The 101 Most Useful Websites

            Presenting the 101 most useful websites on the internet. These sites, well most of them, solve at least one problem really well and they all have simple web addresses (URLs) that you can memorize thus saving your time instead of googling.

The Most Useful Websites and Web Apps

1. ctrlq.org/screenshots – for capturing screenshots of web pages on mobile and desktops.
2. dictation.io – online voice recognition in the browser itself.
3. zerodollarmovies.com – find full-length movies on YouTube.
4. screenr.com – record movies of your desktop and send them straight to YouTube.
5. goo.gl – shorten long URLs and convert URLs into QR codes.
6. unfurlr.come – find the original URL that’s hiding behind a short URL.
7. qClock – find the local time of a city using a Google Map.
8. copypastecharacter.com – copy special characters that aren’t on your keyboard.
9. postpost.com – a better search engine for twitter.
10. lovelycharts.com – create flowcharts, network diagrams, sitemaps, etc.
11. iconfinder.com – the best place to find icons of all sizes.
12. office.com – download templates, clipart and images for your Office documents.
13. followupthen.com – the easiest way to setup email reminders.
14. jotti.org – scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.
15. wolframalpha.com – gets answers directly without searching   – see more wolfram tips.
16. printwhatyoulike.com – print web pages without the clutter.
17. joliprint.com – reformats news articles and blog content as a newspaper.
18. ctrql.org/rss – a search engine for RSS feeds.
19. e.ggtimer.com – a simple online timer for your daily needs.
20. coralcdn.org – if a site is down due to heavy traffic, try accessing it through coral CDN.
21. random.org – pick random numbers, flip coins, and more.
22. pdfescape.com – lets you can quickly edit PDFs in the browser itself.
23. tubemogul.com – simultaneously upload videos to YouTube and other video sites.
24. scr.im – share you email address online without worrying about spam.
25. spypig.com – now get read receipts for your email.
26. sizeasy.com – visualize and compare the size of any product.
27. myfonts.com/WhatTheFont – quickly determine the font name from an image.
28. google.com/webfonts – a good collection of open source fonts.
29. regex.info – find data hidden in your photographs – see more EXIF tools.
30. livestream.com – broadcast events live over the web, including your desktop screen.
31. iwantmyname.com – helps you search domains across all TLDs.
32. homestyler.com – design from scratch or re-model your home in 3d.
33. join.me – share you screen with anyone over the web.
34. onlineocr.net – recognize text from scanned PDFs – see other OCR tools.
35. flightstats.com – Track flight status at airports worldwide.
36. wetransfer.com – for sharing really big files online.
37. hundredzeros.com – the site lets you download free Kindle books.
38. polishmywriting.com – check your writing for spelling or grammatical errors.
39. marker.to – easily highlight the important parts of a web page for sharing.
40. typewith.me – work on the same document with multiple people.
41. whichdateworks.com – planning an event? find a date that works for all.
42. everytimezone.com – a less confusing view of the world time zones.
43. gtmetrix.com – the perfect tool for measuring your site performance online.
44. noteflight.com – print music sheets, write your own music online (review).
45. imo.im – chat with your buddies on Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, etc. from one place.
46. translate.google.com – translate web pages, PDFs and Office documents.
47. kleki.com – create paintings and sketches with a wide variety of brushes.
48. similarsites.com – discover new sites that are similar to what you like already.
49. wordle.net – quick summarize long pieces of text with tag clouds.
50. bubbl.us – create mind-maps, brainstorm ideas in the browser.
51. kuler.adobe.com – get color ideas, also extract colors from photographs.
52. liveshare.com – share your photos in an album instantly.
53. lmgtfy.com – when your friends are too lazy to use Google on their own.
54. midomi.com – when you need to find the name of a song.
55. bing.com/images – automatically find perfectly-sized wallpapers for mobiles.
56. faxzero.com – send an online fax for free – see more fax services.
57. feedmyinbox.com – get RSS feeds as an email newsletter.
58. ge.tt – qiuckly send a file to someone, they can even preview it before downloading.
59. pipebytes.com – transfer files of any size without uploading to a third-party server.
60. tinychat.com – setup a private chat room in micro-seconds.
61. privnote.com – create text notes that will self-destruct after being read.
62. boxoh.com – track the status of any shipment on Google Maps – alternative.
63. chipin.com – when you need to raise funds online for an event or a cause.
64. downforeveryoneorjustme.com – find if your favorite website is offline or not?
65. ewhois.com – find the other websites of a person with reverse Analytics lookup.
66. whoishostingthis.com – find the web host of any website.
67. google.com/history – found something on Google but can’t remember it now?
68. aviary.com/myna – an online audio editor that lets record, and remix audio clips online.
69. disposablewebpage.com – create a temporary web page that self-destruct.
70. urbandictionary.com – find definitions of slangs and informal words.
71. seatguru.com – consult this site before choosing a seat for your next flight.
72. sxc.hu – download stock images absolutely free.
73. zoom.it – view very high-resolution images in your browser without scrolling.
74. scribblemaps.com – create custom Google Maps easily.
75. alertful.com – quickly setup email reminders for important events.
76. picmonkey.com – Picnik is offline but PicMonkey is an even better image editor.
77. formspring.me – you can ask or answer personal questions here.
78. sumopaint.com – an excellent layer-based online image editor.
79. snopes.com – find if that email offer you received is real or just another scam.
80. typingweb.com – master touch-typing with these practice sessions.
81. mailvu.com – send video emails to anyone using your web cam.
82. timerime.com – create timelines with audio, video and images.
83. stupeflix.com – make a movie out of your images, audio and video clips.
84. safeweb.norton.com – check the trust level of any website.
85. teuxdeux.com – a beautiful to-do app that looks like your paper dairy.
86. deadurl.com – you’ll need this when your bookmarked web pages are deleted.
87. minutes.io – quickly capture effective notes during meetings.
88. youtube.com/leanback – Watch YouTube channels in TV mode.
89. youtube.com/disco – quickly create a video playlist of your favorite artist.
90. talltweets.com – Send tweets longer than 140 characters.
91. pancake.io – create a free and simple website using your Dropbox account.
92. builtwith.com – find the technology stack of any website.
93. woorank.com – research a website from the SEO perspective.
94. mixlr.com – broadcast live audio over the web.
95. radbox.me – bookmark online videos and watch them later (review).
96. tagmydoc.com – add QR codes to your documents and presentations (review).
97. notes.io – the easiest way to write short text notes in the browser.
98. ctrlq.org/html-mail – send rich-text mails to anyone, anonymously.
99. fiverr.com – hire people to do little things for $5.
100. otixo.com – easily manage your online files on Dropbox, Google Docs, etc.
101. ifttt.com – create a connection between all your online accounts.

Interesting Websites to Visit When You’re Bored

         I don’t visit them every single day but on weekends or when I am feeling bored this websites never disappoint me . Maybe you should check them out too.

The 15 Interesting Websites..........

1. Dear Photograph – The website features photographs of people holding up old pictures that were taken at the exact spot several years ago. Some of the best photographs are now compiled in a book (dearphotograph.me).
2. Textastrophe – This website is a reminder of why you shouldn’t post your cell phone number on public websites. The creator starts a text conversation with random numbers found on Craigslist ads and publishes the transcript on the internet. The chats are funny and I hope its real because screenshots can be faked too (textastrophe.com).
3. Stratocam – This is like an online self-running slideshow showcasing some of the best satellite images found on Google Maps. Run the website in full-screen mode (Ctrl+Shift+F) and you may discover pretty and unexpected place on our beautiful earth (stratocam.com).
4. Awkward Family Photos – This is a place where people share embarrassing pictures of their loved ones in weird settings that are both funny and entertaining. The website has spawned several coffee-table books as well (awkwardfamilyphotos.com).
5. Worldcam – This website pulls geo-tagged pictures posted on Instagram for Foursquare venues so you know what’s happening right now at your favorite place. For instance, here’s the livestream of a mall in Thailand which also happens to be the most Instagrammed place in the world (worldc.am).
6. This Is Why I’m Broke – Unique products on the Internet that you never knew even existed. Stuff like an iPhone case that doubles as a bottle opener, sandals that resemble computer keyboards or a boat from World War II that you can actually buy (thisiswhyimbroke.com).
7. Is It Normal – Do you like to dip French fries in ice cream? The website will help you understand whether your thoughts, feelings and urges are normal or weird and just unique to you. People can ask questions and once it gets approved, the community can weigh in their thoughts.You can also ask embarrassing questions here (isitnormal.com).
8. Lamebook – Weird and hilarious stuff that people post on Facebook. The names and profile pictures of the Facebook users are blurred to protect real identity (lamebook.com).
9. Honest Slogans – Created by graphic designer Clif Dickens, Honest Slogans pokes fun at iconic brands by remixing their logos with slogans that convey what people actually think about that brand. Like the one for Men’s Health magazine that says – “Every issue promises perfect abs” (honestslogans.com).
10. Rich Kids of Instagram – The social sites are the new hangouts for people to show off and this tumblr is a perfect example. It captures the lavish lifestyle of the rich through pictures posted on Instagram (richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com).
11. Timelapse – Watch how a place has changed over a period of three decades through a series of satellite images from Google Maps. You can use the “Explore our World” link to watch the timelapse of any location on the planet (world.time.com).
12. Reasons My Son Is Crying – If you are a new parent, you’ll love this one. It documents the different reasons that little children cry for as submitted by parents around the world. Also available as a book (reasonsmysoniscrying.com).
13. LOL My Thesis – This site created by an Harvard University senior creates funny and lighthearted one-line summaries of thesis like this one submitted by a Sociology student – “It turns out, an only child never fights with its siblings.” (lolmythesis.com).
14. Useful Science – This website offers a collection of one-line summaries of research published in scientific journals on topics ranging from health to productivity to creativity. (usefulscience.org)
15. Larson+Shindelman – They pick a few geo-tagged tweets from Twitter, travel to the physical spot from where that tweet was sent and then take a picture. The original tweet is used as a caption for the photograph and the results are often incredibly touching. Like that photo outside the hospital with the caption “Amy is dying” (larson-shindelman.com).
16. 9-Eyes – A collection of interesting images as captured by Google Street view cards around the world. Also check out mapcrunch.com that catalogues street view scenes by location.

 

Create Direct Links to your Files on Google Drive

Creating Direct Links to your Files on Google Drive

           You can upload files of virtually all types to your Google Drive – from documents to movies to zip archives – and people with whom you have shared the file can easily view them in the browser itself. The Google Docs web viewer is pretty capable and can render all the popular formats including Photoshop files and AutoCAD drawings.

              That’s a useful feature but sometimes you may want to bypass the built-in Google Docs viewer and force the browser to download the file instead of opening it. Thus if a user has Photoshop on their computer, the PSD file that you have shared through Google Drive will open in Photoshop and not in their web browser.

Create Direct Links and Skip the Web Viewer

 Google Drive doesn’t offer a simple option for creating these “direct download” link but you can easily create them by slightly modifying the generated URLs. Here’s the trick.
A file hosted on Google Drive has a shared link that looks like this:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID/edit?usp=sharing

When you access this link, it will render the file in the browser but if you can rewrite this URL slightly, the link, when clicked, will download the corresponding file in the user’s browser instead of opening it in the browser. The modified URL would be:

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=FILE_ID

All you have to do is make note of the FILE_ID in the original URL and use it in the modified URL. For example, here’s an image file hosted on Google Drive that will open in the browser and here’s the modified URL that forces the browser to download the file.

Direct Download Links for Google Documents...

The trick works for native Google Documents too though the URL format is a little different.
Google Docs: When you share a Google document, the URL would be:

 https://docs.google.com/document/d/FILE_ID/edit?usp=sharing

        Replace /edit with /export and add the file format that the document should be saved as and your download link is ready.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/FILE_ID/export?format=doc https://docs.google.com/document/d/FILE_ID/export?format=pdf

        The above links will now download the same Google document in Word (.docx) and PDF formats. You can also use “txt”, “html” and “odt” for the download format.
Google Presentations: Google Docs offer an even simpler URL scheme for creating direct links to Google Presentations.
          The original shared links are of the following format:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/FILE_ID/edit?usp=sharing 

         The direct links for downloading the same presentation deck in PowerPoint (.pptx) and PDF formats are below:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/FILE_ID/export/pptx https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/FILE_ID/export/pdf 

Google Spreadsheets: 

         Open your Google Spreadsheet in the browser, make the sheet Public (or Anyone with a link) and make a note of the shared URL. It should be something like this:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/FILE_ID/edit?usp=sharing The direct download links use a similar format as Google Documents and will read like:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/FILE_ID/export?format=xlsx https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/FILE_ID/export?format=pdf

Bonus Trick – Make a Copy

Google Spreadsheets offers an additional feature that is not available in Documents and Presentations (at least yet). You can create links to Google Sheets that will automatically create a copy of your Google Sheet in the Google Drive of the person with whom you have shared the sheet.

Fake Copyright Complaints on FACEBOOK

        

        Earlier this month, my friend created a video slideshow using some family photographs and some music and uploaded it to his Facebook profile. 

          The next day that video suddenly disappeared from his Facebook account and there was a message from the Facebook DMCA department saying that the video was removed since it contained copyrighted material.

We have removed your video entitled (title) uploaded at (date). This video may include copyrighted material (such as a clip or audio) that you do not have the right to share.
If you think your video should not have been removed.. you may visit the link below to video an appeal requesting that it be reinstated.
If you do not want to appeal, there is no need to take any action. Please be careful about videos you upload in the future. If they are identified as possibly containing copyright infringing material, they may also be removed. This could result in us temporarily or permanently blocking your ability to upload videos, or permanently disabling your account.

The takedown notice even included a warning saying that in case of more violations in future,his Facebook account could be permanently disabled.
He found the complaint strange as there was absolutely no copyright infringement at all. He had captured all the pictures that were used in the video and the background songs were used from Apple’s iMovie software. He checked the software license and it allows the use of bundled sound clips even for commercial video projects.

The Apple Software contains sample content including but not limited to graphics, audio clips, video clips and/or templates (“Sample Content”)… Except as otherwise provided, all Sample Content included in the Apple Software may be used on a royalty-free basis in your own video projects but may not be distributed on a standalone basis.

He submitted a counter notification and, to his surprise, that video reappeared on the Facebook account the very next minute.

            It’s been a week now and that video is still available on the profile. I have no clue why the DMCA complaint was filed in the first place, who made that complaint (DMCA notices are supposed to have the name and address of the complainant) and did Facebook take any action against the complainant after a counter-complaint was filed.

       In any case, if such a thing ever happens to your own videos that you have uploaded on Facebook or YouTube, don’t get bogged down because that DMCA notice could just be a fake one.

 

Sending Gmail Attachments to your Google Drive

 The Send to Google Drive program automatically saves attachments from your Gmail messages to a folder in your Google Drive. It can save file attachments from all your Gmail messages or you specify a Gmail label, say GoogleDrive, and attachments of all messages marked with that label will get downloaded to a folder in your Google Drive.

          You neither have to install any browser extensions (the program uses Google Scripts) nor do you have to grant access to your Gmail or Google Drive accounts to a third-party. And since Google Drive synchronizes with your mobile device and desktop, the saved email attachments will instantly become available on all your other devices.

 

 

Save Gmail Attachments to Google Drive Automatically

 Here’s a step by step guide on how you can setup the Send to Google Drive program for your Gmail account:

1. Click here to create a copy of the Google sheet in your Google Drive.
2. Open the sheet and you should see a new Gmail Attachments menu at the top. Choose Authorize and grant the necessary permissions. This is an open-source Google Script) that runs in your own Google account and no one else will have access to any of your data.
3. Click the same menu again and select Run. Close the Google sheet and the script will start downloading Gmail attachments to your Google Drive in the background.

The Google sheet will monitor any particular label in your Gmail mailbox in the background (every five minutes) and as soon as it finds a message that has attachments, it will automatically save all the attachments to the Gmail Files folder on your Google Drive. If you wish to download Gmail attachments in a different folder, change the value of cell D5 in the sheet.
Once the attachments have been saved, a new label is applied to the Gmail message indicating that the message has been processed. The default label name is AttSaved but you can specify a different label in cell D6.
And if you would like to stop the script, open the same Google Sheet and choose Uninstall from the Gmail Attachments menu.