Entries Tagged 'internet' ↓
November 11th, 2009 — internet
I’ve been a member of Amatomu for quite some time now – I’m guessing over 2 years, and today when I wanted to log in, I found this message:
Amatomu facilitates blog networking specifically in South Africa, and has been the catalyst in many online acquainting, friendships and obviously the increase of traffic for many of us.
Its sad to see such a brilliant project come to an end, but at the same time I want to say thank you to all those involved up until this point. Thank you Mail & Guardian for you effort, time and passion for this project – it was a huge success.
I’m hoping that someone will take this project over, or at least that it will still be successfully maintained by the community.
July 30th, 2009 — Ideas, Online, Time Wasters, internet
Here are a few interesting sites to visit if you have 5 minutes to spare…
Photofunia
This interesting website will allow you to choose from several templates to insert your photo’s
Etsy
Buy & sell all things handmade, and if you prefer searching for items by color, the “Shop by Color” page is fantastic.
DeviantArt
If you’re looking for any type of image, you will most likely find it here. I love the wallpapers here.
Lost In Translation
A website which translates through different languages, and definitely proves how context is completely lost from one language to the next. I tested this with a simple phrase “My boss sucks” (suggested by a co-worker, not myself 
, and after translating through other languages and back to English, it came out as “My proprietor absorbs” – hehe. Definitely worth a try.
5 Minute Game
Miniclip offers a wide variety of games to pass the time. There’s a whole section with all the “5-Minute Games” which you can try out!
September 20th, 2008 — Useful Tips, internet
The ultimate collection of Google tips to help you find what you want – fast
Search faster and smarter with Google – 101 must-know tips
1. The best way to begin searching harder with Google is by clicking the Advanced Search link.
2. This lets you search for exact phrases, “all these words”, or one of the specified keywords by entering search terms into the appropriate box.
3. You can also define how many results you want on the page, what language and what file type you’re looking for, all with menus.
4. Advanced Search lets you type in a Top Level Domain (like .co.uk) in the “Search within site of domain” box to restrict results.
5. And you can click the “Date, usage rights, numeric range and more” link to access more advanced features.
6. Save time – most of these advanced features are also available in Google’s front page search box, as command line parameters.
7. Google’s main search invisibly combines search terms with the Boolean construct “AND”. When you enter smoke fire – it looks for smoke AND fire.
8. To make Google search for smoke or fire, just type smoke OR fire
9. Instead of OR you can type the | symbol, like this: smoke | fire
10. Boolean connectors like AND and OR are case sensitive. They must be upper case.
11. Search for a specific term, then one keyword OR another by grouping them with parentheses, like this: water (smoke OR fire)
12. To look for phrases, put them in quotes: “there’s no smoke without fire”
13. Synonym search looks for words that mean similar things. Use the tilde symbol before your keyword, like this: ~eggplant
14. Exclude specific key words with the minus operator. new pram -ebay excludes all results from eBay.
15. Common words, like I, and, then and if are ignored by Google. These are called “stop words”.
16. The plus operator makes sure stop words are included. Like: fish +and chips
17. If a stop word is included in a phrase between quote marks as a phrase, the word is searched for.
18. You can also ask Google to fill in a blank. Try: Christopher Columbus discovered *
19. Search for a numerical range using the numrange operator. For example, search for Sony TV between £300 and £500 with the string Sony TV £300..£500
20. Google recognises 13 main file types through advanced search, including all Microsoft Office Document types, Lotus, PostScript, Shockwave Flash and plain text files.
21. Search for any of filetype directly using the modifier filetype:[filetype extension]. For example: soccer filetype:pdf
22. Exclude entire file types, using the same Boolean syntax we used to exclude key words earlier: rugby -filetype:doc
23, In fact, you can combine any Boolean search operators, as long as your syntax is correct. An example: “sausage and mash” -onions filetype:doc
24. Google has some very powerful, hidden search parameters, too. For example “intitle” only searches page titles. Try intitle:herbs
25. If you’re looking for files rather than pages – give index of as the intitle: parameter. It helps you find web and FTP directories.
26. The modifier inurl only searches the web address of a page: give inurl:spices a go.
27. Find live webcams by searching for: inurl:view/view.shtml
28. The modifier inanchor is very specific, only finding results in text used in page links.
29. Want to know how many links there are to a site? Try link:sitename – for example link:www.mozilla.org
30. Similarly, you can find pages that Google thinks are related in content, using the related: modifier. Use it like this: related:www.microsoft.com
31. The modifier info:site_name returns information about the specified page.
32. Alternatively, do a normal search then click the “Similar Pages” link next to a result.
33. Specify a site to search with the site: modifier – like this: search tips site:www.techradar.com
34. The above tip works with directory sites like www.dmoz.org and dynamically generated sites.
35. Access Google Directory – a database of handpicked and rated sites – at directory.google.com
36. The Boolean operators intitle and inurl work in Google directory, as does OR.
37. Use the site: modifier when searching Google Images, at images.google.com. For example: dvd recorder site:www.amazon.co.uk
38. Similar, using “site:.com” will only return results from .com domains.
39. Google News (news.google.com) has its own Boolean parameters. For example “intext” pulls terms from the body of a story.
40. If you use the operator “source:” in Google News, you can pick specific archives. For example: heather mills source:daily_mail
41. Using the “location:” filter enables you to return news from a chosen country. location:uk for example.
42. Similarly, Google Blogsearch (blogsearch.google.com) has its own syntax. You can search for a blog title, for example, using inblogtitle:
43. The general search engine can get very specific indeed. Try movie: to look for movie reviews.
44. The modifier film: works just as well!
45. Enter showtimes and Google will prompt you for your post code. Enter it and it’ll tell you when and where local films are showing.
46. For a dedicated film search page, go to www.google.co.uk/movies
47. If you ticked “Remember this Location” when you searched for show times, the next time you can enter the name of a current film instead.
48. Google really likes movies. Try typing director: The Dark Knight into the main search box.
49. For cast lists, try cast: name_of_film
50. The modifier music: followed by a band, song or album returns music reviews.
51. Try searching for weather London – you’ll get a full four day forecast.
52. There’s also a built-in dictionary. Try define: in the search box.
53. Google stores the content of old sites. You can search this cache direct with the syntax keyword cache:site_url
54. Alternatively, enter cache:site_url into Google’s search box to be taken direct to the stored site.
55. No calculator handy? Use Google’s built in features. Try typing 12*15 and hitting “Google Search”.
56. Google’s calculator converts measurements and understands natural language. Type in 14 stones in kilos, for example.
57. It does currency conversion too. Try 200 pounds in euros
58. If you know the currency code you can type 200 GBP in EUR instead for more reliable results.
59. And temperature! Just type: 98 f to c to convert Fahrenheit to Centigrade.
60. Want to know how clever Google really is? Type 2476 in roman numerals, then hit “Google Search”…
61. You can personalise your Google experience by creating a Google account. Go to www.google.com/account/ then click “Create Account”.
62. With a Google account there are lots more extras available. You’ll get a free Gmail email account for one…
63. With your Google account, you can also personalise your front page. Click “iGoogle” to add blog and site feeds.
64. Click “Add a Tab” in iGoogle to add custom tabs. Google automatically populates them with suitable site suggestions.
65. iGoogle allows you to theme your page too. Click “Select Theme” to change the default look.
66. Some iGoogle themes change with time…”Sweet Dreams” is a theme that turns from day to night as you browse.
67. Click “More” under “Try something new” to access a full list of Google sites and new features.
68. “Custom Search” enables you to create a branded Google search for your own site.
69. An active, useful service missing from the list is “Personalised Search” – but you can access it via www.google.com/psearch when you’re logged in.
70. This page lists searches you have recently made – and is divided into categories. Clicking “pause” stops Google from recording your history.
71. Click “Trends” to see the sites you visit most, the terms you enter most often and links you’ve clicked on!
72. Personalised Search also includes a bookmark facility – which enables you to save bookmarks online and access them from anywhere.
73. You can add bookmarks or access your bookmarks using the iGoogle Bookmarks gadget.
74. Did you know you can search within your returned results? Scroll down to the bottom of the search results page to find the link.
75. Search locally by appending your post code to the end of query. For example Indian food BA1 2BW finds restaurants in Bath, with addresses and phone numbers!
76. Looking for a map? Just add map to the end of your query, like this: Leeds map
77. Google finds images just as easily and lists them at the top, when you add image to the end of your search.
78. Google Image Search recognises faces… add &imgtype=face to the end of the returned URL in the location bar, then hit enter to filter out pictures that aren’t people.
79. Keeping an eye on stocks? Type stocks: followed by market ticker for the company and Google returns the data from Google Finance.
80. Enter the carrier and flight number in Google’s main search box to return flight tracking information.
81. What time is it? Find out anywhere by typing time then the name of a place.
82. You may have noticed Google suggests alternate spellings for search terms – that’s the built in spell checker!
83. You can invoke the spell checker directly by using spell: followed by your keyword.
84. Click “I’m Feeling Lucky” to be taken straight to the first page Google finds for your keyword.
85. Enter a statistics based query like population of Britain into Google, and it will show you the answer at the top of its results.
86. If your search has none-English results, click “Translate this Page” to see it in English.
87. You can search foreign sites specifically by clicking “Language Tools”, then choosing which countries sites to translate your query to.
88. Other features on the language tools page include a translator for blocks of text you can type or cut and paste.
89. There’s also a box that you can enter a direct URL into, translating to the chosen language.
90. Near the language tools link, you’ll see the “Search Preferences”. This handy page is full of secret functionality.
91. You can specify which languages Google returns results in, ticking as many (or few) boxes as you like.
92. Google’s Safe Search protects you from explicit sexual content. You can choose to filter results more stringently or switch it off completely.
93. Google’s default of 10 results a page can be increased to up to 100 in Search Preferences, too.
94. You can also set Google to open your search results in a new window.
95. Want to see what others are searching for or improve your page rank? Go to www.google.com/zeitgeist
96. Another useful, experimental search can be found at www.google.com/trends – where you can find the hottest search terms.
97. To compare the performance of two or more terms, enter them into the trends search box separated by commas.
98. Fancy searching Google in Klingon? Go to www.google.com/intl/xx-klingon
99. Perhaps the Swedish chef from the muppets is your role model instead? Check www.google.com/intl/xx-bork
100. Type answer to life, the universe and everything into Google. You may be surprised by the result…
101. It will also tell you the number of horns on a unicorn
By Karl Hodge (I received it via e-mail)
July 5th, 2008 — Job, Online, Sponsored, internet
Someone recently asked about webhosting. Not in those words though, but rather something along the lines of “how do you get a plain .com” blog instead of the blogspot behind your blog name. I tried to explain by telling him about hosting on your own domain, and how it all works, but it was kind of useless.
I’ve since tried to make it a bit simpler to explain to myself in plain terms exactly what ‘hosting’ means – trying to think what I would use if I had to give a comparison to something which is more commonly known.
Wiktionary defines it like this: “The service of hosting a site on the Internet making it viewable for other users on the net”
However, if you compare it like this, maybe it will make more sense: Blogspot accounts are free, because the main domain name, being www.blogspot.com has already been bought – however, they choose to give people free accounts, for whatever reason they have. Comparing this to market is the best I can do. You don’t pay for the space you use, but at the same time the space you’re using is very high quality. For some people this could work perfect. They don’t intend upgrading, ever. The cons of hosting with a free server such as Blogspot is that your website address might be a little bit difficult to remember if you intend to attract customers for that matter.
If you can run a successful business (or blog) from your free market space (or blogspot blog), you might want to consider upgrading. See this as moving into an office park, or maybe even a mall. This sounds wonderful, but you need to be able to justify the move. It doesn’t help you move to a mall if your income is so little that you’ll not even be able to pay the rent from your profit you make.
Its pretty much the same with webhosting in that sense. If you generate an income from your blog, that’s great, and if it could cover a proper .com domain (www.yourblog.com), and you still have a bit extra left, I believe that justifies it. However, if you want a .com domain name just for the fun of it, you’re going to be prepared to put cash into your hosting, without getting anything back – kind of like a hobby I suppose. This is still fine if you can afford it, but you need to understand your motivation for wanting to move before doing so. Also be sure that you are aware of the cost – there’s a registration fee, and also a yearly hosting fee. Be sure that you know what these are, and that you will be able to cover those. Its better to have free account which is hosted by a provider such as blogspot, and never move from there, than to have a .com domain, and only stay there a year, only to realize that you don’t want to pay for something that you can have for free in any case.
My reason for moving to a .com host is first of all, the free service that I was using before shutdown my blog, because they didn’t allow paid posts. And secondly, I make an income from my blog (however little it is) it still covers more than my hosting costs.
If you need webhosting advice, speak to a couple of different service providers, and make sure that you know about all the costs before making a decision. There are different types of packages available. Some give you more space (if you intend to host large files, such as images or video’s). For a normal blog you might not need as much space as a business would, so double check that you take the right package for your needs.
May 26th, 2008 — Blog, Sponsored, internet
Choosing a web host doesn’t have to be as tricky as it sounds. Whenever people hear the words web host they think they need a professional to tell them what to do. Whether you’re wanting a host for your personal website, blog, or even business, you can fairly easily find a good host online by just searching for one. There’s no need to pay an excessive amount of money. There are various web hosting articles on the internet where you can read up on some of the options you have.
“If you run a business online, you want to ensure that it can run 24/7 – or you will lose out on potential profits or worse, jeopardize your whole business. The fact that the internet has this amazing capability of being there to serve anyone at any time is probably why business owners started utilizing this incredible platform in the first place.
If you want a personal website that will advertise your portfolio or services, you wouldn’t want your potential client to see a huge error page when he or she tries to access the your website via the address you provided in your name card. This could portay you as someone who is cheap and unreliable, potentially destroying any chance of getting business at all.”
The trick is, to tell a good web host from a bad one, and for most people, that’s not very easy, hence they feel that they are compelled to seek the help of a professional. Before you pay hundreds of dollars for advice which you’re not even sure you can trust, make sure to read up enough about web hosting, so that you can make a well-informed decision before tying yourself to a 12/24 month contract of unreliable hosting.
January 29th, 2008 — Humor, internet
1.Open Google
2.Type in “find chuck norris”
3.Don’t click on Google Search, click on “I’m feeling lucky” instead
This is what you’ll find…
January 29th, 2008 — Dizzy Dee, download, internet, youtube
In the past when I wanted to download a Youtube video, I used Arestube – which worked like a charm. Lately though, I suspect that Youtube has made some changes to their security, and now Arestube can’t download their video’s anymore. Pity, cause I was a loyal Arestube fan.
There are also various sites which claim that you can download Youtube video’s from them, but none of these worked for me – all of them giving an error that
the Youtube file couldn’t be found.
I then started looking around for another way to get Youtube video’s on my harddrive, and had searched high and low for a software app which would enable me
to do this.
Finally I came up with the following steps…
Firefox (browser) has a add-on which you can install to download Youtube video’s, called Download Helper. Once you have that installed, you can download Youtube video’s to your harddrive as .flv files. Not many standard
players are able to play this format though, so off I went, in search of a new player, or codec for one of my existing players.
I found Combined Community Codec Pack [6.06MB], which is a codec that enables
you to view .flv video files in Media Player. This is all very grand if you just want to use the video on your own computer, but if you want to forward this
video to a friend, you’d have to send them the codec pack as well as the video file.
So now I had to find a converter for .flv files, to .wmv or .mov files. *sigh*
On Download.com,I managed to find Total Video Converter [5.12MB] for free.
Using that I was able to convert my .flv files to .wmv- which are usually played by all standard Windows Media Players. The only downside to that converter is that it places a link to their website in the top left corner of the video, but if you can live with that, its great.
Its quite a hassle as you can see, but once you have all the components installed it should take so much time. Besides, a lot of us will do this with a
January 7th, 2008 — Privacy, Sponsored, internet
Are you curious on why people hide IP addresses? Maybe you need to hide yours? The point of it for me? Your information should be confidential. And your PC shouldn’t be sending personal information right across the internet. This might not always be things that are illegal, but plain and simple things like your banking, financial statements, contracts etc. Quite clearly, not the type of things you want any hacker to know, and even worse an identity thief! Unfortunately the internet is not such a safe place as we would like to believe, so we have to find some way of protecting ourselves.
With http://www.hide-my-ip-address.com/ software, your IP and identity on the internet is as safe as you make it.
