The iPad is a must have gadget, it’s a handy little thingy that can be bring to anywhere you want. You can play games, surf the net, watch movies, listen to music, read eBooks, etc literally everything can be done on an iPad. But (Yea there’s a but) it does come with a drawback; If you want to do something that requires a flash player, it will not start and instead, it will show a blue cube in your screen.

It can be a bit disappointing to know that one of the best gadgets out in the market does not support Adobe Flash, a program that we are all used to. However, the Apple fanboys do not let the users down by creating alternatives to the flash players. Listed below are the top two flash player applications that you can use on your iPad:

Skyfire ($4.99 usd)

Skyfire is definitely one of the best flash player applications in the market. If you see a broken flash video icon in your screen, simply touch it with your finger to see if Skyfire can detect the video and if it does, it will pop out just like the one you see in a computer.

It also provides quick links in a click of a button to your favorite videos and other related content. The toolbar also has the regular buttons for a web browser such as the search button, bookmarks, tabs and viewing history. If you have got used to the wide computer screen it can also access the full version of a page, making it look wider than on a mobile screen.

Frash (Free)

Compared to Skyfire, Frash is still in developmental stage, but some users who are not satisfied with Skyfire purchase Frash instead. The only difference between the two, aside from the fact that Skyfire is a complete version, is that you will have to jailbreak your iPad in order to use it.

I have never jailbreak my iPad before but common sense applies here; you have to make sure that downloading it is safe. There are few people who claimed that using these flash players have caused their iPads to crash and break, so it is better to consult someone who has installed the product and ask for their experience with this app before installing it on your own iPad.

Just in case you are wondering, the iPad is designed to be a portable device, but flash player is intentionally left out of the device. Why? It is because they use up more of the battery life than any other applications. So if you want to preserve your battery life, it’s better to limit or better yet, don’t install flash apps on your iPad.

Looking at pictures of the family picnic can get pretty boring as you open one file, close it and open the next picture file. Wouldn’t it be cooler if you can create your own slideshow – displaying one picture after another, in sequence and at the pace you choose? It makes sense to viewers, that’s for sure. Especially if we’re talking about an instructional slideshow or a professional looking business presentation.

You want to look good and you want the visual information properly sequenced and paced to suit your purposes, whether it’s to entertain, educate or to show a new employee how to insert Tab A into Slot B.

You can purchase slideshow software but why would you when there are so many open source software apps and tools available, as in FREE. Here are some of my favorites. Try them. One of them will become your favorite. Guaranteed.

Roll ‘em.

1. Smilebox

I’m amazed at how deep in features Smilebox is. It does almost everything you could want:

* choose from 100s of predesigned templates
* design a slideshow for a specific occasion like a birthday or wedding reception
* integrate stills, digital video clips, narration and even a music bed and sound FX
* output the finished slideshow to an email, print it out or burn to a DVD with a click
* import files from any source – just browse your way to the best looking presentation ever

The interface is totally user friendly, making it easy to upload files and place them on the time line. You can also mix audio to create a narrated presentation complete with music – all in just a few minutes.

Smilebox is perfect for making personalized e-cards, online scrapbooks, photo albums, business quality presentations for upload to a client’s site – the list is endless.

And the cost? Zip. You’ll love how easy Smilebox makes slideshow creation. Even more, you’ll love how good your pictures look – especially when you provide a little narration to describe each shot.

Smilebox is one cool, photo sharing tool.

2. Photozig

Photozig does deliver a robust slideshow creator but there’s more to this download than putting on a good looking slideshow.

Photozig is also a great tool for organizing your picture files, using a “slide tray” to display all of your images. You can save pictures to different folders, create multimedia presentations, download complete folder contents to the time line for easy picture manipulation and edit your pictures with a centering and crop tool that lets you show your best side.

Photozig also lets you create personalized or business-oriented screensavers, wallpapers, DVDs and CDs. I’ve used Photozig a few times now and each time I do I discover more features and more functionality.

This slideshow editor gets two thumbs up from this reviewer.

3. Microsoft’s Photo Story 3

You know MS has to stake a claim in the photo editing realm and Photo Story 3 puts Microsoft on my “best of” list for the simple reason that it configures seamlessly with other Microsoft apps. It’s made by MS so it works with all other Microsoft image manipulation tools running in Windows XP.

The basic, home edition is pretty robust, but if you’re serious about your presentations, Microsoft also offers an MS Media Center edition, a special net book edition and a somewhat pricey professional edition for businesses that need more than PowerPoint.

The pro version is more than you need to create a slideshow for grandma, but for professionals who blog or otherwise work in the web world, Photo Story 3 puts control of your pix in your hands.

Try it, all you fans of MS. You’ll like the way it syncs up with all your other Microsoft tools.

4. PhotoStage

PhotoStage is made by NCH Software and it comes with a basketful of goodies.

First, there’s a complete, intuitive photo editor that simplifies preloading – something you’ll appreciate and a feature missing from some other free slideshow creators. You can zoom in or out, crop images, auto enhance and otherwise manipulate your pictures to suit your artistic preferences or your instructional needs. And it’s easy to use the PhotoStage editor.

Second, your finished slideshow can be output to DVD for viewing on any TV monitor (including high-def flat screens) or PSP, send your slide deck to any mobile device automatically, add vid-clips and more.

Finally, PhotoStage is 100% compatible with Vista based apps. You can add 100s of different pictures to create visual interest and keep your audience engaged, while looking every bit the professional in the process with a full slate of transition options.

Fun, fast and simple. This MS based slide sorter is a favorite.

5. Picasa

Most bloggers are familiar with Picasa – part of the Google Apps suite. It’s Google’s answer to Microsoft’s Photo Story product line and, I must say, it’s a handy little tool to download. FREE.

Unlike a lot of other OSS image creation software, Picasa has a lot of editing options that simplify photo editing and slideshow creation. For example, there’s an Auto Color option that optimizes the colors, even in scanned images in low res formats like gifs.

Picasa comes with an Auto Contrast feature, a Redeye compensator, a simple alignment tool, a border creation tool, templates and other fun stuff to simplify slideshow creation and photo editing.

I especially recommend Picasa for those shutterbugs who are using older digital cameras with lower res than the standards of today. The automated enhancement features “fill-in” the holes in your source materials making lower res images crystal clear. You’ll never have to delete an older photo. Just open it in Picasa, click the auto enhance features and even your old pix will pop on any HD screen.

I’ve used all of these tools for different purposes – from creating a family photo album to creating slideshows for enterprise tier corporate clients. Check ‘em out. One of these is perfect, whatever your slideshow creation needs.

And….cut.

Image via albany tim

If you’re a WordPress blogger you know how easy it is to post a new piece. The editing form for creating a new post is user intuitive and very friendly, even to newcomers within the blogosphere. But…

…as far as word processing editors are concerned, the WordPress blog editor is only available to users with internet connection. What if you have some terrific idea but there’s no way you get to jot it down on your WordPress dashboard?

NP. There are lots of offline, WordPress compatible editors – Complete wp programs that enable you to show your creative side as you whip up some good looking posts that actually say something worth reading.

1. wbloggar.com Cost: $0

Yep, you get a lot for nothing with wblogger. Just download the software and your blog posts will look better AND you’ll be able to post them faster, meaning you can do more in less time – increased productivity.

Create your post in wblogger’s editor and publish with a couple of clicks to WordPress, Blogger and the other popular blogging platforms we’ve all come to know and love.

With wblogger you can edit posts from a single dashboard, edit templates without reworking code strings, import text files, format text alignment (rather than the left, centered and right options found in the WordPress wysiwyg editor), even created colored HTML code to simplify placement of everything from pictures to charts and graphs.

wblogger supports all MS OSs from XP forward so even older systems will be able to take full advantage of this off-site editor. There’s a preview feature, a find and replace option and a sack full of useful goodies that’ll allow you to create better looking posts and get them on your blog faster.

2. Live Writer Cost: $0

From Microsoft, Live Writer , obviously, works well in any offline environment.

The interface is super easy, enabling instant previews of works in progress so changes can be made immediately. (Something I really like.) You have a complete selection of fonts (WordPress’ font menu is pretty short), define spacing, alignment, image placement, text wrapping, add photos and embed videos with a couple of clicks.

What’s especially cool about Live Writer is that there’s a growing number of plugins available that equip you to create the blog post creation tool that best suits your blogging needs. In other words, using these plugins, your Live Writer will look different from mine because we all blog to suit our own tastes – one of the benefits of blogging, right?

Just download Live Writer, create your posts offline and manually post to the WordPress editor. Simple, adaptable, flexible and expanding all the time. For this reason alone, I recommend all bloggers download Live Writer and take it for a test drive.

3. ScribeFire Blog Editor 3.4.6 Cost: $0

I’ve written extensively about Firefox addons because I love the concept. Ultimate customization of your own web browser. That’s what makes Firefox so popular. You design your browser according to your needs by downloading addons.

ScribeFire is a simple, but feature rich Firefox addon (so you’ll need to download Firefox first, which you should do any way if you haven’t already). Because ScribeFire is integrated into your Firefox browser, posting is super easy. ScribeFire delivers some very nice features including an image gallery (a time saver), a tabbed menu of features, an open page that can be scaled to suit your needs and artistic vision and a totally built-in sharing option that lets you publicize each new post as soon as you publish. Automatically.

If you’re a Firefox fanatic and a blogger (like me), you’ll use the latest edition of ScribeFire everyday.

4. Post2Blog

This tool is used by a lot of bloggers because it’s mighty, as in powerful, so if you’re serious about your blogging activities, I recommend you check out Post2Blog.

Where to start?

* a complete wysiwyg editor (naturally)
* hotkeys
* automated pinging to services you select (no more duplicate pings and no more pinging throughout the day)
* automatically tag each post for Digg, Technorati, Del.icio.us and other social bookmarking sites and blog search engines
* post content in virtually any format – videos, image files, text files – heck, this thing takes an MS word doc and holds the formatting after you cut-and-paste (that’s a first)
* automated image upload (saves cutting and pasting images from other sources)

There’s a lot more, but you get the idea. Post2Blog is a blogging machine that does everything to simplify post creation and flaring – all from a simple interface that you’ll warm to in minutes.

5. Quamana

I just started to experiment with Quamana after reading some very positive reviews and I have to admit, this is one cool blogging tool.

First, it works cross platform if you’re switching back and forth between the Mac and PC worlds, which many bloggers are.

The utility features are clearly labeled so there’s virtually no learning curve. Just install, open and get to work. Quamana makes advert creation simple (ideal for bloggers who want that paid advertising but don’t want to spend hours creating a clickthrough box).

There’s an easy HTML editor so you can add snippets with scrolling through a big block of code, image alignment is simple, text alignment simple, multiple window editing options, cross posting options, trackbacks and complete pinging features simplify your posting, your promotion and daily blog maintenance – all offline until you’re ready to go live.

Bloggers need all the help we can get to make our blogs look professional, to monetize without looking like a carnival midway, to organize content the way WE want to organize and to layout our posts the way WE want them to look.

Check them out. These 5 blogger apps are the perfect solution for the bloggers and the ideal starting place for those who want to become bloggers.

If you’re like most web users, when you need a picture you go to Google images, right? Sure, it’s simple and Google casts a wide net, but there are other image search engines that may be useful too.

Featured are some from my favorites folder.

1. PicSearch.com

PicSearch is rip art on steroids, offering a fine selection of pix with image size and file size listed under each image – always a consideration when bandwidth or storage is an issue, which it is for many startup blogs.

2. Imagery.com

I like a couple of things about this site. First, it’s usercentric with convenient tabbed search navigation. I can also see the full size image with just a click.

This image SE is fast, too. I can load anywhere from 20-100 images in nanoseconds. I can also select from a variety of image formats from JPG to PNG. Excellent picture research tool loaded on my desktop so you know it gets used.

3. Yahoo Image Search

Yahoo’s Image search provides the latest pictures uploaded from news sources, primarily. So, if you’re looking for photos of today’s one-trick-pony, this is your starting place.

Uploads are dated, showing just how new they are. Click on the Recent Images link after entering your search query. Maybe not as expansive as Google images, I use Yahoo’s Image search when I need a picture from today’s headlines (or tabloid).

4. Pixsy.com

Pretty cool image search engine. You access images from a number of sites simultaneously, i.e. Photobucket, ViewImages, etc. So enter your query and access a bunch of image resources with a click.

Switching formats is as simple as a click on a drop down menu. One feature I really like? I can store images on pixsy when I open an account. So, I can load up a bunch of useful images for five different projects and store them off site for use as needed. Saves my disk space and organizes visual content in a single place. Very convenient.

5. Flickr

This one needs no introduction.

It’s the number one online photo sharing site with a huge network of contributors. You find the good, the bad and the downright ugly on Flickr. Also, regular Flickr contributors upload the latest pictures of the latest activities in their geography. So, if I’m looking for quasi realtime shots taken by real people, Flickr is my top pick photo sharing site.

6. Webshots

Another photo sharing site. Contributors create albums, simplifying search by topic region or photographer. I always find something unexpected on Webshots. Warning: this site can be a real time waster if you’re easily distracted, there’s that much good stuff to see.

7. Corbis

This is the old Corbis Bettman collection – Pay per use.

Today, Corbis competes in the same arena as Getty, and other subscription sites. It also competes with free image search engines that scream “Rip Me!” So, Corbis has a decent public domain library, but read the TOS if you want to keep Corbis as a picture resource and you do.

Everything from contemporary to historic to downright strange, do a search and Corbis has something. You may have to pay a small fee – especially for the latest news pictures or anything that requires a search in-house. Otherwise, Corbis delivers diversity and some really oddball pictures waiting to be imported into Photoshop.

There’s no shortage of good source material. Plenty of images free for the taking. But please check the terms of service or you may have an account suspended for not playing by the usage rules and yes, there are usage rules so always read the TOS before posting a picture from any source to your site or blog.

Saves a bunch of headaches, and demonstrates that you’re a good web citizen by providing the appropriate credit and/or link, and even a “thanks for the image” thank you email loaded in your AR file.

Get the picture?

There’re so many free applications available on the W3 – strong apps that rival the high-priced software that you don’t really need. Why bother spending few hundred bucks on an overrated app when you can get all of them without spending a dime? Here are five of my “must-have” favorites – all free, all useful and all just a click away.

1. Open Office

Open Office does most of what Microsoft’s Office Suite does, but it does it free. Open Office 3 is a robust bundle that includes a powerful word processor, a spreadsheet function, a presentations maker, a graphics controller and a fully-loaded d-base. Sound familiar?

If you want to pay $300 for Microsoft Office, be my guest. But why would you when Open Office delivers the same features at $0?

Open office docs are fully compatible with Microsoft formats. But Open Office is also cross-platform so it’ll configure on your Mac and frankly, I think Open Office has more to offer than Mac’s preinstalled suite (except the graphics tools, but that’s what makes Macs Macs – they’re ability to manipulate graphics.)

So unless you’re a graphic designer, Open Office delivers a full office suite, with a huge support network and even tech support. So, if you DON’T have an office suite, or you’re still running the original Microsoft Office from your collage days, a lot has changed, and you can upgrade free.

2. Snippy

Snippy is a cool little screen capture app. Let’s say you find an interesting article or picture or post. In the past, you might make a screen capture and attach the whole page to send to a friend for a read.

Snippy simplifies screen capture by allowing you to snip just the part of the page you want to save or send. In the age of SMS and mobi, this is one tool you want to keep on your desktop and your cell. Hey, there’s only so much bandwidth to go around so save some with Snippy.

3. Sticky Notes

I solved my time management problem with this little freebie app.

Sticky Notes let’s me create virtual sticky notes that I place on my computer screen to remind to do this or call her.

Sticky Notes also makes it easy to identify high-priority and low-priority tasks using different colored backgrounds. Notes can be updated, tasks crossed off. Totally flexible.

Even better, once I’ve reviewed my notes for the day (or the next two hours) I can hide the stickies with a click until I need to know what’s next.

A free fix for folks with a lot on their minds.

4. LogMeIn

LogMeIn delivers a bunch of features including remote access to your main system (a time save when you’re on the road a lot), home or small office networking (router required, but you can buy one for less than $30 that’ll cover your house or small office in the spare room), mobi connectivity to the home office and remote control of your system via cell, PDA or laptop.

Heck, you can log on from the client’s office to access his files for discussion – right on his computer. No more lugging a laptop around for tinny PowerPoint presentations. LogMeIn accesses files remotely so you always look good and sound good. This one’s a no-brainer for the sole proprietor who spends a lot of time in the studio or getting face time with local clients.

5. FileZilla

FileZilla is a free FTP (file transfer protocol) solution. So what’s it to you? Well, FTP services have a lot of uses for today’s techno-savvy user, and no, you don’t have to be a geek.

FTPs are most often used to transfer large files (graphics, video and audio, for example) quickly and safely. (Let’s face it, if you attach a 4 gig file to an AOL email the whole system will have a nervous breakdown.)

Using FTP systems, you can move multi-gig batches of data smoothly. But FTPs are useful for other reasons.

There great for offsite storage as long as they’re encrypted (sFTP) and FireZilla is hard-wired for security. It supports FTP, FTPSSL or TLS and SHH Transfer Protocol. In other words, all the safe and secure off-site storage free. Why are you paying Carbon Lock and these other cost-you-money sites for secure off-site storage when you can get it free. And secure.

Also, if you plan to use a free-standing blogging client like Bleezer or Flock, you’ll need web access. FTPs are ideal for hooking you in to the matrix without paying a web host.

I like FileZilla’s list of features, too: x-platform, drag and drop support, easy GUI, filename filters, a tonne of bookmarking options so you can find what you need fast.

Bottom line? If you make your living off your hard drive like a lot of us do, (me included) an FTP program like FileZilla is free insurance in case of catastrophic data loss, or the loss of your album of family pix. Using a free FTP client like FileZilla lets you sleep more soundly at night.

And you can send data by the tonne without a blip. Safely and securely.

I’m always on the lookout for free apps that make your web-based world a little simpler so stay tuned. I’m on the trail for free.

Image via Paladin 27

It’s a tough economy. Lay-offs, plant closings, higher taxes, higher costs for everything from food to fuel, and in most homes, two incomes are the norm. In fact, two incomes is almost a requirement these days.

However, not all couples have the time to work full-time jobs. Let’s face it, a lot of us want to stay home and raise our kids. NP. There’s plenty of web-based work if you’re willing to hustle for it and you’ve got some skills.

Typing, data entry, simple bookkeeping, concierge services, proof-reading – these are the kinds of things home-based business owners do in this outsourced world – and they can do it from anywhere for any company. And still keep an eye on the kids.

Here are some “must haves” for the budding, home-based business owner. Work at home, earn some cash and raise a family. In the age of outsourcing, you can build a profitable business in a matter of weeks without shelling out a lot for tools, or even job leads.

1. Skype

Skype is a popular VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) tool that hooks you up to anyone, anywhere via computer.

Calling another Skype user is free, and dialing a phone, even half-way around the world, is just pennies a minute. You can talk to your clients on the other side of the planet for 20 minutes. Total cost using Skype or some other VoIP system? A couple of bucks. Really.

Skype also has a messaging service, serves as an e-mail client and you can even hook up a video cam to show off the professional you. Today, your clients for outsourced virtual services can be anywhere. And staying in touch is part of your work-from-home job. And while there are other VoIP plans you can purchase through your cell phone provider or Skype owns the on-line VoIP market.

Cost: $5.00 to open an account.

That buys you $5.00 of Skype time so the service is a give-away. You can also set Skype on auto-pilot by giving your credit card number. Then, whenever you run short of Skype time, your card is charged automatically so you never get cut off mid-sentence.

This is a must-have app for the work-from-home start-up that doesn’t want to see profits gobbled up by phone charges. VoIP cuts costs down to nothing, or at least keeps communication expenses under control.

2. Zoho

Zoho delivers a strong menu of virtual office applications because, as a virtual business owner, you need a virtual office for everything from conferencing to customer support.

And while Zoho won’t handle every task smoothly, it’ll simplify the home-based business task list with everything from virtual web conferencing (very cool, very simple, very essential) to on-line collaborations with clients in some distant corner of the world.

I also like Zoho because it provides the tools that enable the start-up, work-at-home business owner to expand his/her list of service offerings from day one. Not a total fix, Zoho solves daily problems and cuts workload down to manageable levels. It also equips you to do more for your clients – and that’s how you build an ever-expanding client base. Deliver more services faster and more reliably and they’ll be knocking on you virtual door looking to sign on for your service offerings.

Cost: $0

3. Basecamp

Basecamp isn’t free but the basic package, which is all you need, won’t be a budget buster, and you can chalk it up to the cost of doing business.

Basecamp is an on-line, virtual office and project management suite that delivers the flexibility your clients expect.

Using Basecamp, you set up work rooms for each client. Examine your work postings for the day from clients, mark projects complete on delivery, upload super-sized files in any format, track project progress at a glance and control your business from an adaptive, intuitive graphical user interface, also called a GUI.

And because each client around the globe has his or her own “virtual” space to share with you, that client feels special, and that’s what keeps clients coming back with that next assignment.

Cost: $24 a month for the basic membership; handles up to 15 accounts simultaneously.

4. Meebo

Meebo is an instant messaging service that links into all of the most common web portals – at least the ones used by the biggest percentage of your client base.

With this one app, you can send and receive instant messages over AOL, Yahoo, My Space, MSN, Jabber, Facebook and other IM services – all from a single launch pad.

Meebo runs in the background, unobtrusively, and keeps you in touch with clients quickly and simply and, today, that’s what your clients want. Fast communications simplified.

Regardless of what IM service your new client uses, you always get the message with Meebo, all on a single page GUI that also serves as CRM – customer relations management – software, keeping a complete record of all communications with clients. This tool is designed to prevent misunderstandings.

Cost: $0

5. Kappix DRoster

Kappix DRoster is a robust scheduling tool that you use to schedule the activities of your clients. No matter what type of work you do from home – from virtual assistant to web designer – you can absolutely be certain that one client will screw up YOUR work schedule by failing to submit docs or other information required to get the job done quickly.

Kappix DRoster replaces a manual client scheduler, like MS Outlook, automating messaging and scheduling of client-side deliveries, approvals and other work-related activities. You control the actions of the clients with this app, not the other way around.

Working from home means organizing the activities of your clients, and this scheduling tool let’s clients know what THEY have to do (and when) to keep the work flow smooth and your work-at-home business sailing along.

One disorganized client can shred your whole schedule in seconds, but with this app, YOU notify each client of what’s due and when. Sure, you’re the service provider but if your clients don’t cooperate, your business suffers. It’s as simple as that. Kappix DRoster keeps clients up to date on what’s expected of them. tTat collaboration and pro-active approach to client scheduling is critical to work-at-home success.

Cost: $0

6. Elance

Elance is, perhaps, the best known site for finding work in a range of categories. Are you a work-at-home programmer? Sign up with Elance. Administrative Assistant? There are 323 jobs listed under this category today – from data entry gigs to concierge buying requests.

Copy writer, lawyer, architectural services – regardless of what services you offer from home, Elance has job listings.

This service will cost you, however. Elance does have an entry-level, FREE plan but it’s really limited. You can’t connect your Elance profile and you’re limited on the number of jobs you can bid. (Yes, you bid on jobs on Elance and each bid costs 50 cents.)

Also, Elance takes an 8.75% chunk of the cost of any gig you get. That percentage goes down as you earn Elance more cash, but they will get their money from you, that’s a fact.

Tiered packages are also available for a monthly fee. The basic membership will set you back $9.95 monthly and the professional-tier goes for $19.95 a month.

However, you’ll make that back on the first job you land through Elance. Keep your bids low (give it away) until you get feedback from happy clients. Then gradually, raise your bids and earn more. The competition is fierce on Elance, but some of the jobs pay well by web standards and it’s a great way to network your way to home-based business success.

Instead of sitting around watching soap operas, or playing solitaire on that shiny new computer you just bought, earn some money working in your slippers, keep an eye on the kids and be your own boss. Millions of people are earning money from home.

Are you the next one to join their ranks?

One key factor in building a brand (it doesn’t happen overnight) is to have an easily recognizable logo – a visual cue that immediately identifies your company with nothing but a picture.

Is there anyone on the planet who DOESN’T recognize this logo?

Business owners often pay thousands of dollars for a graphic design company to create the perfect image to represent a company. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t even have to be colorful. But it does have to be memorable. And that can set you back a lot of cash – and there’s no certainty that the design company gets it right.

The fact is, you know your business, your products or services and, most importantly, your target market, better than anyone. So doesn’t it make sense that YOU create your own logo. Not only do you save cash, you nail the right look and feel, the right motif, the right color – the right everything to hit the sweet spot of your market, even if you have zero experience in design.

Fortunately, the web is loaded with lots of free logo makers – all offering free tools that’ll help you create the right logo to brand your company and hit that demographic bulls’ eye.

Save yourself some money (critical if you’re just starting out) and design your own company brand with these free logo making tools.

1. AAA Logo Maker

AAA Logo Maker is a full-featured design suite with all the tools of high-priced image creation software (think Photoshop: price tag $799) but none of the stuff you don’t need. It’s a logo maker, short and sweet.

You don’t have to be a Picasso to create a professional looking logo. You just need the right tool.

I like AAA logo maker for a couple of reasons. First. it’s OSS, and I like anything that’s free. But I also want a tool that does what it says it’s going to do.

The designers of AAA have stripped out all of the features you don’t need and pumped up the features the novice logo designer needs:

* a strong collection of design templates
* easy template manipulation (so you don’t look like a template)
* 1000s of logo objects from which to choose
* multi-formatting options so you can upload a jpg to your blog or website or create a doc that you can take to the printer for your stationery
* complete customization of text, logo objects, templates and other built-ins to get you started
* unusual fonts you won’t find in Microsoft Paint
* intuitive editing and manipulation tools
* full, 256 true-color palette
* tons of SFX options

AAA Logo Maker is a powerful tool, whether you need to create a single logo for your own business or you’re adding logo creation to your service offerings. It’s not PS, but you don’t have to shell out $800 to look professional, and that’s a trade-off I’ll make any day.

2. Innovative Logos

Company Logo Designer won both the Editor’s Pick Award and User’s Choice Award at the FreeDownloads Center, a site worthy of bookmarking because they have a ton of OSS tools, apps and utilities to save you money. In fact, it’s one of my favorite sites because there’s always some new tool available so I usually stop by a couple of times a week to see what’s new on the offerings page.

Now, this logo maker is the simplest to master so your learning curve is cut down significantly. But you also sacrifice customization in exchange for that ease of use.

This OSS logo maker has fewer objects and fewer templates (only 25) to play around with, but that’s okay. The suite also provides enough image manipulation tools to adapt one of those templates to suit your design needs, and project that spot-on brand.

I do wish the software came with a larger image library, but with all of the free clip art and rip art available, you can import what you need and change it to make it your own, i.e. no trademark infringement.

If you want it fast and easy, go with this OSS logo maker. If you want more options (and don’t mind a longer learning curve), use one of the more powerful tools recommended above.

3. Logo Ease

It employs an intuitive GUI that simplifies the process of logo creation. One cool feature is that Logo Ease is one of only a handful of OSS tools that allows you to create vector source files – something your programmer will love. These files hold formatting whether in digital or hard-copy formats. That’s a real benefit.

LogoEase comes with 100s of images and is adding new imagery all the time. It’s tough to complain about free software tools, but I do have a quibble with this logo designer. Purely subjective.

The images provided by LogoEase definitely have the look of clip art, and to the trained eye, nothing says newbie faster than clip art. But, again, you can import your own objects and images easily with this simple tool so the art that comes with the package isn’t a critical consideration.

With a little imagination, LogoEase will do what you want it to do – create a professional-looking brand image in just a few minutes. I use it and, with a couple of simple work-arounds, I can produce logos that’ll blow your socks off, and I’m not a graphic designer.

So, don’t let my subjective view of the clip art put you off. You may like it. Or, as I said, the tool provides enough features to turn any image into your image. Fast. No learning curve, here. Download, install, create, and broadcast your company brand.

4. VidLogo 3.8.6

VidLogo 3.8.6 creates animated logos for webcasts and webinars. It’ll run on most Windows OS including Win 95 for those using older systems.

VidLogo makes it simple to change video files to display your company’s brand or video watermarks to protect your intellectual property. VidLogo 3.8.6. allows for the creation of animated or AVI logos for videos. The software also supports other graphics formats including bmp and jpg graphics and turns a still image into one that moves. It’s animated – ideal for banner animations and other images that require true Alpha video support.

The latest version (the software is updated regularly) has a number of new, time-saving features including MPEG encoding, a preview feature and totally customizable compression so you decide on download times for your next webcast.

VidLogo has had some problems in the past but with each new version, this software delivers improved functionality and features that simplify animated logo creation.

Now, this software isn’t for sissies. You’ll have to experiment (that’s why I like the newly-added preview feature) but if you’re serious about logo creation and Web 2.0 features like webcasts, this is one tool worth learning to use.

I’ve tested the logos produced by VidLogo on a number of browsers installed on a long list of computers – desktops, laptops and net books and the results were a pleasant surprise. While it’s reasonable to expect color shifts from browser to browser (even when using true colors), the animated banners I created with this tool looked most cool whether I viewed them on IE, Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

But again, this tool does require some time to get used to. If you’re a site designer, you probably use Photoshop for image manipulation, but if you want that image to dance, download VidLogo and expand your service offerings.

That’s a good way to build your design business in this tough economy when business owners are looking to cut back on marketing costs. With VidLogo 3.8.6., you can make your client’s logo move – and that’s always eye-catching – even to the experienced web surfer.

VidLogo’s simple GUI is somewhat deceiving. While ease of use is an important consideration for the newbie, it’s important to remember that an animated logo is more difficult to create than a still image, regardless of which software you use.

5. XLogo

XLogo is available at sourceforge.net, a site worth a bookmark because they offer a lot of freeware and shareware that’ll save search time and, of course, time in creating the perfect brand.

XLogo operates on Macs outfitted with OS X for all you Mac users.

Your browser may not support display of this image. The features of this tool aren’t extensive but, again, it’ll do what you want if what you want is an attractive logo that you can create quickly.

XLogo is, of course, OSS which means it’s free. It also allows you to create logos in different languages with non-English characters – logos in Japanese, Spanish, French, et al.

One of the coolest features is that XLogo is designed for use by young kids just starting to realize the power of web design. That means its GUI is way simple. If your seven-year-old can use XLogo (and she can) how easy will it be for you to create that ideal image to sell your company’s message.

The software is based on LISP scripting, first developed back in the 1970s as a teaching language. XLogo employs a subset of LISP to create great looking graphics.

Now, you might think, well, this software uses out-dated scripting but the fact is LISP has been upgraded over the years and delivers a stable platform for image creation.

The logo creators detailed in this list are not truncated versions of more powerful, “premium” tools available at a cost. All of these logo makers are full-service tools.

Better still, each one is downloadable, testable, delete-able and free. So try them out to discover which logo maker works best for your needs – whether it’s a one-time creation or a value-added service offering to build your client base.

Guaranteed, one of these logo makers is the solution you’re looking for. Have fun. Learn how to create and manipulate logos.

And finally, create your own brand – one that is truly memorable.

Image via bre pettis

Used to be that each of us had our own little digital real estate – or own little blogs – so content management wasn’t a problem. Put up a post or don’t. Simple.

Today, multi-contributor blogs are extremely popular in schools and universities, across corporate campuses, with special interest groups, news and gossip blogs – multi-user blogs have become an important segment in the segmented blogosphere.

So, if you’re the blogmaster, you could be managing hundreds of submissions a day, in a variety of categories, and find yourself overloaded with content. Too many words; not enough time.

Fortunately, there are a number of tools for today’s blogmaster to help in the planning and posting of content in a timely and appropriate manner.

1. A Posting Schedule

Anthologyoi.com offers this as a plug-in and it’s a must-have. It’s a simple calendar tool that shows all future posts, due dates, who’s assigned to cover the story – everything in one place.

It gets even easier. This posting calendar mod enables you to simply click on a date to add or change the post timestamp to a different day, month or even next year. This makes updates way simple.

It also keeps your contributors up to date on assignments and deadlines.

2. Use a pre-publication reminder system.

Ericulous.com offers a pre-publication reminder system that’s like post-it notes on steroids. This tool is a simple checklist all posters follow before uploading to the world.

Most (there are others) come with style reminder lists so posts all look like they belong on that blog. There’s always an HTML editor and a preview of the post with one click so you know what’s being published before it hits your blogs’ top post position.

3. WordPress Author Plug-in

If you’re managing an active blog, or multiple blogs, check out the author plug-in at www.mikesmullin.com. This simple tool keeps out posters who haven’t been given access while allowing those contributors who do have access to enter the blog, post, make changes to older posts and even remove posts – a real time-saver and a lot fewer headaches.

As blogmaster, you can set permissions for different authors and even create a co-author option that allows for real time collaboration when two or more of your bloggers collaborate on a single piece.

4. Give Credit Where Credit is Due

WordPress’ Author List Widget and txfx.net’s Multiple Authors display the names of contributing posters, with links to author profiles and even an RSS chicklet so blog visitors can sign up for feeds from favorite authors.

The widget is totally customizable so special guest posters can get a mention, or if a poster didn’t make the cut that day, his or her name can easily be hidden from viewers, only to appear again the next day with a click.

5. Role Manager

This plug-in from im-web-gefunden.de (it’s in English) allows you to control access with even greater specificity, while assigning tasks and roles to various individuals involved in the publication of your blog.

The graphics department needs access, but they shouldn’t be able to alter text and keep your bloggers away from site graphics. This tool puts the blogmaster in control, assigning roles as needed.

Highly recommended to manage corporate and association blogs where niche posts show up throughout the day. Finally, if a poster doesn’t have an assigned role, role managers assume the post is spam so these tools are de facto spam filters – a real sweet bonus for the busy blogmaster.

6. Internal Communications

If you’re the blogmaster of the university blog or the global, corporate blog, it’s important to communicate with your posters, graphics and layout people, post responders and others associated with the blog.

I recommend either of two simple internal e-mail systems: catalinionescu.com’s Send Private Email or Email Users (from WordPress) – both popular plug-ins for active blogs. Stay in touch with your people through a simple plug-in and forget about external e-mail channels that may take hours to deliver an important message.

7. Feedback Notifications

A simple tool that enables you to notify authors of feedback left by blog readers from WordPress.

I like this tool because it puts me in complete control of which contributors receive notifications. In some cases, I want all posters to read a specific feedback. In other cases, I simply want the author to see the feedback.

A feedback notification mod simplifies my outgoing messaging, greatly simplifying my blogmaster chores.

And isn’t that what it’s all about?

Image via Mike Licht

There are dozens of desktop blogging clients from which to choose from, but which one does the best job for you? Cut down on your content creation and posting chores with the right desktop blogging apps, and get serious about your blogs with these 5 cool blogging applications.

1. Ecto

Ecto is deep in features. This desktop blog editor is designed for the Mac OSX operating system and enables you to publish to a broad range of blog systems including Blogger, Blojsom, TypePad, WordPress, Drupal and other popular blogging platforms. Its user-friendly interface makes quick work of managing multiple blogs.

Ecto offers both an RTF and HTML editor with a strong spell-checker, a very useful search and replace feature and syntax-color coding within the HTML editor – a real time saver when creating customized scripts.

Ecto also supports remote management options provided by MoveableType’s API, adapting to a variety of data structures, object classes and OS protocols, greatly simplifying application building.

Advanced features include broad-based documentation, easy thumbnail creation, customized post settings and publishing ease in a variety of languages so you can go global with your blog on launch day.

2. Bleezer

Bleezer continues to grow in popularity, in part, because it offers full functionality in Windows, OSX and Linux environments. I like it because it’s free, flexible and delivers plenty of options for pro bloggers.

Bleezer is a x-platform blog editor that works with the most popular blog platforms including the latest Blogger update. This desktop editing client delivers a WYSIWYG editor, simplifying content creation and posting. No more cut and paste required. Bleezer supports multiple categories, adds tags compatible with social bookmarking sites and makes custom mark ups in HTML simple.

Finally, to monetize any blog, Bleezer easily accommodates a host of ad placement services including Pingoat, ping-o-matic and Ping Technorati. Simply select the OS installed on your blog creation system and Bleezer makes ad management a snap.

3. Live Writer

Windows Live Writer is part of the Microsoft Essentials collection and works with the most popular blog services.

Some of the most useful features include:

# instant previews of all post uploads so you can change fonts, pictures, videos and other features before publishing
# simplified map creation features
# hyperlinks
# easy photo album creation
# simplified category tagging
# easy table, chart and graph creation.

While not as robust as some other desktop blog editors, Live Writer handles most tasks without a long learning curve.

4. Flock

Flock is built on Firefox, the open-source browser from Mozilla, and comes complete with downloadable buttons, menus and dependable security features to protect your piece of digital turf.

Flock calls itself a Social Web Browser because it integrates easily with popular social media like Twitter and FaceBook. Flock equips you to join all you social media contacts, monitor your media accounts and add extensions and toolbars that link your blogs to AIM, TMZ, Spinner and even the media player, Winamp.

If you’re looking for an easy way to best utilize on-line social media sites, take a look at Flock. With strong community support, Flock’s list of features continues to expand, adding to its popularity.

5. ThingamaBlog

ThingamaBlog doesn’t require a third party blog host, a cgi/php-equipped host or a MySQL database to deliver high-quality, professional blogger features.

This desktop blog editor employs a blog wizard that’ll have your new blog up and running in minutes, literally.

You can maintain multiple blogs from ThingamaBlog’s intuitive interface, create totally customized templates (so your blogs don’t look like everyone else’s blogs), enjoy one-click publishing, create posts from your favorite RSS feeds and create your own archival architecture so finding that one post you’re looking for is greatly simplified.

All you need is an FTP account or network access to a web server to bring your blog to life using this stand-alone, blog creation and management app.

Has anyone of you ever tried these desktop blogging apps before? What is your favorite tool? Feel free to post it down the comment box below and share it with fellow readers!

Previously we have written a post which contains sites that allows users to create cartoon characters of yourself for free. Due to the popularity of the post, we have decided to come up with a new post that list out 6 more websites which you can cartoonify pictures of yourself. Scroll down and see if any of the sites fits your preference (Note: Some sites may required payment for handmade cartoon, please read the site’s FAQ before proceeding)

1. My Da Vinci

Choose from 200 designs or make a complete custom design. Standard price is 25USD for one photo. Nice design, definitely recommended for those who do not mind to splash some cash on getting a pretty cartoon character of themselves.

2. MessDude

Design your very own Dude or Dollz from hundreds of different body parts, clothes, items and backgrounds to express your personality and mood! It’s easy to use and those characters are so cute~ Would be a nice fit for instant messenger, social networking websiste or blog avatar.

3. Cartoon Stylist

With this service you can upload your pictures and have it cartooned by one of the professional artists. It’s totally hand drawn, so the service might be a bit pricey, good for those who would like to have their own handmade picture.

4. Moonjee

Unique site where you can create funny cartoon characters. You can download your own copy of Moonjee’s iPhone application called Face Molder directly from App Store using your iPhone.

5. South Park Studio

South Park characters are cool, and if you can make yourself to be one of them, it would be awesome!

6. Mii

Want to create some funny looking characters? Look no further than this one.

7. Cartoon Me

In just 3 days time you will get your own handmade cartoon for only 3.5 Pounds! The perfect low budget website for everyone.

8. Meez

Build and animate your own 3D avatar for free.