Looking for an apartment can be hard work. You need to find a place that is affordable, in a good area, nice looking and so many other things, that it can be overwhelming. Sure, a million websites show you the prices for apartments, but sometimes you want to look at apartments while out and about using a dedicated application for your iPhone. What if you are at the apartment and you want to see if the place stacks up to the description?

Fear not, apartment shopper, because with these three US-based iPhone apps, you will be ready to hit the apartment market with your best foot forward and armed with as much knowledge on what is available as possible. Each of these three apps has some great features, and because they are all free, there really is no reason not to download them all! Between the three, it is nearly impossible not to find what you need.

Apartment Guide

This is a great application for finding your next place to live. When you first boot it up, it will ask you to allow it to use your location, if you say yes it will be able to find apartments near you. At first, you can simply tap the “Search Nearby” button, and it will show you the apartments close to you. From the search nearby screen, you can tap refine to narrow the results by price, bedrooms, bathrooms and other parameters.

Clicking any result will bring you to the screen for more details on the apartment. You can quickly click “Call now” to call the place and set up an appointment to see the units. You will also be able to see a detailed description of the units, as well as a breakdown of different models and their prices. They also show amenities, pet policies, community features and special features.

You can also used the advanced search to limit the results it shows you to only ones that meet specific requirements. Of course, if you are not looking for an apartment near you, you can also type in a zip code to search anywhere. Another cool feature is that the app will remember places you have viewed recently as well as those you have called. It also allows you to store any place as a favorite for easy access later.

Trulia

Trulia is a full featured real estate iPhone application that does everything from finding houses for sale, houses that are sold, places that have been reduced in price, open houses and of course apartments for rent. To view the places available for rent, simply tap “For Rent” from the main screen. By default, the application will show you an aerial map view of all the places available in your proximity. You can tap any of them for a more detailed view.

If you do not enjoy looking at a map, you can tap the list button on the bottom right of the screen to view the apartments in an easy to read format. You can also tap the magnifying glass symbol to search using location,  minimum and maximum rent, the number of bedrooms, bathrooms and other things that are important in your search.

You can add places to favorites, but you must create a free account with Trulia. The nice thing about this is that you can get access to your favorites from another device or computer. Trulia, while not as easy to navigate as some apps, is your one stop real estate iPhone application.

MyApartmentMap

This app is incredibly streamlined and easy to navigate. It launches a simple screen that asks, “Where do you want your apartment?” The front page also features any places you have saved on the bottom. To start your search, simply enter a zip code or city into the box and click “Search!”

The results will start with a list, showing you all the apartments for rent in the area. You can scroll through these to find the one you like. At the top of the screen is where you can customize how you view the results. You can click “Map,” which, you guessed it, shows the results on a map. You can also click “Data,” which is an awesome feature that shows averages for the apartments in your results. You can see the average rents based on size and other data about the places you are looking for. You can also view deals on apartments in your area by clicking on the “Deals” tab.

On the top left of the screen you can click “Filter” to tweak the results. Do you need an apartment that will let you keep your dog? Do you need a place that is under $1,000 a month? Well from this screen, you can customize all that and more.

Conclusion

With these three applications, you will be ready to find the perfect place to live, for the right price and in a great location. They make finding an apartment as simple and painless as possible. The best part is; you can take them with you while looking at the places, to make sure they stack up to their description.

Image Credit: ShutterStock

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A while ago, I wrote about a web app that helps you make some sense of the vast selection of smartphones currently available on the market. While Geekaphone was great, it was limited to smartphones only, and we all know that’s not the only thing that comes with a huge selection.

Recently, I had to purchase a laptop for a family member, who couldn’t even begin to find her way amongst all the possible options. Even for me, the selection was overwhelming. Where do you start? So imagine my joy when I found out that the makers of Geekaphone now offer a similar service for other items, such as tablets, cameras, TVs and even laptops. With Sortable, you can sort through different products according to the things you find most important, and find out what the best product is for your specific needs. You can also easily compare different items, and learn about similar items for you to consider.

Getting Started With Sortable

The first thing you have to do with Sortable, is decide what you want to buy. And this is probably the hardest decision you’re going to have to make in the whole process. On the main screen, you can also choose your maximum price, but you can always change that as you go along. Now all you have to do is click “Go”.

If you’re truly dumbfounded and have no idea what you’re looking for, Sortable offers a list of popular devices in each category. You can start by browsing these devices, and looking at the most popular comparisons other people have made. This should get you up to speed with the hottest trends on the market.

Finding The Right Device For You

Before you even start digging in, Sortable will recommend the best devices based only on your price range. The best device will appear on the left side of the screen, and more options will appear on the right.

As you go along, you’ll think of things that matter to you more than others, or things the device you choose must have. You can easily screen the results by almost any imaginable parameter. This includes everything from brand, network and form factor…

…to card format, display and ports. These change, of course, when searching for different products. Simply go over these criteria, choose your preferences and watch what happens to the results below.

When you find a device you’re interested in, you can get a comprehensive overview of the device’s specs, including photos, advantages, tradeoffs and reviews from Amazon.

You can also see how the device matches up to its competitors in various categories, and get an idea of what other similar devices are on the market, and what makes them better or worse than this device.

Comparing Items

If you’ve found two items you like, and would like to know which one is better for you, Sortable offers a comprehensive comparison between any two items, which includes any differences and similarities, a full specs comparison, and even a visual comparison.

To compare two items, either check the compare box when browsing items, or click the “compare” link at the top left.

Here, you can fill in any two devices. You don’t have to remember the full name, simply start typing the brand name, and Sortable will offer different models for you to choose from.

You will then get a short overview of reasons to consider each device. You can already see significant differences here which can help you choose.

If this is not enough, you can bore down into the more detailed differences, including a full specs comparison of every little aspect of the devices.

Editing Information

As you can see, there’s a huge amount of information in those specs. Naturally, some information is missing, and some information may be inaccurate. But there’s something you can do about it! When you’re viewing a item’s specs, and you find a missing piece of information or something you believe to be wrong, simply click the edit icon on the right and add or change that spec.

You don’t even have to create an account to do this, but if you do, you can keep track of your edits and become a known contributor on the site. If you choose to claim your account (personalize it, as opposed to keeping it anonymous), you can sign in with either Facebook, Google or Yahoo.

On the front page, Sortable features all the top contributors for each category (even if they are anonymous), and you can view a detailed list of their edits.

More Products

Wish you could use Sortable to find more products? Well, it seems that they’re definitely planning on it. If you want to influence what those next products will be, click the Sortable icon on any page, and choose “Vote on what’s next!”

This will direct you to Sortable’s Facebook page, where you can vote on what new products you’d like to see on Sortable. Looks like cars are leading the pack!

Bottom Line

The only thing that’s apparently missing from Sortable is a price comparison feature between different stores. The site seems to be tightly integrated with Amazon, and all buy links direct to there. But price comparison engines are a dime a dozen, and once you manage to decide what you want to buy, finding the right price should be a piece of cake. In fact, ignoring the price makes the site much more usable internationally, since prices and stores vary depending on where you are. Specs usually don’t.

What do you think of Sortable? Know of other good comparison engines we should try? Share in the comments.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Chances are, those of you who are buying a brand new computer in the next year will be getting your hands on something running a 64-bit operating system. x64 has its pros and cons, but it is the future. Not even the strongest personal complaint about software incompatibility is going to be enough to bring technology to a halt!

Windows has managed to do a pretty good job of putting together the x64 version’s emulation mode (WoW64) and I’ve had no experiences where 32-bit software wouldn’t run as expected. Device drivers though, is a big one. Don’t you dare go putting x86 device drivers on your x64 machine. However, x86 64-bit systems often lack alternative software to those that are written specifically for 32-bit architectures. So here I am with three solutions that ought to put you on to some brand new, 64-bit compatible freeware goodies.

Just a note before jumping in: All three of these websites are very trustworthy and I have experiences with them all. Feel free to check their WoT ratings if you’d like a third-party opinion. However, I do not personally support downloading software from anywhere but the software’s original website. Too many websites wrap their downloads with garbage, and though these don’t I’d still recommend that you search up and navigate to the author’s site and download the programs from there. Just a safety practice!

Start64!

Start64! is one of the most trusted repositories for updated software compatible with 64-bit systems. Those of you who have been really laying it on me about now posting much about OSX will be pleased as Start64! has a whole section set aside for Apple fans.

The site is very easy to navigate, which is something I’ll always be a fan of. The listings are clear, large, and include a short summary of the software.

Each and every listing includes live screenshots and an easy-to-read recap of the program’s features. They make it very clear in just about every specific software’s listing that the software is 64-bit compatible and go as far as to list OS compatibilities overall. If you read my warning earlier (which I hope you did) then you don’t have to worry about Start64! because they send you directly to the website the software originates from for downloads instead of making you jump through hoops.

64x Software

64x Software is for both users and developers, so if any 64-bit coders have managed to slip upon this post then there’s a little added bonus for you.

This website can be a little confusing at first and I’m not crazy over the design and listing layout, but it’ll get the job done. The site is used best when checking their top software listings, or their categorical ones:

• CD/DVD
• Communication Software
• Developer Tools
• File Management
• Graphic Software
• Internet and Network Software
• Security Software

Software display pages are a little bit “meh” but again, gets the job done. Never been a fan of websites that allow open comments and a bleak rating system, but 64x Software does have a vast range of 64-bit compatible software.

X 64-bit Download

X 64-bit Download has that Download.com feel to it and I’d suggest it for the more novice user. My recommended landing pages would be at their featured and top pages (though I’m unsure of the difference). I’ve used both to find some of the better software listed here.

The site has a lot of information per software, and just as many ads. Gets a little annoying, but this is a safe website.

They’ve got software separated by category and from my experiences I do believe this is a website that features only Windows software. Sorry guys. Downloads are hosted on their servers so consider my warning earlier. Again, safe site but don’t mind me trying to condition you to be a paranoid downloader!

You can find some of the 64-bit architecture’s best software using these websites, but remember that dabbling in the world of 32-bit applications isn’t going to harm your system either. We’ve got a whole lot of articles that can help you find the software you’re looking for.

Leave a comment and let me know some of your favorite 64-bit compatible programs to use!

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SOPA has been a really big deal as of late, as the piece of legislation is still stuck in the American Congress, and there is no clear sign that it will get rejected. The movement to fight against SOPA has quickly been gaining momentum, including some pretty daring Internet “blackouts”. However, what if you want to do something other than constantly shout out your opinion over social media? With a neat app for Android, you can now support those who are against SOPA and boycott those that aren’t.

About SOPA

In case you haven’t heard by now, SOPA is legislation introduced into the American Congress that is supposed to combat copyright infringement/piracy. While the intentions of the bill are meant to be good-natured, the bill is so poorly written that it will affect much more of the Internet than most people would like.

Because of how it’s written, sites that host good, genuine content could have their existence endangered if they happen to have a link anywhere to a site that contains copyright-infringing material. This could potentially shut down a large number of sites that we all know and love. For more information about the bill, you can check out Wikipedia’s article about it.

Installation

Boycott SOPA, the app in question, can be easily downloaded and installed from the Android Market. If you’re on your phone right now, you can click this link and choose to launch the Market using that link to go straight to the application. Please note that like most other applications that depend on scanning barcodes to identify products, you’ll need to have Barcode Scanner installed as well so that the app will work correctly.

The App

The app is actually pretty straightforward, and is very easy to use. The main screen has a single button to start the scanner, where you can then hold your phone up to the barcode of any product to see whether or not the company that made it is supportive of SOPA or not.

Scan Results

Once you do, you get to see any one of three different screens, depending on the result. In case the company who made the product you scanned is against SOPA, you’ll see this screen with a green check mark.

If the company is for SOPA, you’ll see this screen with a big fat red X across it.

Finally, in case the app doesn’t have any information on that specific company or the company has no official stance on SOPA, you’ll be presented with this screen.

As you can see, don’t be afraid to try scanning any product you find. Some companies have pretty interesting stances on SOPA, especially some that you wouldn’t expect to have a stance on it at all. As you’ll see in the screenshot below, Puffs (hand tissue producer for those that don’t know) is against SOPA while the Coca-Cola Corporation is for SOPA.

History

In case you’ve scanned a lot of different products and forgot what stance the company of a certain product has, you’ll still be able to find out as Boycott SOPA has a history page of all the products that you’ve scanned. This way, you’ll have a very quick and easy list of the good guys and the bad.

Conclusion

That’s all there is to it! So what are you waiting for? Get scanning and do your own part in protecting the Internet from the poorly-written SOPA bill. As the bill is unpopular even with most American citizens, hopefully it won’t pass.

What’s your opinion of this app? Is it helpful? Is there any other app or service that you can recommend that involves SOPA? Let us know in the comments!

Image Credit: Shutterstock

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Nowadays, we are all signed up for so many different services, it can be hard to keep track of them all. We all have Gmail, Google Apps, Twitter and so many more accounts. When you need to find something specific, it can be a real hassle. CloudMagic is a service that is designed to help you search Google Apps, Gmail and Twitter, all from one convenient place. With one simple search query, you will be able to find results from these services, without having to check each one individually.

CloudMagic is available as an application for Android and iPhone, as well in your web browser via their website, a handy Google Chrome extension and a Firefox add-on. Basically, if you are looking for a way to make searching for stuff easier, there is a one hundred percent chance that CloudMagic offers a way for you to use their service. We all want to make our lives a little easier, and CloudMagic could be just the solution you need.

What Does CloudMagic Do?

CloudMagic allows you to import your Gmail, Google Apps and Twitter account so they can all be searched from one place quickly and easily. With CloudMagic, you can type in a search query, and it will scan all three of the accounts for that term.

Therefore, if you typed in the name “John”, for example, it would find any instances of John appearing in your Google Apps, any emails with the name John and tweets. This makes it much easier to find something that could be on any of the accounts.

Setting Up Cloud Magic

Of course, if you are going to be using the Chrome, Firefox, iOS or Android version of the app, you will need to download and install them. If you are using the browser-based version, you can simply point your browser to cloudmagic.com.

Setting up Cloud Magic is a breeze. Whether using one of their mobile apps or doing it from your browser, the first step is creating a new account. Creating an account only requires an email address and a password. It literally takes about two seconds.

Once you have created an account the next step is to link your account with your Google and Twitter accounts. To do this, you will need to click on “Settings” on the mobile app and “Services” on the browser-based app. From there you will need to click “Add New Service” and log in with whichever service you would like to add.

If you log in with your Google and Twitter accounts on your phone, these accounts will be there when you log in on the computer, and vice versa. This makes it easy to use your mobile app while on the phone and your computer when you are at home.

Using Cloud Magic

Using CloudMagic is a snap. Once you have your accounts synced, simply click the search bar and enter what you are looking for. It will quickly scan all of your accounts to find items matching the term you entered. The search is blazing fast; it is quite impressive.

You can narrow your search to only specific things. If you only wanted to find calendar events that match your query, you can simply click the “Events” button. This way, if you wanted to find a doctor’s appointment without seeing tweets and emails about it, you could do so.

Of course, simply showing you the results would be useless. That is why you can click any result to be quickly directed to the proper application, either from your phone or from your computer.

Conclusion

This is a great application for quickly finding what you need from select services. I hope that they incorporate other services such as Facebook and other email clients (but let us be honest, almost everyone uses Gmail). As it stands, it is a great solution for organizing your Google and Twitter account, and I definitely recommend checking it out on your platform of choice.

Web Link
iTunes Link
Android Link
Chrome Link
Firefox Link

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Last week we asked you if tablets will eventually replace laptops. We got all sorts of interesting opinions in the comments, but at the end of the day, most of you thought that tablets will never replace laptops, and that they will always have different niches to fill.

Out of 415 readers who voted, 48% think tablets will never entirely replace laptops, 32% think it might actually happen, but that today’s tablets are still missing some key components, 20% think it’s a sure thing, and is only a matter of time, and 1% think that the iPad will replace laptops, but other tablets won’t.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.

As you can see, 3 voters thought that Apple’s iPad will manage to replace laptops, while other tablets won’t. Would be interesting to know the reasons behind these votes!

This week’s poll question is: Do You Use Social Recommendation Apps To Find A Good Place To Eat?

Social recommendation apps for restaurants are all the rage lately. Apps and websites such as Yelp and Urbanspoon are highly popular, and many people use them as a gauge when deciding where to have dinner. These apps can be a great source of information when you’re looking for a good place to eat in a new town, and can also be used to find new places in your own local city. This method is not foolproof, however, and you can find yourself in a place you would not otherwise go to, just because you trusted a stranger’s recommendation. Some people still prefer asking their own friends for help, and thus reduce the chance of falling on a dud. So what is your view on the matter?

Have you had good or bad experience with these social recommendation apps? Or maybe you never even tried them? And if so, why? Share everything in the comments.

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Through the caverns of the Internet, I’ve managed to get put on rather quickly to some of today’s hottest Internet startups such as ifttt, Instagram, and turntable.fm. Startups and betas are as popular as they’ve ever been, and I can promise you that every single day a brand new startup is launched that will garner attention and is probably worth joining.

Until recently, it’s been pretty tough finding these little guys in the wide space of the Internet. Luckily, we’ve got a few sites that aggregate the best of them and show them to you, so you can be the first of all of your friends to get invited. Maybe you’ll even get a vanity username.

Where in one of my last posts I only dangled the meat in front of you, you’re getting it all this time. I’ve put together four really great sites that not only act as directories for startups and betas, but very often also have exclusive invites just for you. No more rabid comments.

Beta Li.st

Beta List was really the one to start it all off and really popularize beta indexing. Maybe it wasn’t the first, but in my opinion it is definitely the best. It’s a simple paginated directory that does nothing more than update daily with (usually) anywhere in between two and ten brand new startups and betas per day.

Arguably the biggest perk about Beta List is that they often have very exclusive, sometimes very limited, invites that are special to their users only. As new betas develop, a lot of them go right to Beta List to get their first batch of test users, and you can take advantage of that if you’re quick. These guys are the alpha of betas. See how I did that?

The Museum of Modern Betas (MoMB)

MoMB is a very simple, very quick way to get your daily fix of betas. MoMB is more of a blog style vs. Beta List, and the entries are separated by type: invite-only, beta, etc.

MoMB tends to carry the more obscure betas (though they also cover the mainstream ones as well). You’ll see MoMB and Beta Li.st overlap in listings quite often, but I’ve noticed that both seem to pick up the slack of the other and push out interesting new ones that you won’t see if you’re browsing just one of the two. Good listing, easy to read, fast, etc.

StartupLi.st

StartupLi.st seems to be fail-proof, meaning if that your startup is destined to flop within the next couple of months then you won’t be listed on this directory. That can’t be said about the others. StartupLi.st takes a more white collar approach to betas.

Good list here, not updated quite as often as those aforementioned, but for good reason.

Go2web20

Web 2.0 is becoming an extinct phrase as Web 1.0 is put far behind us, but Go2web20 does a good job at reminding us what fits the Web 2.0 mold. Like StartupLi.st, Go2web20 only posts tried and true services that have a good shot at escaping beta and reaching a respectable state of development.

On the front page right now, I’m seeing names like ifttt and Pinterest (which we gave out 100 invites for way back in January of last year) so you can see that it’s a pretty tough list to squeeze on to. Great list if you don’t want to waste your time and you’re looking for mainstream startups that are eventually going to break into the vocabulary of thousands.

Startups are just about as popular as personal websites were back in the day, so jump on this! Like I said, I’ve found some very cool services, very early in their development and you can also.

If you’ve got a startup of your own, maybe you should check out Upstartly or BetaBait. Both services can help you get up off of the ground and on to one of these great lists!  Where else do you get your beta fix from?

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Through the caverns of the Internet, I’ve managed to get put on rather quickly to some of today’s hottest Internet startups such as ifttt, Instagram, and turntable.fm. Startups and betas are as popular as they’ve ever been, and I can promise you that every single day a brand new startup is launched that will garner attention and is probably worth joining.

Until recently, it’s been pretty tough finding these little guys in the wide space of the Internet. Luckily, we’ve got a few sites that aggregate the best of them and show them to you, so you can be the first of all of your friends to get invited. Maybe you’ll even get a vanity username.

Where in one of my last posts I only dangled the meat in front of you, you’re getting it all this time. I’ve put together four really great sites that not only act as directories for startups and betas, but very often also have exclusive invites just for you. No more rabid comments.

Beta Li.st

Beta List was really the one to start it all off and really popularize beta indexing. Maybe it wasn’t the first, but in my opinion it is definitely the best. It’s a simple paginated directory that does nothing more than update daily with (usually) anywhere in between two and ten brand new startups and betas per day.

Arguably the biggest perk about Beta List is that they often have very exclusive, sometimes very limited, invites that are special to their users only. As new betas develop, a lot of them go right to Beta List to get their first batch of test users, and you can take advantage of that if you’re quick. These guys are the alpha of betas. See how I did that?

The Museum of Modern Betas (MoMB)

MoMB is a very simple, very quick way to get your daily fix of betas. MoMB is more of a blog style vs. Beta List, and the entries are separated by type: invite-only, beta, etc.

MoMB tends to carry the more obscure betas (though they also cover the mainstream ones as well). You’ll see MoMB and Beta Li.st overlap in listings quite often, but I’ve noticed that both seem to pick up the slack of the other and push out interesting new ones that you won’t see if you’re browsing just one of the two. Good listing, easy to read, fast, etc.

StartupLi.st

StartupLi.st seems to be fail-proof, meaning if that your startup is destined to flop within the next couple of months then you won’t be listed on this directory. That can’t be said about the others. StartupLi.st takes a more white collar approach to betas.

Good list here, not updated quite as often as those aforementioned, but for good reason.

Go2web20

Web 2.0 is becoming an extinct phrase as Web 1.0 is put far behind us, but Go2web20 does a good job at reminding us what fits the Web 2.0 mold. Like StartupLi.st, Go2web20 only posts tried and true services that have a good shot at escaping beta and reaching a respectable state of development.

On the front page right now, I’m seeing names like ifttt and Pinterest (which we gave out 100 invites for way back in January of last year) so you can see that it’s a pretty tough list to squeeze on to. Great list if you don’t want to waste your time and you’re looking for mainstream startups that are eventually going to break into the vocabulary of thousands.

Startups are just about as popular as personal websites were back in the day, so jump on this! Like I said, I’ve found some very cool services, very early in their development and you can also.

If you’ve got a startup of your own, maybe you should check out Upstartly or BetaBait. Both services can help you get up off of the ground and on to one of these great lists!  Where else do you get your beta fix from?

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I’m definitely not a fashion guru, for my wardrobe typically consists of halfway-open plaid flannel shirts and a pair of old Chuck Taylors, and on a good day, I’ll actually wear pants. However, I recently discovered a site called Wanelo (pronounced “wah-nee-lo,” for want, need, and love) that brings together a ton of rare and unique clothing options in one place. The catch is quite simply this – the clothing is primarily for women.

I took into consideration that quite a bit of the blouses, skirts, and shoes on this site look fairly similar to the stuff in my girlfriend’s closet, so I figured that it has to be good. As far as I know, she has taste, so ladies, this post is for you.

Find Rare Items And Accessories

I’d liken this site to being a fashion aggregator, utilizing a social networking type of system to bring its users together so that they can share links of clothing and accessories from all over the Internet. What I noticed was that quite a bit of the site includes either hand-made or not-very-well-known items (and yes, a great deal of mainstream products), so if you’re into appearing unique and different, then this site is for you. Granted, there isn’t only clothing on this site, but it’s safe to say that it’s the main selection.

What I did like about the site was the fact that it offered a system of collections in which users can find similar items. It was through the collections that I discovered that there were a few men’s items on the store as well as places to buy candy. In addition to this, there are collections of apartment furnishings, iPhone accessories, and even bridal adornments. Honestly, I think it’s pretty cool that you can find all this stuff online.

Build Up Your List Of Fav Selections

Since Wanelo is primarily user-generated, you can trust that it’s not just one solitary person or company throwing what they think looks good at you. Chances are that there are a few individuals on Wanelo who think like you do (albeit this concept of appearing unique), and one of the features of the site gives you the option to follow them and stay updated on their top picks. Furthermore, if you fancy a certain merchant’s products just as much as your friends’ selections, you can follow the stores themselves on the site.

One of the cool options that Wanelo has to offer is its toolbar button, and this is used in the same exact way that you would use StumbleUpon. If you find something, just click the toolbar button, and voilà – you have successfully contributed to the community clothing melting pot. Alternatively, you can just punch in the URL on Wanelo itself, but really, what fun is that?

Share Your Finds

Based on what I found on the site, Wanelo is also used as a means to share your style with your friends. What does that mean? Well, as they say, this means no more ugly Christmas sweaters as gifts (bet you wish I had written this sooner). Furthermore, you can find out what your friends like, so when a proper time to give gifts comes around, you can get what they want with no awkward questions asked.

Conclusion

I’m not going to veer away from my standard flannel shirts, but chances are you might find something pretty nice on here (and yes, that goes for the men, too). However, all in all, this site is very well made, and it does exactly what it is designed to do. That’s the best thing that a site really can do – just keep it simple.

What kinds of things have you found using Wanelo? Do you know of any other sites like Wanelo?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/gaming.jpg?323f2c" alt="" />Though possibly the most popular, the world of MMOs spans far beyond the realms of Everquest and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/world-of-warcraft-now-free-to-play-to-level-20-mac-windows/">World of Warcraft. There are hundreds to thousands of well-developed and even free online games for you and all of your friends to enjoy. You’ve just got to know where to look.

It could take forever to go through each individual website of every MMO you may be interested in to check out screenshots and gameplay. However, I’m here to share five MMO directories that I’ve had plenty of luck with in narrowing doing the choices.

These directories do all the work for you and present the most enjoyable, sustainable, and free games to the user. All you’ve got to do is make the decision on which to play or download.

href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/">Free MMORPG List

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/freemmorpglist.png?323f2c" alt="" width="556" height="216" /> /> Despite the name, Free MMORPG List features much more than just massively-multiplayer online roleplaying games. It’s first on the list because it’s probably my favorite. The site features categories for href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_rpg_mmorpg/">free, href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_action_mmofps/">action, href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_strategy_mmorts/">strategy (or RTS), href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_kids_games/">kids, href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_multiplayer_simulation/">simulation, href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_sports_games/">sports, href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_browser_based/">browser-based, and href="http://www.freemmorpglist.com/games_social_mmorpgs/">social games. The site features 28 pages of games in total with a dozen of games displayed per page. The listing of each game offers a high-quality description, screenshot, and immediate links to download and visit the game’s official website. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/freemmorpglistexample.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="465" />

href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/">What MMORPG

If you’re specifically searching for a MMORPG, What MMORPG is the absolute best resource you’re going to find online. What MMORPG takes this MMO genre and breaks it down into subgenres of href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/fantasy-mmorpg-games.php">fantasy, href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/horror-mmorpg-games.php">horror, href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/modern-mmorpg-games.php">modern, href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/space-mmorpg-games.php">space, href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/superhero-mmorpg-games.php">superhero, href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/historical-mmorpg-games.php">historical, href="http://www.whatmmorpg.com/racing-mmorpg-games.php">racing, and so many more. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/whatmmorpgcategories.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="429" />

You can also narrow games down to their cost (free included), their play style (PvE vs. PvP), their developer, and their artistic style (2D, 3D, etc.). This is a very extensive resource. Game listing pages also include ratings of every game, contributed by players like yourself. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/whatmmorpgexample.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="418" />

href="http://www.f2p.com/">F2P Games

F2P Games is 100% dedicated to bringing you MMOs that are completely free. This directory also separates href="http://www.f2p.com/content/2-MMO-Browser-Games">free browser-based games. F2P Games also includes a very interactive and informative href="http://www.f2p.com/forum.php">forum where you can go to get all the latest user-contributed F2P news.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/f2pgames-c.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="477" />

This directory contains a little over 100 games for you to choose from. It’s got a simple list style: not as descriptive as the rest in this list, but you can browse and choose what you want quickly.

href="http://mmogames.com/">MMO Games.com

This directory has the benefit of having one of the better eye-pleasing designs compared to the rest. Not much sets MMO Games.com apart from the rest, but they do have specific categories for href="http://mmogames.com/android/iosgames">mobile and href="http://mmogames.com/facebookgames">Facebook games. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/mmogames.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="146" /> /> The site features MMOs in general with a slight bias towards the MMORPG genre.

href="http://db.tigsource.com/">TIGdb

The Indie Game Database is a lot different from the previous directories we’ve mentioned. This website currently features 757 games, all created by indie developers. Not all of them are free and not all of them are MMO. You will be able to narrow down your selection using their filters though. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/tigdb.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="464" /> /> This directory is really cool and unique and a refreshing change from the rest. I managed to find one of my favorite indie games ever, href="http://db.tigsource.com/games/altitude">Altitude, using this very website.

We’ve wrote before on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/mmohut-downloadable-mmorpg-games/">MMO Hut, a similar directory. We’ve also whipped up a nice little article showing you href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/mmohut-downloadable-mmorpg-games/">three of the very best MMOs to try out. Got any more suggestions on where we can go to find these games, or fun and free MMOs in specific? Share them with us in the comments!

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href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/xiah-rebirth-martial-arts-themed-mmorpg/" rel="bookmark"> width="125" height="125" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/0311-150x150.jpg?323f2c" class="with-border wp-post-image" alt="Xiah Rebirth – Martial Arts Themed MMORPG" title="Xiah Rebirth – Martial Arts Themed MMORPG" style="width:125px;height:125px;" /> class="title">Xiah Rebirth – Martial Arts Themed MMORPG

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/books.png?323f2c" alt="iphone book reviews app"/>One of the coolest uses of the iPhone is the fact that the internet is always on, and when you are out trying to make a purchasing decision, you can turn to your iPhone for advice. Buying books is one situation where you will seek the opinions of others before you take the plunge. After all, reading a book can be a serious time commitment, and you want to make sure it is good before you dig in and start reading.

All that said; searching the web would lead you all over the place. It is much easier to have applications dedicated to book reviews, this way you do not waste time with all that other stuff. That is where these applications come in.

They are dedicated to book reviews and nothing else. They will always be on your phone, ready to lend you buying advice before you throw down your hard earned money for the next great read. Best of all, they are all free!

href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/goodreads/id355833469?mt=8">Goodreads

Goodreads is an awesome application for getting book reviews and recommendations. Average people, not haughty book reviewers, leave the reviews. Let’s be honest, most book reviewers don’t look favorably on popular fiction, and even if you enjoy reading it, you may find it hard to find a professional review that isn’t biased.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/goodreads1-e1323358677506.jpg?323f2c" alt="iphone book reviews app" width="386" height="580" />

You can explore books based on genre. This is great if you know a genre that interests you but aren’t sure of a particular book. You can also view the most popular books overall, so you can get a feel for what the community as a whole is enjoying.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/goodreads2-e1323358716842.jpg?323f2c" alt="iphone book reviews" width="386" height="580" />

In addition to book reviews, Goodreads has their href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/track-book-goodreads/">bookshelves, where users can keep track of the things they have read. This feature is available on the iPhone application and their website. You need to create an account to use this feature, and registering for an account takes only a couple of minutes. You can view the books on your virtual bookshelf as well as add new one right from the app. You can add a book under the each books page, or use the apps built-in bar code scanner.

href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bookyap/id431669122?mt=8">BookYap

BookYap is similar to Goodreads, but it lacks the bookshelf. Their recommendation engine is very good though. The top of the browse screen says “Find a book fit for a…” and shows a whole bunch of types of people. Some examples are a CEO, an alpha male, a wizard and a foodie. There are many more categories, and this is a cool way to narrow down the millions of books out there and find some that fits in with what you are in to.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bookyap1-e1323359048446.jpg?323f2c" alt="iphone book reviews" width="386" height="580" />

Once you are in a type of book, you can click the filter button on the top right of the screen and trim the results even more. There are keywords that you can remove, as well as deciding if you want fiction or non-fiction and a slew of other parameters.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/bookyap2-e1323359071383.jpg?323f2c" alt="iphone book reviews" width="386" height="580" />

Once you find a book that interests you, click on it and you will be able to see what other BookYap users are saying about it. You can sort the reviews either by newest, oldest or most helpful.

href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-mobile/id297606951?mt=8">Amazon Mobile

Amazon may be the online giant that sells everything under the sun, but they started as an online bookstore, and the fact is, they still are one of the best booksellers in the world. If you browse and buy many of your books on Amazon, it gains an insight into what you like, and it will show you books that suit you.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/amazonbook2-e1323359102597.jpg?323f2c" alt="book reviews app" width="386" height="580" />

Even if you don’t buy your books on Amazon, you can still use the mobile application’s search function to read the thousands of user reviews left on there, and find a description and plot synapses. In addition, you can use the Amazon Kindle Store to order a free sample of any book and read it right on the Kindle iPhone app.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/amazonbook1-e1323359135787.jpg?323f2c" alt="iphone book reviews app" width="386" height="580" />

Because Amazon is a retailer, when you read the reviews and see something you like, you can easily purchase it right from your iPhone.

Conclusion

With these three iPhone applications, you will be ready to head to the bookstore and decide which books are best for you. Before you commit hours to reading a book, make sure to find out if it’s worth your time. These apps will do exactly that!

Have you found some great books through these applications? Let us know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/holiday-gifts.jpg?323f2c" alt="holiday gifts" />One of the most wide-spread traditions in this world is gift-giving. This is an especially hot subject during the holiday season, but is stays highly relevant throughout the entire year. Birthdays, weddings, births, anniversaries, new houses, dinner parties, and of course holidays, are all occasions that usually require us to search, decide on and buy gifts.

There is no lack of holiday (and other occasions) gift guides, and there are plenty of places to find ideas or buy gifts online, but even when you finally make that decision, how do you know if it’s the right one? Wouldn’t it be awesome if your friends could choose their own gifts, without it losing its festive “gifty” feeling?

What Is Wantful?

href="https://wantful.com">Wantful is a beautiful and original gift giving service. It learns about your occasion and the recipient of the gift, offers a list of gifts which you can customize until perfect, and then sends the catalogue to the lucky person who can choose their gift from their own personalized gift catalogue, and get it delivered to their doorstep.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-1.jpg?323f2c" alt="holiday gifts" width="446" height="197" border="0" />

Sounds too good to be true? It gets even better. The service will only cost you as much as you choose to pay for the gift. No service charges and no fees. For now, the service is only available for shipping in the US (the buyer can be from anywhere), but the developers promise international shipping in 2012.

Getting Started

To get started with Wantful, you’d have to either log in using a Facebook account, or create a Wantful account through the website.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-2.jpg?323f2c" alt="top holiday gifts" width="407" height="225" border="0" />

If you log in using Facebook, you’d have to authorize Wantful to access your Facebook account. Wantful will then pull birthday information from your Facebook friends, and insert them into your Wantful account automatically. You can, of course, not use Facebook, and create your own events.

Once you’re signed up, simply click “Get Started Now” to create your gift catalogue.

Helping Wantful Choose Right

According to the information you give it, Wantful will present you with a list of gifts your friend/family member/colleague should love. The more questions you answer, the better those recommendations will be.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-3.jpg?323f2c" alt="top holiday gifts" width="558" height="469" border="0" />

Start by giving it some basic information, such as the occasion, the person’s name, age and gender, and how he or she is related to you. Wantful will then launch into a set of questions which you are not obliged to answer. Answer as much as you want or know, and continue onto the next step. I went through the process with an imaginary recipient whom I appropriately dubbed “friends”.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-16.jpg?323f2c" alt="top holiday gifts" width="428" height="189" />

For example, Wantful would like to know about Friends’ living conditions.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-6.jpg?323f2c" alt="hot holiday gifts" width="580" height="161" border="0" />

What kind of home would they find attractive?

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-7.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-7" width="519" height="398" border="0" />

What do they think about music, food and technology?

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-8.jpg?323f2c" alt="hot holiday gifts" width="498" height="397" border="0" />

What range of styles are they more likely to go for?

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-4.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-4" width="577" height="331" border="0" />

The questions are easy and fun to answer. When you’re done supplying all the information you know and wish to give, you can continue to the actual gifts.

Creating The Gift Catalogue

Now it’s time to really get into it. The first crucial thing you need to decide is how much you want to spend. You can’t choose any amount; you need to decide between the 7 possible amounts Wantful offers ($30, $50, $75, $100, $150, $250 or $500).

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-9.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-9" width="579" height="353" border="0" />

You can then browse the list of gifts Wantful recommends, read about them, view more pictures and decide whether they should be on the list or not. If you decide a certain item shouldn’t be included, simply click on the “Replace This Item” button.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-10.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-10" width="564" height="351" border="0" />

If you do this, you will be presented with a nice list of substitutes, from which you can choose a new gift for the catalogue.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-11.jpg?323f2c" alt="hot holiday gifts" width="418" height="387" border="0" />

After you’re done customizing it, and you feel the gift catalogue is perfect, all that’s left is to design it and send it!

Finishing Up

A personalized gift is not the same without a personalized holiday gift wrap. Wantful offers a good number of design options for your catalogue. Choose a cover, add names and a short message, and voila!

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-12.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-12" width="580" height="298" border="0" />

And here is the cool part. If you wish, you can pay only the gift’s cost for the whole thing. Simply have the catalogue emailed to your friend and you’re done.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-13.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-13" width="337" height="224" border="0" />

If you want to take it one step further, you can mail a nice printed catalogue via regular mail for ~$10 extra. The mailed catalogue will arrive after no more than 7 days, but during the holiday season the catalogues are rushed, and may take as little as 2 days to arrive.

Wantful Dashboard

While Wantful is a very useful service for the holiday season, it can and should be used year round. When you log into your Wantful account, you can access your dashboard where you can create new gift catalogues, add events to remember and view your in-progress gift catalogues.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-14.jpg?323f2c" alt="wantful-14" width="471" height="261" border="0" />

Receiving Gifts

When you or your friends receive a Wantful gift catalogue, all you have to do is go to the href="https://wantful.com">Wantful website and enter the code from the gift book.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/wantful-15.jpg?323f2c" alt="holiday gifts" width="389" height="151" border="0" />

If you already have an account, the gift you received will also appear on your dashboard.

Bottom Line

Wantful is one of the best designed and most original web apps I’ve seen in a while. The idea behind it is fantastic and using it is a delight. The service is relatively new, and more gift options will be added with time, as well as additional shipping options.

Have you tried Wantful and want to share the experience? Do you know of some other helpful holiday gift-choosing services? Let us know in the comments!

Image credit: href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/121381/121381,1314537848,4/stock-photo-closeup-of-colorful-gifts-box-on-white-background-83559760.jpg" rel="nofollow">Shutterstock

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/games-for-change-intro.jpg?323f2c" alt=""/>The impact of video games on children has been debated. It has veered towards both extremes. When you find yourself on the losing side of an argument, you can point towards the social and educational impact of games on children. But why are we dumbing it down, when game playing is as much a part of the adult world.

From education to politics…from business to the environment, games are being tailored to promote awareness of social issues.  Remember the post that showcased href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-free-online-news-games-based-world-affairs-news-events/">7 Free Online News Games That Are Based On World Affairs & News Events? The games there serve to remind us of the potential that exists beyond the blood-spills and Martian colonization’s of games meant solely for fun.

A website that’s doing some work on highlighting the link between social impact and games is href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/">Games For Change.

Supporting games for social good

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/games-for-change-01.jpg?323f2c" alt="" width="580" height="299" />

The gaming site has existed for quite some time (2004) and its mission statement says it all – Catalyzing Social Impact through Digital Games.

What’s unique is that it is a non-profit organization. It is a community/movement of many creative people who are committed to social issues through the way of gaming. It is not simply a curation site for the best social games that are out there…but a full-fledged organization that is involved in bringing together the best ideas from across the globe, and taking in  the resources to turn those ideas into social games.

Here is an example…

Just to cite one example, href="http://www.halftheskymovement.org/">Half The Sky is a combined multi-million dollar project on the best-selling book by Pulitzer Prize winning authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The project’s theme is the moral challenge of oppression of women around the world, and to give equal rights to them in order to promote economic development and combat fundamentalism – to “hold up half the sky,” in the words of a Chinese saying.

Games For Change is working with partners like Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), USAID, the Ford Foundation, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and ITVS to develop a global Facebook game and mobile games for India and Africa.

You can read more about their global activities here on the href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/services/">Services page of the website.

The Games Arcade – Let’s Play!

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Games For Change has a games arcade where you can play some really cool games and see for yourself the powerful mix of education, social awareness, and entertainment.  Games are curated from many sources but each addresses a social issue. Some are free and some are commercial. You can also recommend social games using the submission form on the site. You can browse games by age and subject (for example – Civics, Conflict, Environment, Human Rights etc.).

Let’s check out three games featured on the site that shows us the potential of these types of gaming tools:

href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/codeacademy/">Codeacademy

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The cool programming ‘educator’ and online learning game teaches you the basics of programming without tutorials. It does so by engaging you in an interactive game right from the start. For instance, you can create an account only after completing a few rounds of coding. As you progress, you learn and earn rewards.

Read our full review on href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/codecademy-hands-easiest-code/">Codeacademy – Hands Down The Easiest Way To Code.

href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/the-curfew/">The Curfew

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The game for the young is based on political themes of our times (Britain 2007). The game challenges the player to them to examine the freedoms he enjoys and the potential consequences if he does not protect them. The game is played over four episodes and involves role-play with four characters.

href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/one-ocean-interactive/">One Ocean

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One Ocean is an environmental game that lets you design your own 3D underwater habitats. You learn not only about the oceans and its creatures, but also about how to save it from this century’s challenges. You have to download the Unity Web Player to play it on your desktop. The game is playable on both Windows and Mac.

I have just scratched the surface of the games arcade here. Browse through the games. Let us know which ones is your favorite. Also, drop an appreciative note if you find the idea of games for social change and the href="http://www.gamesforchange.org/">Games For Change website compelling enough.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/exfm.jpg?323f2c" alt="find new tunes" />Music is a beautiful part of life. While most of us don’t make music (I envy those who do), we all listen to it. But having music play in the background while you’re working on something else is probably not the best way to listen to it, especially if it’s music you’ve never heard of before. href="http://ex.fm/trending">Ex.fm is a music discovery service which we’ve href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/exfm-ex-fm/">covered before, but at the time, it was strictly web-based (with an optional Chrome add-on).

The service has recently released an href="https://market.android.com/details?id=fm.ex.android&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImZtLmV4LmFuZHJvaWQiXQ..">Android app, so I figured it might be a good idea to take it for a spin.

Starting The App

Upon launching the app, you are greeted with a registration/log-in screen:

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This is a bit surprising (disappointing, even), because the website itself ( href="http://ex.fm">ex.fm) doesn’t require an account to use. Once you create an account (or log in with your existing one, like I did), you are presented with a quick tour:

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Main Interface

This is what the “body” of the app looks like:

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The “Tastemakers” button shows a stream of users throughout the ex.fm universe. This is a good starting point for hunting a song to listen to; let’s try The Moth And The Mirror:

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So this is what an individual song looks like while a song is playing. Pretty slick! And it’s a good song, too, so I tapped the “heart” button on the top left, to “like” the song and save it for future listening. For some reason, the “Share” menu doesn’t use Android’s built-in sharing option, but instead shows a trimmed down menu containing just three ways to share the current track:

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The “Buy” button simply opens up a mobile browser to Amazon, and the Shuffle button mixes up the current playlist. Speaking of playlists, you don’t have to actively create those. When I tapped the first song, the app simply launched into a playlist and proceeded playing smoothly. You can also look at the current playlist:

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To skip to a different song, simply tap it. You can’t drag songs around to rearrange the playlist, though.

Following Users

Sooner or later, you’re going to stumble onto an awesome user with great taste with music. When that happens, you should stalk them. Or maybe just “follow”, which is something you can easily do from their profile page:

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The profile page also shows you a user’s activity, as well as who else is following that users (and who that user is following).

Your Own Profile

Your own profile page looks quite similar, only you can’t follow yourself (that wouldn’t make much sense now, would it?).

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Listening In The Background

Needless to say, playback continues even when you turn off your screen. But what’s nicer is that it also continues when you leave the app and use your phone for other things; when running in the background, ex.fm shows a handy notification with the name of the current song:

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Tapping to notification pops you right back into the application.

What Doesn’t Work Right

In a word – search. Searching for artists was an absolute fail when I tried it.

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No matter how many times I hit Enter, the screen would refresh for a split-second, and stay just as blank as you see it above. Needless to say, the href="http://ex.fm/search/mumford">same search executed on the website works without a hitch, yielding a lovely playlist featuring mellow Mumford & Sons music.

Also, when I switched from Wi-Fi to mobile data midway through a song, the application crashed. It is quite new on the Market, though. Mobile data performance was reasonable for me, but your mileage may vary (depending on your carriers).

Final Thoughts

Ex.fm shows a lot of promise, and it is already a very good way to listen to music on the go without burdening your device with gigabytes of music files. Once they fix the search, it’ll be even better.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image93.png" alt="" />The holiday season is the best time to catch up on your culinary aspirations, whether you’ll be cooking, eating, gift-giving or all of them combined. Now that Thanksgiving is over, you can set your mind on the next step of the holiday season.

Cooking and eating the same things every year can get rather boring. True, holidays are all about traditions, but this doesn’t mean you can’t innovate! So check out these 5 fantastic recipe websites which will provide you with all the inspiration you need for this holiday season.

Epicurious

href="http://www.epicurious.com">Epicurious is a a true foodie heaven, be it a holiday or not. But when it comes to holidays, Epicurious has you covered no matter what you are celebrating. The href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipesmenus/holidays">holiday index includes almost every holiday you can think of, and for each one you can browse recipes, menus or a complete holiday guide.

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When you choose “recipes” or “menus”, you can then browse them by popular ingredients, by dishes (when browsing recipes), browse only vegetarian recipes and so on. The complete guides also include entertaining tips, gifts and wine.

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The recipes are not all from Epicurious itself, but come from a variety of different sources. You can view everything without being a member of Epicurious, but if you sign up for a free account you can save recipes, share them, rate and review them and create personal notes.

Pioneer Woman

I have written about The Pioneer Woman Cooks href="http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-awesome-food-blogs-tantalize-senses-inspire-cook/&sa=U&ei=a8zMTqblGISLhQfml8zkDQ&ved=0CAQQFjAA&client=internal-uds-cse&usg=AFQjCNHyNDexwh8c27e_1D1PXG_HNGzNHw">in the past, but I could not write a recipe article without mentioning this wonderful blog again. href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/">The Pioneer Woman Cooks is a beautifully crafted blog for your everyday cooking needs, which also boasts a fantastic href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/category/holidays/">holiday section.

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While not featuring as many holidays as Epicurious, if you’re celebrating Christmas or Thanksgiving, you’re all set. The recipes include entertaining stories about life in the rural United States, and are accompanied by plenty of good photos.

Definitely a place to visit if you’re looking for something with a bit more of a personal touch.

SheKnows

href="http://www.sheknows.com">SheKnows deals with much more than food and recipes. In fact, it deals with all the things they believe women should like. Despite the unfortunate name, SheKnows features a great href="http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/holidays-and-parties/articles">holiday recipe section.

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The recipes do not include a huge amount of images, so if you’re the visual type, you might find this recipe collection to be a bit too “texty”. There is no easy way to screen certain types of recipes, but there are a lot of them. So put on your cooking hat and start scrolling for your next awesome holiday dish!

Martha Stewart

href="http://www.marthastewart.com">Martha Stewart is one name that’s been rather hard to miss in the past two decades. And when looking for good recipes, it’s still a name you can’t ignore. Martha’s website includes a big href="http://www.marthastewart.com/holidays">holiday section featuring all your usual holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah and Mother’s day.

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You’re not going to find only recipes here, but also decorations, gift ideas and activities for kids. One of the most inspiring sections is the href="http://www.marthastewart.com/274972/homemade-food-gifts/@center/307034/christmas-workshop">food gift ideas. If you’re a foodie, or if your friends or family are, you know there’s sometimes nothing better than a holiday gift which is also edible.

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Here you will learn how to make cookie compotes, fancy fruitcake, foolproof fudge and much more. They all comes with wrapping and decorating instructions, so you can try to mimic the beautiful little gifts you can see in the picture. There’s even a whole section for gingerbread houses!

Taste Of Home

href="http://www.tasteofhome.com">Taste of Home is another large food & recipe magazine, which provides everything from recipes, videos, and forums to an actual cooking school. But today is all about holidays: Taste of Home features an impressive href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Holiday---Celebration-Recipes">holiday & celebration section, which includes all your usual holidays, and adds celebrations such as graduations, bridal showers, etc.

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The holiday section features the most relevant holidays at the top, but if you scroll down you can find a list of other holidays you can choose from. Once you choose a holiday, you will be able to browse recipes according to dishes and meals: breakfast, dinner, side dishes, main courses, desserts, and more. Each category includes a volley of recipes to choose from.

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And again, I must recommend the href="http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Holiday---Celebration-Recipes/Christmas-Recipes/Food-Gift-Ideas">food gift section, which is a sure way to make the foodie in your life much happier this holiday season.

Bonus: MealPlanningMagic (& More)

If all these huge websites are not really your thing, and discovering smaller more intimate food blogs is one of your hobbies, this is what you’ve been waiting for. This Christmas, many food blogs are holding a “12 weeks of Christmas cookies” blog hop. This means that when you enter one food blog, you can find links to recipes from numerous other food blogs, all about Christmas cookies.

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The blog hop seems to be led by the blog href="http://www.mealplanningmagic.com">MealPlanningMagic, and is very widespread among food blogs. For example, if you go to this blog and scroll all the way down (after you browse the mouthwatering cookie recipes, that is), you’ll find numerous thumbnails to recipes from many other blogs.

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If you click one of those, you’ll be taken to a different blog, where you can browse some more Christmas cookies and then find your way to even more blogs. This is a fantastic way to discover great food blogs, and to expand your Christmas cookie repertoire.

Conclusion

Cooking and baking is one of the best parts of the holiday season. Don’t let it be a chore; find some exciting recipes you just can’t wait to make, and surprise your family and friends with small presents that don’t take up precious room in the house (except for the room they’ll take up after eating it all!).

If you know of some more places to find fantastic holiday recipes, we’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Image credit: href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/83052/83052,1280474611,1/stock-photo-christmas-ice-cream-with-chocolate-and-cinnamon-58203304.jpg" rel="nofollow">Shutterstock

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/guysittingatdesk.png" alt="iphone no life"/>Some people like to tell me that I have no life. I spend too much time sitting around, playing video games and writing articles about nerdy things. I tend to disagree, and I have found an application that proves that I do have a life.

How can an application tell me that whether or not I have a life? By having a scientifically unproven method that is approved by 1 out of every 497000 doctors, of course. Seeing as I passed the test I am about to teach you all about, I can say with at least eleven percent certainty that I have a life!

The free application for iPhone called “The No Life Test” aims to tell users whether they truly have no life. It is a simple app, which does not have a lot of bells or whistles, but it does one thing, and it does it well.

This is an important app; it could change the lives of millions of iPhone users, and possibly the lives of everyone around them. After all, how can someone know if he or she has no life if an iPhone application does not tell him or her?

Downloading the Life Changing Application

Before your life is turned around, you first need to download the application to your iPhone. Don’t worry; downloading the application is not part of the test. Just go to the iTunes App Store on your iPhone and search for “The Ultimate No Life Test” without the quotes of course. Alternately, click this href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-ultimate-no-life-test/id475221291?mt=8">handy link and download the application to your computer.

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Before you go any further, pause for a second, and think about the implications of what you are about to find out. Do you truly have no life? Are you ready to learn such information? If you feel you are ready, then it is time to venture forth, and find out just how little life you actually have.

Taking the Test

The parameters for this test are actually simple, and of course, it is all one hundred percent scientific. In fact, I heard from some guy in an alley that a team of high paid scientists from Antarctica spent the last 50 years researching this iPhone application. Obviously, when you are determining if someone does or does not have a life, you want to be accurate, and I am slightly confident this app is as good as it gets.

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At this point, you have to be asking yourself just what the application actually is. It’s actually just a red button on a screen, and the aim is to see how many times you can press the red button without getting bored and moving on to something else. It sounds like a pretty easy test to beat. After all, you just need to put your phone down and walk away. However, if you have no life, then you would have nothing to walk too, thus you would fail.

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This thing is a real killer for ‘completionists’ and achievement junkies (the people who arguably have the least life of all). The highest-level game center achievement asks you to tap the red button one million times. This whopping one million times is not over a lifetime, oh no, once you close the application, the counter resets. What it comes down to is this; if you get that achievement, you unequivocally have no life.

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There are leaderboards, but I think this is the one leaderboard where ending up at the top is not a good thing. Maybe they should call it a loserboard instead?

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If you find you don’t have a life, don’t fret! Just close the application, go outside, and meet some people and do some stuff. Then you will have a life. You might even be able to get a job as a motivational speaker or something. Imagine yourself going around and sharing your story to the downtrodden about how you turned your lack of a life around.

Conclusion

This application will change the world. All the lifeless people of the world will now know they have a problem and they will take steps to rectify the situation. Maybe they will go out and become astronauts, or at the very least accountants. Maybe they will make an awesome href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/add-nyan-cat-progress-bars-awesome/">Nyan Cat progress bar for windows? Maybe they will preach the good word of having a life to others, and before we know it, everyone in the world will have a life. All of this can come from a free iPhone application. It sounds like a winning proposition to me.

Do you have a life? Well then, tell us about it in the comments!

Image Credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=77905540">ShutterStock

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