Pick of the week: Tildee

Tildee is a brilliant concept! Make it easy for people to create tutorials they can share online; in essence, make it easier to teach the things you know to others and make it even easier to learn the things others know! With a simple and elegant interface, Tildee allows anyone to easily create tutorial and other step by step documentation; interestingly, you don't even need to be registered to use the tool! Every tutorial created generates a short and unique URL that is easy to share.

If Instructables is a little too much for you, check out Tildee and start showing what you know today!

Online Tool Review: CSSLoad.net

Creating loading animations is a little tedious. Most developers solve this issue by keeping a small library of basic animations, which they reuse at will. Now, it is possible to easily create CSS spinners and bars for AJAX and JQuery by using the great tools at CSSLoad.net. You can easily set up to two colours, width, height and animation speed from a selection of templates and quickly build a loading animation, then get the code.

Brilliant little tool, worth checking out! I think a lot of web-apps could learn from the great layout and easy functionality of CSSLoad.net.

Online Tools review: Poplytics

Need a simple solution for quick web-based surveys to get some useful user interaction feedback? Look no further than Poplytics, a simple web-based tool that allows you to quickly create useful surveys.

A pay as you go plan allows users to upgrade their account to get the full benefits and downgrade when not required. A great option in today's ever changing business markets. With a free plan (with some limitations), it's possible to try the service out and make a proper decision today!

Online Tools review: Fresh.li

Portfolio sites are really a dime a dozen, but one has really caught my eye, due to its great layout, ease of use and sales-centered orientation.

Fresh.li is a new player on the scene and I've been very impressed with their site! With two options, free and paid, portfolios are easy to create and maintain. Head on over an take a look if you have been looking for a way to showcase your artwork.

Pick of the week: Bitterbuzz

Are you feeling a little bitter about something or other? Is life making you miserable? Is your boss getting on your case regularly? Well, here comes Bitterbuzz to the rescue. Log in and vent away or take some time to read through other peoples' raves and rants about whatever it is that is driving them over the edge. To be perfectly blunt, I don't normally suscribe to this type of online "whinning" but some of the writing was absolutely hilarious and as such, I recommend the site as a way to release pressure by laughter!

Head on over and take a look, you'll get a good laugh I'm sure!

Pick of the week: Memeoirs.com

I'm not sure about you, but I suspect that I've written what amounts to several tens of thousands of emails in my life. That's a pretty remarkable amount, all things considered, and I imagine that set end to end, all of these messages would be several hundred pages of text. And there are times when I think that in the future, we will all be remembering that quaint technology called "email" and laugh. I say remembering because for all intents and purposes, all that text resides on someone else's computers and hard drives and no actual archive of this information exists. Until now, that is. Welcome to Memeoirs.

Memeoirs offers a very original service: they will compile all of your email into a book format. Yes, a real, paper-based book, that you can read at will, as often as you like. Now, before you laugh this idea off as being a little silly, let me ask you what you believe is the lifespan of digital data? Do you think that in a hundred years, that digital data will still be around. For all the advantages of the digital information format, with its ease of copying and other features, it still remains fairly fragile. That data is dependant on some mechanism to be interpreted. Paper does not.

The pricing model is based on the total number of pages requested as well as the option of printing a soft versus hard cover book. The process is fairly simple: pick an email address, pick a date and time period, and Memeoirs does the rest. The archiving process is quick, private and effective; Memeoirs strives to make sure that the printed content contains only emails of value. Account activation emails and spam are automatically filtered out and only your actual communications remain.

A fantastic idea in the digital age; old school archiving! Head on over and take a look! You might find a great gift idea in the making!

Pick of the week: Listgorilla.com

Are you a list addict? If so, then Listgorilla is for you! Currently in beta, Listgorilla is a fantastic site, with a great looking interface, that lets you view, create and modify lists created by you and other users. Personally, I think the best feature of the lists created on this site is the good/bad flags listed next to each item in a list, allowing users to "vote" for the placement of specific items in a list. Don't think that Spider Man is the greatest comic book hero? Vote that choice down from first place in the list.

It is possible to log in to Listgorilla using your Google account, your Facebook account and even your Twitter account, but that's only required to create lists or to flag items as good or bad. Browsing the lists is open to everyone.

Head on over to Listgorilla and take a look at the lists they've put up! While you are there, why not create your own or have your say about someone else's list? Enjoy!

Where do you find these sites?

Someone asked me a good question the other day, concerning the various websites and tools that I find and report on regularly. "Where do you find all these sites?" It's a valid question for sure and the answer is not some trade secret that I want to take to my grave. There isn't a single clear answer (but there are several not so clear ones!!!)

One of the primary sources for new sites worth investigating is KillerStartups, a fantastic site dedicated to highlighting interesting Internet ventures of all kind. They promote 15 new sites a day and keep an excellent archive of their daily posts, as well as a top ten list that is worth exploring in detail. That's one of the answers; the other part of the answer is good search techniques and the final part of the answer is taking notes. Lots and lots of notes. Every little bit of information, URLs and images is usually captured using Evernote (and in some cases, when I am away from my computer or when it's faster, I also use GeniusScan!!!).

Of course, it really helps to read a lot. But that's just a question of practice for most people. As a final clarification, let me point out that I browse the Internet an average of 1 to 2 hours over the course of a day (it does help that I work in a computer-related field though) and don't watch television. It's amazing how much time you liberate if you drop the boob-tube! Try it sometimes!

Pick of the week: Goodsie.com

Of all the questions that I regularly receive concerning using the Internet for business, the most common one by far is: how do I set up an online store? Of course, this is not necessarily the simplest of questions to answer. Until now, that is, thanks to our pick of the week, Goodsie.com. Currently in Beta testing, Goodsie is a web-based, online store builder. Now, before you decide to turn your nose up, serious web designers, head over and take a good look. In my opinion, Goodsie has better features and functionality in their Beta state than many competitors who have been around for years.

A beautiful interface, enough options to create the custom online store of your dreams and a truly functional output, one would be hard pressed to find a better tool to help you build a great commerce site. Of course, there are other factors involved in the creation of an online business, but this is a great start! Head over to Goodsie.com right now and sign up. Well worth seeing and I think you'll agree.

Online Tools review: Aviary

Online tools are really taking off and Aviary is really heads and shoulders above the rest at the moment. With a complete suite of online tools, from music creators to image editors and screen capture tools, Aviary is truly a useful tool when working away from your desk. Hell, it's good enough to use at your desk and that's probably the best endorsement.

Take a look and try out some of the tools, I think you will be very impressed.

Online Tools review: Bubbl.us

As far as online tools goes, this one is a little different. Bubbl.us is an online brainstorming/mindmapping tool that lets you do things with the mindmaps that you create. Some of the possibilities include:

• Create colorful mind maps online
• Share and work with friends
• Embed your mind map in your blog or website
• Email and print your mind map
• Save your mind map as an image

The only negative aspect is that an account must be created (leading to another username/password combination to remember), but the functionality is superb and the tool truly useful. Take a look, it might be worth adding to your toolkit.

Online Tools review: WobZIP

Ever find yourself in a situation where you need to unarchive a file of one type or another, but simply do not have the tools, or privileges to install an application to do it for you? Well, here is WobZIP to the rescue! The tool supports numerous archive formats, including: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZHCHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS

There are several advantages to using this tool, as outlined by the makers themselves:

• Web-based means hassle-free: Now you can unzip your files in school, at work or anywhere as long as you have access to the Internet. No longer will you be limited by the inability to install programs onto admin-protected computers.
• Uncompressing online means safer: We scan your compressed files using an anti-virus scanner so any infected files will be removed before you download them onto your computer. 
• Uncompressing online means the freedom to choose: Our aim is to allow users to uncompress as many compressed file formats as possible. This means that you can compress your files using the compression format of your choice and send it to your friends. Tell them about WobZIP and uncompress on the fly.

A great addition to your toolbar, WobZIP is a truly useful tool!

Online Tools review: Box

Ever run into issues trying to share files with coworkers who may not necessarily be in the same country? If you work with material that is not really of a secure nature, you might consider using a tool like Box. With this tool you can:

• Box.net's online file storage makes it easy to securely share content as a link or a shared folder with anyone — inside or outside your company
• Create an online workspace where you can share project files, add comments, assign tasks, start discussions or create new content
• Discover new content by viewing all the latest Box activity within your company or by searching the full text of all shared files with no extra investment

Fantastic tool for collaboration. Take a look and try it out.

Some websites for iPad users

It occured to me that putting together a list of some of the more interesting iPad-related websites might actually be something really useful for my wife and her new toy. So here goes:

• Apple's iPad Site
• Magical Tablet
• iLounge
• The iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch Blog
• iPad in Canada

There are of course, several manufacturers that have already dedicated themselves to creating accessories for the iPad and one site is a great repository of review information on many of these:

• iPad Accessories

And finally, this last site is iPad-related in the sense that it provides wallpapers for iPad users:

• iFullscreen

Enjoy, iPad users (that means you, love!)

Pick of the week: PostSecret

This week's Pick of the week is a fantastic site called PostSecret. PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail (yes, real mail!) in their secrets anonymously on one side of a post card. There have been some very moving cards sent in and most are worthy to read. On an interesting side note, the people who manage PostSecret have developed a great relationship with the woman who delivers their mail, who herself has been quoted as being a fan of the project and site.

Worth taking a look and who knows, maybe participating in this great idea.

Where to get ebooks?

Since I've received my Kobo as a gift, I've been searching high and low for free sources of ePub format ebooks. I have managed to find several interesting sites that provide high-quality public domain work, including:

• http://www.epubbooks.com/
• http://www.web-books.com/
• http://manybooks.net/

And of course, a great source of reading material, who is slowly providing ePub versions of their online library:

• http://www.gutenberg.org/

Enjoy many great books of the past; anyway, most of them are better than what has been written in the last 100 years!

Online Tools review: Keyonary

If you've been working with computers for a while now, you might accumulated a dizzying quantity of keyboard shortcuts, for various applications and operating systems. Although most applications provide some method of determining the most common shortcuts (usually through the use of the Help section), many of them remain quite cryptic. In comes a fantastic online database called Keyonary, which is truly a useful shortcut search tool. With a simple interface, quick response and extensive database, it's the place to go to find a shortcut for an application you're using.

Take a look and add to your reference bookmarks, it's worth it.

Online Tools review: Launchlist

Launchlist is a web-designer's friendly and basic list to check before launching a site. It lists 28 basic items and allows you to add your own fields to the list and modify it to your heart's content! A great GUI and an effective tool, Launchlist will easily make it into your list of online tools.

Pick of the week: Geek Dad

This week's selection for Pick of the Week is a little obvious, as it follows the review for the book that I received on Father's Day, Geek Dad. The book is based on the very popular blog on Wired.com called Geek Dad. Ever since my late teens, I've known that I was a geek; nothing wrong with that and if we take a moment to think about it, this generation is really the Geek Generation. I mean, the majority of the world's richest and most successful people are geeks!!!

But geeky or not, the blog is fantastic and absolutely packed with great articles that any geeky father will love. og take a look for yourself.

Pick of the week: Carbonmade

Following the advice of a friend and professional acquaintance, I visited Carbonmade, specialists in hosting portfolios and galleries, and I created a quick gallery. I found the site and the interface so enjoyable, that I used up all of the free options and am now seriously considering upgrading to the paid version, which increases the capacities by more than a factor of ten.

Feel free to come take a look at http://thevoicedesigns.carbonmade.com and create your own portfolio today at Carbonmade.