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?

View full post on MakeUseOf

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?

View full post on MakeUseOf

Right after one of my last articles about online video-making communities, I got to thinking about how special effects is the big thing these days, and over time, I’ve been building my stockpile of tutorial sites to choose from. Veterans of After Effects may very well already know of these sites, but I’m sure that there are plenty of folks around here wanting to learn as much as they can.

So whether you are into motion graphics, action sequences, or artistic animations, these sites right here will teach you some pretty advanced stuff. Take a gander at them, and try out some of these tutorials for yourself!

Video Copilot

This definitive web-location for all things After Effects – Video Copilot – has been a longtime go-to source for VFX junkies. What I really like about this site is the fact that Video Copilot often takes on some pretty advanced techniques and then delivers it into bite-sized chunks for anyone to understand. The tutorials are all very thorough, and I’d recommend them to anyone with a creative mind and some time on their hands.

With that being said, you should recognize that Video Copilot is merely a starting point for most people, a place to learn techniques that you can build onto your own work. From my point of view, I would recommend just playing around with these tutorials. However, don’t apply the exact step-by-step results to your personal projects (for demo reel purposes), but if you are extremely new to After Effects, you should probably jump into the After Effects Basic Training, a nice set of free tutorials to get you started with the application. Furthermore, Video Copilot offers a great deal of production products for sale through their online store.

Motion Works

Motion Works is an Australian-based source for After Effects tips and tutorials that are presented in an easy-to-use format on an easy-to-read site. These tutorials are very detailed, and as mentioned with Video Copilot, you should use them as starting points for your own personal projects. The tutorials are all great exercises, and they even include instructions on how to create effects and motion graphics that you would see on television or in the movie theater.

One of the great things about Motion Works is that it actually provides downloadable presets that you can bring into your own project. Simply change the text, colors, and what-have-you, and you’ll have something presentable in no time. Personally, I would use these presets as a way to explore what exactly each setting and effect can do. Think of it as if you are reverse engineering these video effects, and that way, you can learn to make things from scratch.

AE Tuts Plus

AE Tuts Plus is a pretty solid source for After Effects, and I like a lot of what it has to offer. The tutorials range from full-length tutorials to quick tips, so if you’re easily distracted (like I am), you can learn something in a very short amount of time. With that being said, if you have time to kill, watch some of the longer videos and enjoy the power of self-serving education. The tutorials are high quality and interesting to try, but as always, try to use them only as a foundation for your work.

The unique feature I liked about AE Tuts Plus was the fact that it offers more than just tutorials, for there are plenty of VFX-related blog posts included on the site as well. From DIY gear to inspirational articles, you’ll leave AE Tuts Plus with a whole lot more than just a VFX education.

Conclusion

These sites are great, but there are probably hundreds of YouTubers out there who have dozens of tutorials for After Effects if you just go search for them. By no means should you only use these sites to build your After Effects repertoire. Heck, some of them are only kids, and I would watch them as closely as I would any professional – sometimes even more so.

With that being said, what other sites do you go to for After Effects tutorials? Any favorite tutorials from the ones mentioned here? Do you have any personal tutorials to share with us here at MUO?

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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/rakion-another-great-free-mmo-game/" rel="bookmark"> width="125" height="125" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/rakion-150x150.jpg?323f2c" class="with-border wp-post-image" alt="rakion" title="rakion" style="width:125px;height:125px;" /> class="title">Rakion, Another Great Free MMO Game!

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

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/dungeons-dragons-online-mmorpg-re-releases-for-free/" rel="bookmark"> width="125" height="125" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/ddo-150x150.jpg?323f2c" class="with-border wp-post-image" alt="ddo" title="ddo" style="width:125px;height:125px;" /> class="title">Dungeons & Dragons Online MMORPG Re-Releases – Free!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bigfoot.png" alt="bigfoot sites" />The Internet is a breeding ground for conspiracy, fantasy, and myths – a goblet of mystery that is filled to the brim with unanswered questions. It’s kind of like the X-Files, but instead of Skully and Mulder, there is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/reddit">Reddit and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/youtube">YouTube. However, there’s one particular creature that has perplexed me over the years, and that’s href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/bigfoot-searches-good-facebook-profile-photo/">Bigfoot.

Now I can’t say for a fact that Bigfoot is real (even though he is), but I will leave you with these sites so you can decide for yourself (just know that the overwhelming evidence can’t be ignored). So grab your low-quality camcorders and your best camouflage, because we’re going on a hunt of the cryptozoologic nature!

href="http://ourbigfoot.com/">Our Bigfoot

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ourbigfoot.png" alt="bigfoot sites" width="580" height="180" />

We’ll start the links off with something a little more personal. Well, it is only personal because the word “our” is in the title of the site, and I figured that you might like that. Just go with it.

Our Bigfoot is a rather gaudy looking site (just as you would expect) that is full of surprisingly detailed information. Click around, and you’re sure to find something worth reading. Beyond that, the site has plenty of evidence archives, photos, and videos to scour through.

href="http://www.bigfootencounters.com/">Bigfoot Encounters

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bigfootencounters.png" alt="real bigfoot photos" width="580" height="180" />

A lot of these sites will be rather similar, but it’s good to have a lot of different resources at your disposal when you are Bigfoot hunting. You never wrote your title="Study Up On Your University With Koofers [US-Only]" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/study-university-koofers-usonly/">university research papers using only one source, did you? (don’t answer that).

Bigfoot Encounters provides a lot of the same information that Our Bigfoot does, but it also includes Bigfoot-related news, sightings, and even events all on the site. Also, as far as the techie stuff goes, the site includes a nice search function.

href="http://www.bigfootforums.com/">Bigfoot Forums

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bigfootencounters1.png" alt="real bigfoot photos" width="580" height="180" />

My friends, I have good news. If you believe that you’re the only one in the whole wide world that actually believes in Bigfoot, you’re wrong. There are plenty of people on the Bigfoot Forums that are into this stuff, and you can be one of them, too!

Granted, the site may take you on a trip to the world of nineties web design. However, the title="Build A Great Online Community Using The myBB Forum" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/build-great-community-mybb-forum/">forums are a fairly active community that is definitely worth visiting if you feel like discussing the possibility of Bigfoot being in your area. Go ahead – plenty of people use it, and so can you!

href="http://www.bfro.net/">Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bfro.png" alt="real bigfoot photos" width="580" height="180" />

The BFRO is a scientific research organization that is authentically bent on gathering every bit of information about Bigfoot that it possibly can. On their Bigfoot site, there is a sighting submission form if you feel so inclined to share your Bigfoot story, and furthermore, there are quite a few tips to enhance your Bigfoot hunt.

Speaking of hunts, the BFRO actually has quite a few expeditions to search for Bigfoot that are available to non-members throughout the year. If you check the site, you may actually find one in your state or within traveling distance.

href="http://bigfootsightings.org/">Bigfoot Sightings

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bigfootsightings.png" alt="bigfoot videos" width="580" height="180" />

When I first arrived on the Bigfoot Sightings site, I honestly wasn’t that impressed. By all appearances, it’s a title="How To Edit Thousands of WordPress Posts With Just One SQL Command" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/edit-thousands-wordpress-posts-sql-command/">personal blog, and I’m not too crazy about writing about such things for MakeUseOf.

However, there are quite a few valuable links related to Bigfoot sightings on this site, and with that being said, I felt like the site was worthy enough to include on here. Granted, you must take this with a grain of salt considering our subject matter.

href="http://listverse.com/2011/05/23/top-20-bigfoot-sightings/">Listverse’s Top 20 Bigfoot Sightings

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/bigfootlistverse.png" alt="bigfoot sites" width="580" height="179" />

Instead of totally copying this article from Listverse (which is the lowest thing I could do), I decided to give credit where credit was due and link you to their top 20 Bigfoot sightings. All of them have title="5 YouTube Vlogs To Put On Your Web Video Watching List" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-youtube-vlogs-put-web-video-watching-list/">video recordings, and each one comes with a detailed description of the event.

src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/lOxuRIfFs0w" frameborder="0" width="580" height="423">

Granted, it’s up to you to decide whether or not the sightings are legit. I’ll keep my personal opinions to myself, but I’d love to hear about yours.

Conclusion

Is Bigfoot real? Honestly, I don’t know. There’s a chance of him being real, but there’s also a chance of me falling off of the bed I am sitting on while I write this, smashing my head against the floor, and dying instantly. It’s not likely, but it could happen. Granted, that’s me just being logical for the rest of you.

What interesting finds did you see on these sites? What other Bigfoot sites do you know about?

Image Credit: href="http://morguefile.com/archive/display/700323" rel="nofollow">earl53

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/scholarship-300x300.jpg" alt=""/>Education is about finding the right kind of opportunities. With so many educational opportunities around us, it’s difficult not to miss one. It’s easy to pay your way through, but if you want something on merit, scholarships are the engines for higher education.

Searching for scholarships is a way of life in countries like the United States. It is considered to be one of the more stressful stages of one’s educational career. With the right scholarship in hand, it obviously becomes the most rewarding one later on.

There are a gazillion scholarship search engines and websites on the web. Each of them could potentially lead you to a fitting scholarship that could help you save a few dollars. So, here’s looking at a few useful ones that could save you a lot of legwork in search of financial aid.

href="http://www.fastweb.com/">FastWeb

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/scholarship01.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="251" />

Fifteen years in the search for the right financial aid for students and counting makes this web service one to bookmark. You don’t have to pay a penny as it tries to match you with roughly 1.5 million scholarships worth over $3.4 billion across a diverse range of educational needs. The site also caters to adult education.

There are other tools on hand like advice on student life and tools such as financial aid calculators, discussion boards, and checklists. Some of the advice comes from past beneficiaries who applied and won scholarships. FastWeb merely connects students with scholarship sponsors and then gets out of the way. On its part, FastWeb does screen sponsors to ensure their legitimacy and the privacy policy protects applicant details.

href="http://www.scholarships.com/">Scholarships.com

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/scholarship02.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="354" />

Here you search more than 2.7 million college scholarships and grants worth more than $19 billion. The site has a detailed directory listing over 7,000 colleges, their admission statistics, tuition and fees, financial aid and scholarships, academic majors etc. The free scholarship search website allows you to manage your scholarship search with your own profile. The College Matchmaker helps you find and connect to the right school.

As usual, you start by creating your profile and then use it to match scholarships to your educational needs. You can match scholarships by – dollar amount, deadline, rank, and scholarship name. You can use the site as a tracking tool for your desired sponsor. The site helps you in composing and personalizing a scholarship application letter.

href="http://www.zinch.com/">Zinch

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/scholarship03.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="344" />

The Facebook Connect option suggests that this scholarship site has a social networking angle built into it. Zinch has a score system (Swagger) that measures your activity on the site and positions your profile accordingly. The site so far has featured $1.9 Billion in educational aid. 800+ college recruiters can connect you to 5000 schools in its database.

As the screen above shows, the advanced filters can help you sort through the results and select the right scholarship. The site is planning scholarship help for non-U.S. schools soon.

href="http://apps.collegeboard.org/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp">College Board

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/scholarship05.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="429" />

The site has a database size of 2300 colleges and $3 Billion in educational finance aid. The site has a slew of tools that help students calculate cost of loans, compare loans, compare aid awards, calculate college savings etc. that helps to give the right picture for informed decisions.

The scholarship search relies on the information you feed into your profile and then the brief questionnaire helps you match your education level, talents, and background to the proper loan.

href="https://studentaid2.ed.gov/">FSA (Federal Student Aid)

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/scholarship04.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="454" />

The U.S. Government site helps students access more than $150 billion in new aid annually. The main tool and the focus area for the site is the development, distribution, and processing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the form used to apply for all federal, as well as for many state, regional and private student aid programs. This covers the three modes – grants, loans, and work study – the program uses to fund aid for students.

Though these five sites are U.S. specific, they are useful for foreign students too as a large number of them hunt around for the right href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/college/">college to enroll in. Legitimate scholarship sites help you avoid scams and fraudsters and secure your href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/education/">education without giving away an arm or a leg. Are you on a scholarship hunt? Have you ever landed financial aid with the help of a scholarship search site? Give us a shout.

Image Credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=72573592">Shutterstock

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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

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/2011-08-30_100519.png" alt="kindle sites" width="681" height="593" border="0" />

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

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/no-comic-sans-300x300.png" alt="" />It seems like wherever you are, there is always going to be some form of the printed word within your field of view. With so many words floating around, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/design/">designers take great care to make their words stand out from the crowd through class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-cool-free-computer-fonts-stand/">stylistic fonts. But then we have the class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tech-fun/comic-sans-fighting/">Comic Sansusers. For some reason, people still insist on placing this overused font on the most peculiar text displays in the most inappropriate places. However, there are a number of people out there willing to fight the good fight and put an end to Comic Sans misusage. You can be one of them by taking a look at these three sites!

class="vt-p" href="http://www.bancomicsans.com/main/">Ban Comic Sans

Right here, we have the site that started it all – class="vt-p" href="http://www.bancomicsans.com/main/">Ban Comic Sans. Started by Dave and Holly Combs (both prolific designers), the pair set out in 2002 in an effort to “put the sans back in Comic Sans.” class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/b1.png" alt="" width="580" height="380" /> At first glance, the site has a semi-dedicated blog devoted entirely to the removal of Comic Sans from all text displays everywhere, and to prove a point, the Combs couple has even installed a section of their site providing several instances of Comic Sans misusage. In addition to this class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/flickr/">Flickr photo presentation of the font in everyday life, the site provides the following short 8-minute documentary (featuring Comic Sansified versions of common logos and brands) about the font as well as a firm class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/typography/">typography manifesto. width="580" height="430" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" 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://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1994310&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /> width="580" height="430" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1994310&server=vimeo.com&show_title=0&show_byline=0&show_portrait=0&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" /> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/b2.png" alt="" width="580" height="380" /> Besides the content that the site provides, the Combs also sell various shirts, stickers, and even coffee mugs (by class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/sites-earn-easy-money-creative-designs/">Zazzle, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/webs-coolest-shopping-destinations/">CafePress, and class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/2-places-design-sell-tshirts/">Spreadshirt) featuring artwork highlighting the campaign against Comic Sans. However, if you don’t feel like dropping too much money, they also have free propaganda flyers to print out as well as DIY stickers that you can simply make at home using the proper paper ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/how-to-create-new-design-projects-using-avery-designpro/">Avery 8164 to be exact). Also, if you still feel the need to use comic-fueled fonts, you should check out their wide assortment of Comic Sans alternatives. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/b3.png" alt="" width="580" height="380" />

class="vt-p" href="http://www.comicsanscriminal.com/">Comic Sans Criminal

This is more of a one-shot kind of site in that it really serves no other purpose other than what it already is, but even so, class="vt-p" href="http://www.comicsanscriminal.com/">Comic Sans Criminal has the potential to be the gift that keeps on giving. Basically, the site is devoted to evangelizing the truth about Comic Sans misusage to those that take part in it. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/c1.png" alt="" width="580" height="419" /> Upon arrival to the site, users are welcomed by a page that simply states, “You’re a Comic Sans Criminal, but we’re here to help you.” So if you see someone using the dreaded font, you should quickly send them the link, notifying them of their criminal state. After clicking through to the next screen of the site, they will be treated to an in-browser slideshow highlighting the negative effects of Comic Sans. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/c3.png" alt="" width="580" height="295" /> However, the site does make note that there are a few reasons that using Comic Sans could be quite reasonable. Besides usage for an audience that is under 11-years-old and for comics themselves, the site makes aware that many dyslexics would find the font easier to read than anything else. As a matter of fact, for more dyslexic information, the website provides a link to class="vt-p" href="http://www.dyslexic.org">Dyslexic.org. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/c4.png" alt="" width="580" height="590" /> Everything about Comic Sans Criminal is highly tongue-in-cheek, but it does provide a few legitimate points. For instance, items such as defibrillators should never be labeled in Comic Sans, so I guess you could say that proper use of the font (or lack thereof) could save a life. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/c2.png" alt="" width="580" height="379" />

class="vt-p" href="http://www.blambot.com/">Blambot

Blambot is certainly not an anti-Comic Sans site, but it provides several free alternatives to comic-styled fonts. The site has a little something for everyone, keeping in mind the fact that comics often need different lettering for different purposes (no, Comic Sans can’t be used for everything). class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bb1.png" alt="" width="579" height="379" /> The site has three classifications – limited edition paid fonts, paid fonts, and thankfully, an excellent selection of free fonts. I know it may be surprising, but there are a lot of other comic-related fonts to choose from besides Comic Sans. As a matter of fact, Blambot has a different font for every purpose whether it be for dialogue, sound effects, basic design, or even crazy symbols. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bb4.png" alt="" width="580" height="166" /> Blambot was founded by Nate Piekos, an artist who is proficient in comic font design and lettering. In addition to Blambot’s basic available fonts, Piekos also provides services for class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/two-free-tools-to-make-your-very-own-fonts/">custom comic font creation and design. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/bb3.png" alt="" width="580" height="380" />

Conclusion

Comic Sans isn’t all that bad, but it certainly can misused or overused. Fortunately, the three sites above provide insight on correct usage of the font as well as plenty of healthy alternatives. Granted, if you are feeling angsty and full of hardcore font-rebellion, you could take a look at class="vt-p" href="http://www.agencyfusion.com/kill-comic-sans.html">Kill Comic Sans, a frustrating arcade-shooter with an emphasis on the incapacitation of the light-hearted (but evil) font. class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/killcomicsans.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="434" /> What instances have you ever seen Comic Sans misused? What are some of your favorite fonts?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/camp.jpg" alt="promote indie film"/>When I was younger, I always tried to find the cheapest ways to make short films and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/videos/">videos with my friends. Even now as a video production major, I still find myself trying to find alternatives that require the least amount of money for making all things video-wise.

In my last production-inspired article, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/quality-resources-multimedia-project/">Various Little Known Quality Resources For Your Next Multimedia Project, I covered several sources for free video-related material. However, today, I’m going to run through three websites that will help you with the general steps of the movie-making process. With a little effort and a great deal of dedication, you can use all of these sites to their greatest potential.

href="http://www.indiegogo.com">Find Some Financial Backers [IndieGoGo.com]

Before you can start any legit href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/movies/">movie, you have to take the help of some bank to get things rolling. You could always just work with a budget of $2 and some shoe string (which I have actually found to be quite effective), or you could take things to the next level and try to create something that will make the cut at href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-awesome-free-documentaries-watch-online/">Sundance. In order to make your film, you’re going to need some producers, and thankfully, href="http://www.indiegogo.com">IndieGoGo has got your back.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IG1.png" alt="promote indie film" width="580" height="322" />

IndieGoGo – a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-crowd-funding-websites-support-favourite-charities-bands-projects/">crowd-funding predecessor to the very similar KickStarter – is a website devoted to all you indie creators out there who are short on money, equipment, and various other necessities. Although the site started primarily as a money-tree for aspiring filmmakers, IndieGoGo actually offers its services to campaigns of all kinds, so your production will be seen by creators everywhere. Sadly, the site can’t hook you up with Michael Bay, but it can hook you up with other filmmakers who can financially support your production through donations.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IG2.png" alt="your indie film" width="580" height="282" />

You may be familiar with Kickstarter, so you probably already know about its incentive program. IndieGoGo offers basically the same thing, and since you are trying to get your film produced, you can offer perks such as private screenings, free DVDs, and even in-film appearances by your strongest supporters. Keep in mind that IndieGoGo expects you to conclude your fund-raising campaign within 120 days and will take 4% of the earnings, but at least you will have more money than you did before.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IG3.png" alt="your indie film" width="580" height="397" />

href="http://www.indymogul.com">Start Your Production Off Right [IndyMogul.com]

There are no set cut-and-dry methods to making movies. Sure, there may be easier ways of doing things, but so often it seems as if “easier” means “more expensive”. My motto has always been “work with what you are given”, and the fact of the matter is that IndieGoGo may not raise you enough money for your production. Basically, you are going to have to improvise with what you have on deck.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IM1.png" alt="your indie film" width="580" height="341" />

href="http://www.indymogul.com">Indy Mogul offers several shows, such as 4 Minute Film School and Backyard FX (which is, sadly, soon-to-be cancelled), that will help you find a plethora of material during the production process. Furthermore, Indy Mogul gives you access to a strong href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/community/">community of supporters – Mogulville – that will share tips and tutorials with you on your project.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IM2.png" alt="how to sell your indie film" width="579" height="239" />

The website updates very often, so you will never be short on videos to watch and lessons to learn. Besides that, the website even provides href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/blogging/">blog posts with detailed write-ups on the movie making process. These posts include several fun items, but they also dish out a lot of technical know-how that you may need for your film.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IM4.png" alt="how to sell your indie film" width="580" height="369" />

href="http://www.radiodaddy.com">Get Morgan Freeman [RadioDaddy.com]

Have you ever noticed how each and every epic film trailer seems to have the voice of God as the narrator? Furthermore, have you ever noticed how you don’t have any friends who can mimic that voice without sounding as if they should be in the Exorcism of Emily Rose? Well, href="http://www.radiodaddy.com">Radio Daddy can help you with that.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RD1.png" alt="how to sell your indie film" width="580" height="212" />

Fortunately, Radio Daddy provides you with dozens of voice professionals that are willing to compose voiceover bits for your movie trailer (or for whatever else you might need as far as production goes). The site presents itself as an active forum, so there is a community system in which you can post your voice needs on whatever section of the site that applies to you. Sadly, you can’t actually get Morgan Freeman, but these voice talents come a close second. Also, if you feel like giving back to the community or just having some fun, try doing your own voiceovers for people.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RD21.png" alt="" width="580" height="451" />

There is a free section of the site in which you can make requests for the generous professionals that will help you with your project if it is non-profit. Use it on a minimal basis with a lot of earnest gratitude, and you will likely find someone that is willing to help. However, if you have enough money in your href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/budget/">budget, go ahead and offer some payment for your voice artist’s work. After that, pop the voiceover right on top of your trailer, and you will have something with quality that will help to promote your work.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/RD3.png" alt="promote indie film" width="580" height="312" />

Conclusion

These three websites are sure to help you with your next indie movie project, and they can possibly give you a little edge on the rest of the video-making world. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get it done without having to spend much money out-of-pocket, and you might even learn a few new techniques along the way.

What other sites do you use for video-making? What projects have you made using the websites shown here?

Image Credit: href="http://morguefile.com/archive/display/25536">dorituz

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/google_apps_300px.jpg?54167"/>On Wednesday Google announced a few new features and improvements to its existing Docs and Sites services. Google Spreadsheets has received a new shortcut menu that lists all current available keyboard commands. The new feature is visible by pressing Ctrl+/ or Cmd+/ on a Mac, and displays all the relevant shortcuts you’ve been missing out on as an overlay.

Another improvement for Google Docs is support for the conversion of PPTX (the latest Microsoft PowerPoint filetype) to Google presentations either by uploading the file directly or converting as normal from your list of saved documents.

Google Sites has received two enhancements, the first being a new RSS gadget that gives webmasters complete control over appearance alongside their existing site. To add the new RSS gadget to your Google hosted site login, choose Insert, More Gadgets, Featured and select RSS Feed.

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Finally Google Sites has received enhanced mobile support thanks to an update to improve how pages render on mobile devices. In future images and logos in the header will scale to fit smaller screens, gadgets and text input areas will be limited in size for mobile devices and sites that use horizontal columns will see their content stacked vertically on mobile devices for better readability.

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Source: href="http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2011/07/this-week-in-docs-and-sites.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OfficialGoogleDocsBlog+%28Docs+Blog%29">Google Docs Blog

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/google-releases-cluster-improvements-docs-sites-news/">Google Releases A Cluster Of Improvements To Docs & Sites [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/2011/06/bartering.jpg" alt="money saving sites" />You may or may not know about the age-old practice of bartering, but there are several sites on the Internet that could possibly save you money through the process of exchanging goods and services in lieu of monetary compensation.

Say you have web design skills but you can’t afford to buy an iPad, well you just may be able to exchange your skills for that popular mobile device. Or maybe you have a Canon camera but you’re looking to trade it for a Nikon of a similar model. Bartering websites are similar to eBay in which ads are posted for items and services of exchange. Barterers contact one another and make an offer for those exchanges. Though there is some risk involved, it’s best to start bartering on a local level where you can meet the person you’re making the exchange with. But as you will see, there are bartering sites set up that can assist in making your exchange with other barterers across the country or even around the world.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites">Craigslist

As you might expect, Craigslist is not only a free and widely known place to buy and sell goods and services, but you can actually also barter items and services on there as well.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot625.png" border="0" alt="money saving sites" width="541" height="282" />

Simply find your local Craigslist homepage and click on “Barter,” listed under the “For Sale” section. Depending on the city or town where you live, you will find a whole host of offers. In my area, barter listings included a “Car for the weekend,” a “A Beautiful Honora Pearl Necklace,” “video services,” and “baseball/softball lessons.”

When you find an item or service you’re interested in, you contact that person and make the seller or buyer an offer. Likewise you can post your own sales. In using Craigslist, depending the what you’re bartering, you might want to set up an insurance payment via PayPal, cash or cashier’s check, that is acceptable to both parties. It’s also a good idea to barter on a local level, if possible.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.swap.com/home/">Swap.com

Swap.com is a very straightforward trading site that focuses on the trading of books, CD’s, movies, and video games. You need to be a Facebook member to register on the site. Once you’re a member, you simply create a “have list” and a “want list” of items. When you’re ready to swap, choose the item you want to trade and an email will automatically be sent to the other trader in the transaction. If the trader(s) accepts, you’ll get an email letting you know the trade is completed and you will then be provided the shipping address where you need to ship your item.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot629.png" border="0" alt="bartering online" width="580" height="221" />

The only cost associated with swapping on Swap.com is shipping costs. Similar to eBay, members of the site are rated by other members about how fast they shipped the item and if the item was what it was described to be.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.swaptreasures.com/home.do">SwapTreasures

SwapTreasures.com seems to feature almost any item you may want for trade – from antiques, to electronics, to video games. You can follow SwapTreasures on their Facebook and Twitter pages, but you’re pretty much on your own when it comes to setting up a trade.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/how-it-works.png" border="0" alt="bartering online" width="549" height="234" />

There are absolutely no sign-up fees or point systems for this site. You send or receive offers, set up the trade, and make the exchange. Each member has a membership page, and positive and negative ratings can be left about members. You can also do a search in your local area for wanted items.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.u-exchange.com">U-Exchange

U-Exchange, an international site for US, UK, and Canadian citizens, is similar to SwapTreasures. There are no membership fees involved. U-Exchange makes its revenue from advertising on the site.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot632.png" border="0" alt="bartering online" width="469" height="235" />

As with other bartering sites, you create or respond to items you want to trade and email contacts about the trade offer. You don’t have to be a member of the site to start making contacts, but the process of contacting registered members of the site is easier if you too are signed up. Listings for this site include items and services, bartering for vacation housing, and vehicle and boat trades.

You can use the site’s Google map and keyword features to search for local listings as well. Many of the listings that I linked to didn’t include photos of items up for trade. Providing a few photos as you would on eBay is one of the best ways to get your listing responded to. U-Exchange is not a very well designed site, but its listings seem pretty wide and varied.

class="vt-p" href="http://www.barterquest.com">BarterQuest

BarterQuest is the most well designed and active bartering site of the ones listed for review. Categories for trading items and services are varied, including cameras, furniture, sporting goods, video and computer games, and even gift certificates.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot633.jpg" border="0" alt="bartering websites" width="580" height="212" />

While the trading is absolutely free, you must have your account verified, which costs $9. However, this one-time verification fee is waived if you can get three of your friends to sign up on the site as well. You still can search the site before getting verified and begin making a list of the things you have to trade and another list of things you’re looking for.

BarterQuest uses a matching system to match your “have” items and services with your “wants.” The site also has a point system so that if you don’t have something of “equal value” to trade, you can use points as part of your negotiation.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot635.png" border="0" alt="bartering websites" width="580" height="153" />

One other great feature about BarterQuest are Clubs, which are focused on particular types of traders, e.g. freelancers, animal lovers, technology gurus, small business owners, book lovers, etc.

Bartering with strangers online may feel a little risky, but depending on what you’re trying to barter, the process could save you some money if you’re on a tight budget.

Let us know what you think of the online bartering system. Have you ever tried it? What were the results?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/reading.jpg"/>Whether you’re trying to find a good book to read during your commute or planning out your summer reading early, there is nothing more daunting than going to a bookstore without a prepared list with at least a few titles or authors to look up. If you want to be sure that you’re next read is going to be a good one, there’s a variety of sites you can use to look up books based on your personal taste, your favorite authors, favorite titles, or even based on a specific plot summary or character.

Whether user generated, based on recommendations or based on customer purchases, there’s a variety of ways that these sites are able to provide some pretty accurate results, while others are still working out a few kinks and growing pains.

YourNextRead

With href="http://www.yournextread.com/">YourNextRead, you can look up specific titles to get recommendations on similar books. In some cases, the list consists only of titles by the very same author, which completely defeats the purpose, but in other cases it actually does generate an interesting list. Recommendations are also accompanied by Amazon blurbs, reviews and price information, making it easy to purchase a recommended book online. /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/YNR2.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="381" />

BookYap

With href="http://bookyap.com/">BookYap, the more you use the site, the more in tune it will become with your taste. Sign up for a free account and start out by filling in a list of your favourite authors and titles:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/BY1.png" alt="" width="580" height="320" />

Filling in some basic information about your reading habits:

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And then filling in some information about your personality:

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BookYap will then make recommendations on the information you provided.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/BY4.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="293" />

In some cases the recommendations were a bit absurd, where one favorite author, simply led to another favorite author already on my list and so forth. Where BookYap really sets itself apart from other similar sites is how it combines the answers to your reading habits with the answers to your personality to come up with reading suggestions. Although these results weren’t free from quirks either, with the Official Nintendo Super Paper Mario Player’s Guide making it onto the list of Quick Reads for ‘Smarty Pants.’ BookYap is a site to keep an eye on, and with time, the search results may become more accurate and relevant.

Gnooks

href="www.gnooks.com">Gnooks is probably the simplest of any of the sites of this kind, with absolutely no bells and whistles. Search for an author’s name and you will be presented with a visual map of similar authors. The closer the suggestions are to the search word, the more similar they are. Clicking on a name in the map will lead you to another visualization of similar authors.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gnooks.png" alt="" width="580" height="338" />

Goodreads

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/track-book-goodreads/">Goodreads needs no introduction. The popular bookshelf social network also provides user-generated recommendations of sorts. Users can create lists of books, so for example, searching for The Alexandria Quartet is featured on a variety of lists such as best post World War II fiction, alongside other greats such as Catch 22. But then it also does wind up on a list of best books ever alongside Twilight. If you’re going to benefit from Goodreads’ lists, you’ll obviously have to rely on a bit of common sense as well. The Goodreads community itself can also serve as a great way to discover new books, simply by interacting with other users.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/GoodReads.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="527" />

AllReaders

href="http://www.allreaders.com">AllReaders is another no-frills, awful UI website, but not only does it provide a small list of titles that are similar to any given book, you can also search for books based on plot, setting or even details about the protagonists. Titles are also accompanied by a plot summary, as well as setting and character information.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/allreads.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="565" />

Amazon

href="http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon is an obvious but often overlooked option for getting reading recommendations. When looking up any given book, you can find similar titles since the search result is accompanied by a ‘Customers who bought this also bought’ list.

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In addition, you can also find similar authors using their ‘Customers also bought items by’ list.

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TasteKid

href="http://www.tastekid.com/">TasteKid is a great site for both book and author recommendations. Just enter the title of your favorite book, or your favorite author, and TasteKid will generate some of the most relevant and accurate results out of all the sites listed here. TasteKid also provides more than just book recommendations and can also be used for music, movies and TV shows.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/TasteKid.png" alt="" width="580" height="216" />

Other great ways to get recommendations on what to read are with other sites similar to Good Reads, where you can catalog your book collection and also benefit from the community’s wisdom on what to read next. Shelfari and Library Thing are two such examples that have been reviewed alongside Good Reads in the post, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-great-ways-to-keep-track-of-your-expanding-book-collection/">4 Great Ways To Keep Track Of Your Expanding Book Collection. Other great sites worth checking out that have already been reviewed at MakeUseOf, include href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/book-recommendation-engines-quick-book-searches/">What Should I Read Next, WhichBook.net and The Book Seer.

You might also be interested in the following articles:

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-great-sites-to-do-a-book-search-by-plot-or-subject/">4 Great Sites to do a Book Search by Plot or Subject /> href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/recommendations-on-movies-music-books-from-glue-firefox/">Recommendations on Movies, Music, Books from Glue

What sites do you use to decide what your next read is going to be? Let us know in the comments.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/intro9.jpg" alt="ubuntu tweaks">Here at MakeUseOf, we strive to bring you the very best tutorials, reviews and articles to make your daily tech life that little bit easier. We’re not alone (of course!) and occasionally it’s only right to highlight some of our own favourite resources elsewhere on the web.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ubuntu-1010-maverick-meerkat-linux/">Ubuntu has grown in popularity immensely over the last few years ““ and for good reason. The operating system is accessible (both in a software and hardware sense), compatible with a lot of software and won’t cost you a penny.

If you’re looking to expand your Ubuntu knowledge, have a burning question about some missing feature or are a newcomer to the world of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/linux/">Linux then these 5 sites are a great source of information.

id="more-67946">

href="http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/">OMG! Ubuntu!

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/omgubuntu.jpg" alt="ubuntu tweaks" width="580" height="394" />

My personal favourite source for Ubuntu-related news and developments, interspersed with timely href="http://www.makeuseof.com/service/how-to">how-to posts and tutorials. Due to the beautifully designed site layout, you’ll be forgiven for spending a while stumbling from article to article, and learning plenty in the process.

As well as instructional pieces, there’s plenty of news about upcoming software, updates and unreleased versions to gawp at, as well as editorial pieces, interviews and software reviews.

OMG! Ubuntu! is updated with a good cluster of posts each day, and should be your one-stop website for unofficial Ubuntu news, tips and speculation.

href="http://www.ubuntugeek.com/">Ubuntu Geek

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ubuntugeek.jpg" alt="ubuntu tips and tricks" width="580" height="427" />

A repository (mind the pun) of tutorials and instructionals, purely aimed at the Ubuntu Linux distribution makes this a cracking resource for users old and new. Whilst the site itself could use a bit of a redesign, the information is what really matters ““ and handy information it is too!

Tutorials are split up into 9 different categories, ranging from href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-backup-tools/">backup and networking techniques to security and package management information. The site is especially useful for newbies as there are a number of tutorials aimed at the very basics.

href="http://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=100">UbuntuForums.org ““ Tutorials & Tips

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/forums.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="414" />

When journalism and official documentation fails “ubuntu tips and tricks” why not href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-forum-search-engines-to-search-40-000-message-boards/">ask the community? The official Ubuntu forums play host to a message board dedicated entirely to tips and tutorials. Being a message board, it’s updated far more often than any news or tutorial site.

Outdated tutorials for older versions of Ubuntu are kept separate from how-to posts which are applicable for the current version. The best thing about the forum format is the ability to address the poster directly and ask questions if you don’t understand or get stuck.

Registration is of course free, though you won’t need to register if you simply want to browse.

href="http://ubuntuguide.net/">UbuntuGuide.net

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ubuntuguide.jpg" alt="ubuntu tips and tricks" width="580" height="410" />

Much like Ubuntu Geek, UbuntuGuide.net is a fairly exhaustive collection of tutorials on anything and everything Ubuntu-related. From installing Ubuntu onto a Macbook Air to the many uses for the Windows “Super” key in Ubuntu, it’s a resource for users old and new.

There’s a whole section dedicated to Compiz, the current Ubuntu compositing & window manager. If you’re looking to href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-tools-tips-sexier-ubuntu-interface/">beautify your desktop or resolve sluggish video issues then the Compiz category is a good place to start.

There are regular updates, with a new tutorial published pretty much every day.

href="http://www.unixmen.com/">UNIX Men

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/unixmen.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="453" />

UNIX Men, whilst not specifically dedicated to Ubuntu, is a general Linux news and tutorial resource with plenty to offer. The website caters for a whole variety of users and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-lightweight-linux-distributions-give-pc-lease-life/">distributions, but hovering your mouse over the Linux Tutorials button will reveal a section dedicated just to Ubuntu.

There is also decent coverage of the world of Linux software and gaming, though beware there’s a chance you’ll need to compile some downloads from source.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/category/linux">MakeUseOf Answers

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Have you got a burning question? You’ve looked all over the web and are wondering if there’s anybody out there who can help? Our very own Answers section was designed with your predicament in mind.

Simply click Ask A Question, fill in the details and both the MakeUseOf team and community will attempt to answer your dilemma. You can always return the favour by helping someone else out!

Conclusion

There are plenty of resources here to answer a variety of questions related to the Ubuntu operating system. Once the upcoming Ubuntu 11.04 lands there is bound to be another surge of documentation and tutorials, as everyone gets up to speed with the changes. With the aid of these few sites, you should be covered for a good few releases yet!

Do you use Ubuntu? Any favourite Ubuntu tweaks, tips and tricks? Trying to find out how to do something? Let us know in the comments below.

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Deal06.png" alt="deals near me" /> title="Groupon" href="http://www.groupon.com">Groupon has started a trend by taking the customer back to local businesses via the Internet. Daily deal sites are a great resource not only for bargains, but also for discovering restaurants, stores, and services in your city. The vouchers also make for great gifts! But can you keep up with all the new services popping up left and right?

No one wants to follow a dozen different Groupon clones to catch the best local deal. The alternative is to sign up with one service that aggregates all of them. Below are the five best sites to find all the cool deals that you can enjoy close to your home.

id="more-66705"> /> Due to the geographic nature of these services and my limited language skills, this article can only cover a few selected regions worldwide. If you know of any major daily deal aggregators in your part of the world, feel free to post the links in the comments.

title="OneSpout" href="http://onespout.com">OneSpout

Available In:

USA, Canada, UK, Ireland

Characteristics:

• sign up with email address and password or connect with Facebook.
• view summary on website in list or map view.
• sort and filter deals by various criteria, including price, time left, and distance to location.
• easily switch between cities.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Deal01.png" border="0" alt="deals near me" />

OneSpout is the service I have been using in Vancouver. I initially signed up for Groupon and then added LivingSocial and SocialShopper. I ended up being annoyed by all the emails coming in at random times every day. OneSpout solved the dilemma. Now it’s only one email that summarizes offers from all local deal sites. For example, there are currently 53 deals in Vancouver, 79 in Toronto, 89 in San Francisco, 102 in New York, and 101 in London, UK.

Once you want to purchase a deal, you will need to sign up with the respective deal site. However, you can opt out of receiving email updates, and some sites offer Facebook or Twitter login, so you don’t have to create yet another account.

title="Dealery" href="http://dealery.com">Dealery

Available In:

USA, Canada

Characteristics:

• sign up with email address and password or connect with Facebook.
• view list on website and browse by categories.
• easily switch from one city to another.
• view past, national, vacation, and wine deals.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Deal02.png" border="0" alt="deals near you" />

On Dealery it’s easier to view just a specific category of deals. Apart from the additional deal categories, being able to follow the deals on Facebook, Twitter and via RSS is also very useful.

title="Yipit" href="http://yipit.com">Yipit

Available In:

USA, Canada

Characteristics:

• extensive checklist for deal categories in sidebar and for email updates.
• subscribe to multiple cities and set frequency of email updates.
• define price range, search by discount, and time left.
• view available sources and include selected ones via checklist.
• view nationwide deals.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Deal04.png" border="0" alt="deals near you" />

Yipit hasn’t reached quite the coverage that some of the other services offer. However, it has some neat features, for example subscribing to specific categories and receiving email updates in less frequent intervals.

title="DealRadar" href="http://www.dealradar.com/">DealRadar

Available In:

USA, Canada, UK, Australia

Characteristics:

• reveals which sites it aggregates for every city.
• no signup.
• subscribe by email or follow via RSS, Twitter, or Facebook.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Deal03.png" border="0" alt="deals near you" />

DealRadar provides a simplistic interface with only the most important information. Deals are listed under different categories. All the sites that DealRadar follows for each city are listed in the sidebar.

title="Social Deal Map" href="http://www.socialdealmap.com/local/index.php">Social Deal Map

Available In:

USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia

Characteristics:

• browse deals worldwide in map view.
• filter by included deal sources.
• view local deals in the US by city or state.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Deal05.png" border="0" alt="deals near me" />

The Social Deal Map makes deals accessible in map view, which is very practical for travelers or if you’re looking to purchase a gift for someone in a different city. A similar service is title="The Dealmap" href="http://www.thedealmap.com/">The Dealmap, which superficially has a much better design. However, I didn’t find it easier to use.

Conclusion

Daily deal aggregators are almost as varied as daily deal sites. The challenge is to find the one that best suits your personal preferences, whether it’s the features it offers or the range of sources it aggregates. In the end, these services should not only save money, but also time.

Also check out these articles:

• title="Make Use Of Groupon" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-ways-makeuseof-groupon/">5 Ways To Make Use Of Groupon
• title="Discover Hot Deals Recommended by Others" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-socialmediapowered-shopping-tools-money-saver-money-spender/">3 Sites To Discover Hot Deals Recommended By Other Users

Have you been using daily deal sites? What kind of services have you purchased? Was it worth it?

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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/2011/02/SafeBrowsing05.png" border="0" alt="known sites with spyware and virus" height="200" />The Internet is a breeding place for malware. New sites containing viruses, worms, keyloggers, and other malicious software are popping up every day. Once picked up and opened by an unsuspecting user, they hatch, infect the computer, and potentially wreck havoc on the system.

Malware causes worldwide economic damage in the multi-billion dollar range and even though users are ever more aware of good security practices, it continues to be a head-to-head race between malicious software and the defense against it. Many users catch malware through browsing online. Thus not visiting known sites with spyware and viruses in the first place is an effective way to keep the computer safe.

id="more-66369"> /> This articles shows you 3 resources that will lower your risk of visiting malicious sites by accident. Although you can search online domain lists for unsafe websites, a  browser plugin is by far the most convenient way to automatically identify and avoid malicious websites.

title="Web Of Trust" href="http://www.mywot.com/">Web Of Trust (WOT)

Type: Browser plugin, website

Service: website ratings based on user experience and domain listings

Supports: Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, Bookmarklet

WOT does more than alert users about potential spyware and viruses. It’s an all-around service that rates sites based on general trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety. The ratings are conducted by its huge international community. Users can leave comments to further support their rating and point out specific problems with the respective page. Apart from user input, the site also relies on external resources, such as listings of phishing sites published on title="PhishTank" href="http://www.phishtank.com/">PhishTank.

The rating symbol appears both in search results and directly in the browser. The complete rating, including user comments, is available on the ‘scorecard’.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SafeBrowsing02.png" border="0" alt="known sites with spyware and virus" width="580" height="270" />

If a user attempts to open a website with a bad rating, WOT issues a warning, which has to be discarded, before the site can be accessed.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SafeBrowsing01.png" border="0" alt="known spyware and adware" width="580" height="314" />

WOT also offers a small online tool where you can manually ‘check the reputation of your favorite website’ based on its URL.

Alternatives: To my knowledge there are no comparable alternatives to WOT. Similar plugins either lack their own community or a broad support, some of the main features, e.g. no ratings next to search results, or only support one or two browsers. Other tools I tested include title="Trustpilot Guard" href="http://www.trustpilot.com/Trustguard">Trustpilot Guard (Firefox), title="TrendProtect" href="http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/trendprotect">TrendProtect (Internet Explorer) and title="McAfee SiteAdvisor" href="http://www.siteadvisor.com/howitworks/index.html">McAfee SiteAdvisor (Firefox and Internet Explorer).

title="LinkExtend" href="http://www.linkextend.com/">LinkExtend

Type: browser toolbar

Service: provides “meta-site-ratings for computer safety, child safety, company ethics, and popularity”

Supports: Firefox

LinkExtend is a Firefox toolbar, which includes a host of services compiled in the following categories: Safety, KidSafe, Ethical, Site Traffic, and Thumbnails. For its ratings it relies on a range of tools, such as WOT itself, Google Safe Browsing, Alexa, Scryve, and many more. If you do not trust any of the resources, you can turn off single ones via the LinkExtend options (button in the far right of the toolbar).

After installing the toolbar, a setup wizard guides you through the various options.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SafeBrowsing04.png" border="0" alt="known spyware and adware" width="580" height="283" />

The ratings and thumbnails presented next to search results are some of the most comprehensive I have found. Moreover, you can highlight your keywords in search results by clicking the yellow marker symbol in the LinkExtend toolbar. If you find the information that is added too much, you can turn off select features via the toolbar options.

class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-66383" title="SafeBrowsing06" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SafeBrowsing06.png" alt="known spyware and adware" width="580" height="134" />

title="URLVoid" href="http://www.urlvoid.com/">URLVoid & URLVoid title="URLVoid VScan" href="http://vscan.urlvoid.com/">VScan

Type: website

Service: website reputation based on multiple rating services and scan URLs for viruses

URLVoid is an online service that compiles ratings for websites and scans them for malicious content. It is important to note that these are two separate services!

To detect websites with a bad reputation, URLVoid relies on several resources, including Google Diagnostic, MalwareDomainList, PcTools Browser Defender, PhishTank, Norton SafeWeb, MyWOT, and many others. Results are compiled within a few seconds and the tool displays the rating status for each service below an overall summary. The permalink for a specific page (example: title="URLVoid permalink makeuseof.com" href="http://www.urlvoid.com/scan/makeuseof.com">permalink for MakeUseOf) can be bookmarked and shared.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SafeBrowsing03.png" border="0" alt="known sites with spyware and virus" width="580" height="342" />

The scanning of URLs for viruses is facilitated by several antivirus engines, including Avast, AVG, AVira, Kaspersky, and many more. Unfortunately, this tool is not very quick and my query was promptly placed in slot number 16,946 of the queue. And instead of moving up the queue, it moved down the queue.

Let me say something about title="McAfee SiteAdvisor" href="http://www.siteadvisor.com/howitworks/index.html">McAfee SiteAdvisor and title="TrendProtect" href="http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/trendprotect">TrendProtect which are not one of the best resources recommended in this article. Both McAfee and TrendSecure are well known brands within the computer security business. However, I found several problems with these browser plugins. First of all, a conspicious amount of websites rated unsatisfactory or poorly on WOT, received a safe rating from McAfee and TrendProtect. Moreover, some sites that were clearly found to be unsafe and malicious by WOT users, carry a McAfee SECURE stamp, meaning they were ‘verified safe for e-commerce’ and are ‘tested daily for hacker vulnerabilities’. Disagreements far and wide! I cannot verify which rating system is right however. When in doubt I would rather go with the bad rating than trust the good one. Thus I recommend to stay away from McAfee SiteAdvisor.

Are you browsing with Firefox? Check out this post for the title="10 Best Firefox Security and Privacy Addons" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-firefox-addons-for-enhancing-security-and-privacy/">10+ Best Firefox Security and Privacy Addons. For online resources, have a look at the article title="Check if Links are Safe" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-quick-sites-that-let-you-check-if-links-are-safe/">4 Quick Sites That Let You Check if Links Are Safe.

How do you make sure your browsing is safe?

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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/2011/02/SafeBrowsing05.png" border="0" alt="known sites with spyware and virus" height="200" />The Internet is a breeding place for malware. New sites containing viruses, worms, keyloggers, and other malicious software are popping up every day. Once picked up and opened by an unsuspecting user, they hatch, infect the computer, and potentially wreck havoc on the system.

Malware causes worldwide economic damage in the multi-billion dollar range and even though users are ever more aware of good security practices, it continues to be a head-to-head race between malicious software and the defense against it. Many users catch malware through browsing online. Thus not visiting known sites with spyware and viruses in the first place is an effective way to keep the computer safe.

id="more-66369"> /> This articles shows you 3 resources that will lower your risk of visiting malicious sites by accident. Although you can search online domain lists for unsafe websites, a  browser plugin is by far the most convenient way to automatically identify and avoid malicious websites.

title="Web Of Trust" href="http://www.mywot.com/">Web Of Trust (WOT)

Type: Browser plugin, website

Service: website ratings based on user experience and domain listings

Supports: Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, Bookmarklet

WOT does more than alert users about potential spyware and viruses. It’s an all-around service that rates sites based on general trustworthiness, vendor reliability, privacy, and child safety. The ratings are conducted by its huge international community. Users can leave comments to further support their rating and point out specific problems with the respective page. Apart from user input, the site also relies on external resources, such as listings of phishing sites published on title="PhishTank" href="http://www.phishtank.com/">PhishTank.

The rating symbol appears both in search results and directly in the browser. The complete rating, including user comments, is available on the ‘scorecard’.