Tired of boring daily work? Why not try some other (fun) ways to earn a little bit of money? You won’t need any special skills or resources: just a bit of free time to earn some cash daily. 

1. How to Earn Money from Your Pictures

ShareAPic pays you cash if you are good at sharing your pics uploaded to the service; the details:

• Get paid $0.22 per 1000 pic views;
• Pay out within 30 days
• Payments via PayPal
• Alternative prizes: gift certificates from Amazon and eLuxury

2. How to Earn Money With Your Knowledge

JustAnswer pays its experts for answers the provide to the random user.

• Earn 50% (25% if you are new) of what a customer is offering for an answer;
• Payout threshold: $20
• Payments via PayPal

3. How to Earn Money with Online Coupons

Buxr offers you the way to earn money by sharing online coupons and deals. If you found a great deal, share it on Buxr, create compelling title and description and hope the community will find it useful.

• Daily prizes: $10 and monthly prizes: over $100
• Alternative prizes: mugs.

4. How to Earn Money by Participating in Social Networks

MyLot is a social media community that pays its members for being active: participating in discussions, sharing photos, refer friends, etc.

• Payment threshold $10
• Payments via PayPal

5. How to Earn Money by Completing Simple Tasks

Amazon Mechanical Turk pays you money for completing "HITs" - Human Intelligence Tasks - simple tasks which are either impossible to do for a machine or work as a machine enhancer (a good example of such a task is Google image labeler which helps to improve Google image search).

Sample HITs: answer the question "Are these two products the same?" or complete the easy task: "Find the item number for the product in this image."

• Rates depend on hits;
• Payments via Amazon Payments account

This is a guest post by Ann Smarty, who does SEO and Internet Marketing when she’s not writing for blogs-named-after-food.  Want to write for Friedbeef’s Tech and share your tips with thousands of people?  Drop me a line.  We’re looking for paid regulars, as well as guest appearances.

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Whether you’re a movie buff, or just someone who enjoys a good film now and then, here are utterly essential 30 tools and resources which will help you make the most of your movie experience.

1. How to download famous movie scripts for free

it’s always interesting to see how something so abstract on paper gets translated onto the big screen.  IMSDb is one of the biggest collections of movie scripts available anywhere on the web where you can read the scripts for all your favorite movies.

2. How to download free movies - legally

No matter if you’re into drama, classics, cartoons, action movies or Westerns – you can find legal downloads of classic movies for free on EMOL.  Granted these movies are pretty old, but you get a lot of good classics as well starring actors like Frank Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor.

3. How to get short movie reviews from twitter

Flixpulse looked to be an excellent tool which interpreted Tweets about movies, assigned each one as a positive or negative tweet, and aggregated them.  Though promising, it looks like the project has stopped development.  An alternative would be to use blippr, which is a twitter clone which focuses mainly on reviews.

4. How to summarize reviews from professional movie critics

When it comes to movie review sites, few sites come close to Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.  Both services aggregate professional movie critic opinions and summarize them to a single movie score.  Well known for exceedingly high standards, if a movie does well on both sites, it would be hard to go wrong with it.

5. How to quickly check ratings through your iPhone

There are plenty of iPhone apps for movies, but ‘Movies’ by Flixster is my personal favorite.  Just look up any film and you’ll get a ‘rotten tomatoes’ rating neatly summarized for you, together with quick links to the trailer, poster, and movie showtimes.  It’s free, and incredibly easy to use.

6. How to search Rotten Tomatoes directly from your browser search box

Rotten Tomatoes is a popular reviews site which aggregates professional movie critic reviews.  Now you can search for movies directly from your browser search box rather than visiting the site first by installing this Firefox plugin. 

7. How to catalogue your movies on your desktop for free

EMDB is a small utility to keep track of your DVD collection. With an automatic import from the database of IMDB, thumbnail cover preview, a loan tracker, and search function.  Extremely lightweight in resource hogging, but packs a great punch. 

8. How to analyze your rental habits on NetFlix

If you’re a user of DVD rental service NetFlix, FeedFliks is a free service which allows you to visualize your Netflix rental habits showing you your DVD returns per week, relative cost per movie, and average time you keep your DVDs.  It also helps you compare what other NetFlixers are doing as well.

9. How to find movies you want to watch, playing on TV

The idea behind LocateTV is simple - to let you find TV shows available where you live in the world.  Type in the name of a TV show, movie or actor, and LocateTV will find it for you: On TV, Online and on DVD so you know how and when to catch it.  Currently only works in the US, UK and Ireland.

10. How to discover movies you would probably enjoy

Liveplasma is a free service which maps out related movies based on your input.  Just put in a film you enjoy, and it will show you films which are like it, and help you find and discover films you may enjoy.

11. How to connect with other movie fans

Movietally is simply a collection of movies. Catalogue, share, and discover the movies you like and hook up with movie fans around the world.

12. Where to find the ultimate movie guide

Just like 99% of the Internet population, You’ve probably used or heard of IMDb before - the site which contains info about all things movies….but since this is a definitive list - an ultimate guide, it would be a sin to leave out what is practically the Internet’s default movie guide.

13. The quickest way to search IMDB through your iPhone

The IMDB for Springlets app is a free iPhone app which allow you to quickly search IMDB.  Simply tap the icon on your home screen, and a search box will pop up where you can search right away.  No need to wait for the IMDB site to load up.

14. Where to download movies which have fallen into public domain

Films which copyright period lapses, fall into public domain and are free for download.  Public Domain Torrents is a website which hosts almost a thousand bittorrent files which you can download for free.  As you might imagine, most of these files are very old, but you’ll be able to get your hands on some classics like Night of the Living Dead, and Charlie Chaplin flicks.

15. How to view movie trailers online

 TrailerSpy is a great way to watch movie trailers online.  Also, it has expanded its content to even include, game trailers, TV trailers, book trailers, and even music trailers

16. How to participate in an open source film

Stray Cinema is an open source film. Here you are able to download and re-edit raw footage from a film shot in Barcelona. This will provide people from all over the world with an opportunity to create their own version of the film.

17. How to help fund an indie film

Movie Mogul Fund is a community-generated film fund which invites its members to select and back new filmmaking talent and claim their slice of the pie should that film become profitable. 

18. How to share reviews of movies with your friends on facebook

Flixter movies is by far my favorite Facebook app for movies.  You can rate movies and share what you saw or want to see with friends, compare your movie taste and take over 100,000 movie trivia quizzes.  Also important to note, is that the app is the most popular movie app out there, which means it has the highest possibility of your friends are using it and you can interact with them there.

19. How to make Wikipedia links appear in IMDb pages

If you’re using Firefox want to add another layer of quick reference links when you’re looking up movies, this greasemonkey script adds Wikipedia links to IMDB movie pages.

20. How to download the most ambitious Star Wars fan films ever

An action packed 47 minutes with absolutely wonderful CGI and special effects, Star Wars Revelations is a milestone in fan films.  Since its release in 2005, it was produced on a shoestring fan budget.  Absolutely free, you can stream it, or download it from the site. 

21. How to save time and effort getting info from IMDb

IMDb Preview is a Firefox extension which allows you to save time when looking up info from IMDb. Just stand on an IMDb link (from ANY site) and a handy popup will show you all the information you need so you never need to pop open the IMDb website.

22. How to Turn a Video File (DivX, AVI etc) into a DVD

I’m fortunate enough to own a DVD player which can play video files like DivX and AVI directly on my TV, but what if you just want to create a proper DVD or VCD so it would be able to run on regular players?  Avi2DVD is the perfect tool for that task.  What it does is convert your video file into a ISO file which you can then burn into your disk with any basic DVD Burner.

23. How to join a movie lover community

Whether it’s connecting with other movie buffs, tracking your movie collection or discussing a film, iheartmovies is a great platform to complement your movie experience.

24. How to participate in a cool movie ranking experiment

When people rate movies individually with some sort of point value - using stars, a 1 to 10 scale, percentages, or even tomatoes - They tend to have different standards and benchmarks when assigning their point system.  This is why all-encompassing "Best Movies Of All Time" lists, seem to fall short all too often.  FlickChart runs a pairing system that shows you two movies, and you decide which of the two you prefer.  The more you play, the more it learns more about your tastes.  FlickChart is in private beta – but you can sign up directly here (Thanks LifeHacker).

25. How to quickly grab subtitles for your movies

Subdownloader is an elegant solution which can update all your movies within any given directory with subtitles at one go.  It claims to be so fast it can plough through 27 GB movies in 7 seconds and get entire series seasons subtitles in less than 1 minute.

26. How to learn what DVDs your friends own, and show off your own collection

More than a vanity trip, Swagroll helps you and your friends understand what each other owns.  This of course means easier DVD swapping between friends.  Swagroll also lets you handle music and books.

27. How to quickly look up movie showtimes on Google

If you just type in ‘showtimes’ in Google, you’ll be taken to a page which shows you movie showtimes from all your local cinemas.  Google auto-detects where you’re coming from based on your IP Address and will filter our only cinemas near you.  Not only does it show you movie schedules for the next 4 days, it also summarizes movie reviews for you.    

28. How to generate an RSS feed of what’s playing in your favorite local theatre

Take the Google tip above one step further, and isnoop has generated an RSS feed which helps you get live updates of whatever is playing so you can throw your local theatre’s screen times in your favorite RSS reader.

29. How to download movie trailers in FULL HD

Trailerfreaks is a straightforward site which allows you to watch and download movie trailers in 480p, 720p and 1080p resolutions. 

30. How to find out endings of films

Have you ever fallen asleep and missed the ending of a show?  The movie spoiler is an excellent site which reveals the entire story from head to tail.  Not only is it good for endings, it also helps you understand crucial bits in confusing films. It is also a great reason for walking out of films which are really bad - at least you know what happened in the end.

What movie resources do you use?  Tell us in the comments!

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URL shorteners have really taken off in recently, largely due to Twitter’s continued growth.  Although services like TinyURL have been around for years, never has there been so much demand to cut down the number of characters used in a single message. 

There are literally hundreds of URL shortening tools around, but here are 11 of the most unique twists to the service.

1. How to combine multiple links into a single short URL

MultiURL is a free service which allows you to combine multiple links into one short link that you can quickly and easily share with your friends.  It makes the process of sharing multiple links at once much easier and faster. 

Depending on your choice, when you click through on a MultiURL link, you can either view a summary of all the links in one page, or navigate through all the links using a web-based toolbar.

2. How to warn people that your Short URL is NSFW

Ever clicked a link and felt embarrassed with the content in front of your co-workers?  Ever caught unaware because the funny link your friend sent was a little beyond funny?  If for some reason you may need to send stuff like this to others, it make be good practice to use NSFW.in. 

This free service gives a warning that the link may be (Not Safe For Work) NSFW.  Spare your friends and colleagues the awkward moments.

3. How to shorten URLs and post to StumbleUpon at the same time

Su.Pr is StumbleUpon’s new URL shortening service which is packed with great features.  Having something posted to StumbleUpon ensures it will be exposed to a good number of people within the network.  What sets it apart though is it’s scheduling feature which helps you identify the optimal times to post (highest traffic potential) and schedule as many posts as you like — then post in one-click to Twitter & Facebook. 

It also has a very powerful tracking suite to view your traffic, clicks, referrers, Stumbles, and retweets stemming from your shortened URL, all in 1 place.  This free service is currently in lic beta but you can follow their Twitter account for updates and and access codes to use the service.

4. How to make a URL extra long

Sick of short URLs?  Buck the trend with HugeURL.  This service takes a normal URL and turns it into an extremely long URL (which works perfectly fine).  No, there’s no good reason I can think of for this except maybe to freak people out or perhaps to win a bet on who can come up with the longest URL for a web page – but it’s all in good fun :)

5. How to quickly snip URLs on Windows Mobile

ceSnipURL is a little Windows Mobile utility which allows you to shorten URL’s to make them more friendly for use in twitter and sms messages or mobile email.  Rather than go through a more cumbersome web based short URL service on your mobile, this app makes for a much snappier way to get the job done.

6. How to shorten URLs and give extra assurance of safety

Shuurl goes the extra mile in giving viewers of your short URL assurance of safety.  Not only does it tell you where the shortened URL points to, it provides a thumbnail preview of actual link and a safety rating from the ‘Web Of Trust’ so you know what site you’re about to visit is definitely safe.

7. How to track other people’s Short URL stats

More than a one-off URL shortening tool, bit.ly is a fully fledged service which helps you track and understand how widespread links become and how many clickthroughs were obtained, and their conversations on Twitter and Friendfeed.  Stats are not limited to your own links, and you can check any URL out there.  All this and the fact that you’re able to shorten and post directly to Facebook and Twitter makes this one heck of a powerful tool.

8. How to track online marketing campaigns through short URLs

Unlike bit.ly where all the stats are public, Cli.gs stats are private and incredibly comprehensive. 

Cli.gs also tracks in real time of who tweets your link, who shares it on Friendfeed, who links to it, who blogs about it, who writes a blog comment about it, and more. Not just that, Cligs does that for the destination URL too! All in one handy interface.  Finally, it allows you to share different links on different services like Twitter, Facebook, and email and track the traffic and watch it spread across services.

9. How to setup your own URL TinyURL Like Redirection Service in 2 Minutes

The only problem with URL shortening services is that most of them don’t have a solid business model yet so if they decide to shut shop in future, all your existing short links will become broken or point to non-existent 404 pages.

To prevent yourself from running into such a situation, you can consider setting up your own URL shortening service that will run on your own domain (or web server) and the short URLs will therefore resolve throughout the lifespan of your site.  If you’re interested, check out the tutorial here.

10. How to get a really,really short URL

Tinyarro.ws is a free service which uses unicode and thus makes it possible for them to have many more combinations of characters, and hence make the shortest ever tiny URLs.

11. How to find out where your short URL points to

‘Long URL Please’ doesn’t really shorten your URLs.  In fact, it does pretty much the opposite.  It shows you the original URL of any shortened URL on your screen so you can reduce uncertainty when clicking on links you’re not sure about.  This is really a good safety tool especially before visiting shortened links from an unknown source. 

It works with most of the most popular URL shorteners (72 of them at last count), and is available both as a firefox extension and as a bookmarklet.

Do you use URL shortening tools?  Tell us more in the comments!

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As people try to get more things done using computers, the demand for better security has never been greater. In this day and age, antivirus programs alone may not be enough. Here are 15 essential tips to help you secure your PC.

1. How to password-protect folders for free

Have some private collections of files you want to keep from prying eyes? The most convenient way to do so is through password protection, and MyLockBox does its job well. Just select the folders you want to be passworded and voila! Even system administrators are not spared the lock.

2. How to get free anti-virus software

No matter how cliché installing antivirus software may seem, this method is undoubtedly still the easiest and most effective means of protecting your PC. A huge chunk of internet threats out there are viruses and Trojans, so having one will effectively shield you from this majority. AVG is a free antivirus that has won the accolades and hearts of computer users worldwide. It has real-time protection, daily updates, and email scans among other powerful features.

3. How to truly hide files on a computer

Those who use a sharing system may find the occasional snooping habit of your computer partner annoying or even harmful. Sofonesia Folder Protector hides selected files so that it remains hidden from all users as long as the software is installed.

4. How to get free anti-spyware software

Viruses may be the age old nemesis of computer users, but a new villain has emerged in the scene – spyware. Spywares hogs major system resources while performing its malicious acts. This is where Spybot Search & Destroy comes in, a free Windows tool designed to ward off these invaders. True to its name, all spyware on Windows systems dating back to 95 will be searched and destroyed.

5. How to do a registry backed up spyware scan

Combofix is a free spyware removal tool that works on a much lower level. It backs up the registry before scanning away, and a technical log file will be created which can be used to identify system problems. Alternatively, it can also be used by more technical users to manually remove spywares.

6. How to encrypt files and folders

For those perilous and treacherous times when even hiding and locking does not do, TrueCrypt steps in to save the day. Offering advanced data encryption using 256-bit AES algorithms, users can choose to hide files inside virtual encrypted disk volumes. All this military-sounding features should be useful for power users.

7. How take advantage of cloud computing in virus detection

Panda Cloud Antivirus is an antivirus software utilizing the concept of cloud computing. Lightweight is the word to use here, as Panda does not take up heavy CPU resources while scanning. There is no need to update virus definitions frequently either, as data are stored on the Panda servers.

8. How to seek free professional help to combat spyware

Hijackthis is a comprehensive scanner which scans the software-state of your system. While the huge log file created does not remove spywares or change your system, it does offer precious technical info to those in the know. If you’re not a advanced user, you can show the log file to expert spyware veterans over at the BleepingComputer or SpywareInfoForum and get some personalized anti-spyware instructions. Alternatively there is an automated online scanner at Hijackthis.de to run through the log file.

9. How to get free firewall software

Comodo Firewall is a free firewall software that will help shield your computer from unwanted intruder and hacker access. Comodo is one of the lightest firewall software in terms of resource usage and it stops intrusive applets and software from the internet before they can do any harm to your system.

10. How to secure your wireless network

If you are running on a home wireless network, have you made sure that it is secure? If left unsecured, sneaky neighbors may be in for the free internet access, or worse, phishers may be out there waiting for you to take the bait. Always make sure that your wireless connection is password-protected using WEP or WPA encryption. To do this, enter your router’s settings page  (by typing the router address in your browser’s address bar, usually 192.168.0.1) and proceed to work out necessary security settings.

11. How to NOT run scripts in Firefox, so you can be even safer

NoScript is a Firefox plugin that blocks any script from running on your browser – be it JavaScript, flash or other script-based content. The catch here is you would have to add your favorite sites on the trusted list one-by-one, so initial discomfort may be present.

12. How to surf only websites which are deemed safe

Yet another Firefox add-on, Web of Trust warns users about a website’s safety-level through color-coded icons. With over 21 million sites on the rating list, you can now be sure of treading on unfamiliar territories.

13. How not to fall for fake anti-virus software

There are some malicious software out there which poses as genuine versions. Among them are the infamous Antivirus 2009, Spyware Protect 2009, PC AntiSpy. The Web of Trust is a good way to detect these bogus websites, apart from your own intuition.

14. How to remember your Internet passwords AND keep them safe

LastPass is a IE/Firefox add-on/online password manager for all your passwords so that you wouldn’t need to worry about losing your password along with your local data. All passwords will be encrypted locally before being uploaded to their servers, so that even folks from LastPass won’t be able to get to your precious.

15. How to create disposable e-mail addresses

Have you ever registered in a forum just to post a single question? Or fill up forms to download a trial application? Maybe giving away your email address for a newsletter? In many of these cases, you give out your real e-mail and all you get in return are junk mails. Meet Melt-mail, a website where you can create temporary e-mail accounts just for those quickies. E-mails can be set to expire in 3, 6, 12 or 24 hours.

This article was written by Chan Huey Hoong who also dabbles in art which is viewable on his blog at Fig.Ech.

What other measures do you take to protect your PC?  Tell us in the comments!

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Formatting is contextual.  One style may look great in one place, but look horrible in the next.  Here are a few quick tips on how to remove unwanted formatting from your documents.

1. How to remove unwanted formatting from your email

If you’ve received an email which has been forwarded multiple times, you’d notice that it can be hard to read if every line is prefixed with on more more ‘>’ characters.  Stripmail is a great piece of freeware which will help you strip any unwanted characters from your email and formats it into proper paragraphs and indentation so it’s much easier to read.  Stripmail is a free standalone utility which does not require installation so it’s incredibly light and portable.

2. How to remove unwanted formatting from any text in Google Docs AND MS Word and Powerpoint

Want a quick way to remove formatting in your document? Select the text you want to remove formatting from, and click Alt + Spacebar.  This built-in function will instantly do the job, and will work both in Google Docs and Microsoft Office.

3. How to remove unwanted formatting from Excel

The Alt + Spacebar trick doesn’t work in Excel, so what you can do is select an already unformatted cell, then click on the format painter button, and then select the area which you want unformatted.   

4. How to remove unwanted formatting when pasting web pages into MS Word

Things you copy from the web tend to end up looking really bad when you paste it into an MS Word file.  The way to get around this, once you copy the text, go to MS-Word and click Edit-Paste Special – Unformatted Text.  If you tend to do this very often, check out this excellent video tutorial on how to set up this up as a macro.

5. How to remove unwanted formatting when copying from your web browser

Have you ever copied something from your web browser to Outlook or Office and been annoyed that the text formatting (bold, font size, etc) came with it? Don’t you wish you could just copy the text itself, without having to copy it, paste it into notepad, then copy it again? This firefox extension gives you an option to copy text without the formatting. You can even set it to trim extra space in and around the copied text!

How do you deal with unwanted formatting?  Tell us in the comments!

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Image Credit: ReutC

You don’t really have to spend a lot of money to fill up your iPod, or download songs illegally if you really don’t want to.  Here is an ultimate guide on how to download free music legally.

1. How to download free songs from last.fm

last.fm is perhaps best known for its intelligent internet streaming radio service, but it also offers up a nice selection of free MP3 downloads – many of them from prominent artists like Moby and Nine Inch Nails.

2. How to download two Nine Inch Nails albums for free

Nine Inch Nails has always taken the stance of siding with free music and giving back to fans.  He also puts his money where his mouth is, and has released TWO albums for free download.  The Slip, and his collaboration with Jane’s Addiction aptly called NIN|JA. 

3. How to download free live music

The Live Music Archive or etree.org claims to be a community committed to providing high quality live recordings – and it does not fail in that department. Featuring a long list of commercial and indie artists performing live including Hot Buttered Rum and Smashing Pumpkins, this is a great place to complement your existing music collection.

4. How to download free songs from Amazon.com

It’s a little known fact that Amazon has a ton of free songs and albums available in their store.  As I write this, there are more than 840 songs available for free as album-samplers featuring all kinds of acts from Paul Simon to indie groups.

5. How to download all the songs from South by South West (SXSW)

SXSW is a music festival held annually in Austin, Texas, which has been taking the world by storm.  If you didn’t make it to the festival, you’ll be glad to know that all the music from 2005 till 2009 is available for free download

6. How to download good free indie music

Having a distaste for repetitive and clichéd tracks played on your local station? The Free Music Archive is a movement inspired by open source ideas and features music handpicked by nine ‘curators’ – here you’ll find free and perfectly legal music created by mostly indie artists.

7. How to download free awesome remixes

ccMixter is a place where things really get mixed up – in a good way! Here you’ll find tracks that have been remixed by users, some with outstanding results. If you’re getting tired of what you’re hearing now, a visit to this site might refresh your senses.

8. How to download free Japanese music

Muzzie is a site which offers free Japanese music downloads.  If you don’t understand Japanese, you may not understand the reviews but the all important letters MP3 is in English are you’ll know where to click.

9. How to download free music handpicked by audiophiles

Epitonic is a curated music website featuring fresh indie music that has been handpicked by audiophiles. Members can also listen to college radio stations, read reviews and view artists profile in this well managed site. Yet another good way to discover tomorrow’s star talent!

10. How to download good free video game music

OverClocked ReMix is a huge library of video game music. Although there are music from games such as the good ol’ Metroid Prime, Pokémon, and Final Fantasy, its true draw lies in the remixes done by fans – here you’ll find thousands of dedicated work done for the love of gaming.

11. How to download free legal music using torrents

LegalTorrents is an “online digital media community” that hosts thousands of music files, downloadable using a torrent p2p software. Of course, being a media community, there are also pictures, videos, audiobooks and other free goodies available for grabs.

12. How to get involved in an indie music community with free music

ArtistServer.com is a huge collection of over 10,000 songs, complete with artist information and social review capabilities. Head on here if you’re in need of fresh music to complement your music collection.

13. How to download free songs on iTunes

Every week iTunes releases a “Single of the Week” featuring an interesting up-and-coming artist, a “Discovery Download” to broaden your listening tastes and an iTunes Latino “Single of the Week” showing off some of the newest Spanish language songs. All these can be played on your computer in iTunes, on your iPod or burned to CD for listening anywhere.  This page is for US store downloads, this one for international store downloads, and this link gives you free audiobooks.  You can also try this thread on MacRumors for a full list of all the free songs on iTunes.

14. How to help independent artists get signed

Garageband is a social review network for independent bands vying for exposure. You can vote for your favorite indie bands and help take them to stardom.  Since its inception, this website has already helped jumpstart the career of several bands, the most notable being the band “10 Years’”, hitting No. 1 on the Billboard charts after getting favorable reviews at Garageband, as they have over 1000 radio partners. Who knows, you mighthelp the next Guns ‘n Roses or Nickelback get signed!

15. How to download free classical music

On Wikipedia you will find a gigantic list of classical music downloads which are in the public domain, or shared by the commons law. Get songs from all your favourite composers from Bach to Beethoven here.  The drawback though is that the files are in .Ogg format, which may not be the most popular or widely supported file standard. If you cannot play it on your desktop, Wikipedia has some tips to help you along.

16.How to discover new talent and get their songs for free

PureVolume is a premier social music site with streaming as well as downloadable songs from emerging artists.

17. How to get free music from one of the oldest sources of free music on the web

Being the granddaddy of free legal music downloads, mp3.com has offered countless artists the chance to strut their stuff before the world. It still offers up one of the largest collections of free legal music to date.

18. How to vote for independent music digg style

thesixtyone is an interesting take on ranking indie music, by running them through a digg style voting system where the cream of the crop rise to the top and get a lot of exposure.  As a listener you can play a active role in making unknown people stars on the indie scene.

19. How to get recommendations for free downloadable music

On Amie Street, the community determines the price of music. Every song starts cheap (or even free!) and increases in price up to 98 cents as more and more people purchase it.  This ensures that you get music at a sensible price. If you find cheap songs or albums, that means they’re new to the site and/or undiscovered; conversely, when you pay top price for an album, you know that a lot of people think it’s really good. 

As you browse Amie Street and purchase music, the site learns more and more about your tastes, and the recommendations for you quickly become customized.

20. How to find old 78 RPM and cylinder recordings and download them for free

Archive.org, the Internet’s super-archive has with them a very interesting collection of really old records, now preserved digitally.  Here you can download from this collection of thousands of 78rpm records and cylinder recordings released in the early 20th century.

21. How to download free international music

Available in seven languages, Jamendo offers the largest catalog of music under Creative Commons licenses. For artists, it’s an easy and efficient way to publish, share and promote their music, and also to make money, through ad revenue sharing and commercial partnerships.

22. How to download free Australian music

23. How to share and recommend songs, as well as download them for free

iLike allows you to share playlists and recommendations with friends riding on networks such as Facebook and Bebo, as well as download some of the songs on the site for free.

24. How to discover more new indie bands

Tuneshout allows you to discover independent artists you can’t find anywhere else, meet other listeners who share the same musical tastes as you, and participate in the popularity of TuneShout artists by writing review an

25. How to download free reggae songs

While most free music sites specialize in rock, the Dubroom carves out a very unique niche for itself specializing in reggae music, offering loads of free downloadable MP3s as well.

26. How to interact with emerging artists and share music

PureVolume is a website for the discovery and promotion of new music and emerging artists.  Listeners and fans can also create profiles to interact with artists and each other, as well as track and share music they like.

Since the site’s launch in 2003, PureVolume has been widely recognized as a premier social music site and has received praise in the New York Times, L.A. Times, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, and beyond.

27. More ways to download free indie MP3s

Mp3 4U is a website which scours the net to find the best free MP3s on the web and puts them up here.

28. How to download free Amiga music

Yes, that’s right – AMIGA music.  UnExoticA is a collection of music ripped from Amiga Games and Demos. It aims to provide complete rips with full credits for all Amiga game and demo soundtracks.

29. How to download free punk rock MP3s

With more than 50 bands under their wings, Fatwreck offers up selected tracks for downloads so you can sample all the punk rock you need.

30. How to download free classical sorted by composers

Classic Cat is a directory with links to over 5000 free to download classical performances on the internet, sorted by composer and work.  Download everything from piano to classical guitar songs.

31. How to download free heavy rock music

Hellcat records is an independent label specializing in heavy, punk and ska rock records.

32. How to download free European electronic music

Electrobel is a living community bringing together artists and fans, organising music events, coordinating mutual help and promoting the independent music culture across Europe specializing in every thinkable electronic music genre.

33. How to download the MP3 of the day from AOL

Spinner.com is a an AOL project which has a section dedicated to release one carefully screened MP3 every day.

34. How to download free piano songs

The goal for Piano Society is to bring classical music to a broader audience, as today it is unfortunately neglected by the general public, and they try to wipe away the elitist attitude towards it.  Piano Society offers artists, amateurs and professionals alike.

35. How to download free German songs

If you’re looking for more of a European flavor, you can try Ton Spion, a site which caters to German indie bands.  Don’t worry about not being able to navigate the site as the words “FREE MP3 DOWNLOAD” is thankfully in English :)

36. How to download free dance tracks

Looking for free dance music?  Check out Dance Industries for constantly updated dance tracks to get you going.

37. How to download free songs which have fallen into the public domain

PublicDomain4U is a a website which seeks to showcase all the best tracks which have since fallen into public domain. 

38. How to download a free Coldplay album

Coldplay has released an album for fans, for free – no strings attached.  Hurry and download it for free as it’s up for a limited time only!

39. How to download free children’s songs

Whether you’re babysitting, or trying to please you own child, music goes a long way in making them happy and assisting in a healthy development.  FreeKidsMusic is a repository of free children’s music where you can download some terrific tracks for kids.

40. How to download free Christmas songs

When the holidays come rolling around, you don’t have to shell out big bucks to play those Christmas tunes.  Just head on over to FeelsLikeChristmas and get yourself some free familiar songs.

Post written by James Yeang and Chan Huey Hoong

Do you download free music online, or have any more sites to add to the list?  Tell us more in the comments!

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Yes – it’s hard to get a lot of work done when there are just so many interesting things to do online.  People to reconnect with, games to play, discussions to join.  How do you keep yourself focused and get the job done?  Here are 12 geeky techniques which should help you get back on track and be much more productive.

The direct intervention methods:

1. How to limit your time on time-wasting sites

LeechBlock is a simple Firefox extension designed to block those time-wasting sites that can suck the life out of your working day.  You can block sites within fixed time periods (e.g., between 9am and 5pm), after a time limit (e.g., 10 minutes in every hour), or with a combination of time periods and time limit (e.g., 10 minutes in every hour between 9am and 5pm).

You can also set a password for access, just to slow you down in moments of weakness!

2. How to make time-wasting sites turn blank before a certain time

If you want something more potent, you can try Lifehacker’s "Invisibility Cloak" Greasemonkey user script that turns time-wasting web sites blank before a specific time so you would not be able to use them until after a certain time.

3. How to avoid playing addictive Flash games

Flashblock is a Firefox extension that blocks ALL Flash content from loading. It then leaves placeholders on the webpage that allow you to click to download and then view the Flash content. 

Originally meant as a way to simply load up pages faster, this also acts as a final barrier so you can think again before you play that addictive Flash game which you know will suck out another few hours of your life.

4. How to completely block time-wasting sites

Don’t want to even get tempted?  You can block websites using the HOSTS files in Windows with this tutorial.  While this is probably the most effective way of blocking sites, it is juts as painful to unblock those sites when you DO want to visit them after hours.

The guilt trip methods:

5. How to track how much time you spend online

Don’t know how much time you spend online?  You can learn the truth when you install the TimeTracker extension for Firefox.  Not only does it track browsing time across sessions so you can get running totals even when you close your browser, it pauses automatically when you stop browsing or switch focus to another app. 

You can also ask it to ignore certain ‘work’ sites that should not count to your tracked online time if you wish.

6. How to track how you’re spending your time on your computer

If you’re searching for a more detailed breakdown of how you spend your time, look no further than Rescuetime Solo.  This freesoftware sits in your background and tracks all the sites you visit and applications you use so you can see how much of your time was actually in MS-Excel vs Youtube :)

7. How to track how much time you’ve spent on Twitter

If you’re a Twitter addict, you’d be surprised how fast those seemingly harmless 140 character messages add up.  Tweetstats will help you track your tweeting patterns and more importantly – show you when you tweet so you can check how much time you’ve spent on the additive this micro-blogging service. 

The laser focused methods:

8. How to cut out background noise from other apps

Jedi Concentrate is a free windows app which mimics the OSX feature called Exposé.  When "concentrate" mode is activated, all windows except for the current active window are smoothly faded out.

Its purpose is focus only on the app in use and to dim everything else in the background when you need to get to work.

9. How to write without any distractions

Dark Room is a full screen, distraction free, writing environment. Unlike standard word processors that focus on features, Dark Room is just about you and your text.  No distractions, no fancy fonts, no colors, nothing.  For a Mac version try WriteRoom.

The nagging reminder methods:

10. How to use a buzzer to control your activities

Just like a school bell telling you to switch classes, working with buzzer counting down also helps give you a sense of urgency and helps you limit your personal time at work if you stick to it.  For this, you can try e.ggtimer.com for an online buzzer which is incredibly simple to use. 

For example, if you tell yourself you’re going to take a 10 minute break, just load up e.ggtimer and tell it to run for 10 minutes before it beeps.  For more information, do check out this excellent related article on combating procrastination with this method.

The GTD methods:

11. How to avoid getting distracted by constant pinging

Turn off all IM and email notifications, and hide that Twitter sidebar.  These tools are perhaps the ultimate distraction for information addicts like myself, who want to be plugged in all the time.  Seriously though, you don’t really need to be notified in real-time that Martha has come online, or Bob has a new wall post on Facebook. 

12. How to do exactly the same amount  in faster time

After you’ve turned off your notifications, put aside that urge to constantly check your messages, and instead set aside 3 times in a day to check your personal email and address that Facebook fix.  By processing your downtime in batches, you’ll make your personal time much more effective as well.

What other techniques do you have to stop yourself slacking off?  Tell us in the comments!

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Philanthropy is a now common among the world’s super-rich, with big money being donated for many global causes. The rest of us that do not belong to the wealthy elite can also do a part in helping the world – by putting our idle CPU resources to good use!

These distributed computing projects simulate supercomputers by harnessing the combined processing power of PCs worldwide, in order to crunch huge amounts of data.  They don’t have any impact on performance either as they only run when the computer is idle.

1. How to help detect intelligent life outside earth

SETI@home stands for the Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence – a project that attempts to detect intelligent life forms in outer space by means of analyzing radio signals. Intelligent life-forms are presumed to use radio waves as a means of communication, and detection of these weak signals coming from outer space may signify the existence of such entities.

2. How to help discover a cure for AIDS

FightAids@home is a distributed computing project that aims to increase understanding of AIDS and HIV. CPU resources are used to calculate the millions of protein structures for a possible AIDS cure, as well as advancing knowledge in the structural biology of AIDS.

3. How to help predict climate changes

Climateprediction.net utilizes the power of individual home computers to help fine tune and reduce uncertainties in current climate prediction models. You may help make climate prediction more accurate by being part of this project!

4. How to help physicists understand the origins of the universe

LHC@home is a newly-formed project to help process the raw data collected at the Large Hadron Collider. The calculations done will help scientists and physicists figure out what goes on in a particle accelerator and ultimately leading to true understanding of our universe’s creation.

5. How to help advance the field of artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence System seeks to advance development in artificial intelligence by increasing the understanding of our brain. Using combined computing powers, the system simulates the billions of neurons in a human brain, and uses these data to come up with sophisticated artificial intelligence models.

6. How to help create better rice

Nutritious Rice for The World aims to help farmers breed better rice with pest-resistant and high yield properties. By simulating the protein strains of rice, it is hoped that better rice breeds can be produced to help undeveloped or food-deprived nations.

7. How to help develop a cleaner energy source

The Clean Energy Project simulates millions of molecule structures in order to come up with new materials that may play important roles in developing alternative energy sources. From organic photovoltaic to conducting polymers, every distributed computer plays a role in finding the molecular structures of these materials.

8. How to help render 3D animations

3D renderings take up considerable computing resources – and BURP, short for Big and Ugly Rendering Project, aims to create a network of computers to aid in rendering of sophisticated 3D animations. Who knows, you might be helping in the creation of the next Shrek.

9. How to help discover the next Armageddon

Orbit@home monitors the impact hazard that may be caused by near-earth objects. Be the first to know of any asteroids or objects that might hit Earth!

Which one of the above projects do you feel most strongly about?  Tell us in the comments!

The author of this post, Chan Huey Hoong is a regular writer at Friedbeef’s Tech, check out his artistic endeavors on his blog.

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The rates of rainforest destruction are 2.4 acres per second, 149 acres per minute, 214,000 acres per day and 78 million acres per year.  Just to put things in perspective, as you read this sentence, an area the size of 78 Olympic sized swimming pools would have been cut down.

To solve the problem of deforestation, we need to do all we can and here are 6 easy ways you can get involved as every little bit helps.

1. How to plant trees by searching the web

Imagine searching the web and saving the planet at the same time.  Ecocho is a free service, and it’s one of the easiest ways people can change everyday behaviour to make a positive impact on the environment.  For every 1000 searches that users make on ecocho.com, five trees will be grown to offset carbon pollution emissions.  Switching to ecocho.com doesn’t alter or slow your search as search results directly from Yahoo!

2. How to plant trees for $1

Part of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), plantabillion.org is a website which seeks to make funding for tree planting as easy as possible.  Simply put, every dollar you put into the site results in a single tree being planted. 

3. How to turn deserts into forests

Tree-Nation is planting trees in the desert to combat desertification and land degradation. This process will have many positive environmental and humanitarian effects.  This site allows you to sponsor a tree, where not only will your tree be planted, but it will benefit the local community from its produce (gum, fruits, alimentation, medicines, etc).  You’ll also be able to follow your tree as it grows through photos on the site.

4. How to plant trees by playing quiz games

JogoGreen is fun and easy way for people to learn more about being environmentally friendly, and actually make a difference at the same time.  When you answer 10 questions correctly, they have enough advertising revenue to plant one tree!  This movement has so far resulted in more than 100,000 trees being planted.

5. How to plant trees – in real life

If you’re looking for online resources on tree planting, look no further than WikiHow’s incredibly comprehensive guide.  This has everything you can imagine to support your tree planting exploits including many photos and videos to make things clearer.

6. How to cut down less trees

There are two ways you can take on deforestation.  Plant more trees, and reduce usage of paper.  If you’re looking to save paper, do check out this post on 3 eco-friendly ways to save ink and paper.  The more effective your printing becomes, the less tress you affect.

Would you help plant a tree?  Tell us in the comments!

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How many of us remember the experience of a silky smooth, fast-booting, hassle-free Windows following a fresh install? Unfortunately, this occasion is a rare one in the world of Windows, and the dream ride is soon reduced to a crawling nightmare in a matter of days. Here are some ways to capture that magic moment and keep your Windows running without hiccups!

1. How to clean up your registry

The registry is Window’s storage of vital program settings and instructions. As you install new programs, countless registry entries are created by Windows – but some do not get removed after the program is uninstalled. Because Windows have to sift through these unwanted registries, useful programs can be slowed down.  Little Registry Cleaner is a specialist in this area - it scans and removes redundant entries on your system.

2. How to manually disable startup items

Ever notice that Windows is taking forever to boot? There may be too many programs trying to run at startup, many of which you cannot see. To check out what’s cooking during startup, execute ‘msconfig’ from the Run dialog box and go into the Startup tab. Un-checking some programs you do not need is a good and easy way to speed up startup times.

3. How to turn off Windows Indexing

Sometimes, you might notice your hard disk LED lights are on even when the computer is idle – indicating that Windows is up to something. Indexing was designed to allow faster search times for files on computers, but massive system slowdowns tend to occur when Windows tries to index the millions of files on your hard disk in the background. To turn it off, go to My Computer, right click on your main hard drive, click Properties, and uncheck ‘Index this file for faster searching’ under the General tab. Do the same for other drives you might have.

4. How to clean up unwanted files on your computer

CleanUp! is a powerful tool to remove your computer’s temporary and redundant files. Removing cluttered files may improve system speed by a long shot, because hard disks do not have to seek through these mess to reach useful files. Doing so prior to defragmentation is also recommended.

5. How to perform a do-it-all cleaning

If you’re the type who just wants to get things done without the hassle of downloading individual utilities, CCleaner is the solution. This little gem performs a holistic sweep of your registry and temporary files with a straightforward interface, sparing you of any technical jargon in the process.

This post was written by Chan Huey Hoong, if you wish to write for this blog, just drop me a line.

Do you perform regular maintenance on your computer? Tell us in the comments!

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Twitter is an incredible communication tool which can also be somewhat daunting if you’re not used to a constant stream of information flow.  Here are several ways to make better sense of the Twitter so you’ll enjoy your experience more.

1. How to properly understand #hashtags on Twitter

Ever find yourself looking at Twitter and wondering what all this talk about #motrinmoms means?  or searching Flickr and not understanding why someone would tag their photo #ip4?  Hashtags can be notoriously difficult to keep track of, so Tagalus is a free service which lets users define tags so that others can understand what they’re talking about. 

Other users can even vote on definitions and decide which best describes the given tag.  Tagalus also has a bookmarklet feature so you can lookup hashtags with a single click.

2. How to filter topics in real time on Twitter

Twitter is essentially a sea of conversations, so tracking certain keywords can be very useful especially if you’re trying to find out what people are saying about your company or product.  One of my favorite tools to do this is Monniter. 

This is a free service which lets you track multiple keywords in multiple columns, and it streams in any mention of them in real time.  Which means you can essentially set up a tracker for you and your competition in a jiffy.  If you’re looking at tracking tools, you can also try twendz, and twitterfall.

3. How to find the most popular links on Twitter

If you’re a fan of PopURLs which lists the most popular content on the web, then you’ll certainly enjoy TwitURLs which is essentially all the most popular links, pictures and videos being shared on Twitter and updated every minute – which stays true to Twitter’s real-time nature.

4. How to group your contacts in Twitter

Once you start following a large number of people, conversations come in thick and fast, and it can be overwhelming if you try to keep up. 

One way to get around this is to use a Twitter client like Tweetdeck, where you can group your contacts up in a more organized manner.  For example, you can have all your ex-classmates in one column, and colleagues in another – that way it’s much easier to keep track of certain groups of people.

5. How to understand how much time you’re spending on Twitter

Want to know how much time you’re spending (sorry – investing), on Twitter?  Tweetstats is the perfect tool for analyzing usage patterns to see how you actually go about Tweeting information, how often you do it, when you do it, and what you tend to tweet about.  Another useful stats engine to consider is TwitterAnalyzer. 

6. How to find relevant people to follow on Twitter

Finding and following people outside your usual social circle can be an interesting way to branch out and meet new people.  This however is most useful when you’re connecting to people who have similar or relevant interests to you. 

My favorite is Mr.Tweet where it analyses your profile and helps your discover relevant people to follow.  Other Twitter directories like JustTweetIt, and WeFollow are also excellent ways to find people who match you to follow.

7. How to get Twitter basics right

If you’re completely new to Twitter, this PCMag article on the ‘Top 10 Twitter Tips for Beginners’ is an absolute must read.  This covers all the basics of how to start using Twitter effectively.  This article covers everything from retweeting to mobile tweeting. 

If you’re interested in learning how to build followers, you can always try these tips from Guy Kawasaki of Alltop.com and Kevin Rose of Digg.com.  If you need a twitter dictionary to help you with more twitter terms, try twittionary.

Hope those tips were helpful, and do follow me @friedbeef :)

How often do you tweet, and what do you Tweet about?  Tell us in the comments!

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As digital images get more widespread nowadays, so does the need to edit them to make them better.  What happens when you are caught between the insufficient features of Microsoft Paint, and the wallet-blowing cost of Photoshop? Here are some takes on a few of the best free image editors that might come close to commercial ones in terms of functionality.

1. How to edit images using advanced tools

The GIMP is an image editor that has many powerful tools beyond the ordinary paintbrushes and pencils. Commodities such as airbrush, selective blurring, cloning and path tools are usually reserved to paid commercial editors, but they can all be found in this open-source gem.

2. How to touch up photos in your web browser

Pixenate is a web-based photo editing service that allows users to quickly touch up and fix photos. Just connect your camera and upload your images to the website, where you can then perform common tasks such as red-eye reduction, cropping, or even change colours and contrasts. Although it lacks more advanced toolsets, Pixenate shines in terms of user friendliness and ease-of-use.

3. How to do fast, one-click photo-enhancing tasks

Picasa is a user-friendly program that can visually sort the photos in your computer into easily manageable categories. Also, less technical users will be relieved to know that there are plenty of one-click photo enhancing solutions such as red-eye reduction, cropping and auto-adjustments.

4. How to do heavy image editing in your web browser

Splashup is an online web-based image editing tool that allows users to edit multiple images simultaneously. It also supports advanced features such as layers, paths and more. Just think of it as a mini Photoshop on the web, perfect for road warriors on the go who do not have constant access to installed apps.

5. How to edit, combine, view, or animate images

Photoscape is a free imaging suite comprising an editor, batch editor, animator and combiner. Users can do screen capture, combine photos into mosaics, make animated gifs, and convert RAW files under this one handy all-in-one software.

6. How to do intermediate photo-enhancing

Photofiltre is an image editing program that falls somewhere in the mid point of amateur and professional editors. On one hand, it has all the one-click features such as brightness, contrast, and sepia effects. On the other, it features extensive batch support, color replacement and gamma correction.

7. How to manipulate images with layers

Paint.NET is like the big brother of our good ol’ Microsoft Paint. On top of the usual fare of brushes and coloring tools, it also features extensive layer support, where users can do some really high-level image manipulation not unlike those achievable using expensive commercial software.

Do you edit your photos?  Tell us in the comments!

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A lot of fresh foods do not come with expiration dates.  Even packed foods with expiration dates have different shelf lives once opened and kept in the fridge.  So what’s the best way to track how long food should be kept around to eat? 

Try going to StillTasty and you’ll find all your answers there.  StillTasty is a free service which lets you drill down to different food types like meat, vegetables, and dairy and check out how long they can really last, as well as plenty of tips on how to keep food fresh.

It even breaks down expiration times by storage methods so you know how long food can last in a refrigerator or freezer.  Fried beef for example, would last 3-4 days in proper refrigeration :) 

What are some of your favorite food sites?  Tell us in the comments!

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In Transition…

The computer desktop is an integral part of our workspace, much like its real-world counterpart. The state of a desktop not only affects work productivity, but also the psychology of its user. A clean, organized space with easy-to-reach and accessible elements in place is a good way to kick off a day of work. Here are some tips on how to do that.

1. How to easily reach frequently used programs

Rocketdock is a functional yet resource-light piece of software for you to arrange frequently-used items in an easily-reachable dock on any corner of your desktop. You can choose to launch any of these apps from a cool, sliding interface a-la Mac OS. The dock also makes it easy to recognize and pinpoint difficult icons.

2. How to post sticky notes on your desktop

Stickies is a simple tool that allows you to post nifty little notes on your desktop. They can be about anything – reminders, to-dos, motivational words and more. Just type in the text and it will remain on your desktop until it is removed – just like those good ol’ Post-it notes!

3. How to easily categorize your desktop icons

Creating color-coded images as wallpapers is easy even with Windows’ built-in Paint. Just split the wallpaper into a number of equal areas, and color them differently. When set as the wallpaper, just drag related icons into the color boxes, and these colors will act as categorizers – truly a fuss-free way to visually group desktop icons.

4. How to turn your desktop into a multi purpose tool

Google Desktop is a desktop utility that gives you access to news, weather, RSS feeds and other functions through its sidebar gadgets. Although similar to the Windows Vista Sidebar, Google’s has been redesigned for better security and blending onto the desktop.

5. How to minimize programs to the system tray

Tray-it is a powerful little tool that enables you to minimize any applications to the system tray instead of the taskbar. One good way to multitask with this tool is to minimize programs with less priority to the system tray, thus freeing up space in the taskbar for more important apps.

Do you organize your desktop?  Tell us in the comments!

This guest post was written by Chan Huey Hoong.  If you want to guest post for this blog, drop me a line!

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Whether you’re a designer who wants to experiment, or a client who wants to prepare a brief, or someone who just wants to show off a really cool idea, preparing a mockup goes a long way in helping people visualize ideas.  You get to improve visibility so people know what you’re talking about, get to agreement quickly, and cut down on spec writing time.

Balsamiq is an incredibly user-friendly tool which helps create mockups very quickly.  All you need to do is drag and drop various elements onto the canvas and you are able to build a user interface layout in a flash.  Check out this video for a demo on how to create an iTunes-like interface in 2 minutes 14 seconds:

Speed is Balsamiq’s main selling point here.  You’re not going to get shiny beautiful mockups which look almost like your finished product.  In fact, the graphics are intentionally designed to look like pencil sketches to give it an authentic ‘drawn-on-the-back-of-a-napkin’ feel to the sketches.  What you do get is raw ideas quickly translated into visuals at a frighteningly quick pace.  Speaking from personal experience, Balsamiq was simply a joy to use

Balsamiq comes in two flavors, a free one which you can try, and a registered version (USD 79.95) which has key features like exporting your mockups to image files, and loading multiple mockups.

FREE Giveaway: registered copy of Balsamiq woth USD 79.95

This month we’re giving away one free registered copy of Balsamiq to a lucky reader!  To be in the running to win this prize, all you have to do is:

Just follow me on Twitter & drop me a message @friedbeef, saying you want a free copy of Balsamiq.  That’s it!

Winners will be chosen at random and will be announced in a couple of weeks… You could be the lucky winner!

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