Alright, it's the weekend and I totally don't feel like talking geek, SEO,
blogging or real estate. So, here are some of the things I have found on the
web that I couldn't imagine living without. These things either greatly
entertain me or make my life/job easier and I think you should know about them
too. Oh yeah, these tools are also totally free, which rocks, 'cause I'm
cheap.
1. Hulu.com - watch streaming TV
shows and movies for free
Hulu is
just cool. Watch your favorite TV shows and movies online for free. Totally
legal (because none of us would ever violate a copyright by using the torrents.)
because they sponsor to usage of the copyright with ads! I use this all the
time to entertain my son.
Prefer to Download Movies?
Speaking of the torrents, thePirateBay.org is my favorite, closely
followed by seedpeer.com. For the uninitiated -
Torrents are peer to peer networks (meaning my machine and your machine can
search each other) where you can download movies, images, software, music etc.
Because I go old school from time to time, I also like eMule (although it freaks me out it
is written in Visual C++ which basically means that it s held together with
rocket science theory, Miracle Whip and scotch tape.)
2. Actionext.com - create and listen to free music play lists
Actionext.com Killer site that allows
you to search for songs, listen to them and create playlists. It also has an
open wiki-like tool where you can get lyrics to the songs you are listening to.
I love being able to find the songs, build the playlist, share the lists (see
the embedded widget on the left of my blog - totally annoying, right? Another
reason you should NEVER have music playing when a visitor lands on your site!!!)
and even read the lyrics in one place.
Want to share music socially and see other's playlists?
Other music search and playlist sites you might like: 8tracks (another
playlist site), Tagoo.ru (terrific site for finding hard to find
songs online - lets you search and download from other people's machine's).
Try Blip.fm if you want to share
music and fid other people that like the same kind music you like. It's life
streaming for music - you can even connect it to your twitter account so you can
share your music with all your followers.
3. Jing - record screencasts with voice overs and capture images from your desktop and share online
LOVE THIS. I can record screen casts with audio and publish them to the
web. Very easy to use and high quality! Think of Jing as a supplement to all
your chat discussions, email threads, forum posts and blog entries. It sits
nicely on your desktop, ready to capture and share your stuff at a moment's
notice. Simply select an area of your screen, capture it as an image or record
it as a video, and then click Share. Jing conveniently places a URL to your
content which you can paste into any of your conversations.
Download Jing now!
4. Skype - make free phone calls, conference calls and even video calls
We all love something for nothing. With Skype's free
software - by the way, it works seamlessly with your internet connection - you
can chat away with free Skype-to-Skype
calls and never worry about cost, time or distance. Share the
love and get your friends to download Skype so you can talk, chat
or make video calls for nothing. You can also make local, long distance and
international calls to phones and cell
phones at great rates too. Additional
features include instant
messaging, file
transfer and video
conferencing.
Check it out and SKYPE me at REBlogGirl or simply search for Mary McKnight on Skype! Click te logo below to download Skype.
5. Audacity
Do you want to import, export, edit, mix, record, add sound effects or
analyze voice, music, sounds, etc? Then Audacity is the program you need.
Download it for free from Source Forge at:
Audacity
at Source Forge
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS
X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
- Record live audio.
- Convert tapes and records into digital recordings or CDs.
- Edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files.
- Cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together.
- Change the speed or pitch of a recording.
- And more! See the complete list of
features.
Other Stuff I Just Love!
6. Txt2day.com - free text messaging
Txt2day.com is the premier free manual messaging website. Send Free
Text Messages. Add text messages to your MySpace. Works with most cell phone
providers. Stop Paying For Texting! I use this all the time because when I text from my phone I make too many typos and I am usually sitting at the computer anyway.
7. Eyejot.com - record and send video to friends and family via email
Eyejot is a video messaging platform in which there is
NO software to download. You record the message and the
receipient of the message is notified via email that they have
a new video message. It offers everyone the ability to create and receive
video messages in a self-contained, spam-free environment. With no client to
install, you can start using Eyejot immediately with any browser, on any
platform. It even features built-in support for iTunesTM (and
iPodsTM), mobile devices and social networks like
MySpaceTM. Watch Eyejot video
examples.
8. Twirl - Funky desktop Twitter ap you can use to
Couldn't keep my Twitter conversations updated without this nifty little
desktop widget! twhirl is a desktop client for
the Twitter
microblogging service. Most of the features available on the Twitter website are
accessible through twhirl, too. Plus, a lot of usability enhancements have been
added.
If you have an iphone- Twinkle is the way to go!
9. Spamyourenemies.com - I can't help myself - this is just fun to do when somone pisses you off
Spamyourenemies.com - If you are not that technical or not really that pissed off, this a great solution to a little immediate revenge. Doesn't really hurt anything, just fills their inbox with a whole bunch of weird spam. Of course, if the person you are spammng is more technical than your average lab rat, their spam filters will catch this before it annoys them, but it still gives you that sense of justice and self satisfaction you need in those moments of ire.
NOTE TO ALL - If you have ever been spammed, it wasn't me. This is just where I direct people that come to me and ask me to do something evil to their main competition's website. I'm a sociologist- I understand that if I don't give a suitable answer and they can't get immediate satisfaction, they may go to somone who would link bomb another site. I find this to be a reasonable compromise for all parties when therapy is not an option.
10. Rememebr the milk - Online to do lists!
The old-fashioned to-do list, which lets the brain concentrate on the
task at hand rather than on others in the future, remains one of the
world's best productivity tools. These fresh new sites let you keep
track of your obligations and prompt you to keep up the pace.
RememberTheMilk
reinvents the to-do list in a snazzy interface that lets you make lists
in configurable categories, all laid out on the front page as tabs.
Adding to-dos is easy, though adding deadlines, notes, and time
estimates is unintuitive.
You can add to-dos using natural
language such as "Call Ted next Thursday," sync with your calendar via
the widely supported iCalendar format, and set tasks such as "Pay
credit card bill" to recur. RememberTheMilk sends reminders through
instant message, e-mail, text message, or a combination of these. You
can also upload tasks via a special e-mail address that the site gives
you.
It's a tremendously well-rounded free product, with neither more nor less than you need to get and stay organized.
I don't know about you, but in my opinion Mary is the Goddess of SEO here and happily take her advice any day.....