MakeUseOf Directory » tips

AltUse: Discover Alternative Uses For Everyday Items

kaly — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:34:05 +0000

There are many things out there that have been designed for one use but work well in a variety of places and situations. For example we know that dryer sheets can kill static cling and are good for cleaning computer/ TV screens of dust, Vodka can be used as disinfectant, Coca Cola can break rust etc… AltUse is a cool user contributed web resource where you can learn all kinds alternative uses for everyday items.

The site covers lots of products and lets you search its database by keyword or browse by products. You can also rate suggested alternatives, and if you are aware of any alternative uses that are not on the site add them by registering.

Features:

Discover alternative uses of daily products.
Search and browse site by product name.
Sort results by rating.
Contribute by suggesting alteranative uses.

Check out AltUse @ www.altuse.com

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AltUse: Discover Alternative Uses For Everyday Items

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2TieATie: How To Tie a Tie Instructions and Videos

azim — Thu, 14 May 2009 05:28:45 +0000

2TieATie is the ultimate resource to learn how to tie different tie knots : The Windsor Knot, The Bow Tie, Oriental Knot and lots of other tie a tie instructions for popular tie knots with diagrams and videos. On top of this, learn how to buy a tie, care for a tie, choose necktie accessories and other useful tie-related information.

Learn how to tie different tie knots through videos

Features:

Ultimate resource for all kinds of tie a tie instructions.
Learn how to tie different tie knots: The Windsor Knot, The Bow Tie, Oriental Knot and many other.
Also learn how to buy a tie, caring for a tie, choosing necktie accessories and more
Free, no sign up needed.

Check out 2TieATie @ www.2tieatie.com

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2TieATie: How To Tie a Tie Instructions and Videos

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HowToCleanStuff: Cleaning How-To’s and Tips

azim — Wed, 13 May 2009 22:16:56 +0000

If you ever need to lookup how to remove stains from your carpet, shirt etc. head straight to HowToCleanStuff.com. It’s a massive cleaning how to site listing 100s of guides for cleaning everything from clothing to kitchen appliances. You can browse cleaning guides by category or search using relevant keywords. Every cleaning guide consists of step-by-step instructions and includes a list of needed materials.

Users may also check out what are the most popular cleaning guides on the website, leave comments or submit their own cleaning tips. For your every published tip, $0.25 is donated to the Clean Water Fund.

Features:

Guide to cleaning personal and household items.
Every guide leads you through a cleaning process with step-by-step instructions.
Get additional cleaning tips on cleaning different items.
Browse guides by categories: automotive, clothing, kitchen, outdoors etc.
Free, no sign up needed.

Check out HowToCleanStuff @ www.howtocleanstuff.net

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HowToCleanStuff: Cleaning How-To’s and Tips

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Easy2DIY: Home Repair Tutorials & Tips

azim — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:13:56 +0000

During hard economic times, you can save money by doing most of the home repair tasks yourself instead of paying someone else. To get help with all the home repair and improvement projects, check out Easy2DIY, which offers practical home repair tutorials and tips. Most of the tutorials are well explained with step-by-step illustrations.

You can browse site by category (windows, plumbing, furniture, electrical ), by place in your house (attic, basement, yard, kitchen) or by a specific task (cleaning, painting, wiring, mowing etc.)

Once you have selected the task you need to do, say “Insulating an Attic”, you will get an overview of the task and the list of materials and tools needed for it. Read common mistakes, cautions and follow the illustrated step-by-step instructions.

Features:

Home improvement and renovation tips and advice.
Learn how to perform specific tasks (wiring, insulating, painting, remodeling and more) with step-by-step illustrated tutorials.
Find out materials and tools needed for each task.
Free, no registration neede.

Check out Easy2DIY @ www.easy2diy.com

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Easy2DIY: Home Repair Tutorials & Tips

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DayTipper: Read & Share Practical Daily Life Tips

azim — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:14:36 +0000

DayTipper is a platform for sharing practical daily life tips. It has more than 7.500 published tips submitted by users in various categories (Buying/Selling, Travel, Education, Family, Household etc.) that provide insights to very specific everyday problems such as “How to make a room seem bigger” or “No more smelly feet”.

From DayTipper website:

Every one of us is an expert on something. Chances are, through trial and error, hard work, or blind luck, you have learned something practical. Something that has helped make your life a little easier. It saved you time. It saved you money. Maybe it saved your marriage; maybe your life.

What you discovered is too helpful to keep to yourself. You want to share it. You think, “Others should benefit from this.” Now you can help others help themselves.

Tips are ranked by their usefulness rating (from 0 to 100%). Users may browse popular tips by category or overall, search by keywords, read and rate tips. Sign up to save favorite tips in account, leave comments and submit new tips.

Features:

Huge collection of useful and practical tips submitted by users.
Over 7500 published tips covering wide range of topics.
Tips ranked by their usefulness rating.
Browse popular tips by number of comments, staff picks and other criteria.
Subscribe by email to receive best tips in your inbox twice a week.
Register to save favorite tips, leave comments and submit your own tips.
Similar website: TipJar, TipBin and TipsBase.

Check out DayTipper @ www.daytipper.com

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DayTipper: Read & Share Practical Daily Life Tips

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WhichBook: Online Book Suggestion Tool

kaly — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:45:07 +0000

Just finished another book and wondering what to read next? If so, head to WhichBook.net. It is an online book suggestion tool that can recommend you what books to read next based on type of books you like. The site is being run by the library system in UK and supposedly contains every book that was published in English since 1995.

The process is really simple, all you need to do is indicate your preferences using a set of sliders, for example happy-sad, safe-disturbing, gentle-violent, conventional-unusual and the site will bring you a list of books that match preferences you have selected. Short excerpt for each book is also provided.

Additionally if you reside in UK you can use WhichBook to borrow books from public libraries and if you reside elsewhere you can use it to find and purchase books online.

Features:

Find out what you should read next with online book suggester.
WhichBook’s database includes every book published in English since 1995.
View website in text, large text or as flash website.
No registration needed.
Similar websites: ThisOneNext.

Check out WhichBook @ www.whichbook.net

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WhichBook: Online Book Suggestion Tool

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What Should I Read Next

Aibek — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:02:50 +0000

Dead-simple book recommendation service that can tell you what book you should read next. Simply enter the author name and title of your latest book and it will give you a list of recommended readings.

… recommendations based purely on collective taste: when items are entered into the same favourites list, they become associated with each other. The more often particular items appear on different lists, the stronger that association becomes.

Feature Overview

Recommendations are based on users’‘favorites’ lists.
Build your favorite book list and make recommendation engine even better.

Check out ‘What Should I Read Next’ @ www.whatshouldireadnext.com

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What Should I Read Next

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RefactorMyCode – Get Coding Tips

Aibek — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:02:02 +0000

RefactorMyCode is a unique service where you can ask coder community to fix or improve your piece code. Excellent idea.

Feature Overview

Post short code excerpts and get help from others.
Browse posted codes by popularity, by user-contributed refactorings, by top members and by category (Ruby. PHP, JavaScript, Java, C, Pythins, Perl, etc.)

Example: (PHP: Copyright Year)

Before

After

Check out RefactorMyCode @ www.refactormycode.com

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RefactorMyCode – Get Coding Tips

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SuTree : Over 10.000 of Educational Videos

kaly — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 03:45:56 +0000

SuTree aggregates and categorizes educational web videos (tutorials, lectures, and HowTo guides). Currently SuTree lists over 10.000 video links, categorized into 20+ categories. From Math lessons and Golf tips to PC troubleshooting and more.

SuTree Features:

Browse videos by category (Gaming, Health, Computers, Money and Finance, College, Kids and etc.).
View ‘Most Viewed’, ‘Top Rated’ or ‘Recently Added’ videos.
Submit links (from Youtube, Metacafe, etc.) or upload you own educational video.
Rate and comment on videos.
Embed ‘SuTree search’ into you website.

Visit SuTree [www.sutree.com]

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SuTree : Over 10.000 of Educational Videos

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TipBin : Share and Discover Cool Tips

Aibek — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:53:12 +0000

TipBin is a community focused on sharing all kinds of useful tips and tricks. Tips can be about anything ranging from programming hacks to cake baking howto’s and money saving tips. As long as it’s something that makes life easier, safer, more productive, or just more fun it can make it to TipBin.

“… nobody is stupid. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, or where or how long you went to school. You know things that other people don’t.”

TipBin Features

Browse tips by popularity (most recommended, most bookmarked, most discussed, most recent, etc.).
Browse tips using tagcloud (creditcard, diet, savings, security, beauty, food, … )
Subscribe to new tips by tags or featured tips (via RSS).
Search through tips and/or tags.

Here is one cool tip on ‘credit card’:

Instead of signing the back of your credit card, write “Ask For ID”. Whenever you give it to someone, they should look at the back and ask for your license. If someone were to steal your credit card, they’d have a hard time using it unless they look like you. Hopefully, they wouldn’t even try.

Go to TipBin [www.tipbin.com]

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TipBin : Share and Discover Cool Tips

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Process-DLL: Guide to Windows Processes and DLLs

Aibek — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 14:54:28 +0000

Process-DLL is a comprehensive guide to running Windows processes and DLLs. While there are dozens of windows processes which are essential for proper functioning and stability of your windows, some processes unnecessarily consume system resources, or may even contain spyware and Trojans. Use can view currently running processes by pressing ‘Ctrl+Alt+Delete’ and selecting ‘Processes’ tab.

Process-DLL Features:

Search or Browse Windows DLLs and Processes alphabetically.
Lists information on over 5.000 processes and 10.000 DLLs
Top 10 section: svchost.exe, 1xconfig.exe, acctmgr.exe, adobegammaloader.exe, etc.
For each Process/DLL view description (see below), security rating, removal instructions, related errors, etc.

Ex: svchost.exe

“svchost.exe handles processes executed from DLLs and other services. This program is very important for the stable and secure running of your computer and should not be terminated. Note: This process name is also reported as a virus or trojan (Trojan.W32.Dasher). In this case, the running process is a security risk and should be removed immediatelly. …”

Visit Process-DLL @ [www.process-dll.com]

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Process-DLL: Guide to Windows Processes and DLLs

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KeyXL: Keyboard Shortcuts for any App

Aibek — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:51:51 +0000

KeyXL is all-in-one place for keyboard shortcuts. It provides a huge database of keyboard shortcuts both for web and desktop applications. Get shortcut lists for: Gmail, Firefox, Word, Windows, Mac, Linux, Excel, etc.

KeyXL Features

Search for shortcuts by program type (Windows, Mac, web-based, etc.) and category (Browser/Internet, Business/Productivity, Communication, Email, Graphics, and more…)
Navigate shortcuts by tags (browser, gmail, firefox, etc).
Add KeyXL search as a search option to Firefox search bar.
Can’t find shortcuts for your program? Request shortcut list.
Submit shortcut list.

Visit KeyXL [www.keyxl.com]

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KeyXL: Keyboard Shortcuts for any App

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Photo2Text: Convert Images To Text

kaly — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:00:58 +0000

Photo2Text is a simple web tool that lets you convert your images to text files and download download them to your computer.

How does it work:

1. Simply upload your image (some format restrictions may apply)
2. Click “Submit”
3. Add Title, Adjust brightness, Choose characters to be used, and Save text file (.TXT) to your PC.
Note: For better effect try using portrait-style pictures, like the one below.

Demo Screenshots:

Visit Photo2Text @ [www.photo2text.com]

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Photo2Text: Convert Images To Text

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19 Tips/Tools to improve Google Reader (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 21:01:09 +0000

“… The best part of Google Reader, like in the case of other Google Goodies, i.e. Gmail and Google Calendar, there are many third-party tools making it even better. These include new item notifiers, addons for offline access, Greasemonkey (?) scripts, one-click shortcuts and more.”

Full Article: 19 Tips/Tools to improve Google Reader

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19 Tips/Tools to improve Google Reader (makeuseof.com)

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Best of Google Calendar: Addons + Tips (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:45:47 +0000

“Google Calendar is definitely one of the coolest online calendars and task-management applications. It has everything an average user may wish for: speed, non-cluttered design and lots of useful and never failing features, i.e. calendar sharing, quick event entry, follow-up reminders (SMS/email), RSS feeds, etc. [More on Google Calendar…]. In addition to it’s standard feature set, there are hundreds of a user-created browser addons (mainly firefox) and problem-specific tips making it even better and more flexible productivity tool. Below, I have listed some of the better ones, if you’re Google Calendar user (or thinking of becoming one) than check them out.”

Full Article: Best of Google Calendar: Addons + Tips

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Best of Google Calendar: Addons + Tips (makeuseof.com)

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50 Free Tools to make your iPod Better (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 20:14:00 +0000

“… 50 free Tools to Make your iPod better and almost 30 problem-specific tips to fix it.”

Full Article: 50 Free Tools to make your iPod Better

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50 Free Tools to make your iPod Better (makeuseof.com)

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30 Tools and Tips to Make your Skype Better (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 17:38:37 +0000

“One-by-one we are publishing jumbo tips and tools lists for popular services. Today it’s Skype. What follows is, 30 carefully-selected and tested (when possible) Tools and Tips for Skype users, including popular Skype extras, desktop widgets, addons (for browser, email and Office programs), cool tips and more. As always, all free!”

Full Article: 30 Tools and Tips to Make your Skype Better (All Free!)

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30 Tools and Tips to Make your Skype Better (makeuseof.com)

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Gmail Craze: 40 + Tools and Hacks for Gmail (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:19:29 +0000

“…All for Gmail: handy Firefox extensions, best Greasemonkey scripts, some desktop tools and lots of useful tips. Take this Gmail thingie to another level.”

Full Article

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Gmail Craze: 40 + Tools and Hacks for Gmail (makeuseof.com)

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80+ Tools for Successful Blogging (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Tue, 08 May 2007 22:18:22 +0000

“all-in-one manual and how-to for any blogger regardless of blog’s size and purpose. Here you’ll find almost all necessary blogging tools and most of the top articles published in the last couple of years covering successful blogging, blog SEO, monetarization, maintenance and so on. Enjoy!”

Read full article on makeuseof.com

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80+ Tools for Successful Blogging (makeuseof.com)

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Collection of Rapidshare Tools and Tricks (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Tue, 08 May 2007 22:08:20 +0000

“Rapidshare is world’s biggest file storage/sharing network and one of the most trafficked websites on the web. With it’s enormous file database (ebooks, software, audio,video, etc…) it became highly popular download destination. In this article you’ll find bunch of handy tips and tools(download managers and accelerators,search engines,how to get premium account, etc) designed for rapidshare users”

Read it on makeuseof.com

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Collection of Rapidshare Tools and Tricks (makeuseof.com)

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3 Buyer Tips to Get the Best of Ebay (makeuseof.com)

Aibek — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 07:43:15 +0000

…On the way, I have learned some techniques successfull sellers use to sell as much as possible at highest possible prices. Below I want to provide something that will be helpful for you as a buyer and can 99% guarantee you best available deal on the ebay and at the same time keep you away from fraud. So, here it goes…

Read the rest on makeuseof.com

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