If Pinterest Doesn’t Interest, Try These Alternatives For Men

Pinterest is a fascinating website that reveals the things people like, love, desire, and covet. For those that have so far remained immune to its lure, Pinterest operates on the basis of images found across the Web, with people pinning these images to their boards for others to either drool over or mock. Pinterest is, at heart, a social network, but one which rids itself of everything but pictures… lots and lots of pictures.

There is one small problem with Pinterest – it attracts mostly women. It’s estimated that around 70 percent of the Pinterest user base is female, with men being nothing more than bit-part players on the site. While this should be applauded — after all, the Web needs more corners where women reign supreme – it does mean men and their interests can get crowded out on Pinterest.

Thankfully some enterprising folk saw a gap in the market and seized upon it, and sites which are like Pinterest but aimed solely at men popped up across the InterWebs. What follows is a list of what we consider to be the four best “Pinterest for men” websites, presented in no particular order.

NB: Some of the following sites have been known to contain risque images, so you visit them entirely at your own risk. It should be noted, however, that the images are no worse than you can find from a quick Google search.

Manteresting

Manteresting clearly exists to offer a place for men to pin images of things that interest them. Rather than “pin” things, you “nail” them to a “workbench.”

A quick look at the homepage reveals food, cars, and women seem to be the main focus of Manteresting. Content can be sorted by category, while there is also a ‘Random’ button and lists of the top posts made Today, This Week, This Month, and All Time.

Notable categories include ‘Architecture’, ‘DIY’, ‘Sports’, and the exquisitely titled ‘Manly Things’, but there are many more to choose from. Manteresting is a well-designed, simple-to-use Pinterest-alike.

Gentlemint

Gentlemint looks more akin to the new Digg than Pinterest, but it offers a similar experience to the latter. Rather than “pin” things, you “tack” them, because tacking is more masculine than pinning, I guess.

A quick look at the homepage reveals infographics, memes, and weapons of all kind seem to be the main focus of Gentlemint. Content is sorted by popularity, with posts popular Right Now, This Week, This Month, and All Time.

Notable categories include ‘Cars’, ‘Fitness’, and ‘Popular Culture’… as long as it’s manly then it’s welcome. Gentlemint looks classier than most of the other Pinterest clones, but it essentially does the same thing as the rest of them do.

Dudepins

Dudepins makes no secret of the fact it’s a Pinterest clone, just one that caters solely for men. Women aren’t banned, of course, but the content on offer has an especially manly feel to it. Rather than “pin” things you “pin up” images and videos.

A quick look at the homepage reveals hipsters, interesting designs, and lots of clothes. Which leads me to suspect this is more for refined gentlemen than laddish dudes, despite the name. Content can be sorted by category, with a button specifically bringing that which is trending to the front page.

Notable categories include ‘Animals’, ‘Travel’, and ‘Man Caves, the latter referring to rooms that generally feature lots of hardwood and gadgets. Dudepins is, for my money at least, the best looking of the Pinterest-style sites on this list.

Tapiture

Tapiture has a distinctly Facebook feel to it, which will immediately put off those people who hate Mark Zuckerberg and co. It’s no surprise to find that joining via Facebook is heavily recommended, though there is an email option as well. Rather than “pin” things you “tap” content, including animated GIFs and SoundCloud audio.

A quick look at the homepage reveals male celebrities that all men aspire to be, and once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities. Content is sorted by category, with an added option to pare it down to what’s popular.

Notable categories include ‘Body Art’, ‘Science’, and ‘Men’s Style’, the latter of which brings those damn hipsters into focus once more. Tapiture boasts some great content, especially thanks to its embracing of more than just still images.

Conclusions

I feel more manly for having browsed these sites. Pinterest is nice and all, but it definitely has a slightly overpowering feminine touch to it. When I use Pinterest I often come over slightly funny, in exactly the same way I do when I get dragged into a women’s clothes shop. I think it’s the perfume ominously and omnipresently hanging in the air at all times.

These do all feel like Pinterest clones, but they fill a niche that needed filling. Unless and until Pinterest starts to cater for men and women on more of a 50/50 split, then these manly alternatives will continue to breed. As will the websites lightly mocking Pinterest.

What do you think of Pinterest? Does the disparity between the amount of content geared towards men and women bother you? Why do you think Pinterest appeals more to women than it does men? Which of the manly male alternatives to Pinterest listed here do you feel best caters for men? Feel free to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Image Credit: Alan Cleaver

The post If Pinterest Doesn’t Interest, Try These Alternatives For Men appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Display Short URLs of your Web Pages on Mobile Devices

Mobile screens are tiny and they usually cut off the URLs of web pages. You may however use the HTML5 History API to automatically display short URLs on mobile devices.

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This story, Display Short URLs of your Web Pages on Mobile Devices, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 08/05/2013 under Html5, Web Design, WordPress, Internet.

Download Viber Client For Windows Desktop

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Up until a few hours back, Viber, the popular VoIP service app was available for Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Windows Phone, and other mobile operating systems only. The good news is that Viber users can now make calls from Windows and Mac desktop as well. Yes, Viber today released desktop client for Windows and Mac operating [...]

KeePass Password Safe – The Ultimate Encrypted Password System [Windows, Portable]

Securely store your passwords. Complete with encryption and a decent password generator – not to mention plugins for Chrome and Firefox – KeePass Password Safe just might be the best password management system out there.

If you read our password management guide you will know the importance of having diverse passwords. Sure, using one password for all of your online services is simple…until someone compromises one of your accounts. If all of your passwords are identical your online life is a house of cards.

KeePass Password Safe is a completely offline approach to password management, though you can combine it with cloud services like Dropbox if you want.

Using KeePass

Before you can use KeePass you need to create a database. You’ll be prompted to do so the first time you run the program, and the main thing you need to do is specify a password.

Take this password seriously – it’s going to be the one thing protecting your various passwords from anyone who gains physical access to your computer. It’s the key that will encrypt your database, so the longer – and the harder to crack – the better.

Once you’ve set up your account you’ll see the main interface of KeePass – essentially, a list of user accounts.

Creating a new entry is simple – just click the new entry button in the toolbar (I, after years of using this, frequently hit the button that creates a new database, but whatever). When you do, you can enter everything you need to know in order to access a particular account:

Give the account whatever “title” you want – that’s there for your purposes. You’ll obviously want to include the Username and password, but including the URL can also be helpful – especially if you plan to use browser plugins. More on that later.

Your password will be rated for security, and if you’re having trouble thinking up a secure password there’s a generator. Relying on such services is sometimes not recommended – no such software is perfectly random, meaning hackers could potentially exploit a pattern – but the optional entropy option can help.

If you currently use one password for every online account…stop. While you’re setting up KeePass, it is a good time to lock things down, and the password generator can help you make secure passwords. Adding your accounts, one at a time, while changing your passwords, can take a while – but real security takes work.

KeePass doesn’t just store your passwords – it also makes it easy for you to retrieve them. Right-click any entry and you’ll see the option to copy your username, password or URL immediately:

Learn the keyboard shortcuts indicated here for quick access – you’ll like it.

It’s also worth noting that there’s a search function. If you only use KeePass to store a few passwords this isn’t a big deal, but believe me, when your collection grows to 200 or 1,000 you’ll be thankful this feature is here.

KeePass Plugins

Do you like the idea of offline, encrypted password management, but also want browser integration? KeePass has you covered. A large collection of plugins allows you to automatically fill in forms on Firefox, Chrome and even Internet Explorer – and do a lot more.

Check out the KeePass plugins here. There’s a lot to explore here, and it goes well beyond browser integration. Be sure to explore if you want additional functionality.

Download KeePass

Ready to check out KeePass Password Safe for Windows? Head to the download page at KeePass.info. You’ll find both an installer (EXE) and a portable version (ZIP). You can also download a portable version at PortableApps.com, if you want.

Other Operating Systems

Are you not a Windows user? Then you should check out KeePassX, which works on Linux and OS X. There are some incompatibilities, so be sure to check out our KeePassX review to work all of that out.

There are other versions of KeePass, including KeePass Android. Check out the download page at KeePass.info for a complete list.

More Tips

Do you love the idea, but wish you could sync your database to other devices? You can easily use Dropbox to sync your database, and because it’s encrypted you’re protected from vulnerability. Any syncing service will do, too – you’re not limited to Dropbox.

Do you know of any other good KeePass Password Safe tips? Share them below, so everyone can benefit. I’m looking forward to reading your ideas.

The post KeePass Password Safe – The Ultimate Encrypted Password System [Windows, Portable] appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Local Reader – 6 Excellent RSS Extensions For Chrome

The RSS game is wide open. RSS aggregators are back in the feeding frenzy. But then, the tribe of feed readers was already there…we mostly had time for the king. Google Reader will be dead in a couple of months. Long live the King! Now, it’s time to look at the princelings. We have looked at quite a few interesting Google Reader alternatives. Feedly is perhaps the heir apparent. Then there are the interesting characters like FeedRoller and FeedBooster. Throw in some slicker Google Reader wannabes and you have your crowd.

With these good feed reading tools, why should we look at specialized RSS extensions (for Chrome)? Maybe, just for the one-click accessibility they bring. Browser extensions like the one we feature on our Best Chrome Extensions page fulfill all our basic browsing needs and then some more. Reading the feeds we subscribe to is a pretty basic day-to-day activity, and you can bet there are enough Chrome extensions for that. Like these six.

RSS Subscription Extension (by Google)

The Chrome extension developed by Google auto-detects RSS feeds on a web page. The extension makes up for Chrome’s lack of RSS support. It displays an RSS icon in the Omnibox which you can click to subscribe to the feed. You have the option of two feed readers – Bloglines and My Yahoo, with the third option of adding any online feed reader of your choice to the list. For any other feed reader apart from the two predefined in the dropdown, you will need to copy the URL from the respective feed reader’s website. For Feedly users, the URL would be – http://www.feedly.com/home#subscription/feed/%s

Points of Note:

• It saves you the bother of hunting for RSS feeds.


• Download a forked extension that gives you predefined options for Feedly, NewsBlur, and The Old Reader.

Foxish live RSS

Let’s admit it; there are some things that Firefox does better than Chrome. Handling feed subscriptions is one of them. With Live Bookmarks, you can easily subscribe to and be up to date with your favorite websites. Chrome doesn’t have native RSS handling capabilities, so we look towards the Web Store for replacements. The Foxish live RSS extension replicates Firefox’s functionality by auto-detecting and syncing RSS feeds with bookmark folders at configured intervals. I won’t get into the nitty-gritty here as Justin showed us how to add Firefox-Style RSS feeds with Foxish. The extension sets up folders for individual website under Chrome’s bookmarks, and populates them with the maximum feed items you specify in the Options.

Points of Note:

• Foxish live RSS is customizable. You can set the parent folders, the poll interval, and the maximum feed items to include in the folders.


• Import/export of feeds from other RSS readers using OPML.

Slick RSS

On the face of it, Slick RSS is a simple in-browser feed reader sans any frills. But go under the hood and it gives you quite a few customization options without betraying its simplicity. You can import and export OPML files. Slick RSS has in place some feed display options like the choice between summaries or full-content; viewing embedded videos; and loading links in the background. You can set the maximum items you want to display per feed and set the options which allow you to mark what’s read or unread. I found the refresh speed to be slightly slow, but that could be my connection too.

Points of Note:

• Slick RSS has an option that allows for marking an item to be read later.


• The Slick RSS: Feed Finder extension is an optional install for auto-detecting RSS and atom feeds on web pages.

RSS Feed Reader

RSS Feed Reader is a simple and elegant solution for reading RSS and Atom feeds in the browser. It is designed to give you an overview of your RSS account and track your read and unread counts. It syncs with Google Reader but that’s not going to matter. You can directly add your RSS/Atom feeds through the interface and also import your OPML file. Feed Reader helps you to easily subscribe to feeds from any site by clicking on the browser icon. A range of feed customization options are available – choose how many posts to display or change the title of the feeds. You can rearrange your feeds into distinct folders by dragging and dropping them right from within the browser.

Points of Note:

• Change the theme by choosing between – Dark, Mint or Light.


• Feed update status notifications can be enabled for select feeds.

RSS Social Analyzer

If you are into SEO or are a web developer, then RSS Social Analyzer is a Chrome extension that’s just the right fit for you. It is a smart analytical tool that gives you the social sharing metrics of any website with a RSS feed to its name. After installing the extension, it will auto-detect the RSS feed. With a click, it redirects you to a web tool that’s essentially a social analyzer using Linkscape’s API. Social shares are broken down by networks as you can see in the screenshots.

Points of Note:

• The ten most recent posts are analyzed and presented according to their social shares.


• The extension is a shortcut to the analyzing website, but it speeds up the process and helps to auto-detect RSS feeds.

Revolver RSS

As the name suggests, Revolver RSS takes a single RSS feed of any website and automatically rotates the pages that fall under the particular feed. It is slightly limiting because it works with a single RSS feed. On the other hand it can be useful if you want to set up an unattended display of “revolving” web pages for a single website.

Points of Note:

• Go into the options to set the full RSS feed URL for a website.


• You can set the interval between the pages and the maximum pages to display.

The usual suspects like Feedly missing? Well, they have been comprehensively covered before and I am betting as a RSS junkie, you probably are already on it. If you are starting to miss Google Reader, you can use the Feedly Reader extension to turn Feedly into a Google Reader clone. With the help of these extensions and so many other RSS and Atom tools, it is time to bid adieu to Google Reader with a comforting thought. As we have seen, these browser extensions not only let us read our RSS and Atom feeds but also interact with them in other ways.

Is there any super extension that’s missing from this list? I would also be interested to know about your current choice for a feed reader. Drop in and comment.

The post Local Reader – 6 Excellent RSS Extensions For Chrome appeared first on MakeUseOf.

Maps Engine Lite and the New Google Maps

The new Google Maps interface is not yet available, but you can try an application that has a lot of things in common with the new Google Maps. It's called Maps Engine Lite and it will probably replace the My Maps feature.

Full-screen map, interface elements overlaid on top of the map, the same search box and zoom buttons. It's consistent with the new Google Maps interface.



"We're launching Google Maps Engine Lite (Beta), so any mapping enthusiast can now create and share robust custom maps using this powerful, easy-to-use tool. You can import small spreadsheets of locations onto a comprehensive map, visualize those places through a variety of styling and drawing options, and organize and compare up to three different data sets for your non-business purposes," informed Google back in March.



Here's a diagram from a Google Maps support page that shows the current interface:

And here's a similar diagram for the new Google Maps:

The new interface is a lot cleaner and there are fewer features, but it's not clear how many features are missing.

Street View Images in Google Maps OneBoxes

When you search for an address using Google, you'll usually see a Google Maps result with a static map and links for directions. If your address is very specific and includes a street number, Google will also show a Street View thumbnail that lets you quickly access Google's panoramic street-level imagery.



For example, a search for [1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View] shows the Street View image, but a search for [Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View] doesn't. Sometimes you need to include the zip code: [1 infinite loop cupertino ca 95014] works, but [1 infinite loop cupertino ca] doesn't.

{ Thanks, Jérôme. }

Dictation – Speech Recognition in the Browser

You can use Google Chrome as a free voice recognition software to write longer emails and documents without even installing anything on your Windows or Mac computer.

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This story, Dictation – Speech Recognition in the Browser, was originally published at Digital Inspiration on 08/05/2013 under Google Chrome, Speech Recognition, Internet.

How To Enable Two Finger Scrolling In Windows 8

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PC users who also own Apple MacBook or iMac with Magic Trackpad probably aware of the default two finger scrolling feature of Mac. That is, while using Mac, user needs to use two fingers to vertically or horizontally scroll a webpage or window. Users who own both Mac as well as PC, and constantly need [...]

When Did You Create Your Gmail Account?

Here's a simple way to find when you've created your Gmail account. You can always find the oldest message from your account by visiting this page https://mail.google.com/mail/#all/p1000000: you'll get an error message and Gmail will redirect to a page that shows the oldest messages from your account. The problem is that this is not a reliable way to determine when the account was created: maybe you've deleted some messages, maybe you've imported messages from other accounts.



If you've joined Google+, you can quickly find the exact date. Go to Google Takeout, click "Transfer your Google+ connections to another account" (don't worry, you don't have to do that), enter your password and you can see the date when you've created your Gmail account in the blue box at the bottom of the page.

Why would you need this information? For example, Google's account recovery form includes a question about this. "If you find yourself locked out of your account and none of your other recovery options work, your last option is to visit our password-assistance page and fill out our Account Recovery form. (...) Since Google doesn't collect a lot of information about you when you sign up for an account, we'll ask you questions like when you created your account, what Google services you use, and who you email frequently (if you use Gmail)."



I haven't tested this, but I assume this trick also works for non-Gmail Google accounts.



{ via TechAirlines }

New Google Maps Interface

Google is about to launch a new interface for Google Maps. The update will remove the sidebar and will display everything on top of the full-screen map. One of the new features lets you restrict local search results to places recommended by top reviews or your Google+ circles.

It's a more immersive interface that will probably work well on mobile devices. Instead of focusing on navigational elements, buttons and sidebars, the new Google Maps focuses on the map. Google has also updated map colors, icons, text styles.



When will we see the new UI? It's not clear, but Google I/O is next week.



{ Thanks, Florian K. }