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Free Fridays
Published by: on 05-09-2014
If you are going to advertise in Twitter and Facebook, it pays to create good looking and compelling ads.
Look at http://www.adparlor.com/admocks/index.php
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Look at http://www.adparlor.com/admocks/index.php
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Published by: on 11-09-2012
Ok. So James Bond cries. Hasn't happened since George Lazenby and for similar reasons too. OK short and sweet. Too much Dench time. seriously anymore closeups of her ancient punim and they should rename the movie Judi Skyfall. This movie was more about the aging Dench than the swashbuckling Bond. Not enough real action. Lot of time spent building plot and sadness and anxiety. But really Live and Let Die and countless other stil achieve a PACE that this film regrettably fails to deliver. It really felt like a 2nd cousin to the original Bourne movies.
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Published by: on 11-02-2012
Hurricane Sandy has been devastating to a large part of our country and the effect of its damage will last for years. Our thoughts are with the victims of Hurricane Sandy as well as those who have risked their lives to help those in need.
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Published by: on 10-26-2012
It might be 85 in Los Angeles today, but Fall is officially here. Once we pass Halloween, its just a hop, skip, and a fun-size snickers to Thanksgiving and the rest of the holidays. So what will you need to prepare for it?
Think about what are the most stressful areas of the holidays for you. Do you spend too much too soon? Wait to buy gifts at the last minute? Promise too many people you'll spend Turkey day with their mother-in-law? Here are a couple great (and free) apps to help ease you into the holidays right.
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Published by: on 10-12-2012
Isn't it amazing that Halloween is almost here? I feel like we just were talking about new trends of 2012 and here we are, nearing the end of it. These last three months of the year represents a lot of good things to both individuals and businesses, yet we all feel the nervousness of extra spending grasping at us. This is the time of year where everyone spends a lot, whether it be for more hours for employees or holiday bonuses or extra shipping, every person will be feeling it in the wallet in just a few weeks. So how to lower the stress in the busy business season? Simple, get Adaptu Wallet.
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Published by: on 10-05-2012
We like to highlight great apps on LADezign, but this time we get to review an app made by our own Jason Ciment. EarnIt is an easy to use To Do List that helps you list tasks and goals you want to accomplish in the near future. There are many To Do Lists that do the same thing, but EarnIt is unique for a very specific reason.
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Published by: on 09-21-2012
The long awaited (well, yearlong awaited) iPhone 5 has arrived! Each iPhone has been better than the last, so we're incredibly excited to see what it does for mobile business owners. To celebrate, let's look at some of our favorite free business iPhone apps over at LADezign.
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Published by: on 09-14-2012
Its always interesting when a new app breaks the rules. Followerwonk, an app with a name consisting of 4 syllables yet still comes off cute and inviting, is definitely a rule breaker. Go ahead, say it five times fast. We'll wait.
So what is Followerwonk and what does it do for you? Basically it's an SEOmoz app designed to find more followers suited to your Twitter page. Searching for potential twitter followers has always been a pain because a.) They are so many bots out there b.) The search options have always been lackluster and c.) Even when you do get followers, a lot of the time they end up being competitors/more bots. But now, Tweeting business owners can relax, because Followerwonk can do the best searching for you.
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Published by: on 09-07-2012
David Ackert has a great post on his site http://www.ackertadvisory.com/ talking about what a hidden treasure LinkedIn Events is and we couldn't agree more. Take a look at the post here.
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Published by: on 08-31-2012
The IMA Conference & Impact Awards is where innovators in internet marketing and SEO will come together to collaborate on their methods of success and goals to the future of marketing. The conference, which takes place September 20-22 at the CityCenter complex in Vegas, will give company owners and marketing strategists a chance to present their unique growth plans that have worked for them in the past and what they will use in the future.
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Published by: on 08-24-2012
Friendships. They are connections that can last lifetimes and have the ability to group people that under different circumstances may have never crossed paths. Not only due friendships suit the individuals in them, they have shown to be a great source for grouped consumers in a similar path. This is why social media suits both users and advertisers so well: they work together, not separately. The folks here at LADezign are always looking for new ways to promote companies through social media and friend networks.
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Published by: on 08-03-2012
It has been a long time since Gmail has had competition in the decent free email browser game, but that day has come. Microsoft will launch a new version of Hotmail, Outlook.com and everyone is talking about what it will offer, and for good reason. From what we can tell, it looks to be a modernized email system that most experts are predicting will catch on with email users like wildfire. So much so, in fact, that many are suggesting that you quickly register your name with Outlook.com, or else you could miss out on the next big thing in email. So what makes it so great? Let's take a look.
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Published by: on 07-13-2012
Every business owner with a website knows about Google Analytics. Some like it, some have issues. For the most part there are ups and downs to Google Analytics. The plus side is that you'll get accurate results, seeing as they're from, you know, Google itself. The problem is that relying on Google Analytics is also relying on as much information as Google is willing to give. For many business owners, this has become a problem. In some ways you can't blame Google, because if you give away too much information, you lose the reason for paid searches. Free milk, buying the cow and all that.
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Published by: on 05-25-2012
This week, Yahoo released their brand new web browser extension and, short of some hiccups, has already received rave reviews. Does it live up to the hype? We took a first look and made a list of our own personal thoughts as well as what this new browser might change about web design.
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Published by: on 04-13-2012
What are your most effective strategies for managing your time and helping your colleagues and employees to manage theirs? If this is something you haven't really thought about in terms of revising your work tactics for improved efficiency, it might just be because you don't have a reliable way to track the time devoted to various tasks and projects on given days. After all, variables like unexpected calls, meetings, minor emergencies, and other distractions make it difficult to gauge how much time a particular task takes up. Why fixate on watching a clock when a nice piece of freeware like Grindstone will do it for your workplace?
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Published by: on 04-06-2012
How do you get your days off to productive start? Getting up when we aim to instead of hitting the Snooze button five times is usually a good beginning, but the temptation to grab another ten minutes of rest can be strong when work or personal responsibilities have us stretched particularly thin. What's worse is that those additional Z's often don't make us feel that more rested, even when we get them by accidentally disabling our alarm clocks and oversleeping (it's okay, we all do it), because that piercing sound jolts us awake unnaturally. Funny how a free mobile app like Alarm Clock Xtreme beat the conventional nightstand clocks to a solution for this.
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Published by: on 03-30-2012
How often is the quality of a photo you take on your mobile beneath your expectations? Granted, mobile cameras have come a long way in the just a few years since they were a coveted novelty, but all too often yours may fail to capture the level of detail for which you'd hoped. There may also be times when you find yourself wishing you had some of the same effects and enhancement capabilities available on a PC-based photo editing program. Well, with PicsArt Photo Studio you have exactly this in the palm of your hand. Don't worry, you don't have to be a Los Angeles website design company to afford this. It is indeed for Free Friday.
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Published by: on 03-23-2012
How savvy is your Windows troubleshooting? While its PC's are certainly efficient, long-lasting, and user-friendly, they are vulnerable to viruses, crashes, and freezes which, as I'm sure many of you have experienced firsthand, tend to occur at the most inopportune times. Also, solving severe issues often involves reformatting and reinstalling your hard drive, and being forced to purge your computer of all your files. If you want a great tool for intercepting common PC issues before they snowball and sabotage your work or creative pursuits, look into the Windows Repair Tool (WRT) offered through Tweaking.com
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Published by: on 03-16-2012
How do you convey an idea when words don't quite get the point across? You might use one or more of the handy doodling or illustration apps we've highlighted in previous blog posts, or you might turn to a convenient and obvious resource: Google Images. The issue with the latter solution is that many of the images that come up are not within the public domain, nor is Creative Commons license an option. This can be quite a nuisance if you are unable to generate your own images or pay to use copyrighted ones but you need visual aid in a pinch, unless you have CCFinder.
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Published by: on 03-09-2012
How do you avoid having to tediously retype large blocks of text? Typically you Copy and Paste, but oftentimes protected sites and graphic documents prevent users from doing so, which is understandable given the desire to curtail plagiarism. However, there are numerous occasions where the use of precise pre-existing text is entirely ethical and appropriate. Whether we're assembling presentations or setting up local directory listings for my Los Angeles website design clients, it is preferable that written content from their sites appear consistent. However, manually retyping is not exactly time-efficient, so tools like Capture2Text come in very handy.
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Published by: on 03-02-2012
When it's time to unwind and catch up on the latest movies, how do you arrive at a viewing choice? There are numerous accredited resources out there to help you, like Rotten Tomatoes, Indiewire, MovieFone, and any number of film critics' blogs. However, for many of us, leisurely browsing time is precious and we simply don't have time to go blog-hopping in search of trailers and reviews. Now for easy, one-stop movie catchup, there's TrailerPunk.
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Published by: on 02-24-2012
How often do you set up reminders for yourself for specific tasks? Most of us have used such a function at some point and with my growing base of Los Angeles website design clients I can attest that I do it numerous times in a day. Electronic reminders are not only for work tasks but personal responsibilities and leisure activities outside the office as well. Whatever the case, it helps to be able to customize reminders so you receive them not at the precise time you need to be somewhere but in enough advance that you're out the door to be perfectly punctual. FollowUpThen lets you get as specific with your reminders as you like.
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Published by: on 02-17-2012
Recently, Google+ just celebrated its 100 millionth member, including people, brands, and businesses. While Google may not be the Facebook-killer that many thought it would be, 100 million members is nothing to ignore and many businesses and brands are now flocking to the social network to set up a page in order to engage with their fans. Setting up a page is a relatively easy process. Here are the 5 steps you need to get going with G+, along with several tips and tricks you can use along the way.
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Published by: on 01-27-2012
How many steps does it take for you to reach various files and folders on your PC? Oftentimes, no matter how well we think we have our desktop items organized, it still takes a few moments of retracing our clicks and digging to find what we need, during which you probably find yourself thinking, "I wish I could right-click once and have everything in front of me." Well, now you can with the Windows extension, MyFolders.
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Published by: on 01-13-2012
What do you do when you're in a library, quiet office setting, or simply without your earphones or functioning sound and want to watch an online video? It could be anything from a smartphone tutorial to work-related content to the au courant funny cat video, but in most cases it's neither helpful nor entertaining if you can't hear what's being said. With online video content becoming more prolific every day, it makes sense to have a handy (and free) download like JustSubsPlayer.
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Published by: on 01-06-2012
What tools do you have for capturing great ideas for fresh content on the fly? Or rather, what do you do when you realize need to change material you just published from your PC after you've already headed out the door? One of the keys to succeeding in the growing Google economy is performing with real time immediacy.
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Published by: on 12-16-2011
What's your strategy for completing your holiday shopping early so you're not stuck doing it at the last minute? If you�re like many of us, you probably don't have the former and are currently struggling with the latter. As we count down to the final days before the year�s end, the product and price selections get progressively slimmer, making it a time-consuming challenge to knock down those last few items on the list. Even with the speed and one-click convenience of e-commerce, checking availability and locating the best deal can require a lot of sifting. Thankfully, The Find's free Shopping App can take over this task for you.
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Published by: on 12-09-2011
How organized is your online holiday shopping this year? It's easy to let the hectic nature of this happy season get the better of you when the wish lists of family members, friends, and colleagues require you to visit numerous e-commerce sites and keep track of various shopping carts, payments, and passwords. It's no wonder so many of us hand these tasks over to assistants. Yet, what if you had the support of four assistants in one simple and free browser app that consolidates all your shopping data? With Billeo, you do.
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Published by: on 12-02-2011
How many times has an important meeting been postponed or cancelled because of the varying availability and remote locations of its participants or the difficulty of sharing complex presentations and documents? Many of you might instantly point out online conferencing programs like GoToMeeting, which is an excellent solution that, as its users will acknowledge, doesn't come cheap. If you�re looking for a non-invasive, easy-to-setup computer-to-computer communication tool that offers pretty much the same features for free, go to Yugma instead.
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Published by: on 11-18-2011
When was the last time having to do basic math caught you off-guard? Don�t be embarrassed. It happens to the sharpest and the brightest of us if we're not accustomed to regularly crunching numbers. To alleviate this inconvenience, it's best to have a fast, reliable, quickly accessible calculator. Windows provides one, but having to go into the Start menu to pull it up can be kind of a nuisance. Instead, get the speedy and free alternative: CalcuTray.
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Published by: on 11-11-2011
How many times have you missed or showed up late to a meeting, event, or conference because the seemingly simple reminder tool on your PC was obscured by other programs and windows, or failed to appear at all? While it's happened to all of us at one point or another, that doesn't mean that our clients, colleagues, or even friends and family members will always be understanding due to The Little Appointment Reminder That Couldn't. And there's no reason they should have to be since Outlook has taken a cue from its user feedback and started offering an improved (and of course, free) Reminder Alerts feature.
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Published by: on 11-04-2011
How do you go about sending large documents and files?
If you have ever been sent a sizable file that was not properly compressed, you know what an inconvenience it can be. After irritatingly lengthy download time, you also discover that an enormous amount of your hard disk space has been eaten up in order to receive and store the attachment. Chances are you were a little irked at the colleague or acquaintance who sent you that file without taking the time to adjust it with an effective archiving and compression tool like 7-Zip.
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Published by: on 10-28-2011
While we've talked about several easy strategies for keeping your PC clean and uncluttered so that it runs as fast as possible, there is still the matter of making certain that getting rid of unnecessary programs actually banishes them for good. Adding software and tools to your computer is usually as simple as clicking Install and Run, but removing them can present a few more steps, and they vary from program to program.
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Published by: on 10-21-2011
How many times have your correspondences and projects run into inconvenient delays because an important file was sent to recipients in a format they were unable to open? This not only creates bothersome holdup with frequently time-sensitive matters, it can make both the sender and recipient look inefficient and technologically behind-the-times.
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Published by: on 10-14-2011
When outlining the benefits of various freeware alternatives to renowned (but often pricey) programs and apps that we have profiled on many Free Fridays past, one the features you�ve probably seen highlighted is the accurate recreation of familiar user interface. In less technical terms, this simply means that a freeware substitute effectively "mimics" the distinct placement of shortcuts, icons, and tools offered by the program it is meant to resemble. While this is just a perk of many items, it is the main purpose behind today�s featured goodie: ObjectDeck.
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Published by: on 10-07-2011
Have You Embraced the Coming Electronic Documents Age Yet?
While many companies have successfully transitioned to being paperless offices, or have just cut down on the amount of pen-and-paper transactions and tasks that your daily operations call for, you probably still have the occasional need to print documents.
I would say I can count on one hand the number of times per week that myself or any employee in the Los Angeles office of my website design company actually prints anything since so much can now be accomplished electronically.
However, since you don't need to be processing the multitude of print jobs you might have had to twenty years ago, you won�t necessarily need a pricey, multifaceted program full of features you�re never going to use.
Instead, you�d probably be better off sticking with a �bare bones� printer system with a reliable print auditing program to ensure that the printouts executed do not exceed the printouts needed.
Several of these programs are available at little to no cost, like this Free Friday�s pick, PaperCut.
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Published by: on 09-30-2011
In several previous Free Friday posts, we�ve noted that in addition to no-cost alternatives to programs like Microsoft Office, Photoshop, and Quickbooks, there are certainly free- and surprisingly streamlined- email systems available as well.
Every company needs to utilize email, but even platforms with low costs can add up quickly for businesses with limited funds. Also, why pay even $5 when you can have easily adaptable and multifaceted email solutions like eM Client for nothing?
Credited by PCMag.com as offering a formidable �Outlook clone,� eM Client offers an interface that users accustomed to Outlook appreciate, along with fast, fully integrated features.
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Published by: on 09-23-2011
Bring Out the GIMP�shop, That Is
In recent Free Friday posts, we�ve already gone over cost-free alternatives to commonly de rigueur- but also expensive- office applications and services like Microsoft Office and Quickbooks. Yet, not every enterprise�s needs are limited to accounting and word processing.
If you work in multimedia, flash, logo, or website design (like me), you are probably all too familiar with a program called Photoshop.
Photoshop is a highly versatile graphic editing tool that has set the standard for creating and editing digital images. Purchasing it also runs you approximately $700, which for many freelance designers and quite a few businesses is an unfeasibly hefty price tag.
Wouldn't it be nice to find a cheaper alternative? or even a free one?
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Published by: on 09-16-2011
Famous last words: "My computer never crashes"
Now that's funny.
How protected are the files on your computer in the event of a fire, power surge, hard drive collapse, or any number of other disasters that can wipe out your irretrievable document, pictures, videos, and other files?
Aside from the sentimental cost of losing personal files forever, the professional consequences of your client files and contacts being permanently erased could be catastrophic.
I don�t even like to consider the scenario of the customer data for all my magazine subscription, SEO, and web design clients getting simultaneously fried, but I know it can happen so I take the precaution of backing it up online.
I happen to use a secure system from Mozy but there are alternatives and you can do it too, easily (and yes, for free) with the Amazon Cloud Drive.
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Published by: on 09-09-2011
As we discussed in an earlier Free Friday post that profiled the free bookkeeping capabilities of Nevitium Invoice Manager, simply because a certain program, application, or service is necessary to operate a business does not mean there is always room for its subsequent cost within a budget.
Even our web site design and SEO company began as a small operation that relied on cheap but efficacious administrative tools.
This is especially the case with smaller enterprises and start-ups and commonplace but costly programs like Microsoft Office.
Yet, owners and employees need to create and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations like most everyone else, and now they can do this for free
Read on.
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Published by: on 09-02-2011
Are you looking for ways to be more efficient with your time?
How about just a nifty tool for your PC?
As technology affords us increasingly simple one-click access to the programs, applications, and files we need to complete our work successfully, the ability to multi-task at a faster pace has become a necessity.
It is not uncommon to have to work on multiple different projects simultaneously and transition back and forth from one to another seamlessly.
In these cases, you have probably found that the overall speed at which you can accomplish big tasks is mostly hindered by the little snags you hit along the way, like jumping from window to window of separate content on your screen.
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Published by: on 08-26-2011
Having problems finding files on your computer?
Do you remember the last time you really looked at your PC desktop?
Or rather the last time you attempted to because it is so cluttered with icons in disarray?
While you might feel confident that you know your computer like the back of your hand, it is only going to get progressively harder to keep track of which files and programs are stored in which locations.
This can facilitate disorganization and delays in both your professional and personal correspondences, not to mention that anyone who gets a look at your screen may develop doubts about your managerial savvy.
This Free Friday, we�ll discuss Fences
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Published by: on 08-19-2011
How Successful are You are Keeping Track of Your Cash Flow for Your Business?
In certain instances, you might need to spend money to make money, but for lots of small business owners, spending additional money on managing your money is not a practical option.
Yet, to keep your cash flow from collapsing around you faster than the blink of an eye, you need systematic software to keep track of the funds coming out and going in - and a quality version of this kind of software is hard to find at a cheap enough cost.
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Published by: on 07-15-2011
No one likes a sluggish computer: not a business owner; not an employee; and certainly not a client waiting on follow-up.
Wouldn't you like a way to avoid the drag?
For this Free Friday I want to share a free software download that might help you.
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Published by: on 07-08-2011
How often do you find that words can't convey what you are trying to express?
It's not for nothing that old adage that a picture is worth more than a thousand words.
Everytime I pass a Wells Fargo bank and see the horses that are supposed to remind us of the postmen that used to deliver the mail I am reminded of the days of horse and buggy delivering the mail where people would wait months to hear about the weather only to find themselves in another season by the time the post arrived?
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Published by: on 06-24-2011
Who are you going to call when your PC gets infected with a virus?
Seriously, what do you do - especially if you are not a tech-savvy computer geek (like me).
And even worse what if you are a tech-savvy aficionado and it happens to you?
Read on for this first Free Fridays blog posting to see what protections you can take to keep your desktop or laptop PC safe and secure.
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Latest Blog Posts
- Facebook and Twitter Ad Creator Software Tool
- Skyfall Movie Doesn't Disappoint Anyone Except James Bond
- Sending Our Thoughts Out To Everyone On The East Coast
- Fall Is Here! Which Apps Will You Need?
- Keep An Accountant In Your Pocket with Adaptu Wallet
- Finish Tasks and Earn Rewards At The Same Time with EarnIt App
- The New iPhone 5 is here! Let's Celebrate!
- Followerwonk With Us
- LinkedIn Events And Your Business
- Win A Free Ticket To The 2012 IMA Conference & Impact Awards
- Keep Your Stats Up With Klout
- Use It Or Lose It: Should You Register With Microsoft Outlook?
- Looking For Something Besides Google Analytics?
- A First Look At Yahoo! Axis
- Let Grindstone Gauge Your Task Completion Time
- Alarm Clock Xtreme Nixes the Anguish of Early Rising
- Optimize Your Mobile Photos with PicsArt
- Windows Repair Tool Gets to the Root of PC Problems
- Keep Your Image Use Copyright-Friendly with CCFinder
- Copying and Pasting Not Enabled? Try Capture2Text
- Behind on Your Favorite Flicks? Try TrailerPunk
- Never Forget Again with FollowUpThen
- How to Create a Successful Brand Page on Google Plus
- Make the Move to Better PC Organization with MyFolders
- No Sound? No Problem with JustSubsPlayer
- Manage Your Blog Content on the Go with Wordpress for iPad
- Last Minute Shopping Got You Frazzled? The Find Can Help
- Ease the E-Shopping Burden with Billeo
- Unify Your Conference Connections with Yugma
- Do the Math in a Fraction of the Time with CalcuTray
- Reminder Alerts Makes It Easy to Stay on Schedule
- Enjoy Faster, Smoother File Compression with 7-Zip
- Revo Keeps Your PC Clutter-Free
- Zip Through File Conversion with Zamzar
- ObjectDock Makes Mac Users Feel at Home
- Track and Trim Your Printing Volume with Freeware PaperCut Software
- eM Client Manages Your Correspondence at No Cost
- Bring Out the GIMP .. shop, That Is
- Store Much More Than Your MP3's on an Amazon Cloud Drive
- Avoid the High Costs of Office Suite Licenses with SoftMaker
- Wizmouse Lets Your Cursor Glide from Window to Window
- Remedy Your Disarranged PC Desktop with Free Software called Fences
- Keeping Track of Your Money Doesn't Have to Cost You an Arm and a Leg
- Simple Strategies to Speed Up Your PC
- If You Think You Have Bling, then you Better Get Jing
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