Here’s something free from Microsoft for you to check out: Zoom.It which enables you to view and share high resolution imagery. It’s hard to explain exactly what this means so it’s better that you just click on one of the links below to experience it first hand. It does require the Silverlight download from Microsoft and it might not run on all computers.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Charts – Try zooming in and moving around there charts of the whole world to experience the depth and volume of information that can be contained in one of these.
Hard Rock’s Memorabilia Collection – Zoom and pan your way through this amazing collection of goodies from the legends of rock and roll.
How would you like to make your own dynamic high resolution photo that people could pan and zoom through online? It’s actually pretty easy provided you have someplace on the internet where you can paste an image. Then copy the image’s exact web address and take it to this site (Zoom.It) where all you have to do it paste in the address and wait a couple of seconds.
Skype is a free download that enables you to make free voice and video calls through the internet. It uses a combination of VoIP technology and peer-to-peer file sharing technology to deliver a virtually free video conferencing service to the world. You just need a webcam and/or microphone and a computer with internet access.
First released in 2003, Skype was bought by eBay in 2005 for $2.6 billion then in 2011 it was bought by Microsoft for $8.5 billion. The future of any communication technology is always uncertain, but no matter what, the ability to see and speak with people around the globe for free is turning out to be very popular. With 30+ million users every day accumulating over 300 billion minutes of online conversations in 2011 alone. It is an amazing growth story that’s starting to make a profound change to the way we communicate.
So check out skype.com today, you might even want to consider downloading it yourself.
Making an online video is getting to be a pretty popular activity. Most budding digital film editors quickly realize what a huge part music plays in creating the atmosphere in a video. Unfortunately the use of copyrighted music in a home made video or school project might get you in a bit of legal trouble with the copyright owner. And by the way websites like YouTube.comhave developed some sophisticated ways to identify your illegal use of music. Instead, try using some of the music you can download for free from FreePD.com where you can find hundreds of musical arrangements that are available through a creative commons license.
With over 4,000 audio books in it’s inventory, Librovox claims to be the largest online resource for free audio books. Librovox was started in 2005 by Hugh McGuire with the goal of using volunteer readers to create downloadable MP3 files of books.
More information from the website: “LibriVox audiobooks are free (*). You may use them for whatever purpose you like. Click here for information about our public domain license. Click here to hear some samples of LibriVox recordings.”
How would you like to learn a language for free in your spare time? As part of the the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) mission to “inform, educate and entertain” they offer a great website for learning languages.
There are lots of websites and blogs out there that offer computer and technology advice. He’s one to check out: ivankristianto.com.
Ivan Kristianto is a young computer programmer in Indonesia who started blogging in 2008. Though some his posts might be a very technical and the English a little difficult to read, many of his posts can be very useful.
It’s a great example of what a blog can be. So check it out when you can: Ivan Kristianto – Source for programming, linux/unix, and technology, tutorials, news update, tips and tricks, hobbies and entertainment
Since 2007 you’ve been able to go online at JamStudio.com and create your own authentic sounding music for free. With an easy to follow tutorial and simple controls on the screen, this internet based Adobe flash website could definitely capture the imagination of even the most amateur musician. Think of it as a music sandbox.
JamStudio.com was created by Dave Edwards and here is a 10 minute interview with him. The online music mixer includes over 40,000 musical phrases played and recorded by real musicians that you can mix to create your own songs. JamStudio.com is free, but you can create an account so you can save and further develop your creations later. For a monthly fee of about $10 you can become an All Access Pass Member and you’ll be able to download all your musical creations royalty free.
Maybe the ultimate Internet Moment would be to take some time to just surf the internet randomly. RandomWebsites.net can help you do just that.
From their website:
The Random Web Site Machine is very simple. It lets you surf the web, by sending you a completely random web site. Nearly every site is in our database. Over Four Million Sites. Just click the Random Web Site button below and start killing time… er… I mean start having fun!
LearnTheNet.com was started in 1996 and is owned by a private company in San Francisco California. The goal of the site is to offer free training to internet novices in multiple languages. The layout is simple to follow and the information is easy to read and includes many videos. No topic is too mundane. Emailing, surfing, online shopping and even socializing online is covered.
This site has been popular with businesses, schools and individuals who need to learn the basics. Even if you don’t need the kind of tutorial help that LearnTheNet.com offers you might know someone who does.
SketchUp was introduced by a company called @Last Software in 2000. The creators, Brad Schell and Joe Esch wanted to make a 3D design program “that would allow design professionals to draw the way they want by emulating the feel and freedom of working with pen and paper in a simple and elegant interface…” Wikipedia entry about SketchUp
BeFunky.com is a great website for manipulating pictures online. You can take any digital picture and turn it into a black and white or color cartoon drawing. Have fun with a photo of a friend. Add a text box and turn your favorite photos into a comic book story. There are also several easy to use online editing tools.
Here’s something free from Microsoft for you to check out: Zoom.It which enables you to view and share high resolution imagery. It’s hard to explain exactly what this means so it’s better that you just click on one of the links below to experience it first hand. It does require the Silverlight download from Microsoft and it might not run on all computers.
SketchUp