I was wrong.

After seeing Pictamatic, a free image host, that is.

Pictamatic is the Google of free image hosting – it does not even have a logo at the top (the logo is at the bottom of the page). It has only preview squares (clicking on which gives you a file upload box), and links to FAQ, and upload from a URL.

There is not even a sign up link – the sign up link on the home page takes you to the FAQ which explains why you do not even need a registration. Once you upload a bunch of images and click ‘Save these images’ , you get a permanent link saved and sent to your email ID. Accessing your images is as easy as bookmarking that link. Registration can’t get any simpler than that – I hope more sites learn from Pictamatic.

Pictamatic uses Flash 9 if available, and allows multiple image uploads. At the time of writing, I did not have Flash 9, so it showed me a little warning tucked into the top right corner ‘no Flash 9 installed – no batch uploading’ along with a link to the FAQ.

Also, the FAQ section of Pictamatic is excellent – clicking on a ‘why’ link from somewhere on the site takes you to the FAQ, and brings the section in question to the top of the page in a little animation, and highlights it. No more scrolling through hundreds of questions to find an answer if you disturbed the page anchor link by impatiently scrolling before page load is complete.

Visit Pictamatic

An original article by TechZilo

Easy, uncluttered, free image host: Pictamatic

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Unlike other image hosts which show you ads above, beside and beneath images (and in some cases, even over the image in an overlay), Pict is ad-free. This may not last long, and for the sake of the site, I hope they put up some advertisers (or find another revenue source), but from the view of a user, it is a welcome change.

The site does not require sign up – in fact, they do not even mention the advantages of signing up (eg. the site remembers your uploaded images). It is ridiculously easy to begin hosting images – the home page contains a bunch of squares, clicking on which will give you the file upload box.

Here’s the kicker – you can upload multiple images simultaneously, and everything is done via AJAX, so you do not even have to reload the page. There are options to save the images via email, upload image using a URL and bulk delete your uploaded images.

Visit Pict

An original article by TechZilo

Pict: Easy, free image hosting service

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You can write notes offline, go online and sync them, or work across multiple computers. You need to register to use Gearpad, but it is overall a very easy to use notepad worth trying, if plain-text note taking is all you need.

When you click the “Setup offline access” link, it will ask you for confirmation. Once it is set up, it changes to:

Gearpad was created by Aaron Bodman, who has worked on Greasemonkey, Google Gears and Google Chrome.

Visit Gearpad

An original article by TechZilo

Gearpad: web-based Gears-syncing notepad

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u.nu is one such URL shortener – it has the shortest number of characters in URL possible. There are other services with three letter domains, but u.nu also has a convenient API etc. for use.

Usually, API is used by services that interact with the site, but u.nu API is simple. To create a new short URL, all you have to do is, use the URL http://u.nu/unu-api-simple?url=<YOUR_URL> where YOUR URL is the original, longer URL. More details about the API are available here.

You can also drag the bookmarklet and place it on your bookmarks toolbar for easy access.

An original article by TechZilo

u.nu: shortest URL shortener

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• Create self-hosted URL shortener with Shorty

I find tiled backgrounds to be boring, but with ever expanding screen resolutions, I can see why it makes sense. Also, many users find repeating backgrounds to be minimalist and beautiful – each to his own, I guess.

An original article by TechZilo

Free Twitter patterns and texture backgrounds

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You can choose the kind of poll to be used, questions and answers, expiration date and whether to allow multiple votes per IP address.

Twtpoll is part of a bunch of free applications built by Twtapps.

An original article by TechZilo

Create Twitter polls and surveys: Twtpoll

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Google Reader is by far the most popular RSS reader, and its functionality, power tips and shortcuts have been praised highly. However, as with everything else Google, Reader could do with a touch of style.

As always, there would be a community of fans to take care of such shortcomings, and the solutions come in two ways. Both methods apply for Firefox only.

Mac OSX-style Google Reader

OSX-style Google Reader skin prettifies Google Reader to mimick the Mac OS X’s mail client, Mail.app’s interface. OSX-style Google Reader is available as a Stylish style (referred to as userstyle) or Greasemonkey script (referred to as userscript on the skin’s page).

Google Reader, Mac OSX style

Installing OSX-style Google Reader

• Install Firefox.
• Install Greasemonkey or Stylish extension for Firefox. I would recommend Greasemonkey extension, because it can be used for styles and scripts, whereas Stylish is for skinning alone.
• Install OSX-style Google Reader skin (choose “Load into Stylish” if you installed Stylish extension in previous step, or “Load as userscript” if you installed Greasemonkey in previous step).

Note: Google Reader has had its layout changed, hence I linked to an updated user style. It is slightly different from what is shown in screenshots above.

An original article by TechZilo

Beautify Google Reader with OS X Style for Google Reader Userstyle

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As you can see from the screenshot above, Coda.fm is designed well and enables you to find the albums or artists you want, quickly. There are sections for popular albums, artists, “popular albums this week”, “popular artists this week” and new releases. Songs are also neatly classified into genres that you can browse.

One thing that sets apart Coda.fm is the “Buy it at Amazon” link (visible on bottom right corner in above image) on the download pages. Apparently, they sold a few hundred albums within a few days of launch, proving once again that users buy albums if they can ‘taste’ it first (by downloading the full album on Coda.fm), and buy it easily (via Amazon). This proves once again that pirates do not always download songs illegally just because they do not want to pay.

An original article by TechZilo

Coda.fm – intuitive BitTorrent site for music

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You can view items sorted by source, for example Digg only. The source of sharing (Google Reader, Delicious, Stumble Upon etc.), some of the users who shared it and time since it was shared is shown for each item. There are also RSS feeds for home, popular, Digg only and latest items.

Perhaps the only complaint I have is that items sourced by feeds is available only for Digg – it would be nice to have them for Delicious, Stumble Upon etc.

Visit Friendfeed Links

An original article by TechZilo

Find popular links shared on FriendFeed with FriendFeedLinks

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They say a picture says a thousand words (click the image for a larger version)…

An original article by TechZilo

Digg really needs to fix this…

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CNNbrk is a Twitter account set up by CNN to update with the latest news, as they happen. Active Twitter users will find it useful, as you do not need to open or follow news websites often.

An original article by TechZilo

Follow CNNBrk on Twitter for breaking news updates

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Troys Twitter Script is a Greasemonkey script that brings a bunch of much-sought interface improvements to Twitter (on the web).

Features of Twitter Script

• Nested Replies
• Custom search tabs
• Status autocomplete
• Auto Link Compressor
• Auto Pagination
• RT button
• Media Embed ( YouTube, Twitpic, Movapic, Image URLs )
• URL Expansion
• Hash Tag Search Links

(from left) Nested replies, auto complete and script settings

The script can auto complete @usernames, show more tweets automatically (like in Google Reader), adds retweet button (which makes you wonder why it isn’t there by default), expansion of shortened URls (to the actual URl, with the anchor text being the title of the page linked) and hash tags linked to Twitter search pages.

Get Troys Twitter Script

Also see Tweetpkr, a bookmarklet that brings Twitter to your browser sidebar(works on all browsers).

An original article by TechZilo

Greasemonkey script to improve Twitter functionality

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Thanks to JK for alerting me about this. All you have to do is turn off Diggbar from the Viewing preferences.

An original article by TechZilo

Turn off Diggbar from viewing preferences

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Podcasts are more convenient in that you can listen to and stay updated with news without staying glued to your computer. You can listen to podcasts while jogging, working out in the gym, during the commute to office or while you chill out.

I have been listening to podcasts ever since I discovered Diggnation. Below is a roundup of the best, professional-quality podcasts in the technology niche. Instead of going by download stats, I looked for variety (gadgets, web, general tech and security) and also the style of podcasts. This is not a complete list by any means, but should get you started with the best, or if you already listen to other podcasts, add to your list. Please add your recommendations in comments, and also take the poll at the end of this post.

iTunes and RSS links have been provided. If you use a music player other than iPod, you might want to use Juice.

Weekly tech news: TWiT

TWiT is hosted by former TechTV host Leo Laporte, and features a host of other tech and web bigwigs regularly. TWiT is one of the most popular tech podcasts. For me, the standout factor is the clarity of voice, professionalism and wit of Leo Laporte. It makes listening to the podcast so much more fun.

Subscribe on: iTunes | RSS feed

Daily tech news: Tech5

Tech5 is, unlike any other podcast here, a daily podcast. It is around 5 minutes each, presented by tech luminary John Dvorak. As the author puts it, it is “the most important five minutes of your day”. Dvorak does a quick roundup of tech news. Dvorak also appears on TWiT, another podcast on this list.

Subscribe on: iTunes | RSS feed

Gadgets: GDGT

gdgt is a weekly podcast for the gadget lover. It features two of the biggest names in the gadget blogging industry – Peter Rojas (creator of both Gizmodo and Engadget) and Ryan Block (cofounder and former editor of Engadget). The podcast follows an informal, easy style that makes you feel it is more of an evening chit-chat than a popular, big-name podcast.

Subscribe on: iTunes | RSS feed (for other audio players)

Web 2.0: Diggnation

Diggnation is hosted by Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, and Alex Albrecht, former co-host TechTV’s The Screen Savers. Diggnation is a weekly video podcast with talk and comments on user-submitted content from Digg.

Subscribe on: iTunes | RSS feed

Security Now

Security Now is hosted by Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson – a legend in the security industry (and host of grc.com). It is a weekly podcast with important security news and tips. Security Now has a question-and-answer “mailbag” episode based on submissions from listeners every other week.

Subscribe on: iTunes | RSS feed

An original article by TechZilo

High-quality tech podcasts worth subscribing to

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If you found the DiggBar annoying and wanted to remove it (although I cannot think of any reason why you would), the Greasemonkey script Remove Digg Bar would help.

As with any other userscript, this requires Firefox and Greasemonkey addon (or similar extensions that utilize userscripts).

Although I have not tried it, a review on the site says that it works well with Greasekit on Safari.

Get Remove Digg Bar userscript

An original article by TechZilo

How to remove DiggBar (Greasemonkey script)

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