As we approach the dawn of a new year, here are my picks for the 101 most useful websites of the year 2011.

Useful Websites Worth a Bookmark!

The sites mentioned here, well most of them, solve at least one problem really well and they all have simple web addresses (URLs) that you can easily learn by heart thus saving you a trip to Google.

You can also download this list as a PDF document for printing or offline reading.

01. screenr.com – record movies of your desktop and send them straight to YouTube.
02. bounceapp.com – for capturing full length screenshots of web pages.
03. goo.gl – shorten long URLs and convert URLs into QR codes.
04. untiny.me – find the original URLs that's hiding behind a short URLs.
05. qClock – find the local time of a city using a Google Map.
06. copypastecharacter.com – copy special characters that aren't on your keyboard.
07. postpost.com – a better search engine for twitter.
08. lovelycharts.com – create flowcharts, network diagrams, sitemaps, etc.
09. iconfinder.com – the best place to find icons of all sizes.
10. office.com – download templates, clipart and images for your Office documents.
11. followupthen.com – the easiest way to setup email reminders.
12. jotti.org – scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.
13. wolframalpha.com – gets answers directly without searching  - see more wolfram tips.
14. printwhatyoulike.com – print web pages without the clutter.
15. joliprint.com – reformats news articles and blog content as a newspaper.
16. ctrql.org – a search engine for RSS feeds.
17. e.ggtimer.com – a simple online timer for your daily needs.
18. coralcdn.org – if a site is down due to heavy traffic, try accessing it through coral CDN.
19. random.org – pick random numbers, flip coins, and more.
20. pdfescape.com – lets you can quickly edit PDFs in the browser itself.
21. viewer.zoho.com – Preview PDFs and Presentations directly in the browser.
22. tubemogul.com – simultaneously upload videos to YouTube and other video sites.
23. dabbleboard.com – your virtual whiteboard.
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. pastebin.com – a temporary online clipboard for your text and code snippets.
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 – quickly 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. encrypted.google.com – prevent your ISP and boss from reading your search queries.
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.

Also see: Best of the Web

Changelog: The following websites were part of the original list that I published in December, 2010. Unfortunately, these sites are no longer available and hence have been removed or replaced with alternatives.

01. virustotal.com – scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.
02. isnsfw.com– when you wish to share a NSFW page but with a warning.
03. truveo.com – the best place for searching web videos.
04. tabbloid.com – your favorite blogs delivered as PDFs.
05. warrick.cs.odu.edu – you'll need this when your bookmarked web pages are deleted.
06. tempalias.com – generate temporary email aliases, better than disposable email.
07. whisperbot.com – send an email without using your own account.
08. errorlevelanalysis.com – find whether a photo is real or a photoshopped one.
09. google.com/dictionary – get word meanings, pronunciations and usage examples.
10. wobzip.org – unzip your compressed files online.
11. namemytune.com – when you need to find the name of a song.
12. snapask.com – use email on your phone to find sports scores, read Wikipedia, etc.

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Ads by Google ' + u + '

'; } google_adnum = google_adnum + google_ads.length; document.write(u); return; } google_ad_client='pub-3152670624293746';google_ad_output = 'js';google_ad_type = 'text';google_feedback = 'on';google_language = 'en';google_encoding = 'utf8';google_max_num_ads = '2';google_ad_channel='4355338828';google_skip=google_adnum;

Some good sites here. Many have only a single purpose - but if you need that purpose then they are the best.

Question: I'm finally ready to drop Windows XP and move to Windows 7. Should I go with the 32-bit or 64-bit version of the operating system?

Short answer: 64-bit.

Long answer: 64-bit, but you may not see much real difference. Before explaining why, there is an important contraindication to be aware of: if you use any 16-bit Windows applications or DOS applications, you'll have to either stick with 32-bit Windows, or run those applications in a virtual machine (or, for DOS programs, an environment such as DOSBox). 64-bit Windows supports 64-bit and 32-bit applications, but 16-bit ones are consigned to the trash can of history.

In practice, the only advantage of using 64-bit Windows is that you can install more physical memory. 32-bit versions of desktop Windows are limited to 4GiB of physical memory, and thanks to dubious compatibility restrictions, they can't even offer that much. Every byte of memory in a system has a physical address, a number representing that byte of memory, and on 32-bit desktop Windows, those addresses are only 32 bits long (or rather, the addresses are between 36 and 64 bits long depending on which bit of software is manipulating them, but only 32 bits are actually used by Windows). This should allow 2³² addresses, and hence 2³² bytes—4GiB—of memory.

If you are upgrading or buying a new system with Windows then you should always opt for the 64-bit version. Most manufacturers are not even shipping new systems with 32-bit anymore. Read the article for more info as to why

What makes a great website? There's a lot that goes into one these days. Universal appeal, good design, and useful features are just the beginning of the list of essentials. They're also the things we take into account first when we dive into evaluating sites for our yearly list of the Top 100 Websites.

Our list of Classic websites remains much the same as last year, though there are some sites that are making the list for the first time (hello, Quora!). The websites we've deemed our Classics have been chosen because they remain constantly useful while staying relevant to an ever-changing audience.

The Undiscovered portion of the list—new (or newish) sites that have never been on this list—seems to get a little smaller every year. (Yes, we're picky and yes, there are a lot of crappy websites out there.) We narrowed the list for 2011 down to 39 sites. Another reason this list continues to shrink? It seems that, as we noted last year, the rise of mobile apps is cannibalizing the development of stand-alone websites for the desktop. There just aren't as many sites that are as compelling as in past years. Now, we didn't say none. Thankfully, there are still plenty out there. They, along with our picks for the 61 Classics make up our list of the Top 100 Websites of 2011. If you haven't checked them out by now, you really should.

So read, explore, enjoy, and discuss. While you're at it, recommend some more sites in our comments area for our 2012 list. It's never too early.

Some good sites here - flick through the list to find something of interest
Here on the Mullies site we often recommend articles from Lifehacker.com so they would be my top pick for some holiday reading

Got an iPad for Xmas? Here is a list of things you will want to know

Getting a new iPhone for Xmas? Then you should definitely register for the free service 'Find my iPhone' with Apple. Here is a howto
http://www.macworld.com.au/help/using-apple%E2%80%99s-find-my-iphone-service-...
Once enabled use the tips above to lock the service ON so you can track the phone

Unhappy Christmas: $1120 for an empty box through eBay

Asher Moses

December 20, 2011 - 10:24AM

• Read later
• Comments 11

The auction page for the $1120 Sony TVs that retail on Sony's website for $2299.

Australian eBay customers lured by ultra-bargain priced TV sets and other electronics have shelled out thousands of dollars only to receive empty boxes in the mail.

Police are investigating after receiving reports from reputable eBay sellers who were tricked into carrying out the scam by bogus job ads.

In just one instance, Christmas bargain hunters have paid $1120 for what they thought was a 55-inch Sony TV, only to receive an empty box in the mail or nothing at all.

Caveat Emptor I guess.
I always recommend using PayPal for eBay purchases. hopefully those duped by this scam will recover their money under PayPal protection. If you had paid via direct deposit I would think your money would be long gone!

Download Our 24 Free PDF Cheatsheets Today

• December 2, 2011

• By Mark O'Neill

Everyone wants to feel more productive on the computer and there are certainly plenty of ways to achieve that. Whether it’s using a program launcher, keyboard shortcuts or mouse gestures, there’s something for everyone to shave off that extra mouseclick or tap of the keyboard which in turn leads to time saved every day.

As an online worker, I am always looking for something that will enable me to complete my tasks faster and more efficiently, and I’m sure you are too.

We here at MakeUseOf have been committed from day one to teaching you how to do things faster, easier, and more efficiently. Now we have produced 24 PDF cheatsheets for you to download absolutely free of charge which will list all the shortcuts available for different popular programs such as Microsoft Outlook, Skype (including the secret emoticons), Firefox, Chrome, Gmail and many more.

The other programs for which cheatsheets are available are :

• iPhone
• Gmail
• Twitter
• Photoshop CS5
• iTunes (for both Windows and Mac)
• Windows
• Windows CMD
• Mac OSX
• Linux
• GIMP
• Chat smileys
• Facebook
• VLC Player
• Google Reader
• Mozilla Thunderbird
• Internet Explorer
• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox (for both Windows and Mac)
• Google search

If you use any of these programs, then download our cheatsheets today. And be sure to bookmark and continually check the page in the future for new additions.

If we have missed your favourite program so far, let us know and we will see if there are enough shortcuts to be able to produce a cheatsheet for it.

A handy resource for shortcuts and tips. Download the PDF for the programs you use - might as well as they are Free!

Can you spot a phish? Take our quiz and find out!

As the holiday season kicks into full gear, and online shopping skyrockets, it's more important than ever to stay ahead of online scams. But as technology improves, it's getting more difficult to detect the difference between real websites and scams. That's why we created the OpenDNS Phishing Quiz. Phishing is when cyber criminals try to lure your personal information, like credit card numbers or login credentials, by masquerading as a trusted entity.

The quiz is designed to help you determine how good you are at identifying online phishing scams. But we know OpenDNS users are top-notch when it comes to spotting a scam. So, while we tried to make the quiz challenging for our security savvy users, we also added features that will make it a helpful tool to share with family and friends who could benefit from an overview on phishing.

Take the quiz now and then compare scores with friends and family. If someone you know didn't do very well, make sure they're protected by helping them set up OpenDNS. As you know, OpenDNS takes the guesswork out of identifying phishing scams by automatically blocking questionable sites, so your loved ones will be safe no matter what.

Good luck!

If you don't ace this test then maybe you should consider using the OpenDNS service to protect you from rogue sites. It's free and easy but will likely slow your internet surfing just slightly

The internet is fantastic for finding recipes and entertaining ideas - even more so at Christmas.
here are 5 good sites to visit