Free Web Resources
I found the following sites useful. Useful sites are fun. Most of these sites offer freeware. Free stuff is also fun.
Free Web 2.0 Tools
- ShareThis - gives users the option to share your site with others on facebook, twitter, by email, whatever you have it.
- RSSpect - syndication made simple for adding RSS feeds to your site - all you have to do is add the code.
- Google Friend Connect - allows web publishers to easily add social networking capabilities to their site.
- Google's Picasa and Analytics - helpful if you want to make a quick flash slideshow (Picasa) or if you want to track visitor stats on your site (Analytics).
- Slideshare - upload your slides and share them with your friends/co-workers. Also provides some cool supplemental widgets.
- Ziggs.com - create a FREE online portfolio: background info, contact info, biography, resume, with an inbox and email signatures that link potential employers to your professional profile. Ideal for getting an employer's attention while applying online.
- Survey Monkey - need to create a survey? Create an online survey and email it to your sample group. As your interviewees respond, you receive graphical statitistics. Also see Poll Daddy.
Free Stuff that Momentarily Defies Categorization
- Free Anti-Virus Programs
- Free online pdf creator - just upload your file and they convert it for you - no need to download a pdf converter program
- DotNetNuke - content management system that is in my amateur opinion one of the best opensource cms-es out there.
Free Multimedia Stuff
- Slideshare - upload your slides and share them with your friends/co-workers. Also provides some cool supplemental widgets.
- Zamzar.com - free video conversion up to 1000MB - simple and quick
- Open source .flv video player written in flash
- Vimeo offers free video hosting with a clean, logo-free viewer - it's a great alternative to youtube.
- Audacity - free audio editing program.
- CamStudio - free screen-reading program with voiceover capabilities. perfect for recording tutorials to share over the web or with co-workers in the office.
- AVS Audio Recorder - free audio recorder.
- iCarousel - is an opensource project that uses moo tools. What is it? A rich rotational presentation of fading images.
Accessbility
- BBC's My Web My Way - provides shortcut keys/accessibility features for Mac and Windows users
Browsers
- Google Chrome - Wow! Impressive! Google has stolen the fire from Firefox with this new browser that is faster, more secure, and aesthically more pleasing and fun to use!
- Mozilla Firefox 3 Tips and Tricks for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Users - learn short cut keys and other ways to maximize your web experience with Firefox's newest broswer version.
- Internet Explorer 8 Beta new features - IE has come a long way, but still doesn't compare to FF.
eCommerce
- Slickdeals.net - for shopping for anything online, including computers
eLearning
- News University provides free online flash training sessions to help you improve your news reporting skills - whether that's AP style, interviews, TV graphics, online typography, etc. - NewU provides several self-paced online courses. An additional plus? You can send progress reports to your employer.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Analytics
- Alexa.com - for checking the stats on your site and viewing the highest ranking sites on the web
- Google Analytics now Integrated with AdWords - now you can have stats that track the success of AdWords keywords, ads, etc. that you purchase through Google.
