Check out five free iPhone apps that are essentials for any road warrior’s toolkit.

Sorry for any confusion these changes have [...]]]> After creating my new site, GigaMarks, the plan was to integrate FFA into the new site. However, I’ve decided that it’s best to keep them a their own domain. I’ll have a greater app focus on FFA, while covering more general tech and entertainment at GigaMarks.

Sorry for any confusion these changes have caused, but thanks for sticking with FFA. You can look forward to some quality content that will be flowing your way.

Windows Phone 7 is [...]]]>

Today’s post is a guest article by Philip Seyfi, author of NihongoUp.com, an outstanding blog to help you learn the Japanese language and more. In this guest post, Philip shares his Japanese learning app and some other useful apps for Windows Phone 7.

Windows Phone 7 is less than a year old, yet there are already over 20,000 apps in the marketplace. I am the creator of an online Japanese textbook and learning environment and I myself am in the process of learning several languages. To support my endeavours, one of the first things I did after purchasing an Omnia 7 is look for good language learning apps in the Marketplace.

NihongoUp

At the time I made this app there was almost no other Japanese learning app available for WP7. It is based off the data from my apps for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry PlayBook, but it is not a direct port, and is fully integrated into the WP7 experience.

Features:

• Flashcards & quizzes (hiragana, katakana, kanji, vocabulary, particles, counters, and transitive verb pairs)
• Save new sentences to review them later
• Native Japanese pronunciation audio
• Helpful Japanese language cheat cards
• Romaji to hiragana or katakana converter (you can then SMS, email or tweet)
• Translate between Japanese and over 30 languages and playback the translation
• Study progress statistics

Tango Master

Tango Master is another great Japanese flashcards app. It has a very pleasant interface, integrated EDICT dictionary with live search as you type, tons of options, vocabulary lists, and review modes.

The app features many predefined vocabulary lists by topic and JLPT level, an integrated EDICT dictionary, separate kana and romaji modes, flashcards, multiple-choice quizzes, and a unique timed “rapid fire mode.” The app also has great gestures support and beautiful UI and innovative.

Flashcards
Apps with simple one-keyword names are often spammy and low-quality, trying to capitalize on their name alone. This app by Microsoft itself, however, is an exception to this rule. This language-independent flashcard app is as simple as it sounds, but that’s also one of it’s best features.

There are several included decks but where this app shines is the ability and ease of creating custom decks. The UI is very nice and let’s you concentrate on what you’re learning without being distracted by too many options. If all you want is a mobile version of your regular paper flashcards, this is it.

WordBird

WordBird is a Spanish app which deservedly has a five star rating as of the writing of this article. The app features topical vocabulary decks each of which can be reviewed using one of 8 types of quizzes. Some of these are similar to regular flashcards, some are based entirely on listening (the app includes male and female pronunciation audio of every single word), and other are inspired by various word games such as scrabble and hangman. The wide variety of review modes allows one to switch to something slightly different every time one starts to get bored.

WordBird is a really good flashcard app, but unfortunately the free version features only a handful of decks (around 50 basic words). If you’d like to learn more, you’ll have to purchase one of the three paid levels which offer further vocabulary decks.

Dark Russian Trainer
Never-mind the name, this is actually a pretty good learning app. It features a separate section for learning Cyryllics, as well as regular vocabulary flashcards. Both modes are highly customizable and each item features not only the Russian word and English translation but also pronunciation audio and “sounds like” pronunciation guides (ex. “sounds like yo in yolk” for the Russian letter ё). One can even add custom flashcards through an in-built Russian keyboard.

Of course, when learning a language, reading is bot enough, and I highly suggest everyone to listen to as many Japanese podcasts as possible. If you need help settings things up, feel free to read the guide to podcasts on Windows Phone 7 at my Japanese language blog.

The list of applications below include utilities to speed up your PC, recover deleted files and [...]]]> When is the last time you cleaned your PC up? Have you noticed any difference in the speed of your browsing? Over time, your system will get bogged down with temporary files, cookies, your cache and more.

The list of applications below include utilities to speed up your PC, recover deleted files and partition or drives. Each application is free and according to CNET’s Download.com, the most downloaded within the last week.

5. Smart Defrag analyzes and scans your system, then defragments your harddrive and continues to work in the background. It’s useful and very light weight, so won’t consume your resources.

4. Pandora Recovery can save the day by recovering files you accidentally deleted. It works by recovering items removed from your recycle bin by holding in the Shift and Delete keys. You can browse, search, preview and recover deleted files from your hard drive, flash drive and memory cards.

3. Partition Wizard Home Edition lets you execute partition operations to resize, copy, format, delete and create new partitions.

2. Auslogic Disk Defrag is another defrag application that scans and consolidates your scattered system files. It optimizes for better disk performance.

1. Glary Utilities is a suite of tools that provides PC maintenance, disk cleaning, privacy protection, registry cleaner and more.

Have you used any of these useful system utilities? Have any of your favorites you’d like to share? Tell us what you use to clean and optimize your system.

With the fake tans, shiny studded t-shirts, and gobs of make-up, it can be hard to see any redeeming business value in the exploits of the cast of MTV’s ultra popular reality show, Jersey Shore. [...]]]> by Rusty Bryan whose work about online accounting degrees has appeared on various sites including onlineuniversities.net

With the fake tans, shiny studded t-shirts, and gobs of make-up, it can be hard to see any redeeming business value in the exploits of the cast of MTV’s ultra popular reality show, Jersey Shore. The hard-partying guys and gals of the series drink too much, get in fights, sleep around, and engage in all sorts of other debauchery, and so many critics deride them for lacking class. One thing they do not lack is confidence — these kids have got it down. Here are lessons in confidence we can learn from Jersey Shore, an unlikely but ultimately useful source.

• Preparation leads to confidence: The men on the show spend more time getting dressed up than the girls. They carefully primp their hair, and boast of having a daily routiine composed of only three components: “gym, tan, laundry.” If they’re not done up right, they don’t go out at all — how can you pick up girls if you know your hair isn’t gelled enough? For business folk, confidence comes from preparation. The more effort you put in to a presentation or your sells pitch, the better prepared you are, and the more confidence you will having going into a big meeting.
• There’s other fish in the sea: Two of the single gents on the show, Pauly D and Mike “the Situation,” are only looking for one thing on club nights: to meet easy women and take them home. When they meet a nice young lady but find out she is not looking for the same experience as them, they say goodnight and move on. Why? Because they are confident they can find what they need in someone else somewhere else. Have the same confidence too. If you do not get the offer you are looking for, pass on it. Another firm, client, or company will have what you are looking for, so have the confidence to move on from deals, offers etc. that don’t have what you need.
• If you look good, show it off: J Wow, one of the girls on the show, has a body worthy of her name. As such, she wears revealing clothing all the time. She is hot, she knows it, and so she shows it off. You should too, though probably not in the way she does. If you know you have marketable talents and skills, be confident in them and show them off to potential employers, partners, clients, etc. Don’t sell yourself your short — be confident in your abilities, and use them like J Wow uses certain assets of her own to make yourself attractive to people you do business with.
• Take risks: The Jersey Shore folks make stupid mistakes all the time in front of millions of eager viewers. They get arrested, they yell at each other, they light coals on a gas grill and almost blow up their house. But they do it all with a smile and confidence they’ll land on their feet — and get serious endorsement and appearance money after the shows have aired. Be confident too. Take risks, though ones much more calculated and respectable than theirs, and have the confidence that even if things don’t work out, they will eventually.

When the iPad debuted just a few short months ago, many said it would change computing forever. Some predicted that like cell phones did to land lines, it would [...]]]> Dale Henry has blogged about the pros and cons of a biblical counseling degree and is working towards becoming a sonogram tech

When the iPad debuted just a few short months ago, many said it would change computing forever. Some predicted that like cell phones did to land lines, it would make computing a portable venture and would eventually render traditional computers obsolete. Whether that happens still remains to be seen, but its potential to be taken on the go and do many of the functions of a regular computer certainly is enticing, particularly for a specific group of computer users who would benefit from being able to compute anywhere — bloggers. Does this potential actual pan out? Currently, it’s a little bit each of yes and no.

Blogging on the go

When inspiration strikes, being able to take advantage of it — and scoop the competition — is key for most bloggers. The iPad does, to some extent, allow for users to work from almost anywhere. Composing in Notes or similar word processing programs is no problem. To me, the iPad keyboard feels natural, but for those who do not like it, compatible keyboards (including some that fold up nicely for portability) can be purchased for as little as $30. Shop around and try one that fits you the best.

The iPad’s image capture capabilities are also appealing; wouldn’t it be great to have your word processor and image/video capture device all in one reasonably compact and portable device?

As for actually blogging, more and more blogging platforms have created apps for the iPad (and some even for the iPhone) that allow users to access their accounts from these mobile devices. WordPress was the first, but most of the other popular blog hosts have joined the fray as well.

Can you actually use it to blog?

Well…it kind of depends on what you want to be able to do while away from a traditional computer. Though the iPad has made several big improvements to its operating system since its debut to make it more intuitive and user friendly, it simply is not as good of a platform for blogging as a laptop or PC; you just can’t do as much on it as easily or as quickly. Something as simple and essential as adding links can be a chore, as switching from the Safari web browser to a blogging app still leaves something to be desired. Editing audio and video is generally out of the question as well, unless a user wants to splurge on expensive apps, and even then the quality of the finished product does not match that of a laptop or PC and really isn’t worth the time that most likely will need to be invested.

Use iPad as an on-the-go complement

That said, the iPad is still a great tool for some blogging functions that complements well the work needed to be done on a traditional computer. If a blogger has to truly get something out there in a timely fashion without access to a computer, the iPad is there for them. Serious bloggers can also use iPad blogging apps to follow comments on posts and respond in a timely fashion as necessary. Those who head up large blogs and look over staff work can do so on the iPad and publish work already in the drafts folder from iPad as well. Truly tech savvy and creative bloggers can sync their iPad with their home computer as well using programs like LogMeIn Ignition, which allows users to in effect work from their home computer using the iPad as their computer’s monitor. However, such a program is somewhat expensive ($25 and up) and requires some deal of technical expertise — and a computer left on all day at home.

The iPad and similar devices are not going to replace traditional computers anytime soon. Nor will blogging be done exclusively from mobile devices in the foreseeable future. But for right now, the iPad does present some appetizing options for bloggers on the go who want to use their mobile device for certain blogging functions.

, [...]]]> 2010 was a great year for FiveFreeApps. We saw more than 1 million visits, 3.8 million page views and our registered users growing to 1350. The challenge was in changing the previous direction from EazyCheezy.Net to a more centralized mobile application focus. We moved away from streaming movie posts

, which was a tough call since these posts accounted for approximately 1.5 million of the 2 million page views in 2009.

However, there were some standout posts that eased the transition and proved to be difference makers in the overall traffic at FFA. The difference this year, as opposed to last, was several posts garnered a large number of hits as opposed to the previous year when a handful of posts represented around 85% of the traffic.

Enough about FFA, I want you to share your most successful or proudest post in 2010. Just add the link to your post in the comments and tell us why this post was significant to you or your readers. Once you add this info in the comment section, we’ll add your name, website, post link and comments in the post. I’ll begin…

FiveFreeApps

35+ Video Streaming Android Apps – Stream TV, Watch Movies, Download Videos & More

This post was without question the MVP of FFA in 2010. It began with 15 apps early in the year and due to it’s popularity, I continued to add to it, update it and try to improve the post. In fact, I relaunched in earlier this month with all the additions. I’m not done as I want to periodically add new apps, update the rankings and throw some pictures into the post. The post had 313k visits in 2010 and in just this past month has another 82k visits.

Reader Submissions

MadMan from madTREEHOUSE.com

Who is Number One? Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or LinkedIn

“Here’s my most proudest and most successful post. This was my first guest post on FFA and it was well-received by the people here. We got some feedback from the readers with their votes to the poll and a reply by a viewer, which a writer/author always appreciates.”

Hello FiveFreeApps!

My name is Mad Man from madTREEHOUSE.com. This is my first post [...]]]> Today’s post is a guest post by MadMan, the founder and author of madTREEHOUSE. Enjoy the post and be sure to follow him on Twitter @madthouse and visit his Facebook Page.

Hello FiveFreeApps!

My name is Mad Man from madTREEHOUSE.com. This is my first post on FiveFreeApps and I’m excited to share my topic with you. Also, you better like it or you might make me mad! Lol.

I did a previous post on madTREEHOUSE about these 4 social networks – facebook, twitter, linkedin, and myspace called “The Social Network Craziness.”  Here’s the link if you want to check it out: http://madtreehouse.com/?p=1833.

Even though, I did touch on it a little bit and posted a poll on the home page (hint); I thought that I needed to touch on it a little more with regards to which is really the best social network out there.  I don’t really hear and see in studies on this issue.  Is facebook the best because they have hundreds of millions of members?  Is twitter the best because more celebs use it?  I asked the general public and the madTREEHOUSE club to assist me with their vote, so we can have some conclusion on the matter. We had a little bit of participation, which I’m grateful for but didn’t receive enough to make a final decision in this social network hierarchy.  So, I’m going to expand on this topic, define & rank them. The poll is at the bottom for you to submit your vote and comments. It’s easy to say facebook with the 9 digits in users/members on there, but that doesn’t mean they are the best social network out there. Let me explain further. I’m not going to use stats because like Tampa Bay Buccaneer Head Coach Raheem Morris said, “Stats are for losers.”  Each social network serves a specific purpose and the number of users one has over the other has no value in this argument. That will be like saying the Yankees are the best team every year because they have the largest and biggest payroll. I want to judge this competition on the merit of ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ with the opinion of the general public. So, let’s get into this argument!

facebook – Is a social network that allows you to communicate and share content with your network of friends.

Likes – It’s a personal assistant for keeping up with friends and what is going on at the moment. It allows you updates on birthdays, events, status, likes, and etc. of all your network of friends. I can see uploaded photos, comments, and who’s online. If you’re a business, business person, or activist, then facebook has a great community fan page that you can create. You see a lot of businesses incorporating this into their marketing strategy only because of the popularity of facebook and the number of members (friends) they have.

Dislikes – It’s not the place to network or get to know anyone new.  It’s not inviting in that way. There are unwritten rules & bylaws that you must know someone personally in order to be friends with them on facebook. Its overall appeal is to be the gateway in privacy of friends where certain country clubs are forbidden. They blast you with ads on the right side of the page from information that you and your friends submit on your facebook page. They use that information to sell to advertisers to spam you on your page. It’s a parasite and host relationship. Most people don’t mind because they use it for only one purpose, which is to connect with their personal circle and the spam doesn’t interfere with their enjoyment of the site or go to them directly. facebook is always doing updates to your page which becomes frustrating with a ‘new facebook page upgrade’ all the time!

Census - facebook is great if you already have your set of friends or personal circle. If you’re looking to network or make new friends, then it’s not the best recommended place for you. If you want a personal assistant to go with your friendship(s), then facebook is an excellent social network for you to use. For businesses or any other personal endeavors, facebook gets a grade of okay. It does a great job of collecting information from its millions of friends and give an advertiser the ability to pinpoint its target down to the teeth. But it’s original design is to be a fraternity/sorority house for friends of friends to communicate throughout the day.

twitter – Is a social network that allows you to text message updates to your loyalists of followers in the form of tweets. I know that twitter has expanded to twit pics and videos, but it’s primarily used for text message updates. twitter is hugely popular with celebs because they can easily engage, promote, and keep in touch with their fans and followers. It’s easy or easier to be associated with someone on twitter as oppose to facebook and linkedin because the restrictions are softer. It’s meant for you to follow or unfollow someone by choice and network with anyone with a twitter account.

Likes – It’s easier to follow or be friends with anybody who has a twitter account. It’s much more inviting and networking is more acceptable. You can tweet (text message) to promote, network, engage, and etc. with an audience and its encouraged to do so as oppose to do with your facebook friends. facebook people act like sharing or promoting something is taboo and frown upon.  They almost make it seem like you are saling something to them or spamming them personally. I guess it’s just better to tell the world that I just got out of the shower like anyone cares or do they? Lastly, they don’t spam you with advertisers from your personal info like facebook.

Dislikes - People will follow you one minute and not the next. It’s seems like it’s more about a race to get the most people to follow you instead of just connecting with people. At least on the other social networks, when you get a new friend – that person is part of your network and doesn’t unfriend you the next minute.  You don’t know how many times that has happen to me. On facebook, when I get a friend request notification I’ll accept it or deny it and that’s it. There’s no “GOTCHA!” or “so-&-so uses a validation service.” Like who the hell are you!  Thank Gosh! Jesus doesn’t use twitter! Personally, I don’t care for it. It’s a popularity & bragging contest of who has the most followers and no I’m not jealous because I don’t have over a thousand followers on my twitter. Furthermore, I don’t care if you tweeted how fun it was to shop today or I went outside and came back in.

Census - If you love gossip or want to keep up with the latest from somebody or something, then twitter is for you. Yes, facebook, linkedin, myspace, and etc. all have their own tweeter like functionality but remember that I said you have to be a part of the familia or country club. And I’m not talking about only having a membership account. You have to be inside the circle of friends to get those tweets. That’s why you never see any media outlets refer any other social networks tweets besides twitter.

Myspace – Is a social network site that known more for entertainment purposes. It does have the same functions that twitter & facebook have, but is less popular in those areas because of its appeal in the entertainment (music, movies, and etc) genre.  You can upload media, photos, updates, and etc. There is custom stuff you can do with your page and you can add a music playlist to your Myspace page. Sometimes you can have too much of a good-time thing and this is the reason it is not as popular as it was before. With all the numerous social networks out there, being specialized and a niche-filler makes you popular these days such as facebook, twitter, and linkedin has done. All of these social network are known to the public in one main area. Twitter is known for tweets, linkedin is known for professional networking, and facebook is known for friends-only communication. Myspace was known for all of this, but lost members due to this.  Most older people are conservative and don’t appeal to the same stuff that young people do like having loud music playing every time you go to my Myspace page.  Those older people don’t have patience and they want something that is simple and easy for them to use. Also, by having and being known for one main functionality, it makes it clearer and less confusing to a new prospector or seeker who rather have something simple to go to and use.  I believe that Myspace has now found its niche in the field of entertainment. This allows them to compete with the other social networks and appeal to a young demographic and audience.

Likes – If you like something that has a lot going on or a lot of flavor and is hip, then Myspace is your thing. You can add or embed a music playlist or a video on your profile page and you have more options with customizing your page. It has all the same features and specs as the other popular social networks (facebook, twitter, and linkedin).  They have even allowed you to incorporate twitter and facebook features into your Myspace. It’s pretty much everything under one roof.

Dislikes – Unfortunately, being the Wal-mart of the social network industry makes you not as popular as you would think. For example, It’s like when you are saling a house. What is one of the most important deal-breakers that can happen?  Yes, having too much going on. Any real-estate expert will advise you to keep your place neutral because that’s what appeals to the majority of people. Can that buyer change the color of that one room’s wall to white or whatever color that they like?!  Yes, they could easily do that but people are what they are and the customer is always right.  All the cool features and specs can get annoying after some time and you have to keep getting my attention when you want to entertain me.

Linkedin - Is a social network that allows you to network with other professional friends and colleagues. It operates very similar to facebook in establishing a network of friends. This means you have to know the person you want to add to your network and that person has to accept you. I’ve always said that high school is the best proven-ground and education in a person’s life because it teaches you how the world operates. It’s similar to how networking works in the real world.  In order to get in with certain people, you have to have a relationship with so-&-so to get in so-&-so’s network or circle.

Likes – It’s a resume of yourself on a Careerbuilder like formality. People are involved in professional networking and professional advertisement of their experience, skill set, current/previous occupations, and etc. You can reach decision-makers or hiring folks directly (if you are able to get within their network).

Dislikes – It only appeals to one thing and one thing only; professional networking. Linkedin restricts you from networking or reaching people you don’t know but want to know and it’s a tougher process than facebook in that regard. Personally, I only go on there only when I need to go on there such as a person would do with Careerbuilder.

Census – If you’re looking to network for a job or with a certain professional, then Linkedin is for you. You can connect with colleagues in a facebook-type format.  If Careerbuilder added the facebook-type format tomorrow, then Linkedin would be out of business.

Results

Now, that we have talked about each of these social networks enough, it’s time to rank them and crown which is #1.  I told you that I’m letting you (the general public) do that.  I’ve included a poll at the bottom for your personal vote. Here is my conclusion of who is the best social network site:

Best Features & Overall – Goes to Myspace.

Most Popular – Goes to facebook.

Best Social Network Functionality – Goes to twitter

[polldaddy poll="4283856"]

MadMan is the founder and author of madTREEHOUSE. Follow him on Twitter @madthouse and be sure to visit his Facebook Page.

(polls)

Which One of These is the Best Social Networking Site to You?
(polls)

If you are using AdSense with your blog or site, perhaps you’re not getting the most out of your earning potential. Understanding the different terminology, optimization techniques and taking the time to test different sizes, colors and locations on your site can make a very significant difference in your earnings potential.

If you are using AdSense with your blog or site, perhaps you’re not getting the most out of your earning potential. Understanding the different terminology, optimization techniques and taking the time to test different sizes, colors and locations on your site can make a very significant difference in your earnings potential.

I’ve been experimenting with a wide variety of affiliate networks, while using them in conjunction with AdSense for the last two years and thanks to me learning more about AdSense, while utilizing channels during testing, my AdSense earnings has increased while only using one ad unit.

Content

The quality of your content is an important factor in determining your earnings. Rich and compelling content, along with a positive user experience will bring more interest. The Google AdSense crawler uses your topics, content and keywords to choose which ads to display (targeted ads). The aim is for your users ler will also be able to provide better targeted ads. This combination of interested users plus highly targeted ads is the key to success

CPC

Cost Per Click (CPC) - CPC is determined by the advertiser and shows how much you will earn per click. It’s based on supply and demand. Some advertisers offer higher CPC, targeted at a much smaller audience which could lead to less clicks. If you have a niche that focuses on a specific audience and your niche happens to have a higher CPC, you can a higher earning potential. The ads the appear on your site is primarily determined by your site’s topic and content.

CTR

Click Through Rate (CTR) – CTR is the amount of clicks you get per pageview. To calculate,  CTR = Clicks/Impression X 100.  Example: If you get 100 pageviews and 4 clicks, your CTR would be 4%

Optimizing CTR – Place your ads toward the top half of your site, since it’s what visitors see first. Typically, you’ll have the best success placing the ads close to or within the main content area of the page. The best success I’ve personally had at FFA is the top left hand corner above the content.

The most successful colors tend to be those that are blended. Those that match your site’s colors in the links, text and background color.

While you can use up to 3 AdSense ads on any single page, I’ve found that only having one AdSense ad has given me more earnings than when I used multiple ads. With less ads, Google provides the most relevant and highest paying and performing ads.

eCPM

Effective CPM (eCPM) – Your eCPM gives you an estimate of how much you would get with 1000 impressions. If you made 50 cents per 100 impressions, your eCPM would be $5.00 (.50/100 impressions X 1000 impressions). This is a tool that can help you predict your potential earnings as your traffic grows.

Channels

Channels are very important to use to test different locations, sizes and colors you run on your site. When you create a custom channel, you’ll want to give it a detailed name so you can compare performances of your different ads. As an example, my custom channel is TopLeft300X250Blended, which represents the specifics of the ad I use at the top left of my post content area.

Helpful Links

AdSense Blog

Newbie Central

Inside AdSense YouTube Channel