Online File Converter: PDFtoWord

It's that spur-of-the-moment need to convert a doc file to PDF and vice versa. But big bummer, when you get a really hard time finding a good file converter to do the latter. I never thought I'd be thankful enough to find PDFtoWord, where you can convert for FREE. My regular online file conversion site failed me on a particularly wrong (and restricted) PDF to text conversion.

So, it's about time that I include this no-obligation cloud app in this roster of website goodies. Oh, you need an email add to get on with this service. :)

For today, PDFtoWord is efficient and reliable: *****.

Merry Tweetmas from YugaTech!

My fave tech blogsite is hosting a merry lil contest. Here are the details:

Starting this week, we’ll be doing a series of different contests for our “YugaTech Great Gadget Giveaway” with a major theme around it. It will be really simple and have easy mechanics. Our contest for this week is called “Merry Tweetmas”.

Round 1: Our theme for this week will be Twitter. Here’s the mechanics:

1) Follow @abeolandres and @talk2globe on Twitter.

2) Post a tweet “Just entered to win a Modu Phone. Quick! Go follow @abeolandres and @talk2globe and retweet: http://bit.ly/6e2q7O #thanks2yugatech”

We’re giving away a Modu phone, 10 Globe Tattoo and 20 Php500 prepaid call cards randomly. That’s 31 winners in all for the Twitter giveaway.

Online Presentations: Screentoaster

Great news for educators! Screentoaster is a fun and easy way to get those e-learning modules on the move. Click on my sample screentoasted video (aka. screencast) for more info.

PS. did i tell you that this web app is free??! *****!

Free online screen recorder

Warm-The-Heart-Recipes: Panlasang Pinoy

While enjoying FL's weather, it kinda pains that I miss Pinoy homecooking. My housemate recently went into cooking sprees and just hated it that HE can cook so good. Secret weapon? Panlasangpinoy!

The site is fairly easy to navigate and cooking instructions are soo doable. It makes me think that I can probably manage to cook for 100 starving pinoys and Caucasians who are adventurous enough to try innards. hahaha.

For today, Panlasangpinoy saved my hunger pangs and sanity: *****

Warm-The-Heart Recipes: Nescafe Samalamig

I know it's past summer, but Nescafe Phils.' site is still on my mind. There is a collection of varied sago-filled coffee recipes that will surely hit your caffeine fix. Check out the coffee banana cooler, milky coffee mania, chocofee, wow man gulaman, and so much more. Some ingredients do need some local shopping like sago.. but you can figure it out by improvising ;)

As you try all these recipes, don't forget to rate them. And perhaps, you can mix and match some of the recipes to create a newer, grander version of your cool java.

Don't bother with "warm-the heart", this COOL recipe page for coffee lovers gets *****.

Photo Editor: Sumo Paint

Here we go again: photo enthusiasts will whet their photo editing skills through the online editor Sumo Paint. I recently signed in a free account to chance upon my curiosity. Just by seeing the video tutorial, well, I'm impressed! It's like a radioactive MS Paint but more. Photoshop needs to consider this stiff competition with this available online and free, at that!

The site seems very compact, and the tool bars are not as simple as Picnik. But who can complain, this provides more editing possibilities. It does need some getting use-to since it somehow merges social networking into this site. At least, people can see your work if you choose it on public mode.

Just because my creative juices are flowing, Sumo Paint deserves *****.

~drool~

Virtual Classrooms: Dimdim

School has been keeping me busy. And with technology on my side, I have been looking into virtual options in hosting classes online. As an instructor, automation and online exams do make me a more productive professional. It is cost-effective and at the same time, it is very convenient.

I discovered a lot of really good online classroom management tools on the Web. But Dimdim is free and promising. I haven't hosted my classroom yet, but soon enough, Dimdim will probably do justice to my classes. Long live the Internet!

For today, Dimdim has got me made! *****!

Tips and Tricks: Aruljohn

Summer has been keeping me away from work most of the time, and so this comeback is like a welcome drink. Back to business, I was a bit amazed of how Internet security has become so publicly available. It does bring the good and the bad, but with proper use, the next site I am sharing today is very efficient.

Aruljohn's site talks about network tracking and other cool (and geeky) stuff. The best feature would probably be IP tracking which is so ingenius especially when you're using different PCs. Check the site for other wonderful internet/technology-related tools that you might find useful. 

For today, Aruljohn's site deserves *****.

Warm-The-Heart Recipes: MY San Grahams

What is fun about this recipe site is it has a page dedicated for cooking with kids. It lists out kid-friendly recipes for that summer to-do activity. Most of the MY San's recipes are desserts. And of course, graham cakes and pies are their specialties. I love how they lay out the site and how navigating is easily done here.

Anyway, the Fun for Kids feature is really what got it here on my list. Thanks, MY San. :)

Of course, MY San Grahams deserves ***** today.

Online Store: Kim Store

It's not a surprise: I am a gadget freak. I don't normally post stores and give free publicity, but this is my exception. If you're in these islands, gadgets can be very pricey to the average consumer, but this site offers gadget shopping in surprisingly low prices. The entrepreneur behind this site needs some recognition for offering these wonderful deals to the average Pinoy. :)

For today, ***** for KimStore to satiate my gadget-hungry diet.

Online Presentations: Prezi

Are you tired of the usual PowerPoint presentations? There is an innovative way of presenting information over the net. Well, you create it online and have an offline player for your presentation. Prezi is a a godsend among virtual presenters who need new technology in delivering reports or facts and figures. With Prezi, you create your work on a virtual desk where you can pan in and out/zoom in and out your text and embedded objects. No download necessary!

Caution, though. Prezi needs some techie handling as the Flash-based desk can get very tricky with inexperienced users. It is quite overwhelming, but the features will surely knock you off your feet. Beat boring presentations with a Prezi.

For today, Prezi gets *****! woohoo!

Online Animator: DoInk

Up for some animation fun? No downloads required to complete your one-of-a-kind cartoon. It's very user-friendly and your projects can easily be shared to anybody online. DoInk is a very versatile web-based program for your momentary doodling lapses.

Hey, who said idle times call for uncreative moments? With DoInk, you actually enjoy your stick figures come to life. All you need to do is set up an account, and get those doodling done. The freehand tool allows anybody with great mouse control for that animation masterpiece. No tutorials necessary.

For today, DoInk gets ***** for doodling fun.

Warm-The-Heart Recipes: Kraft Meals

Lately, summer is beckoning my culinary skills to test. They always say you find a great listing of recipes online, but the fact of the matter is, it is NOT easy getting a tried-and-tested piece. Thankfully, Kraft Meals offers a forum (and more recipes!) for homemakers with culinary gusto.

This site is a Yahoo Group. So, in order to get into the mailing list, you need a Yahoo account. So far, my inbox is full of recipes and tips shared from members. Even on a Daily Digest mode, I am already thinking of turning off the subscription through email feature as it clogs my inbox.

For today, the great look of Kraft's site and its domain of recipes deserves *****.

Tips and Tricks: Pipl

The Web is pretty awesome, yet very scary. If you're looking for long-lost friends, Pipl can be the best tool out there. However, if someone is stalking you, then better hide this site from his/her eyes! Pipl scavenges the web with any of the typed in information: name, email, username, phone. It's very interesting, at the same time, intimidating.

Use with caution. But with this site, it's very efficient in people-searching. I still award it with *****. :)

Tips and Tricks: NameChk

Almost everybody wants to maintain a single username for all the commonly used web accounts. Unfortunately, you cannot "own" a name unless you got it first in the database. Anyway, NameChk keeps your guesswork at bay. It literally checks your username availability among the commonly subscribed websites. With this tool, you can set up an account without trouble and competition as to who gets your username first.

For today, NameChk gets ***** for the convenience of setting up an account with your preferences.

Online Fun: Face in Hole

Images get easily mashed up with the available photo editors out there. Here is one site that you can use for the fun of it. Try inserting your face on any of the "bodies" available in the different categories. This is one way of sprucing up that drab social page that you have.

For today, Face in Hole deserves ***** attention. :)

Online Videos: Free TV-Video-Online

Streaming movies is the buzz for the week! My student just gave me another site that adds to the bounty of P2P movie watching. What I love about this site is the immense list of movies AND TV shows that are updated regularly! Wow.

Talk about movie marathons! It beats blue ray players, with the choices of titles here.

Anyway, thanks Karl for this awesome site. I might as well cancel out my movie rental subscription with a local DVD store.

For today, a whooping ***** for this wonderful online video bonus!

Online Videos: TV Okay

While in the topic of Summer and movie-watching, here's another movie portal that offers free streaming of great movie releases and TV show episodes. No wonder ditching the TV is an option these days as the ever-reliable PC gets into the living room action with these multimedia perks.

What I love about this site is the choices that you can make with viewing and the updated list of movie titles. Although no true movie site catches and replaces my fave already-zapped-from-web-existence movie site, but this comes in as a close second (or 3rd) after I just wrote PlayandWatch.

Movies, can't live without 'em even if I am not a true-blue movie buff. For today, TV Okay gets a more-than-OK rate, *****!

Online Videos: PlayandWatch

Summer is moving faster than I could type on this blog. The heat just wants me to stay indoors. What fun it is with movie streaming and online gaming. For today, my suking movie site is completely wiped off from the Web. So, the dilemma of finding a more functional and reliable (read: location-friendly) video portal that offers great releases is becoming clearer like the summer sun.

One productive evening, I found out about Playandwatch. It does not bring the usual bells and whistles like my fave movie site, but this has been a good substitute. On good bandwidth, you can get movies, TV shows and even some games. There's more to movies on this site, as the name implies.

Yet, I'm happy. Movie-watching and summer bumming go hand-in-hand with this site. Yes, *****!

Font Generator: YourFonts

This month has been very, uh, serious. Work has been really hectic. So when I saw this site, there was an overwhelming feeling of warmth. Something always brightens my day online.

Anyway, YourFonts make your own handwriting into a font. How cool is that?! It digitizes your handwriting and make it into a template. This is free (for now), so head on and abuse it.

Uh, oh. Still a tough week. Gotta do this one and head to work.

For this perk-me-up, *****!

Online Financial Manager: Spending Diary

Here is another site that keeps track of your spending. SpendingDiary is a no-sense web app that stores all your expenditures on a calendar basis. It allows you to monitor expenses and may perhaps, help you save. Currently, it uses dollars, euros, pounds and rupees as denominations. Despite the missing peso currency, their service still offers a good financial manager option.

Since it is online-based, you don't have to keep an active file in your hard drives. Just log on to your account, and get your financial details ready. This is a fairly simply interface, so do not expect bells and whistles here. It merely stores information in a more convenient and organized way. All you need to do is keep your receipts and enter the data to keep track of spending.

For today, SpendingDiary gets *****.

Online Hard Drive: Syncplicty

Cloud computing is getting better with time. A few days ago, I was bit worried about my over-the-2Gb-limit with my free DropBox account. Subscribing to more storage for a fee was not an option. Don't you just hate it when you need to reorganize your synced folders and delete most of them?

Anyhoo, TG for Syncplicity. As usual, in one of my idle browsing moments, I stumbled upon Syncplicity. It had the same concept and architecture as DropBox and it did more syncing with other Web 2.0 apps (e.g. Google Docs & Facebook). As I toured around and viewed the how-to feature, I couldn't help but blab over it to another human (in the person of Sheryl, eherm) who will simply find this app a-m-a-z-i-n-g!

Definetly, a keeper. If you want to sync your files from different computers and make flash drives obsolete, then go sign-up. If not, you can leave your email address for an invite and up my standard 2GB with 1Gb for referring. :) Everybody wins with DropBox AND Syncplicity.

For today, Syncplicity gets ***** for saving my virtual storage/syncing dilemma. YaY!

Noodle & Peanut Show

On a lighter note, pls vote for our video entry featuring my kids and their favorite milk. I hope you spread the word. Getting 1yr supply of milk eases Net-geek Mama's pocket quite tremendously.. HAHAHA :)

Please view the video and vote here.

Online Photo Storage: Picasa 3

"Auto-sync". That is the magic word that make my knees grow weak. I know, I know. Picasa? Now? I have been mistakenly ignorant about this product. Years ago, Picasa 1 was terrible in my photo-hosting dictionary, but something powerful had to lure me back to the Picasa Download page. And from the minute that I did download and run it, I felt no remorse at all!

This is a downloaded program. How come it's here on my URL pick? Plain simple: auto sync. I can sync my photos from the PC to the web in one click. Wheew... that's a godsend for a PAS photographer like me. I have so many photos eating up my PCs and the thing with syncing is just magnificent. I can make room for more pics when I delete them too after compiling all of them in the easy-as-ever movie maker embedded in the downloaded Picasa 3. Free 1GB offering for web albums would probably be the jackpot too as other photo-hosting sites put a hefty price tag for additional space.

Enuf said. Here's the How-To-Like-Picasa3 Video coz I'm running breathless over this tool! Most definitely, ***** for today!