A Series of Tubes

Since this is my farewell column, I figured I would give all of you who read this something useful instead of just news. I use a lot of different tools and Web sites to make use of the Web, and I wanted to share them with you. All of them are free. Here we go.

 

Box.net

Are you tired of e-mailing yourself files? Even with a GMail account, it can get kind of cluttered inside your inbox. I recommend Box.net. Sign up and get a free gigabyte of data storage. Box.net also lets you create a special link to files in your account, so you can e-mail a link to someone instead of trying to send them an attachment. This also helps with larger files that exceed e-mail attachment limits. You can set up and open part of your Box.net account for collaboration with a peer or an entire group of people. If you want more than a gig, and some more robust features, you will have to pay. Go log on and sign up for the free stuff.

 

MixTurtle

I am really not sure about the legality of this site, but it works great. Listen to any song for free. Simply type in the title of a song you want to hear, and it searches the ’net for versions of that song then shows you a list of them. Click, play, enjoy. You never have to navigate away from the site or download anything. It is particularly helpful when you are looking for a song unavailable on YouTube, but for which you would rather not pay on iTunes. 

 

Meebo

I have seen a lot of people using this on the library computers, but I figured I would talk about it anyway. Meebo is a great site for people who need access to an instant messenger client, but for whatever reason do not have one downloaded or cannot download one. It all happens inside the Web browser. Just log in with your existing AIM, MSN or Yahoo! Messenger screenname and password. This is also particularly helpful if you are procrastinating.

 

Twhirl

Twhirl is a Twitter client that I live and die by. There are tons of clients out there, but I really love this one. Twhirl, like many Twitter clients, aggregates all your tweets and updates in a single little box. You can send tweets from it, and it spell checks them, too. What I really love about this application is that it tells you what method other people are using to tweet. It will tell you if it is a text tweet, a Web tweet or if it is coming from a different client (Twitterific, Twinkle, etc...). This is one of the few clients I have seen that does this (other than the actual Twitter Web site). When I know if it came from a text, I can assume that the person is out on the go and might not get a reply I send them. If it is from the Web, I can safely assume they are browsing Twitter and will get the reply right away.

 

Fluid

Sorry PC users, this one is for Macs only. Fluid is a Web browser with a twist. When you download Fluid, you get a tiny application that asks you for a URL. Pop it in and presto, out comes a mini application complete with the Web icon associated with the site. Click it and you have your own personal browser for that site. This browser is completely stand-alone and operates inside its own RAM. Basically, if something crashes on the page, only that browser will crash. If you have ever used Firefox and something freezes, you lose all your tabs and windows when just one tab or window is the problem. With Fluid, this will never happen. I use it with Facebook, since Facebook has been weird lately with all its Web 2.0 hijinks.

 

HandBreak

This program is the quintessential free DVD ripper. I cannot say enough nice things about this application. Download it, load it up and point it to your DVD drive. The program scans the DVD, finds the feature presentation and presents you with a list of pre-set encoding standards. I prefer “blind.” It will rip an entire feature-length film (one hour, 30 minutes) in 20 minutes. The quality is perfect for iPods and other devices, but a little shabby for regular viewing. You can improve the quality, though (just expect longer rip times).

 

QuickSilver

The best application for OS X, hands down. It is the first thing I install on a new computer. After it loads and indexes your hard drive, it disappears behind the scenes. Anytime you want to use it, hit control+spacebar and type the first couple letters of any application, file, Web bookmark, song, etc. and it will bring it up for you. For example, type FIRE and it will show the Firefox icon. Press enter and it loads. Type in HISTORYPAPER and it will find the file; hit enter, and it will load the paper up. Basically, you never have to go digging for anything ever again. It has all your stuff indexed. It puts OS X’s Spotlight to shame.

 

That is it. I hope you all find this helpful. Thanks for reading, everyone. I am off to graduate. Look for me writing a tech column one day at a much bigger venue!