Thursday 31 December 2009

Fly.com

This snappily-named flight-comparison service finds you the best deals on air travel with a single click.

www.fly.com claims to search every airline and a range of online travel agents to find the cheapest economy and premium fares, and then lets you refine the results to suit your requirements. You can use sliders to specify your desired take-off and landing times and trip duration, select alternative airports that may cost less to fly from, and view available flights in three different formats: summary, list and matrix.

This customisable approach is far preferable to scrolling through pages of results while the site's minimalist layout is a pleasure to use.

Wednesday 30 December 2009

StoryVault

This site continues the ancient tradition of oral storytelling via the medium of video.

www.storyvault.com encourages people to record and share their friends' and families' memories of events in their lives, be they of personal or historical significance.

You can already watch interviews with World War II veterans and the last Titanic survivor, and easily upload your own. The smart-looking site also features a family-tree builder and has a strong sense of community, letting you rate and comment on other users' content (unless they mark it as private). StoryVault is a great idea and the execution is superb.

Tuesday 29 December 2009

The BBC Story

Formerly called BBC Heritage, The BBC Story has been launched to provide an immersive online guide to the Beeb in the context of British history since 1922 (when the corporation was founded). Notable features include a scrolling History of Innovation timeline that displays key events by year; a Great Moments section highlighting important anniversaries; and the ability to browse and post photos, videos and recollections in the fascinating Memoryshare area.

There's loads to enjoy here, all presented in the BBC's reliably concise but comprehensive style. Complete with photo galleries, video tours and audio clips, this is nostalgia at its best.

The website address you need is www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc

Monday 28 December 2009

Servicing Stop

Take a look at www.servicingstop.co.uk and Save money and hassle on motor maintenance at this smart site

Getting your car serviced or repaired can prove stressful and expensive, particularly if you're dealing with an unscrupulous garage.

Servicing Stop aims to take the pain out of the process by letting you arrange everything online with one of its 750 garages across the UK.

The site will collect and return your vehicle for free, clean it once the work is done and, for an extra £39, carry out an MOT.

Complemented by a friendly design, Servicing Stop couldn't be simpler to use, from its speedy booking form to the clear pricing information. It even offers reminders for when your next service is due. Save yourself time, hassle and money and get your motor running here.

Sunday 27 December 2009

WORLD'S HEALTHIEST FOODS

There is something slightly disturbing about launching a website to find that the food of the day is proudly announced as cabbage.

What I've found is that it really is incredibly good for you, as explained on this site.

As well as recipes and ideas involving the so-called superfoods - which are said to keep you fit and healthy - you can visit the food adviser for tips on how to improve your intake and work towards living a healthier lifestyle.

The web address you need is http://www.whfoods.org

Saturday 26 December 2009

Whats On (Wozzon)

If you're looking for something to do this evening, this site will tell you ‘wozzon' (what's on) in your area.

www.wozzon.com lets you search for a specific event or performer or browse the extensive entertainment categories. These span everything from film, music and dance to pubs, restaurants and tourist attractions, with WoZZon's simple and spacious layout delivering results in a clear and speedy manner. But this isn't just a plain listings resource; rather it's a community to which you can contribute venue and event information, reviews and ratings.

With an iPhone app and a mobile version also available, you need never hav

Friday 25 December 2009

Christmas Day

Its Christmas again and its about time we had one as its been a good 12 months since we last had one.

Another day at work for me although I will take a little time out to be with my lovely family.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Future Me

Todays website review of the day is about the Future..

www.futureme.org The concept is brilliantly simple - you just write a letter to yourself, add your email address and set a date for delivery and futureme.org will take care of the rest.

Don't forget to make the mail private if you don't want the world to read it - and talking of which, this is a really intriguing way to spend a few minutes.

Click the link to View Public Entries and you can scroll through some of the letters old and new which, although anonymous, have been made public by their authors.

It is a fascinating look at culture and attitudes - seeing what different people think are the important things to tell themselves today, tomorrow. If you get what I mean.

Wednesday 23 December 2009

Knitting help

This packed website, full of tutorials, patterns and advice to get the garments flowing off the tips of your needles can be found at www.knittinghelp.com

From casting on to casting off, and everything that comes in between, these tutorials are clear and unfussy

Navigation is also nice and straight forward, with expanding menu tabs at the top of the page to let you quickly leap between sections.

You will also find plenty of free patterns you can knit, once you have mastered enough of the art of needle waggling to tackle some creations.

Sign up for free membership and you can join in the forum activity too, perhaps sharing some of your own design ideas with this knit-crazy community.

Tuesday 22 December 2009

Chord Book

www.chordbook.com is the site you need if you are learning the guitar, or are a seasoned veteran working on composing your own songs, this website offers several really useful features to help you make the most of your musical talents.

The chords section boasts over 1,000 chords and inversions, and the interactive interface lets you actually strum them so you can get a feel for how it sounds - which could be a real boost if you are writing a catchy love song.

Click the My Chords link and hit save on the guitar to add a chord to your personal selection, which can then be played back in a loop - another useful composing tool.

There is a similar section on guitar scales, which will not only help you to learn but could also provide inspiration for a new style of music. And of course what guitar resource would be complete without a handy little tuner - so you need never play a bum note again.

Monday 21 December 2009

Medtropolis

http://medtropolis.com is a medical website that aims to entertain and inform children and adults alike about the major health issues facing us today.

The content is written with a North American audience in mind - so the statistics and figures will not necessarily be relevant to where you live, and the Healthcare locator certainly will not be.
But there is one feature of this website that I found really interesting and wanted to share with the world - the virtual body.

Split into four key parts this interactive display allows you to tour the human body in several ways. There are stills with information panels, animated models, and even some narrated tours, which will help you reach a fuller understanding of how your body works.

Nice to navigate and clearly illustrated and labelled, this should prove a useful study guide as well.

Sunday 20 December 2009

Bullying UK

The online home of the anti-bullying charity combines a vast amount of content with a smart, modern feel. The address you need is www.bullying.co.uk

Well-organised menus offer easy access to advice for both children and adults on topics ranging from cyberbullying to bullying in sport.

News stories and case studies sit comfortably alongside tips and social-media tools, which let you connect with Bullying UK on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

These compensate for the lack of discussion forums, as do the blog and an interactive help tool called The Oracle.

The site also provides information about the charity's work and lets you donate money to this worthy cause online.

Saturday 19 December 2009

Gig Locator

Take a look at www.giglocator.com and find out when and where your favourite artists are playing at this live-music portal.

GigLocator, a site that keeps you in the loop about upcoming gigs, looks impressively slick on the surface but currently lacks the substance to stand out. The idea is to provide a one-stop shop for live music fans.

You can search by gig, artist, genre or location and buy tickets from third-party links. However, several links we clicked on didn't work, and some sections seem incomplete.

On the plus side, GigLocator has such handy features as letting you add concert dates to your calendar, invite friends, find out who is attending and share details on social-networking sites. But, at the moment, it's not quite music to our ears.

Friday 18 December 2009

Giveamonkey

This site takes the stress out of planning a party or other event by letting you organise everything online.

www.giveamonkey.com covers everything from choosing the perfect venue and sending out invitations to both researching and suggesting gift ideas.

I love the fresh and funky feel of the site, which makes full use of the web - from Google maps and online stores to social networks and bookmarking tools - to ensure your party goes with a bang. You can choose to keep your event details private or share them with the community, and let attendees share photos, videos and comments.

Free and very easy to use, Giveamonkey deserves three big cheers.

Thursday 17 December 2009

Yearbook Yourself

As the end of 2009 approaches why not have a go at at this website www.yearbookyourself.com and see yourself in glorious retro fashions dating back to 1950.

Finding the perfect image to use can be tricky - you may get best results from using the option to take a picture with your webcam if you have one installed.

Your face should be dead straight on to the camera, and have no hair or other obstruction across your face. Once you have an image inserted, tweak the size and position.

Each era can be fine tuned using the controls beneath the picture to get the best overall result, and is accompanied by music from the era and a smattering of information about fashion and trends on the right.

When you find an image you want to share you can post it directly to Facebook, save it to your computer, or use the share link to post it to a URL that you can share with whoever you want.

Wednesday 16 December 2009

Earth TV

Head over to www.earthtv.com/en and take a look.

Earth TV transmits streaming video feeds from 70 cameras across five continents, creating a window for visitors to travel the width and breadth of the world from the comfort of their own homes.

The quality of these feeds is exceptional, and unlike the usual fixed camera viewpoint, Earth TV can motion control each camera to capture the very best of the action.

Each destination feed is complimented with information and fascinating facts, maps and local weather reports - with a relaxing music track running throughout.

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Looking for Property

If so then you need “Gartoo”. Go to www.gartoo.co.uk and get past its awful name and garish colour scheme and Gartoo provides a handy service for home seekers.

This property-search engine lets you hunt for houses and flats for sale or rent using keywords and phrases – for example “large garden in Barrow In Furness” – rather than checkboxes and drop-down menus.

Searches are impressively speedy and results provided in order of relevance, although you can sort them by price and date first advertised.

The site scours all the main property websites and many lesser-known names, including related-search suggestions, a map and a photo in each result, although some entries currently lack images.

Monday 14 December 2009

Savoo

Voucher-code site www.savoo.co.uk has been redesigned to give savvy shoppers even easier access to the latest online deals.

The homepage now features the most popular promotions of the moment, as voted by users, as well as staff picks and recently-added offers.

A tidier layout and improved search facility make finding deals from specific stores and brands much faster, as do keyword tags that show you what other people are looking for.

Sign up for free to receive email alerts about new codes, share deals you’ve found and contribute to Savoo.co.uk’s burgeoning

Sunday 13 December 2009

Watzatsong

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head - going round and round, and you cannot quite put your finger on what it was? Or perhaps you have heard a snippet of something on a website and want to hear more?

www.watzatsong.com as the name suggests is all about putting names and artists to the tunes that are flying around in our heads.

Once registered, just record a snip of the song that has you stumped (whether you choose to sing it yourself or record it from wherever you heard it, the choice is yours) and wait for the suggestions to come rolling in.

Saturday 12 December 2009

What Does The Internet Think?

www.whatdoestheinternetthink.net is a simple concept. You type a search term into the box provided, say the name of a shop, TV programme or car, and choose the search tools you want it to reference.

A full search will be more thorough but will take a good deal longer, then just click to find out what the internet thinks.

The site will look for mentions of the term in either a positive, negative or indifferent light - giving you an approximation of the internet's feelings on the subject.

You will get a percentage breakdown of positive, negative and neutral sentiment.

Friday 11 December 2009

PIXLR

www.pixlr.com is a photo editing tool.

It is similar in functionality to Photoshop Express with all of the basic features you would expect - such as brightness and contrast, hue and saturation, crop and rotate.

This is a lightweight, effective and free application - and the package itself is Flash based so requires no installation. Just open up the website, click the link to begin creating and dive straight in.

When you have finished, simply save your work onto your own computer - no registration is needed.

Thursday 10 December 2009

Putiton

www.putiton.com is a portal where creative people from four disciplines - art, music, fashion and films - can showcase their work and perhaps even sell it.

Registration is free and you get one gigabyte of space to upload your portfolio. Artists can stream audio and video and even make live broadcasts to their fans.

If you are not an artist yourself there is plenty to be gained by visiting these pages. You can browse all the content by category, offering support and enc

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Geeks

www.geeks.co.uk is the website address you need for this site which provides news, reviews and in-depth articles covering everything from gadgets and games to guitars and grub. Thanks to a large team of switched-on contributors, the content is impressively varied and incisive, making effective use of video and Web 2.0 tools. We particularly like the Pleasant Conversations section of the forum, the ‘week in geek’ round-up and the RSS feed of user comments. With its friendly feel and functional design, the site is sure to prove popular with the geekerati - people who are cooler than nerds and cleverer than dorks.

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Compare Download

www.comparedownload.com compares the cost of music across the main digital download stores.
It's such a fantastic idea it’s a wonder that nobody thought of it before.

Simply search for artist, song or album, hit ‘compare prices’ to find the best deal and then click through to make your purchase.

An embedded music player provides a preview of each track, and you can also watch related videos, read customer reviews and get details of upcoming concerts.

CompareDownload.com has a clean, user-friendly interface, organised by genre, and scours big-name music merchants including iTunes, Amazon and 7digital to save you time and money. And if you need to listen something to your cheap tunes on, you can compare the prices of MP3 players, hi-fis and audio docks.

Monday 7 December 2009

Kiss My Bingo

Get your eyes down and pucker up for Kiss My Bingo, which lets you play bingo for money online.
The site has relaunched with a fresh look and further ways to win and waste cash.

The boring brown design of old has been replaced by a bright blue and pink colour scheme, which gives the site a fun, modern feel.

The site now offers a broad choice of bingo games across its chat rooms, with some cards available for as little as 5p each and ‘free’ sessions open to players who have at least £30 in their accounts. Kiss My Bingo offers various incentives to sign up, including a £10 bonus when you deposit your first £10, but it lacks the community feel of some of its rivals.

The website can be found at http://www.kissmybingo.com

Sunday 6 December 2009

Download Buyer

As its name suggests, www.downloadbuyer.com is an online software store with a difference.
Instead of products being sent out by post, everything this site sells is delivered directly to your Desktop. A wide range of programs are available for both PC and Mac, including titles from Avanquest, Magix and ZoneAlarm. Because there are no boxes, postal costs or overheads involved, you can buy most software for around 10 per cent less than the recommended retail price, although Amazon is slightly cheaper. Products are helpfully accompanied by screen shots, reviews and detailed specifications.

Saturday 5 December 2009

Review Centre

Find out what people think of thousands of different products at this consumer-review website.
Take a look at www.reviewcentre.com

After 10 years of amassing consumer opinions, Review Centre was starting to look a bit creaky. Now the popular site has been spruced up and is slicker, quicker and easier to use.

Draped in regal purple and blue, the revamped layout makes finding product and service reviews a doddle, be it through browsing the tidied-up category menus, clicking keyword tags or using the search box. The community aspect of the site is more prominent, with the best member opinions flagged on the homepage, and the presentation of reviews has also been significantly improved. With further features to be added soon, including video reviews, Review Centre deserves a five-star rating.

Friday 4 December 2009

Find a Babysitter

www.findababysitter.com is a site for parents looking for a babysitter, nanny or au pair will find plenty to choose from at this relaunched site.

Findababysitter.com features a ‘geo-coded’ search facility that shows you at a glance how far away each candidate lives from your home.

This is handy for when you need to hire a suitable person in a hurry, while you can also search by qualifications, experience and language.

Findababysitter.com couldn’t be simpler to use and lets you save your searches, as well as providing helpful articles and advice.

The site charges parents £10 per month for unlimited access, but child carers seeking employment can post their details for free.

Happy Birthday to....

ME.... Yep today is my Birthday.

Just another day, working as usual

Thursday 3 December 2009

OMGPOP

www.omgpop.com is flash game site where you can play on your own, wait for other users of the site to join in, or you can click the "invite a friend" link to copy a URL which you can then paste into a forum, twitter, or blog where your friends can jump directly into the game you are hosting.

If you prefer you can join a game in progress rather than hosting one yourself. Registering with the site will give you a little more functionality.

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Kids' Click

The web is a wonderful place for children to explore and learn - but as any net-savvy parent will tell you, there is plenty to be worried about out there as well.

www.kidsclick.org is a site created by librarians that aims to allay our concerns by providing a search engine of content that is suitable for younger surfers.

The site covers more than 600 subjects, from health to sports & the arts.

Instead of using spiders and search bots to sniff out the content like regular search engines, this content is all human-filtered - so you can be sure that the results you get back will be age-appropriate.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Emoze

www.emoze.com is an amazingly easy to use mobile application which allows you to receive and send e-mails and other communication tools on your mobile phone.

Lots of popular email clients are supported, including Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook and Hotmail - but you will have to pay a small premium subscription fee if you want it to work across multiple accounts.
You can add Facebook messages, calendars, tasks and contacts. Once you have all your options set up it is incredibly fast and easy to use.

This is the kind of application that once you start using it, you will wonder how you ever managed without it.

Monday 30 November 2009

World Digital Library

www.wdl.org has a virtual museum of cultural treasures such as manuscripts, maps, rare books, musical scores, recordings, films, prints, photographs, and architectural drawings.

It can be viewed in a variety of languages including Russian, Arabic and Chinese - click on the thumbnails to find details about each piece, videos and articles.

My only gripe is that there is no forward and back button on the details page itself, so use the browser back button to navigate the site.

Sunday 29 November 2009

Big Earth

From the producers of travel show Long Way Down, www.bigearth.co.uk aims to serve as a stop-off point for adventurers.

The site is neatly divided along three fronts: Plan, Share and Discover. Each category is intended to aid travellers on their journeys, offering maps and information about vaccinations, vehicle maintenance and taking photos on the go.

There are also tips and advice from seasoned explorers and a growing community of travellers’ blogs from all corners of the world. If you’re planning something a bit more adventurous than lying on a beach, Big Earth is worth dropping by.

Saturday 28 November 2009

This Is My Joystick

Some gaming websites are too elitist to be enjoyable, but www.thisismyjoystick.com pushes all the right buttons.

It delivers daily news, reviews and in-depth editorials, which are written in an authoritative but friendly manner that conveys real enthusiasm for all things game-related. Particularly good are the podcasts, in which the team discuss the latest releases, reveal what they’re playing and gossip among themselves.

We also like the fact that the Twitter feed and user comments are integral to the site’s sense of community, rather than seeming like an afterthought. With a mobile version to boot, This Is My Joystick has plenty of potential

Friday 27 November 2009

Speedfan

Speedfan is a useful little application that helps you monitor the temperature, voltage and fan speeds inside your PC. Find it at www.almico.com/speedfan.php

This app allows you to manually control the speed of the fans, so you can speed them up or slow them down depending on what you are doing.

Also, you can set your machine to look for events, such as CPU or GPU overheating, and to warn you with a beep or pop-up message.

Take a look at the Articles section for an in-depth overview of the features

Thursday 26 November 2009

Craftbits

www.craftbits.com is a hobbyist's dream, crammed full of great projects, ideas and instructions. Project categories are listed on the left - or you can perform a search if you know what you are looking for.

They all use commonly available materials, and in many cases help you to recycle your old stuff into glorious gifts.

There are plenty of videos to watch if you prefer to be guided, and if you sign up for free membership you can save the projects you like and even submit your own ideas to help contribute to the site's content. It is a pretty popular place to visit with around 13,000 people clicking on these pages every day.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

NetDoctor

This is a site we touched on briefly a while ago but since then it has become a wealth of informastion.

Take a look at www.netdoctor.co.uk and see for yourself that this leading health website has relaunched with a wealth of new information and advice, and an easier to navigate layout.

In addition to the existing content, NetDoctor has introduced a range of helpful features including informative videos, virtual health and wellbeing centres where you can quickly diagnose symptoms, and enhanced chat forums that give you a better chance of finding help with your condition.

The site continues to provide trusted advice from doctors and health practitioners across Europe and its fresh-looking, user-friendly redesign makes all the information more readily accessible. NetDoctor is an invaluable resource for everyone.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Coffee Cavern

www.coffeecavern.co.uk is where connoisseurs will appreciate the distinct aroma of this site, which sells a variety of specialty coffees and loose-leaf teas.

These include blends from Africa and the Caribbean, as well as English favourites such as Earl Grey and Darjeeling. The tasteful brown design is complemented by a simple ordering process that lets you select the grind and weight of your coffee and request a free sample of most teas.

Join the Coffee Club for £9.95 per month to get coffee samples too, along with access to a members’ discussion forum and discounts. And if you want to get more from your beverages, the site also sells a range of syrups.

Monday 23 November 2009

Simonseeks

www.simonseeks.com is a holiday community where travellers share information and advice about their favourite destinations.

This travel-recommendation service provides both expert and user-submitted advice about places all over the world.

Its star attractions are the guides penned by celebrities, such as Cliff Richard waxing about Barbados, and pieces from professional travel writers.

The style and tone of the site is friendly and accessible, and it’s a great source of tips and inspiration, although we’d like to see more photo and video content. Also, Simonseeks pays for the reviews it publishes to give you some cash towards your next holiday.

Sunday 22 November 2009

RUNPEE

Is there ever a good time to run to the bathroom in the middle of a movie?

According to www.runpee.com , there is.

With the latest releases listed on the homepage, if you are heading out to the cinema tonight you can log on here first and check when is a good time to "go".

There is a helpful graphic timeline with pee-spots marked and triggers supplied. There is even an explanation of what you will be missing in the box below, though you need to click "unscramble" to read it as there are obviously spoilers included.

Print out the timeline, or if you want to get really serious about your bathroom habits and you have an iPhone, you can download the app from iTunes for 59p in the UK, though I am not sure that having a pee calculator on your handset is the smartest thing to tell your mates about.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Moillusions

Things are not always what they seem. If that is true of life then it is especially true of the internet and at www.moillusions.com you will find oodles of examples, both classic and contemporary.

The way our brains process information can occasionally be misleading. Mighty Optical Illusions is a blog that lays bare those cunning cognitive confusions that have you blinking at the screen.

There is a breadth and variety of content on the site. We are not just talking about traditional illusions which fool the brain with spirals and squiggles and intersecting lines, there is also a good selection of pictures, images, animations and even audio files from all over the web which will make you go - eh?

There is a links panel with categories for ease of navigation, or you can just cycle through the illusions randomly. There is also a good explanation with all the illusions.

Friday 20 November 2009

TV Cream

After 11 years without a redesign, this television-nostalgia site was looking as dated as the programmes it covers.

Now TV Cream has been completely revamped to make it bigger, brighter and better than ever, with a new web address to boot. As well as browsing the comprehensive index of classic TV shows, you can read the witty blog, watch videos of ancient adverts and chat about Seventies and Eighties culture in the forums.

I particularly like the guide to former Radio 1 DJs and round-up of classic Blue Peter moments.

There are shiny new elements such as RSS feeds, Spotify playlists and user comments, this fantastic celebration of the past has a promising future.

We have reviewed this site before and it was well worth another review. The web address you need is www.tvcream.co.uk . Go check it out

Thursday 19 November 2009

Maps of War

The creators of www.mapsofwar.com are clearly fascinated by how various historical events linked to the act of war are connected. To show these connections they have made a number of flash animation maps.

There are a couple of examples on the opening page, but you can click "maps" to get the full listing. It is really interesting to see the way world events have played out and it only took a couple of minutes. The maps are nicely made and really clear - even for the non-history buff.

As well as having its own selection of maps, if you click the link to the library section you will find links to many other maps of war from all over the web.

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Good Beach Guide

Do the words ‘British seaside’ conjure up images of shingle, sewage and safety concerns, crying kids and dying sealife?

Take a look at www.goodbeachguide.co.uk this site could either confirm or disprove your preconceptions.

It’s been relaunched to deliver the results of a recent survey of UK beaches by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), which it does in the form of a Google map. The 370 beaches recommended by the MCS for excellent water quality are marked with yellow pins; those that didn’t make the grade have red pins.

Each marker is accompanied by a description, photograph and details, such as whether the beach is lifeguard-protected. It’s an excellent idea but the execution is rather dull and there are glaring gaps in many of the entries.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

BidsNBobs.com

If you fancy getting your hands on a Sony PS3 for £25 or an iPod Shuffle for under a tenner, give www.bidsnbobs.com a go.

At this reverse-auction site, the prices of lots go down rather than up. Bids are bought in bundles of 20 to 200, and cost from 25p each.

When you place a bid, the price of the item drops by a penny and another eight seconds is added to the auction time, which could seriously test your patience.

Ilike the site’s streamlined design, simple bidding system and free delivery, but it will need to add more auctions if it wants to compete with similar sites.

Monday 16 November 2009

I stop over

www.istopover.com is for people with a spare room can register on this site to offer accommodation to holiday makers, backpackers or even business travellers.

Lodgers set their rates and availability, and anyone interested can negotiate and make arrangements through the site.

The rental is only released to the hosts after the visit is over, and the site takes a 9% fee for the service.

Sunday 15 November 2009

Counter Measures

This well written blog will keep you updated on the dangers lurking around the internet, including the latest hacks, bugs and potential scams.

www.ountermeasures.trendmicro.eu is written by the CEO of an internet security firm, so it is on the pulse of all the issues we face online.

There is down to earth advice about how to keep your data safe, as well as broad-minded opinion pieces on anything and everything tech.

Saturday 14 November 2009

Wild Mood Swings

Internet users can now surf a multitude of different websites based on the mood they are in. Go to www.wildmoodswings.co.uk and there is an impressive number of moods with each one linking out to one other site.

Just pick a mood from the drop down box and an appropriate website to fit your state of mind will pop up.

There's not much to this site in itself, but whoever made it has really done a good job of hunting out some great content to put behind the moods.

Friday 13 November 2009

Cs4f

www.cs4fn.org was created by Queen Mary University in London to persuaded us that computer science is fun.

Content is king on this site, which likens programming to conjuring magic tricks. There is a really nice downloaded file of a book of tricks you can learn at home.
Plus, the blog-style entries listed by date or topic show you how to turn computer science into a game.

The site reinforces the idea that understanding computers is about understanding people as much as making the maths work.

Thursday 12 November 2009

InStyle

www.instyle.co.uk is the magazine has given its website a makeover, bestowing it with a bolder, fresher look and expanding its content.

Notable new features include a dedicated Hair channel, which keeps you up to date with the latest product news and styles, and lots more videos.

These include beauty how-tos and behind-the-scenes footage of cover shoots and red carpet events. Clothes junkies will be pleased to know the site has kept its ever-popular Shopping section, with 1,000s of items available to browse through with ease.

You’ll also find competitions, fashion tips and celebrity interviews, all of which is now much easier to comb your way through.

Wednesday 11 November 2009

Parentdish UK

www.parentdish.co.uk delivers a healthy dose of news, advice and opinions for mums and dads, covering such diverse topics as the best time to conceive, how to dress your baby and making kids earn their pocket money.

A busy, blog-like layout packs in a wealth of content and cleverly uses a baby-blue-and-pink colour scheme.

While it’s a shame that many of the articles and galleries have to be tied to celebrities, a glance at the list of most-popular posts suggests that’s exactly what people want.

Tuesday 10 November 2009

National Gallery

Squinting at JPEGs has never been the best way to appreciate works of art, but we're impressed with the National Gallery's online home.

|At www.nationalgallery.org.uk You can browse the gallery’s entire collection of more than 2,300 paintings in high definition, using the full-screen zoom facility to examine fine details and brushstrokes. An interactive floor plan and events calendar let you plan a visit in advance, while a selection of 30 must-see paintings highlights such masterpieces as Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Despite the addition of reams and audio and video content, including a monthly podcast, the site remains impressively quick and easy to navigate, and there’s even an iPhone app to give you a culture fix on the move. Sterling stuff.

Monday 9 November 2009

Detouch

The media is often criticised for presenting a distorted view of society with fashion magazines and Sunday supplements crammed with images of impossibly beautiful people.
But they are not as perfect as they look.

www.DeTouch.org lays bare the tricks and chets used in photographic publishing, showing you what those picture perfect models looked like before the touch-up artist got involved.
Drawing from a number of online sources where before and after photographs are displayed, this site uses an open source tool called Processing to compare the images pixel by pixel and generate visualizations of the alterations.

Waists are sucked in, chests pumped out. Lines and shadows smoothed and removed.

There is even one lady who has had an eye shifted up - all in the pursuit of creating the illusive perfect beauty.

Sunday 8 November 2009

Cyber Mentors

The Internet can be a worrying place for children, especially when you hear stories about online bullying.

www.cybermentors.org.uk is a UK charity and a community where children can get support and advice from other children, as well as trained professionals - whether they are experiencing problems online or out in the physical world.

The young volunteers who make up the cyber mentor fellowship have all been trained by the charity to be children's first port of call if they feel they cannot talk about their problems with a grown-up.

They will support and encourage youngsters - urging them to go to a parent or teacher - but there are also councillors available to deal with any serious issues.
Since the site went live a few months ago they have helped 70,000 children, and have just trained up their 1,000th volunteer.

Users need to register to talk to a mentor, and they do ask for some details about your mobile phone, which the site's creators say is not used for marketing purposes - just their own internal research.

Saturday 7 November 2009

Goalpostr

Football fans can now discuss tackles, tactics and transfers Twitter-style at this kicking site.
www.goalpostr.com adopts the micro-blogging format, but expands the maximum length of posts from 140 characters to 500.

It also lets you rate other members’ updates by awarding them ‘respect’, with the most interesting posts promoted on the homepage for everyone to read. Despite its gloomy black-and-blue design, the site looks good and works well.

I particularly like the ‘pundit of the month’ league table, the option to filter content by team and the ability to reply and link directly to posts. Now all Goalpostr needs is a few more users.

Friday 6 November 2009

Just Eat

www.just-eat.co.uk is there if you can’t be bothered to cook but you’ve binned all your takeaway flyers, check out this revamped site.

Just-Eat.co.uk lets you order meals online from more than 2,500 UK restaurants, each of which now has its own profile page.

Here you’ll find details of opening times, minimum order value and location, plus user reviews and that all-important menu.

You can save your favourite restaurants and meals for future reference and collect loyalty points to turn into food vouchers.

As well as beefing up its content, Just-Eat.co.uk has a tasty new design with a larger search box. It’s a site to savour!

Thursday 5 November 2009

eComparison

Take a look at www.ecomparison.co.uk and as an online shopper should find this site an invaluable bookmark. Not only does compare the prices of products and services across the web, eComparison also sources the latest voucher codes and cashback deals from thousands of big-name online stores.

A colourful, well-organised layout gives you easy access to comparison categories such as Money, Gas & Electricity and Shopping, and there’s an alphabetical Brands Directory you can comb for discounts for specific companies. Although currently lacking customer reviews, eComparison certainly has bags of potential. You can earn £5 for registering with the site and £5 for each friend you refer.

Wednesday 4 November 2009

I Love Travel

Take a look at www.ilovetravel.co.uk . If you want to go on holiday somewhere different but have no idea where, give this site a try.

It features a dedicated ‘inspiration tool’ that helps you find the perfect destination based on your travel preferences.

You can specify the type of trip you’re looking for, how far you’re willing to travel and the type of activities you’d like to engage in, and ILoveTravel.co.uk will tell you its recommendations.

Alternatively, you can choose a place from the drop-down menu to view more details. The site features some great deals on an eclectic range of destinations worldwide, but it’s a shame that you only submit enquiries rather than actually booking your dream holiday online

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Wix

www.wix.com has some impressive flash templates that could help spruce up your own site.
View the templates before picking one, then change the text and pictures, and have a play around with animations and effects.

Preview the pages to check your creation, and hit publish to get a wix.com URL where people can view your site.

There are premium upgrades for cash if you want to rid yourself of adverts and get more pages and features.

Monday 2 November 2009

IrfanView

www.irfanview.com is the address you need. Irfanview is a super-fast and simple freeware image viewer and editor which supports all major graphic formats.

We looked at the site at the start of 2008, but there have been some good additions to the software since.

As well as the simple and quick editing features, you can download the add-on pack with some free extras as long as it is for non-commercial use.

These include direct FTP, e-mail tagging from the thumbnail viewer, running slide shows and doing batch conversions.

Sunday 1 November 2009

Nasa TV

This site came back to my attention recently when it broadcast live coverage of the space shuttle Atlantis mission to upgrade the Hubble space telescope.

Take a look at www.nasa.gov/ntv The event had audio from the voice communication channel between astronauts and mission control, and some commentary explaining what was happening.
Clips and highlights from various NASA missions can be found on their website.

If you are a Twitter fan, you might be interested to learn that astronaut Mike Massimino has made history by sending the first ever "tweets" from space.

Saturday 31 October 2009

Google Sightseeing

http://googlesightseeing.com is a sightseeing site/blog where visitors are invited to submit any unusual or interesting sightings they have found on Google Earth and Streetview.

For example, there is a shot of Paddington Bear taking a trip to the British Museum.

Friday 30 October 2009

Justin.tv

www.justin.tv began life when a man called Justin Tan decided to fix a webcam to his cap and stream every minute of his day to day life live online.

Thanks to his show's success, the site has evolved into one of the biggest online communities for broadcasting, watching and interacting around live streaming video.

Shows are organised into channels which have a chat box beside the video window so that viewers can interact

Some of the content can be pretty random; for instance one man is streaming an LED sign showing Twitter comments from his viewers.

Thursday 29 October 2009

Chatter

If you find Twitter and Facebook too fast-moving and unfocussed, why not try a social network devoted to a specific topic? Such is the concept of Chatter, a community of more than 100 niche networks devoted to topics as diverse as butterfly-collecting, hairdressing, poetry, table-tennis and wine.

www.chatter-media.com is the address you need and despite that wealth of choice, the site is simple to navigate and lets you find your space of choice by browsing categories or from the A-Z list. All networks sport a smart, minimalist design that makes sharing content and comments very straightforward. However, you need to register for each one individually rather than using a single log-in to explore the lot.

Wednesday 28 October 2009

KidStart

www.kidstart.co.uk offers an effective way to make savings from your online shopping and put them towards your children's future.

The service is backed by the Financial Services Authority and is completely free to use. KidStart has teamed up with hundreds of big-name companies including Tesco, Argos and Thomas Cook.

Each time you make an eligible purchase, a certain amount is lodged in your ‘Kiddybank’. The percentage varies with each retailer, but it doesn’t take long to build up some coffers. Once registered, you can set up a link to your child’s account and start shopping and saving for the next generation.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

We Are Hunted

Websites normally fall in two categories – those with names that explain what the site is about, and others that either confuse you or deliberately lead you astray.

http://wearehunted.com is one of the latter. Essentially it’s a digital music chart that trawls blogs, forums and social networks to discern what the most popular songs of the day are in terms of what’s being listened to and talked about.

From this aggregation, the top 99 tracks are displayed in a grid format, with the option to stream them in your browser or buy them from iTunes. We Are Hunted is impressively crafted and successfully connects the different musical strands of the web.

Monday 26 October 2009

Vet Help

www.vethelpdirect.com is an excellent resource designed to provide pet owners with advice about their beloved animals. It has just been revamped to include new categories for birds and reptiles, as catering for dogs, cats, horses, donkeys and rabbits.

Vethelpdirect.com is staffed by experienced vets, and presents its information in a authoritative and accessible manner. Simply click through the prompt questions to find out more about your pet’s symptoms.

Depending on your answers, you’ll be advised whether or not you need to contact your vet. Extra services like a vet search, pet-care tips and an insurance directory, as well as the cute ‘sick pet of the month’ feature, make this an essential bookmark for animal owners.

Sunday 25 October 2009

Ciao

www.ciao.co.uk is the consumer-review and price-comparison site has relaunched with a fresh look and an increased emphasis on community interaction.

You can now view and post video reviews as well as text ones, sharing your views on an enormous range of products. Items that have been rated particularly good or bad are now flagged on the homepage, as are the most-reviewed products of the moment.

Navigation has been tidied up, offering easy access to the site’s many categories, while posting a review – for which you can earn up to £3 – is a doddle.

However, while videos are a welcome addition, Ciao should make sure that the sound works properly.

Saturday 24 October 2009

Unionview

There are more than a hundred universities in Britain, so choosing which one to apply to can be confusing and costly, involving lots of travelling up and down the country.
www.unionview.com lets you get a feel for a wide range of universities and towns from the comfort of your browser by watching short films about them.

These online videos, which span Aberdeen to Warwick, are expertly made and cover such topics as accommodation, studying and the cost of living. They’re each accompanied by a map and a link to the university website.

Unionview is an invaluable resource for students, although we found the main navigation menu rather fiddly.

Friday 23 October 2009

PDSA

Pet charity PDSA has created a little tool to help guide you towards the picking perfect animal companion for your lifestyle.

Take a look at www.your-right-pet.org.uk and by answering a few multiple choice questions, this tool will work towards focusing on a couple of recommendations.

Once a pet has been picked, advice is offered on the animal's five essential welfare needs and what kind of environment you should buy them from.

Finally, there is a downloadable checklist of what you will need to invest in before you go ahead and adopt your pet.

Thursday 22 October 2009

Monkey Jam

This site is home to a very easy to use animation package called Monkeyjam - there are plenty of good tutorials on how it works in YouTube.

Take a look at www.giantscreamingrobotmonkeys.com/monkeyjam

The software lets you capture frames using a webcam or scanner - or you can simply import individual photos, sound and even special effects using a package like Photoshop.
Lego seems to be a popular medium - but you can use whatever comes to mind.

Wednesday 21 October 2009

FriendFeed

www.friendfeed.com is a tool for sharing interesting content with friends.
A group of specified contacts are able to see someone's customized feed, including their updates on social networking sites and blogs.

When creating an account, remember to un-tick a box if you want to make the feed private. There is the option to subscribe to existing popular users channels.

The last big task is to link all social content sites, such as Flickr, Stumbleupon, Facebook and others.

The user can also create private rooms to discuss specific topics with a few select contacts.

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Omegle

www.omegle.com harks back to a time before social networking when the most popular means of online communication was the chat room.

Click the ‘Start a chat’ button on the homepage and you’ll be connected to a random stranger for a chinwag.

Neither party’s name nor location is given, unless those details are voluntarily disclosed. The interface is as basic as can be, with none of the frills you get in instant-messaging chats, which is either refreshing or dull, depending on your point of view.

It’s a quaint concept, but it’s a shame you can’t talk to multiple strangers or change chat partner if your initial one fails to interest you.

Monday 19 October 2009

WAYN

Popular travel community WAYN (Where Are You Now) has undergone a radical transformation.

www.wayn.com Its cluttered old design has been ditched in favour of a more spacious and streamlined layout, which makes browsing the site a much less overwhelming experience.

Most notably, there’s an increased emphasis on lifestyle and social-networking elements in the vein of Facebook and Twitter.

You can view and reply to users’ status updates; share your travel and leisure plans and tips; and post photos, videos and blog entries. WAYN remains free to use and, with 15 million members worldwide, is now an even better place to connect with like-minded people.

Sunday 18 October 2009

GURL

This site hosts an online community and content aiming to make the teenage years a little less confusing. Take a look at www.gurl.com

It has videos, stories, fashion, body tips, games, quizzes, photos and even a helpful agony aunt called Heather.

The content is aimed at teenage girls aged 13 and up and deals frankly with the topics of sexuality, emotions and body image.

Parents might want to check how the site treats these subjects before recommending them to their daughter.

There is a whole section in the about pages explaining to parents what the website is trying to achieve.

Saturday 17 October 2009

Been There

Been There has been launched by Guardian Unlimited to serve as an online global travel guide.

Take a look at www.ivebeenthere.co.uk . It provides detailed profiles of both popular and lesser-known destinations, and combines articles written by Guardian staff with content and comment from users.

Travellers can recommend hotels, restaurants and attractions; enter their holiday photos in a monthly competition; and rate the advice posted by others to give prominence to the best tips and tipsters. While the site certainly isn’t unique, it’s less overwhelming than the likes of TripAdvisor and WAYN.com and is already amassing a knowledgeable community.

Friday 16 October 2009

Family Gamer

As the success of the Nintendo Wii and DS has proved, video games can be fun for all ages. This site has been set up to advise keen kids and puzzled parents about every aspect of gaming, from which console to buy to the best (and worst) titles.

www.familygamer.co.uk offers reviews from different perspectives including dad gamer, teen gamer and gamer wife, each of whom has their own profile page, newsletter and blog. The layout of the site resembles a family tree, which makes it easy to browse, but it would be nice to have some more images, such as photos of the people writing the reviews. Overall though, the site looks very promising.

Thursday 15 October 2009

Parliament

Reams of parliamentary information can be dull to browse, so try this relaunched website for presenting it in a digestibel format. Its much-improved design gives you easy access to a wealth of content, including the latest news from the Commons and Lords, details of recent bills and legislation, and masses of research material concerning topical issues. www.parliament.uk

You can also watch parliamentary debates (to discover how few members bother to attend them!), join the intelligent discussions in the forums and find contact details for your local MP. Everything is presented in a clear and in orderly manner, which looks much more modern than before.

Wednesday 14 October 2009

Share My Playlists

www.sharemyplaylists.com provides a place for you to upload and share playlists you make using Spotify, the popular free music-streaming application.

You’ll need an account with both services to get started, after which you can compile a track-listing of your favourite songs in Spotify, and then share them with the world.

The site lets you browse through hundreds of other people’s mixes, which you can rate and post on social-networking sites. It’s a neat idea but the process of transferring your playlist could be made less laborious - you currently have to enter track information manually, rather than the service filling in details for you.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Ustream

On www.ustream.tv anyone can broadcast themselves for free.
But you will need to give the site permission to access your webcam and microphone, and you can even broadcast from a mobile device.

There is the option to interact with other viewers and embed your video into a website or blog.
The usual caveats about user-generated and unmoderated content apply - if you find something you do not like, just move along or report it.

Monday 12 October 2009

Shelfari

www.shelfari.com hosts a global community of book lovers who are more than happy to share their reviews of good and bad reads with others.

Once signed up, you can start adding the books you have already read, are currently reading, or plan to read in the future.

The site offers a graphical representation of a bookshelf and organises your titles into helpful categories.

Like other networking sites, you can join groups, start your own, and gradually expand your web of contacts.

Sunday 11 October 2009

Frets on Fire

If you want to have a go at being a rock star, try out the open source project Frets on Fire which turns your keyboard into a guitar.

Download the full and free version from http://fretsonfire.sourceforge.net where you can also watch a tutorial first to get the hang of it.

Use the F1 to F5 keyboard keys as your frets, and remember to hit the enter key for strumming action.

There are lots of tunes to entertain, at varying levels of difficulty, plus you can make your own compositions

Saturday 10 October 2009

Perfect Balance

www.kongregate.com/games/ttursas/perfect-balance is the web site address you need for this little gem.

The flash site is bursting at the seams with great and highly addictive games.

One example is Perfect Balance where the aim of the game is to balance the shapes perfectly within the play area.

The music and ambient sound effects are really hypnotic, and the levels themselves get tougher and tougher.

When you return to the game you can skip forward to the level you finished at last if you have cookies enabled.

Friday 9 October 2009

DriveSpacio

Take a look at www.drivespacio.en.softonic.com

Once installed, this drive space manager shows how much data your internal and external hard drives, including pen drives and memory sticks, are carrying.

This application is free to download, and it caught my eye because of its ability to see the makeup of the data.

For instance, it shows what proportion are system files, downloads, documents, music or other file types.

This is a very lightweight and intuitive piece of software.

Thursday 8 October 2009

Medieval Castle

www.medieval-castle.com is a site about stately residences around Europe is a must for architecture and history fans alike - it has pictures and descriptive passages of text on this period.
Sections include architecture, life and entertainment, plus fantasy and haunted castles.

There is also a fascinating section on Count Dracula, his castles, and the horrific things he got up to within their walls.

There is also information on castles currently open to public tours, and even to host a wedding.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Digsby

www.digsby.com brings together social networking sites and integrates instant messaging, e-mail and social network accounts into one easy-to-use interface.

When a friend logs on you can see which service they are using, chat and interact from this single downloadable client.

There is a warning when new messages arrive at any of your e-mail or social networking accounts, and you can read a summary of unread messages.

Once it is all set up, you can log in on any computer where the software is installed and have instant access to all your accounts.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Pink 4 Fun

www.pink4fun.com is a cheery-looking shopping portal deals exclusively in products that are pink. The site is cleverly structured around a virtual house – just select a room, for example the kitchen or lounge, to view the pink items available for it.

If you find something that tickles you pink, you can then click ‘Buy Now’ to visit an external online store to make your purchase.

Product categories range from toys and jewellery to stationery and plants, while suppliers include John Lewis and Next.

This diversity means you can get a pink iPod Nano in the same place as a feather duster, so unless you think pink stinks Pink4Fun should colour you impressed.

Monday 5 October 2009

Your Gold For Cash

If you’ve got old, broken or bad-memory-tinged jewellery gathering dust at home, why not sell it to www.yourgoldforcash.co.uk

Simply request a free ‘Goldpack’, then place your gold ring, necklace, earring or other item in the padded envelope and take it to your local Post Office, where you’ll be given a tracking code.

Once the jewellery has been valued you’ll be called with an offer, which you can accept or refuse and get your item back.

The basic but clearly-explained site reassures you that this isn’t just a big scam, providing a Consumer Credit License number and real-world contact details, so could prove profitable in these tough times.

Sunday 4 October 2009

Everyday sale

Take a look at www.everydaysale.co.uk if you’re hungry for discounts, there plenty to be found at Everydaysale.co.uk.

The site offers 500 constantly-changing voucher codes across 13 shopping categories, and is partnered with more than 1,500 online retailers.

Discount-code sites are now a dime a dozens (minus savings) but this one stands out with its smart, colourful design and some brilliant futures.

These include the ability to save your favourite stores so you can receive instant code and sale alerts, free e-cards to send to friends and family and a blog packed with shopping tips and news.

EverydaySale seems more female-oriented than rival sites but has bargains galore for all.

Saturday 3 October 2009

Surviving the Credit Crunch

Even if you’re heartily sick of the term ‘credit crunch’, it’s worth checking out this excellent site www.survivingthecreditcrunch.org.uk It offers a wealth of money-saving tips that could save you thousands of pounds a year.

Launched by debt-busting expert Richard Fenton, it’s an invaluable source of advice on matters such as dealing with creditors, choosing the best savings account and supplementing your income. The big, bold design might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s more visually appealing than rival MoneySavingExpert.com.

A loyal community is already building in the forums and there’s a handy finance calculator to help you work out solutions to your money woes.

Friday 2 October 2009

Bill Monitor

www.billmonitor.com - Mobile phone plans often involve such confusing combinations of free minutes and texts that it’s hard to tell their true cost.

BillMonitor helps prevent nasty statement surprises by finding you the best contract for your needs. At its simplest, you just specify roughly how many minutes of calls you make and messages you send each month, but there are further options for data use and overseas access. The site then lists the cheapest tariffs and lets you click straight through to the network site. It can also analyse your online bills to give you savings advice.

BillMonitor is a very useful comparison service that is impressively implemented.

Thursday 1 October 2009

My Shopping Tips

www.myshoppingtips.co.uk aims to be your personal shopping assistant by finding you the best quality products at the lowest prices.

That may sound like a price-comparison service, but this site couldn’t be more different. All the bargains are handpicked from a wide range of online stores, and are written up in friendly and frequent blog entries.

Keyword tags make news and reviews of specific items easy to locate, covering everything from art and clothes to gadgets and gifts. There’s also a handy section devoted to sales, offers and discount codes. The design is busy but not baffling, and both content and community are building nicely

Wednesday 30 September 2009

Carmony

www.carmony.co.uk If you want to buy a car but don’t know where to start, take this site for a test drive. Carmony helps you choose the perfect vehicle based on your individual needs rather than confusing you with sales patter.

Specify criteria such as how much space you need, the number of passengers you carry, which colours you like and whether you’re environmentally friendly and the site will present details of matching contenders. Alternatively, you can search by manufacturer, model type or price, or just browse the most popular vehicles.

Carmony is very easy to use, and packed with clever features like asking a friend if they can see you in a particular car and saving models you like in an online showroom. It may still be in beta, but this is a site that’s destined to go far.

Tuesday 29 September 2009

Qype

Consumer-review website Qype, www.qype.co.uk which covers everything from beauty salons in London to coffee shops in Barrow-in-Furness, has been spruced up.

The layout is now so bursting with information that it seems confusing at first but the fresh, attractive colour scheme helps you find your way around.

On the homepage is a handy local map service, which pinpoints the places you search for, while the main navigation bar can be customised to show your favourite categories.

Another nifty feature records your recently-viewed pages and searches.

With its ever-expanding range of honest, reliable reviews, Qype is an excellent resource for everyone.

Monday 28 September 2009

Food TV

www.foodtv.co.uk Programmes like Master Chef have turned us into a nation of armchair foodies, but how can we improve our own culinary skills? After having a few clicks around Foodtv.co.uk we reckon we can put together anything from Salmon Florentine to Vegetable Rosti.

This beautifully-presented resource is stuffed with recipes and full-length food programmes. However, it’s the shorter videos that really impress – these are so expertly delivered as to make them as essential in your kitchen as a chopping board.

If we had to find one fault, it would be that the quantity of content makes pages load slowly, but that certainly doesn’t detract from its quality.

Sunday 27 September 2009

Desk Space Genie

Renting desk space is a cost-effective means of securing a place to work on a short-term basis.

This site finds you a desk in the area of your choice, and lets you sort the results by price and proximity.

The average cost of desk rental is around £170 per month, but this also includes internet access, tea and coffee-making facilities and of course a chair.

www.deskspacegenie.co.uk is fantastically easy to use and presents information clearly, complete with photos and maps. Listings are fairly sparse outside of major cities, but you can sign up to receive alerts when space becomes available.

Saturday 26 September 2009

Zefrank

www.zefrank.com is full of toys and interactive widgets - these are pretty simple to handle and make a great original use of interactivity.

The site has also put up a series of charming movies offering some thoughtful and somewhat crazy ideas about life and the world.

Click The Show to watch these films online for free or buy iPod downloads for $5 (£3).

Mildly adult language and humour throughout the site.

Friday 25 September 2009

1911 Census

This is a site for those serious about researching their family history.

The UK government has taken a census of its population every ten years since 1801, except during World War II in 1941.

The 1911 census is a record of everyone who lived in England and Wales in the year 1911. Take a look at www.1911census.co.uk

After registering, users can add at least one name and surname to begin browsing - but detailed reports are not free.

Thursday 24 September 2009

My Heritage

Plenty of people these days are learning about their roots using the multitude of tools provided online.

Signing up for www.myheritage.com is free and it has all of the features expected from a site of this nature - with the optional paid for premium options.

Storage is free up to 100MB for users wanting to build a family tree and upload pictures to share with family and friends.

There is a genealogy search engine to aide with your research, or just have a look around other people's sites.

The interface is family friendly, and users young and old should have no problems getting to grips with it.

Wednesday 23 September 2009

MetaFilter

www.metafilter.com is a blog that anyone can contribute a comment or a link to.
There is no need to be a member to browse through the lively conversations on a variety of topics. Perhaps start with the Popular section to get a taste of the best the site has to offer.

The Tags section is also a nice little feature for anyone wanting to browse content based on a specific subject.

Joining up allows users to write entries and leave comments on others posts - but it costs a one-time payment of $5 (£3).

Creative types can also share and chat about their musical compositions, and take part in regular challenges.

Tuesday 22 September 2009

Melzoo

www.melzoo.com looks much the same as any other search engine, until you hit enter on a search term and the screen splits into two.

Results are listed on the left with a preview pane on the right, showing a snapshot of the listing as you hover your mouse over each link.

This is a superfast way to scan through homepages for the information and links you are looking for. Ask.com runs a similar feature with their Binocular Site Previews.

Monday 21 September 2009

Hushmail

www.hushmail.com has to be one of the most secure free e-mail providers on the web.

If you want to make sure your electronic communications are not being intercepted, by anyone - corporate spies, government agents, even little green men - then a hushmail address is where it is at.

Free account users beware - you have to log in at least every three weeks or your account will be deleted.

Sunday 20 September 2009

VirtualBox

www.virtualbox.org allows you to treat a certain space on your hard drive as a completely new computer.

You can install a whole new operating system you control through a window - a bit like if you were using remote desktop. You can run VirtualBox on Windows, Linux, Solaris or the Mac OS X.

You can run a box with an older or newer version of an operating system or install a completely different one; this might help you to run occasional temperamental software without upending your entire configuration or run software that is not supported by your OS.

Saturday 19 September 2009

Screencast

Following on from yesterdays website review....

screencasting - where you literally broadcast your on-screen activity, adding narration and subtitling to make a kind of movie.

www.screencast.com is a place for you to store, save and share your screencasts - either making them available to the public at large - or to a selected group of people.

It is not the only file sharing service on the internet, but it is geared towards this kind of content. They will not lower the resolution of your piece and you maintain full ownership.

This is tempered by the 2GB storage and bandwidth restrictions for the free account.

The free account should be enough for most users. The bandwidth hungry will have to decide whether to opt for the paid for premium service.

Friday 18 September 2009

ScreenToaster

Screencasting is a growing fad on the net. You basically record your computer screen activity together with narration & subtitling embedded. It is being used to great effect in a number of different genres.

At www.screentoaster.com a brilliant online software tool exists that allows you to easily create your own screencast content and upload it to the internet compressed to a very acceptable file size.
All you do is register and then hit start recording.

You'll have to tell it if you want to use a microphone or webcam - then use the ALT-S key to toggle recording on and off.

This really is insanely easy to use considering the power of the content you can produce - animated movies, audio-blogs, tutorial guides or entertaining spoken-letters to distant friends and family.

Take a browse round the site at what others are making - the list of possibilities is endless.

Thursday 17 September 2009

Livedrive

www.livedrive.com allows you to save, store and share data over the web.
Once registered you get your drive space URL and can then access and manage the files in much the same way as you would those on your computer's physical hard drive and there is no size limit to how much you can store so on there.

The application works well and fast and that is exactly what you want when you are transferring data back and forth.

If you have video stored on the drive you can stream it directly without having to download it onto your computer first.

This is only free for the duration of the initial 30 days trial period. But if you are thinking of investing in some on-line real estate this is definitely one to check out.

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Bikely

www.bikely.com contains a collection of bike trails and cycle paths from all over the world, submitted to the site by a growing and incredibly dedicated community of cyclists.

The site allows you to browse and add to the collection of routes and offers some simple and down to earth information about popular bike brands

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Tiltshiftmaker

Tiltshift is a photographic technique that changes the focus of a picture in unusual ways, often making real life scenes look as though they are photographs of a model.
This website contains a tool which allows you to replicate the technique.

Take a look at http://tiltshiftmaker.com

Photos of overall views usually work better than those of a single subject. You can paste a picture's URL into the relevant box on the Tiltshift homepage.

The next screen allows you to adjust the width & position of the focus, and preview the result. You can also choose to upload pictures from your hard drive if you have anything suitable. Once you are happy with the results, you can download your tilt-shifted picture.

Monday 14 September 2009

Be-at TV

Be-at TV can bring you all the thrill of a musical event with no aching feet or thrumming ears the next day.

Register & login to access the website's exclusive live recordings of some of the world's best DJs in action. The site address is www.be-at.tv

The events are filmed by Be-at TV on four cameras, which are then streamed with the audio from the website for people all over the world to enjoy.

Users can explore hundreds of hours of material.

This is a social networking platform too with the community encouraged to make connections with like-minded people on the site in much the same way as you would with Facebook.

Sunday 13 September 2009

WHIZZ

www.whizz.com provides an online tutor to help children at all stages and levels of confidence to improve their maths skills.

Based on the UK and US curriculum, the first five lessons are free so users get a taste of what is to come.

A tailor-made tutor service is also available along with an on-going lesson plan which are part of a paid-for premium package.

Saturday 12 September 2009

Breathing Earth

At breathingearth.net you will find a lovely simulation of the aspects of the life-cycle on Earth, including global birth and death rates, as well as CO2 emissions.

I love the organic sound effect that accompanies the visuals. And having the birth and death rates pointed out in such an obvious way really was quite shocking to me.

It indicates an exploding population, with the continuous counter on the site showing births going up at twice the rate of deaths. Given global concerns about CO2 emissions, the figure underneath those is somewhat worrying too.

Friday 11 September 2009

Get Fit, Army Style

Want to get fit and healthy without the expense of joining a gym? Do it for free using the greatest fitness and health resource in the world - the US Army. Hooah4Health.com has advice on body, mind, spirit and environment. It has useful exercise tips (like weightlifting and sit-up instructions) as you’d expect, but also advice on spiritual and emotional wellbeing, along with solid healthy eating and PMA tips too (that’s positive mental attitude for the uninitiated!)

Thursday 10 September 2009

All Natural

Fed up with paying a fortune for your beauty products and toiletries?

Well why not make your own.

Just visit allnaturalbeauty.us, a website that promotes natural beauty that is free of chemicals and additives.

It even has an extensive list of beauty recipes that can be made from the kind of things you’d find in your fridge. They even sound good enough to eat!

Wednesday 9 September 2009

Yes To Wind

www.yestowind.com doesn’t have anything to do with flatulence, it’s actually a site that has been launched by green groups including Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and WWF-UK to raise awareness of the benefits of wind power and there’s plenty of info on offer.

There’s advice on starting a pro-wind campaign, a message board for activists in rural areas and downloadable posters and leaflets.

Tuesday 8 September 2009

Try Trading

Have you always fancied yourself as a City trader but you can’t face the early mornings and potential heart attacks? Well www.bullbearings.co.uk teaches you all the basics of trading and lets you try your hand at the stock market without risking a penny.

Plus it also lets you join simulated trading competitions. The site is also packed with other useful information, such as a trading news section and market overview.

And it’s sure to be a lot less stressful than working in the Square Mile!

Monday 7 September 2009

Be Ethical

If safeguarding the earth for the next generation is something you feel passionate about, www.ethicalbabe.com could interest you.

The site is dedicated to bringing you the best organic and fairtrade clothes and toys and the finest natural toiletries and cosmetics.

If you’re looking for last-minute birthday gifts, you’ll find one or two ideas, like a hedgehog jigsaw and a frog skipping rope.

There’s lots of practical advice too and information about the environmental benefits of using certain products.

The end is Nigh

I may as well say this now as times change and as one door closes then another one opens and I have decided that this radio blog will come to a close at the end of 2009 into the start of 2010.
It wont acvtually close. It will remain here but it will no longer be updated.

The reason behind this is that I am not on the radio as much as I used to be and producing website reviews on this blog for other people to use has now been exhausted as resources are running out and with new commitments I dont have as much time to spend on the internet reviewing websites.

Various radio stations use this site for their website review of thew day features and they are more than welcome toi uise any material I have posted. In fact this goes for anyone and not just radio stations but sooner ort later the time it takes me to trawl the net looking for new stuff means that this is time I could be spending with more important issues.

In the new year the blog will be split into two. The website reviews and the radio interviews and audio files but nothing more will be updated as I dont have the time anymore

Sunday 6 September 2009

Be Positive

www.relentlessly-positive.com is an antidote to the masses of ultra-critical beauty mags, blogs and celebrity nonsense. The site is aimed at any women (or men) who despair at the negativity of modern times.

It has its own blog and newsletter, as well as sections as diverse as Good Lovin', Never Diet Again and Shiny Happy People.

From fashion magazines that make you feel fat to beauty products that cost the earth, the site looks at some cheery alternatives.

Saturday 5 September 2009

Clothes Swap

If your wardrobe full of sale bargains that you’ve never worn, clothes you swore you’d slim into or simple fashion disasters. Well at www.whatweusedtowear.com you can trade these unwanted articles with other visitors to the site, either in the UK or nationwide

Friday 4 September 2009

Parenting Tips

In this modern age of both parents working and not enough hours in the day, raising kids is even harder work than it used to be. But www.parenthacks.com could lend you a hand.

This site gives you daily doses of parenting tips, organised by childrens’ ages, activities, and common dilemmas, all submitted by fellow parents.

You can also learn how to stay organised, save some money, and stay healthy. And if you have any top tips of your own, don’t be afraid to share them!

Thursday 3 September 2009

Classic Clips

Have you ever trawled the web for funny clips and thought, there’s got to be a better way to sift through all this crap? Well you’ll be pleased to know that there is. www.classicshowbiz.blogspot.com gives you nothing but the best US TV clips. Perfect if you’re in need of a bit of light relief on a grey autumn day!

Wednesday 2 September 2009

Finance Advice

When it comes to finances, some people are experts and others are complete dunces. If you’re one of the economically puzzled, take a look at getrichslowly.org/blog. Here you’ll find lively discussions and research on a whole host of economics issues, so you should come away feeling far more financial savvy.

Tuesday 1 September 2009

Who What Wear

If you dream of looking as effortlessly hip as Kate Moss or Sienna Miller, check out whowhatweardaily.com. Creators Katherine Power and Hillary Kerr are gossip mag fetishists who realised that their addiction was all down to their love of checking out what the celebs were wearing the night before. Laid out in a blog format, this site is a never-ending stream of the most stylish shoes, must-have make-up and hippest hairstyles

Monday 31 August 2009

Days Out Savings

If you’re planning on a day out in London or the south of England, check www.daysoutguide.co.uk, where you can find many 2 for 1 offers on tickets for attractions such as Madame Tussaud's, the London Dungeons and the London Aquarium. All you need to benefit from these offers is a valid railcard.

Sunday 30 August 2009

Nutritionally Sound

Nutriprofile.com is a free online service for anyone who wishes to improve their diet. You simply fill in a questionnaire, which takes about 20 minutes, and you get a report back within 24 hours telling you where you have deficiencies in your diet. And most of us could do with a little help it seems, as research has shown that on average, Brits only consume two and a half portions of fruit and veg a day.

Saturday 29 August 2009

What’s In A Brand?

A company is often only as successful as its brand. But what exactly does a brand mean? www.brandtags.net gets right to the heart of the matter.

Much in the same way as word association works, when you log on you’re asked to type the first word you think of when you see a famous brand logo.

Then another logo appears and so on. The fun part comes from trawling through the extensive list of brands to find out which words other people have used to describe them.

Friday 28 August 2009

You’ve Got The Look

Women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine Look has unveiled its new website www.look.co.uk.

On first impressions you might think that the team gave the wardrobe such a thorough cleaning out that there isn’t much left to look at. But after a bit of browsing you’ll find there’s actually quite a lot of content to discover, from beauty and fashion tips to celebrity style.

The homepage features new fashion accessories in the ‘New Today’ section, which is updated daily and lets you purchase all items through the site.

Thursday 27 August 2009

Scream For Salad Cream

Salad cream, it’s one of those things you either love or hate. And if you belong to the former group, check out www.saladcream.com.

his bright and sunny site features a selection of online-exclusive video recipes in which celebrity chef Dan Green prepares a variety of dishes using the mayonnaise substitute.

These include spaghetti nicoise, beef steak wrap and roasted vegetable ciabatta, with the option to send in your own recipes if you think you can do tastier and win up to £30.

Mans Best friend


Its with a sad heart that I have to announce that my dog of seven years old had to be rather unexpectedly put to sleep this week and this in turn has caused a lot of family upset as 24hrs earlier the dog was fine as I walked her on her evening walk.

Unfortunately for the last 3 years she has been having the odd epileptic seizure and this was controlled by medication from the vet but this week she had a massive seizure and it just wouldn't stop no matter what the vets did and so she had to be put to sleep.

This has caused quite a lot of upset and meant a little time away from work

See here for more pics of her in the studio with me on the air http://ukradiojock.blogspot.com/2007/03/now-and-again-i-will-bring-my-dog-with.html

Wednesday 26 August 2009

Eco-Shopping

There’s a real boom in green shopping at the moment and www.ecostaurus.com is a one-stop shop for environmentally-friendly products. It sells a variety of eco-items for the home and office as well as a selection of organic skincare products. Pick of the bunch has to be The Tumbleweed Pet Poo Converter, a worm farm that turns dog droppings into food for worms, whose ‘castings’ can then be converted into fertiliser for your garden. Or how about an eco-stapler, which works like a stapler but without using staples?

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Weddings With A Difference

Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful things you can ever embark on, but www.somethingdifferentweddings.co.uk could make the process a lot easier. This site rolls a host of services and products into one handy place. Whether you’re in need of bridal fashion advice, need to hire a flash wedding car or you’re searching for a bespoke photographer, the site is a great source of ideas.

Monday 24 August 2009

Site Launcher

This tool links your most frequently visited web pages to a simple hotkey launcher in Firefox.
Once downloaded, you can access a dashboard with links from the top of your browser window.

The plugin comes with some commonly used sites already hotkeyed, but you are free to change these if you want. Find out more at www.donesmart.com/sitelauncher

Sunday 23 August 2009

One Riot

www.oneriot.com is the site to look at. It’s a search engine that helps you find your way to all the content people are talking about daily.

Oneriot.com keeps the finger on the pulse of popular culture by trawling the links people post on Twitter, Digg and other social sharing sites.

You can search in the usual way, or if you just want to browse the current trends, take a look at the links underneath the search box.

The site also has some interesting applications under the Apps link, including search toolbars for your MySpace and Facebook account

Saturday 22 August 2009

Game Crawler

www.gamecrawler.co.uk is the site you want to look at. This handy site finds you the best bargains on video games by comparing the prices of thousands of titles.
Game Crawler covers a wide range of leading retailers, including Amazon, Game.co.uk and HMV.com. The presentation of results is clear and concise, so you can instantly see the biggest savings and where to find them, and then click straight through to the store to make your purchase. Game Crawler also offers a useful Price Watch tool, which emails you as soon as a game becomes available for a price you’re willing to pay.

Friday 21 August 2009

Slow It Down

As you get older, life seems to speed up. But do you ever wonder what you really do with your time? www.wheredidthetimego.com attempts to answer this question. Simply type your details into this website and it’ll tell you exactly how much time you’ve wasted doing mundane yet essential tasks in your lifetime, like eating, sleeping and photocopying!

Thursday 20 August 2009

Speciality Foods

www.hardtofindfoods.co.uk offers a large range of speciality and gourmet foods that you probably won’t find on the shelves of your local supermarket. The list of foods includes products from around the world, and you can fill your cupboards with speciality herbs and spices, oils, vinegars, pickles and preservatives. So whatever you’re looking for, let this website find it for you!

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Pozzitive

This promo site for production company Pozzitive Television describes itself as an “online encyclopaedia of British comedy”.

www.pozzitive.co.uk is the address. While it’s too focused on its own ‘talent’ to justify that claim, there’s still plenty of interesting content to browse.

This includes behind-the-scenes photos from Pozzitive TV shows like Coogan’s Run and Dinnerladies, extracts from radio programmes like the 99p Challenge and an online store selling DVDs and videos of popular series. Design-wise, the perpetually rolling photos and links prove distracting rather than enticing, but it’s worth a visit.

Tuesday 18 August 2009

Lets with Pets

Take a look at www.letswithpets.org.uk and you will see that This brilliantly named website, launched by the Dogs Trust, hopes to encourage landlords to accept tenants with pets.

Lets with Pets provides a wealth of information on renting privately as an animal owner, such as explaining how to get a reference for your pet and a general guide to pet care. While it’s great that this attractive site caters for pet owners, landlords and letting agents, it’s a shame there’s no forum for these parties to connect with each other directly.

Monday 17 August 2009

Job Blues

It’s Monday morning and there’s nothing worse than starting your week by dragging yourself back into a job you can’t stand. Whether it’s the work, the environment, your boss or the hours, log on to www.careershifters.org, and say it’s time for a change! Here you can find help, advice and job vacancies, and who knows, you could find that perfect job.

Sunday 16 August 2009

Feeling Fabulous

If you’re a bit down and in need of an emotional boost, why not check out www.feeling-fab.com. This site promises to make you feel fabulous by helping you ‘change your life in just eight minutes’. It may sound like a tall order, but for a one-off fee of £10, you’ll get 24 eight-minute audio tracks that attempt to inspire you to feel good about yourself. And to make you feel even better, £1 from each subscription will be donated to the charity of your choice.

Saturday 15 August 2009

Exist For Eternity

If you like the thought of leaving something behind when you finally shuffle off this mortal coil, then www.posterity.com is a website for you. On here you can store your photos, thoughts and writings for eternity, so your ancestors can find out all about your life. The site is free to join and will stay online forever, accessible by password for anyone that wants to take a look.

Friday 14 August 2009

Tuned In

Are you convinced you’re a great singer but other people think you’re tone deaf? Find out once and for all at www.bored.com/musictests. This site allows you to compare different pieces of music, and will then tell you how tone deaf you are. But don’t get too upset with your score as even the best musicians rarely get more than 80% correct!

Thursday 13 August 2009

Colour Quiz

If you love personality quizzes you might want to check out www.colorquiz.com, which claims that the type of colours you go for reveals a lot about your personality. Simply click on the blocks of colour in your order of preference and a detailed anaylisis of your personality will appear – although how it can tell that from coloured blocks we’ll never know!

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Perfect Pick-Ups!

If your chat-up lines haven’t evolved past ‘do you come here often?’, it may be about time you got some help. Check out pickuphelp.com where a helpful list of pick-up lines can be found to come to your rescue. On the other hand, if chat-up lines aren’t your style, the website won’t fail to provide cringe-worthy content that’s guaranteed to give you a whole lunch break worth of entertainment!

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Annoying Things

If for some reason you want to get on the wrong side of your friends, family and colleagues then it would be a good idea to look at bored.com/getannoyed. On this site there are thousands of ways to upset people, including becoming a mime, pushing all the elevator buttons and not wearing deodorant!

Monday 10 August 2009

National Allotments Week

National Allotment Week begins today, and runs until 17th August. It’s a week to promote awareness and availability of allotments both locally and nationally, as well as showing the public and local authorities the strength of support and interest for the heritage of allotment culture. The National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners wants to encourage as many gardeners to support the drive as possible. To find out more visit www.nsalg.org.uk.

Sunday 9 August 2009

Junk Food

In this day and age where everyone is obsessed with healthy eating, admitting you like junk food once in a while can make you feel like a social outcast. But if you’re craving some naughty treats, check out www.junkfoodnews.net. Feast your eyes on the world’s largest smoothie, the longest hot dog in the world and a car made completely from cheddar cheese!

Saturday 8 August 2009

Organically Good

If you’re into organic produce, check out www.organicgarden.com, where you can find out information on how to grow your own or where to buy it. It gives practical advice for small-scale producers of organic foods, and even tasty recipes on what to do with all the fruit and veg you will harvest.

Friday 7 August 2009

Backwards Talk

If you’ve ever wanted to know what the world sounds like backwards, try out www.talkbackwards.com. Here you can enter music tracks to see if there are subliminal messages hidden inside the lyrics when played backwards, or what amusing word occurs when your name is spelt the wrong way round. You can even upload your own voice to hear what you sound like when talking backwards.

Thursday 6 August 2009

Nagging Notes

www.passiveaggressivenotes.com is a site dedicated to all those ‘helpful’ notes, busybody emails and stroppy memos sent to ‘all’ in the workplace. From notes asking people not to use all the teabags, or emails about keeping desks tidy, they should raise a knowing smile in everyone who’s ever worked in an office or lived in communal housing. You can also submit your own example passive aggressive notes to make everyone else smile!

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Dig Holes

Have you ever wondered where you would end up if you dug a tremendously huge hole through the centre if the earth? Well you can find out if you visit bored.com/digholes. Find any location on the planet and the website will calculate where you would end up. It’s wishful thinking, but it would certainly make Australia much easier to visit!

Tuesday 4 August 2009

Food Fun

If you’ve got a taste for fine food (or you’re desperately bored) take a look at judgemylunch.com where you can view an array of some of the finest and some of the foulest food, and judge for yourself on a ranking system that goes from ‘yuk’ to ‘yum’. But be warned, the content of the website could make you very hungry!

Monday 3 August 2009

TV Take

www.lowculture.co.uk is a British website that offers a different take on what’s happening on telly. From reality and talent shows like ‘X-Factor’ and ‘Big Brother’ to entertainment series like ‘Heroes’ and ‘Doctor Who’, this site offers a unique spin on proceedings. The message board also has various categories for users to participate in, including soaps and movie culture.

Sunday 2 August 2009

Park Life

It’s often said that being green begins in the home, but if you’re concerned about the state of the green spaces around your home, then go to www.greenstat.org.uk. This is an online forum allowing residents of areas across the UK the opportunity to comment on the state of their local park, and puts pressure on the authorities to do something about it.

Saturday 1 August 2009

Celebed Out

If you like watching how the mighty are fallen, and the glow of celebrity can quickly be tarnished, head over to www.avenue11.com. This entertainment website keeps abreast of celebrity ups and downs with an up-to-date news and gossip section, in addition to movies and music, where you can watch all the latest celeb clips and interviews.

Friday 31 July 2009

Slow It Down

As you get older, life seems to speed up. But do you ever wonder what you really do with your time?

www.wheredidthetimego.com attempts to answer this question. Simply type your details into this website and it’ll tell you exactly how much time you’ve wasted doing mundane yet essential tasks in your lifetime, like eating, sleeping and photocopying!

Thursday 30 July 2009

Speciality Foods

www.hardtofindfoods.co.uk offers a large range of speciality and gourmet foods that you probably won’t find on the shelves of your local supermarket.

The list of foods includes products from around the world, and you can fill your cupboards with speciality herbs and spices, oils, vinegars, pickles and preservatives. So whatever you’re looking for, let this website find it for you!

Wednesday 29 July 2009

Crazy Hobbies

www.mycrazyhobby.com is about one man’s unusual penchant for street signs and traffic lights. His extensive collection has been acquired legally from online auctions, at antique stores and flea markets, and once in a while, a highway department offers him old and disused signs and lights. So if you’ve ever wanted to see a massive collection of old street signs and traffic lights, then this is the site for you!

Tuesday 28 July 2009

Caffeine Curse

With subsections like Death by Caffeine and How Many of Your Favourite Caffeinated Drinks Would It Take To Kill You, you get the impression that the creators of www.energy fiend.com don’t sit around sipping frothy cappuccinos all day.

In fact, you might even be right to assume that they’re decidedly anti-caffeine. If you too believe that caffeinated drinks are evil, then check out this site for some like-minded information.