Wednesday, December 25, 2013

КusoCartoon.com – Funny Photo to Cartoon Online Converter


KusoCartoon free web services allow you to have fun with your images in multiple ways.

1. Photo-to-Cartoon Convertor

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How to cartoonize your photo?

* Select a style for your cartoon.
* Upload your picture.
* Wait for cartoon conversion.
* View and optimize your cartoon.
* Enjoy your creation

Upload Photo Limits

* File Format: jpeg, png
* Maximum File Size: 500KB
* Max Export: 500 x 500 pixels

Tips

* JPEG quality 100% is recommended.
* Tags are important for re-locating pictures.
* High quality photos will create better quality cartoons.


2.  Photo Collage

Upload pictures from your computer and manipulate them to prepare nice collage with text and graphic effects embedded.

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3. Photo Game

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You can easily make your own mini game with your photos and invite your friends to play online. You can show the winner an interesting image and text message as a reward. Photo games made by you are not available to everyone. You can set an Invite Code to protect your game, and anyone who visits your game will be asked for the Invite Code before they can see and play your game. You can send the Invite Code exclusively to your friends.

Upload Image Limits

File Format: jpg, png
Maximum File Size: 500KB
Minimum Image Size: 300 x 300 pixels

Requirement

Requires JavaScript enabled.


4. Chat Stickers

Easily create your personal chat stickers with your photos, enjoy the unique and cool emoticons on your chats.

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How it works?

* Upload your picture.
* Wait seconds for image conversion.
* Download your chat sticker.

Upload Image Limits

* File Format: JPEG, PNG, BMP
* Maximum File Size: 500KB
* Maximum Export: 500 x 500 pixels

Tips

* JPEG quality 100% is recommended.
* High quality photos will create better quality stickers.

Requirements

Requires JavaScript enabled.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Sharefest – free secure and anonymous data sharing


Sharefest is an open-source HTML5 based file sharing application that is free, anonymous, and direct.  It does not use cloud storage, as most similar services on the Web. Instead it is based on a direct P2P model like Bittorrent, and it uses WebRTC Datachannel for file sharing.  WebRTC is a joint initiative by Google, Mozilla, and Opera to allow high quality real time communications in the web browser.

Advantages:

* Secure. Your files will not be stored anywhere. Furthermore, no one else besides the recipients (including Sharefest.me) will have access to the shared files. Solid encryption is used to make it bulletproof.
* Anonymous. There is no need to sign up and give any information to use the service.
* Unlike Bittorrent, no special software is needed to share or download shared files.
* No size or file type limitations.

How it works:

* Loading the file is easy. Click or drag-and-drop any file to instantly share!
* Once you add a file, Sharefest creates a dynamic URL that is used to get the file directly from your browser. Your browser will serve the file temporarily, as long as you keep the tab open. When users enter this unique URL to the browser, they will start instantly receiving pieces of the file. If there are multiple recipients, the same as BitTorrent, each downloaded data will be shared with others, making the process fast and tension-free to your source.

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Limitations: You may need to update your browsers to the latest revisions: Chrome (27 or newer) or Firefox (20 or newer).

Sharefest started by Peer5 at the SV DevFest 2012 hackathon (San Jose). It was soon open sourced to GitHub and now being developed by Peer5 and a community of great WebRTC hackers.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Get free 100GB of virtual space from Shared.com


Shared is a new cloud storage service that helps people upload all their files quickly and efficiently from anywhere. With Shared, you can upload any file and send a link to anyone -- there's no requirement for them to sign up and there's nothing to install. Want to send a PDF or need to backup all your digital music? No problem, with Shared, you can upload and keep your files private and share what matters.

Shared is a cloud storage platform that connects you with your files, built on a robust system and high security data center. The highest developer’s priority is keeping your privacy and files secure.

Get started with 100GB of free storage. If you need more space, you may upgrade anytime. Access your files from any Internet connected smart phone or tablet.

Based in San Francisco, Shared Media is a network of media hosting sites providing utility based services for data and content storage.

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Main Features:

* Upload, organize and share your files quickly without the hassle.
*Shared was built with speed and efficiency in mind. Our powerful cloud storage let you upload your files faster than ever.
* Share what you want with whom you want. Your files are private and we maintain the highest level of security for all your data.
* The offered plans are suitable for anyone.
* Everything is done online to make sure uploading and sharing is as simple as possible.
* Organize your files into folders and share them with friends.
* Easy and fast sign-up, and your virtual space is instantly available.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Free Private VPN through US Server


A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, such as the Internet. It enables a computer to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if it were directly connected to the private network, while benefiting from the functionality, security and management policies of the private network. This is done by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections, encryption, or a combination of the two.

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The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a method for implementing virtual private networks. PPTP uses a control channel over TCP and a GRE tunnel operating to encapsulate PPP packets.

Online service FreeVPNToday provides one of the best free PPTP VPN services for your needs, fast and reliable.

It's pretty simple to use this PPTP based free VPN in your desktop or mobile devices, PPTP protocol VPN client is built-in in most of OS, mobile phones and network appliances, no software installation, no additional cost for the client.  Here is the VPN connection detail:
* VPN Type:   PPTP VPN 
* Encryption:   Enabled (or Auto) 
* VPN Server:  usa.freevpntoday.com
* VPN Username:   vpn123
* Get VPN Password:
                Access: http://www.freevpntoday.com/free-vpn-service/
                Move slider to unlock the service.
                Click VPN info and get the working password.

Notes:

* Note that Passwords are changed every 24 to 72 hours, so you will have to get back to update it as needed.
* To guarantee every user has equal priority to use the free VPN account, each VPN session will stay alive for maximum 8 hours. If your VPN get disconnected, you can simply connect again with password list above to get the VPN back.
* Every user will get 3Mbit/s download speed and 1Mbit/s upload speed for each free VPN session, it means you can watch YouTube 720P HD stream video smoothly without buffering or waiting!
 * To maintain a very high quality of VPN service, P2P and BT traffic are not allowed. Also no illegal activities allowed with the free service. In case of abuse, users' VPN access log is subjected to expose to related authorities.
* It is suggested to use Google DNS Servers to avoid DNS hijacking from your local ISP:  

DNS Server 1: 8.8.8.8   
DNS Server 2: 8.8.4.4

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Thursday, December 12, 2013

Win Free Powerocks Magicstick 2800mAh Universal Extended Battery - WebFreebies Holidays Giveaway


My dear blog readers!

I am happy to announce the WebFreebies blog Holidays Giveaway. It is sponsored by Powerocks, USA, company specialized on manufacturing and distribution of the high-quality mobile accessories for reasonable and affordable prices.


I have tried several extended batteries that did not work sufficiently for me, a waste of money! This one really works. I have an iPhone that needs charging frequently. I probably need a new one, but have not had time to purchase one.

Anyhow, this powerocks magic stick works so well,,I am telling everyone. It is small, and powerful, and charges my mobile devices safely and quickly when I am away from an electrical outlet. It is compact and lightweight and easily fits within my purse. Powerocks is the best source for backup portable power on-the-go. Its 2800mAh battery capacity, gives enough juice to fully charge most smartphones two times. Magicstick includes a Micro USB to USB connection cable for easy charging/recharging and a soft drawstring carrying bag (From Amazon.com Product Reviews).

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Product: Powerocks Magicstick 2800mAh Black Universal Extended Battery

Purpose: If you are one of the new generations of people who get maximum from their phones, using them as communication device, media player, GPS, mini-computer, electronic purse, photo-video camera, and many other purposes, you may experience that your battery is not getting alive through the busy day.

 Sometimes you may not have the time, place, or occasion to recharge your phone, especially when you’re constantly using it throughout the day. If that is a case with you, you will definitely benefit from using a portable battery/charger. 

Description: The Powerocks Magistick extended battery is small enough to easily fit in a purse, briefcase, backpack...even in the palm of your hand. This lightweight but powerful battery is perfect for work, vacation and everyday on-the-go. It has a modern slim, sleek, and stylish design. Its compact design makes it convenient to carry in your pocket or purse. You could even leave it plugged in to your phone. Micro USB cable and velvet bag are included. This extended battery contains a rechargeable 2800mAh lithium ion battery.

I have a few different portable chargers and I love this one. It is small and easily can fit into a smaller purse or my pocket to be used when I am out and there are no outlets around (Concerts, bus trips, amusement parks). It even has a little bag to carry it and the cord in! (From Amazon.com Product Reviews).

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Main Product Features:

* Has a one-amp charge rate (same as home chargers).
* Depending on your phone's battery, you can get one-two full charges from one Magicstick charge.
* Large capacity 2800mAh portable battery keeps your cell phone or smartphone powered while on the go.
* Small and convenient for traveling.
* Compatible with cell phones, smartphones, and media players.
* Has one USB port with 5V / 1A output for rapid charging.
* Recharge via the included Micro-USB charging cable.
* Features a charge-level indicator.
* Powers iPhone, Android phones, other smartphones, and many other devices.
* Environmentally friendly (ROHS compliant).
* CE, UL, FCC approved.
* Size: 3.6 inches (9.1 cm) long by 0.9 inches (2.3 cm) diameter.
* Weight: 2.6 ounces (74 grams).
* Regular Cost: $49.99

Video Presentation:




Giveaway Details:

Feel free to take your chance and enter promotional giveaway below.

Note that there are several options to get entries, and the winner will be randomly chosen by the automatic raffle, based on amount of entries.




Saturday, December 7, 2013

10 Free Online Tools to Create Professional Resume Online


After publishing a previous post about Kick Resume free online resume generation service, I got several requests to review more similar resources, showing that there is substantial interest in the topic among job seekers. That is understandable. Adequate resume is your key to the interview. And if you are unable to open the prospective employer door, no one ever know how good you are fitting to the advertised position. Therefore, it is recommended to tweak the resume for every position you dream of (definitely, not the every one you submit, but those, you really want). That’s it, it is not enough to modify each time cover letter to reflect the position you submit your resume, but possibly perform fine tuning of the resume itself to show your perfect fit to the job responsibilities and requirements matrix.

Applying to job is a job itself, and you should treat each submission as a project. It takes time and it takes efforts, but, trust me, it is easy to see, if the applicant resume and cover letter were created as generic faceless documents, and the only cover letter modification was changing the position name in the standard form. When hundreds of resumes come for the same position, you should make your application sticking in a good way, noticeable in a crowd of the similar submissions.

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Free online service will be at your side and assistance.

1. Resume Improved

Online Resume Builder will guide you through the process of creating an easy to read, stylish, professional looking resume fast and efficiently. You are instructed to enter your details in the required fields as directed – there’s no need to worry about page margins, font types or the layout presentation.

Main Features:
* Create a professionally formatted resume within minutes using advanced resume builder tool.
* Expert hints and tips available throughout to help guide and inspire you.
* Choose from a variety of Industry recommended templates.
* Print, Download, Email, Fax and even Publish your resume online in one click.
* Access your resume anytime, anyplace from any computer.
* All information is saved securely on the website.


2. Resume.com

Free online resume builder allows you to create the perfect resume in minutes. You will get proper guidance through the process from start to finish. The plan of actions is simple and straightforward: start by selecting a resume template, and then use our step by step tools to enter your education, qualifications, and past employment history. Then share your resume online or download a plain text version for free (in Word or PDF format). You may also publish multiple resume versions for different job applications.

You may store your resume online here and redirect anyone to it just by giving them your URL, which looks something like resume.com/username.


3. Resumizer

Resumizer offers a free resume creator allowing to write and print your resume in a few simple steps, many styles and options with tips to guide you. Easily update and edit your resume, no fees or memberships required.

Main Features:
* No cost to use, no membership is required, there is no need to join, just come and use it whenever you wish.
* There are many options available to you to customize your resume. Use the options you like; leave the others blank.
* There are many popular layout styles to choose from.
* The type face, text color, and accent colors can all be selected according to your taste.
* Each section has extra space for you to add anything special that you require.
* You can easily preview your resume as the creation process progresses.
* The finished product can be printed immediately or downloaded and printed later.
* Your cell phone number, email address, and webpage address can all be included if you desire.
* You can return at any time and load your free resume into the system to be edited and updated as needed.


4. CV Maker

Free online resume builder CV Maker will be useful also for multi-language applicants since it supports 17 languages. It features a very simple “fill-in-the-blanks” format to fill up, as well as a customizable editor which lets you rearrange sections (Work Experiences, Qualifications, Education).

You can also add your own sections with rich text formatting. Register to save and edit your resume from time to time or else just fill in your information and download the resume in PDF, HTML or TXT formats. You can also share your resume electronically through the individually provided link.


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5. Resunate

Resunate is free Web based software to build a resume and automatically evaluate & improve it for every job. First, Resunate guides users through the process of creating an effective resume by integrating their submitted data into a template. You can import your LinkedIn profile into Resunate and use it as a starting point for creating a resume. For your accomplishments and activities, Resunate suggests effective wording and examples of activities that are most attractive to employers. It also suggests including new information boxes such as "objective" - a statement of your intent applying for a specific position, "summary" - a summary of your major qualifications, other experience, or a custom category in addition to the standard contact information, work experience, and education.

Once you compile your resume data, there are three basic choices of resume templates from institutions like Carnegie Mellon University and the Career Development Center along with what types of jobs each specific resume template is geared towards. You can edit, add, or remove information at this stage as well, with the full resume displayed on the screen. After editing, you can save resume on the site or download it as a PDF document to print later.

As job seeker you can "focus" a resume to up to 25 different categories of jobs on the free version for automatic editing in the "My resumes" section. The program chooses which bullet points to keep in the resume based on semantic relevance to the focus to create a more effectively concise resume. In this section, you can manage what resumes have been submitted and whether they have received an interview, received an offer, or accepted an offer.

Resunate is free to use, fully-featured, for up to 25 resume to job description focuses. Subscribing to a premium account removes that limitation, providing unlimited resume focuses.


6. LiveCareer

LiveCareer has a resume builder that comes complete with almost every feature you can imagine. Register to save and edit your resume later on and choose from many templates to work on. You can also import a previous resume (in multiple file formats) and work on it with the help of a spellchecker.

The tool also lets you edit the formatting, spacing and margins of the templates to suit your needs and once done, you can print, email or download your resume in 5 different file format: DOC, PDF, HTML, RTF and TXT.


7. Got Resume Builder

GotResumeBuilder allows you to create professionally looking resume online fast and easy with user-friendly only tool.

Main features:
* Multiple professionally designed resume templates.
* Context-sensitive resume writing tips on the go.
* Real-time preview of resume designs.
* One page summary view of resume content.
* Easily sort items with drag-drop.
* Organize resume sections as you wish with ease. Create unique sections and sort them with simple drag-and-drop.
* Service allows to host created resume online for electronic sharing.
* You may instantly share resume on Facebook or Twitter.
* Download resume in multiple formats: PDF, Word, ODT, Html, Text supported
* You may create and manage multiple resumes and quickly create new resumes by duplicating existing ones.


And there is couple of more similar site for review with no detailed description:
10. SmartResumeWizard: http://smartresumewizard.com/


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Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Kick Resume – Professionally Looking Resume Online


Getting a job is not an easy task, especially if economy is not in its best shape. You need to pass through multiple “filters” to reach successfully finish line. On each stage, number of passers will drastically decrease, and you need to be ready to apply the best strategy for the best self-presentation.

Many job seekers cannot actually pass the first “filter”, when HR specialist or administrative assistant is performing an initial scan of the received applications. Huge part of such failure can be attributed to the poorly written, badly formatted, and unprofessionally looking resumes. Indeed, when you need to review 50 applications for 1 position, you will not spend more than 30 seconds on initial review, and your task is to make everything possible not to let it end up in the trash basket or trash bin of the email client.

KickResume is a free service, allowing you to build from scratch professionally looking resume and download the ready to distribute document to your computer. The task can be competed fast and efficient since you do not need to worry for inadequate formatting the document. Follow 6 simple steps:

1. Click on the “Create a CV” button on the top taskbar.
2. Choose your own design from 4 proposed templates.

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3. Fill in your personal data.
4. Check carefully for content and grammar.
5. Save or print the document.
6. Edit and change designs, if needed.

Site interface is developed in several languages, among them English, Spanish, German, and Russian.



Sunday, November 24, 2013

3 Desktop Applications for Google Play Music



If you have significant music collection of your favorite tracks and you prefer having access to them whenever you want and wherever you go, free service from Google might be a good choice to use. Starting from 2011, Google offers you to upload for free up to 20,000 songs and access them from any device equipped with appropriate application or through the Web browser, given you have stable internet access. You may add your collection from iTunes, Windows Media Player, or any folders on your dedicated hard drive. Then, you may listen on the web or your mobile devices without the hassle of wires or syncing.

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While there is no need for the special application to use the service, there is always easy to have special applications for such access.

The web interface can be reached: https://play.google.com/music/listen#/now

In this post, we will present several desktop applications for Windows to improve your listening experience.

1. Music Manager

Music manager is an official Google application, allowing uploading music from your computer to Google Play and listening to the music you love anywhere you have Internet access.

Main features:

* Upload up to 20,000 songs from your iTunes library, Windows Media Player library, My Music folder, or folders of your choice to Google Play.
* Selective upload is available. You may upload only the tracks you want - choose individual songs or upload songs automatically.
* Adjust the bandwidth available for uploading songs.
* View your upload progress.
* Download any songs that you previously uploaded to your music library, as well as songs you purchased from Google Play.


2. Google Music Desktop Player by Victor Gill

This is a desktop application for Google Music online music service allowing you to use this service as a desktop application mainly for accessing/controlling it with multimedia keyboard, taskbar buttons and as a widget.

Main features:

* A notification splashform.
* LastFM Scrobbling
* Free RAM after song end
* Uses Webkit Engine
* Supports Multimedia Keys [PlayPause, Stop, Previous and Next]
* Windows 7 Taskbar support [Buttons for: Play/Pause Previous and Next]
* MiniPlayer
* Metro UI Like with Aero Snap support
*Multi-monitor support
*Windows 7 and 8 compatible


3. GMusic

GMusic is a desktop client for Google Music that supports minimize to tray with a draggable playback control bar and support for multimedia keys.

Main Features:

* Miniplayer - to enable, right click the system tray icon, choose "Settings -> Show Miniplayer When Hidden." When the player is minimized, this will show the always-on-top semi-transparent control bar pictured below. You can move the bar by dragging the right hand side. We will add a visual cure to make this more obvious in the near future.
*  Multimedia Keys - Play/Pause, Next Track and Previous Track keyboard keys can be used to control playback. If you have troubles be sure there are no other media players running and check to ensure your keyboard drivers are properly installed and configured. You can find more information on configuration from your keyboard manufacturers’ website.
* Optional Browser Key Control - If your keyboard has browser navigation keys (like Forward, Back, Home, etc.) but does not have media control keys you can enable this option by right clicking on the system tray icon and choosing "Settings -> Capture Browser Keys." Doing so will cause the browser keys to control playback in lieu of multimedia keys. One drawback is that some browsers will aggressively intercept these keys when they have focus so you may not be able to control playback while actively browsing the web, but it should work fine while you are using other applications.
* Command Line Support



Monday, November 11, 2013

5 Freeware Pandora Desktop Clients for Windows


Since Pandora started back in 2000, they have been hard at work on the Music Genome Project. It's the most comprehensive analysis of music ever undertaken. Together a team of fifty musician-analysts has been listening to music, one song at a time, studying and collecting literally hundreds of musical details on every song. It takes 20-30 minutes per song to capture all of the little details that give each recording its magical sound - melody, harmony, instrumentation, rhythm, vocals, lyrics ... and more - close to 400 attributes! Pandora continues this work every day to keep up with the incredible flow of great new music coming from studios, stadiums and garages around the country.

With Pandora you can explore this vast trove of music to your heart's content. Just drop the name of one of your favorite songs or artists into Pandora and let the Genome Project go. It will quickly scan its entire world of analyzed music, almost a century of popular recordings - new and old, well known and completely obscure - to find songs with interesting musical similarities to your choice. Then sit back and enjoy as it creates a listening experience full of current and soon-to-be favorite songs for you. 

While some people enjoy Pandora exclusively on the mobile phones and players, other use it as creative background for their daily computer activities on Desktops and Laptops. If that is a case for you, you may look into dedicated applications for your computer versus listening through Web interface or even through browser plugins.

In this post, I will present several freeware utilities which will make easier, enhance your experience, and offer more satisfaction from Pandora use.

1. Elpis

Elpis is a free and open source Pandora client for Microsoft Windows. It was created to provide a simple, lightweight and seamless way to enjoy music through Pandora while freeing you from the confines of a web browser and integrating into the desktop.

Main Features:
* Simple desktop application supporting both subscription and free accounts.
* Ability to View, Sort and Select Stations
* Play, Pause, Skip Song
* Cover and Artist Art
* Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Tired of Song
* Save user credentials and automatic login
* Automatically play last station at launch
* System tray notification with song info
* Automatically reconnects on session timeout (no more “Are you still listening…”)
* Creating stations
* Edit QuickMix
* Create Station from playing Song/Artist
* Add new artist, song, or composer seed to current stations

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If you do not like Elpis for reason, here you have a choice from several other freeware Windows utilities for Pandora Desktop:

2. Pandora Box
Pandora Box is a desktop client for Pandora that lets users access the streaming music service without opening a web browser. 


3. Open Pandora
Open Pandora is one of the oldest and most feature-packed desktop Pandora clients, letting you do pretty much everything you can do at Pandora.com including listening to multiple stations, using the QuickMix feature, and giving songs a thumbs up or down. Utility also has a few useful extra features, like a mini-player mode that just displays the player/pause, volume, and next track buttons.

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4. Pandora Browse
PandoraBrowse is a mini browser for the Pandora.com music service with limited number of features.


5. Pandora Desktop Client
Simple and lightweight Java desktop client for Pandora.

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Monday, November 4, 2013

5 virtual hiding places for teenagers


You just recently got sense of what it is being on Facebook, and your teenager kids already consider it outdated, slow, clattered, and inconvenient. That is true. Twitter has overtaken Facebook as the social media network that is most important to teens, according to Piper Jaffray's semi-annual teen market research report.

Twitter is the new king of teens, with 26% naming it as their "most important" social site. Only 23% said Facebook was most important, down from a high of 42%.

But Twitter should not become complacent, the report suggests. That's because Instagram has rocketed in popularity with teens. 23% said Facebook-owned Instagram was their No.1 choice, up from 12% a year ago.

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Here some basic information on the most popular sites for teens. We will not review Face book itself, or Twiiter, since you have probably know about these popular services.

Tumblr

Rumbler is a blogging platform that relies heavily on imagery and short posts. Most of Tumblr’s traffic comes from users who are under the age of 25. Tumblr culture is based on memes that relate to various topics, such as fashion, pop culture and photography. Though in Piper Jaffray’s survey only 4% teenagers consider Tumblr to the most important social network, Tumblr users are much more engaged with the site — reading and posting content about things they care about for hours — than on Facebook. This is a big issue for Facebook that thrives on its user base spending hours of their time on the site, updating their information, sharing content, and seeing advertisements.

Snapchat

Snapchat is a messaging service where users can send photos, videos, texts and creative drawings to a regulated list of people. Photos get destroyed soon after they have been received, giving Snapchat users an illusion of anonymity. The service is designed for savvy teenagers who don’t want to leave an Internet footprint. Released in September 2011, users can send “Snaps” — photos or videos — that last between 1 and 10 seconds, depending on the limit set by the sender. It already has 100 million users and 350 million snaps sent daily, according to a spokeswoman for the app. Twenty-six percent of 18- to 29-year-olds with cellphones use Snapchat, according to Pew Research Center, compared with 5% of 30- to 49-year-olds and 3% of 50- to 64-year-olds. Parents might want to monitor and check in on their kids’ social media activity from time to time, says Kelli Krafsky, co-author of the book “Facebook and Your Marriage,” but “Snapchat is impossible to check.”

Pheed

Launched in November 2012, this mobile app allows users to create and share videos, photos and voice tracks, plus make live broadcasts and share posts of 420 characters or less. Pheed reached 1 million users six weeks after launching and, last March, announced that it had 3 million users. It’s on track to double that by the end of the year, according to Steve Goldberg, a company spokesman. Pheed has never advertised or bought users, Goldberg says, “everything is organic and by word of mouth.” Around 84% of its users are ages 18 to 25. “When teenagers started using apps, Facebook was already a standard,” he says. “They never went and searched for their social network; it was sort of handed to them as the only option.”

PicsArt

This app has lofty goals: Develop a “social art community,” and bring art to children around the world. Created by developer Artavazd Mehrabyan, the free photo-editing app and drawing tool PicsArt was released in November 2011. Since then, it’s exceeded 77 million downloads on mobile devices. Approximately 20% of users are between 13 and 17 years of age, and over 40% are between 18 and 24, according to a spokeswoman for the company. More teenagers, particularly girls, are moving toward niche sites where they can be more creative, says Jeanne Connon, chief marketing officer of FPgirl.com, a marketing firm that analyzes fashion, technology, trends and relationships among young girls.

Vine

Vine is like Instagram for videos. Users can create short, beautiful looping videos that can be instantly shared – perfect for the teen demographic that seems more interested in applications that support creating visual content without investing too much time. According to business journals, by simplifying the media publishing process, “Vine is doing to YouTube what Twitter did to Blogger.” Vine has only been around for a few months, but has already risen to #1 in the app store.

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Sources and Additional Information:

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Play music live with your friends online!


JAM with Chrome is an interactive web application giving unique opportunity for friends in different locations to play music together in Chrome browser using their computers. No matter what your level of experience - from music pros to aspiring air guitarists - you can JAM together in real time over the web.

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The application is developed by Google Creative Lab, and uses HTML5 web technologies, including Web Audio API, Websockets, Canvas, and CSS3 to allow up to four players to jam and play together right straight for their browser. When you play your part, your browser will notify other users’ browsers which notes to play, how to play them, and how to animate the user interface.

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You may select from a list of total of nineteen different instruments available, including drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboard, hip-hop drum machine, and a distorted electric guitar (for more fun). There are two modes – easy and pro. The easy mode offers visitors pre-programmed autoplay functions, while the pro mode gives the full control of the instrument through the use of a keyboard.



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Test suspicious files with free online scanner - Jotti

How safe you are when you are working on your computer? You may consider it relatively safe if you are not connected to the Internet and you are not plugging any external drives or recorded media. But that is not going to happen – you need your computer to be connected to the World; that is largely what computers for.

So, how to keep your connected devices as safe and secure as possible? Anti-virus, anti-malware, personal firewall – all that really helps. But does not guarantee 100% success. The “badware” developers are really creative in their efforts to succeed.

Jotti – free online malware scanner – offers one more potential level of protection. It is useful for the cases when you receive a questionable file or email attachment which might be loaded with malware. Do not take a chance - upload a file to Jotti, and the site will scan it for malware, using more than 20 security suites, embedded in the site functionality. Note that there is a 25MB limit per file, you may upload for inspection.  

Be aware that all uploaded files are shared with anti-virus companies so detection accuracy of their anti-virus products can be improved. Therefore, if you do not want your files to be distributed, refrain from submitting.

Additional information is offered about the loaded file as well, such as:
  • File size
  • File type
  • MD5
  • SHA1

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The site interface is available on multiple languages. You do not have register or login to use it.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

How to create your personal Cloud?


Recently term “cloud” became popular in relation to the virtual data storage solutions. There are multiple popular cloud services such as Goggle Drive, Dropbox, Box.net, iCloud, SkyDrive and etc., and most of them offering free limited storage plans. These systems are based on the centralized servers storing data, uploaded by users, and the clients downloading any contents on the client devices as needed. However, there are significant drawbacks and limitations, when you are storing the data at the server. Reliability, security, and limited free options are just few of the common concerns.

There is a new concept of self-served personal computing, when users are allowed to operate their own clouding systems on their own devices, like computers, smart phones and tablets. It is like having a private data center or virtual server at home on your desktop computer with ability for all other computers and mobile devices to tap into private data cloud, stored in shared locations of the virtual server computer.

The advantages are numerous:

1. You are in power of your entire network, and there is no dependency on any of the third-party servers.
2. Your clod is cross-platform, so devices with any OS - Windows, Android and Mac OS X and other – can use the solution.
3. It is totally wireless – no cables, no Bluetooth, your Internet speed will guide the data transfer.
4. Easy and straightforward backup and synchronization – multiple copies guarantee the most valuable data is safe.
5. Real time access to the data from all devices.
6. Easy sharing files with friends.

If such idea seems attractive to you, you can review the following services and choose one, which looks more suitable for your personal needs:

1. Self Cloud

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2. Sync Box

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3. xCloud

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4. Tonido

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Monday, October 14, 2013

How to retrieve your Android phone if lost or stolen, using Android Device Manager?


You lost your phone? Don’t panic. It is possible that it is easier to locate it than you think. Just activate a small application already installed on your device, and you will be always in power to track it down to the exact location.

If you have Android smart phone with at least Android 2.2 and running once a while Google Play, you have the feature on your phone already. Google loaded the Android Device Manager onto your Android phone sometime in the past. However, official announcement and activation of this feature was launched just recently on Android official blog.

While the application is installed, it is not activated by itself. You have to activate it manually and it takes couple of minutes after all. To activate it, go to Settings > Security > Device Administrators and confirm all requested permissions for Android Device Manager.


As soon as Android Device Manager is activated on your phone, it is recommended to test the new features, and get familiar with the available options.

To use Android Device Manager, go to https://www.google.com/android/devicemanager and log in with your Google account (account you have originally signed for Google Play). You may get a prompt asking you for permission to allow Android Device Manager to use location data. Click on the "Accept" button to continue.

  • Location: The location of your Android device will appear automatically on the map, along with the name of the place, when it was last used, and when it was last located. You can zoom in and out of the map to check out the location.
  • Ring: The location data is an approximation and may not help you figure out if it's hiding somewhere in your home. Instead of having someone call your phone to help you find it, you can choose to ring your device from Android Device Manager. This will cause your device to ring for 5 minutes at the highest volume, even if it's set on silent or vibrate.
  • Lock: Locking your device remotely can be useful if you want to lock your Android device so no one can access your data while you're trying to recover your lost device. To lock your device, click on the "Lock" option. Enter your new password twice, then click the Lock button. Once the command is sent to your device, it will lock it immediately, even if it's being used.
  • Erase Device: If you think you've lost your device for good and would like to force a factory reset to protect your personal data, choose "Erase Device." This will erase all your apps, photos, music, and settings from your device. If your device is offline when you send the "Erase Device" command, it will perform the reset the next time it comes online. Once your device has been wiped, you will no longer be able to access it from Android Device Manager. Also keep in mind that a remote factory reset may not wipe external SD memory cards.

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Remember, if your device has been stolen, contact the police and let them do their jobs. With Android Device Manager, your data is safe, so make sure you stay safe as well by not attempting to retrieve the device on your own.

Sources and Additional Information:


Thursday, October 10, 2013

Good bye, iGoogle!


Many people used to have iGoogle as their primary homepage. If you are one of them, you got already onscreen notification that the iGoogle services will be gone after November 1, 2013.

All of your personal data stored in other Google products, will continue to be available via those products, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Finance, Google Drive, Google Bookmarks, and Google Tasks.

However, if you want to keep the same visual appearance and the same functional widgets as you had before, you will have to look for iGoogle alternatives.

Following a brief search, while filling customer request, I identified igHome as the descent alternative. No, igHome is not a perfect solution, but it's a pretty reasonable basic replacement for iGoogle. It allows you to add your feeds in a variety of custom tabs to suit your needs and has a bunch of ready-to-go widgets in a variety of categories. It also includes pre-configured links to Google services, such as Gmail, Calendar, YouTube, Maps and Search.

If you need basic interface and functionality, and simplicity of operations, igHome should bring a good solution to you.

igHome operates well for desktop, laptop and tablet devices and a mobile version is in beta testing.

igHome can be accessed using the following link for Desktop, Laptop, or Tablet:  https://www.ighome.com. The link provided is a secured link. After accessing igHome, to register or login, click on the prominent blue "Sign in to Personalize" button at top right. A popup dialog box will appear. Follow the instructions to register or login. After login, igHome will redirect you to its unsecured version. Like iGoogle, many igHome gadgets are actually hosted at sites other than igHome and the nature of their content should not require delivery using a secured link. After login, you can switch to the secured link if you prefer. A good way to do that is to add the secured link to igHome's black bar. But, recognize you may not be able to access many of igHome's gadgets in secured mode.

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The detailed features review: http://saveigoogle.org/going-home-ighome/


Thursday, October 3, 2013

How to Instantly Remove Background from your Images?

Even the most creative and the very nice greeting card cannot be personalized. How much better your recipient will appreciate your time and attention, if you make it yourself!

But, there is a catch. You may need special software and certain experience to make the funny collages for your friends.

Here we are presenting a nice service, making your life easier, without need of software and designer skills. The service will help to remove background from your images. Definitely, you can do that manually with Photoshop or other photo editing suites, but that will take a lot of time and efforts.

With Clipping Magic, this step is simple and fast.

1. Come to the Clipping Magic home page: http://clippingmagic.com/.

2. Upload your image. Drag your image onto the drop-zone on the top of the page, or choose a file from your PC, using the Choose File button.

While images with sharp boundaries between contrasting foreground and background work best, you may find on the page on how to handle blurry boundaries and hair, using the Refine Tool.

3. Mark some foreground green and some background red and the algorithm takes care of the details.

You get live feedback so you can focus your efforts on the challenging parts of the image.

4. The background is removed by adding an alpha channel, with a suitably feathered boundary.

5. Download the modified image to your PC.

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

Free QuickOffice from Google with 10GB Google Drive as Bonus


Everyone likes free stuff, which is why starting today we’re making Quickoffice available for free, for everyone. With Quickoffice, you can edit Microsoft® Office documents across your devices, giving you the freedom to work with anyone no matter what hardware or software they’re using. Quickoffice also integrates seamlessly with Google Drive storage so you can safely access your files from anywhere. And while the easiest thing to do is simply convert your old files to Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, Quickoffice gives you another way to work with people who haven’t gone Google yet

Alan Warren, Google VP of Engineering, Google’s blog



Google acquired Quickoffice in June 2012, and it instantly became a part of Google’s Apps for Business. Quickoffice offers mobile access to Microsoft Office components as Word, Excel and PowerPoint services, enabling on-the-go users to create, open and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations, as well as share and email files via multiple cloud service providers including Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, Huddle and SugarSync.

Google previously offered Quickoffice free to Google Apps for Business subscribers but otherwise charged businesses, consumers, students and other users $14.99 for the Pro version or $19.99 for the Pro HD version.

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You can get the new, free Quickoffice app for Android and iOS phones and tablets on Google Play and in the App Store. Simply sign in with your Google Account to start editing Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets and presentations on mobile. You’ll also notice a number of new features, including a refreshed icon, the ability to create ZIP folders, and view charts in Excel and PowerPoint files. Plus, the new app works across devices so you don’t have to worry about installing separate versions anymore when you go from using your phone to editing on your tablet. 

As an additional bonus, Google are also offering 10GB of free Google Drive storage for two years to anyone who signs in to the app on Android or iOS by 26 September.


Thursday, September 19, 2013

United Airlines Miles for Opinion – Opinion Miles Club


If you are fan of free (or almost free) travel, you may like the opportunity to collect extra miles for United Airlines, answering surveys. It may give some boost to your miles accumulation effort and prevent your unused miles from expiration. As per United Airlines guidelines, your miles will expire 18 months from the last posted activity.

So, you may earn 300 award miles when you join Opinion Miles Club and complete your first survey. Plus, you may earn additional award miles for other surveys you complete.

Currently, there is a special offer for all MileagePlus credit cardmembers and Premier members as they may benefit from double award - 600 miles when they join Opinion Miles Club and complete their first survey.

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The sign-up process looks easy enough, until you’re identified as a “professional.” That’s when an extra round of questions is presented in and the process takes a bit longer. You will have to fill out a profile in order to get matched up with future earning opportunities.



Friday, September 13, 2013

Ribbet: Professional Online Collages for Free with Flavor of Fun


Ribbet opened their services for public about a year ago, in June 2012, and since then they increase the range of features and themes proposed. You may create professional-looking collages online for free with 100s of layouts and customizable settings.

Main Features:
* Choose from numerous attractive collage layouts for your creation.
* Easy customizable features as proportions, spacing, kookiness and roundedness.
* You may easily use your Facebook and Flickr photos, photos from any other images storing websites, or your own uploads to Ribbet.
* Add text, stickers, borders and effects to your masterpiece and share it online.
* Full-featured picture editor, with substantial amount of artistic filters and other features.
* Share your creations directly to Facebook or Flickr, or download them to your Hard Drive.
* All the tasks are accomplished online with nothing to download or install on your computer.
* You can use photos directly from your Facebook and Flickr albums (or Facebook friends' albums).

Note that some of the templates are marked as Premium, and their use requires creating account and logging in. Since that is free and can be done easily, should not be a problem. Also, when you create a free account, Ribbet will save a copy of your photo and all the edits you made to it in History, so you may access it next time you need to modify your creation. Registration is super-fast, and super-easy, and you get instant access to all premium features.

Screens

Editor

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Collage Maker

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Thursday, September 5, 2013

How to get the start button back in Windows 8?


If you are a fresh Windows 8 user, you might have several surprises, and some are quite unpleasant. One of the annoying feature, noted by multiple users, is a lack of the start button, everyone so used to. Targeting new gadgets, Microsoft is committed to having everyone use the Start screen instead of the Start button and start menu found in previous versions of Windows and therefore has no setting to enable or disable the start button.

Eventually, you may find the new approach satisfactory. For example, if you're a power user looking to access easily such options as the Command prompt, Computer management, Device Manager, Event Viewer, Control Panel, Windows Explorer, you may use the Power user shortcut key (Windows key + X). However, if you miss the start button and some functionality, you are used to from the older Operating Systems, you may bring it back through the multiple third-party utilities, we are presenting now.

1. ViStart

Windows Start Menu Vistart 8 is a nice free utility allowing getting the Start menu back to Windows 8, almost identical to what was in Windows 7. The utility also includes several custom start menu skins, like the windows 8 start menu metro skin, different start menu buttons’ designs, and lot's of extra useful customization features.

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2. IObit Start Menu 8

IObit Start Menu 8 is specially designed for Windows 8. It offers a suitable solution for users who work with Windows Start Menu all the time and are not accustomed to the new Metro start screen in Windows 8. This smart tool brings back both the start button and Windows Start Menu, and offers the option to skip Metro start page, allowing users who only work on desktop to boot to Windows 8 desktop directly.

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3. Classic Shell

Classic Shell is a collection of usability enhancements for Windows 8. The main features includes highly customizable start menu with multiple styles and skins, bringing back the familiar start button, and adding toolbar and status bar for Windows Explorer, and many others.

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4. Pokki

Pokki brings you back a start button for Windows 8, where you can find and open your programs, files, control panel, and power options with one click.

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5. StartW8

StartW8 is also designed to provide the classic Windows functionality to the Windows 8 users, adding Windows Start menu in Windows 8 design, but Windows 7 functionality and ability to switch automatically to desktop immediately after signing in. It also includes possibility to activate menu with Win key, log off, lock and turn off your computer, and provides a traditional search field.

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Saturday, August 24, 2013

Free for Life 20 GB Cloud Space from Pogoplug


Can you buy a home now? Sure, why not? You have money – you can buy a home. If you have not much – you still can buy a small piece of it – like timeshare. Buy can you get it for free? Chance definitely exists, but not so big. But, in virtual space you have unlimited opportunities to get free “real estate”, “virtual” goods and services. This time, we will present an opportunity to get for free 20 GB of cloud storage at Pogoplug. What is 20 GB? It is good enough to store more than 6,000 pictures of 3 MB, and 20 video clips in AVI format of 800 MB.

Pogoplug is a new cloud storage service for your mobile life which enables you to store, stream and share your files, photos, music and movies wherever you are. Now, for a very limited time, Pogoplug is teaming up with Adorama to offer everyone 20 GB of cloud storage space for free forever.

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Main Features:

* All your files, anywhere you need them.
 You’re constantly on the move, so why shouldn’t your data move with you? Pogoplug Cloud lets you easily upload files from your computer, smartphone or tablet and access them wherever you are.

* Stream your media anytime, anywhere.
 Stream from your Pogoplug Cloud to any device, including your smartphone, tablet or another computer. Watch all of your movies, view all your photos and listen to all your music whenever you want.

* Back up your smartphone and tablet.
 Ditch cumbersome cables: Pogoplug’s free mobile apps for iOS and Android automatically back up your photos and videos to your Pogoplug Cloud. Safeguard the photos and videos on your mobile device with one click.

* Share and collaborate with friends and colleagues.
 Share large files and folders instantly and securely. Collaborate on a work project with colleagues, or contribute to photo and video albums with friends. Pogoplug makes sharing a snap.

* Publish to Facebook, Twitter and Google+ with a single click.
 Pogoplug lets you post your photos and videos to the most popular social sites with a single click. Your friends can watch your videos and view your photo albums instantly. With Pogoplug, you own your data—not the social networks.

Sign up for the service is fast and easy – email and password, and you are done.

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Access your web home: http://my.pogoplug.com/


Here you will find links for the free software assistants for iOS and Android.

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