Check out some of the latest makeuseof discoveries. All listed websites are FREE (or come with a decent free account option). No trials or buy-to-use craplets. For even more app reviews subscribe to makeuseof directory. Want to submit your application to MakeUseOf directory ? See how here.

(1) DownForEveryoneOrJustMe - Cool website Down For Everyone Or Just Me helps you find out whether the website you’re trying to visit is actually down or just blocked by one of the filters on your network. Read more: Website Down For Everyone Or Just Me ?.

Running across QuickTime or Real Player content around the net is not hard to do. We all find ourselves occasionally trying to access a .mov file or any of the many Real Player file formats. Either way, you’ve usually got to end up installing QuickTime or Real Player. Here at Make Use Of, we really don’t have a problem with either of these services, they just seem a little bloated for our very limited usage of them.

In comes a great site called CodecGuide.com with two great alternatives for these two aggravating applications.

QuickTime Alternative

ooVoo is an application for Windows and Mac OS X that lets you talk to up to six friends at once via a webcam and a microphone. ooVoo is currently in beta and also allows free calls to any landline in the US and Canada up until May 13th.

As bloggers, it’s important for you to recognize your readers and be able to interact with them and take their suggestions. In fact, putting them in the spotlight helps you gain loyalty and fandom.

You should be able to receive suggestions for blog posts and questions on some issues from your blog’s readers. However, a new service from Paul Stamatiou called Skribit takes reader participation to a whole new level.

What does Skribit do?

For quite some time my personal browser start page has been this:

The Google / Firefox Start page in the upper and my own favorite sites mix in the lower window. I love the look, but it has become a pain to keep it updated. Links have changed, my favorite sites have changed, some don’t exist anymore, and thus the time has come to try something new.

Fortunately, there are many services out there that will do much of the work for you, and in my quest to find the best replacement I tested a few and will share my experiences with you. Let me just say that any personalized start page requires a bit of work - constantly. That’s pretty obvious.

One of the many problems trying to actually GET anything done online these days is the multitude of distractions that are available on the internet. Short of unplugging your network connection, there are a few things the undisciplined can do to minimize the sites calling your name.

Over the past few years a new breed of text editors have flourished - so called ‘minimalist’ text editors - which can be used to block out all other distractions and let you focus on the task at hand - crafting words into sentences. These “no-frills editors” don’t offer formatting or many of the other features you see in modern word processors, what they offer is the ability to concentrate solely on your writing.