Computer Chit Chat

Archive for the ‘Internet’ Category

If you’re online than you know there is a lot of information out there. One of my favorite sites is About.com. Web Design Basics sectionom because you can find information on almost anything on that site.. The  of About.com contains a treasure trove of information and it free to use. The topic of web design basics is separated into the sections Elements of Good Design, Fonts and Typography, How to Use Color, Graphics and Images, Web Layout Basics, Tackling Navigation, Accessibility and Usability, and Web Design Software. The articles are all easy to read and understand. If you’ve been wanting to learn about web design this is an awesome resource.

• Sumo Paint
• How do you sell online?
• HP offering free online classes

I have a thing for domains. I’ve mentioned previously how much I like Godaddy, for their pricing and their control panel. If you’re a Buy.com shopper, or are in the nmarket for a new domain, here’s how to get a  GoDaddy.com Free Domain Name.  When you go to the Buy.com site check the “Check Here” box found on the GoDaddy banner on the Buy.com cart summary page and you will receive a unique redemption code for a free domain. This is a limited time offer, so don’t wait too long!

• Free games
• 25 free magnets
• How do you unzip?

Toodledo is a web based to do list that I recently learned about. Toodledo can be integrated into your mobile phone, Calendar applications, the Firefox browser, instant messaging, RSS feed readers and your email inbox. Your list can even be shared with others for collaboration on projects. If you’re already using another task manager you can import the content from it so you don’t have to worry about losing or reentering everything. Two of the features it offers that I like the best are inline editing and time tracking. Toodledo is free to use and also has two paid versions available with enhanced features.

• Famundo
• Anyone at Mozilla listening?
• Color picker Firefox addon

My oldest son is 12. He is only allowed to connect to the internet using my desktop computer in the living room. It’s one of the ways I try to make sure he doesn’t see inappropriate things, all of the stuff that I think he shouldn’t see. When he knows what site he wants to use he can go directly to it. But when he’s in the mood to explore, I have him start from the KidsClick site.

KidsClick was created by some public librarians in New York trying to ensure that the children using library computers were able to get to age appropriate websites. At first the site was called Kids Tools For Searching The Internet and it was just input boxes that connected to individual safe sites or databases. The site was upgraded in 1997 to be more visually appealing and now functions as a human edited directory designed for children. Something you might not notice at first when looking at the site is the link on the bottom that says “What does this page look like through a Librarian’s Eyes?”. When you click on it the site appears using the Dewey Decimal System Classification. I think it’s really neat.

• How to install Firefox
• You can win a wii if you live in a Charter area
• Google, are you finished with me yet?

I got an email from my host a while back to check out BambooInvoice and I’ve finally gotten around to it. BambooInvoice is a site where you can create client invoices online. The site is based on open source code and was made with the small business owner in mind and is free to use. After registering for an account you can customize your business and invoice settings - things like company name and info, logo, currency and tax info. From the main screen, or root, you can view all invoices, drilling down to show open, closed and overdue. From that same screen you can view all clients. Users can even generate some simple sales and revenue reports. I think the site is extremely easy to use and would be helpful to anyone that has the need to create invoices.

• MyPictureTown
• 25 free magnets
• So many menus

Wagwire allows visitors to your site to leave audio messages just by clicking a button. It’s free to create an account. It’s easy to make the button for your site and all you need to do to install it is copy and paste the code. Wagwire can be installed on blogs, websites and social network profiles.

• Feedjit
• Entrecard Marketplace and Social Media Integration
• How to install Wordpress using cpanel 11 on your own domain

Famundo is a website where families can set up a free centralized family homepage that can be accessed from any computer with internet access. Features included are calendars, address books, to do lists, message boards and a library. Famundo syncs with Outlook so family members can add the most recent tasks and appointments to their family calendar. Photos can be uploaded for viewing. Documents can be uploaded for safe online storage in the family vault. The free version includes 250mb of storage space and the paid version includes 1gb of storage space. Famundo is also in a different version for organizations that is completely free and has a slightly different setup and some different features.

• Places to find free pictures to use on your blog
• MyPictureTown
• Do you keep a calendar on your computer?

If you have a new blog and you want people to find you when they search Google, you’ll need to get indexed quickly. Otherwise, indexing can take a while. Here are some different ways to getting your site indexed.

If you use Google webmaster tools, submit a sitemap.

Use the “add url” page on Google, Yahoo, Alexa and MSN.

Submit articles to Digg and other social bookmarking sites.

Be active on forums and include your blog in your signature.

Get an existing site or blog to link to your blog.

Write good content and network with other bloggers.Bloggers link to stuff they like.

• Blogatiser social bookmarking
• SearchStatus Firefox add-on tells you more than rank
• Amplify your feedback with Wagwire

Wififreespot is a website that allows users to locate free publicly accessible wifi. The site is free to use. It offers listings by state, as well as several specialty listings including airports, hotels and campgrounds. There are also sections for Canada, Europe, The Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, South America, Asia,the Middle East, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Site visitors are able to submit requests to add new listings and take down invalid listings.The site also has an faq section that clearly reminds readers that not everything free is actually free.

• Amplify your feedback with Wagwire
• Feedjit
• 25 free magnets

Recently Entrecard released the Entrecard toolbar. It’s especially helpful for people like me that have more than one blog, although any Entrecard user would find it helpful. On the far left is a pulldown menu that allows users to switch the Entrecard account they’re dropping with on the fly. The next menu, from the left side, shows you how many credits you have in the Entrecard account you’re logged into and how many drops you’ve made that day. The next menu after that will take you to your favorites and all of the categories. The last menu on the far right allows you to choose what types of sites you want to drop or advertise on. The little green arrows allow you to navigate to the next site and the next ten sites. The Entrecard toolbar is free and works on Firefox 2 and 3.

• New Entrecard ebook and multiple blog feature
• Entrecard Credits News
• Entrecard Forum and Blog Approval News