Tim Matheson's Productivity blog

Tim Matheson's Productivity blog

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
And now a little dip into the online world of free-speech and self-expression. I found this little gem while looking at what other Medium users were surfing.
Now it is not really clear how often Tim posts to this blog - rolling down the entries on the opening page it seems to be random, perhaps only when he finds something he deems post-worthy.
But whether it averages out as once, twice or even three times a month, there's a massive archive of brilliant posts that will have you immersed in Tim's world for hours.
His posts are mainly centred around improving productivity. Thoughts and links to stuff he has found on the web - my suspicion from the vast collection of links here is that Tim Matheson probably spends too much time surfing the web to be considered productive himself.
Check out the How To section for some pretty neat examples of the stuff that he finds - like how to make a virtual reality headset using a Wii and some safety goggles - or how to make a hollow book to hide your valuables.

Best of youtube

Bestofyoutube.com
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Now, a vlog, vidlog or video blog that I wanted to share with you. Whatever you choose to call it, the video podcast is a growing attraction on the World Wide Web - and what better to blog video-style than the king of online clips, YouTube.
Bestofyoutube.com is a simple site with simple intentions - select the best of the You Tube posts and deliver one each week to its audience. You can sign-up for free and have the podcast fed direct to your desktop or even your iPod. I found signing-up through iTunes the easiest option.
You can also surf the previous episodes on the website. So shut the office door, plug in your headphones and try and keep a poker face, as some of these videos had me literally laughing out loud.

PicLens

PicLens

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With the web being such a visual medium aesthetics are important and the terribly thoughtful people at Cooliris have given us a totally new way to look at images, on a 3D wall no less.
Head on over to PicLens and hit the download button. If you want to find out more there is a very nice multimedia presentation under the Tutorials button, but trust me, download it ... it rocks.
Once the plug-in is installed - and you will need to tell your browser to allow editing by the site again - you can go to any site that supports the plug-in and view all the images on a 3D wall in a dedicated full screen environment.
Sites that support the plug-in are places like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Deviant Art and Google image search - so there is no end of relevance to this app.
Pop along to Google to familiarise yourself with its remarkably simple operation. Search a term - pick something image rich, like galaxies or cute kittens, whatever takes your fancy - and when the search is returned, click the special PicLens arrow in an image.
You can now use the slide bar at the bottom to zoom along the wall. Click an image to zoom in and use the slideshow controls if you just want to sit back and enjoy.
You can link back to the originating page of the highlighted image by clicking the link in the top left hand corner of the screen.

Me.Dium

https://me.dium.com/
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.
Surfing the web can be a solitary pursuit. Sure you have Messenger and e-mails popping up from friends, but it is not quite like hanging out, sharing a joke with a mate about something you have seen ... or is it?
For an increasing number of people that is exactly what surfing the web is about. I am hooked on Me.Diam - that is Medium to its friends - and if you are the sociable type, I think you will be too.
Click the three dots in the centre of the screen to learn more.
There are three panels of reasons to use this software, each of which invite you to sign-up and download at the end - rather annoyingly you have to use the back button if you want to read all three before taking the plunge.
That said, I was sold on the idea pretty quickly, so signed-up and then downloaded the plug-in.
You will need to tell your browser the Medium site may edit your settings, but the website even steps you through that before the download.
After restarting your browser the plug-in will display a people map in the sidebar - just use the view menu to switch that back to history or bookmarks if you want to.
There is so much you can do with this panel. If you invite friends to the network you can see when they are online, what pages they are surfing, and you can even jump onto the same page and send them a chat message about it.
You can also make friends with new people by making your presence public.

WooMe

WooMe

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Speed dating is all the rage these days - where you literally spend five minutes chatting to lots of different people to see if you make a connection.

And now this billion dollar dating phenomenon has invaded the web and you will find it at WooMe.

The idea of this site is to meet five people in five minutes. You will need a webcam and working microphone to take part.

Registration is simple and free, and the usual "dating site" profile options are there for you to complete.

But the real fun starts when you sign up to a session. Click the Sessions tab at the top to see what is on offer and if you do not like the look of any of them why not start your own session.

Before signing up to a session you can use the big green button on the left to check your equipment is up to scratch.

Then you just have to sit there and sparkle with charm as the site's software takes care of the rest.

WooMe is still in beta testing and is completely free for you to hook up with anyone else on the site.

But if you decide you have been "woo'd", you will be asked to pay $1 (£0.50) to get each other's contact information.

ThinkFree

ThinkFree

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Ever found yourself out and about on business and you need to make a change to that Microsoft Word document or spreadsheet?

Or had to make a last-minute tweak to the sales presentation and horror of horrors you realise that you have incompatible software.

Well now you can word process on the move through an internet browser. No fuss, no frills, and no file format issues.

The website is called ThinkFree. You will need to register, then you can choose to upload any documents you want to be able to work with.

You get 1GB of free space which should be plenty for day to day use. There is a premium service that provides much more storage space and cool drive syncing features, but you do not need to sign up for this to take advantage of the basic features.

Once you load a document you can choose to open and edit it, either using Quick Edit with limited options, or the more complicated Power Edit with many of the features you see on your desktop word processor.

The site's software is compatible with most basic MS Office features so you should have no problem making changes to existing documents or you can choose to create a new document from scratch and have it available for you to edit wherever you happen to log on to the net.

One feature I particularly like is the ability to share your document over the web which allows others to work on the page.

dr.dog

BT Podshow

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

We have spoken a lot about podcasts and videopodcasts on this show, and why not?

The web is rammed full of amazing content on virtually any subject you can think of, but often finding something decent to watch can be like swimming through treacle.

If you find that is the case then you need to swim on over to BT Podshow, a portal and delivery site that allows you to create your own tailor-made channels full of your favourite shows, all wrapped up in a fast-loading and highly accessible interface.

You will need to register with a few personal details to get going, then you are invited to personalise your space with pictures and information about yourself. This is more important if you are going to be broadcasting your own podcasts. For those of you who just want to watch, you can click the Skip button until you get to the section where you build your own channels.

Click My Collection at the top to access your page of channels. You can browse through the sites content and when you see a show you like, click on it to add it to your channel.

You can even add shows that are not listed on the site by clicking the Add Show link and then entering the location it can be downloaded from.

buddy mapping

Buddymapping

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

With the growing popularity of social networking sites and online gaming communities, people's circles of friends can often extend across the continents.

Buddymapping helps you keep tabs on your virtual contacts.

Using the architecture of Google maps this site allows you to create your own personalised maps and then invite friends and contacts to pin themselves to their location, adding a picture, e-mail or web address and even a link to their MySpace or Facebook pages.

Just register using your e-mail address and password to begin, then give your map a title and description and a dedicated URL extension that makes sense.

Once done you can e-mail this URL to others in your community, or link to it from a forum or website.

Participants only need to click the orange button to add themselves to the map, no registration is needed, and you will begin to build up a picture of where you all sit in the world.

Bee Dogs

Bee Dogs

I know you have come to expect a certain level of quality here on Webscape: sites of a particular coolness, applications you can put to use on a daily basis, stuff you absolutely, positively, definitely, cannot live without.

And that is why you NEED to know about Bee Dogs.

Bee Dogs bills itself as the premier online repository for pictures of dogs in bee costumes.

And I have to say, I'd be hard pushed to disagree.

It contains photos of dogs in bee costumes. That's right - dogs in bee costumes. Photos - lots of photos - of dogs wearing bee costumes.

Browse the galleries, upload your own, or even adopt a Bee Dog, if you really, really want to.

Proof that you will find anything and everything on the web if you look hard enough. Including Bee Dogs - dedicated to dogs - wearing bee costumes.

Recipe Matcher

Recipe Matcher

Do you ever come home after a long day of work, look in the fridge but cannot think of anything to cook with the stuff that is in there.

If the answer is yes, you might find this site very useful.

Recipe Matcher is pretty easy to use. You type in what is in your pantry in the green box, then choose from the drop-down menu what kind of cuisine you want to cook.

Click "Show Me What I Can Make", it will then generate recipes you can cook with the ingredients that are in your fridge.

On the right-hand side it indicates the amount of ingredients you have - and on the left what you will still need to buy.

You can do the same with drinks and impress your guests with a cocktail.

You do not have to register to use the site but that does mean you have to type in what is in your pantry every time you use it.

If you choose to register and log in, the site gives you the option of saving your pantry and creating an electronic grocery list.

You can also save your favourite recipes as well as submitting your own.

Lego Factory

Lego Factory

To kick off with, here is an application by Lego. If like me you have spent a lot of time building things from colourful bricks as a child, you will probably enjoy this app as much as I do.

You can find the link to download Lego Digital designer at http://factory.lego.com/

After a quick installation you are ready to build your very own creations. And best of all, you do not have to register unless you want to participate in the lego community and upload your creations for other users to see.

Start the application and you can choose between building one of the starter models or choose "free build" to create your own models from scratch.

If you go with the starter model you will get a selection of half-built lego creations which you can finish off. And if you need the how-to instructions, click on the building guide mode - top left, third button - and it will give you the option to watch the item being built or alternatively you can generate a step-by-step building guide which you can then print out.

If you want, you can also import other people's models into the designer.

For that you need to click on the gallery tab on the website, then click on the creation you like and then click to download.

This will prompt you to save an lxf file. Once saved, go back in to designer and import the file whilst in build mode.

And if you get bored of virtual building and would like to be able to get your hands on the real thing, then you can also order the necessary bricks for your creation and Lego will package it up for you.

But still, there is plenty to get on with, without spending a penny.

Open Clip Art Library

Open Clip Art Library

So if you need a fun or flashy bit of graphics to liven up an e-mail or document a visit to the Open Clip Art Library might reap rewards.

As the name suggests this site contains 10,000 images, which are copyright free and available free for download.

You will need to sign-in to use the site, but once you have, the libraries are easy to browse by either using the search option or simply browsing the available clip art.

And if you are a graphics maestro there is also the option to add your own "works of clip-art" to the library.

Just head over to the public domain section and submit your masterpiece to the library.

If there is a particular piece of clip art you would like to see and you lack the requisite skill to make it yourself, click on the requests section and appeal to the clip art community to knock up the image you are af

Videora iPod Converter

Videora iPod Converter

Apple's iPod is perhaps the most successful MP3 on the market, but with the help of some free applications, you can unlock the full potential of Apple's neat little box.

The latest generation of video iPods will allow the user to purchase and watch TV shows and movies from the iTunes store, but what about converting video files from your computer which are saved in formats that iPods do not support.

Take a trip over to Videora. This utility will only work for Windows users. Just download the Videora iPod converter 2.5 and once installed you are confronted with a simple interface.

This allows the user to convert any video file into an iPod friendly format.

Just click on the straightforward wizard and follow the step-by-step instructions for file conversion.

The utility will also auto resize video to the best possible resolution and aspect ratio for use with video iPods. A cool little app, which lets you take all of your video with you on the move.

Love Earth

Love Earth

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

We can sometimes forget the wonders planet Earth has to offer. Lovearth.com should help us remember what an incredible planet we inhabit.

Originally designed to coincide with the BBC film Earth, this site has grown into a resource of its own.

As you would expect with a natural history site, there are tons of gorgeous wildlife images and video from across the globe, including shots of animals on land and beneath the waves.

For more insight into how these images were created for the original film there is a really detailed blog from the film makers.

And if you want to find out about any of the wildlife featured there are enough articles and images to keep any budding David Attenboroughs happy for months.

The real gem in this site though is the animal tracking section. This follows the movements of tagged elephants, whales and polar bears. The data is linked to Google Maps so you can see the kind of terrain or where in the world these animals are.

A great site and a must for wildlife enthusiasts everywhere

BP carbon footprint calculator

BP carbon footprint calculator

The issue of climate change has been growing for a number of years now and you will certainly find quite a bit about it online.

The current buzz phrase is "carbon footprint" - your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gasses you and your lifestyle produce in a year.

And if you have been wondering just exactly how much that is, you can work it out on the web.

There are many carbon footprint calculators around, and to be honest I think they are all far too simplistic to give you an accurate reading. I have certainly got many different results.

But being aware is one step and this calculator on the BP website has caught my eye.

It is a flash-based site with little pictures which illustrate your lifestyle as you enter details about it.

Your country, type of accommodation and the number living there are all important, so you enter them first.

Then as you continue to tell the calculator all about your home, your lifestyle, and how energy conscious you are, you can see the graphs at the top of the screen begin to grow.

I found myself almost not wanting to look as I entered my details.

But it was when I started detailing my travel for the past year that things really started to get embarrassing - you can see just how much CO2 the various methods of transport generate.

At the end of the process, you are given your carbon footprint - the number of tonnes of CO2 you generate in a year.

You are also told how you compare to your country's average.

Click "What you can do" and "Quiz" on the left of the site and you will find suggestions on ways you can cut down your CO2 emissions.

As I say, there is loads of carbon footprint info all over the web - read, digest, calculate and then of course it's up to you to decide what to do about it.

Le Gourmet TV

Le Gourmet TV

Now, how do you fancy salmon barbecue with tropical salsa? Flemish stew? How about a vegan barbecue? That is a barbecue with no animal products; you do not actually barbecue a vegan ...

Meet Le Gourmet TV - a broadband TV channel that should add a recipe or two to your repertoire.

In my opinion this is what video on demand was made for. Click across the tabs on the right until you find a topic you are interested in and you can then watch a well-presented video on anything from finding the perfect steak to choosing the best knives.

And of course, there is the cooking itself. The presenters seem to know what they are talking about and the whole thing looks as if it has been filmed by amateur cameramen, but amateur cameramen who know what they are doing - a bit like Click, I suppose.

The top part of the site looks good - the menu animation is nice and smooth - you can see it has been designed in the age of Vista.

Underneath the main video and menu, there is a rather messy paragraph on each of the presenters, along with information about the broadband gourmet network - although at the moment this seems to be the only site.

Although the list of recipes is not enormous, it is growing every week. And I have to say I would have expected the recipe to be listed in text form alongside the video - as it is you have to click on a link which opens a second browser containing the recipe.

But all in all it is a polished site that could become quite successful if they can keep the videos coming.

PortableApps

PortableApps.com

If you are like me, you will have loads of applications installed on your computer. I have got OpenOffice, Firefox and a few cute little games.

And you know, when I use someone else's computer or one in the Click office - it really annoys me that they do not all have my favourite apps installed on them.

Well I now have a brilliant way of taking them all with me.

It is called PortableApps and it is basically a suite of free programs which, instead of installing to your computer's hard drive, you install to a portable drive - maybe a USB key ring or other portable storage device.

Then whenever you plug your portable drive into a computer you can run your apps.

It appears as an extremely well presented menu that is accessed from your deskbar and as standard comes with portable versions of programs like OpenOffice and Firefox.

Clicking on one of these will install and run it from your portable drive - no need to install it on the computer itself.

What is also brilliant is that you can download loads more applications from the parent site - anything from games, to magnifying glasses, to photo editing software.

The lite version of the suite is 30MB, the standard version is a heftier 89.5MB - but even that should easily fit on a USB memory stick. And then you just keep adding and adding free software, and take it, and your documents wherever you like

world wide telescope

http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/ We open today with a trip to the heavens, courtesy of Microsoft. This is by no means the only universe explorer on the web - we've shown lots of these in Webscape over the years - but I love the way this application works and there are some really nice guided tours as well. You'll need to download the 20mb application to start and then launch the telescope package from your desktop. This interactive application puts a planetarium on your home PC, with a telescope you control as you zoom around the skies exploring famous landmarks such as the Eagle Nebula (collections/chandra telescope), the Antenna Galaxies (collections/hubble images), and a little closer to home Mars, Jupiter and Saturn (collections/solar system). Use the thumbnails across the top to move between collections. Clicking a thumbnail will make your personal telescope zoom through the skies to reach its destination. You can control the image further using the mouse scroll wheel to zoom in and out, while double clicking a location moves that to the centre of your screen. Go into the View menu and you can change the location of the telescope you're viewing the sky from, and even set the date in the past or the future! There's lots more you can do to customize your viewing experience but I'll let you discover that on your own. When you're done exploring you can sit back and take a guided tour, accessed through the menu at the top. Some are better than others, with music and voice rather than just text, and some are very complicated. But the content is generally fascinating and will cater to astronomy fans of all ages. It's a big big Universe out there - be careful you don't get lost.

poll the people

www.pollthepeople.com The 'net is full of people with opinions. Far from being a passive viewing experience it's now possible to add reviews and points of view to many of the websites you stumble across. The idea of Poll The People is to discover people's top five recommendations in a growing number of polls. Reading it can be a really useful tool in helping you decide what movies to watch or which album to buy. Click a link to a category in the middle bar and then choose the poll you want from the menu on the left. Once inside a poll you can click the links to find out more about the article mentioned - including user comments that work a lot like mini-reviews to give you more inside information. I like the celebrity top fives, where they have asked certain well known people to give their own opinion. If you want to take part and add your own thoughts you'll need to register by clicking the SIGN UP link. As well as being able to add your own top fives you can now take advantage of the site's social networking elements and make connections with people who have the same kinds of opinion as you do.

Searchme

beta.searchme.com This is a search engine with a difference. As you type in words to search, the engine will auto complete various subjects you might be interested in and give you some click throughs below. Click on a section which is relevant and another page opens allowing you to preview the pages you are thinking of surfing. Click the pages on the right to scroll forwards through the links, and when you've found a page that suits your taste just click it in the main screen. Simple, brilliant and really quite useful. You can't ask for more than that in a website.

ineyewear.com

.ineyewear.com Finally, a fun little widget that will help you decide what sunglasses to buy. You can actually buy sunglasses from this site, but you don't even have to register to start trying on specs from their extensive range of designer styles to see how they'll look on your face. Click the Revolutioneyes logo on the left to begin, then upload a picture from your hard drive. The maximum size it can be is 300KB, and you need a good picture of you facing forwards for the best results. The image will be stored on the site's memory for 10 days, or until you clear out your 'net cookies. Next click the uploaded photo and resize it to fit in the dressing room window using the slider on the left. Next step, use the buttons below the sliders to select a brand and then style. Once the glasses are in place use the slider and dial to fine tune the size and rotation to see how you'll look in a nice pair of Ray Bans, or Fendis, or even some Oakley ski goggles

Street Sign Generator

Street Sign Generator The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Finally, another cool little tool that might give you a few minutes pleasure and something funky to put on your desktop.
Street Sign Generator is so simple to use it is almost too simple.
You just choose a design from the limited selection by clicking the spot under the one you like.
Scroll down to enter the text you want displayed, then use the dropdown arrow to add a suffix, such as Bluff, or Corner, or even a website extension, allowing you to put the domain name of your website in as the street name.
Now click to create your street sign. Easy peasy.
You can right click the image to save it for later use, and then use the link below to start another if you want. My only complaint would be the lack of different signs, but you cannot have everything.

TheBroth: The Global Mosaic

TheBroth: The Global Mosaic The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Next up, a little collaborative fun to while away those last few minutes at the end of your lunch break, at TheBroth: The Global Mosaic.
I love these collaborative projects, though it is fair to say they can be frustrating when there are players involved who are not really entering in to the spirit of the activity.
TheBroth is a mosaic art project, where you have to move little coloured tiles in the playing space to make a picture.
Click Enter Mosaic to access the public room.
There is a title at the top of the screen telling you what the collaborative theme is at the moment, then just click and drag the tiles to create your work.
The best way to play is to add to something someone else is already doing, or you can start your own section of the picture and hope no-one takes your tiles away before you have finished.
If you want a little more control, why not register and create your own room to invite your friends to? Click the link to the public gallery to see how creative some people have been

Take It Apart

Take It Apart The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Are you the type of person who likes to tinker?
Do you love to take your old electronics items and such like, and get inside them to see how they work?
If you are, this next site is a dream come true, just do not pull apart anything you can still make use of, or it could easily turn into a nightmare.
Take It Apart is the ultimate tinkerer's destination.
Dissecting electronic gadgetry, just for fun, is the website's tag line and there is also a disclaimer advising you not to actually do this, on the opening page.
But for some the urge to get out their screwdriver is just too strong, and those people will find plenty on these pages to relate to.
Scroll down the opening page for a list of categories on the left, from music to gaming devices and all sorts of other bits and bobs.
Most sections contain step-by-step text and picture guides to the disassembly process, but occasionally you will find a video too, like the one for the PlayStation2.
My favourite was their dissection of a hard-drive, not recommended if you are squeamish about surgery on disks

Youmint/Free sms

www.youmint.com/network-akki28

YouMint is a unique social utility that lets you send Free SMS in India and download Free Mobile content!
YouMint pays you to invite friends and to receive SMS promos! It might just pay your Mobile bill

Windows Directory Statistics

Windows Directory Statistics
www.sourceforge.net/projects/windirstat
Another download now, and a useful hard disk analyser that speaks volumes with visuals. It’s called Windows Directory Statistics. After download and installation you’re presented with a fairly basic interface. Specify the drives or folders you want to analyse and then go make a cup of tea or something while the software does its thing. They say pictures can speak a thousand words, and I guess in the case of the visual map you get here, they’d be right about that. Knowing the size of a folder and all its sub folders can be really useful when it comes to spring cleaning your data to make a bit more room. It’s a function that even the latest versions of Windows doesn’t perform. -

Mozy

Mozy www.mozy.com Computers have become an essential part of our daily lives; the information we keep on them is valuable, sentimental and often vital. So what happens if you lose your computer in a fire or theft? As scary as it is to think about, disasters do happen and you have two choices in life: bury your head in the sand and hope it doesn’t happen to you, or back up, buddy. The safest option is to store your data off-site, and Mozy offers that very service, all wrapped in a user-friendly interface. Mozy does provide a paid-for service for both home and professional users, and if you have a lot to back up it’s worth considering the fairly inexpensive monthly fee. But you can store up to 2gig completely free if you’re a home user. Click the MozyHome tab at the top to find the free sign up button. There’s a few personal details to fill in, and the final registration page offers you more free space for referrals, which is a nice touch. After confirming your email address you get a link to download the backup software. Next step, install and then go through the configuration wizard, which will bring you to a page where you can select the backup sets you want - such as email & contacts, financial information and photos and images, even your browser bookmarks. If you’re on the free account the capacity bar at the bottom will tell you when you’re over the limit. The next dialogue tests the speed of your connection and then you’re told how long the back up will take to complete. Be warned it will likely be a long time for the first backup, but will be a lot quicker after that. Finally, make your choice about when you want the backup to start then click Finish.

Weebly

Weebly www.weebly.com
It seems like every man and his dog wants a website these days, but making something that looks good and functions well isn’t as easy as it sounds. I can’t promise your dog will be able to use our first site this week, but for any humans out there who need help designing a website, Weebly is a must. The first thing that strikes me about this site is the simple and accessible design, which is good news as this ethos will be applied to your site too, making it a much more pleasurable surf. Registration is painless and speedy, then you jump straight in and name your website. This brings you to the build interface. Check out the tabs across the top first to familiarise yourself with the tasks ahead, and notice the sub-menus that appear on the left as you switch between tabs. Everything about this site is drag and drop, so it’s very simple to use and the number of options is startling. Begin with an overall design. Just hover your mouse over the thumbnails to see a preview. The pictures included there are placeholders which you can change for your own images, but make sure you have a picture with the right dimensions if you want it displayed correctly. You can now begin to add new elements, including text, pictures and even video by linking to a YouTube or Google video file. Clicking the link to More will also let you add elements like Google maps and RSS feeds. Use the Pages tab to add additional pages and even a blog. Once you’re happy, click to publish and you’re presented with a URL where people can view your site. There’s even a link to create your own domain name, but bear in mind you’ll have to pay for that if you want it.

Animoto

animoto.com
Picture sharing sites are all the rage, but don't you wish you could add a little more pizzazz to your album distribution? How about adding a banging rock tune and having the pictures animate on and off in a video you can post on YouTube? But that would be far too much work, right? Wrong.
Click Get Started to begin using this brilliant site. You'll need to register to make either a 30 second short, which is completely free, or full length film, which you have to pay for!
Next, choose to upload pics from either your computer or a photosharing site. 15 shots is ideal for a 30 sec short. Uploading them might take a few minutes, depending on your connection speed and how many pictures you have chosen at what resolution.
Once done, use the buttons at the bottom to rotate, spotlight or add more pics from another location.
Then add a banging tune. Click the Music tab at the side and choose either from their selection or a track off your own computer. Now you are almost done. The next screen asks you to enter a name and some details about your video, then just click Create Video and wait while the website does the fancy bit.
You can start working on your next video while you wait, then click My Videos at the top to review your work. After playing the video you can choose to do a remix, altering the pics and the music. A link to view it will also be mailed to you.
Finally, use the buttons at the bottom to distribute your film - either straight to YouTube, emailing to friends. Later on in the beta phase they will be adding the option to download to your iPod.

secondcherry

www.secondcherry.com

I thought I'd take a dive into the world of blogs with a little gem I found aimed at women in their forties. There's a line in the 'About Me' blurb which pretty much sums up the attitude here: 'Looking in the mirror may be getting increasingly difficult, but just consider the alternative'.

The blog is written by an English journalist living in France, and I love her up front and honest zest for life and all the mundane hurdles it throws in her path. The content is definitely geared right for the woman in her forties, tackling such thorny issues as growing old ungracefully, the pros and cons of plastic surgery and uplifting underwear!

Simple in layout and with just a spattering of pictures, it's much more of a read than a glossy visual experience. But well worth the read if you consider yourself to be an over forties babe.

youniverse

youniverse.com

The modern world is incredibly visual, and in a visual rich environment like the 'net it kind of makes sense that there is a company offering a social networking portal based on the way you react to images.

To start, take the picture quiz to determine your visual DNA and enter some personal details about yourself. The next page displays your profile. The pictures you chose in relation to the prompts apparently tells this website about certain aspect of your personality.

I found it to be reasonably accurate, but I guess the descriptions are vague enough to apply to many people. Flip through the sections using the tags on the side of the scrapbook, and scroll down the page below each section to see how your answers compared to the most popular.

When you feel ready to register just click the button at the top of the screen. I like the functionality of this site - it will store all of the details you have entered so far through the registration.

You can now customize your profile, add a picture, take additional quizzes and start building up a network on contacts by investigating the people who match your visual DNA in the panel on the right.

Moshi Monsters

www.moshimonsters.com

Remember that Tamagochi craze a few years back, when kids when nuts for those electronic pet simulators that you had to feed, tickle and play with in order to keep them happy? Something similar has arrived on the web, but it's a whole lot more fun.

The best place to start on this bright and zany looking website is the tour video. It's nicely made for the target audience and will tell both you and your small ones what to expect. In a nutshell, you are asked to adopt a pet monster. There are a number of styles, and you can customise by colour and then give a name during the registration process.

After activating the account you child can log in and start playing right away. You get a room, which you can customize by spending your 'rox', displayed at the bottom left of screen, in the shops. The higher level your pet is, the more items are opened up to you.

Earning rox is fun and easy - just head into the gaming sections of Monstro City, or take the daily brainbuster quiz at home. You'll also need to feed your pet monster - there is food in the inventory - and tickle him to keep him happy. Click the Help link and then go to the How To Play tab for a full run through.

Also at the top you can click the Community link, where users can have a peek inside some of the best decorated rooms and begin building up their friendship tree by leaving notes for each other on the in-room notice boards.

A lively, colourful and nicely designed website this, and ideal for keeping the young ones entertained on a rainy afternoon.

Jooce

Jooce.com
www.jooce.comAccording to Jooce.com, 500 million people access the 'net from cybercafés each day. If you happen to be one of those people, or you just want a consistent experience when browsing the web from multiple locations, consider this place.
The idea of this site is it brings the functionality of your personal computer at home to any computer you might happen to sit down at, even if you don't actually have a machine at home. You'll be able to access files, email, instant messaging, storage and lots of other applications.
The first step is to register and reserve your own private space on their servers. Next up, enter your instant messenger account details and click the green arrow to confirm. Be warned, when you want to talk to a contact Jooce will send them a message inviting them to sign up every time you text them through their ordinary IM client.
Next click the Forward arrow to run through all the options and set up your desktop how you want. There's a useful Tips run through when you first start up, teaching you everything you can do with Jooce.
As well as being able to use this virtual desktop in exactly the same way as a normal desktop - storing files, making folders and chatting to your friends - there is also a public desktop, known as a Joocetop, accessible through the green desktop icon at the bottom.
Here you can allow friends to access and share files you have placed on it. It works in exactly the same way as the regular desktop, but through your Jooce instant messenger client contacts can open up your Joocetop, and vice versa, making sharing files and information a breeze.
As well as being a really useful tool, I love the way the interface looks and works. Though if you're stuck using an older machine on a low bandwidth connection, you might find it all the animations make it slow to load.