MeCanto – your music collection on the web

MeCanto let you Listen to your music collection on the web and your mobile phone.

Features:

• Upload and sync music using the PC client.
• Unlimited free online storage for your music.
• Music is neatly organized according to genre, artists, etc.
• Create and edit your own playlists.
• No need to manually sync again.
• Use it on your mobile too.
• Edit playlists online, search for videos on Youtube and scrobble it to your last.fm account.

Recommended by MakeUseOf.

Free Phone Calls With iPod Touch

If you want to reach out and iPod Touch someone, Bob Rankin explains how to make Free Phone Calls With iPod Touch.

Free Skype Call Recorder

MP3 Skype Recorder will “automatically records all your Skype conversations (including conferences). It stores your conversations locally in files using compact and very popular MP3 format. The tool can record P2P Skype calls and SkypeOut calls as well as calls to Skype Online number. The program sits in the system tray and monitors skype calls.
It starts recording automatically when you begin conversation.
It can record several calls simultaneously (one active with others on hold).
When doing so the recorder stores every call in separate file for later use.
Simple and intuitive interface requires almost no tuning.
All you have to do is install the program and provide it with access to the Skype client.”

Freeware.  Windows 2000, XP, Vista.

Top 50 iPhone Apps for Educators (and students!)

The Online Education Database presents a list of Top 50 iPhone Apps for Educators, many of which could also be useful to students.

Lots of scheduling, countdowns to due dates, organizers, spellchecking, calculators, WordPress blogging, Facebook, teaching tools, and even a few brain-stimulating games.

Turn Your Cellphone Into A Copy Machine

MakeUseOf has a post on how to Turn Your Cellphone Into A Copy Machine.

Some very practical advice on what can and cannot be done, and how to work around it, when using your phone’s camera to take shots of something you need a copy of.

MySpeed VoIP tests VoIP connection quality

Considering changing or starting phone service using your Internet connection?

MySpeed provides VoIP quality tests to test your VoIP connection quality.  This will help you see if your Internet service is up to the level that will give you acceptable voice service comparable to traditional phone lines.

WireNode : Create your Own Mobile Startpages

MakeUseOf has a post on WireNode.

Wirenode allows you to Create your Own Mobile Startpages for mobile/cellphones.

Features:

• Create attractive mobile websites with minimal effort.
• Take your favorite websites/feeds and put them on one mobile-friendly page.
• Highly customizable: Add custom headers, change background colors, add feeds, add images etc.
• Access your mobilized page at page_name@wirednode.mobi
• Create as many mobile pages as you want.
• Mobilize your existing blog and allow your readers to access it from a mobile.
• Track how many people visit your mobile website.

Free for personal use at this time.

Stopping Phone Spam on Your Cell Phone

Scambusters has advice on Stopping Phone Spam on Your Cell Phone.

“First, don’t respond to texts you receive on your cell phone based on the belief that they’re coming from someone you know.”

“Second, guard your cell phone number. Never give it out…”

“Third, if you get what you believe is a spam text message, save it and notify your service provider.”

“Finally, you can ask your provider to completely disable ALL text messaging services on your cell phone so you don’t get any text messages.”

More information at the link.

How to stop Skype spam

The Kim Komando radio show and web site has instructions for Skype users on How to stop Skype spam.  It’s a matter of the proper settings.

Streaming Video From Your Cell Phone

MakeUseOf has an article on Qik which can capture video from the webcam on your mobile device and at the same time live stream it to anyone in the world via the internet. The process is easy – all you need to have is a web enabled mobile phone and a valid email ID.

Features:

* Streaming real time video from your cell phone.
* Easy to use and good quality (provided your data connection is fast enough).
* Supports many mobile phones, see full list here.
* Share videos with everyone or make them available only to certain people.
* Join groups and communicate with people of similar interests.
* Qik is free, however cellphone provider charges might apply.
* Recommended only for users on unlimited (or very cheap) data plan.

EveryCall.us: Easily Trace Calls From Unknown Numbers

EveryCall.us: Easily Trace Calls From Unknown Numbers

MakeUseOf has a review on an interesting service.  While it’s not exactly usual for this blog, it could be important and useful.

When you have calls that are not identified, or that might not be from the person that the caller claims to be, or some kind of nuisance or harassment, this service allows you to identify a caller (at least some of the time) and even leave comments about that number.

Make your website friendly for cellphones

MakeUseOf recommends Google Mobilizer for adapting any website for use on a cellphone.

Google Mobilizer will take “any website and make it viewable on your mobile phone or PDA. Simply go to Google Mobilizer and enter the website URL, indicate whether you want images on/off, and click ‘GO’. Mobilizer will present you with a neat, add-free and stripped down version of the website. You also get a navigation menu to easily browse through website’s pages.”

Note: this is a very brief page with a place to enter the URL, and a checkbox if there are no images.  This does not actually change the website; it just reformats a copy of it and makes it available.  Handy if you need to see something on a page intended for a full screen view only, and checking the HTML may give you some ideas on how to create a mobile-friendly version of your own website.

thePickApp for handy utilities

thePickApp is loaded with handy utilities like a free iPod video converter, a free audio CD creator, and many other useful items, many covering media but also some like a Registry cleaner.

Fight cell phone spam!

Consumer Reports has an article on how to fight spam (voice or text) coming in on your cell phone.

1. Depending on your cell plan, you may be able to remove the charges if you call your carrier immediately.

2. Your plan may allow you to go online and block certain addresses.

3. Report the spammer to the FCC: File a complaint with the FCC by filling out online form 1088.

4. Register your cell phone number with the National Do Not Call Registry.  Yes, it is for cell phones, too.

5. Be wary of downloading anything from the web to your cell phone.  This could open you up to spam and even worse problems, such as viruses!

and, in this blogger’s suggestion:

6. Thinking of transferring your home phone number to your cell phone?  Be warned: a spammer can legitimately claim that they didn’t know that was not still a land line number, and therefore did not, as far as they could know, call a cell phone.  Think about biting the bullet and switching to a totally new phone number for your cell.  If you do switch your number from land to cell, be sure you register the landline phone with the Registry (above) first!

Which cell phone do you prefer?

Finding the phone with the right combination of features, that is convenient for the way you use it… not an easy choice.  MakeUseOf reviews a new site that lets you test drive phones, called  TryPhone.

The site is adding more phones soon but has a number of them already.  You can see:

• For each phone view: dozens of demos and howto video (ex. how to download music), full specs list (battery life, dimensions, weight …), user reviews and ratings, etc.
• Compare multiple phones side-by-side.

Putting your blog/site on a phone screen

MakeUseOf has reviews of services to convert your blog or pages into a format for phone screens.  Both services are free.

“Want to make your website mobile friendly? Andanza is a fully automated service that can mobilize any type of blog that offers RSS or Atom feeds. It takes about a minute and consists of three easy steps: Type in the URL, personalize the site’s look and feel and validate. Once finished, make sure to add the URL to your mobile bookmarks, OR if you’re a blogger then add it to your website.”

Another review:

“Another similar service is Mofuse. Mofuse offers pretty much everything you get with Andanza plus ad revenue sharing and an option to automatically redirect mobile users to mobile-friendly version of the website.”

Google’s 411 service for your phone

Google has a 411 phone directory service. Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411 (that’s 1-800-4664-411) and “say where. Say what you’re looking for. GOOG-411 will connect you with the business you choose. This is a toll-free voice service.

If you are calling from a mobile device, GOOG-411 can even send you a text message with more details and a map. Simply say “Text message” or “Map it.”

BTW (By The Way): this has a hidden motive.  Google’s speech recognition people are using this as a way to collect samples of lots of people talking, to create better speech recognition software for the future.  It’s not intended for tying information to people, but just to give software all the variations people have in pronouncing things.

Podlinez for podcasts on your phone

Podlinez is a free service that lets you listen to podcasts on your phone.Enter the RSS feed URL for a podcast in the box on their site to get a phone number you can call to hear it, or browse their directory for a number to try. If your favorite podcast isn’t already in the directory, you can add it immediately and it’ll be available to call within minutes.

Recommended by SmartComputing magazine.

Buymytronics wants your old stuff

Buymytronics wants “your used, new or broken Electronics today! We offer a fast, simple, and eco-friendly way for you to get money for your iPod, iPhone, Nintendo, Microsoft, Zune, Sony or PSP Game Console. We accept iPod Classic, Touch, Video, Photo, Nano, Mini, 4th to 1st Generation iPods, iPhone, Zune 2 and 1, Wii, DS Lite, Game Cube, Playstation 3, 2 and 1, X-Box, X-Box 360, PSP game consoles. We don’t care about the condition of your electronics. We will accept a Bricked iPhone, a Sad Faced Hard Drive iPod, a New PS3, an X-Box with a Disk Read Error or an old Wii. We will pay you top dollar for your unwanted electronic devices – guaranteed! Keep your eWaste out of the landfill and get some quick cash in return!”

Also cell phones, PDAs, laptops, camcorders and digital cameras.

They will send a quote on what you want to sell. This might be a good way to recycle your old equipment. Suggested by Coolsites newsletter.

Glide for uploading and managing data by computer or phone

Glide lets you upload and manage your data, as well as use online software. “Glide Welcomes PC, Mac, Linux, RIM BlackBerry, Palm, Windows Mobile, Symbian and iPhone Users.” Up to 2GB free, more with monthly or annual billing.