Ron K.

You have to see this one for yourselves. We-based, truly unique manner of capturing text, images, even video from any web-page.

Using it is so easy. The concept is quickly grasped given a visually creative design.

Do check this out!

www.pimptheface.com/create.

Ever want to be a police sketch artist? Well here's your chance! Rather addictive web-based component-sketch tool that replicates the piece-by-piece dynamic of building a face/person/personality.

You can save your people, post to web sites, and certainly kill a half-an-hour when necessary.

Enjoy.

twofoods.com allows you to compare the nutritional data of two food items contrasting calories, fats, and other helpful data in choosing meals. A quick analysis of which food suits your healthy eating goal.

Clever idea, simply executed, with a nice variety of selections in data base.

Imaging hard drives is the process of copying it, bit by bit, to create an exact replica, in a way an "image" or 'snapshot'. The cloning part is the process of taking that "image" of a hard drive and placing copies of it on one or more other hard drives.

Clonezilla is free - a good tool for taking a snapshot of a system and reverting back to it later as a backup or to get things the way you once liked them.

HighlyRecommended!

Another URL SiteJabber cannot comprehend. THIS is where you point your browser: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/top-12-sites-watch-videos-youtube/

YouTube was created in 2005, but much like Google, it feels like it's been around forever. We post our videos on YouTube, look for some silly entertainment during boring afternoons and send videos along to friends.

But should you be limited to YouTube? Never! Let's be honest, there is a whole world of streaming video online that most people have never seen because they have settled for 'Family Sized' YouTube. Most sites have similar features, or features perhaps better than YouTube - certainly more 'specialized' and some have a more specialized selection or much higher quality videos.

So here is a small sample of video sites you should check out. Might find something you like...

E-mail attachments up to 2 GB, FREE. If you find yourself needing to send large files, beyond what your e-mail provider allows, by all means check this tool out!

Docstoc is an out-of-the-way where one would search for Documents, Academic papers, Templates, photographs for websites, and generally all sorts of written material that could just fill a need you have. Certainly worth a browse one day.

If link above is not complete/functional, point your browser here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/*******/wirelessly-sync-share-your-music-collection-with-any-mobile-phone/_I've tried this and it works beautifully with my Droid X. Works with Android & iPhone.

"Have an iPhone or Android phone and a music collection too large to sync to it? Want to share your library with friends? Here's how to sync your library with your smart-phone over the internet, or stream it in any browser.

Subsonic is a powerful little cross-platform solution to these problems and moreit's an open source media streamer that is based on both Java and donations, so it's a cross-platform solution that is free for basic usage utilizing the web interface.

Note: In this guide we're going to be showcasing two mobile clients which use the Subsonic API which is NOT free. You'll get a 30-day window to try out the setup, after which you'll be required to make a minimum 10 donation, which will give you access to all the clients including an Adobe AIR client, and a few bonuses, like removing the ad from the web interface, free future upgrades, and a yourname.subsonic.org server address. If you choose to not donate, you can continue using the web client at no extra cost. You can more details at the Subsonic Apps page.

Head over to their download page and grab the installer for free. Double-click the file and Subsonic will be installed as a service which will automatically start with Windows. Note: While installing Subsonic on Mac OS X and Linux is also relatively quick and easy, to get support for transcoding requires a little more effort. Be sure to check the Installation Instructions.

Once you've installed Subsonic, open up a browser and point it to http :// localhost/. Under the login, you'll notice a warning message that gives you the default username and password and reminds you to change it as soon as you login".

Great music sharing mechanism.
Best,
Ron

POINT YOUR BROWSER HERE: http://lifehacker.com/*******/whats-the-best-way-to-block-a-number-from-calling-my-cellphone.

You have many options actually. This LifeHacker article addresses a number... one of which will hopefully work for you. Whether advertising or harassment, you can deal with this neo-hassle.

Ever On...
Ron

I'm one who doesn't care to be "tagged", in every photo which floats across Facebook's visage.
I'm not much a user, and just slightly uncomfortable others can splay my name all over the place. I feel exposed enough out there.

If you're concerned about privacy on Facebook and online in general, you can prevent your name from being suggested when Facebook recognizes you in a photo one of your friends posts.

NOTE: The setting we show you how to change here will only prevent your name from being suggested when your friends post pictures that include you. They will still be able to tag you in photos, they just won't get prompted to do so.

Here's what you do: http://bit.ly/1KQ5jGW.
Hope that helps someone.
Best,
Ron

Purge the "leftovers" of your relationship that died.
[http://www.neverlikeditanyway.com/]

Aside from the actual breaking up part... what to do with leftovers is arguably the smarmy part of ending a relationship. The tangible remnants of being together are everywhere, sweatshirts, an earring, iPods, video games - you name it. Those odds and ends you're 'stuck' with hang there…and while others see them as interesting booty, you don't quite share the sentiment._Interesting start-up may be e-commerce way to rid yourself of those ghostly items. Never liked it anyway is an eBay for break-ups, where you can purge yourself of these items with a little catharsis on the side. Reselling jewelry from these sort of disasters has become a popular business (like Out of your life, which will actually send you a "break-up box" for the process), but what about all the other things that get left behind?_Buyers also benefit: a Mac case is half-priced on the site, with a note explaining that the seller's boyfriend "was never a good listener. Which probably explains why he bought me a Mac Air case… not only did I not have a Mac, I didn't even have a computer yet."_The site relies on humor and heartstrings more than ease of use. The buying process is less technical than Amazon and eBay addicts will like, as it begins by merely messaging the seller to set up the deal via PayPal. And the inventory is lacking at the moment. But the stories of failed relationships are where the intrigue lies, and also what leads to some serious under-pricing._Still, Never liked it anyway is skewed in favor of the lovelorn. In addition to clearing out some space, you get to gripe about your ex—something that won't help your sale over at Craigslist, but definitely will here. You even rate your recovery since the breakup, which include a bevy of emotions like "What break up?" and "Getting drunk too often."

Hope you never have the heart-ache, but interesting place to get rid of quirky stuff.
Happy&Healthy 2012/Ron

OVGUIDE.com (hereafter OVG) is very handy helping you locate a video or TV show of interest. Turns out OVG's search results will steer you to OTHER SITES where you can view your video but generally at a COST, of course. I executed a search: (FOX's "FRINGE" season2/episode 1 - I'd missed), and was really knocked out by what seemed to be free access to some great stuff.

Forty-seven minutes into my program a screen pops up informing me I'd "exceeded my bandwidth". I hate exceeding my bandwidth. Bottom line I could 'come back in about an HOUR and watch more, or, cough-up $59.95 for a years membership' and watch to my heart's content.

So OVG search actually costs $10 for a complete membership (a watered-down free version is available), AND... whatever web site you're routed to will likely charge to see that video.

This is not to say that OVG isn't handy, but ultimately FREE it's not.

Rather than pony-up $60 without checking, I slid over to "fox.com." A quick search found Fringe which I watched in it's entirety, absolutely gratis. FOX is great about that.

This seems the most reliable/valid accounting of Tessline I could find. There are articles supporting Tessline (sponsored by Tessline?) Many more calling the company a "Scam" and "ponzi scheme". The article I've sampled below seems the most reliable involving court actions against the company.

At the BOTTOM, you'll find the link to the full article.

"Insurer Allianz has obtained High Court injunctions against an Irish-based financial services company that is subject of a warning from the Central Bank of Ireland and a Garda investigation.

Allianz sought the injunctions against Tessline Ltd, with an address at Crescent Building Northwood Crescent, Northwood, Santry, Dublin 9, after the defendant said it was insured by Allianz.

Allianz claimed Tessline had misled customers about its insurance status in posts on social media platforms, including YouTube.

Allianz said it never insured or had an agreement with Tessline, which has held itself out to be an investment and trading firm and an "unquestionable leader in the online investment and asset management markets".

Tessline had displayed falsified signed documents with what appears to be the Allianz company seal on its website, and on social media posts, to support its claim that a contract of insurance existed between the parties, Allianz also claimed.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/allianz-gets-high-court-injunction-against-tessline-1.*******

Here's how Ghostery (a consumer Ad Blocking system) describes how they work:

"Be a web detective.

Ghostery is your window into the invisible web tags, web bugs, pixels and beacons that are included on web pages in order to get an idea of your online behavior. Ghostery tracks over 1,400 trackers and gives you a roll-call of the ad networks, behavioral data providers, web publishers, and other companies interested in your activity."

Millions of consumers use ad-blockers hoping to get away from all that flash marketing which can be such an annoyance.
A report today (06-18-13) says that one of the most popular ad-blocking services, Ghostery, is collecting data about your browsing habits all the time it's blocking ads, allowing its parent company, Evidon, to sell that data to advertisers!

"This is not a scheme," MIT quotes Scott Meyer, Evidon's CEO, as saying. It's helpful to give advertisers Ghostery's data because advertisers don't generally want to target people who have opted out of advertising, he says.

B. S. If a company is in bed with advertisers, almost certainly selling results of your browsing habits. Better to not be in bed with Ghostery on the consumer side.

Someone related to Evidon or Ghostery is bound to squeal in response to serious allegations.
Best
Ron
**************
UPDATE 05-13-15: Web Security is a serious thing. I've gotten two questions recently about the app "Ghostery", my review of which appears above. I'm not an IT/networking guru. I rely on research I've done, and use common sense. I have LifeHackers spin on Ghostery, AND, a response to LH's thoughts by the company which owns Ghostery. All in all, a fairly comprehensive look at the product, from both sides. I'm going to paste Lifehacker's thoughts, along with Ghostery's response below.

While lengthy, it's all the info you'll need to made a good decision about using the app. Hope this helps. If you disagree with what I've leave, that's fine. No need to write and argue about it. Do as you please:_____________________________

LIFEHACKER'S SPIN:
Ghostery is owned by Evidon, a company that collects and provides data to advertising companies. It has a feature called GhostRank that you can check to "support" them. The problem is, Ghostery blocks sites from gathering personal information on youbut Ghostrank will take note the ads you encounter and which ones you block, and sends that information back to advertisers so they can better formulate their ads to avoid being blocked. The data is anonymous, and Ghostery still does everything it promises to do to protect your privacy.

You could argue this is a good thing, and that it'll help advertisers create better, less intrusive ads. The other argument is that GhostRank is a tool to build a better mousetrap, as it wereunblockable ads and better tracking cookies. That's not lost on privacy advocates:

A major source of business for Evidon is selling data that helps ad companies ensure their compliance with AdChoices, a self-regulatory program supposed to help people opt out of targeted ads. Some experts say AdChoices is confusing to consumers, and it has been criticized by U.S. and EU policymakers. "Evidon has a financial incentive to encourage the program's adoption and discourage alternatives like Do Not Track and cookie blocking as well as to maintain positive relationships with intrusive advertising companies," says Jonathan Mayer, a Stanford grad student and privacy advocate active in efforts to develop a standard "Do Not Track" feature for web browsers.

EVIDON'S REPLY:: Adam DeMartino, of Ghostery, reached out to offer his side of the story. He says: The data we collect in GhostRank doesn't contain any information about the actual ads that were seen by panel members. Rather, we simply report on the technologies that are used to deliver those ads, the performance characteristics of the URLs those technologies were seen on, and if the user blocked that particular technology company. GhostRank can't see the actual ads or anything about the criteria that were used to target them.

Hit the link below to read the full story at Mashable, and then check out our favorite privacy protection tools if you need more options. Popular Ad Blocker Also Helps the Ad Industry | Mashable

Alan Henry
6/19/13 3:10pm
Well that's irritating. I guess I'll be sure Ghostrank is off.

Alan
6/19/13 3:16pm
I always found Ghostery rather bothersome when I tried it some years ago. Always found it easier to use Trueblock, and to tell Mozilla/Firefox/SeaMonkey to prevent 3rd party cookies & to let me choose which cookies to allow.

Frank
6/19/13 3:15pm
Yeah, this definitely cuts both ways (and I've been tweaking the piece because I don't want it to come off sensational) - it's opt-in, and when we were talking about it, we were both "this is great! The data they get will help them build less crappy ads that everyone doesn't just want to block" and "yeah, but having your privacy extension owned by an ad company is kinda scummy" at the same time. Ultimately, we just wanted to throw up the warning - both about the feature and the company - so people can make an educated decision.

* I still use Ghostery, and have changed my previous rating from ONE star, to FOUR, I feel the app works. There will always be a security risk, even marginally so, when you use security apps like these. Idea is to get significant benefit, while giving the least away.
"Disconnect" is an alternative to Ghostery. Check out a comparison in this forum: http://bit.ly/1bQCS0D

Site should be banned, along with several other freeware hawkers. You can bet most anything downloaded with have malware, or worse, so try to avoid. How-To-Geek, explains it all:
http://bit.ly/1A5x1cW

I have hunch this is a bad organization. CAUTION!

Intelius, the online go-to site for scoops on "person-of-interest's: personal data. I've used the service myself and never for pleasant reasons. Intelius JUST released a new "service" called TrueRep.com. Here's a release from the WSJ on what the intent is:_"People-search website Intelius Inc. unveiled a new paid service on Tuesday that allows consumers to see and edit the public records and other profile information companies compile about them.

For $9.95 a month during a trial period, the new service, TrueRep.com, will give subscribers access to the information that employers, friends and others can find about them via background checks on its people-search sites. Information includes address history, personal information, professional information, criminal records, civil judgments and online profiles.

"Most people don't understand the amount of information about themselves that is out there," says Prakash Kondepudi, senior vice president of sales and business strategy at Intelius.

The launch of the Intelius's new paid service comes as the $25 billion online advertising industry is scrambling to make more transparent its practice of collecting, selling and using Web browsing and other profile information to ward off federal regulation."_ When TrueRep showed-up in my in-box, it seemed interesting, an opportunity to gauge my "profile" on the net (High - Low and 1-100). I showed on the high-side at "75". TrueRep offered me opportunities to select information (addresses, phones, aka, etc.) to "suppress". I simply checked boxes adjacent to the information I wanted "suppressed" and saved.

Long story short... this morning (two days after I updated my TrueRep profile) my Gmail account was hacked, there was mail sent to contacts on that E-mail account (all of which SOLICITED BUSINESS - I had NOTHING to do with!), an attempt to purchase products on eBay, and communications with complete strangers on a Yahoo mail account. This has NEVER happened to me before, not that I consider myself immune, but the proximity to TrueRep is just a bit too coincidental for my comfort. The parent co. Intelius is in the business of SUPPLYING hard-to-get information at premium costs. So what I effectively did (and others will likely do as well), is tell Intelius what information is IMPORTANT to me, and which I don't care about.

Upon signing-up, pages of purchase and interest related instances will be scrolled before you. You're asked to check YES, that's me where you were involved,... or NO, indicated it was someone with similar info - but NOT you. You quite literally hand TruerRep/Intelius all the minutia, all the tiny details about yourself, purchasing trends and interests, an organization who sells one's personal info to another. I have to question the wisdom of supplying this info (in the interest of being MORE invisible), and Intelius' motives in acquiring this kind of deep profile. Will the data be incorporated into their "People Search" operation? C'mon.

In canceling and doing my best to create errata of what they had on my personal life... I discovered - and I promise you... smile... I never saw this, nor am I lax about small print - It carries a $9.95 per month fee to continue to "suppress" your data from those who would give your data up. Rather like the fox guarding the chicken coupe... no?

Keep an eye ion Intelius and TrueRep. I have a real hunch about these dynamics. Just a word to the wise. I'll be spending next week sewing up the holes punched through two E-mail accounts and a load of crap with Ebay, etc.

Be careful out there...
Ron

ADDENDUM: Comments from consumers on Wall Street Journals Forum:
(1) Mark B. Wrote:
Wow, I hope people don't get suckered into this new scam! Let me summarize in a nutshell. For paid fee, you can do a background check on yourself, edit what is not current and add any extra information such as social network user names, etc What you have is providing intelius with more up-to-date information so they can resell your information to the next person that looks you up! If you want to fix your reputation on the net, watch your post on social networks, go to your county recorders office, have information that is critical sealed, so data vendors like intelius can't retrieve these critical information.

(2)Bill H. Wrote:
Boy, am I glad I read the Terms of Service Agreement before I registered! Read item 3:

"Additional Restrictions and Warranties. You authorize us to use your information to search the World Wide Web using any tools available. You authorize us to use the information you provide to create and publish web content. You grant us the right to publish any or all of the content you provide on any websites we deem fit for the purposes of the TrueRep service. You authorize us to modify any content as we see fit to provide the service. You warrant that you have the right to distribute the content you provide us, and to indemnify us against any damages arising from the utilization of the TrueRep service on your behalf, including the publication or other use of the content you provide whether due to copyright infringement or other reason. You authorize us to act on your behalf in creating accounts on other sites in your name. You represent and warrant that you are truthfully representing your identity and identity-related information to us, and agree to release and hold harmless TrueRep for any loss or damage to you resulting from a false or inaccurate representation of identity or identity-related information."

You'd have to be loony to agree to terms like this.
Let friends know... when TrueRep shows in your in-box... dust 'em.

Smarmy web site business robbing the poor. Stay Clear!

Wendy of Lewiston, ID December 16,2009

"I checked into this bank card empire and learned about this "home business". I told the gentleman I had just lost my job and had very little money, but he assured me that for $199 and $19.99/mth, I would have a website and training to sell merchant services.

They waited about a week for more funds to appear in my account before I became a member. I got a packet from them with two CD's that didn't explain exactly what I was selling or for how much. It also said that my website address was on the top of the form which it was not. I was told by the man who I signed-up with that I could do this business by simply talking to local business owners that I knew and then I could advertise as I started making money.

Over the next couple months, I received 7 or 8 more phone calls from different people. I always asked them for my website address, but was told I would be called back with that information (which never happened). With each call, I was asked how much was in my bank account and if I had any credit cards or people to loan me money. The final phone call a man just told me straight out that I couldn't do this business without $10,000 to give them for an email blaster program.

I was told to "call back when I have money". I was treated rudely and abusively on the phonein three different calls.

They took funds out of my account every month and I received nothing.

BUYER BEWARE!

Another web site seemingly unscrupulously taking advantage of consumers. AVOID these people. In a consumer's own words:

Luis of Belvidere, IL August 31,2009

"On Aug 30,2009 I had found a charge on my credit card I did not authorized. When I visited the website it said-"FREE TUBE VIDEO ARCHIVE - 100% Free Of Charge". It asked for my credit card number to identify my legal age and according to their advertisement the business would charge my card.

I have found out that his business "FREE TUBE VIDEO ARCHIVE" is a scam. It charged my card $37.88. It minds of well have been a million dollars to me. I do not have money to be thrown about.

I had to order a new card that cost me $5.00 + 37.88 + fax to rebut a $10+the threat of ID theft= no amount of money could replace the time, money, and a phone calls i had to make. But put it bluntly it cost me at least $300.00".

BUYER BEWARE!

Here's a Legal site you clearly want to avoid. There are several responsible legal web sites that provide what's promised at really reasonable rates (zoom.com being one). What follows is a report from someone who used this site and found them thieves:

Doug of Worcester, MA December 8,2009

"I was looking to incorporate a company, and thought it would be helpful to have a little legal help in doing that, but that it would require much. So I found Standard Legal. They claimed to have a 'software that would allow me to file in any state.'

Well, what they provided for $34.95 was the 2-page PDF document that you can find on the state website for free, or you can submit your filing electronically directly with the state (and the filing costs less). Plus Standard Legal provided a bunch of other documents so I couldn't actually figure out the document I needed. The PDF I did download could not be filled out electronically.

I called trying to explain my concerns and dissatisfaction, but the woman cut me off every time. There was not software to help fill anything out. So she just made me out as stupid and unreasonable. She also claimed that they were prepared (implying by their own lawyers.) She called it 'legal form software'. Just because it's electronic does not make is software. Totally bogus".

Buyer Beware!

One thing I've noticed about most "hate" websites is they try hard to present a scholarly 'feel', educated, professional and savvy. It's rather that they believe sounded erudite about hate will make you buy-in and join-up.

I think most, regardless of religion or ethnicity, are offended by sites like this one.

It's not just any particular group either. Some people just love to hate. Take
"www.hatebook.org". These folks simply have a good deal of fun hating. In a world as tossed with paranoia, fear, and misunderstanding as we have, the last thing we need to do is preach hate.

There is something YOU CAN DO! One excellent place to report HATE SITES would be to: "www.ic3.gov/default.aspx". This connects to a JOINT INITIATIVE between the FBI, and The Bureau Of Justice Assistance (BJA).

At the bottom of the above sight, there is in bright, red letters a banner saying, "FILE A COMPLAINT". You can do so and it does not take long. The point the FBI makes, quite simply the more a particular site gets reported, the more likely they are to "investigate", likely close them up. The squeaky wheel get's greased.

So there IS something we can all do. The next time you spot a site like:
www.88tube.net, a notorious white supremacy gang, if you are revolted, you now have a place to report your ire. The more we do, the less we potentially will see of them.

Thanks to "Ryan Dube" at "MakeUseOf.com" for use of his thoughts!