Hasta La Gadget! Page not found

Apr 29

30,000 Royalty Free Sound Effects, Free Music Loops

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

If you’ve ever needed sound effects or music loops, you know that searching the web for a free solution is both tedious and difficult. And of course once you come across something great that would be perfect for your project, you realize it’s not royalty free. This can be extremely frustrating. Thankfully, there’s a perfect solution to end your frustration once and for all. The site is called Soundsnap and it’s a free online sound library. Yep, all 30,000 sounds that they offer are royalty free!

With such a large selection of songs, it’s important to have a clean and simple interface that’s easy to use. They offer just this, and the sounds are tagged and categorized into 16 different categories with many choices in each. Users of Soundsnap play a really important role because they’re the ones that submit the content to begin with, and many of them are sound engineers so it’s not all amateur. If you’re wanting to listen to some of the most popular songs, you can just view their tag cloud. If you want to download a clip, you can first preview it and then download it in MP3, wav or aiff formats.

There’s a social aspect to Soundsnap as well. It’s social in that members have a public profile where they can show-off some of their work if they’ve submitted it. They’re also able to keep a list of their favorite sounds for all to hear. Users can get involved by rating sound clips using a five-star scale which gives you a good idea if the sound will be worth listening to or not.

Overall, Soundsnap is a great service that provides a broad selection of sound samples, sound effects, and music loops — all royalty free. You can’t beat that!

Source: John @ Soundsnap – Thanks!

Related Posts:

Apr 26

Facebook’s New Interface Simplifies Profiles

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on July 21, 2008 by CyberNet.

When Facebook moved away from their original interface (back when it was “The Facebook”) people weren’t too happy. Since then it’s gotten a few tweaks here and there, and they’ve added features and of course applications, but the look has generally stayed the same. Facebook is now ready to introduce another big change to the interface and we’re expecting some people to put up a fight! In general people don’t seem to adapt well to change, even if it’s for the better.

Below you’ll find a screenshot of the original Facebook just to bring back old memories:

Image Source

And of course most of you know what the current Facebook looks like, so here’s what the new Facebook will look like:

One of the first things we noticed is that there will be a lot less on the page to view. They’ve made use of tabs up at the top to switch between things like Info, Photos, and Boxes. There’s also a menu bar up at the top where you’ll find a link to your Friends and a drop-down menu with the applications you currently have. All of these extra clicks to various pages should put a few more bucks in Facebook’s bank with an increase in pageviews, that’s for sure.

The official Facebook Blog has more information on some of the changes, like:

Simplified top menu
Tabbed profiles
“The new wall”
The Publisher Box (for adding photos, notes, videos, application content, updating status, etc.)
New Application Interactions

The Facebook crew says you can try out the new site simply by visiting http://www.new.facebook.com, except doing this did not give me the new interface. For Ryan it worked, but for me it didn’t. If by visiting the “New” site, you see the same ole’ interface, just keep checking back.

While it might take some adjusting, it will be nice to have cleaner pages with less information to look at. Once they added applications, things started to get way too cluttered on some people’s profiles.

For now users can either use the new (if it’s available to them) or go back to the old, but in the coming weeks everybody will be forced to use the updated interface. Tell us what you think of it…

Thanks for the tip Natmaster!

Related Posts:

Apr 23

Online PDF Reader Viewer

Posted in: Screenshots, Today's Chili, Web Sites

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

Online PDF Reader

Have you ever been on a computer at a cafe, library, or school that doesn’t have a PDF reader? In cases like that you need a handy online PDF viewer that will do the dirty work for you, without installing a single thing on the computer.

Samuraj Data is the perfect online PDF reader because it doesn’t require any registration, and it’s fast! All you have to do is specify the location of the PDF file, which can be on the Web or a file on the computer, and then hit the View button. You’ll instantly see the download and conversion status on the screen in a terminal-like fashion. All PDF’s are converted to images, and after the download is completed the process will wrap up rather quickly. It took under 30 seconds for it to download and convert most of the PDF’s that I threw at it.

As you can see in the screenshot above the interface for navigating a PDF is rather bare, but in return you get a fast and intuitive experience. There are keyboard shortcuts available to navigate from one page to another, or you can click the View All link to have all of the pages displayed one after another. And clicking on an image will bring up the full-size version.

There might be better online PDF readers or viewers out there, but it will be hard to find one that is as simple and fast as Samuraj Data. And in addition to handling PDF files it can also open PostScript and Microsoft Word DOC files.

I would give it a 10 out of 10 if they offered a slightly better interface and more than 256 colors when viewing the PDF’s.

Samuraj Data [via Techie Buzz]

Related Posts:

Apr 22

April Fool’s Jokes From Around The Web

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on April 01, 2006 by CyberNet.

It is that time of year again, and it appears that there are quite a few sites participating in the April Fool’s fun. Google has created a couple of April Fool’s jokes that are pictured below and the especially popular one is SlashDot’s new pink colored theme!

Okay, we will start here with Google’s new Dating Service which is cleverly called Google Romance. All you have to do is upload your profile, or if you have multiple profiles then you can upload in bulk .

SlashDot is trying to focus on the 1.3% of their visitors that aren’t male by creating a themed site for women. This includes a pink theme and, of course, the articles posted aren’t geared towards nerds.

Are you sick of the memory leaks in all the web browsers out there and sick of the slow performance? Google has your browser solution. It is a browser that is known to be the most efficient in the computer world. Don’t hesitate…GO GET IT!

Ever since you were a kid you know you have been wondering what is at Area 51. Finally, Google has acquired some pictures of the coveted Area 51 and you can view them using Google Earth (KMZ file).

It is official now, OpenOffice.org was purchased by Microsoft in hopes to squash any possible competition. Microsoft assures all OpenOffice.org 2.0 features will be found in the release of Microsoft Office 2020!

Well, that is the major list of April Fool’s Jokes that I found for 2006. I hope you have gotten a good laugh from them, but if you don’t want to stop there then visit the link below which contains an endless list of April Fool’s jokes from this year.

View Wikipedia’s List Of April Fool’s Sites

Related Posts:

Apr 21

Microsoft Planning On Releasing Windows Live Voicemail?

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on April 21, 2006 by CyberNet.

According to the sources at Bink.nu Microsoft is readying a Windows Live Voicemail service that will allow users to store all of their voicemail in one central location. The voicemail will be able to be converted into several different formats (MP3, WAV and WMA) to ensure that a user can take them on-the-go.

This is all going to be part of Microsoft’s Windows Live services which seem to be a competitive solution to Google and Yahoo. They are really trying to step up their game and make services, similar to Google, that store as much information as they can for a user. This means they need large servers and lots of them. Let the games begin!

News Source: Bink.nu

Related Posts:

Apr 19

Yahoo! Introducing Alpha (Beta) – Create your Own Custom Search Engine

Posted in: search, Today's Chili, Web Sites, Yahoo

This article was written on April 04, 2007 by CyberNet.

Yahoo is responding to Google’s co-op, a platform that allows you to customize your search experience by introducing Yahoo! Alpha – in beta. Much like Google’s version, Yahoo Alpha will enable you to create your very own personalized search engine homepage.

Using a drag-n-drop interface (think NetVibes), users are able to create their search engine page. If you visit the new Alpha site, you’ll notice that it searches Yahoo, but also provides search results from services like Flickr photos, Yahoo!7 Answers, YouTube, Yahoo!7 News Search, and Wikipedia.

You can even build your own search module using sites of your choice, assuming that the site provides the search results in the form of a RSS feed.

Essentially, it’s a tool that will help you perform multiple searches at one time by taking the results from the different sources and aggregating them all onto one page. While it is much like Google’s co-op, it’s also a lot like Google’s test site Searchmash, with a very similar interface(comparison above).

All in all, it’s a convenient way to search when you have an assortment of results to choose from like photos and videos.

Source: Digital Inspiration

Related Posts:

Apr 19

Earth Day Celebrated Around the Web

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites, Yahoo, YouTube

This article was written on April 22, 2008 by CyberNet.

Today is April 22nd which means it’s Earth Day in many countries around the World. It all started in 1970 when the first Earth Day was celebrated to coincide with the environmental movement. Around the web you’ll find a handful of different sites celebrating the day by changing their logo. Social Web Browser Flock even launched a new “Eco-edition” of their browser just in time for the day. It’s got lots of green and comes with some pre-loaded content for those that are conscious of the environment.

Yahoo

Yahoo’s logo changed for the day and it’s actually pretty cool. The screenshot below doesn’t do it justice because Yahoo uses Flash on the site that starts out looking like the normal Yahoo logo but turns into a green animated logo to celebrate the day. Check it out…

Yahoo!.png

Ask.com

Usually Ask.com isn’t one to jump in and change their logo or their site to celebrate any occasions, but today they did. Their focus is on carbon footprints and so their homepage has big footprints at the bottom of the page and they say: “It’s Earth Day! Search for ways to reduce your carbon footprint.”

Google

Of course we all knew that Google would do something, right? They seem to be the ones that started the trend of celebrating special days by changing their logo so here’s what they’ve come up with this year. Compared to Earth Day 2006 and 2007, we’d say this year’s is the best.

YouTube

Following in Google’s footsteps, YouTube is reminding those that visit their site today that it’s Earth Day by changing their logo:

AOL

Even AOL got in on it! As a side note, and a little off-topic, I haven’t visited AOL for quite some time, but boy, does it sure look like Yahoo’s page! AOL, couldn’t you have gotten creative and tried to come up with something unique?

AOL Earth Day.png

Facebook

Facebook’s way of celebrating the day is by offering a free gift that users are able to give to their friends that’s all about saving energy.

Flock

As mentioned, Flock has come out with a special Flock-Eco Edition. Aside from a special browser, they also note that they give back 10% of their earning to help the environment which is nice. They’ve partnered with some eco-friendly sites and with this particular version of Flock, you’ll receive daily news feeds from those sites which include:

TreeHugger, Think MTV, Environmental News Network, Ecorazzi, National Geographic, Green Yahoo!, Grist, Sprig, Planetgreen, and more…

You’ll find the download links here , and this is what it looks like:

Flock Eco Friendly Addition.png

Know of any other sites around the web that are celebrating Earth Day? Let us know!

Related Posts:

Apr 18

1.6 Million Records Stolen from Monster.com

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on August 20, 2007 by CyberNet.

The Washington Post says it best when they say, “Would you like a job with that virus?” Monster.com is known as one of the leading job search engines on the web where people go to find the perfect job. Unfortunately over the last several weeks, those who posted resumes got more than they bargained for and had more than just potential employers looking at their personal information due to malicious ads.

Originally it was reported that over 46,000 people were affected by “tainted advertisements,” but now that number has gone up to over 1.6 million records that were stolen. Symantec security analyst Amado Hidalgo says the new Trojan hose involved is called Infostealer.Monstres. In some situations, users had to click on an ad before the trojan horse went to work, in other situations, the user would just have to view the page displaying the ad.

Hidalgo also said “such a large database of highly personal information is a spammer’s dream. In fact, that’s exactly what the attackers are using their newly-acquired data for. The attackers first gather email addresses and other personal information from resumes posted to Monster.com and then next they will try to infect the computers of those candidates by sending targeted Monster.com phishing mails.”

In this situation, the trojan was looking for security vulnerabilities in web browsers like IE, Firefox, and Opera, as well as Windows Media Player and QuickTime. As always, remember to keep your software up to date! It’s one of the best ways you can protect your data from being stolen.

Thanks for the tip Cory!

Related Posts:

Apr 15

CyberDays: A Look Back At Dell’s Homepage

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on August 25, 2006 by CyberNet.

How It All Began…

Every now and then it is fun to take a look back at what Web sites looked like when they first started. This is made possible thanks to the Way Back Machine. So why don’t we take a stroll back to 1996 and take a look at what Dell looked like.

When I first saw the homepage the first thing that I remembered was the low monitor resolutions that were available. The site was obviously optimized to fit a 640×480 resolution so that the user wouldn’t have to scroll horizontally.

I chose to checkout those “Dependable notebooks with superior battery life” next. Man, this Latitude is really decked out with the 133MHz Pentium Processor, 12X CD-ROM, and best of all it has 64K colors:

Okay, so the laptops are always a little less powerful than the desktops. That was definitely true because you could get a 233MHz Pentium with 2 USB ports on a desktop! ZIP drives were the “in” thing back then and it was an optional component for these high-end beasts:

Let’s not forget about those gamers out there. They would want to buy the “Powerful Full-Featured Desktop with Cutting-Edge Pentium II Processors,” right? Rolling in at 266MHz and an 8MB video card these things would surely satisfy the hunger for power. After all, if you can splurge on one of these babies “You’ll get blazing-fast 3D performance as well as stunning multimedia.” *drool*

The good old days. Looking back really makes you appreciate the 3GHz machines that we can buy now at the 233MHz prices from back then! However, they don’t seem any faster because the applications are more resource intensive.

Related Posts:

Apr 11

USA Today Online Offers a Variety of Puzzles

Posted in: Games, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on March 30, 2008 by CyberNet.

If you’re bored and looking for something to do that will keep your brain active, look no further than USAToday.com! We’re not talking about keeping your brain active by reading the paper, we’re talking about having fun while completing puzzles. Most newspapers include a crossword puzzle and a Sudoku puzzle, however USA Today has a few others that they publish daily. All of them are available online for free at http://puzzles.usatoday.com and they’ll keep you thinking and give you something to do while you’re trying to pass some time.

One of our favorites is a puzzle called Up & Down Words. There are two skill levels, normal or expert. Normal mode will give you a hint if you need help by clicking the hint button. If you’re playing in Expert mode, you are on your own and have no option for getting a hint. What’s great about this game is that if you get stuck with the first clue, you can go to the last clue and work your way backwards. Below is a screenshot of the puzzle that was published in Thursday’s paper. If you finish one puzzle, you can click “previous date” and complete another one.

usa today games

Other games that USA Today offers include:

Sudoku
Word Round Up
Quick Cross
Mini Sudoku
Sudoku Mobile
Crossword

All of these can be found at http://puzzles.usatoday.com

Related Posts:

Hasta La Gadget!

30,000 Royalty Free Sound Effects, Free Music Loops

Facebook’s New Interface Simplifies Profiles

Online PDF Reader Viewer

April Fool’s Jokes From Around The Web

Microsoft Planning On Releasing Windows Live Voicemail?

Yahoo! Introducing Alpha (Beta) – Create your Own Custom Search Engine

Earth Day Celebrated Around the Web

1.6 Million Records Stolen from Monster.com

CyberDays: A Look Back At Dell’s Homepage

USA Today Online Offers a Variety of Puzzles

Who's in charge here?

Quick and dirty links!

Search

Archives

Blogroll

Recent Posts

Meta

Just one more ad block...

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Who's in charge here?

Quick and dirty links!

Search

Archives

Blogroll

Recent Posts

Meta

Just one more ad block...