Sometimes you just have to celebrate the common man. John Male loves his easy chair with easy access to his beer fridge and even easier access to the Plasma TV remote. John Male LOVES football. John Male doesn’t DO chick flicks. He DOES what he likes. John Male’s got 1 problem though… He can’t find any fresh, new sites online made just for him. And we’re writing this article to come to the rescue of frustrated men everywhere, with a really rather cool mix of man-focused websites that go beyond the GQ’s and Men’s Healths of the Web. Here’s our list of the Top 10 absolute best sites for men (nudity excluded)…
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Back of a Webpage – 100% fun, this simple yet unique website showcases what websites look like reversed – from the back, based on people’s imagination. What does that mean, exactly? See some pics below and you’ll get it.
Here’s the back view of Flickr – see the image, just like an actual photo from a developed film.
And here’s a creative submission, showing the back side of YouTube.
Sleep Cycle – Imagine waking up every morning refreshed, full of energy and ready to take on the day. Sounds like vacation time, doesn’t it? Well, the Sleep Cycle alarm clock app offers “a bio-alarm clock that analyzes your sleep patterns and wakes you when you are in the lightest sleep phase.” No more rude awakening from deep sleep to the sound of that annoying alarm. The app will make sure you wake up when your body is ready at the lightest sleeping cycle, and it will ensure you have enough time to prepare for and get to work when you need to.
The Sleep Cycle tracks your movement during your sleep and that’s how it identifies your deep and light sleep cycles. Although it requires an initial movement calibration, using Sleep Cycle will improve your mornings. Monday won’t be so dreadful again, at least in terms of waking up…
Join.me – In the golden age of online sharing, now computer screens are added into the mix, and for free. Join.me lets you share your screen with others, and see other people’s screens. No registration is required, which is a huge plus in my book. Instant online meetings are a breeze, as the Join.me team explains: “just click share to download and run the app and share your screen, instantly. No need for a plane, train, or sandwich platter. Just gather at join.me.”
Want more goodies? Join.me offers free mobile viewers for iPhone, iPad and Android, and the screen sharing system comes with free chat and file sharing as a default. This is a most valuable service to use, whether for professional or personal reasons – it’s simply a must!
QVIVO – Hoping to revolutionize the way we consume and share media content, QVIVO offers an impressive bundle of user actions and experiences, all focused on your favorite music, videos, films, and social network friends. Once installed, QVIVO will automatically create a mega library with cover art, trailers, actors, artists and more from the files on your computer. QVIVO has taken care of the format issue to allow you to play all files, regardless of where you purchased or imported them from.
All the great perks I’ve mentioned above are nice and dandy, but where QVIVO really shines is in the social sphere. When your friends are also connected and using this app, you can see what they’re watching at that very instant, see if they like it, post your own status, comment on and interact with them.
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?
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.
Flow – Using ‘cloud’ technology, Flow is a productivity app that makes task and and team management a no-brainer. This app prides itself in offering super-organized tools to make sure you stay on top of all your projects and to-do lists, and in offering a work from everywhere approach. Since the cloud plays a central part in Flow, that means different people can access the same content in different locations using different devices, while still being able to collaborate with each other in real-time.
If you feel Flow is just the push your team or work environment needs to reach higher and better goals, I encourage you to give Flow a try; they currently offer a free 14-day trial, no credit card necessary. Sign up here.
siteInspire – At first glance you won’t necessarily understand what this site is about, yet you will find yourself compelled to explore it nonetheless, and you’ll thank yourself for doing so. siteIsnpire is a “showcase and CSS gallery featuring the best web design today, designed, developed and curated by kulör.”
siteInspire brings you a visual survey of the latest advances, styles and talent in contemporary Web design. Even if you’re not a professional working in this industry you will appreciate the beauty and diversity of the siteIsnpire gallery. If you are a business owner, this site will be of particular use to you – find inspirations to create or upgrade your company’s website. Think your website is already a star? Submit it and perhaps siteIsnpire will feature it in their next update.
I suggest going straight to Browse (you can choose between style, theme, hype, view in random, or see the very best). Here a few of my top favorites:
Rock-Paper-Scissors: You vs. the Computer – This exciting feature by NY Times’ Science section online offers a unique Man vs. Machine spin that’s fun and engaging. Play Rock-Paper-Scissors against the computer, but be sure to do it at least five times in a row. As you play along the computer calculates the probabilities of your decision making. Who will prevail? Give it a try.
Philips Wake-Up Light – Living in extreme northern latitudes means going through several long months of complete darkness each year. That’s right, people go to sleep and wake up to what seems like night time, day in day out. Studies have shown that prolonged polar night can lead to depression in humans, and affects their day-time energy since the alarm clock is their only indication that a new day has come.
Philips have studied the effects of the polar night on people and initiated a fascinating experiment; the company handed out free Wake-Up Lights to the community of Longyearbyen, an arctic town in Norway living in a polar night of 11 weeks each year. This special light imitates gradual sunlight in the morning. This means a gradual wake up process rather than an abrupt (and rude) awakening from deep sleep with an alarm clock. What do you think happened? See the experiment video of the below to learn more. Amazing!
Cowboom – Deal grabbers, this one’s for you. Cowboom (a Best Buy brand) offers deals on brand-name new, pre-owned and refurbished consumer electronics and more. You can find anything here from Apple notebooks and home theater systems to cameras and portable music players, all part of a huge variety of brands, and all offered at great discounts.
Each product category on Cowboom offers lots of tempting deals via both regular and auction purchases. To stay on top of all the great deals available on Cowboom, it would be worth while subscribing to the site via email (homepage, form on the right hand side).
Here’s an image from the camera section on Cowboom for you to explore. Enjoy!