In response to
TechCrunch's List for 2009, I decided to put up a list that keeps most, if not all, of my information, news, contacts, and entertainment close by for easy access. The list consists of the most used sites & products, so not at all are listed. Here is the list:
Google - Of course, who doesn't use Google for some things, even if it is just to perform a basic search or math calculation or translation or unit conversion. Google's integration of information sharing within its own separate services keeps a large percentage in one place. I'm not an
iGoogle user, but if you are then you know you can get your email, calendar, RSS feeds, and all sorts of widgets to feed your personalized news, weather, sports, event countdowns, etc.
Gmail - The best email client for years now...and it keeps getting better and easier with more integration, storage, and now new themes.
Google Labs has also added new widgets that make your daily email tasks much easier. Plus, you won't be tied down to using a software client system like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird. Access your email from anywhere that has internet. Outside of using Gmail, the next on the list is the most used.
Google Reader - If you know
what an RSS feed is, then you should know what Reader does for you. If you don't know what an RSS feed is, then you might want to. It'll make your daily surfing much easier and you won't fall behind too much on old posts. Any up-to-date site that wants to be followed will have an RSS feed that you can use in Reader. All feeds will be on one screen in a categorized list very similar to an email inbox system. The new stories or posts will show up when they are posted. This takes the place of me visiting each site 90% of the time and saves large amounts of time instead of visiting each site.
Google Calendar - Forget using Outlook. Google's calendar works with all your other Google products. Set an event in the calendar, invite guests to the event, then Calendar can have Gmail automatically email you an event alert if you desire. You can create multiple calendars on one screen, all color-coded and integrated with Google Maps for the location based events you enter. A clean cut calendar with weather integrated is more advanced than the standalone Outlook calendar any day. With Calendar, posting events from multiple
calendar for friends and family to see is made easy.
Flickr - There are many online photo/video storage sites out there. Many are good, some are better. I've found that Flickr offers the best for all. I switched from using
Picasa after I started using my DSLR Canon 450D for several reasons. Picasa's interface lagged each time I went from picture to picture or album to album. Don't get me wrong...all of Google's product pages(Gmail, Reader, Maps, etc.) are very clean cut and are very minimal on ads, but they haven't quite got the photo storage site to compare with Flickr. They are just images, something not new to browsing. Google's Picasa is just slow on the browsing of images. Flickr works better, has a monthly upload limit but unlimited storage for pictures. A Pro account is only $24, allowing the user to upload original sizes...meaning you can have a true backup of the resolution you uploaded. It has great private and share features and is extremely easy to navigate. A slideshow can easily be emailed to anyone. The user can select to have the exif camera information for flickr users to see.
Blogspot/Blogger - Before the term "blog" was made universal for the internet, I was forced to use my own domain and no free template or nice layout to make the process easier. After wordpress, typepad, etc. all came out, things got easier, much easier. I decided to use Google's Blogspot, simply because it's easy and the templates are customizable. Oh, and the blogs that I follow through Blogspot show up in Google Reader...another good point to Google's service integration.
Delicious - I'm sure you borrow someone else's computer from time to time to show them a site you ran across but forgot to email them. After using delicious now I don't ever save bookmarks to the computer anymore. It's all stored online, and why not? The site is easy to use, using tags instead of folders like IE or Firefox. You can share your list and make certain links private...like for instance Christmas/birthday gift links.
Google Maps - From directions to finding out the better route compared to your GPS, Maps is great. The street-view functions is getting better all the time too. My dad was blown away that you could virtually "look" around on each street to make sure the address is a good search result. This Google service is very useful in learning the area before actually going there. The street-view availability is updating all the time...depending on where the Google vehicle travels. It has been used for fun too...
like a marriage proposal.
Newegg - Still too afraid to build your own computer or get everyday good deal on components? Use Newegg. For years this online store has grown massively, and it also has excellent customer service. Creating a wishlist helps with putting your computer components in an updated list for pricing, rebates, and immediate discounts. You can share the wishlists with others...for instance you need someone to price out a future computer for you. They select the proper components, share it, and you can automatically see the current prices, rebates, and available discounts.
Engadget - Considering there are new electronic gadgets coming out either every day and of course every week, you might want to keep up with the news on your certain interests or everything new. Engadget keeps you informed with consumer surveys, reviews for products like
HD &
Mobile gadgets, software/hardware news, and is one of many tech sites that attends events like
CES and
E3(the public can no longer attend
).
Bit Torrent - Combined with
Mininova or
Pirate Bay,
ųtorrent makes all your torrents easy, manageable and fast. For software, music, books, tv shows, etc...it can't get much better. I use it mostly to download BBC's
Top Gear or weekly episodes of
House MD since I don't have cable. But, there are vast resources of beta programs and various unreleased items that can't be found on non torrent download sites. (Torrent files account for an estimated 35% of all online activity.)
Feel free to comment on any online services you find very useful or comment on why you like to use any of the ones above.
[This picture is not of the boy in the story]
Spring Valley, NY – A New York landlord accused of removing the toilet and other fixtures from a basement apartment to get a tenant to move out has been fined nearly $10,000. The Rockland Board of Health issued the fine to Fausto Pinos of Bushkill, PA, on Wednesday.
Port Huron Township, Michigan – A man driven to find his lost dog also lost his car after he drove onto the frozen[who drives onto anything frozen and thinks it's a good idea?] Black River in St. Clair County, locked himself out of the idling vehicle, then watched as heat from the 1994 Buick's exhaust pipe melted the ice beneath it.
A messy thief was arrested after a trail of popcorn kernels led police from a burglarized store to the suspect's living room.
Available in Asia, Romania, and Europe already, you may soon be able to get your hands on an addition to your morning commute. This addition will help cut oodles of your time off your breakfast making and probably add more calories to your diet in the process.
This kid's got it right that he likes bacon, just a little quick on the taste test.