class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/tea.jpg" alt="internet etiquette" />Over the years, I’ve learned that the Internet has its own sets of rules and etiquette much like any other culture. Granted, I have also learned something else about the Internet – it’s very title="7 Things You Should Be Posting On Facebook [Opinion]" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-posting-facebook/">cynical in nature.

Here are six things I’ve learned about the Internet, and granted, I used href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/reddit">Reddit for my image sources. However, this could likely apply to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/youtube">YouTube and even href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/facebook">Facebook. By the way, don’t take these items as if I support them. In fact, I think they might need to be changed.

Everything Needs A Source

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For some reason, our society is obsessed with finding sources for each every bit of information they find on the Internet. If someone says on a forum, “Well, bluh bluh bluh statistic statistic something,” another person is bound to chime in, asking for the source of their information. That’s fine and all, but part of me wonders if it’s even necessary.

If you want to know if a fact is true or not, why not href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/google">Google it? Besides, it’s much more impressive if you bring a fact to the table rather than make someone prove a fact.

It’s Not Okay To Be Hurt

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The Internet is a cruel place, and there’s quite a bit of reason to be hurt or take offense to something. I’m not saying that being offended is reason for anybody to change their ways, but I am saying that it’s okay to be offended by something (however, the Internet seems to believe otherwise). Just do yourself a favor and don’t expect anyone to do anything just because you’re offended about something.

When someone makes it sound like the fact that you took offense to something (after you’ve made your argument) is embarrassing and shameful, don’t worry about it. Just state your opinion (if you want), and realize that it’s okay to have taken offense.

Even If You’re Wrong, Say You’re Right

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On the Internet, there is no such thing as being wrong. Even if you say that the sky is green and two plus two is five, you’re always going to be right. It’s a little bit of a magical concept, but how does it work? Well. Simply, if you say that you’re right, then you’re right. This is due to the fact that there are people out there who believe they always have to win any argument.

So what if the other commenter actually had a credible and logical statement? On the Internet, anything can happen, kids! But seriously, it’s okay to accept the fact that you’re wrong about something. Don’t let your ego get in the way.

Telling People To Kill Themselves Is Reasonable

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Killing.png" alt="what is internet etiquette" width="580" height="239" />

title="3 Types Of Reddit Commenters That Drive Me Nuts" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-types-reddit-commenters-drive-nuts/">Commenters on the net are harsh. I’ve seen dozens of people casually tell off others by saying stuff along the lines of “Go die” or “Why don’t you just kill yourself?” People, think about this for just a moment. Say – and this is just a possibility – that the person you just told to commit suicide actually is suicidal and has depression. There’s a high chance that you could actually trigger something, and that’s not right.

What if the fact that he started an Internet argument with you was just a way for him to let off some steam? Some people actually do use the Internet for some kind of stress relief, but is the fact that he started arguing okay? No, but the fact you told him to commit suicide isn’t either. It’s a little different when you’re dealing with actual lives.

The Best Comebacks Come In The Form Of Acronyms

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Apparently, and this is just based on my interpretation of the Internet, the best way to to come back at someone on the Internet is by simply stating “GTFO” or “STFU”. I’m not entirely sure what those acronyms mean, but I believe they are something along the lines of “Go taste five onions” or “Stop teaching Freddy unicycling”.

People, these are canned responses. It’s like an href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-effective-ways-deal-arrogant-internet-trolls/">Insta-Insult, and they are getting old. Despite the fact that I’m a fan of something called “intelligent conversation”, if you feel the need to hurl harsh words at someone, come up with something a little more creative. Maybe you could talk smack about their car or dog or something.

Never Claim You Have A Girlfriend

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Apparently, it’s totally okay to disrespect women-folk on the Internet. See a girl on the Internet? Go ahead! Ask for the dirty pictures. Does this guy have a girlfriend? See if he’s willing to share a little something. With that being said, you might not want to tell anyone that you have a girlfriend…

Honestly, I believe we should show respect to women here on the net. Don’t automatically assume that just because a girl is on the Internet that she’s available to do your bidding. Granted, I’m still a little partial to the occasional kitchen or sandwich joke, but that’s only if everybody involved finds it humorous.

Conclusion

Basically, I’m just saying we might want to stop the cynicism – rethink what you’re saying on any portion of the Internet. Realize that there is an actual person on the other side of the screen. Does that change anything at all?

What other things have you learned about Internet “etiquette”? Do you agree or disagree with any of the ones shown here?

Image Credit: href="http://morguefile.com/archive/display/20383" rel="nofollow">Digitallatina

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/androidtabletsecurity1.jpg" alt="" />As tablets become more popular, they’re serving as stand-ins for computers for some users. Although most people still own a PC, tablets are particularly nice for web browsing and online video, making them common couch-side companions.

This, however, could introduce some issues. If tablets are being used like computers, they could be exposed to the same threats. Which begs the question – how can you secure your Android tablet?

Permissions – Like The Phones

The entry to understanding Android on any device is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/control-permissions-applications-permissions-denied-android/">permissions, and in this respect Android tablets work much like the phones. Heck, this same system isn’t even Android exclusive – Google has already adapted the same idea to Chrome extensions and web apps.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/androidtablet4.png" alt="" width="560" height="233" />

Permissions are very simple. Before you download an app, you are given a list of permissions that app requests of your device. These are not optional – if you download the app, you are agreeing to the permissions. Once permission is given, it can’t be revoked unless you uninstall the app.

You therefore need to be very careful about what you download. Reading permissions can seem annoying – but do it anyway. An app that is malicious can easily get up to mischief without you knowing, and while such instances in the real world remain limited, they do exist.

Downloading An Antivirus App Is A Good Idea

As I point out in virtually every Android security article, antivirus apps for the platform remain a bit of an open question. Comprehensive, objective tests of their ability to defend again threats remain rare.

However, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/avcomparatives-reviews-android-security-apps-finds-flaws-news/">a recent A/V Comparatives study did show that most security apps were able to protect against a test selection of malware threats, and the study goes so far as to recommend that all Android users install antivirus software.

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Which one should you download? I’m a fan of  href="http://usa.kaspersky.com/products-services/home-computer-security/tablet-security">Kaspersky’s Tablet Security, and recommend it as a first choice, but does require a pricey $20/year subscription. That may seem like a lot, and if you want free, href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout&feature=search_result">Lookout Mobile Security can work well – but keep in mind that the app’s $2.99/month premium option totals to almost $36/year.

Treat It Like A Laptop

When it comes to network security, tablets are much like laptops. They almost always connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi, and are subject to all the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/combat-wifi-security-risks-connecting-public-network/">security risks that results from that. Fortunately, your Android tablet supports secured wireless connections, and that’s a feature you should always use whenever possible. The issue which is of concern is the chance that a hacker will be able to obtain your browsing data if you use an unsecure connection, and it applies to tablets just as with laptops.

One useful feature is Android’s built-in VPN support, which you’ll find in your tablet’s settings. Just enter the VPN address and your username/password for it, and you’re off! You can use this with many href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-completely-free-vpn-services-protect-privacy/">VPN services to provide yourself with secure browsing over unsecured networks.

Use Honeycomb’s Encryption

Android has not been particularly popular with enterprise users because of a general lack of focus on enterprise security, but there has been some inroads made in that direction, one of which is the encryption feature on Honeycomb tablets.

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The feature is found in the Location & Security section of Honeycomb’s settings, and can encrypt the contents of your tablet’s memory. Doing this does not make it unhackable, nor does it mean that someone couldn’t intercept your Wi-Fi transmissions, but it does means it will be difficult for anyone to steal your data if the tablet is lost or stolen.

If you do encrypt your tablet, remember that you also won’t be able to access the tablet’s data if you are locked out of your tablet. Backing up important files is, as always, a good idea.

Conclusion

Security for tablets is far from mature, just as the threats that may exploit a tablet are far from mature. There is some degree of security via obscurity available as of now, as many website exploits and viruses simply won’t work against tablets. That’s not going to last forever though. Security threats will become more and more common as the devices themselves become more and more popular. This process will take many years, but hey – it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a head start.

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Do you love Firefox? Do you want a free MakeUseOf T-shirt?

Put your Firefox passion to use, and help out MakeUseOf, by recommending the best Firefox extensions. An upcoming addition to our href="www.makeuseof.com/pages/the-best-of">Best Of series of pages, the best of Firefox page will be your one-stop shop for the very best extensions for the world’s premier open source browser.

But we need your help to build this list. All you need to do is leave a comment below, pointing out your favorite extensions and the reasons you love them. Make sure these apps are not in the list below, which our staff compiled. The five commenters we deem most helpful will win a free href="http://splitreason.com/makeuseof">MakeUseOf T-shirt! It’s our way of saying thanks.

What are you waiting for? Check out this list and leave your suggestions below!

Communication

• Your apps here!

Custom Web

• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/greasemonkey/">GreaseMonkey
• href="http://adblockplus.org/en/">AdBlock Plus
• href="http://noscript.net/">NoScript
• href="http://mattconstantine.com/mg">Minimalist Gmail

Downloading

• href="http://www.downthemall.net/">DownThemAll
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/download-statusbar/">Download Statusbar
• href="http://www.downloadhelper.net/">DownloadHelper
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/easy-youtube-video-downl-10137/">Easy YouTube Video Downloader

News and RSS

• href="http://www.feedly.com/">Feedly

Organization

• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/sitelauncher/">Site Launcher

Shopping

• href="http://www.getinvisiblehand.com/">Invisible Hand

Social

• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/stumbleupon/">StumbleUpon
• href="http://www.shareaholic.com/tools/firefox/">Shareaholic
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/firestatus/">Firestatus
• href="http://build.last.fm/item/141">LastFM
• href="http://www.echofon.com/twitter/firefox">Echofon

Sync

• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/xmarks-sync/">X-Marks

Utilities

• href="http://www.zotero.org/">Zotero
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/tabgroups-manager/">TabGroups Manager
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/resurrect-pages/">Resurrect Pages
• href="http://www.wordtracker.com/academy/firefox-addon-seo-blogger">SEO Blogger
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/fast-dial-5721/">Fast Dial
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/gtranslate/">gTranslate
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/tineye-reverse-image-search/">TinEye Reverse Image Search
• href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/diigo-web-highlighter-and-stic/">Diigo

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/needed-firefox-extensions/">[HELP NEEDED] Tell Us About The Best Firefox Extensions! is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/twitter-reputation-management2.jpg" alt="twitter search tricks" />If you own a website or are just trying to earn money online as a freelancer, it is always good to know what people are saying about you over the Internet. People may be citing you, sharing experiences about your services or recommending you. In any case, you may want to be there to answer any questions, make contacts, and so on.

One of the best tools to listen to online conversations is Twitter and here are a few actionable suggestions.

How Do You Create Twitter Feeds?

First, let’s make sure we know how to monitor Twitter search results using your favorite RSS reader. Each time you search, you create the feed link (you can see it in the right-hand column):

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-07.jpg" alt="twitter search tricks" width="550" height="242" />

Here are a few useful tips we have previously covered on having fun with RSS feeds, which you are likely to find useful for using the search tricks listed in this article:

• href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/rss-feeds-work-simple-terms-technology-explained/">How RSS feeds work in simple terms
• href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-free-rss-readers-ipad/">Best free RSS readers for the iPad
• href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/edit-existing-rss-feeds-yahoo-pipes/">How to mix and edit existing RSS feeds with Yahoo! Pipes
• href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/manage-unread-rss-feeds-tips/">Two easy tips to manage your unread RSS feeds better
• href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/blogtrottr-gmail-idevices-mail-app-read-rss-feeds-offline/">How to read RSS feeds on your iPad even when you’re offline

And now the actual tips on creating useful RSS feeds to track you and your business mentions on Twitter!

1. Reduce Any Clutter: Filter Out Retweets

While retweeting is great for expanding the reach of the update, retweets are actually one and the same message repeated again and again. Seeing multiple retweeted messages in your personal reputation management feed may result in one important update getting lost in the clutter.

Luckily Twitter search supports the – operator that lets you filter out all the updates containing a specific word from the search results:

["You (brand) name" -rt]

Example

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-01.jpg" alt="twitter search" width="550" height="311" />

2. Monitor Only Real Opinions: Filter Out Links

Let’s face it: most Twitter updates are aimed to share a link. If you blog a lot, your name (or moniker) is mostly mentioned on Twitter next to the post you have written. But do you want to only monitor “real” conversations?

Here’s a good way: Twitter supports the filter:links operator that searches only for tweets containing links. If we use the above mentioned trick, we’ll make it work vice versa excluding all linked updates from search results.

["You (brand) name" -filter:links]

Example

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-02.jpg" alt="twitter search" width="550" height="310" />

Similarly, you can also filter all updates referencing your Twitter username (you will be updated about these by Twitter itself via email or by your Twitter client):

[-from:username] – filters out all tweets coming from a user;

[-@username] – filters out all tweets referencing a user.

Example

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-03.jpg" alt="twitter search" width="550" height="175" />

3. Monitor Negative Mentions

This tip is especially useful for e-commerce site owners and geeky customer support managers. You can focus on negative mentions by including src='http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif' alt=':(' class='wp-smiley' /> in the results.

["You (brand) name" src='http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif' alt=':(' class='wp-smiley' /> ]

Example

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-04.jpg" alt="tweets about you" width="550" height="310" />

4. Monitor Questions Mentioning You Or Your Business

Another great tip for service owners: you can create a separate feed to monitor all questions about you or your business name.

["Your (brand) name" ?] – make sure to use a space before the question mark.

Example

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-05.jpg" alt="twitter search tricks" width="550" height="238" />

5. Include Your Name & Your Moniker(s) In Search Results

Lastly, here’s the easiest tip: you are most likely to be known by several names online: your name, username, site name, etc. You can include all these mentions in search results using OR operator:

["You business name" OR "Your name" OR "Your moniker]

Example

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/twitter-reputation-management-06.jpg" alt="Include all your brand mentions" width="550" height="391" />

Are you tracking your name mentions on Twitter! I hope I have inspired you to! Please let me know your thoughts!

href="http://flickr.com/photos/krossbow/4365875125/" rel="nofollow">cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by href="http://flickr.com/people/krossbow/" rel="nofollow">krossbow

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/5145997604_757ded8dde.png" alt="kindle web sites" />Seeing how Amazon is probably launching their new reader/tablet device in the next couple of months and recently produced their ingenious href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/amazon-cloud-reader-web-app-kindle-books/">Cloud Reader, the Kindle is a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/kindle-sony-reader-headtohead-comparison/">hot topic for a lot of people. Even after a multitude of other tablets have surfaced after its birth, the Kindle remains a great e-book reader gadget and of course, still packs a lot of potential for reading enthusiasts. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the number of blogs, services and tools dedicated to squeezing the most out of your Kindle, a bunch of which we will list up next.

First, for those that have recently acquired their new Kindle, a good starting point would be href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-download-completely-free-amazon-kindle-ebooks-to-your-pc/">this article on how to download e-books from Amazon to your PC (or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/reading-ebooks-ipad-ibooks-amazon-kindle-mac/">this href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-use-the-amazon-kindle-reader-for-the-iphone-ipod-touch/">one if you own a Mac).

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_021548.png" alt="kindle web sites" width="480" height="356" border="0" />

Next, you can browse href="http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2245146011">Amazon’s Free eBook collection, href="http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page">Project Gutenberg ( href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-6-sites-to-get-free-ebooks/">one of the ultimate public domain e-book libraries), href="http://www.archive.org/details.php?identifier=texts">the Internet Archive, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-5-websites-amazon-find-great-kindle-books/">the other sites where you can find great Kindle books in the Classics category, though you may occasionally find contemporary free works as well.

Public domain books are well and dandy but if you fancy some other types of books, including modern literature and works, the following are a few noteworthy websites that are serve up daily doses of free or very cheap e-books.

Sites With Free Or Heavily Discounted e-Books

I find that the following sites may offer you the same free e-books and offers occasionally, but sometimes they find different books available for free so it’d probably be wise to check all of them regularly.

href="http://amzn.to/FreeKindleBooks1">Amazon

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_101153.png" alt="kindle sites" width="580" height="450" border="0" />

The link above leads to the results of a specific Amazon keyword search; it skips samplers, paid books, public domain or classic works, etc. This link is a goodie gathered by the good people at Pixel of Ink, which we discuss up next.

href="http://www.pixelofink.com/">Pixel Of Ink

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Pixel of Ink is an extremely popular website that’s updated several times a day with free or cheap e-books. It’s probably one of the blogs you definitely want to keep an eye on since it’s a rich source of Kindle (and Nook!) steals and bargains. The website is easy to navigate on your computer as it allows you to browse books by genre and tag.

You can also href="http://www.pixelofink.com/subscribe/">subscribe to their daily email newsletter that lists the most recent free and bargain e-books, or check out their sister site, href="http://www.inspiredreads.com/">Inspired Reads that lists affordable Christian reads for the Kindle.

href="http://www.ereaderiq.com/">eReaderIQ

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_102604.png" alt="kindle sites" width="580" height="520" border="0" />

This site does a few more things than other e-book bargain hunting sites. It actually provides price drop email alerts, has a href="http://m.ereaderiq.com/">Kindle-optimized web site, lets you know when your favorite books will be available on the Kindle AND it offers international support, which should make a lot of our readers happy. Their Kindle book search function can take a lot of parameters so users that have specific search criteria will likely find the advanced book search very helpful.

href="http://blog.booksontheknob.org/">Books On The Knob

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_123415.png" alt="free kindle sites" width="580" height="378" border="0" />

This site has provided free/discounted e-book finds, occasional special offers, and deals for games and music on the Kindle (and to a lesser degree, Nook, Kobo and other readers ) on a daily basis since 2008.

There are many other blogs that update frequently with free e-books or great e-book deals -  href="http://thefrugalereader.com/">the Frugal eReader, href="http://freecheapreads.tumblr.com/">Free (& Cheap) Reads, href="http://randomizeme.wordpress.com/">RandomizeME,  href="http://www.kindleworld.blogspot.com/">Kindle World, href="http://kindlenationdaily.com/">Kindle Nation Daily, href="http://ilmk.wordpress.com/">I Love My Kindle, href="http://www.freeebookdeal.com/ebook">Free Ebook Deal, and  href="http://dailycheapreads.com/">Daily Cheap Reads. And since we’re on the topic of saving money on e-books, don’t forget you can compare e-book prices in the Kindle, Nook and iBook book stores with href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/leatherbound-ebook-price-comparisons-kindle-nook-ibookstore/">Leatherbound.me.

Ways To Send Long Articles To Your Kindle

If you’d like to see how you can read long-form articles from your favorite blogs on your Kindle, there are several options. You can use the feed aggregator service href="http://www.kindlefeeder.com/">KindleFeeder, which delivers 12 of your selected blogs in Kindle-friendly views straight to your device if you have the free, non-premium service.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_094133.png" alt="free kindle sites" width="420" height="553" border="0" />

You can also wirelessly get a selection of weekly articles hand-picked by href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-great-longform-articles-kindle-delivereads/">DeliveReads.

To send articles to read later from your computer to your Kindle, you can use the href="http://kindlebility.com/">Kindlebility bookmarklet to prepare and send yourself a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/kindlebility-websites-kindle-friendly/">Kindle-friendly view of an article, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/sendtoreader-web-pages-to-kindle/">SendToReader if you own at least a Wi-Fi Kindle 3 model, or the popular href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/calibre-read-instapaper-ebook-reader/">Instapaper and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-web-content-read-free-android-21/">Read It Later.

Lending Clubs

You can enable lending on your Kindle with the tips detailed in href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/loan-kindle-ebooks-amazon-members/">this post, but you’ll possibly encounter more book choices if you join a lending club, such as the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/borrow-kindle-ebooks-kindle-lending-club/">Kindle Lending Club or href="http://lendle.me/">Lendle.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_125815.png" alt="free kindle sites" width="577" height="333" border="0" />

href="http://www.thekindlechronicles.com/">Podcast: The Kindle Chronicles

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_104916.png" alt="2011-08-30_104916" width="580" height="407" border="0" />

This weekly podcast discusses all things Kindle: news, interviews (with, for instance, href="http://www.thekindlechronicles.com/2011/08/05/tkc-159-dave-limp/">the Kindle VP) tech tips, Amazon announcements, e-book deals, etc. A few interesting topics include how to publish your own e-books, and upcoming Amazon changes, like href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000702481#">the Kindle Textbook Rental program.

Tools

To-Do List: href="http://kindletodo.com/">KindleToDo

The Kindle was never meant to replace your smartphone or agenda, but if you need to quickly scribble down some notes or a few to-do’s, there’s a website that makes this simple.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_015013.png" alt="2011-08-30_015013" width="580" height="356" border="0" />

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/kindletodo-to-do-list-for-kindle/">KindleToDo is a minimalistic website aimed at Kindle users that want to either create a simple to-do list, note or glance at a monthly calendar. The site will automatically save and load your to-do list or note on your next visit.

Customizable Startpage: href="http://www.bookmonk.com/home/">BookMonk & href="http://kinstant.com/">Kinstant

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_092928.png" alt="2011-08-30_092928" width="332" height="587" border="0" />

As you can see in the screenshot, BookMonk allows you to create a simple startpage for your Kindle web browser from either your computer or on the Kindle itself. If you’re comfortable with the default links, you can navigate to the site from your Kindle and click on a Start Page link, which will prompt you to save the resulting text file with the links in a Start Page folder in your Kindle. Otherwise, use your computer to modify the links.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_094816.png" alt="2011-08-30_094816" width="532" height="578" border="0" />

Kinstant is another start page website that you don’t actually have to save to your Kindle. You simply navigate to it on your Kindle’s browser and click on the links to a dozen or so Kindle-formatted blogs. You can also add the URLs of your favorite blogs, which will be automatically loaded next time you visit the site.

Want To Be Alerted When Your Favorite Title Becomes Digitized? Check Out href="http://oscurapress.com/mysteria/cgi-bin/mysteria.cgi">Mysteria

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_125620.png" alt="kindle web sites" width="580" height="351" border="0" />

Instead of constantly checking to see if your favorite book, movie or music item is available in digital form, give Mysteria a try. All you have to do is go through a simple signup, create a public wishlist on Amazon and that’s it!

If you know of additional noteworthy Kindle web sites, please let us know in the comments!

Photo credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodomut/5145997604/in/photostream/" rel="nofollow">kodomut

View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-60.jpg?54167" alt="ipad tips and tricks" />The class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipad/">iPad is a pretty nifty thing. If you believe the true enthusiasts, there’s nothing you really can’t do with an iPad. We all know that if class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/">iOS apps were an ocean, we would all be long drowned. This is not even considering the fact that some iOS devices are jailbroken.

So we all know there are lots of very class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ten-top-free-apps-ipad/">cool apps out there, and if you’re willing to pay a few dollars for some once in a while, you and your iPad can have the world at your fingertips! (well, almost). But even without downloading anything at all, there are some pretty handy things hidden in the iPad.

Two Ways To Lock Screen Rotation

Yes, you’re not imagining things, this is a 2-for-1 tip! Those of you who’ve had the iPad for a while might remember that the little button on the right side, just above the volume control, used to lock the screen rotation. In iOS 4.x, this is no longer the case, and this button is now a mute button. So how can you lock the screen rotation? There are two ways.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-48.jpg?54167" alt="ipad tips and tricks" />

If you really liked having the hardware button locking your screen, you can turn back time and give it back that function. In Settings, go to General and look for “Use Side Switch to:”. Simply change this to “Lock Rotation“, and you’re done! The mute button will now lock screen rotation.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-47.jpg?54167" alt="tips and tricks for ipad" />

But wait a minute, what about muting? That’s also quite a useful function. You can choose to leave the button as a mute button, and lock screen rotation using a different method. Double click the Home button to access your open applications, and slide your finger from left to right, so as to reveal what’s on the left side of those icons.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-49.jpg?54167" alt="tips and tricks for ipad" />

There you will find some music controls, and, surprise! On the left side there’s a lock rotation button.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-50.jpg?54167" alt="tips and tricks for ipad" />

Note that if you prefer to have a hardware button for locking the rotation, doing this will reveal a mute button, so you can still mute your iPad whenever you wish.

Accessing Street View

Street View on the iPad is so cool, I don’t know how I lived without it before I knew how to find it.

In the Maps application, drop a pin wherever you’d like to have street view. You can do this by either tapping and holding a certain spot on the map (purple pin) or by searching for an address (red pin). Tap the pin and you will see a red and white man icon.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-51.jpg?54167" alt="ipad tricks" />

Tap this icon, and you will be transported to the (awesome) street view. You can still see the map in a small circle on the bottom right, and you can tap it to go back to map view.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-52.jpg?54167" alt="ipad tricks" />

“Find” Within a Page in Safari

This is supposed to be something very simple, but it took me a while to discover I can do this, as it’s a bit hidden.

If you want to find a word or a phrase within a page you’ve already loaded in Safari, use the Google search box on the top right. Type in what you’re searching for, and then, under all the suggestions you get for Google searches, you’ll see “On This Page” and also the number of matches. Under that you’ll see “Find“. Tap that.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-54.jpg?54167" alt="ipad tricks" />

This will take you back to the page, and will highlight the word you were searching for. Use the “Next” button at the bottom of the page to go to the next match. You can see how many matches there are still to go, but unfortunately, I couldn’t find a way to go the the previous match, which is kind of disappointing.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-55.jpg?54167" alt="" />

Adding PDFs to iBooks

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/ibooks/id364709193?mt=8">iBooks is a free application which lets you read eBooks on your iPad. But you can also use it to view PDFs on your iPad, which will allow you to search, bookmark and generally do with PDFs all the things you can do with eBooks. Getting your PDFs into iBooks is easy.

You can e-mail the PDFs to yourself, and then open this e-mail from your iPad. Tap the attachment, and then tap the arrow (open with) button on the top right. Choose Open in “iBooks” and you will be taken immediately into iBooks, and the PDF will open within its interface.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-56.jpg?54167" alt="" />

Once in iBooks, you can choose to browse your eBook collection or your PDFs.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-57.jpg?54167" alt="" />

Another way to get PDFs into iBooks is to simply add them to the “Books” section in your iTunes library and sync your iPad. The PDFs will appear in iBooks.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/image-46.jpg?54167" alt="ipad tips and tricks" />

Conclusion

The more of these little tricks I know, the more I love my iPad. I’m not sure why some simple things have to be hidden, but it does make the discovery process that much more fulfilling. We’d love to hear about more of these in the comments, if you have some! />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-ipad-tricks/">4 Useful iPad Tricks You May Still Not Know About is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/intro11.jpg" alt="" />The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea as it is more commonly known, is regarded by many as the world’s most isolated country. The volatile, far left state operates a tightly organised single party military dictatorship with “The Glorious Leader” Kim Jong-Il at the helm.

North Korea is a fascinating country as we know so very little about how the population of around 24 million people (2009 estimate) conducts its daily life. Over the years, more and more information has trickled out of North Korea, both from official government channels and defectors who have fled the country.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.korea-dpr.com/">Korea-DPR.com

Why not start with the horse’s mouth? Korea-DPR.com is the official website of the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea. Despite seeing fairly regular class="vt-p" href="http://www.korea-dpr.com/newsupdate.htm">news updates, much of it is the recycled happenings of 60 years ago or renewed promises from The Great Leader.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/koreadpr_com.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="467" />

You can also find information regarding delegate visits to the country (more on that later) as well as class="vt-p" href="http://www.korea-dpr.com/users/thai/trip.htm">photo galleries of foreign visitors enjoying a taste of kimchi and communism. Interestingly the Korean Friendship Association “ class="vt-p" href="http://www.korea-dpr.com/forum">forum area“ has received a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/pages/download-build-your-own-wordpress-site">WordPress revamp since the last time I visited, which makes it a blog and certainly not a forum.

Many of these “forum” posts have comments disabled, though make sure you read class="vt-p" href="http://www.korea-dpr.com/forum/?page_id=39">the FAQ, which answers many burning questions – including the obvious: where can I get a signed photograph of Kim Jong-Il?

At the class="vt-p" href="http://www.korea-dpr.com/catalog2">KFA shop of course.

Travel

For anyone who has ever fantasized about actually visiting North Korea there’s class="vt-p" href="http://www.koryogroup.com/">Koryo Tours. What better way to learn about this fascinating country than by going there? This won’t be like any holiday you’ve ever taken before. You’ll be accompanied everywhere you go by guides and restricted to your hotel once your arranged activities are over. No exploring!

Koryo Tours aren’t the only company that offer trips, but they’ve been successfully taking groups to the country since 1989. One thing you’ll find on the Koryo Tours website that you’re unlikely to see the last time you booked a fortnight abroad are class="vt-p" href="http://www.koryogroup.com/travel_travelAdvice_rules.php">these rules, which urge you to bow in the presence of statues and leave your chewing gum at home.

style="text-align: center;"> id="revver270792130875274166217378" width="480" height="392" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://flash.revver.com/player/1.0/player.swf?mediaId=270792"> name="Movie" value="http://flash.revver.com/player/1.0/player.swf?mediaId=270792" /> name="FlashVars" value="allowFullScreen=true" /> name="AllowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="AllowScriptAccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="392" src="http://flash.revver.com/player/1.0/player.swf?mediaId=270792" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="allowFullScreen=true" allowscriptaccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer">

If you don’t think you’ll be making it over there any time soon then be sure to take a look at class="vt-p" href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/09/recent_scenes_from_north_korea.html">this fantastic gallery from The Big Picture which features some stunning photographs of a country with gargantuan highways and very few cars.

Believe it or not The Lonely Planet also have class="vt-p" href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/north-korea">a section dedicated to the country and class="vt-p" href="http://www.divinecaroline.com/22245/59401-eerie-amusement-parks-north-korea">North Korea has theme parks.

Wikipedia

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/coat_of_arms.png" alt="" width="330" height="386" />

If you enjoy a good Wikipedia article then there are some exhaustive efforts available to you on the topic of North Korea. Here’s a selection of the best:

• class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_korea">North Korea – A detailed overview of the country with plenty of statistics and history.
• class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juche">Juche – Meaning “main subject”, Juche is the political thesis of Kim Il-Sung the (now deceased) “Eternal President” of DPRK.
• class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone">Korean Demilitarized Zone – A thoroughly interesting article about the 2.5 mile wide, 160 mile long area that makes up the most militarized border in the world. Attractions include mines, checkpoints and a fake North Korean town.
• class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_North_Korea">List of cities in North Korea – Learn more about capital city class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P'y?ngyang">Pyongyang and pollution blackspot class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch'?ngjin">Chongjin amongst other large settlements. Only the luckiest citizens are allowed to live in the capital.
• class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_People's_Army">Korean Peoples Army – North Korea has a large army, as well as an interest in class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction">weapons of mass destruction.
• class="vt-p" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arirang_Festival">Arirang Festival – Often known as the Mass Games, this finely-tuned stage show happens once a year with an incredible display of synchronized acrobatics.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/kimjongil.jpg" alt="" />

Propaganda & Uriminzokkiri

Despite not receiving the updates it once did, class="vt-p" href="http://www.nk-news.net/">NKNews is the place for archived North Korean propaganda in text form. Check out the class="vt-p" href="http://www.nk-news.net/hall_of_fame.php">hall of fame for some of the best stories over the last few years.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/propaganda_goat.jpg" alt="" width="564" height="431" />

The California Literary Review hosts a decent collection of class="vt-p" href="http://calitreview.com/875">North Korea propaganda posters as well as commentary and insight into the motives behind the messages and art style. If your Korean is up to scratch then you might find the official North Korean news agency’s class="vt-p" href="http://uriminzokkiri.com/">uriminzokkiri.com interesting, but class="vt-p" href="http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/newspaper/english/main.php">the English version doesn’t seem to work too well. There’s always the class="vt-p" href="http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm">Korean Central News Agency, which speaks to the people on behalf of the Korean Workers Party (this is essentially “the news” in DPRK).

North Korea (much like the rest of the world) has embraced a few other outlets – notably YouTube and Flickr. The class="vt-p" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/uriminzokkiri">news agency’s YouTube account tries as hard as possible to depict North Korea as a normal, happy and prosperous country (though it’s not that hard to see through the cracks).

style="text-align: center;"> width="580" height="430"> name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ymGmMINS-Zs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" /> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="430" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ymGmMINS-Zs?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always">

class="vt-p" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/uriminzokkiri">Uriminzokkiri’s Flickr account does little more than to confirm that class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-free-alternatives-photoshop/">Photoshop (actually, make that class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/gimp/">GIMP) has landed in North Korea – and they’re not afraid to use it.

Economy & Cartography

It seems odd to mix the two, but a website called class="vt-p" href="http://www.nkeconwatch.com/">North Korean Economy Watch has done just that with up to date, detailed analysis of the economic situation in DPRK and a Google Maps project. As well as news relating to construction projects, foreign investment and the controversial topic of private trade in the country, the editor Curtis Melvin has previously class="vt-p" href="http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2006/07/23/dprk-travel-2004/">visited in 2004 and class="vt-p" href="http://www.nkeconwatch.com/2006/07/31/dprk-travel-2005/">2005.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/korea_map.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="435" />

Also hosted on Melvin’s site is class="vt-p" href="http://www.nkeconwatch.com/north-korea-uncovered-google-earth/">North Korea Uncovered, a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/google-maps/">Google Maps project that has been featured in the Wall Street Journal for its extensive mapping of North Korea’s economic, cultural, political and military infrastructures. This is apparently the most comprehensive map of its kind, though you’re going to need class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-plugins-and-resources-to-make-google-earth-more-fun/">Google Earth to view it.

Conclusion

Hopefully these resources will help expand your knowledge of this mysterious country, and though the resources are limited there is still a considerable amount of information surrounding North Korea online. There are also some great documentaries on the subject. If you enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy learning about class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/shortwave-numbers-stations-conet-project-online-education-espionage/">shortwave numbers stations, another mysterious topic that’s been covered well online.

Are you interested in North Korea?  Have you ever visited the country? Do you have any other North Korea-related links that we might be interested in looking at? Post your thoughts and links in the comments. />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/north-korea-demystified-selection-online-resources-learn-secretive-country/">North Korea Demystified: A Selection Of Online Resources To Learn About This Secretive Country is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tumblrintro.jpg" alt="" />Microblogging site class="vt-p" href="http://www.tumblr.com">Tumblr and its users have been targeted recently with a phishing attack that lures unsuspecting users into entering their login details only to have them stolen. The scam operates by offering users access to additional content after inputting login details, in this instance “adult content”.

What makes this phishing scam slightly more sophisticated than usual is the way in which many were affected via Tumblr pages which contained code designed to imitate the Tumblr login. Not all users fell foul via this method, with some being directed to new URLs containing the faked login form.

Many of the Tumblr blogs that hosted this phishing code had been compromised in previous attacks. A small number of sites appear to be at the centre of the phishing effort, including tumblriq[dot]com, tumblrlogin[dot]com and tumblrsecurity[dot]com.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tumblrcommunity.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="423" />

The scam has prompted a few Tumblr users to set up their own anti-phishing sites in order to warn other users, including  class="vt-p" href="http://phishing-alert.tumblr.com/">phishing-alert.tumblr.com and  class="vt-p" href="http://antiphishingontumblr.tumblr.com/">antiphishingontumblr.tumblr.com. These community-led efforts contain information pertaining to phishing (and what it means) as well as recovering your Tumblr account if it has been compromised.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/tumblremail.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="291" />

Tumblr themselves have been answering a lot of emails related to this incident recently, so many that they’ve prepared an automatic reply (above) for new support requests. The pre-defined response includes information about undoing the damage done by a compromised account.

Do you use Tumblr? Has this affected you at all? Let us know in the comments.

Source: class="vt-p" rel="nofollow" href="http://sunbeltblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/thousands-of-tumblr-logins-stolen-in.html">GFI LABS Blog

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tumblr-users-warned-largescale-phishing-attack-news/">Tumblr Users Warned About Large-Scale Phishing Attack [News] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpadthumb.jpg" alt="" />If you walk into a retail store and ask a sales rep to explain a laptop to you, chances are you’ll receive a long list of hardware information focusing on what’s inside. You’ll be told what the processor is, you’ll be told the size of the hard drive, and you’ll be told the RAM installed.

This is information you’ll want to know, but in today’s world of speedy processors and cheap RAM, many users will rarely ask about all their laptop has to give. As a result, the difference between a good laptop and a great one comes down to the little things, like the touchpad. Yet the touchpad itself is a mysterious item. It’s there, it works, and it has for years. Not all touchpads are built the same however.

The Basics Of Touchpad Technology

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" />

The first class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-disable-the-touchpad-while-you-are-typing/">touchpads made their debut in the early 1990s, and were one of several responses to the problem of providing an portable input solution with a portable computer (trackpointers and trackballs were also common). The first laptop to have a touchpad –or trackpad, as it was officially called at the time – was the Apple PowerBook 500.

Modern touchpads use a technology called capacitive touch. This is the same tech used by most modern class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/touch-test-touch-screen-test-app/">touchscreens, and it works by detecting the electrical current of a human finger as it comes into contact with the touchpad surface. This allows for smooth, easy navigation that doesn’t rely on physical pressure.

However, capacitive touch does have one minor disadvantage, and that’s the inability to detect inanimate objects or gloved human hands. Special touchpads, like the tablets from class="vt-p" href="http://www.wacom.com/">Wacom, are required for use with a class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/tag/stylus/">stylus. Fortunately, only artists and Eskimos routinely bump into this problem.

The Differences Between Touchpads

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad4.jpg" alt="" width="412" height="530" />

While virtually all touchpads use the same basic technology to detect input, there are a wide variety of ways to use this technology, and a wide variety of touchpad sizes and textures.

The most important feature to look for in a touchpad is multitouch gesture support. Although this has become a common extra, it’s not ubiquitous. For example, I recently tested a MSI GT680R gaming laptop, priced at about $1,500, which did not have multitouch. Determining if a laptop supports this feature is easy if you can use it hands-on. Just try scrolling down a webpage with your middle and index fingers.

If a laptop doesn’t have multi-touch, it should at least have scroll space available. This is a small vertical area, usually on the right side of the touchpad, that’s exclusively designed to translate finger movement into an up/down scrolling motion.

Material quality, although low-tech, is critical. Most inexpensive laptops will simply construct the touchpad out of the same plastic as the surrounding laptop, and that works alright, but it doesn’t result in the smoothest feel. More expensive laptops, like the MacBooks, use a glass surface because it provides less resistance to finger movement. You’ll occasionally find other materials used, as well. The class="vt-p" href="http://event.asus.com/notebook/bamboo/index2.html">ASUS Bamboo series, for example, crafts the touchpad out of the same bamboo you’ll find on the rest of the laptop.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad6.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="411" />

Finally, the touchpad buttons are important. The best option is a touchpad that offers two separate physical mouse buttons, but many touchpads use what is called a rocker-style button. This means there is one individual with a rocker in the middle, which means the button operates like a seesaw. Rocker-style buttons look sexy, but they can be annoying to use because pressing the button near the rocker requires more force than pressing the button at the edge.

The perfect touchpad should offer multitouch support, a smooth surface, and two individual buttons with great tactile response. Finding all of these features together is difficult, particularly in inexpensive laptops, but it’s not impossible.

The Importance Of Software Support

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/touchpad7.jpg" alt="" width="550" height="394" />

Although your touchpad’s hardware is important, the software being used also has an impact on how your touchpad performs.

For example, Windows did not even support multitouch until Windows 7 ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/easily-activate-finger-scroll-windows-laptops/">although there are ways to hack it), even if the hardware was capable of it. Although much has been made about the inclusion of multitouch as it relates to tablets, its impact on laptops has been more immediate and obvious. Navigating Windows with a touchpad is much easier than before.

With that said however, there are still clear differences between Windows 7 and Mac OS X, which offers incredible multitouch support. Much of the difference between navigating Windows and Mac OS X on a laptop comes down not to the hardware (although the MacBook’s glass touchpad is nice) but to the software support. Ubuntu also offers full multitouch support as of version 10.10.

Conclusion

It’s easy to forget about the touchpad when a sales rep is gushing to you about the great hardware packed inside the new laptop you have your eye on. Don’t let that distract you. The touchpad is something you’ll be using a lot, and it cannot be replaced or upgraded, so you need to be sure to buy a laptop with a touchpad you like. />
/> href="http://flashvideodownloader.org/fvd-suite/track/s/makeuseof">Download videos from the sites like YouTube, Break.com etc. Convert videos to almost any format. /> href="http://flashvideodownloader.org/fvd-suite/track/s/makeuseof"> src="http://flashvideodownloader.org/fvd-suite/banners/aban3.gif">

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/0_mobli.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" />Photo sharing apps have officially taken off, thanks primarily to mobile devices. These kinds of apps let you take pictures on your phone and share them with your social graph. There are a lot of great apps out there that promote social photo sharing, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-life-photos-free-instagram-app-iphone/">Instagram, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/color-hottest-smartphone-photo-sharing-app-androidiphone/">Color, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/path-personal-photo-sharing-app-waiting-iphone/">Path, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-iphone-android-photos-style-picplz/">Picplz, for starters. Each of these applications has seen success in the mobile space and is helping to transform how we use our phones, and they all offer something unique that makes them worth using.

Enter Mobli, the iPhone media sharing app that instantaneously uploads your pictures and videos in the background while taking them. This app is hot on the scene with plenty of interesting features to get us all excited about. In this article, I’ll show you what those features are and why you should add Mobli to your photo sharing arsenal.

What Is Mobli?

href="http://www.mobli.com/">Mobli enables people to quickly and easily share high-quality photos and videos that are uploaded in real-time. With the integration of channels and geo-location, users can share their events and experiences with communities of individuals looking to do the same thing.

“Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places, and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.50-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="324" height="483" />

Simply put, Mobli is great for seeing what’s going on somewhere you couldn’t be and for showing others the cool places you do go to. Whether you’re at a concert or sporting event, Mobli gives you the platform to connect with others and watch “Channels”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="323" height="480" />

For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday and your favorite football team is playing. If you are at home watching the game, you can use Mobli to view your team’s Channel and see any photo or video taken during the game in your feed. You can interact with other fans and “see” the game from different angles, making it feel like you are there. If you are there, you can share content directly from your seat.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.43-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="322" height="481" />

On Mobli, you can see what is happening as it happens through a live feed, as well as view what is going on around you at any time. You can also leave comments and interact with others socially through pictures and videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="323" height="483" />

If you would like to share the photos and videos you take with Mobli with your personal networks, you can connect the app to your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts as well.

Conclusion

Mobli is currently available for href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobli/id426679976?mt=8#">iOS devices (iTunes link) with versions of the mobile app for Android and BlackBerry still in alpha. You can head over to Mobli’s href="http://www.mobli.com/">homepage to check out what’s popular and see the types of Channels and photos you’re likely to find on the app.

I’m a fan of social photo sharing apps, and even though there is certainly a lot of competition in this space this generation of apps seems to be thriving. I like the idea of using my photos to help depict an event I’m at rather than just putting them on display for everyone to see.  What do you think? />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

/>

 

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More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-apps/" title="iPhone Apps" rel="tag">iPhone Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-tips/" title="iphone tips" rel="tag">iphone tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mobile-apps/" title="Mobile Apps" rel="tag">Mobile Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/photo-sharing/" title="photo sharing" rel="tag">photo sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/photos/" title="photos" rel="tag">photos, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/social-media/" title="social media" rel="tag">social media, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video-sharing/" title="video sharing" rel="tag">video sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/videos/" title="videos" rel="tag">videos />

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View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/0_mobli.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" />Photo sharing apps have officially taken off, thanks primarily to mobile devices. These kinds of apps let you take pictures on your phone and share them with your social graph. There are a lot of great apps out there that promote social photo sharing, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-life-photos-free-instagram-app-iphone/">Instagram, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/color-hottest-smartphone-photo-sharing-app-androidiphone/">Color, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/path-personal-photo-sharing-app-waiting-iphone/">Path, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-iphone-android-photos-style-picplz/">Picplz, for starters. Each of these applications has seen success in the mobile space and is helping to transform how we use our phones, and they all offer something unique that makes them worth using.

Enter Mobli, the iPhone media sharing app that instantaneously uploads your pictures and videos in the background while taking them. This app is hot on the scene with plenty of interesting features to get us all excited about. In this article, I’ll show you what those features are and why you should add Mobli to your photo sharing arsenal.

What Is Mobli?

href="http://www.mobli.com/">Mobli enables people to quickly and easily share high-quality photos and videos that are uploaded in real-time. With the integration of channels and geo-location, users can share their events and experiences with communities of individuals looking to do the same thing.

“Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places, and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.50-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="324" height="483" />

Simply put, Mobli is great for seeing what’s going on somewhere you couldn’t be and for showing others the cool places you do go to. Whether you’re at a concert or sporting event, Mobli gives you the platform to connect with others and watch “Channels”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="323" height="480" />

For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday and your favorite football team is playing. If you are at home watching the game, you can use Mobli to view your team’s Channel and see any photo or video taken during the game in your feed. You can interact with other fans and “see” the game from different angles, making it feel like you are there. If you are there, you can share content directly from your seat.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.43-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="322" height="481" />

On Mobli, you can see what is happening as it happens through a live feed, as well as view what is going on around you at any time. You can also leave comments and interact with others socially through pictures and videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="323" height="483" />

If you would like to share the photos and videos you take with Mobli with your personal networks, you can connect the app to your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts as well.

Conclusion

Mobli is currently available for href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobli/id426679976?mt=8#">iOS devices (iTunes link) with versions of the mobile app for Android and BlackBerry still in alpha. You can head over to Mobli’s href="http://www.mobli.com/">homepage to check out what’s popular and see the types of Channels and photos you’re likely to find on the app.

I’m a fan of social photo sharing apps, and even though there is certainly a lot of competition in this space this generation of apps seems to be thriving. I like the idea of using my photos to help depict an event I’m at rather than just putting them on display for everyone to see.  What do you think? />
/> Follow href="http://twitter.com/MakeUseOf" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/0_mobli.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" />Photo sharing apps have officially taken off, thanks primarily to mobile devices. These kinds of apps let you take pictures on your phone and share them with your social graph. There are a lot of great apps out there that promote social photo sharing, like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-life-photos-free-instagram-app-iphone/">Instagram, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/color-hottest-smartphone-photo-sharing-app-androidiphone/">Color, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/path-personal-photo-sharing-app-waiting-iphone/">Path, and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-iphone-android-photos-style-picplz/">Picplz, for starters. Each of these applications has seen success in the mobile space and is helping to transform how we use our phones, and they all offer something unique that makes them worth using.

Enter Mobli, the iPhone media sharing app that instantaneously uploads your pictures and videos in the background while taking them. This app is hot on the scene with plenty of interesting features to get us all excited about. In this article, I’ll show you what those features are and why you should add Mobli to your photo sharing arsenal.

What Is Mobli?

href="http://www.mobli.com/">Mobli enables people to quickly and easily share high-quality photos and videos that are uploaded in real-time. With the integration of channels and geo-location, users can share their events and experiences with communities of individuals looking to do the same thing.

“Mobli is a real-time visual media platform made up of subject-based channels such as people, places, and topics. Mobli enables users to see the world through other people’s eyes!”

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.50-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="324" height="483" />

Simply put, Mobli is great for seeing what’s going on somewhere you couldn’t be and for showing others the cool places you do go to. Whether you’re at a concert or sporting event, Mobli gives you the platform to connect with others and watch “Channels”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="323" height="480" />

For instance, let’s say it’s Sunday and your favorite football team is playing. If you are at home watching the game, you can use Mobli to view your team’s Channel and see any photo or video taken during the game in your feed. You can interact with other fans and “see” the game from different angles, making it feel like you are there. If you are there, you can share content directly from your seat.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.06.43-PM.jpg" alt="iphone photo sharing app free" width="322" height="481" />

On Mobli, you can see what is happening as it happens through a live feed, as well as view what is going on around you at any time. You can also leave comments and interact with others socially through pictures and videos.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Screen-shot-2011-05-23-at-1.07.30-PM.jpg" alt="iphone media sharing app" width="323" height="483" />

If you would like to share the photos and videos you take with Mobli with your personal networks, you can connect the app to your Facebook, Twitter, and email accounts as well.

Conclusion

Mobli is currently available for href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mobli/id426679976?mt=8#">iOS devices (iTunes link) with versions of the mobile app for Android and BlackBerry still in alpha. You can head over to Mobli’s href="http://www.mobli.com/">homepage to check out what’s popular and see the types of Channels and photos you’re likely to find on the app.

I’m a fan of social photo sharing apps, and even though there is certainly a lot of competition in this space this generation of apps seems to be thriving. I like the idea of using my photos to help depict an event I’m at rather than just putting them on display for everyone to see.  What do you think? />
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More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-apps/" title="iPhone Apps" rel="tag">iPhone Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-tips/" title="iphone tips" rel="tag">iphone tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mobile-apps/" title="Mobile Apps" rel="tag">Mobile Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/photo-sharing/" title="photo sharing" rel="tag">photo sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/photos/" title="photos" rel="tag">photos, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/social-media/" title="social media" rel="tag">social media, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video-sharing/" title="video sharing" rel="tag">video sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/videos/" title="videos" rel="tag">videos />

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Future01.png"/>Predictions are a risky business. Even more so if they are about the immediate future. Once shown to be wrong, the words return to their origin like a boomerang and the quotes will forever haunt the speaker.

Over the past century, technology has advanced at a pace that almost makes Gene Roddenberry and other ‘futurists’ look like prophets. However, they were dreamers and many of those that made serious forecasts lacked both imagination and foresight. In this article I will review 8 famous predictions about computers and the Internet that, in hindsight, proved to be incredibly wrong.

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Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons.

- Popular Mechanics, 1949

The first general-purpose electronic computer, the ENIAC, was completed in 1947 and weighed almost 30 tons. [Source: title="ENIAC" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ENIAC">Wikipedia] The prediction is actually correct, but maybe a tiny little bit too conservative.

I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year.

- Editor of Prentice Hall business books, 1957

The Editor had turned down a manuscript discussing the science behind data processing and the above was his explanatory statement. The New York Times comments: “Fads have a way of sticking around long after those who call them that are gone.” [Source: title="Tomorrow Never Knows" href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5D9173CF93AA1575AC0A960958260&pagewanted=all">The New York Times]

There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.

- Ken Olsen, 1977

Ken Olsen was the president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation. Besides mainframe systems, the company also developed minicomputers for science and engineering. Olsen, who himself had a personal computer at home, could not imagine that one day computers could be used to run the house, i.e. control doors, windows, and other electronics. [Source: title="Ken Olsen" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Olsen">Wikipedia] While this is not yet a reality for everyone, the technology has been around for a couple of years now.

We will never make a 32-bit operating system.

- Bill Gates, 1989

No one knows why Bill Gates felt compelled to make such a statement, given the fact that an advance from 8-bit to 16-bit had just been made, and subsequent developments were only logical. Subsequently, ‘never’ must have come and gone as the 32-bit Windows NT 3.1 was launched only four years later, in 1993.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Bill-Gates.jpg" alt="" />

I believe OS/2 is destined to be the most important operating system, and possibly program, of all time.

- Bill Gates, 1987

This quote originated from a foreword written by Bill Gates for the OS/2 Programmer’s Guide. OS/2 is an operating system created by IBM and Microsoft. It was later developed by IBM alone and supported until 2006. [Source: title="OS/2" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OS/2">Wikipedia] Although it allegedly ran Windows programs better than Windows itself, calling OS/2 the most important program of all time certainly was a gross exaggeration.

One would think that if you’re anonymous, you’d do anything you want, but groups have their own sense of community and what we can do.

- John Allen, 1993

classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="580" height="356" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0"> name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /> name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /> name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Q2ci6OOm9A?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" /> name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /> type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="580" height="356" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8Q2ci6OOm9A?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true">

Spam will be a thing of the past in two years’ time.

- Bill Gates, 2004

Bill Gates made this statement at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The technology he suggested was the electronic equivalent of a stamp, payable only when an email is rejected. At the same event he also announced that Microsoft’s search technology would soon outpace Google. [Source: title="Gates forecasts victory over spam" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3426367.stm">BBC] Soonish 7 years later and we’re still waiting for any of that to happen.

Next Christmas the iPod will be dead, finished, gone, kaput.

- Sir Alan Sugar, 2005

Sir Alan Sugar is the founder of the electronics company Amstrad. Over the years he has also become a celebrity in the United Kingdom and he is a member of the House Of Lords. Apparently, he should not be consulted when it comes to the evaluation of the potential of modern day electronics. [Source: title="Sir Alan Sugar" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Sugar">Wikipedia]

There are two very famous quotes that are actually urban myths and hence did not make the list above. Thomas J. Watson, former president of IBM, is often quoted for having said “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” The truth is that there is no record of Watson ever making this statement. However, the quote was traced back to a British professor, who said something slightly similar. [Source: title="Thomas J. Watson" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Watson">Wikipedia]

Bill Gates is often mocked for supposedly saying “640KB ought to be enough for anybody.” Mr. Gates himself denies having said something so utterly stupid and until sufficient proof is provided, we have to believe him. [Source: title="Talk:Bill Gates" href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Bill_Gates">Wikipedia]

Current Prediction

The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That’s where we come in; we’re computer professionals. We cause accidents.

- Nathaniel Borenstein, co-creator of MIME

Let’s not let that last prediction come true!

If you liked this one, you should also check out title="55 Geeky One Line Jokes" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/55-geeky-line-jokes/">55 Geeky One Line Jokes and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/history-operating-systems-infographic">The History of Operating Systems.

What is your favorite computer or internet quote?

Image credit: title="Future" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-65976139/stock-photo-future-key-on-keyboard-showing-time-concept.html?src=2586c589daacb769f5e46bb56615ff51-1-13">Gunnar Pippel />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/00-Orbit-Logo.jpg" border="0" alt="orbit downloader" width="220" height="220" />Apple has released class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/apples-mac-app-store-live-news">the Mac App Store – a place where Mac users can find and download great Mac applications. This iOS App Store little brother has a similar behavior to its sibling: it will help users to keep their apps updated. When an updated version of any installed apps are available, users will be notified and they can easily download the updates from within the App Store.

Windows users who wish that this convenience could also be made available to them should keep their fingers crossed, because Microsoft is currently trying to persuade the court that the term “App Store” is too generic to be granted protection. The court may or may not approve Microsoft’s dispute, but while waiting for the verdict, why not try a combination of tools that are already available for Windows: class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/orbitdownloader/">Orbit Downloader and class="vt-p" href="http://www.recipester.org/">Recipester. These tools can help Windows users keep their applications updated, while helping users learn more about the apps.

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The Software Updater

I found this feature by accident after I upgraded Orbit Downloader to version 4. There’s a new item in the left pane called “Software Updater” with a pair of numbers written after it.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/05a_Orbit_-_Software_Update.jpg" border="0" alt="orbit downloader" width="580" height="350" />

After clicking on it, the main area of the app showed me a list of updateable software on my computer. The pair of numbers represented the number of installed software and how many of them had updates waiting. Orbit gets this data by scanning the hard drive for the version number of installed software, then comparing the result with the list of the latest software releases on their database.

Clicking on any item on the list will open up more information about that software, such as the developer, the number of users, how many reviews it has, questions, tutorials, votes related to the app; and also buttons to “Write a Review“, “Ask a Question“, and “Visit Software Page“.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/05b_More_Info.jpg" border="0" alt="orbit downloader review" width="580" height="260" />

Most of the information is related to the data about that software on class="vt-p" href="http://www.recipester.org">Recipester. This is the site that dubbed itself as “Wiki Answers for all things about (your favorite) software“. The site is created by the maker of Orbit Downloader as a software database to support Orbit Downloader’s “Software Updater” feature.

Orbit Downloader could also be set to remind users about the availability of software updates on a regular basis. You can set how often you want to be reminded from the “Preferences – Software Updates” menu.

When you click on the update notification, you will be brought to the software update list on Recipester.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/02a_Update_List.jpg" border="0" alt="orbit downloader review" width="580" height="210" />

Even though Recipester has promised that our data is not accessible by anybody but us, it’s advisable to check the “make the list of your programs private” box just to make sure. The box is located at the top right area of the software update list.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/02b_Make_List_Private.jpg" border="0" alt="orbit downloader review" width="580" height="200" />

Clicking the download button of any item on the list will bring you to the software’s download page. Along with it you will see two small information links above: Reviews and Tutorials.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/03c_Recipester_-_Download.jpg" border="0" alt="what is orbit downloader" width="580" height="260" />

Let’s Learn More

It turns out that Recipester is more than a database to support Orbit Downloader. It’s also a source of information on software. For example, clicking “Tutorials “on the download page will bring you to the software’s tutorial page. You can see several available tutorials related to that software.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/04a_Recipester_Tutorials.jpg" border="0" alt="what is orbit downloader" width="580" height="200" />

The other link that you can follow from the download page is the “Reviews” link.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/04b_Recipester_-_Review.jpg" border="0" alt="what is orbit downloader" width="580" height="260" />

Basically, Recipester wants to be a one stop place for people who want to know everything about their software. All that users need to do is search for available information, or ask. Your questions will be answered by one of their 200-something experts.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/01a_Recipester_Main.jpg" border="0" alt="01a_Recipester_Main.jpg" width="580" height="280" />

Even though there are already many tutorials and Q&As in their database, I felt that Recipester is far from complete. Maybe it’s because the site is still in the early stages and still in the process of building their database.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/01f-First-Page-Guide-Activities.jpg" border="0" alt="orbit downloader" width="580" height="290" />

In general, I think that the combination of Orbit Downloader and Recipester provides Windows users with a convenient way to keep their software updated. But we still have to wait and see how everything will turn out in the future.

What do you think about this “Software Updater” feature? Do you know other alternatives?  If so, please share using the comments below. Meanwhile, if you have any technology-related questions of your own, why not try  class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/">MakeUseOf Answers? Our technology-savvy authors and readers are ready and able. />
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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/0-formspring-intro.png" alt="conversational questions" width="250" height="250" /> class="vt-p" href="http://www.formspring.me/">Formspring is a community of millions of people that all share one thing in common: curiosity. Through conversational Q&A, Formspring helps others express themselves and learn more about their social connections and the people they care about. The idea is simple, anyone can ask you anything and you choose which questions you would like to answer and be made part of your profile.

I’ve had Formspring on my radar for quite some time now, wondering if it would catch on, and it has. The curiosity that the site promotes drives engaging, authentic conversations between community members, and over one billion questions have already been answered.

id="more-60555">

What Is Formspring?

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-05_1839.png" alt="conversational questions" width="534" height="284" />

As I alluded to in the introduction, Formspring is a kind of social network. Once you claim a profile and add your connections, others can visit your profile and “ask [you] anything”. Questions can pertain to sports, music, movies, comedy, opinions, or really most anything you can think of asking.

Whether it’s a universal question like “Who was your favorite teacher?” or a specific question about starting a business, Formspring provides a new, personal way to connect with the people who you want to know better.

We originally covered this platform in our class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/formspring-ask-questions-to-friends-anonymously/">directory a while back, but it has gone through a complete redesign since then.

How Do I Start Using Formspring?

If I’ve made you curious, head on over to Formspring’s class="vt-p" href="http://www.formspring.me/">homepage and try it out. You can test answering questions to see what it’s like on the site or sign up for an account by clicking on Sign up and find friends. Or, if you prefer not to create a new account from scratch you can just sign in with your Facebook credentials.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0825.png" alt="conversational questions and answers" width="500" height="402" />

Once you get set up, you can locate your friends on the other social networks you belong to. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are all supported, as well as Gmail and Yahoo. Then start filling out your profile information and brand it to suit your needs. If you have a Twitter account, you’ll find Formspring’s profile settings to be pretty similar. You can fill out a Bio, Location, Website, etc.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0830.png" alt="conversational questions and answers" width="365" height="98" />

One setting I find interesting, is the “What do you want to be asked about?” section. By default, this reads “Ask me anything“, which is great if you want to be completely open to any and all inquiries. Making this more specific however, provides a good opportunity to brand yourself as an expert in a particular area as you welcome questions in your field of expertise.  What you decide to put here is completely dependent on what your goal of using the website is.

The Process of Answering Questions

All that’s left after designing your profile is to ask and answer questions. Click on the Questions tab to be taken to your page. Anytime somebody asks you a question it will appear here.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0835.png" alt="conversational questions and answers" width="505" height="352" />

If you don’t have any questions to answer – which is not uncommon with a new profile – you can send out a link to your profile on your social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Just select which networks you would like the message to go out to and click Send Announcement.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0841.png" alt="conversational answer" width="480" height="467" />

Or if you like, you can answer some default questions to get things going. Just click the “Or we have some questions for you!” link and a few questions will appear. As I said, you can answer the ones you want and they will appear on your profile for all to see. You can dismiss questions by clicking Delete and, if you feel the need to, you can click Block to prevent a specific user from asking you questions.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0835_001.png" alt="conversational questions" width="249" height="259" />

Whenever you answer a question, you have the same option to send out your answer to your social networks. This helps draw people onto your profile page for engagement opportunities. You can choose to allow anonymous questions and even go as far as protecting your account and controlling who follows you if you like. Formspring also features integration with blogging platforms like class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/tumblr/">Tumblr, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wordpress/">WordPress, and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/blogger/">Blogger.

Conclusion

And there you have it, Formspring in a nutshell. I find it very interesting how this social network has caught on and continues to reach impressive numbers. The best thing they could have done was integrate the service with Facebook and Twitter, as I’m sure that’s where the majority of users hear about the service. I do suggest you check it out, as it can be an interesting tool to add to your arsenal as we continue to mold our public images online.

What do you think of Formspring? Will you be giving it a go, and if not, why? />
/>NEW: href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/makeuseof/id366921965?mt=8" target="_blank">Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!

/>

 

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View full post on MakeUseOf.com

class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/0-formspring-intro.png" alt="conversational questions" width="250" height="250" /> class="vt-p" href="http://www.formspring.me/">Formspring is a community of millions of people that all share one thing in common: curiosity. Through conversational Q&A, Formspring helps others express themselves and learn more about their social connections and the people they care about. The idea is simple, anyone can ask you anything and you choose which questions you would like to answer and be made part of your profile.

I’ve had Formspring on my radar for quite some time now, wondering if it would catch on, and it has. The curiosity that the site promotes drives engaging, authentic conversations between community members, and over one billion questions have already been answered.

id="more-60555">

What Is Formspring?

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-05_1839.png" alt="conversational questions" width="534" height="284" />

As I alluded to in the introduction, Formspring is a kind of social network. Once you claim a profile and add your connections, others can visit your profile and “ask [you] anything”. Questions can pertain to sports, music, movies, comedy, opinions, or really most anything you can think of asking.

Whether it’s a universal question like “Who was your favorite teacher?” or a specific question about starting a business, Formspring provides a new, personal way to connect with the people who you want to know better.

We originally covered this platform in our class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/formspring-ask-questions-to-friends-anonymously/">directory a while back, but it has gone through a complete redesign since then.

How Do I Start Using Formspring?

If I’ve made you curious, head on over to Formspring’s class="vt-p" href="http://www.formspring.me/">homepage and try it out. You can test answering questions to see what it’s like on the site or sign up for an account by clicking on Sign up and find friends. Or, if you prefer not to create a new account from scratch you can just sign in with your Facebook credentials.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0825.png" alt="conversational questions and answers" width="500" height="402" />

Once you get set up, you can locate your friends on the other social networks you belong to. Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace are all supported, as well as Gmail and Yahoo. Then start filling out your profile information and brand it to suit your needs. If you have a Twitter account, you’ll find Formspring’s profile settings to be pretty similar. You can fill out a Bio, Location, Website, etc.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0830.png" alt="conversational questions and answers" width="365" height="98" />

One setting I find interesting, is the “What do you want to be asked about?” section. By default, this reads “Ask me anything“, which is great if you want to be completely open to any and all inquiries. Making this more specific however, provides a good opportunity to brand yourself as an expert in a particular area as you welcome questions in your field of expertise.  What you decide to put here is completely dependent on what your goal of using the website is.

The Process of Answering Questions

All that’s left after designing your profile is to ask and answer questions. Click on the Questions tab to be taken to your page. Anytime somebody asks you a question it will appear here.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0835.png" alt="conversational questions and answers" width="505" height="352" />

If you don’t have any questions to answer – which is not uncommon with a new profile – you can send out a link to your profile on your social networks like Twitter and Facebook. Just select which networks you would like the message to go out to and click Send Announcement.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0841.png" alt="conversational answer" width="480" height="467" />

Or if you like, you can answer some default questions to get things going. Just click the “Or we have some questions for you!” link and a few questions will appear. As I said, you can answer the ones you want and they will appear on your profile for all to see. You can dismiss questions by clicking Delete and, if you feel the need to, you can click Block to prevent a specific user from asking you questions.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/2010-12-06_0835_001.png" alt="conversational questions" width="249" height="259" />

Whenever you answer a question, you have the same option to send out your answer to your social networks. This helps draw people onto your profile page for engagement opportunities. You can choose to allow anonymous questions and even go as far as protecting your account and controlling who follows you if you like. Formspring also features integration with blogging platforms like class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/tumblr/">Tumblr, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/wordpress/">WordPress, and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/blogger/">Blogger.

Conclusion

And there you have it, Formspring in a nutshell. I find it very interesting how this social network has caught on and continues to reach impressive numbers. The best thing they could have done was integrate the service with Facebook and Twitter, as I’m sure that’s where the majority of users hear about the service. I do suggest you check it out, as it can be an interesting tool to add to your arsenal as we continue to mold our public images online.

What do you think of Formspring? Will you be giving it a go, and if not, why? />
/>NEW: href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/makeuseof/id366921965?mt=8" target="_blank">Download MakeUseOf iPhone App. FREE!

/>

 

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