Twitter has become one of the post popular site when we talk about social web. Every person that is active on the net has an account on twitter, some are very active and some use it moderately to announce news and link to their blog posts or anything they might find interesting on the web. While using twitter users have a 140 character limit so sometimes sending out links can be quite a pain. This is one of the reason why services like TinyURL have become quite popular as they shrink the URL and make it tiny. BudURL, however, does more than simply shrinking your links. It helps you analyze how many people are clicking on your links.

Twitter is mostly used by bloggers and we all like to promote our sites and links. The key is to do it effectively so you are not sending out your links alone. The main features of BudURL is that it lets you shrink the URL and helps you track your “tweet links.” You can see the date the BudURL link was created and also how many click it has gotten in 24 hrs or 48 hrs. You can also see unique visits to the links. If you are someone who uses Twitter for marketing purposes or would simply like to see how many people click on the links you tweet, this is a must try service for you.

I will admit – I am not that good at typing fast. It takes me quite a while to finish a post with only 200 words. This is one of the reasons I dread writing cause it takes forever. Anyway for people like me who cannot type 5 words without a typo there are countless sites to help improve typing skills. The main problem with these sites – they are boring and do not motivate at all.

TypeRacer on the other hand is one of the most fun games to play. The best part is it helps you improve your typing skills as you get to race yourself with other users. I am pretty competitive and when I get to beat others it sure as hell is fun. This is one of the games that I would recommend anyone trying to increase their typing skills. By the way, I ranked first on one of the games. I crossed out the WPM simply because no one needs to know. The only thing that matters is I won. The fact that it took me several tries is a different thing. The main thing is it kept me motivated to keep practicing until I beat everyone else. And thats what most users need – motivation. TypeRacer will give you that motivation to improve your typing skills.

There has been many ventures google has undertaken but haven’t been able to produce any results with them. Lively falls under that category. Google’s browser based virtual world that can be embedded into other websites is joining the deadpool.

Lively was launched in July of 2008 and the initial reaction was quite overwhelming. Although Lively is going down the crapper we do need to give Google credit for the risks they take. That is what business is all about. Giving everything a shot and weed out anything that doesn’t work. And at this point in time Lively seems to be one of the ventures that didn’t really go as Google planned.

Here is an excerpt from the Google Blog ,

Google has always been supportive of this kind of experimentation because we believe it’s the best way to create groundbreaking products that make a difference to people’s lives. But we’ve also always accepted that when you take these kinds of risks not every bet is going to pay off.

If you are a lively user and have worked hard to create your world on lively, Google suggests that you take snapshots and videos that will remind you later of all your hard work.

[source : GoogleBlog]

How many of you watched Wall-E? I took my boys to watch it and seriously that was one of the worst animated movie ever. I mean there is no real story behind it. The whole romantic part might have gotten some people’s sentiments but as for me nothing. All in all it was a waste of money. The only thing I liked about the movie was Wall-E itself. Not the movie but Wall-E. You get the idea. Anyway, we found some cool instruction for you to build your own autonomous Wall-E. You will have to buy the toy but after modification the deal gets much better. Watch the instructions below,

– More cool how to projects

[source : Instructables]

You have just got to give credits to these people who think about these things. This is hilarious! Check it out,

[source : ThreadBombing]

Although I would like to believe there are no extraterrestrials, sometimes I just cant help but think that there might be. We have heard of alien and UFO sightings countless times and most of the time they are backed by not images but simply word of mouth. One of our readers sent us an email with a link to a site which claims that the images are of real aliens captured in camera. We have chosen some of our favorites. If you would like to see more please visit the source link at the bottom.

For more images and details please visit the source link at the bottom.

Thanks Joel

[source : Alien-UFO-Research]

We had recently posted a piece informing our readers that Mark Cuban, owner of Dallas Mavericks Basketball team was charged with insider trading. He is the founder of Broadcast.com which Yahoo! later bought for $4.6 billion. Known for his outspoken and arrogant nature, Mark Cuban is liked by some and hated by most. I personally like him cause he is one of those who says what he thinks is right.

Although I thought Mark Cuban would reply to SEC personally he made a wise decision and let the lawyers handle it. Please click the links below to see the lawyer’s response :

1. The SEC
2. SEC P2

A couple months ago, after I figured we’d start doing podcasts on the Hackz sites, I started on a mad hunt for content delivery services.  With the way that these things have been growing, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry!

As you have probably seen, we have been using Amazon’s S3 to deliver a lot of our larger files to save on bandwidth that the server has to come up with…

But anyway – the cost of content delivery is absolutely crazy!  $1000 buy-in to Limelight.  $500 minimum at Brightcove.  It’s out of control.  We are testing out Voxel’s services right now and like them quite a bit.  But that’s not what this story is about.  This story is about Amazon.

S3 is a great service for bloggers and website owners because it lets them offload a lot of their bigger files so that they don’t choke up the pipe.  But what happens when 2000 people decide to download a podcast?  How does that work?  Enter Amazon Cloudfront.

Amazon Cloudfront just came out today – and I’m excited.  Cloudfront offers a direct tie in with S3 so that your content is ALWAYS sitting on cache, ready to be served!  And the best part, the prices are amazing!

No upfront.  No buy-in.  No monthly.  Pay for what you use!

Check these out…

So if you are looking for a bandwidth/media delivery solution – check out Cloudfront!  Over the coming months, we are going to be testing it.

Here is the official launch email:

So let us know what you think!  Is Amazon right in launching web services?  Or do you think they should just stick to books :0)  I am biased, what can I say?

Sony’s new billboards promoting PSP are some of the best billboards we have seen in a while. They are fun to look at and will surely inspire a few other companies to think before putting out yet anotehr boring billboard.

For more images please visit the source link at the bottom.

[source :Toxel]

When it comes to money its always fun to pay less and get more. And with the economy going down the hill we certainly want to bargain to extreme. I tend to bargain a lot considering the fact that might my wife is a “shopoholic” and everytime Christmas rolls around my wallet takes quite a beating. Today we bring you 5 sites that might help you save money and hopefully get you better at bargain hunting if you aren’t already one.

Here we go,

1. Netmarket : Netmarket offers discounted rates on electronics, computers, home decor items, and health products. Members do need to pay an annual fee to enjoy these discounts but at the end it does seem to be a pretty good deal.

   

2. Bargainist : This site provides information on discount offers and coupon codes for items from major retailers and stores. Extremely helpful if you are always looking to save a little before heading out to shop at big brand retailers.

   

3. Pricegrabber : Pricegrabber is a comparison – shopping site that offers a full list of merchandise in almost every category. It allows users to compare prices from different vendors and choose the price that best fits their budget.

   

4. TheBudgetFashionista : A blog that provides excellent news and deals on how you can look your best. This site also offers a community forum, podcast and a men’s section as well. A must bookmark site if you are into fashion and following the latest trend while still keeping your budget under control.

   

5. FrugalLiving : This blog is managed and hosted by Families.com. Mary Ann Romans offers advice on ways to live well without over spending. If you have a family and want to keep your budget under control while still living within your means this is another must visit blog.

   

Hope these sites will help you manage your money well and become a pro at bargain hunting.