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 more cool websites and web app reviews subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory.

(1) GetDeb.net – Continuously updated web directory where Ubuntu (Debian and Mint) users can get latest copies of Ubuntu applications not yet released in official repositories. It features lots of different apps nicely organized in respective categories. Read more: GetDeb.net – Get Latest Ubuntu Applications

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Everyone who spends a fair amount of time on the computer has a few favorite applications, the ones you like for one reason or another. Maybe they help you get your work done faster or you like their looks and feel or perhaps because these are free.

And sometimes there are software you find irksome and think things could have been better. In any case, I always like to try out a few alternative software choices before I settle with any particular application mainly for two reasons: One, you would never know how good or bad the one you are using is until you try some alternatives and two: a bit of choice and competition can only be for the good of us users! Your motivation might be different: perhaps you want to find a free software that does the same task as the paid software you are using or maybe your favorite Windows application is not available on Mac or Linux.

Whatever maybe the reason, here are some sites that you can use to find alternative software and suggested applications.

LinuxAppFinder

Missing your favorite Windows or Mac application on Linux? Try LinuxAppFinder. It provides a listing of popular Linux applications. Apart from that, it also lists popular Windows and Mac software and the Linux applications that can be used for similar purposes. Clicking on an alternative software listing will show you its description, rating and other related software. LinuxAppfinder is a great way to discover Linux software if you are new to Linux.

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A beta web application or software conveys the promise of things to come. Yes, not everything may work seamlessly, but Twitter too was once just a chirp. The fun for us early birds is to check out the app and the technology behind it (and hope what we like, remains free).

SlateBox is a web application that may seem knotty at first. But grope around a bit and you soon realize its child’s play. Is that why it’s called SlateBox?

Here I am getting ahead of myself – What’s SlateBox after all?

Very simply, SlateBox is a collaborative visualization tool. Visualization tools are apps which help us plot or draw an idea into an image or diagram. The diagrams are meant to represent relationships between the ideas on display. Mindmaps are what can be called visualization aids. We have covered a few awesome Mindmapping applications, both online and offline. SlateBox is a similar but also a bit different at the same time.

SlateBox is a mindmapping application and a bit more

Although it can used as such, SlateBox helps you with the visual ideas and also enables you to collaborate and share those ideas with others in real time. The visual ideas are built on ‘Slates’ which are like a blank canvas. We mentioned mindmaps, but SlateBox can be a collaborative visualization that for a whole lot of things like – designs, organizational charts, flow charts, process diagrams, work planning etc.
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When I try to sell used stuff around the house, I usually start with a yard sale if I have enough quantity. Once the yard sale is over, I will put the bigger or better pieces that didn’t sell on eBay or Craigslist. Similarly, if I am looking to buy something that’s relatively cheap, I start with yard sales and those two sites. Now that I am more proficient in Facebook, and my list of friends is growing, I’ve learned there are many other uses for Facebook beyond “keeping in touch”, “playing games” and “updating my status”. Facebook is a good tool to buy used stuff for cheap or to sell your used stuff. How do you access the used Facebook marketplace? Let’s take a look.

The first and quickest way to start is to simply use your status update feature to announce to all your friends that you have something to sell or that you are looking for a specific item. This is quick, easy, and painless. However, the audience is limited to your friends and you may not have too much success, particularly if most of your friends live hundreds of miles away and you are trying to sell a refrigerator.

The next place to go is the new or used Facebook Marketplace. This site was launched earlier this year and allows you to find items for sale or to sell your used stuff. The site is powered by oodle. Stefan covered oodle at length in his March 2009 article Oodle – Another Craigslist, But Slightly Better. To list items for sale, you have to allow Marketplace permission, like other Facebook applications. The site has four primary categories: items for sale, housing, jobs, and vehicles. Beside each category is a small “+ post” button for you to add a post.

Marketplace is as easy to use as Craigslist, and to me, easier than ebay, since you don’t have to bid and wait. Via the Facebook interface, you can comment and ask questions about the items up for sale. When you go to the main screen and begin browsing, you can set your location and search area to limit the distance you want to search. You may find a deal 500 miles away, but shipping costs or a trip to pick it up may make it less cost effective. Once you select your location, a section of the resulting page will show you pictures and a brief description of the latest items listed for sale.

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To me, one of the most unused properties of a computer is the desktop display. There’s nothing much to do with it. Sometimes I change the wallpaper with a new one and sometimes I go a little bit further by setting a series of pictures to alternate every few minutes. But that’s about it.

On my quest to find applications to utilize the wasted desktop space I found GeekTool, a PrefPane (System Preferences module) designed to display different kinds of system information on a Mac’s desktop: an ideal enhancement for the idle property.

But it was not love at first sight. The tool was too geeky for me. While it did improve the desktop in the functionality department, it failed miserably in the looks department. The way it would display system information was actually made my desktop looked uglier. So I left this app behind and went on with my life.

The second encounter

Then one day, when I was in need of a tool to quickly display several system information, the GeekTool name popped out again. This time the function beat the form, I was ready to live with the unpleasant look as long as the purpose was served.

While tinkering with it, I found out that GeekTool has adjustable elements to tweak the look. With a little creativity I could get the best of both world; cool functionality and stylish looks. (Please note that I’m using the 3.0 RC5 version. But for those who have doubts on using Release Candidate version, version 2.1.2 – with different UI – is still available to be downloaded.)

The first step is to install GeekTool by double-clicking at the GeekTool.prefPane icon.

The app will be installed in your Mac’s System Preferences. Choose install for all users unless you want it to be accessible only by you.
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Staring at the same wallpaper everyday can become incredibly boring. On the other hand, having to go searching for new wallpapers is often a long and tedious task.

This is why we, the neighborhood geeks, prefer wallpaper applications, more specifically wallpaper rotator applications.

There are a multitude of wallpaper applications available – most freeware – but almost none as diverse as Wally.

Wally – The Wallpaper Rotator

Wally is one of those ‘wallpaper applications’. It aggregates pictures and wallpapers from a variety of sources and flips through them while you’re working. If you set it up right, you’ll never have to worry about searching for a fresh wallpaper again. You’ll have one – every new day, hour or even minute.

The wallpaper rotator application is open-sourced and available for all operating systems; it won’t matter to Wally if you’re a Mac, PC or Linux fanatic. I’ve also tested it for Windows 7, and it works like a charm.
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I remember when I started learning how to Twitter. My first reaction was “What in the world is the use of this waste of time?” Twitter was confusing, a waste of time, and without a point. It wasn’t until I decided I was going to finally sit down and figure it out that I actually began to “get it.”

The point is, Twitter can be quite the tool to get your proverbial head around. When things are tough, it’s nice to have a little help.  It’s for that reason that a blog like Twitip.com comes in handy. Twitip.com shares tips about how to Twitter. In fact, that’s what the name means: Twit-tip.

There are 7 topics of Twitter tips Twitip.com covers.

(1) Twitter for beginners

Twitip.com has help for the beginner Twitter user just learning how to Twitter. First of all, if you check out the bottom of the page, you’ll find a list of posts written specifically to help someone starting out.

There’s also a whole category of posts directed towards the beginner. Some good posts from this category are the:

- Concise Guide to Understanding Replies, Mentions and Direct Messages on Twitter – Part 1 and Part 2
- Tame The Beast: How To Use Twitter So It Doesn’t Suck Up Your Time And Attention
- How to Get Noticed on Twitter.
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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 more cool websites and web app reviews subscribe to MakeUseOf Directory.

(1) Quick Image Downloader – Experimental Firefox add-on that lets you quickly save multiple images displayed on any webpage with a single click. All you need to do is to install the add-on as usual, and after restarting your browser you will see a green download arrow at the bottom-right corner of your browser. Clicking it will download images on any web page. Read more: Quick Image Downloader – Download Multiple Images At Once

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There are several critical areas of system data that can cause serious computer issues when they become corrupted. For such cases it’s important to have a backup of these files or a way to return to a previous system state.

The registry is the central part of the system data and the one most likely to cause problems. It contains all information about installed software, drivers, plugins, updates, and more. After countless edits due to software being added, changed or removed, errors and bad entries pile up in the registry. This can make your computer slow or even unstable.

Here are 3 ways to backup the registry, two of them along with other critical system data.

1. Export Specific Registry Keys

If you are going to make changes to a specific registry key, you can selectively export or restore this key.

Backup

Click > Start > Run, type > regedit and click > OK. The registry editor will open.

Select the key you wish to backup, right-click to open the menu and click > Export.

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