GENE SAYS

OK, so you don't want to use Excel or Access to track databases of your budgets or your precious Grateful Dead bootleg tapes. Or the thought of Microsoft Word and all it's lovely complexities makes you want to throw your computer out the window in a fit of rock star fury.

Understood and understood.

But are you using your computer, the internet and all the tools available to you in the best, most useful, and most creative ways possible? Probably not. Why? Not because of you, who you are, your genetics, your religion, your age, your astrological sign, none of that...No...I swear. It's the fact that computer technlogy is a runaway train, an exponentially growing organism; it is nearly impossible to keep up with all things technology to keep you entertained, educated, and engaged.

OK, enough of the excuses...read on.

Ma'am, Step Away from the Email

So what else is there? And how do I find out about it, dammit?!? One of the greatest tools for finding out about websites is called Stumbleupon.com (SU). Think of the name: stumple upon. We've all stumpled upon things in the most serendipitous ways, only to find ourselves in a happy accident that has changed our lives forever (this newsletter is no exception I am sure). SU will walk you thru a short survey and then with just click of a button, make suggestions of an infinite list of websites you can visit, bookmark, take notes on and share with friends. All organized by the categories of your choosing.

How do you get it? You can either go to stumpleupon.com or install their free browser toolbar add-on and take a quick survey of all your interest topic areas (art, sports, music, religion, food, design, etc.), and SU will crank out an endless slot machine style cache of websites for you to...stumble upon! With the toolbar installed on your browser, it's as simple as can be (try it and you'll see what I am talking about).

Tools like StumbleUpon, Delicious (also has a toolbar) and Diggare known as "folksnomy" websites that use "tagging" (or keywords) that allow users just like you and me to communicate and refer to websites they like and SHARE information on a website to the community. It is virtually endless. Oh, and these are all free.

What about YouTube?

I am sure you all read (numerous times) the last newsletter about YouTube in all its YouTube-ness. One of the things that I found most interesting and useful was the YouTube Chartspage where they have all their most popular, best rated, etc. videos of the week/month/all time and all sorted out by category. There is sooooo much on YouTube (for better or for worse!), so it's nice to have a greatest hits page to guide you away from the dreck.

Check it out, and watch the hours...pass you by...

Social Media and Stuff

And if you have not ventured into the Social Media realm as of yet, do not fret, it is a scary world and I understand your trepidation. But social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter allow you to learn from your friends, family and interests what cool things are out there. Twitter is one where you can just "follow" your interests in terms of a business, celebrity, politician, publications, etc. and see what they have to say. If I worked in an office (which I don't, TG), I would be Tweeting more than I do, just to be able to have a Twitter-sponsored page of all my favorite things all on one site!

On your computer

One of my favorite tools (i.e., time-sucking) to come out of the last seven years or so is Google Earth. Travel around the planet in a matter of seconds. Free download. No need to take your shoes off at the gate. Check it out, trust me (and there's more than meets the eye).

Want to learn about or get new music? Try Bear Share orGroove Shark. Both free (with premium options). Any of you have iTunes? (Mac people already have it, PC people can download for free). One of the best things about this tool, is the built in "radio stations" that exists right on iTunes. Literally HUNDREDS on all categories, 24 hours a day, most commercial-free. You'll find it on the upper left side of your screen, called "Radio". And while you're there. check out all the podcasts! OMG! Most are free.

Gene will comment on this article at his January Workshop.

Freeware

Open Office is the free, open source alternative to Microsoft Office.

OpenOffice has just about everything you'd ever need in a productivity suite: word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, HTML and XML document support. It can create and import files in Microsoft Office formats as well as PDF and others. OpenOffice is an amazingly sophisticated piece of software, and it's hard to believe that it's totally free! My article Free Word Processing Software will point you to several other excellent free word processors and office tools.

Skype has done more to popularize Voice over IP (VoIP) than any other platform. With the free Skype software, a computer, and a broadband Internet connection, you can talk for free with any other Skype user on Earth (663 million users). Instant messaging, file transfers, and videoconferencing are also included. Skype also offers paid services that enable communication with any cellular or landline phones.

MagicJack is another VOIP service you might want to check out. Read more in my article on Magic Jack Phone Service.

Picasa is a photo organizing and editing app that integrates with a Web site for sharing images with the world. Google acquired Picasa in 2004. Picasa automatically finds all photos on your PC. You can add multiple tags to a photo, and even tag individual people depicted in photos. Geo-tags can be added using Google Maps. The Picasa software enables creative collages and slideshows as well as basic photo editing. Your personal Picasa Web site comes with 1 GB of free storage space. If you're looking for free online storage for your photos, check out Free Online Photo Storage and Backup.

Audacity is an open source, cross-platform audio file editing program. It's available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and other operating systems. Audacity manages to pack in many features while keeping the user interface uncluttered; it even supports 32-bit floating-point audio. It works with compressed and uncompressed file formats, including AIFF, WAV, OGG, and MP3. Audacity is great for converting one audio format to another, creating your own ringtones, recording phone calls, and is also helpful in Converting Vinyl Records to CD.

Dropbox is a cloud-based remote storage service. The free download is a client that adds a Dropbox folder to your desktop. Whatever you put into that folder is synced with your online Dropbox account and any other devices that share it. All data is transferred over SSL connections and encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption. Learn more about free online storage in my articles Free Online File Sharing With Dropbox and Free Online Storage.

Foxit Reader is a fast, lightweight alternative to Adobe PDF Reader. It allows you to open, view, and print PDF files; add annotations; fill in forms; and share information with social networks. It uses as little as 64 MB of RAM, making it suitable for portable devices.

LogMeInFree is a remote access application that lets you control multiple remote PCs or Macs from your Web browser. You'll have complete access to the desktop of a remote computer, just as if you were sitting right in front of it. You can also transfer files between PCs and iPads or iPhones. The free version is available as a Firefox plugin. SSL and dual password protection help keep your data secure.