere on the web. This extension is extremely handy and makes editing photos on your browser easy.

Now remember, Picnik offers all kinds of options for photo-editing like the capability to crop, rotate, resize, sharpen, or even remove red-eyes, so I think you’ll find it useful. And because it’s an online service, there’s nothing that has to be downloaded. To boot, it can be used on a Mac, a PC with Windows, or even Linux. Picnik has always been awesome, but this Firefox extension makes it even better!

Download Firefox Extension for Picnik here

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Nov 27

Live Search 2.0 Reminds Me of Google

Posted in: Internet Explorer, Microsoft, Screenshots, search, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on September 24, 2007 by CyberNet.

After being around for barely more than a year Microsoft is on the verge of releasing a pretty big update to their Live Search. As of right now Microsoft is rolling out a Beta version to select testers, and don’t be surprised if you see a new look the next time you visit Live Search.

One of our readers, Siva, managed to snap a screenshot when he received the enhanced interface. Below I’ve embedded the images that he sent me which demonstrate the old and new Live Search, which from what I can tell is moving to a more Google-like interface. If I covered up the blue navigation bar at the top of the screenshot it would probably be tough to distinguish between the Google and Live Search at first glance.

Old Live Search New Live Search

One of the differences you may notice between the two screenshots is that the results that were returned are different despite searching for the exact same phrase. Has Microsoft finally revamped their search engine to display better results?

Another big change is that the main content is completely centered in the browser, instead of spanning across the entire screen like it used to. I’m sure one of the main purposes of this was to get the sponsored links closer to the content, but I surprisingly like having it all in the middle.

Overall, I really like the new slimmer layout. Siva was using Internet Explorer 7 on Vista when he was “picked” to participate in the Beta test, and I’m sure Microsoft is dishing this out to IE users first. So pull up Live.com, do a search, and let us know if anyone else is seeing the new design!

Thanks again to Siva for the tip and the screenshots!

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Nov 27

Switch to Hotmail from Gmail and Yahoo

Posted in: Email, Gmail, Today's Chili, Web Sites, Yahoo

This article was written on August 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

Trueswitch: Transfer Email Account to Hotmail

Just last week we wrote about a service Yahoo! provides that lets you bring your existing emails, contacts, and calendar from your existing email account. The only problem, as my brother pointed out when using it, is that you could get locked out of your Gmail account temporarily because of the heavy access:

My only complaint is in the process of using this feature it logs into your Gmail account who knows how many times which caused it to lock my account with Gmail due to suspicious activities. I was locked out for over 26 hours in 2 days with no access to new emails what so ever. So while this is a great feature I do stress caution in using it.

Now you can also switch to Hotmail using the same service that Yahoo! incorporates. With it you can switch to Hotmail from any of these providers: AOL, Gmail, Comcast, Yahoo!, Cox, Earthlink, MSN, Netscape, Netzero, Juno, CS, Optonline, and Worldnet. It takes just a minute to initiate the transfer process, but it can take up to 24-hours to complete. Here’s the three steps that you go through:

  1. Enter the email address and password of both accounts.
    Switch to Hotmail Account - Step 1
  2. Choose what you want to transfer.
    Switch to Hotmail Account - Step 2
  3. Sit on your hands and stare at the ceiling for 24-hours.
    Switch to Hotmail Account - Step 3

As you can see the process to switch from one email provider to another is no longer the pain that it once was. Heck, this is easier than switching between desktop apps that manage your emails (at one point I had a heck of a time trying to go from Thunderbird to Outlook, and visa versa).

I have a feeling that Google might also start using Trueswitch because visiting this URL gives a "Forbidden" warning instead of the standard "Not Found" message. That essentially means that the directory has been created, and it probably even contains files. Of course, I could be looking too far into that.

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Nov 25

CyberNotes: Online Unit Converters

Posted in: CyberNotes, Google, Mac, Software, Today's Chili, Web Sites, Windows

This article was written on June 17, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Time Saving Tuesday

Converting from one unit of measurement to another is something that should never be difficult, and luckily there are several online unit converters that make the process drop-dead simple. They save you from having to lookup any conversion values, and often take less than a second to return an answer to you. That’s why today we’re going to outline three of our favorite websites that will do the conversion work for you.

–Unit Converter–

Unit Converter is exactly what you would expect from a conversion utility. First it breaks down the different types of measurements into 14 different categories, and from there you can enter in the starting measurement along with the type of units you’re converting between.

You’ll notice that there is no “submit” button anywhere on the site, and that’s because there’s no need for one! If you change a value in either the “from” or “to” fields it will automatically adjust the result in the other field. That’s definitely nice in the event you have to convert several different numbers.

unit converter.png

–Google–

The search engine that many of you probably use every day, Google, is also one of my favorite unit converters! Whenever you perform a regular search it will try to determine if you’re looking to convert a value. The keywords that you want to be sure to include in your conversion query is either “in” or “to,” which can be seen in these examples:

When performing a search that Google recognizes as a conversion it will show the results immediately below the search box:

google converter.png

Mac users can grab this Dashboard widget which utilizes Google Calculator to perform a conversion. Similarly Yahoo! Widget users (both Mac and Windows) can add a Google Calculator widget.

–Instacalc–

Instacalc is the online solution for performing and managing several conversions simultaneously. Much like the Google Calculator it uses a natural language system to bypass the need for excessive drop-down menus, but it takes it a step further than Google. It’s actually more like a spreadsheet because it lets you add as many rows as you want, and in each one you can get fast conversions:

instacalc.png

We actually covered this site back in October 2007 because we found the Vista Gadget which gives the same conversion power right from the sidebar of your computer. Then just a few months ago they kicked it up a notch by making a bookmarklet that works in Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. For the sake of convenience I’ve copied the bookmarklet, and all you have to do is right-click on this to save it to your bookmarks:

Instacalc bookmarklet

If you want to see what the bookmarklet is capable of first just try clicking on it. You should see a small “window” open in the upper-right corner of the site where you can perform your conversion. Now how’s that for efficient?

–Overview–

Unit converters have been incredibly useful for me in the past, and Google’s method has quickly become my favorite. We’d love to hear in the comments how you go about doing your conversions!

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Nov 24

CSS Cheat Sheet

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on September 22, 2006 by CyberNet.

CSS is a great way to customize the look of your site and just about everyone is using it. I love how nearly everything is customizable but sometimes I have a hard time remembering all of the properties. That is where this CSS Cheat Sheet comes in!

It is organized very well into several different sections:

  • Properties (located on each side)
  • Syntax
  • Selectors
  • Pseudo-Selectors
  • Media Types
  • Box Model
  • Units
  • Properties that Inherit

It is available as both a PNG image file or a PDF. I have gotten this printed off and I’ll have it sitting right by me the next time I do some web design! It not only serves as a good reminder but I also learned some things from it to. ;)

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Nov 24

Who Should You Vote For? Quickly Find Out!

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on January 26, 2008 by CyberNet.

This election year more than ever, the Internet is playing a crucial role in helping voters become informed on each of the candidates, and candidates are using it as a method for campaigning. There are all kinds of web sites that have popped up to help the cause, and one of them that I came across recently that will be helpful to you as a voter is Glassbooth.org. If you live in the United States and you still haven’t decided who you’ll be voting for come November, check it out!  It serves as a great resource for finding out about the 2008 presidential candidates and even gives you an idea of which candidate your views are most similar to.

Glassbooth makes the process pretty quick and easy, yet it’s really informative.  First you’ll start out by assigning 20 points to a list of issues that you find the most important.  For example, I assigned 4 points to education and 4 points to health care, two issues which are important to me. Once your points are given out, you’ll move on to some questions in which you’ll answer on a scale of strongly agree to strongly oppose. When you’re done with that portion, it will tell you how you compare to the different candidates and why.

glassbooth

The fact that it explains why your views line up with a particular candidate is nice. And they back it up with quotes and figures from the candidates mouths which is helpful as well. As you can see, my views are most similar to Barack Obama (84%), Mike Gravel (82%), and Hillary Clinton (80%). Before you run off to take the quiz yourself (and of course come back to let us know your results), here’s som info about Glassbooth. It’s a nonprofit organization that is “creating innovative ways to access political information.  An informed and interested democracy is a powerful thing.  As an organization in the public’s interest, we are very serious about our core principles,” their site says.  Then they go on to list that their core principles are integrity, nonbias, nonpartisan, transparency, and insight.

Thanks to Pieter in the forum for pointing out Glassbooth to us!

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Nov 24

Get Social with Word Source Dictionary

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on February 26, 2007 by CyberNet.

There’s social networking, social web browsing, and now a social dictionary. Before actually visiting Word Source, I couldn’t imagine how you could possibly make a dictionary social, but they did and I actually like it. I said good-bye to my paper dictionary a while ago. With a computer nearly always accessible, I’ve used Dictionary.com for specific definitions, Google’s define feature, or even OneLook which has a reverse lookup feature.

Wordsource3

Word Source has a pretty simple interface that’s easy on the eyes. They offer both a dictionary and a thesaurus, and of course some “social” elements which make it unique. After you type in a word to define, it will pull up the list of definitions, but you’ll also notice some options like uploading a photo that would associate with the word, or the option to tag a word. You’ll also notice a thumbs up or thumbs down which you can click to rate a word. I’m not quite sure what the purpose of rating a word is, but the option is there.

Wordsource1They’ve also thrown in some fun (and education) with two different games; Hangman and Jumble. You can play either of those games with the word that you looked up, or a random word (fun).  After you’ve guessed the word, you can click the word to define it (educational).

Because there is the social element, if you’re wanting to add a picture or tag a word, you’ll need to create an account. By creating an account you can upload a photo for any word in the dictionary. Their example is genius. Yes, you can add your picture to the word genius and tell everyone to go look it up. They’re even bribing you to be social. By uploading photos, you earn point that you can swap for different rewards, profile badges, and monthly prizes.

The thumbs up/ thumbs down feature that i mentioned is part of their Word Source Live where they show some stats on the word like how many people like or dislike the word, how many people have tagged it, how many people have trouble spelling the word, and other generally useless stats that are still kinda fun.

Wordsource

I just bookmarked Word Source and also created a keyword search for it.  Remember, both Firefox and Opera offer this feature which not many people take advantage of. In Firefox, right click in the Word Source search field and select “Add a Keyword for this Search…” In Opera, it works similarly by right-clicking and then clicking ‘Create Search…” It takes just a minute to set-up, and then when you need to define something, you’ll be able to do it right from your address bar. My keyword search is simply “s” and then the word I want to define.

While it’s a simple idea, I like it and at some point someone was bound to do this. There’s social everything else, so why not a Dictionary?

Source: TechCrunch

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Nov 23

Stumble Upon Releases Version 3.0

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on February 22, 2007 by CyberNet.

We’ve never really said much about StumbleUpon, but it’s one of my favorite browser add-ons and helps me find new websites that I might like in different categories like computers or travel. At times it’s addicting because there are so many websites out there that I’d never know existed were it not for StumbleUpon. By clicking a thumbs up or thumbs down, I can rate sites that I visit, and StumbleUpon will use that information to find websites that match my preferences.

Stumbleupon

StumbleUpon can be downloaded for either Internet Explorer or Firefox, and besides using it to find new websites, you can actually use it to find videos, or even pictures and games. They also add in the social networking by allowing users able to create lists of friends to share sites and communicate with.They’re already up to Version 3.0 which is hard to believe. I just made the upgrade, and now it’s better than ever. From their changelog, here are the latest changes:

  • Avatars on the ‘Send to’ menu and on shared notes.
  • Drag and drop toolbar placement.
  • Configurable channel buttons.
  • Channel indicator on the stumble button.
  • New icon set.
  • Toggle button configuration via the options dialog.
  • Several search/tag configurations to cater to power users.
  • Compatibility with the IE Tab extension.
  • Fix for a bug where buttons are spaced too far apart on OSX.
  • Probably workaround for the issue where the toolbar cannot connect at the beginning of a browser session, causing a spurious ‘server is down’ message.
  • Fix for a bug where rating a page thumb-down when the page is new to StumbleUpon was displaying a generic error message. New behavior is to display an explanatory dialog.
  • Final phase of migration to hashed passwords for users who upgraded from versions older than 2.85.

StumbleUpon has already made the move to cater to Wii fans by creating an interface specifically designed for the Wii’s Opera browser. Now Wii fans can use the browser to search for their favorite videos to watch using StumbleVideo. According to Webware, they say that there’s a possibility that StumbleUpon would like to bring their services to other wireless—enabled TV Boxes like Apple TV?

You can view the Firefox Changelog here where you’ll also find the download.

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Nov 23

Vidoop Replaces Passwords with Images

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on September 23, 2007 by CyberNet.

Vidoop OpenID Image Grid

Usernames and passwords have been around for ages, and password cracking techniques have been getting more advanced. Now there are phishing scams that are designed to confuse the user with a realistic looking site, and there are keyloggers that try to record passwords typed in with the keyboard. Is Vidoop the solution to these vulnerabilities?

Vidoop has developed what they believe to be a more secure way for users to login to sites. It completely eliminates the need passwords by replacing it with an image recognition system. It runs off of sites that support OpenID, and here are some more details on how a user would set it up:

  1. When a user enrolls, he chooses image categories from a bank of possible image content (such as airplanes, cars, or keys). This constitutes the shared secret.
  2. Upon proof of receipt of an access code transmitted out-of-band by e-mail or phone, the user’s computer is activated with a software token.
  3. At the time of login, if the token is found, the Vidoop Dynamic Image Grid, which includes pictures belonging to the user’s chosen categories, is displayed.
  4. The user selects the images by typing the random letter shown with the image, forming a one-time access code.

One of the big keys to this working is the token that gets stored on your computer. Without that token the Image Grid will never be displayed, thereby making it impossible for a hacker to try and brute force their way into your account. What if someone got their hands on my token (maybe by stealing my computer)? If they knew the possible categories Vidoop offered then they could record what categories the images fall into each time they are displayed. They can then run a comparison to see what two categories appeared each time. I actually think a brute force attack using Vidoop could be easier than a normal password.

There is also a revenue stream available through the use of images. For example, if a user chooses “cars” as one of their categories there could be some sponsors who will display their car in the grid. Vidoop will share any revenue generated via the sponsorships with the site publisher.

Here’s a 5-minute video demonstration on how Vidoop actually works, and after you get done watching it leave your feedback in the comments below. I’m interested in whether you think something like this could actually take off.

Thanks for the tip Pieter!

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