Archive for May, 2010
Save Your Bookmarks As Browser Homepage Thumbnails & Access Anywhere With SiteHoover
A startpage is the thumbnails view of our favorite bookmarks. It helps us find bookmarks easily. Opera was the first browser that provided a startpage feature; now in addition to browsers supporting it, there are entire websites dedicated to the idea.
Online startpages have the advantage of accessibility. A browser created startpage is only accessible from a specific computer whereas an online startpage can be accessed from anywhere. Having reviewed many startpage websites, I have observed that many of them are somewhat the same. Sitehoover, however, is one truly unique startpage website.
Sitehoover is a website that provides its startpage feature to users for free. It creates small bookmark containers which it calls “hoovers.” On the homepage we enter the name of our hoover and click on the button reading “start a hoover.” We are prompted to sign up for an account which is a very short process.
With our account and hoover set up, we are ready to add new shortcuts to our newly created hoover. The hoover contains a gray field titled “click to add a page.”
Clicking it pops up a window asking us for the URL of our bookmark.
After we enter our bookmark’s URL, its thumbnail shortcut is shown on our hoover. We can add as many shortcuts as we like; their thumbnails are dynamically updated.
In the top right we can view a list of folders which is initially empty. New folders can be created and our bookmarks can be placed within them. Note that bookmarks in our created folders do not appear on the hoover main page. We access them by clicking the folders themselves. Like in the case of bookmarks, there is no limit to the number of folder we add.
Regardless of the web browser we use, we can set our hoover as our homepage and it will be appear each time we open our browser thus acting as a startpage.
For its list of unique features and ease of use, Sitehoover is an option that should be explored by anybody looking for a new / better startpage service. Click here to visit the site.
Take A Chance To Win Free Accounts With $30 Credit From DepositPhotos
DepositPhotos is running a contest, where winners will get 15 accounts with free credits (worth $30 each). Well, you guys know what DepositPhotos is. Lets say it once again for n00bs.
DepositPhotos.com is one of the best resource for buying and selling Royalty-free photographs and vector images. Their vast library of imagestock coupled with wide variety of flexible purchase options makes them most convenient and profitable tool for designers, artists and photographers.
Whether you’re a designer looking to buy images for a project or a photographer selling your stock, They make working with DepositPhotos.com as easy as possible. Their low, low pricing and flexible purchase plans make it easy to buy exactly what you need instead of just what you can afford, and their generous commission structures give their contributors enormous earning potential.
Looking for images containing food, beverages or tableware? That’s easy – just start in the “Food & Drink” category. Need an image related to an office environment, work or careers? Visit our “Business & Finance” Category. Maybe you’re looking for an image of a ring, necklace or bracelet. Then, start your search in the “Jewelry & Gems” category. With more than three dozen categories to choose from, you’ll never have trouble finding the perfect image, no matter what you’re looking for!
This contest will run from May 05, 2010 to May 12, 2010 and we will select the winners randomly by running MySQL query. Result can be announced any day before May 15, 2010 so keep visiting here or subscribe to our rss feed to get the latest updates. To participate in the contest and win DepositPhotos account, All you have to do is just tweet this :
Take A Chance To Win Free Accounts With $30 Credit From DepositPhotos @SmashingApps – http://su.pr/22OXz6
1. After you retweet, just leave a comment with your retweet link.
2. Use valid email ID in the email box.
3. Not necessary, but you can subscribe to our rss feed and follow us on twitter and do not forget to become our fan on facebook as well. (To track this contest and for future updates)
4. And thats it!
So what are you waiting for now? Let’s participate in the contest and good luck!
Open Chrome Windows Into A Singular Chrome Window With JoinTabs
Tabbed browsing allows us to save a lot of space in the Taskbar. Each new browser window takes up space in the Taskbar. Tabbed browsing makes sure only one browser window is open; this occupies the least space on the Taskbar. We can then open as many webpages we want in this single window using tabs.
However sometimes when we click a link in some other program or even within our open browser window, it opens in a new browser window, rendering tabbed browsing useless. We need a way to merge all tabs being used into one browser window rather than spreading them out into multiple windows.
To help users with this issue, JoinTabs was created.
JoinTabs is a browser extension for Google Chrome which serves a beautiful purpose: it merges the tabs of all open Chrome windows into a singular Chrome window. The window we click the icon in is where all other window’s tabs are imported.
The usage of the extension is very simple. After its installation a new icon is placed in Chrome’s address bar. This icon, when clicked, merges the all open tabs in all Chrome windows into one Chrome window.
(*Note: the keyboard hotkey for the tab porting feature is CTRL+m.)
JoinTabs works with Pinned Tabs as well. If we have pinned any tabs in other Chrome windows, they are still transported to our current Chrome window (the one we click the icon in).
JoinTabs is a very useful extension for any Chrome user to have.
Techi.com – Fresh & Never Boring Tech Updates
With so many blogs around in the blogosphere, it becomes really difficult to get the right taste of news you want to read daily. If you love reading about computers, technology and geek stuff, you will find a lot of blogs which claim to serve interesting content and provide the information you are looking for.
Let’s face it – not all blogs are fun to read because they focus on “what brings business” and not on what the reader actually wants to read. Techi.com is a technology blog, but with a different genre – you will love reading the posts without getting bored.
What Techi.com is all about
Techi.com is a blog that serves fresh technology news, funky new design stuff, in-depth editorial articles, and reviews. Not the kind of stuff that makes it to the newspapers, but just the kind of stuff that millions of people love to read every day. It started as a technology blog where you will now find everything – from gadgets to software reviews, from designing tips to Technology news, from Google to gaming and so on.
The interesting thing about Techi is that the writers are not corporate sell outs, they don’t write about the usual boring stuff to attract business and prospects. Rather they focus on building a community around their blog by making the content interesting. The posts are written in a very friendly tone and they don’t appear sarcastic any way.
The Interface of Techi
Techi has a very clean and clear interface; you won’t find junk stuff lying here and there in the design. The fonts are bigger, the colours make it easy to read and they have a very sober layout. If you are a regular reader of Techi, you are already aware of the site’s look and feel, if this is the first time you are going to visit Techi – you will see something like the following:
The home page of Techi.com contains the latest posts published in reverse chronological order, the latest post being displayed at the top. You can use the paginated buttons to dig deeper and see the archive for posts written on an earlier date.
The Topics Covered
Techi.com mainly focuses on technology news and editorials, the main topics include the following:
- Apple
- Design
- Gadgets
- Gaming
- Hardware
- Lifestyle
- Microsoft
- Mobile
- Robotics
- Software
- Technology
I like the idea of lesser categories because the lesser the categories are, the more focussed is the content. You don’t see random posts coming out every now and then, they have a balanced posting frequency and you can expect the latest tech news arriving with the morning coffee in your hand. Here is how the category section looks:
The widget is actually very interesting, you click a topic icon and can see what are the latest posts on that topic. The widget slides the categories panel to the left and shows the latest posts from the selected category, without reloading the page. Neat!
Lesser categories don’t mean they leave the important ones – you will find gadget reviews, news about Apple, what’s happening on Facebook and so on. The site also includes mobile reviews so you can check the mobile reviews section before deciding to buy the latest handset.
You can also use the scrolling tag cloud to dig deeper into a particular topic. Tags help you to find content easily, and the tag cloud implemented in their site is absolutely brilliant. It works simple – you hover the mouse over an alphabet and the corresponding tags are shown, pick a tag, click it and read the posts.
Besides the tags and categories, you can also read the editorial topics here or try some videos in the Techi.com video section. They also offer a separate RSS feed for the video podcasts here, hence it’s easy to see all the videos and screencasts at one place.
The Most Popular Posts at Techi
Techi has a “Popular posts” section included in the sidebar, which looks like the following
The section includes a list of posts that are currently popular among the site’s readers and visitors; you can click the link to read an article. Some of the currently popular articles which are worth a read include Unboxing the iPad 3G, Some Fascinating Twitter stats and Expo 2010 Shanghai report.
Besides the popular posts, if you want to have a sneak peek at the current trends and read some cool stuff, head over to the home page and have a look at the “Cool Tech“ Section. The “Cool Tech” Section looks like the following and includes productivity tips on geekery and lifehacking.
Audience Profile
Although the site has a global audience, the maximum visitors come from United States, Canada, United Kingdom and other European countries. This includes Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. The site is also a trusted source of news in Middle Eastern countries and Asian sub continent because visitors from India, China and Saudi Arabia like to read the published reviews and blog posts.
Here are the Alexa traffic details for techi.com:
Subscription options
If you want to read the content of Techi.com on a daily basis, I suggest you to subscribe to the site. Basic subscriptions options are available which includes – subscribing to the RSS feed so that you can read the blog posts in an RSS reader like Bloglines, Google reader , News gator. But if you prefer to read the articles in your email inbox, you can opt in for the email newsletter instead.
Connect with Techi.com on Social Sites
Techi.com have an active social media presence and you can follow the site’s Facebook fan page. Make sure you also follow Techi on Twitter and Google buzz to get the latest updates as they happen.
Advertising Options
If you are an Advertiser and want to advertise about your product in Techi.com, just send an email at advertising@techi.com. The site is read by bloggers, geeks, tech enthusiasts and has a very targeted audience. Techi.com has a couple of advertising spots available and you will always get a good return of your investment.
Dropbox On iPad Now Gives You Full Advantage Of All The Features
One of the most popular file hosting solutions is Dropbox that offers free and paid packages to its users. The free plan gives users a 2GB storage space which can host any of their files. Many Dropbox users use their accounts to store the pictures and videos they shoot from their smartphones. The procedure involves first transferring the data from the phone to their computer, and then to Dropbox.
But thanks to Dropbox for iPhone, that lengthy procedure is no longer necessary.
Dropbox for iPhone is a free application available at the App Store. The OS requirement is 3.1 or later. Previously the application supported only iPod Touch and iPhone but the most recent release adds support for the iPad.
The purpose of the application is quite simple: it aims to make transferring data from the Apple device to Dropbox a lot easier.
The above image is of the Dropbox application being used on an iPhone. As you can see, one’s Dropbox files are easily accessible using the internet connection of the iPhone. Once users enter Dropbox, they can perform any feature Dropbox normally allows them to perform (such as downloading files from their Dropbox account).
Photos and videos can be seen in a thumbnail view for easy viewing.
Downloading pictures / videos and watching them on our iPad will surely be a more fun experience for users.
Furthermore as soon as we shoot a picture or video through our Apple device, we can access the Dropbox application to send it to our Dropbox account.
Here is an image of a photo being viewed on the iPad through Dropbox.
Dropbox is sized at 5.7MB only and available for free from the App Store. Click here to get it.
microWorkers: A Quick Way To Earn Money By Doing Easy Micro Jobs
Some of us have schedules that give us small breaks in our day. These breaks are usually spent doing pointless activities, just to pass our time. What if there was a way to earn money in the same free time, without investing any extra minutes? Converting our free and wasted time into something productive is something which surely everybody would want to do.
For all such people, microWorkers is a wonderful website.
microWorkers is a free to use website that lists small jobs. By ‘small’ I mean jobs that require a small amount of time and have only a small amount of money associated with them.
In order to start using microWorkers, visitors are required to create a free account and click on the activation link they are emailed. Only one account per user is allowed and anybody creating multiple accounts is banned.
After creating your account, head on over to the “Available Jobs” section to quickly find out the type of jobs people have posted.
You will find that most of the available jobs can be done on the internet during our free time and will take no longer than 15 minutes.
Once a job has been completed and the employer has marked it so on his/her microWorkers account, the site credits the payment to your account. The mode of payment is PayPal, Check, Moneybookers, etc. Note that processing the payment amount of the job can take up to 30 business days.
microWorkers, in conclusion, is a great way to make a somewhat substantial earning and transforming our wasted time into something useful. Click here to visit the site and start making money in your free time.
Paypal For iPhone And Other Smartphones, The Fastest Way To Manage Your Money
Now you can use PayPal mobile money application on your iPhone, it is the fastest way to send money with your iPhone to friends and family anytime, anywhere. PayPal mobile money is more easier than going to the ATM to withdraw cash, writing cheques, collect money for a group gift, repay a friend and sending gifts the traditional way. Security, protection and confidentiality is as same as you get from PayPal. Users can manage their PayPal account, check balances, request money and more from their iPhones.
New “Bump” feature passes contacts when iPhones touch. It is a fun way to start the money transfer. Using Bump you can transfer data between iPhones by simply bumping them together, the Bump Phones feature is already a big hit with users. Plus, the tip calculator is a handy feature for anyone who eats out daily. Using PayPal at your mobile device you can shop faster and you can bid, and pay for eBay items while on the go. Get this app from here and if you do not have a PayPal account then signup here at PayPal.com.
Version 2.0.31 contains great feature written below
1. The Brand new look and feel!
2. Bump: Easily start by bumping iPhones.
3. Withdraw funds from your PayPal balance.
4. Request Money: Get paid faster, it’s the easy way to ask for the money you are owed.
5. Split the Check: Instantly split the bill, calculate tip, and request everyone’s share.
6. Collect Money: Ask for contributions from a group for an event, gift, or cause.
7. Set Reminders: Never miss rent or a bill.
8. Refer the app to a friend.
Get Quick And Easy Access To Your Favorite Bookmarks With Iconized
Modern web browsers for desktops and laptops often have a bookmarks bar where we can place shortcuts to our favorite websites. The point is to have these bookmarks always accessible and not need to click any extra links or buttons to get to them.
Since the space on the bookmarks bar is limited, we need to be careful about which websites we add on it. If we add too many websites, our shortcuts on the bar become scrollable and in addition to clicking an extra button to reach our shortcut, it becomes more difficult to find our desired bookmark.
A quick fix for this problem comes in Iconized Bookmarks Popup.
Iconized Bookmarks Popup is a browser extension for Google Chrome users. When installed it places a new icon in our Chrome address bar.
When we add a new entry to our bookmarks bar, its title accompanies it. Thus we have the bookmark’s favicon as well as it title. The title usually is quite redundant since we can recognize our sites through their favicons (their icons). This is something that Iconized Bookmarks Popup makes use of.
Take a look at my Chrome’s bookmarks bar:
I have already deleted the titles of most entries in my bookmarks bar. If I had discovered this extension earlier, I would have left the titles as they were, and simply use the extension’s address bar icon. Clicking this icon pops up a window that shows only the favicons of our bookmarks.
To open the bookmark in the current tab, we left click on it; to open it in a new tab, we middle click on it.
The extension also provides a nifty feature which can be accessed by right clicking its icon and accessing its options.
The extension provides us with an option to delete the titles of all entries in our bookmarks bar, to save space.
Restoring the titles however, is something the extension does not support. To restore titles users will either need to manually rename their bookmarks bar shortcuts or use import them from a saved bookmarks file.
In conclusion, Iconized Bookmarks Popup is a tiny but quite a useful extension which Chrome users will definitely find helpful. Click here to get the extension.
Stuck With Some Windows Error? Microsoft One Click Fix It Tool Can Detect & Repair
Windows computer users come across new situations often. Amateur computer users are completely baffled when a problem occurs; at times certain computer problems even leave the most experience computer user clueless. Calling technical support for our computers is not always helpful especially because the technician cannot see actually what our computer problem is.
Microsoft has finally recognized this extremely problematic issue and created a solution for it. The solution has been appropriately titled “Fix It.”
Fix It is a freeware solution by Microsoft that installs into your computer. It acts as an automatic troubleshooter that contains solutions to numerous problems commonly experience by Windows Vista and Windows 7 users. The list of supported operating systems includes Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server (2003 + 2008).
The installer we download is sized at 450KB which proceed with the remaining download. When our main download file has been obtained, the installation of Fix It asks us to specify the troubleshooters we would like installed.
Each entry contains a checkbox and an arrow in front of it. The arrow presents a description of that current troubleshooter. The best decision would be to select all troubleshooters and click on the Next button.
While the program’s installation proceeds we are asked if we would like to join the Microsoft Fix It Center Online.
Creating a free account there is advisable and can be a great help in case Fix It fails to successfully solves our Windows issue. An online account can be created using our Windows Live ID.
Whether you create an online account or not, you will still be able to use Fix It once the installation completes. Upon running the application for the first time you will be greeted with an introductory message.
The main Fix It window will list of problems.
Suppose your Windows Vista Aero features are broken and not performing as they are supposed to. Simply click on the RUN button in front of the appropriate troubleshooter.
The troubleshooter asks to automatically detect and fix the problem or automatically detect the problem but leave the decision of fixes to you.
Either way, our problem is automatically detected.
In case a problem exists, this troubleshooter finds it and either automatically fixes it or provides us with an option to fix it.
Microsoft Fix It is a great freeware release which will serve amateur and professional computer users alike. Get the application by clicking here.
Thank You Our Valued Sponsors For Being With Us In The Month Of April
This is a post in which we want to say a big Thank You to the SmashingApps’ fastest growing community for regularly visiting our blog. Do you want to be the first one to know the latest happenings at SmashingApps.com just subscribe to our rss feed and be the one of 600k+ subscribers. But how can we forget to say a Great Thanks to our valued sponsors who helped us to make this blog possible in reach of everyone in the month of April, 2010 as well.
Do you want to get noticed? Advertise with us and feel the difference!
Smashing Apps always welcome new sponsors for our large and diversified visitor base from more than 188 countries. They are designers, developers, internet marketers, bloggers, IT entrepreneurs, etc. You will get noticed by the thousands of visitors every day. Moreover, a monthly recognition post to thank you as our valued sponsors. Are you really interested? Click here to contact us or see advertisement section for more information on advertising details.
Our valued sponsors were:
AN Hosting hosts more blogs than anyone else, hosting tens of thousands of independent blogs. With plenty of disk space, huge data transfer and the ability to host 20 sites on one account. You will get relax with them. We are thankful to them for hosting our website and to make us free of tension.
Wix.com is a Flash website builder, built to create a simple way for everybody to build and design Flash website. Create a free website like whether it’s business or personal, music or art. Wix’s Flash website builder is simple to use with a “drag and drop” builder and is the complete solution to publish & promote your Flash website like a pro.
Newtek Web Hosting is an industry leading provider of hosting and business solutions, servicing developers, resellers, and business owners around the globe.
FireHost Advanced Web Security protects companies of all sizes with levels of security not found in 99% of hosting companies. We take security seriously and specialize in protecting online retailers, healthcare organizations, and high-traffic websites with mission critical applications, data and information assets.
UPrinting.com is a leading online printing company that provides high quality printing at the most affordable prices.
ThemeForest is a website from where you can buy and sell site templates and themes to skin popular CMS products like WordPress Drupal and Joomla. Files are priced from just five dollars, based on the complexity, quality and use of the file. Anyone is free to signup for an account and begin trading or purchasing files.
Formstack provides organizations with an easy way to build web forms that integrate with their websites without any programming, software, or special skills. Once you have started collecting data with Formstack, you can manage and edit the information online in our database, share data with others in your organization, and even use our API for greater control of the data and integration with your internal database.
FreshBooks is an online invoicing and time tracking service that saves you time and makes you look professional.
Premier Survey is the users’ choice for free online survey management. This system, a powerful self-service application developed on the concept of Software As A Service (SAAS) is designed to minimize cost and maximize ease of use.
We are also thankful to those advertisers who purchased favicon ads.
Do you want us to say Thank You in this special way? So help us to help you!
You will just need to take a look at our advertisement section on how you can start advertising at SmashingApps to grow and spread more or contact us for more information and details related to
- direct marketing
- sponsored giveaways and contest for Smashing Apps readers
- releasing a free font, a WordPress-theme, some wallpapers, an icon-set or anything else
