How To Create An Easily Recognizable Google+ URL With Your Own Username
One thing that’s still sorely missing from Google+ are vanity URLs. Vanity URLs are personalized URLs that usually include a username, company name or group name in the URL itself. Social media giants like Facebook and Twitter already support vanity URLs. While you won’t be able to get one at Google Plus as of now, you can get it on one of the many different services that offer Google+ vanity URLs on their own domains.
InstantFox – Everything You Ever Wanted To Search For At Your Fingertips [Firefox]
If Google is the best thing since bread came sliced, the ability to search Google from your browsers’ address bar is probably the best thing since the Internet. In most browsers, you can use and set up various shortcuts and codes to make searching faster and easier, but to this day I have not seen a better way to do it than InstantFox.
Twitonomy: Your One-Stop-Shop for Twitter Analytics, Backup, and Useful Information
As MakeUseOf’s Twitter manager, and a somewhat active user on Twitter myself, I’m always on the lookout for good Twitter tools. These include great clients, insightful analytics tools, interesting Web apps, and cool Twitter mashups. But so far, my Twitter finds were pretty segmented. It’s either a client, a tracking tool, a backup tool, or something else. That is, until I found Twitonomy.
Livescribe Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen Review and Giveaway [Twitter Exclusive]
A few months ago, I took a close look at Livescribe's Echo Smartpen, and was very impressed. Having liked the Echo Smartpen so much, I couldn't imagine how it could get any better, so when Livescribe released the Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen I had to check it out. On paper, the Sky Smartpen should be everything the Echo was, but with the added bonus of wireless syncing. What could go wrong?
9 Beautiful and Useful Instagram Tools to Get More Out of the Service
After telling you how you can browse Instagram on the Web and on your desktop, after teaching you how to backup your Instagram photo collection, and being pretty sure you all know how to use the regular Instagram app, it’s time to show you some cool mashups, tools and hacks that will make Instagram even better, for you and for everyone you share with.
Polaroids In The Wind: Have You Backed Up Your Instagram Account?
Ah, Instagram. There isn’t much that hasn’t been said about the photo-sharing phenomena. When I think about it, it still surprises me how a simple app like Instagram achieved such am superior status, but even the greatest social-media hater can’t deny its power and allure. Being a tech blog, we haven’t exactly ignored Instagram either. We’ve already told you about sites that enhance your Instagram experience - except for backup.
Don't Unsubscribe! Keep Track of Newsletters, Receipts & More With the Beautiful Azigo
Here’s a task for you. Go to your inbox right now, and count how many newsletters and promotional emails you've received in the past week. How many did you get? 10? 50? 150? How many brands do you get these emails from? 5? 10? Maybe 20? While such emails are sometimes nothing more than spam you can ignore, you sometimes receive them because you actually care about these brands and what they have to say.
Auto-Share Facebook & Instagram Photos With People Without Accounts
Sharing photos online has become an integral part of our lives, but what about our loved ones who don’t have a Facebook account, or Instagram? While sharing digital photos with the world is easier than ever before, each network is still limited to those who actually take part in it. If you’re not lazy, this is not a real problem: you just post your photos on several social networks, upload them to Dropbox, or email them directly when necessary.
What Do Your Apps Know About You? Discover Interesting Facts With Clueful [iOS]
Is your privacy important to you? Do you go out of your way to find out what the Web knows about you? Good for you. Privacy is one of the most important yet most neglected aspects of our online lives, and should be protected at all cost. When thinking of privacy, the first thing that comes to mind is usually Facebook, with its ever changing privacy settings, but have you ever considered what information your mobile apps can collect about you?
Are You SURE You Know How to Use Google?
Most of you are probably thinking "you bet!" or "what’s there to KNOW?" right about now. I believe you. The truth is, if you know how to enter a query and hit enter, you know how to use Google. At least in its basic form. And if you search often, you’ve probably also encountered Google’s OneBox results once or twice before. What are these OneBox results? While you may not have heard the name before, OneBox results have been around for years now
Loopseque Lite Turns Creating Music Into A Fun Game Anyone Can Play [iPad]
I’m no musician, not even close. The last time I actually played a real instrument was years and years ago, and although I can easily play little tunes on both piano and guitar, it’s a far cry from knowing how to make music. To me, composing is a complete mystery, and making up even a tiny, simple song seems like an impossible task. Turns out there’s an app for that too, and it’s not as impossible as I thought.
Going Vertical - Free Your Browser Window From Clutter With Vertical Toolbar [Firefox]
I love Firefox. Yes, it’s not perfect, I’ll admit to that in a heartbeat, but for me, it’s almost everything I want from a browser. One thing that does bother me though, is its slight tendency for clutter. Take, for example, the default orange settings button. It’s big, it’s ugly, and it takes way too much space. Luckily, there are simple add-ons that take care of this menace and help me keep my Firefox window cleaner and clutter-free.
Brief: The Simple RSS Feed Reader You Were Always Looking For [Firefox]
Recently, after using Google Reader for years without second thought, I started looking around at other readers. It’s not that I’m not loyal or even that I don’t like Google Reader, but using only Google Reader has been like eating only vanilla ice cream for years, and let’s face it, who wants to eat only vanilla ice cream when there’s so much goodness to be had?
Enhance Google Services with These 5 Add-Ons
Most of us use at least one Google service each day – usually much more than just one. Search, Gmail, Reader, Calendar, Drive, Play, YouTube…. this is just a partial list of the services we use every day. And for good reason, too. Google’s services are not popular just because they have the name “Google” next to them – they’re actually very good, and constantly provide their competitors with inspiration and ideas.
Automatic Coupon Finders - Do They Really Help You Save Money?
Like many good things in life, coupons and promo codes are elusive. Saving money is never an easy thing, after all, and when you’re trying to find valid codes for something specific, you usually end up with many useless or expired codes, and lots and lots of open tabs. Think about it, how many times have you wanted to buy something and actually managed to find a discount code that helped you save money?
No Bells & Whistles: Simply Read Your Feeds With Bamboo Feed Reader [Firefox]
Bamboo Feed Reader is a simple and no-nonsense reader that focuses on the important part of RSS feeds – the reading. You won’t find too many fancy options, eye-catching themes or colorful buttons, but Bamboo Feed Reader provides what it sets out to deliver – a clean and simple reading environment.
Email Faster & Better With Canned Responses
Don’t have time to cook lunch? No problem, grab a can. Need some camping chow that won’t go bad? Easy, get some canned food. Tired of typing the same email replies? Try canned emails! Think I’m kidding? Think again. Canned responses, or canned replies, are a feature that too many users have never even tried, but once you’ve tried them, there’s no turning back.
Make New Firefox Tabs More Useful With These Add-Ons
We all like to customize our things – it’s nice when they feel really ours. This is true for many aspects in life, and naturally, doesn’t skip computers, phones and software. If it’s possible to customize things even a little bit, someone’s going to do it. It doesn’t matter if the default is great – the default is what everyone has. So out go the defaults and in come hundreds of different customizations.
Tech Through 90-Year-Old Eyes: Are We Really Better Off? [Feature]
Young people tend to look at the older generation as second class citizens when it comes to technology. This is apparent from jokes we see online every day, and it stems, among other things, from the real need to help our parents and grandparents cope with the huge technological advances of the last ten years or so. But what is it like for them? Are they really making use of everything technology has to offer, or are they merely standing at the sidelines of this revolution? I spoke to two tech-savvy 80-something ladies to seek the truth.
Make Sure You're Secure With Facebook's New Privacy Settings: A Complete Guide
Facebook also means two other things: frequent changes and privacy concerns. If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Facebook, is that they’re not really concerned about what we like or our privacy. Nor should they be. When it comes to privacy, it’s our responsibility as Facebook users to make sure we keep ourselves secure and safe while using Facebook.