UsingMiles – If you’re a frequent flyer, you probably have multiple accounts in different companies by which you earn program miles and awards. Although all of these keep you up to date with your latest balance, special offers and more relevant info, it’s hard to keep track of all the different accounts. UsingMiles is here to simplify the process by offering “the best free way to manage your air and hotel loyalty programs and book cash-and-award travel. UsingMiles helps you manage your frequent flier accounts and hotel rewards.”
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Dubset – I’m always excited when there’s a music site in the Weekly Faves lineup and Dubset is, indeed, a great treat. Create your own music channels of your fave genre, browse through numerous DJs and their mixes, and keep track with the latest in the music scene, all in one place.
Once you’re logged in you can simply listen to the randomly played tracks of your preferred style, or pick a certain DJ or mix. Each of these can be shared via Facebook and Twitter which is nice and gives great exposure to the featured artists (hey, you get access to full mixes for free). Here’s the DJ page of my favorite, Marco Carola.
Fitango – Although the name suggests fitness support and inspiration, Fitango is here to help you reach your goals, whether in health and fitness, self development, finance, even your love life. Once you’ve signed up (use Facebook connect if possible – saves you the time of registering), go the the Plan store – the program collection neatly listed by categories. There you will find tens of action plans, many of which are free (paid plans range between $1.99 to $7.99).
Once an Actionplan has been selected, the Fitango site and expert team will guide you through the different steps toward your goal. In addition, the Fitango system allows you to connect with other Fitango community members and designate motivators to help you stick to your path. I decided to get in shape and explore the 8-Week 5K Training Plan for Beginners. What’s your goal? Try Fitango and you’ll find how easy it is to pursue it.
What Movie Should I Watch Tonight? – This unique movie recommendation site is so simple and effective I’m surprised no one has done it before. Simply go to the WMSIWT homepage, pick a movie genre on the left menu and the site will start showing you relevant movie trailers. That’s how I came to find the one shown below by picking ‘Dramatics.”
Once you’re done watching the trailer, you’ll have a film summary including the name of the movie, date of release, participating actors, and the name of the Director. WMSIWT uses full screen viewing by default, and you can add some preferences such as RSS, HD videos, exit full screen mode and other settings.
Here’s the brief info view of the movie trailer I saw (picture above), Blue Valentine.
Bookshelf Porn – This Tumblr blog is a visual mecca for book lovers worldwide or, as the blogger behind Bookshelf Porn explains: “A photo blog collection of all the best bookshelf photos from around the world for people who *heart* bookshelves.”
Even if you’re not a huge books buff, Bookshelf Porn is loaded with beautiful photos to check out. I recommend starting with the Editor’s Picks. Here are my personal favorites:
Re-purposed Newspaper Stand Bookshelf via Poetic Home
Prettybooks: Yale Rare Book Library (by Nick Hollot)
Toy Design Served – Another beautiful creation by Behance Network, Toy Design Served focuses on the amazing and captivating design of, well, toys -for both kids and child-at-heart adults. The focus here is on gorgeous design and innovation, and you will find these two characteristics in abundance on Toy Design Served.
Explore the gallery and vote for your favorite designs. Here are two examples of what I wish I had had as a kid.
Glueless Paper Toys by Claudiu Stefan
Luli Bunny’s Momiji Book Club dolls
GraphJam – One of the Cheezburger network blogs, GraphJam is not new, but its hilarious posts most certainly deserve a Weekly Fave spot (it’s a Weekly Blog winner as well). You will find yourself laughing at these pie and table stats (the source of which comes from users submitting graphs) and you’ll identify with most of these. Here a couple of examples:
To submit your own funny graph go to the Upload tab or click here.
Sky Island – This jump-and-collect game is highly addictive, and for a good reason: you will have to switch between different aerial plains to complete each level using your mouse, and this gives Sky Island a surprising 3D effect. Collect as many coins and start as you can, jump on the bad monsters to kill them, and be careful not to fall. For more addicting fun games visit our I ♥ GAMES.
Weekly App: Everyday for iPhone – This cool photo app for the iPhone is all about creating a personal visual timeline based on the pictures you took. Take your pic on a daily basis (you can use the app’s reminders to make sure you get into the habit), share these on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or Flickr and create a video time lapse of all your photos. Everyday is a cool App that makes taking photos and processing them a fun and creative experience. Available on the iTunes App store. To learn more, see the video below.
This Thursday the Top 10 focus is on cool technology sites that provide up-to-the-minute updates on the latest in tech, but without all the complicated jargon that comes along with it. In other words, these are the top mobile, computer and gadget sites (plus one oddball you’ll thank me for sharing) in plain English anyone can understand and enjoy.
1. Mashable – This comprehensive tech source offers the latest news on social media, technology and what is known as ‘Web culture.’ Mashable is the top A-list site for many tech professionals, but the beautiful part about it is you don’t necessarily have to be one to understand and enjoy the content here. Read about the latest Web & tech news, trends and website reviews in addition to tons of other related topics, all covered by Mashable.
2. Wired.com – The Website of the biggest tech magazine in the US (and other countries) is by far one of the best resources on technology in virtually every industry you can think of. From gadgets and mobile to cars, entertainment and even politics, Wired.com has a top-notch team of writers that offers well-written engaging content for both professionals and laypersons.
3. CNET Blogs – CNET.com is the technology mecca of millions of users worldwide, mostly thanks to the site’s reputation of being a reliable consumer electronics reviewer. But many users who frequent this site are oblivious to the blogs collection CNET offers. Written by the CNET staff, the tech blogs (over 40 of them!) offer a great resource on an almost exhaustive array of fields, including new and upcoming products, Apple, Android, robotics, gaming, digital media. health and many other issues. If you’re looking to explore more fields of interesting technology, the CNET Blogs are for you.
4. NY Times’ Bits Blog – This plain-English tech blog by the NY Times covers “start-ups, tech leaders like Google and Apple, enterprise technology,government policies and the way the Internet is changing how we live and work.” Although the New York Times will soon adopt a paywall (meaning paid subscriptions), The Bits blog is a rare find because it discusses sophisticated tech ideas and concepts in the form of engaging, easily understandable content form.
To listen to the Tech Talk Podcast shown above click here.
5. Motherboard – Although the Motherboard’s Video Room is what makes it special in my view, this beautifully designed tech resource is a top site in and of itself, and it’s the oddball I talked about in the beginning of the post. Motherboard focuses on technology, but from a different perspective; it’s a “celebration of the diversity and eclecticism of the culture that surrounds technology.” You will find here unique, well-written tech stories and posts you wouldn’t have expected to come across on a conventional tech site.
6. Techi – The fun site of the bunch, Techi is all about the groovy side of technology in addition to the standard tech news coverage it offers. This serious-but-laid-back website is a cool resource to visit regularly, and if you’d like to dive right in, I suggest starting with the Offbeat section. See the video below, Lego Ship in a Bottle. You see? Technology is FUNtastic!
7. All Facebook – Although it might seem a bit pretentious to list a Facebook-specific blog here on the Top 10 Tech sites list, All Facebook most certainly delivers. Get all the latest news on the world’s most famous social network ever -both good and bad- from this unofficial Facebook resource. Learn what new apps are available, what people are Liking the most and where this social giant is heading.
8. CNN.com Tech – CNN is great at delivering breaking news and covering current affairs, but their Tech section online is just as admirable and informative. Excluding too geeky tech terms, CNN Technology delivers the hottest news in computers, Internet and technological innovation for everyone to consume and understand.
9. Digital Trends – Delivering large doses of Tech news with a hint of entertainment and design, Digital Trends is an aesthetic Tech news provider that aims to help readers make the most out of their “hi-tech lifestyles” by offering updates, reviews and editorial concerning “trendsetting consumer technology products and services.” This site is a sort of a trend chaser, bringing you the hottest tech news of the day.
10. All My Faves Tech – To explore additional top technology sites and blogs, why not visit All My Faves’ Tech MiniFaves page and have it all in one place?
What Was There – If cement could talk. It’s hard to believe, but today’s streets of America’s metropolises hold countless stories and moments of history. To us the streets of major cities have always been there, but What Was There shows what the streets that are so familiar to us today looked like in the past.
Based on Google Maps technology and user-submitted data and photos, What Was There is “a virtual time machine of sorts that allows users to navigate familiar streets as they appeared in the past.” The result is nothing short of astonishing and fascinating. Here are a couple of examples:
Not only you can see photos of what the streets looked like decades, even 100 years ago, you can use the magnifying glass feature on any zoomed in photo to see more details (simply roll over the photo). It’s just like going back in time.
In front of Tiffany’s, CA 1899
If you have an old street photo of anywhere in the world, and you wish to submit it to this formidable project, sign in and upload your photos. Help in perpetuating the human experience of past places and moments.
HelloFax – As this site claims right on its homepage, you can throw away your fax machine (actually donate it so it doesn’t end up in the trash), because sending fax is now easy and painless. HelloFax lets you send faxes electronically, and also sign documents and fill out forms. The bottom line here is you don’t need any machines or paper for numerous online paperwork processes.
You can try it for free – simply provide your email address and start sending docs (attaching files is included). For the complete list of price plans, click here. This service will save you time and money, and its simple yet sleek design makes working with it a no-brainer.
