Quick Online Tips » Lists

10 Most Useful Free Twitter Tools for Bloggers

QuickOnlineTips — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:20:38 +0000

I present to you my list of 10 most useful free Twitter tools for bloggers that we use daily and find of the most practical use in our blogging routine. I am sure you too would want to grab all these tools for your blog. Check them out.

Best Twitter Tools for Bloggers

1. Twitterfeed – This amazing tool will let you publish updates from any RSS feed to your Twitter account. You can decide how frequently you want Twitterfeed to check your feed updates and how many updated articles to post to Twitter so that you dont overwhelm your twitter followers with tweets. If you follow us on Twitter, you know we direct our blog feed, photoblog feed, new jobs feed, delicious feed all via Twitter feed and keep updating our Twitter account automatically.

2. Tweetdeck - I know there are lots of Twitter desktop clients out there. For one fact, Twitstats says Tweetdeck is the most popular Twitter client in the market. Next it allows you to keep control of multiple Twitter profiles and keep regular track of your tweets, profile mentions, replies and direct messages – all on one screen. For me, it is the best way to keep using Twitter like a pro. Another popular alternative is Twhirl.

3. Twitpic – Simply put, TwitPic lets you share photos on Twitter. Now most popular Twitter clients have inbuilt support for Twitpic. This a valuable addition to make your tweets interesting. If you want to share videos, its worth taking a look at Twiddeo or Vidly.

4. Tweetmeme Button – this nifty button has emerged as the most popular way to get your articles retweeted. Supporting various blogging platforms and websites, a Tweetmeme button is the best way to get retweeted and make your article go viral across Twitter for extra site traffic. We use the Tweetmeme Wordpress plugin on our blog and you can spot the green retweet button on this page and our feed.

5. Twitter Counter - is a statistics tools which allows you to show off your Twitter followers count on your blog. It will also show you how rapidly your followers are increasing (or decreasing!) over the week or months. See how our Twitter follower counts looks like. You can also add their Twitter Remote widget to your blog sidebar for more interaction. If you really want to look for the most popular twitter users, catch them Twitterholic.

6. Wickett Twitter Widget – As seen on many blogs on WordPress.com, it displays tweets from a Twitter account in the sidebar of your blog. It is by far the easiest, lightest and best way to add Tweets to Wordpress. Here are more tools to integrate Twitter with Wordpress.

7. Twitter Search Widget - Official Twitter widget which provides a cool custom interface to display your own profile search results in your sidebar. An excellent way to show how popular you are on Twitter as hundreds of your profile mentions and replies scroll across your blog every second. There is an official profile widget also if that suits your need better. Here is an official Twitter badge for Blogger.

8. Twibbon – lets you add a logo of your website or a cause you support to your twitter profile avatar. This also enables your supporters to add the same logo to their profiles and show support for your blog or cause and is great to develop a community of supporters and get lots of publicity.

9. Twitterberry – is a popular Twitter client for Blackberry mobile phones. It helps me stay connected with my Twitter account anywhere in the world and on the move. I can access my Twitter followers, get replies and post tweets without my computer. My friends with Iphone and ipod Touch will like Twitterific or Twitterfon. Other mobile phone users can check the official mobile version of Twitter.

10. Twitbin – is a firefox extension that allows you to keep up with all of your Twitter conversations right from your browser sidebar. This really helps you stay connected with your followers while you are busy blogging. Or open Twitter 100 in a tab and keep following latest tweets from 100 followers on one screen.

What are your most useful tools which you use on a daily basis? Post in comments and I will add to the article. Image by mark.benton

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Original article: 10 Most Useful Free Twitter Tools for Bloggers
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5 Apps to Wow The Average PC User

QuickOnlineTips — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:56:54 +0000

Guest article by Shankar Ganesh
Every other day, we read about plenty of new software that promise to get rid of our woes and improve our experience as a PC user. We read about such apps, download, try and then move on. However, the following apps would really make any average PC user say “Wow”. Sometimes, even the power users might be astonished and go gaga over them. Have a look:

#1. LemonScreen – Your face is your password

LemonScreen works with your webcam and uses a face recognition technology to lock down your computer immediately when you step away from your desk. You needn’t type your password again to login. It automatically makes out that you’re infront of your computer with inputs from your webcam and unlocks your computer in no time.

#2. Tunatic � Identify Song Title With Just The Audio

There�s a song playing on your local radio station but nobody is telling you what that song is. If you�ve got a microphone, place it near the audio source and pass the audio via Tunatic. It can help you identify that song. Yes, then you can really go buy that song (or rather, download) :P

#3. Songsmith – Got only Vocals? Add some music, baby!

If you think you can only sing and not compose music, try the Songsmith app from Microsoft that automatically adds background music from any of 30 different styles to accompany your voice. The results may not be as you mind-blowing, but you have to realise it�s a product that�s probably in its nascent stages. See a user demo.

#4. Shock Desktop 3D � Make your Desktop a 3D Playground

With this utility installed, it will seem like 2D Desktops are so pass�. Shock Desktop 3D gives your desktop a very cool 3D look. Your icons actually look like cubes and you can play with them as if they were objects on a real table. Watch the video to believe. There are quite a few draw backs when you compare it with the much hyped, invite-only beta Bumptop, though.

#5. Unshredder � Reassembles Shredded Papers

If you think no one can reproduce confidential company information from papers that you shredded using a document shredder, think again. Unshredder can easily put together all these shreds (yep, after you�ve scanned all those pieces) and make them readable again.

Guest Blogger Shankar Ganesh writes on Killer Tech Tips, where he covers tech tips ranging from essential windows utilities to how to make windows faster. You can also share your tips by writing a guest article on QOT.

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Original article: 5 Apps to Wow The Average PC User
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The Big List of Top Women Bloggers

QuickOnlineTips — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 18:20:47 +0000

As the world celebrates International Women’s day today, we have collected the most popular, and best women bloggers lists across the world. We are sure you will find some great women bloggers to add to your RSS reader.

Photo by NotionsCapital

World’s Best Women Bloggers

Fifty Most Influential �Female� Bloggers – “As it is often the case with technology, blogging can seem like a boys� club to many, but the average blogger is no longer (if they ever were) a geeky, twenty-something man from the US. Strong, interesting women are taking over the blogging world.”
101 Women Bloggers to Watch for 2009! – scours the internet to find these amazing women bloggers and present them to the readers of WE Magazine for Women. There are business blogs, personal blogs, relationship blogs, hobby blogs, travel blogs, blogs about kids, pets, travel, food, health, women, men, shopping, fashion and more.
100 Must Read Blogs�By Women! – The list is compiled ‘In honor of these hardworking and insightful ladies’ and are all written with an engaging, unique voice that they bring to their subject matter.
Women in Tech: The Bloggers – FastCompany shares 11 of the Web’s most talented writers.
Top 100 Australian Women Bloggers – ranked by the average of Technorati ranking and Alexa ranking, this regularly updated list tracks the helps you find new and interesting blogs from great Aussie blogging women.
20 Women Bloggers to Watch in 2009 – “You may not have heard of some of these ladies, but you will. This list isn�t about stats, Technorati links, or Twitter followers because who cares? Show us the content! Whether they blog about everyday life, work and family, or women�s empowerment and accomplishments these ladies are positive, uplifting, and most of all they provide a unique view.”
500+ Women Political Bloggers – another regularly updated collection with links to 500 women blogging about politics�
The W-List – Gathering a List of Outstanding Women Bloggers. “Are there truly 5+ to 1 men bloggers to women bloggers? Why should we care? We should care because women are great at conversation, strategy, and writing.”
BlogHer: Who Are Your Favorite Women Bloggers? RWW share some links to their favorite women bloggers and some favorites web celebs you may or may not know.
Top 100 Female Bloggers – Claims to be one of the first lists dedicated only to female bloggers showcasing their contribution to the blogging world.
100 Awesome Webmaster Blogs by and for Women – A discovery of over one hundred women in SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM (Search Engine Marketing), public relations and marketing, design, business, social media and in IT.
The Magical List of Outstanding Women Bloggers – The author finds it hard to choose just a few. “But there are a few who are not only wonderful women bloggers but� also hang out online with many other wonderful women bloggers, so these people will pass the honor along.”
Top 10 Women Real Estate Bloggers – “Having personally met each of the women within this elite group, we can honestly say that they all possess the very best qualities that we�d expect in a real estate professional.”
Top 45 Female African Bloggers – “It�s clear that South African female bloggers dominate the list but I am very pleased to see Nigeria, Kenya, Eqypt, Uganda and Ethiopia make it on the list.”
Rocking Indian Female Bloggers – a list of some rocking female bloggers from India, whom the author recommends you subscribe in your feed reader.
Who is Web’s Hottest Female Blogger? Playboy picks. “It didn’t take us long to find an abundance of lovely bloggers and video bloggers (or “vloggers”) from the worlds of finance, entertainment, tech and sex. Meet some of the internet’s most click-worthy women.”
The Best Female Bloggers Of 2008 -”From futurists to postfeminists, octogenarians to mommies, nonbloggers to celebrities, we�ve rounded up the best bloggers who happen to be women.”
27 Inspiring Women Edubloggers – a slideshow showcasing some of the best female edubloggers out there
Best women fitness bloggers! – “written by women who we can all learn from. They all write from an unique perspective that is both realistic (at least for some of us) and not based on fear, fads or fantasy”.
15 Amazing Women in Blogging – “Some of the following ladies blog for themselves, others blog for a network, and a few even run their own blog network. All in all, there are some amazingly talented women making their mark on the blogosphere.”
The World�s Most Beautiful Bloggers – “Excluded from this list are professional models, celebrities and famous people who have a blog. I�m talking about real bloggers, who write their own content and share their own ideas.”
10 best Mom Blogger Resources – Follow hundreds of mommy bloggers as they talk about their children, parenting, motherhood and busy lifestyle.

We will keep this list updated. If there is a list of great women bloggers you know of, let us know in comments and we will add it here.�

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Original article: The Big List of Top Women Bloggers
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15 Unusual and Strange Computer Mouse

QuickOnlineTips — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:05:53 +0000

The holiday season is the right time to buy some unusual and strange computer mouse to accessorise your desktops and notebooks and show off some cool computer gear. Here are some unique computer mice to look out for.

1. HP Bluetooth PC Card Mouse
Slim and thin, this mouse has all benefits of standard optical mouse with added Bluetooth operability and wireless freedom. It can be stored neatly inside the PC card slot of your HP Business Notebook. No batteries to replace as the HP Bluetooth PC Card Mouse charges inside your HP Business Notebook and integrated battery provides up to 10 hours of continuous use battery life!

2. i-rocks Superman Optical Mouse
Ideal gift for Superman fans. It has 800-dpi optical engine for speed and precision, ergonomically designed for most hand sizes, fast-scrolling wheel, USB interface, and sleek design with the Superman commemorative “S” logo

3. USB Optical Finger Mouse
Finger Mouse offers a new way to use your mouse and is ideal for laptop users. No mouse pad is required, just slide on any surface. Control cursor with the movement of your fingers only. USB interface, Plug-and-Play, no installation needed. Ergonomic and stylish design, reduces wrist strain and tiredness. Adjustable strap for any finger size. Real hardware resolution 1200dpi – perfect for professional designers and gamers. 2-button design with scroll wheel. Digital encoder technology for precise movements. Textile coating cable, super-lightweight.

4. 3Dconnexion SpaceNavigator PE
Advanced 6 degrees-of-freedom optical sensor, 2 programmable function keys, and fly through Google Earth and 100+ 3D programs. PE model includes non-commercial use license and online tech support only. Ideal for 3D designers, students, artists and enthusiasts.

5. Microsoft Arc Mouse
Truly portable mouse which folds to 60% of its fully expanded size and the micro-transceiver snaps into the bottom of the mouse. Folding motion turns mouse on and off. Laser tracking for precision, 2.4 GHz wireless with up to 30-foot range and Microsoft branding make it attractive.

6. Kensington SlimBlade Presenter Media Mouse
Features 3-in-1 mouse, presenter and media controller all in one. Unique Scroll Ball provides easy and intuitive 360-degree scrolling. Battery indicator light is green then changes to red as battery level gets low. Multifunction navigation pad included. Mouse goes into sleep mode when your notebook does to prevent power drain.

7. 3M Ergonomic Mouse
Optical Mouse has a unique ergonomic vertical grip that has been clinically proven to reduce muscle strain and discomfort compared to using a traditional mouse. Enhances your comfort by keeping arms and shoulders in a more relaxed, neutral position. Right-Handed use and available in small and large sizes so you can find your perfect fit. 2 year warranty.

8. Crayola Optical Water Mouse
New optical sensor, water globe effect and compact size for kids. Buy your kid one of these and watch them smile everytime they use it to surf the web.

9. BMW USB Ergonomic Optical Mouse Mice
When it is connected to the computer, 5 LEDs will turn on (2 headlights, 2 backlights and scroll wheel) which is sure to delight car loves and kids. 3 buttons with scroll wheel with USB interface, and� 800 dpi for quick and precise movement.

10. Evoluent VerticalMouse 3
Advanced third generation of the revolutionary mouse from the inventor of the handshake grip. The patented shape supports your hand in a fully upright handshake position that eliminates forearm twisting to relieve wrist and arm pain. A gaming grade infrared sensor with hardware adjustable resolution of 800-2600 dpi instead of an optical sensor with fixed 1200 dpi resolution for superior tracking on more types of surfaces. An optical scroll wheel with detents (clicks) instead of a smooth rolling wheel. A small flange along the bottom edge to prevent the little finger from dragging on the desk.

11. Gyration Cordless Optical Air Mouse
High performance Gyroscope for in-air mouse control optical sensor with scroll wheel for desktop control. Digital Spread Spectrum, 2.4GHz radio technology 79 frequencies, approximately 700 channels USB dual receiver with 30′ range Rechargeable NiMH battery with desktop charger. Includes GyroTools for multimedia, Internet and input control.

12. 3M Optical Mouse with Numeric Keypad
USB plug and play three-button scroll optical mouse mouse with built in numeric keypad. Two devices in one means less peripherals to carry.� USB connectivity. 30″ retractable cable. No more searching for number keys on Notebook Computers.

13. Mousemart Official New York Mets Optical Mouse
USB mouse for Windows PC. Shaped like Baseball Cap with NY Mets’ Emblem.

14. Super Mini Optical Mouse Blue
Now this is a really very small mouse. Use this and work more productively on your laptop avoiding those hard-to-use touch pads or eraser pointers.� Atek’s Super Mini Optical Mouse takes the frustration out of mobile computing and puts the productivity back in!

15. SteelSeries Special-Edition World of Warcraft Mouse
Worlds first gaming mouse designed exclusively for World of Warcraft with a total of 15 programmable buttons, 16 million illumination choices with 3 intensity levels.

Disclosure: I have no experience of personally using any of these computer mouse and cannot vouch for their quality, performance, price or features. All information is available on the respective linked gadget pages and can be verified from the sellers.

If you liked these,� here are 15 strange USB flash drives to try out.

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Original article: 15 Unusual and Strange Computer Mouse
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5 Free Services to Replace Your Cable TV

QuickOnlineTips — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:36:01 +0000

Guest article by Herbert Lui from CutEdge
With TiVo, PVR’s and TV tuners, we can see that computers and TV’s are coming together. �Unfortunately, these three solutions all cost one important thing: mullah.� Whether you’re rolling in it or strapped for it, I’m sure that we can all agree that cash is important: and as much as it pains us, there are times when we have to sacrifice our cash for services such as the gym, magazines, and…yes, cable TV.

Watch Free Internet TV Online

Until lately, I could have considered canceling subscribing to the gym or magazines — but not to cable TV. I don’t know why — perhaps I’m addicted, or perhaps it’s just the TV vibe. �I found this unsettling, so I set out on a journey to the land of Internet TV to find free. �I return with a list of five for everyone to enjoy — who knows, you might just cut the cable.

1. Joost
Perhaps the most famous of the five, Joost is already pretty popular amongst mainstream crowds. �However, I’d still consider it pretty underrated — depending on your region, they’ve got tons of material available for free that your service provider would charge for. �However, because Joost streams video, quality might be compromised for waiting time. �I’ve given Joost a test run myself, and I’ve found each of its updates to be more and more impressive. �If you’ve yet to try it, give it a shot!

2. AnyTV
Now usually I don’t endorse software that I haven’t personally tried, but I felt compelled to mention this one that I found in PC World – I felt that if it was good enough for them, it’d be good enough for the folks over at QuickOnlineTips.

3. Hulu
Hulu is definitely what I’d consider one of the neatest things since sliced bread. �I once went on a trip to the U.S. recently, and had the opportunity to try it out: if I hadn’t been careful, I might’ve stayed all day at the hotel just to watch the shows on it! �Quality was acceptable, load times were quick, and — best of all, they had The Simpsons. �Unfortunately, Hulu’s still only exclusive to residents of the United States. �As a Canadian, I feel totally deprived.

4. Fancast
If Hulu had acceptable quality videos, Fancast’s quality is definitely high-def. �Although Hulu is the pioneer and did come first, Fancast is a close number-one contender: the video that I had started actually fit very gracefully onto my 1280×800px monitor by default! �However, like Hulu, Fancast is also only available in the United States: which kind of bites for the rest of the world. �I’ll throw in two words that I hope don’t get censored: proxy servers.

5. Miro
Miro is the crown jewel of our five: we definitely saved the best for last. Miro is available to the entire world, and actually, has already been mentioned a couple of times on QuickOnlineTips. �I felt the need to bring it back up to do it some justice: you haven’t actually experienced Internet TV until you’ve tried Miro. �Quality is excellent, GUI is reminiscent of a PVR, and download speeds are acceptable. �I won’t rant anymore about Miro, since this should be a quick online tip, but if you’re curious about it, hop over to my post at CutEdge.

There you have it folks — although there are a few more services out there that offer Internet TV, I felt that these five were the ones most worth mentioning. �Who knows, if I wandered a bit further into Internet TV territory, I might be able to come back with a few more jewels to share with everyone!

This guest article was written by Herbert Lui from CutEdge where he blogs about tech advice, resources, and reviews for the consumer, that will help you buy smarter, think smarter, and know more about products. Got a tip to share, you can also write a guest article on QOT.

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Original article: 5 Free Services to Replace Your Cable TV
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50 Free Windows Software Alternatives

QuickOnlineTips — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:09:09 +0000

Guest article by Jason.
Looking for free Windows software alternatives? Microsoft Windows bundles a number of software applications in order to provide a basic experience, such as Internet Explorer, Wordpad, and others. In this article, we wil be listing replacements for basic Windows software and utilities. If you have a suggestion, feel free to list it in the comments.

Internet Explorer

Mozilla Firefox – a fast, open source, secure, and extendable browser from Mozilla. Offers a number of features over Internet Explorer, including Smart Location Bar, Places Manager, and a rich database of extensions.
Opera – Feature-rich browser. Includes email client, BitTorrent downloads, Speed Dial (page with quick access to favorite websites), and mouse gestures.
Safari – Ported from Mac OSX, Apple brings Safari to Windows. Features private browsing and other enhancements.

Wordpad

OpenOffice – a Java based office suite with features that rival the commercial Microsoft Office, and is compatible with Microsoft�s own formats.
AbiWord – Word processing program similar to Microsoft Word. While it does not include all the applications of OpenOffice, it can serve as a replacement for Wordpad.

Notepad

Notepad++ – a feature-rich text editor. Features syntax highlighting, function completion, tabs, and a plethora of other capabilities.
Notepad2 – While not as feature-rich as Notepad++, it offers a simple replacement for Notepad with syntax highlighting.

Calculator

Power Calculator (XP only) – Microsoft offers a free more powerful alternative to the built in Calculator.

Command Prompt

CygWin – CygWin emulates the Linux shell for Windows, allowing you to work with a more powerful command line.

Built In Unzipping Utility

7-Zip – Supports a number of formats, including RAR, ZIP, TAR, and 7z; can also generate a self extracting archive.
TUGZip – Supports a wide range of formats and can create a self extracting archive.

Windows Media Player

foobar2000 – While only audio, supports a wide range of formats without plugins, and has low memory usage and is extremely customizable.
iTunes – Media player from Apple. Provides access to the iTunes Music Store (although not recommended as it bundles DRM with songs).
Songbird – In alpha stage, integrates well with music websites. Supports syncing to other devices.
VLC Media Player – Does not have a library feature, but plays almost any media format.
Miro – Video only, features RSS downloading, BitTorrent, and support for video websites such as YouTube.

Windows Media Center

XBMC for Windows – Supports a large number of formats and is skinnable.
Elisa – Provides support for a large number of media formats, external devices, auto detection of media on the network, and basic Internet integration.

Paint

GIMP – Advanced image editor with functionality similar to Adobe Photoshop.
Paint.NET – While not as advanced as GIMP, Paint.NET provides a large feature set, including support for layers and unlimited undo.

Windows Search

Google Desktop Search – Allows you to search the computer and Internet history in an interface similar to Google Web Search. Also provides a sidebar and quick launch utility.
Copernic Desktop Search – Provides an intuitive UI for searching and claims to be light on resources.

Add/Remove Programs

Revo Uninstaller – Powerful uninstaller that attempts to remove all traces of a program when uninstalling.

Disk Cleanup

CCleaner – Searches system for unneeded files and cleans them. Also has a registry cleaner, start up manager, and minimalistic Add/Remove Programs interface.

Remote Desktop

TightVNC – TightVNC sets up a server on the computer you want to control, and client software on the controlling computer. Offers a number of features over Remote Desktop.
UltraVNC – Like TightVNC, with support for a Java viewer, text chat, and encryption.
TeamViewer – Quick setup, with support for both Windows and Mac. Has file transfer; no firewall setting changes needed.

Windows Photo Gallery / Windows Picture and Fax Viewer

Windows Live Photo Gallery – Microsoft provides an enhanced version of Windows Photo Gallery free, as part of the Windows Live suite. Provides photo library tools.
IrfanView – Light image viewer with a wide range of features, including image manipulation and conversion.
XnView – Another light image viewer with a wide range of features. Image manipulation, conversion, and meta data editing are a few features.

Windows Movie Maker

Jahshaka – Offers much more functionality than Windows Movie Maker. Open source.
LiVES – Not available for Windows natively, but can boot from a Live CD. Has a greater feature set than Windows Movie Maker.

Windows Messenger

Windows Live Messenger – Offers more functionality (and bloat) than Windows Messenger. Supports only the MSN protocol, with some integration with Yahoo.
Pidgin – Supports a wide range of protocols, including Yahoo!, MSN, IRC, AIM, Google Talk, Jabber, and others. Extendable with plugins.
Digsby – Supports a wide range of protocols as Pidgin does, and also features integration with social media such as Facebook.
Miranda IM – Light messenger with support for a wide range of protocols. Highly extendable.
Yahoo! Messenger – Offers some integration with the MSN protocol. Mainly supports the Yahoo! protocol.

Windows Explorer

xplorer2 – Offers a wide range of features over Windows Explorer, including dual pane and tabbed browsing.
Free Commander – Offers tabbed browsing, dual pane, file wiping, and MD5 checksum abilities.

Windows Update

AutoPatcher – Allows you to download necessary update files and apply them when offline.
Project Dakota – Lets you download a CD ISO file with all the updates
MakeUseOf provides a couple other ways to get your Windows updates.

Windows Shell

Blackbox for Windows – An alternative light shell replacement for Windows, based off of the Blackbox Window Manager. Highly customizable.

Disk Defragmenter

JkDefragGUI – Is able to defrag when your screensaver comes on. Has other powerful features.

Outlook Express / Windows Mail

Mozilla Thunderbird – Email client from Mozilla. Extendable with plugins and themes.
Windows Live Mail – An improved version of Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail is part of the Windows Live suite.
Evolution – Originally for Linux, Evolution is now available for Windows, offering an Outlook-like GUI.
Mail functionality is also provided by SeaMonkey (formerly Mozilla) and Opera

Windows Firewall

Comodo Firewall Pro – Protects outbound connections as well as inbound connections, unlike Windows Firewall. Has database of �safe� software to prevent unnecessary warnings.
ZoneAlarm Free Firewall – Protects outbound/inbound connections, �stealths� your computer.

Sound Recorder

Audacity – Record, mix, and apply effects to sounds in this fully featured audio editor.

CD/DVD Burning Functionality

ImgBurn – Works with all types of media, able to create, build, and burn CD images.

Windows Sidebar

Google Desktop Sidebar – Google Desktop features a sidebar feature as part of the Google Desktop package.
Yahoo! Widgets – While not a sidebar, Yahoo! Widgets allows you to place widgets onto your desktop. Also features a widget dock where you can view your widgets at a quick glance.
Klipfolio – Place �Klips� around your desktop, with information from the web. Takes up less space than traditional widgets/gadgets.

Start Menu

Vista Start Menu – Larger start menu which allows you to find your applications more easily and quickly perform tasks.
Launchy – While technically not a menu, Launchy allows you to launch programs by typing a portion of the application name.
ViStart – For XP users, this replaces the current Start Menu with Vista�s start menu, even containing search functionality.

Run

Launchy – Launch programs by typing a portion of the application name – as opposed to typing the full application name or executable name.

This guest article is written Jason from Third Error, where is writes about Windows (and applicable software), web applications, web design, and a bit of *nix (Ubuntu mainly). Got some tips to share, you can also write a guest article on QOT.

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10 Best Mommy Bloggers Resources

QuickOnlineTips — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:01:46 +0000

Its the 100th anniversary of Mothers day and top Mommy bloggers are celebrating the day worldwide. As thousands of Mom bloggers continue talking about their children, parenting, motherhood and busy lifestyle, we point out some resources to find the best Mommy bloggers out there …

Find Best Mommy Bloggers

Moms@Alltop – A collection of RSS feed headlines from the top mom bloggers in the blogosphere on one page. Make this your starting page for tracking the best content from moms who blog.
50 Best Mom Blogs – Vanessa Van Petten has a great round-up of favorite mom bloggers arranged with reviews and some of each blog�s most popular articles.
Ultimate Mommy Blog List – Guy Kawasaki has compiled a list of Mommy Bloggers and attempts to be the definitive list of blogs for moms.
Mommys @BlogHer – BlogHer is a top guide to blogs by women, via annual conferences, a Web network. Check the Mom Bloggers List.
Hottest Mommy Blogger – the search is on at the Blogger Choice Awards. Topping the lists are Because I Said So, Dooce, Karen Cheng’s Snippets of Life, Pioneer Woman, Sarcastic Mom, Ashley’s Closet.
Blogcatalog: Mom Blogs – is a collection of mom bloggers. There are over 900 mom blogs there!
Top 100 Mom Blogs Awards – Mothers Day Central knows mom bloggers work hard, and run blogs, all the while also helping other moms. They shared the extra recognition in 2007, but still useful.
The Mom Salon – where women gather to find smart mom blogs through a category-based directory. Join their Mom Bloggers Club – their social networking space for mom bloggers.
The Mom Blogs – A directory of Moms who blog. Here are the best rated mom blogs.
Best Momblogs Ever – The Ever project compiles best of mom blog ever and you can vote, share, add, any other Super Mom blogs out there. Powered by Squidoo. Topping the charts are Sprittibee, Mummy Chronicles.

If there is any other resource that deserves listing here, post in comments. Its time you thanked your mother for all the goodness she brought into your life….

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10 Best Google Gadgets For Your Blog

QuickOnlineTips — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:08:20 +0000

Google Gadgets are mini tools that offer cool and dynamic content that can be placed on any page on the web. Though you can Google gadgets to your iGoogle page, Google Desktop, Blogger, and Page Creator, its even cooler to show off Google gadgets on your own site. There are some very cool gadgets out there, and here are some of my top picks in random order.

10 Best Google Gadgets

1. Countdown - Counts down to a user specified date. Customize it to countdown to any blog event, contest closing date, poll closing date, blog anniversary etc. Here is another one with text only display. Keep reminding your visitors and never miss a deadline.

2. Google Translate My Page - Gives you a quick dropdown menu to allow non-english readers to select their native language and translate the page using Google translation services. You can also get more gadgets with language flags. This is a good way to make your blog multilingual and get read by a wide international audience.

3. Digg 2.0 - Discover the best news, images and videos as voted on by the Digg community. You can customize your Digg gadget by topic, and view more story information, such as comments and a friend’s activity feed. Share interesting content rocking the web right now. You can also add Google News or BBC News.

4. Slim RSS Reader – Lets you add a custom RSS feed to display on your blog. Enter the RSS feed, number of items, title and you are done. Customize more with Simple rss reader or support multiple feeds with CustomRSS. Display feeds from your favorite blogs or topical categories in your sidebar.

5. YouTube Gadget - Display the top YouTube videos on your site, and let visitors browse around the Youtube site as well as play the videos without leaving your site. If sharing videos is your style, you need this now. Also try Google Videos.

6. Google talk – Everyone has a google account mostly via gmail and if your visitors are logged in, this gadgets lets them see your contacts online right now and send them instant messages. You can publicize your gtalk id and chat with your readers.

7. Photo of the Minute - Grabs a new latest photo from Flickr. Remove the photo info to optimize the size better. There are lots of gadgets that can rotate an interesting photo, graffiti, captions or cartoons. Try the National Geographic daily photo, Photos from Flickr etc.

8. Google Calendar – If you mark your blogging events on a Google calendar and share your public calendar, then why not add it to your blog and publicize the events you track. Grab this official widget and never miss a event.

9. Dilbert widget – Dilbert cartoon strip is a daily read that will bring a smile on your visitors face. Grab the official widget, resize it and load the daily Dilbert color comic strips and ranking. Or opt for a random Dilbert strip.

10. Date & Time - Some people like to place a widget displaying the date, time and calendar. Add a clock to your page. Click edit to change it to the color of your choice. Narrow the width to remove the calendar.

How to add a Google Gadgets?

Select the gadget you like, click the “Add to your webpage” button, edit the Display settings, Click to “Preview changes” and the click “Get the code” button to generate the HTML. Copy and paste the HTML into your webpage’s source code and behold and surprise your visitors. Remember that most gadgets can be easily resized by dragging the window from the bottom right corner, before you decide the final size.

Got more time? here are all the Google Gadgets For Your Webpage. Let me know of other gadgets that deserve to be listed here and I will add them.

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5 Top Influential Women Bloggers: Part II

QuickOnlineTips — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:16:26 +0000

After enlisting the 5 top women bloggers who have been inspiring us since our early days by their views and writing, on International Women�s Day, I salute 5 more women bloggers who inspired us to become a better blogger and continue to influence the blogosphere at large.

Here are 5 more blogs you need to read (in no particular order)�

Wendy Piersall
She is passionate about helping parents succeed as entrepreneurs, parents, and in life. I first got to know about Wendy when she won a free Elite Retreat ticket. Blogging away at eMoms at Home, she doles out free outstanding advice on a host of issues very useful in everyday life and blogging.

Skellie
Offers her readers a regular dose of tips, tricks, hacks, guides, links and reviews to help you work with freedom, create a better blog and lead a richer life. Outstanding original writing is spreading her influence on her blog Skelliewag, on Anywired, as a staff writer at ProBlogger.net, and as editor of Freelance Switch.

Debbie Weil
She is a popular corporate and CEO blogging consultant and author of The Corporate Blogging Book. Writing breaking newsy stuff, with interesting critical observations, she is an influential voice on business blogging. Find her buzzing around BlogWrite For CEOs.

Shai Coggins
Well known as Vice President and co-owner of one of the largest blog networks b5media, she can be found blogging everything about ‘creative geek living’ on ShaiCoggins.com and there is interesting content for everyone to enjoy.

Arianna Huffington
She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post, a news and blog site that is one of the most widely-read and cited media brands on the Internet sitting at top in Technorati. Recognized in Time Magazine’s list of the world�s 100 most influential people, she is an major voice in the political blogging scenario. If politics is your game, thats where you go.

There are still hundreds of wonderful women bloggers out there that influence us. This is my personal list of 5 women bloggers who influenced us. Post a comment about women bloggers that influence your blog?

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5 Top Influential Women Bloggers: Part I

QuickOnlineTips — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 16:20:07 +0000

There are a lot of women bloggers around the world wide web, but some women bloggers rule the blogosphere by their views and writing, influencing the blogosphere at large. On International Women’s Day, I salute these 5 women bloggers who inspired me when this blog started a few years back.

Here they are (in no particular order)…

Gina Trapani
She is the founding editor of Lifehacker, which was one of the first blogs I started reading since its early days, and Gina has pushed LH to be one of the most popular blogs ever. It has a daily dose of everything from life hacks to your geeky adventures. Send her a tip, and wait for the news to circulate…

Lorelle vanFossen
When I switched from blogger to wordpress, one blog consistently guided me through my newbie wordpress steps. Meet Lorelle on Wordpress, queen of wordpress, whose useful tips and tricks on everything Wordpress will help you become a better wordpress blogger. Also blogging on BlogHerald.

Jennifer Slegg
She blogs infrequently, but when she does, it is the most authoritative analysis of contextual text advertising on the web anywhere. Wait for Google adsense or Yahoo Publisher Network to modify a policy… and await the JenSense take on the issue. I have never been disappointed, and learnt a lot about the finer clauses.

Liz Strauss
She is successfully blogging on the Successful blog and recognizing SOB’s (Successful and Outstanding Bloggers). Possibly the most influential relational blogger, by recognizing good content, she has a fan following of SOB’s. When this blog was taking its early stumbling steps, she inspired me to be worthy of the SOB award.

Emily Chang
You just need to keep track of eHub to know whats happening around web 2.0. For years, its continues as an amazing Web 2.0 resource regularly updated with the latest buzz. Follow ehub and you will never miss a new tool or service.

I know there are hundreds of wonderful women bloggers out there and many more influence us now. This is my personal list of 5 women bloggers who have influenced continued to inspire us since this blog started.

Also see 5 Top Women Bloggers of Influence – II

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