40 Unusual Websites you should Bookmark

1. beFunky – Awesome web app that turns images to cartoonized paintings and videos to cartoons.
2. DisplayWars – Incredibly simple tool that helps lots of people. Want to buy a new screen? DisaplyWars lets you compare screen sizes by mapping one display size on top of the other. For smaller items see SizeEasy.
3. [NO LONGER WORKS] DocSyncer – Synchronize office documents in your ‘My Documents’ folder with Google Docs account.
4. JotYou – By using this service you can send messages to others so they get them only when they are in the area you specify. [Video]
5. Keybr – Online keyboard to practice your touch typing skills.
6. Mint – The simplest way to manage your finances. More about Mint.
7. Numbr – Free disposable phone numbers.
8. PDFHammer – Merge, edit and rearrange PDF documents online.
9. PhoneSpell – Ever wondered if you phone number spells something memorable ? PhoneSpell will find it out.
10. SecondRotation / BuyMyTronics – Want to cash in on your old iPod ? Or mobile phone ? Both of these services will buy your old (broken) gadget, regardless of its condition.

Other

11. [NO LONGER WORKS] BeamIt – Send pictures, music, videos, docs or any other file to your cellphone.

12. BooksInMyPhone – Download and read copyright-free books on a mobile phone. Comes with its own book reader.
13. CallTheFuture – Schedule text messages and get them delivered (as a voicemail) on any desired date in the future.
14. CameraSummary – Extracts so called EXIF data from the images. Shows what model of digicam was used, image creation date and time, resolution settings, location and so on.
15. CanYouRunIt – One-click web app that inspects your PC’s hardware and software settings to determine whether or not it meets gaming requirements for a game of your choice.
16. CellSwapper – Transfer your current mobile contract to someone else. Or get a free plan with only a short term contract.
17. CivilAnswers – Free legal assistance.
18. ControlC – This small cross-platform (Win, Mac, Linux) monitors your clipboard and saves everything online.
19. Definr – Incredibly fast online dictionary. It takes abt 14 ms to lookup a word.
20. Drop.io – By far the coolest service for private file collaboration and transfers. Add files by email, send voice messages from phone, etc.
21. File-Destructor 2 – Generates files (Doc, PDF, … ) that look genuine but won’t launch properly. Basically, it’s a tool that helps you put all the blame on your “faulty computer”.
22. [NO LONGER WORKS] File-encryptor – Secure encryption tool to freely encrypt/decrypt sensitive files online. Quite handy for sending over sensitive files.
23. [NO LONGER WORKS] FlashPhone – Free flash-based SIP-softphone. Simply add your SIP account and you’re good to go. No need to install anything.
24. Google Mobilizer – Makes your fav. websites mobile friendly. Must-have for your mobile bookmarks.
25. GetMyFBIfile – Here you can generate letter templates that you can use to request for a free copy of your FBI file.
26. LetterMeLater – Offers one feature that your email doesn’t have, “˜the ability to schedule when an email should be sent’. Coolest part about, you can use it directly from your email program (GMail, Outlook, etc.).
27. [NO LONGER WORKS] Mailbucket – Finally, a tool to help you forward emails to your feedreader.
28. Mobical – Over-the-air mobilebackup and restore service. Backup phone contacts, calendar, bookmarks and settings.
29. [NO LONGER WORKS] MoDazzle – Access Facebook, LinkedIn and dozens of other web services (weather, stock quotes, etc.) via email or mobile text messaging. Update Facebook ‘status’, get un-read messages from Facebook inbox, get someone’s profile info from LinkedIn, and lots more.
30. Nanoscan – Super fast yet compehensive online virus scanner.
31. OhDon’tForget – It does only one thing, but does it really well: Schedule text message reminders to any phone.
32. ProQuo – Reduce junk mail by removing your personal data from telemarketing lists.
33. PPCalc – Comprehensive Paypal fees calculator.
34. Rondee – Fast, easy and free way to arrange phone conference calls with as many people as you want.
35. SpokenText – Convert PDF, Word, plain text, PowerPoint files, ,RSS news feeds, emails and web pages to speech.
36. Sullr – Obtain information about telephone lines in reverse mode. Get address, location, owner’s name etc.
37. WakerUpper – Schedule wake-up phone calls. Lots of useful features.
38. WebMarkers – Adds additional option to your ‘Print’ menu that lets you print documents (or webpages) directly to the web. [Screenshot]
39. WhatShouldIReadNext – Book recommendation service. Simply enter the author and title of your latest book and it will give you a list of recommended readings.
40. WorldTaxiMeter – Calculate the cost of a taxi ride in a number of top cities worldwide (London, New York, Rome “¦). Accessible both from the web and mobile phone.

If I Started Now: How to Start a Software Company That Makes $40,000 Per Month

by James Clear

This post is part of the If I Started Now series, which hands you the step–by–step blueprint on how to get started building a particular business.

Let me share a secret with you.

Software is the greatest tool for building a profitable business that the world has ever seen (even if you don’t have any money to get started).

Bold statement, I know.

However, once you’re finished watching today’s interview, I’m confident you’ll feel the same way.

Why Should I Watch This?

Today’s interview is with Dane Maxwell and it will cover the exact steps you need to take to go from nothing (seriously — you don’t even need an idea!) to a profitable software business.

Dane has already built four six–figure software companies and his biggest seller, Paperless Pipeline, currently pulls in over $40,000 per month. Yes, every month.

If you have ever thought about building an iPhone app, web app, or any type of software then this interview is for you.

The goal of this interview is to help you answer the question, “If I started building a software business, what steps should I take right now?”

Don’t miss this one. You’ll love it.

Click the Play Button Below

Mentioned In This Interview

Special Gift — Because Dane is my main man, he has decided to give away a free gift to Passive Panda readers. Click here to find out more.

Spin Selling — Dane mentions this book in the interview (and I promptly pull a copy off my shelf like it was planned all along). You can check it out on Amazon here.

The Foundation — Dane has also taught hundreds of students how to build their own software companies. One student, Sam Ovens, recently went from having no money to building an iPhone app that pulls in over $2,500 per month … and he did this all in 10 weeks. You can get a case study of Sam’s full story here.

What You Should Do Now

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts on this interview and on any questions you have about building a software company.

As always, I’ll do my best to help.

Taking on the dreaded expense report

Expensify

Expense reports that don't suck!

Lost receipts, misplaced corporate cards, arcane expense report software. The dreaded expense report is the bane of so many business travelers and freelancers. But a few high tech services have an answer, albeit with a dash of low tech too.
The mobile applications Expensify, Shoeboxed, and Lemon Wallet, all released over the past two years scan receipts, automatically turn them into spreadsheet files—and also automatically generate expense reports and even sophisticated financial analysis tools.
These time-saving receipt tools work thanks to top-notch scanner recognition. And the low-tech surprise of many of the receipt scanning apps: The use of human labor to verify auto-scanned receipts for expense reports.
Shoeboxed is open about human eyes looking at your receipts—promotional materials boast about "human-verified data extraction" of receipts at facilities in North Carolina and Australia. Both Expensify and Lemon Wallet also have verification of receipt data by human employees, although both use them to differing degrees. Lemon Wallet's co-founder Wences Casares said that the company initially used employees to input receipts, but switched to automatic scanning because of the cost and because too many errors were being made.
Alex Fitzpatrick, a political journalist at the website Mashable, swears by Expensify. "Expensify connects my credit and debit cards so I automatically submit expense reports, similar to how Mint works. But some expenses—especially cabs in Washington, D.C.--are still paid with cash. If I ask a cabbie for a paper receipt, Expensify's scanner does a great job of reading the handwriting on it," Fitzpatrick said.
When a user photographs a receipt, the receipt then undergoes a scanning process which transforms the image of a receipt into usable text which can be plugged into expense reports. This takes anywhere from five minutes to an hour, since receipts are typically photographed under a variety of lighting conditions (the technology used is nearly identical to depositing a check through a mobile phone).
"The scanned receipt is uploaded to our server and then goes thru a number of processes. Our imaging system cuts the receipt into a lot of little rectangles and uses these to identify the merchant name, phone number, and other important information." Caesares said. "Then this information goes through scanning for every small rectangle; we apply an algorithm confidence level to this and pass it if it is more than 50 percent."
Expensify, Shoeboxed, and Lemon Wallet then all verify data against a customer's previous records to make sure it hasn't been entered yet. Because the scanner process is resource-intensive for these service providers, users are typically limited in the number of free entries they can make monthly: All three charge for premium accounts with unlimited receipt uploads.
Shoeboxed's Corey Post said that the occasional mistakes made by OCR readers justified manual entry. Employees working in shifts at Shoeboxed's North Carolina headquarters manually proofread OCRed receipts. However, this takes longer than Lemon Wallet or Expensify: While most receipts take an hour or two to process, they can take up to 24 hours. "We try to balance instant gratification with keeping all employees in-house in the United States," says Post.
One of the largest target markets for expense report-generating apps is the freelancer community. According to a 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics report, there are approximately 10.3 million independent contractors in the United States. Many of these independent contractors work for multiple clients, all of whom typically require separate invoices. All three companies target their products at independent contractors and employees on business trips.
Ultimately, each service has distinct advantages and disadvantages. Lemon Wallet is by far the easiest to use, but has limited functionality. Shoeboxed offers an array of options and integration with Evernote, Quickbooks, Freshbooks, and a host of other external services, but takes much longer to process receipts and has more of a learning curve. Expensify, meanwhile, shares the service integration of Shoeboxed but has prices that could add up for small businesses with more than a handful of employees.
So should users feel secure with the use of human labor during the input process of their receipts?
Expensify's own website warns users not to upload sensitive information, or "a picture of anything you wouldn't be willing to throw into the trash."
(The author is a Reuters contributor) (Editing by John Peabody, Ryan McCarthy and Brian Tracey)http://expensify.com