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  • Read eBooks, Anywhere, Free

    Posted on July 30, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Read

    Recently, there’s been a huge move away from print books- you now read on your iPhone, your Kindle, your computer- anything with a screen, you can read it.

    A lot of sources want you to pay for the books you download, but there are some out there that offer them for free. One of them is called ManyBooks, and it’s here.


    ManyBooks has an ever-growing selection of books to download (it was 21,269 when I wrote this), and offers them in a number of formats. Read them in Kindle format, PDF, iPhone, HTML, Mobipocket, all kinds of different formats. There’s even a mobile-optimized version to let you download straight to your cell phone! All books are free, well-packaged, and easy to read.

    I’m still intimidated by The Art of War, but at least now I can be intimidated for free. You don’t even need an account to download books- just click and go!

    For a list of the most popular titles they offer, click here. From Mars Girl to Shakespeare, there’s something here for everybody. eBooks make a great time-killer, and since they’re free, and incredibly versatile as for where you can read them, this is definitely worth checking out.

    Posted in Apps, Features | Tagged Books, Downloads, Free, Read, Web | Leave a reply
  • Completely Awesome-ify Facebook

    Posted on July 30, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Explore

    Since we’re on the subject of how better to use Facebook, I think I should pass along a list I just found, not 10 minutes ago.

    “101 Facebook Hacks You Never Knew About” is a truly exhaustive list of things you can do with and to Facebook- some you always wanted but never knew you could do, some you’d never ever want to do in a million years. Isn’t the Private Wall already on Facebook, except it’s called “Messages”? Maybe that’s just me.


    Some of these are pretty spectacular, though. One of my favorites is the syncing of pictures between Facebook accounts and Outlook contacts. Also, adding Facebook events to your Google Calendar is HUGE, and is something Facebook needs to make standard.

    The list, here, done by CollegeDegrees.com is a great portal to make Facebook more than just a social time-waster. Plus, now you can tell teachers and bosses that it’s a productivity tool. Bonus!

    Posted in Features, Live Digitally | Tagged Apps, Downloads, Explore, Facebook, Web | Leave a reply
  • Let Facebook Replace Your Contact List

    Posted on July 29, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    File

    Even though Facebook’s iPhone and Blackberry applications are pretty new, there’s been a “Mobile” part of the site for a pretty long time. It’s mostly pointless, unless you want to upload the accidental pictures of your pocket your cell phone takes to Facebook. It does, however, have a couple nice features.

    The best of these is the Facebook Phonebook, which is a list of the phone numbers for all your friends on Facebook. For many people, myself included, this list includes pretty much anyone I’ve ever known, and a bunch of random strangers, so everyone’s number I might need is on Facebook. It’s a useful tool, has come in handy more than a couple of times, in a pinch needing a phone number to text someone I sort of know. You look a bit like a stalker, knowing their number, but isn’t that just half the fun of Facebook?


    Getting to the Phonebook is simple: Login to Facebook. Once you’re in, click on “account,” at the top right. From there, click on the “mobile” tab. the bottom of that tab has a link that says “Go to Facebook Mobile.” Click on that, and it brings up a new page. There are three links at the top, one of which says “Phonebook.” Click there, and presto! All the numbers of every one of your friends, just like that. It’s beautiful.

    Are there other fun, hidden, useful features of Facebook? What are they?

    Posted in Features, Linklog, Links | Tagged Cell Phones, Facebook, File | Leave a reply
  • Remember the Milk Gets Desktop-ed

    Posted on July 29, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Use

    Remember the Milk is rapidly becoming one of my favorite online tools, and is definitely my favorite online to-do list. You’ll be hearing more from me soon about how I use it and for what, but for those already using it, or looking to use it, I just found something pretty cool.

    One of the biggest downsides of the online to-do lists is that they’re often cumbersome and slow to use. You have to load pages, wait, be connected to the Internet, etc. etc. One of the most important features of a task list, for me, is that it has to be easy to use- I need to be able to add a task immediately, without thinking about it, and without interrupting whatever else I’m doing. Remember the Milk does okay with that, but could definitely do better.


    With the help of developer Timo Pijnappel, they’re going to do it a lot better. Timo has created the beginnings of “a tool for easy access to my favorite To Do List application.” It is designed to run in the system tray, be easily called up, and make adding, editing, and completing tasks from your desktop much easier.

    One of my favorite things about it is is tries to figure out the date and location of your task. If you type “Dinner tomorrow at home” it finds tomorrow as the date and home as the location. It’s something I’ve been wishing RTM had, and is a big time-saver. That’s 2 seconds I’m pumped to have back.

    RTM essentially keeps a running list of ways you can use RTM, and different ways to interact with it, on their blog here. Keep your eyes on that for developments, and definitely check out Timo’s app, here.

    Stay tuned for more about RTM from me, too, why it’s the best task program I’ve found.

    Posted in Apps, Features | Tagged Downloads, GTD, RTM, Tasks, Use | Leave a reply
  • 100 Posts In, And No One's Gotten Hurt

    Posted on July 28, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    It’s been quite the experience the last few months. There’ve now been 100 posts on this site, more coming all the time, more readers coming all the time, and hopefully you all like what’s going on with the site.

    Now, since I get bored easily, I’m going to change things up a bit. My brain is too organized not to do category-type dealies, so I’m going to do them, but with a few changes. Here is how I’m going to be organizing content from now on, or at least until boredom or a better idea strikes again. I think this is better, and will make reading and subscribing easier.

    Use- Various things that have found their way into frequent use in my life and the lives of others.

    Rainy Day- This is more for things that you’ll use periodically, but are really helpful for certain things. Whether it’s booking a flight, or getting a table at a restaurant, you won’t need it every day, but it’s incredibly handy when you do. I have a bookmarks folder called “Utilities” for just such things, and I’ll share them all and more with you.

    File- Things worth knowing, or having on hand if you need them.

    Explore will still be a category, but it’ll be more reserved for things like databases and broader-scale things that you can really poke your head around in. If it takes more than a couple of mouse clicks or keyboard types to get through it, it’s Explorable.

    Read- Things interesting, fun, different, and worth your reading time on the Internet.

    Watch- This is still the same, full of fun and interesting things to watch on the Internet.

    Listen- Anything involving your ears and speakers- listen’s sort of self-explanatory, no?

    Play- The Internet’s for fun, too. Great games and applications to goof around with online.

    Lighter Side- Laughter’s just awesome.

    I’m also in the process of creating RSS feeds for each individual category. For instance, if all you want is posts about games, then you’ll be able to subscribe to the Play feed. Stay tuned!

    Sorry this isn’t much content, but I think it’s important to keep you updated on what’s going on behind the scenes. I won’t lie, computer programming and coding is not my thing, but I’m doing my best.

    New stuff begins tomorrow, and feedback is, as always, absolutely critical.

    Posted in Features, What's New Here | Tagged Links | Leave a reply
  • Run Different Routes to Keep Running Interesting

    Posted on July 28, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Explore

    Okay, a disclaimer: I find running horribly boring. Growing up playing soccer, running was always a punishment, so I never got into it. There are, however, a huge number of people who do love to run, and as I try and do it more, I’m becoming a bit of a convert. Any tips you have to make running more enjoyable, though, please let me know.

    For those who do love to run, there’s a great site out there called run.com, here. The site, along with its sister site “Run the Planet,” here, has a bunch of great features, but I want to highlight one in particular: the “Running Routes” section, here.

    http://www.run.com/city.asp?dest=Stamford+CT

    There’s a list by country, state, and then city, of a great number of running routes mapped out by visitors to run.com. The United States has the most, but there are options all over the world. If you’re looking for somewhere near you to run (I found a great route no more than a mile from my house), this is a great resource. Running bores me sometimes, and It’s nice to know different places to run.

    Uploading your own route is easy, too, using a Google Maps-like interface to map out your run, name it, and explain it.

    If you’re looking for a great new place to run, or simply a way to get totally lost near your home or office, this site, and community of die-hard runners, is extremely useful.

    Posted in Apps, Features | Tagged Exercise, Explore, Web | Leave a reply
  • Journalistic Karma at Its Finest

    Posted on July 25, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Lighter Side

    There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly journalistic competition, and calling each other out on their mistakes. Only thing is, though, is you can’t be the one making the mistake, trying to call out their mistakes.

    The New York Times’ Freakonomics blog (here) wrote a recent post about a spelling mistake that the Economist (here) made in an article, here.

    “They meant to write “pastries” but, considering that miners work really hard, they might also be hoping to encounter the kind of people who go shopping for pasties.”

    Unfortunately for him, his correction wasn’t entirely correct, as he was brutally reminded very quickly, in the comments of his post (read them below the Freakonomics article.) Fun fact: pasties is in fact a word, and the Economist knew that, as did apparently everyone but the Freakonomics blog. They are this delicious treat:


    The Economist, never one to miss the chance to chide a fellow journalist, took full advantage of the opportunity. Here is their response. (via Metafilter.)

    Moral of the story: don’t make fun of people, unless you’re actually right.

    Have a good weekend!

    Posted in Features, Linklog, Links | Tagged Economist, Lighterside, New York Times | Leave a reply
  • Make The Commute Go a Little Faster

    Posted on July 25, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Listen

    Whether you’re driving to work, walking to class, or just sitting listlessly around the house, we’ve all got random in-between time throughout the day.

    To make that time a little more productive, Steve Spalding over at “How to Split an Atom” has compiled a list of “14 Podcasts To Help You Through Your Commute.” It’s a list of podcasts on a number of topics, some of the best ones out there, to listen to when you have a few minutes to spare.

    The list is here, and is very worth checking out. Some of them are more niche products than others- not everyone’s going to be into “Video Games Outsiders,” unless you happen to be a 14-year old couch sitter playing Halo. Which is cool.

    My favorites? “The American Life,” “The Economist,” and “The Ricky Gervais Show.” My additions? CNN’s Hourly Update, here and the New York Times Front Page, here- both are also available on iTunes. Both of those are short, informative, and interesting.

    If you’ve got some time to kill and a music player, this list is a great resource to give your in-between time some extra spice.

    Posted in Apps, Features | Tagged Downloads, iPod, Listen, Podcasts | Leave a reply
  • The Things I Can't Live Without, Part 7

    Posted on July 24, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    VLC Media Player

    One of the things I use my computer for, most often, is playing movies. I love TV shows, movies, all kinds of good stuff. I have various sources of downloading them, some more legal than others…

    Anyway, the thing about these videos is they’re often different formats, different codecs, etc. Thankfully, I found a one-stop solution for watching them.

    It’s called VLC Media Player, and it will play any media format you can throw at it. Music, videos- you name it, VLC plays it. No more converting and losing quality, or searching everywhere for a certain format so you can play it.

    If you do need to convert files, VLC does it well, whether it’s converting streaming video to your hard drive, or from flash videos to wmv (here). You can rip DVDs, learn how here. It’ll convert just about anything, just Google the file types and vlc.

    The converting and ripping steps are a bit complicated, but the playing ability alone makes VLC an absolute must-have for anyone wanting to watch video on your computer. It’s light-weight, free, fast, and the most versatile program out there. Download it here.

    Posted in Apps, Features | Tagged Downloads, Movies, Things I Can't Live Without, Videos, VLC | Leave a reply
  • He Kissed a Girl- And He Liked It

    Posted on July 24, 2008 by David Pierce David Pierce | NO COMMENTS

    Watch

    Katy Perry found a monster hit recently with her song “I Kissed a Girl.” It’s been everywhere- you’d have to have worked pretty hard to not have heard it.

    I don’t really like the song, to be honest- Katy Perry’s voice doesn’t do it for me.

    I have a much more favorable opinion of the song, however, now that an unknown guy named Max Vernon has covered it. His doo/wop, cool-piano-line version of the song is pretty darn good, and has a funny, tongue-in-cheek music video to go along with it.


    The song is getting some buzz, with everyone from the Music Slut to New York Magazine talking about it. If you haven’t heard it yet, or just want to hear it again, here it is.

    If you like Max, check out his MySpace page here. He has some other music, which isn’t bad, and he’s likely to get a lot more attention with this cover making the rounds like it is.

    Posted in Features, Linklog, Links | Tagged Bands, Covers, Max Vernon, Music, Videos, Watch | Leave a reply
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