Use Skype and Get Paid »

Bitwine has partnered up with Skype (free VoIP service through the end of this year – $14.95 per year thereafter) to offer the BitWine Taskbar Skype Edition. It is fully functional with the new Skype 3.0.

The basic idea behind this is to allow experts to dispense their advice for a small fee, everything from cooking to acting, automotive to business to sports. Up until now, these experts have offered advice and help for free on blogs or forums (and spend much of their time just helping out).

So here is a scenario: Let’s say I need to write a business letter and have no idea how best to proceed. I visit Bitwine’s site, search for an expert in that area (business letters) and view the profiles that are returned, complete with reviews and samples of past work, portfolio and cost for consultation (some are free and the average that I saw was about $0.70 per minute).

When I settle on one that I would like to contact, I choose whether I want video or just VoIp. I then call them right through the Bitwine’s toolbar. If my selection is offline, I can setup an appointment. Very nice.

It looks like it has some definite promise and will make it easier to tap into the vast knowledge available on the Internet.

Speed Up Firefox and IE »

As if Firefox wasn’t fast enough , Serge at webspeaker found a cool video that shows how to speed it up even more. If you use Firefox and want even faster browsing then this is for you. The video will walk you through the process step-by-step and to its credit, yes, it does work.

Even if you (cough) use IE, you can speed up too. After walking you through the Firefox part, the video shows a step-by-step for doing the same thing in IE. Warning – to change IE you will have to go into the registry of your computer. Do not do that if you are not comfortable lurking around in there. One can really cause some damage if not careful .

After you are through, you will blazing new trail all over the Internet. Nice find Serge! (and the crowd goes wild)

Microsoft Process Monitor »

Many of you have used the Regmon and Filemon utilities for Windows. We have used them for quite some time and like them. But now there is a new player in the Windows process monitoring toolbox – Process Monitor. Microsoft acquired Winternals Software back in July and this is a direct result of that. Think of it as Regmon and Filemon on steroids.

Spyware and virus researchers have been using Regmon and Filemon to determine exactly what internal changes occur on an infected machine. This helps them develop patches and solutions.

I certainly am not a spyware or virus researcher. However, when we have something goofy happening on a computer, we like to see exactly what is happening “behind-the-scenes.” So, we can open a utility, like Process Monitor, and get a glimpse. Actually, more than a glimpse. We can get basically any detail we want on any process running on a computer. Best of all, I think, is that all of that research is non-destructive. Meaning, while we are investigating, we will not be leaving any “muddy footprints.”

The new Process Monitor from Microsoft will not be a hit with everyone because not everyone will need it. But, if you like to know the why’s and how’s of things going on in your computer, you should jump over to their website and grab the free download.

Online Image Resizer »

(Announcer voice)”How many times has this happened to you”? You signup as a member of a web site and you start to create your profile. You notice that the website allows you to upload an image to serve as your avatar. “Sweet”, you say! You browse your computer, find the image you want to use as your avatar (you know – the one you spend hours crafting in Photoshop… oooo its so clever ), and you click “upload”. But wait – the image is too large! Now you have to resize it. “Aww man – lame”, you moan.

Well, Quickthumbnail to the rescue! Go to the site, browse your computer and upload the image. Select your resize options – percentage, fixed size or standard size. Click “Resize it”. And – poof – done. Very nice. Give it a shot.

Shout out to Wendy at Lifehacker for this great find!