April is National Poetry Month in the US, but online, just about anyone can participate in the festivities of the month. Whether it’s through reading the poetry of others, sharing your own poetry, or spreading the joy to others around you, there’s no shortage of great ideas from the likes of the New York Times, NPR, Poets.org and more. Before we get started with the list, you might want to know a little bit more about National Poetry Month. Started in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry month aims to raise awareness about poetry. The goals of...
Read the full article: 10 Ways To Celebrate National Poetry Month
It’s quite embarrassing, but my checking account resembles more a debt-burdened Southern European nation than it does an actual grown-up, taxpaying adult. I’m old enough to know better, but it’s just so hard to make a budget and stick to it. Part of that is impulse purchases. Quite frankly, these decimate my bank balance like locusts in a cornfield. It’s really damn tiring to keep track of each £3 coffee and each £0.70 candy bar. It’s the attribute I dislike most about myself. There’s no dignity in being fiscally feckless. And hey, I’d love to spend less money, save more...
Read the full article: YNAB Makes It Easy To Make A Budget And Stick To It
Today in Tech News Digest, RIP Windows XP, Hollywood sues Megaupload, Virus Shield scam, Xbox 360 emulation, multiplayer Goat Simulator, and Mario escapes into the real world. Microsoft Ends Support For Windows XP I have no strong feelings about the death of XP because I stopped caring about it 7 years ago. — Carmen Crincoli (@CarmenCrincoli) April 8, 2014 Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows XP, with the ancient operating system no longer receiving updates after today (April 8, 2014). Despite Microsoft having given plenty of warning of the impending XPocalypse, around 30 percent of computers are still running...
Read the full article: Microsoft Kills Windows XP, Hollywood Sues Megaupload, Virus Shield Scam [Tech News Digest]
Today in Tech News Digest, RIP Windows XP, Hollywood sues Megaupload, Virus Shield scam, Xbox 360 emulation, multiplayer Goat Simulator, and Mario escapes into the real world. Microsoft Ends Support For Windows XP I have no strong feelings about the death of XP because I stopped caring about it 7 years ago. — Carmen Crincoli (@CarmenCrincoli) April 8, 2014 Microsoft has officially ended support for Windows XP, with the ancient operating system no longer receiving updates after today (April 8, 2014). Despite Microsoft having given plenty of warning of the impending XPocalypse, around 30 percent of computers are still running...
Read the full article: Microsoft Kills Windows XP, Hollywood Sues Megaupload, Virus Shield Scam [Tech News Digest]
Your relationship with your toaster is pretty simple – at least, I hope it is. You bought your toaster, and now you can toast things with it. Sure: there are various bakers out there vying to sell you bread, and you need to pay your electricity bill to keep things working. But the company that makes your toaster isn’t hoping to take home a percentage of these sales – and it isn’t showing ads based on your past toasting history. You bought your toaster; you use your toaster. That’s it. Your Smartphone and The Economy Compare this to your relationship...
Read the full article: Of Toasters And Smartphones: Apps And The Economy
The Galaxy S5 just got Spritz, a speed-reading app that is shaking up the way we read on our tablets. And now many of us want that speed-reading tool elsewhere too. What are the best speed-reading apps for Chrome? Let’s take a look. Spreed – Speed Read The Web (Chrome) Spreed is the clear favourite of the Chrome store. To use it, click Alt-V and then highlight the passage you’d like to speed read, and Spreed will even guess which text you’d like in advance. Or right-click and choose “Spreed selected text” from the context menu for the same results....
Read the full article: The Best Speed-Reading Extensions For Chrome
Woodworking is a highly visual craft. There’s just something photogenic about lumber getting cut to size, dry-fit, glued or tacked together, and finally sanded down and finished into a beautiful piece of furniture. Even if you’re not a woodworker yourself, watching high-quality woodworking videos is a great way to learn about how stuff gets made, and who knows, you might even realize you want to make something yourself. Over a year ago, I wrote up a round-up of three woodworking resources which included talented YouTube woodworkers Matthias Wandel, Steve Ramsey, and Marc Spagnuolo, AKA The Wood Whisperer. All three still...
Read the full article: 5 Woodworking YouTube Channels You Should Subscribe To Today
Are you constantly hitting the Caps Lock key by mistake? Or need a keystroke or Mouse Action in a game that for whatever reason you are not able to execute. There are solutions. It would be safe to say that the majority of us as computer users assume that the purpose of a key on the keyboard is to type the letter or symbol which it has and that is all, end of story. In fact it is possible to remap all the keys on the keyboard in Windows. Enter remapping software. Essentially, applications which allow you to change what...
Read the full article: Remapping: The Secret Software Solution To Increase Keyboard Productivity
YouTube has some of the best gaming content on the Internet. But not all good content is made by the top channels — there are plenty of up and coming YouTubers that provide content just as good, but they’re simply not as well know. Finding good but lesser-known channels is hard enough, so we did it for you. Here are five of them that you should take a good look at. Strictoaster and Zhatt Strictoaster and Zhatt are two YouTubers that tend to work together on videos, and they make awesome, high-quality content. They’re primarily known for their videos on...
Read the full article: 5 Up And Coming Gaming YouTube Channels To Add To Your Subscriptions
Looking to watch more anime, but not sure where to find it online? Look no further. These four websites make anime more accessible to the general public than ever before — and they’re completely legal! Three out of the four are even free. Anime, Japanese animated TV shows and movies, has exploded in popularity in recent years, and more and more people outside of Japan are discovering this awesome fusion of storytelling, art, music, and animation. A few years back, we reviewed some of the best anime sites on the Web, but times have changed and you can now find...
Read the full article: Legal Anime Exists: 4 Websites Where You Can Watch Anime For Free (Or Cheap)
Today in Tech News Digest, Apple admits failure, Google works on Android TV, Microsoft wants Windows in your car, Amazon unveils Dash, Microsoft fixes Xbox One flaw, IFTTT comes to the iPad, and every SNES start screen ever is compiled into one epic video. Apple Admits It’s Failing To Deliver Apple’s solution to a bad selling ridiculous priced iPhone 5c? Reduce memory + add an even more ridiculous price for it and #FAIL again. — Stefan Esser (@i0n1c) March 18, 2014 Apple has privately admitted it’s failing to deliver what consumers want. Not publicly, of course, but in a highly...
Read the full article: Apple Admits Failure, Android TV, Windows In The Car, Amazon Dash [Tech News Digest]
Today in Tech News Digest, Apple admits failure, Google works on Android TV, Microsoft wants Windows in your car, Amazon unveils Dash, Microsoft fixes Xbox One flaw, IFTTT comes to the iPad, and every SNES start screen ever is compiled into one epic video. Apple Admits It’s Failing To Deliver Apple’s solution to a bad selling ridiculous priced iPhone 5c? Reduce memory + add an even more ridiculous price for it and #FAIL again. — Stefan Esser (@i0n1c) March 18, 2014 Apple has privately admitted it’s failing to deliver what consumers want. Not publicly, of course, but in a highly...
Read the full article: Apple Admits Failure, Android TV, Windows In The Car, Amazon Dash [Tech News Digest]
If you feel the need to immortalise the events in Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2 in your bedroom, then designer Noah Daniel Smith has just what you need. This $30 custom illustration will be available in full colour as a 24 x 36-inch poster. Each poster will be signed by Noah and will be numbered. Get in quick – Noah is taking pre-orders now, and the poster is limited to 1000 copies. Also, don’t miss out Pulp Fiction In Chronological Order
Read the full article: Kill Bill Duology In Chronological Order
Last week we asked for your help. We wanted to know what type of articles you’d like to see more of here on MakeUseOf. We gave you 16 options to choose from, and over 4,000 of you gave your voice to help us find out more about what our readers want. So first of all, thank you! Since there were many topics to choose from, we’ll only go over the ones that came on top. Keep scrolling to see the full results! In 5th place, you voted for Security & privacy tips (8% of the votes), In 4th place, we...
Read the full article: Have You Ever Used BitCoin? [MakeUseOf Poll]
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Writing for the Web is a skill that’s easy to learn but difficult to master. One of the hardest elements is concocting a great lede; ledes being the one chance you have of persuading readers to commit to an article in full. Which is exactly what you’re doing in your head right about now. What Is A Lede? A lede, also known as a lead or intro, is that collection of words you see above you. It’s an introduction, an opener, an invitation to read further. Ledes exist in all forms of media, and burying the lede is generally considered...
Read the full article: How To Write A Great Lede When Writing For The Web