Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with online

CodeFilter:

kjl291 — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:09:41 -0800

CodeFilter: I am looking for online classes mainly in the area of web programming (PHP, MySQL, AJAX, etc.). I need to brush up on my self taught skills. I am looking for something on the level of an actual coures, with assignments, deadlines, etc. (I don't necessarily like those things, but find I learn much better that way than self-paced from a book). Free or paid service is fine - I am mainly concerned with quality. I sort of like the courses and organization offered by eclasses.org, but I have no idea if they are good and credible? Any recommendations would be very much appreciated

"Taalontwikkelingsstoornissen." Gee, where does the stress fall?

softsantear — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:33:54 -0800

Is there an online Dutch dictionary that shows diacritical marks for the pronunciation and stress of the word? It could be DU-DU, or DU-EN, though I suppose I prefer the latter.
E.g., sites like The Free Dictionary do this for English.

To reiterate, I'm mainly concerned with where the stress falls on words. I'm developing an intuition about some words, but for some I feel like it could go either way. Also, I'd like to be able to double-check to see if a vowel is short or long. Something using IPA, maybe?

I have a paper EN-DU dictionary that has pronunciation guides in IPA, but I'm trying to stave off the need to buy a proper Dutch-English dictionary just yet.

UCLA professional programs

mooza — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 03:56:46 -0800

I'm looking for opinions on the UCLA Professional Program in Screenwriting, whether you've done it, or know someone who has. In particular - opinions on the online course. Cos you know, I'm not in LA and can't be. Google has led me loads of news on alumni and whatnot, but not much reviewing of the experience (particularly the online one). Any other experiences with other online courses are welcome.

Please don't tell me I should just write until my hands drop off and that I don't need a class. Just advice on actual course if you could...

Thanks everyone!

Any good, grown-up online journals?

als129 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:54:18 -0800

Need an online journal, but... I want it to be completely secure from public view.

Live Journal is too juvenile and has too many whizzbangs, plus even though I can mark all entries as private, a public profile still exists. Yes, I could fake it and use an ambiguous identity, but I just don't want to deal with that.

I want something simple, online (so I can view and add entries from different locations) with easy navigation of archives so I can go back and read entries quickly.

Any suggestions?

Whither online media organizing?

droplet — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 13:05:28 -0800

Are there any sites out there like the late, sort-of-great Guzzlefish? I adored Guzzlefish. Every time I got a new DVD, mp3 or CD, I popped the info in and along with a comprehensive list of my media collection, I'd get all these great statistics about what I had (apparently, I love anything ever on film, vinyl or electrons by Michael Palin). And then one day - ZOOP!- Guzzlefish was gone. I'd like to find something similar if it's out there, and googling has been of no help. DVD Aficionado is meh. Could the hive mind direct me to something better? Thanks.

Great Ascot!

Viola — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 09:29:33 -0800

Lady mefites, what are your favorite online shopping sites for girly vintage wear? I hate shopping in stores, so I've gotten the trick of eyeballing dresses online down to a science. I click through Ebay, but I find it overwheming and time-consuming.

I love a lot of Etsy's vintage selections, and I'm looking for clothing in that retro vein: secretary dresses, ascots, cinched waists, A-line skirts. I'm not into graphic tees or the like.

My upper range for a dress (I exist almost exclusively in dresses) is $80 for a knee-bucklingly awesome piece, but I generaly stay more in the $10-40 range.

Pictures of You...and you...and you...

rileyray3000 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:25:36 -0800

I just went on a cruise with a big group of people. We all took photos. We would all like to upload our photos to a common online album. How would we go about doing that?

Who's making money off of our music?

monospace — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 12:38:51 -0800

How do I remove or retract songs by my band that were uploaded years ago and are now for sale from multiple outlets on the internet? We sound different now, for one, but more to the point, we're not seeing any revenue from this, but someone must be. A couple of years ago, I joined the band I am currently playing with. Before I joined, the previous drummer uploaded some songs to the Internet, probably CDBaby, but that's uncertain now. At any rate, it turns out those songs have somehow proliferated on the Interwebs, to the point that you can now even purchase them on sites like Amazon and the iTunes Music Store.

I would like for those songs to be retracted, if possible, because obviously our style has changed, but what I find most irksome is that apparently, someone out there could be cashing in on these songs and it's not us.

What are the steps I can take to remedy this situation?

Where can I advertise an improv comedy show?

fermion — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:16:48 -0800

My improv troupe is looking for ways to publicize our shows, beyond the word-of-mouth and email lists we've been working with so far. As part of this effort, I'm looking for websites with listings and schedules for comedy shows--particularly improv comedy--in the Los Angeles area. Specifically, of course, I'm looking for sites that allow you to post your own listing, or submit it for posting. Any suggestions?

Can you rent/borrow books online anywhere?

slavlin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:32:10 -0800

We have Netflix and Gamefly. I want to know if there is a Netbooks or Bookfly equivalent? I love books. I have way too many books. I like libraries, but they never have what I want when I want to read it. Is there a book based service like Netflix or Gamefly? I know it would be more expensive, as books are heavier, but I would like to check out whatever is out there.

Online Education

pearlybob — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:48:42 -0800

Can anyone suggest a good Online degree program to further my education career? I currently hold a bachelor's with a t-4 teaching certificate. I plan to stay home with my son for another 4 years but would like to go back into education at the administrative level when he enters full time kindergarten. Can anyone suggest a good, online Masters or Specialist in Education Administration program? Or, give me some guidelines on what to look for in a good program. I'm not really looking for the cheapest. I've been googling but I have no idea how the programs measure up or the best way to tell. Thanks in advance for any help!

I'm looking for good online sources for African American news.

parkbench — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:57:58 -0800

I'm looking for good online sources for African American news. I have been getting interested in a more pluralistic approach to current events as of late, and going along with a personal syllabus of Middle Eastern studies, I have been occasionally perusing a few Middle Eastern online newspapers (Egyptian and Turkish mostly), and to my delight, I'm getting the multiplicity of views I'd hoped for.

Recently, I've also begun preparing a mental syllabus of sorts for myself in terms of Black/African American culture, and one way I want to start priming myself for it (though it will probably be in the future, since I have quite a bit lined up for myself right now) is by reading special interest papers.

I found The Root somehow, and it's alright, but I'm not sure how I feel about it. Are there any other major sources out there that I can look through? If I find even just one worthy of visiting daily I'll be happy.

Thanks!

Selling online business

zenpop — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 10:31:40 -0800

How to figure the asking price for an online business? I created a subscription-based online business ten years ago that's remained consistently popular, with good steady traffic from Google and has an immediately recognizable brand name association. It generates into six figures a year.

I'm now wanting to move on to other things and sell the business. But I'm clueless as to how to come up with an asking price.

A 'big business' type friend of mine said I should figure what a ten year profit would be for my site, and that would become my asking price price when I'm going to sell. Is that accurate?

Guides/tricks for my new DSLR?

meerkatty — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:55:24 -0800

Please help me use my new DSLR camera. Are there guides/tricks for specific cameras online? I took a course today on how to use my new Canon Rebel xti, which came with a handy password protected guide online. (The guide was far superior to the camera manual - with explanations of when and why you would use a certain function, complete with photo examples.) The course was a little basic for my needs but I can't take the more advanced part of the course for a few months. Are there guides along these lines available online?

Big bonus points for anyone who has the password for Henry's School of Imaging Canon xti Part 2 guide.

Where does a foodie buy his supplies in the middle of nowhere?

Jonsnews — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:39:00 -0800

I live in a gastronomic black hole . There is nowhere within a hours drive to buy decent cooking supplies, please reveal to me your secret sources of cooking supplies! I've googled and hunted and found some, but I want ones that you've had experience with, and know that I will be buying quality stuff from Things I would like to be able to purchase online are the following:

Frozen seafood.
Asian cooking supplies. Good mirin, shoyu, kombu, etc
Curry supplies
Anything else you can think of.

I really cannot get any good ingredients locally beyond fruit, veggies and meat, so any suggestion is welcome (I.E. "The X from www.Y.com is awesome, you should buy some" is more than welcome.) I'm looking more for ingredients, than finished goods. And not so much for "All in one curry packets" unless they are totally bitchin.

Moving company overseas, any software to help with online communication like Video & live Screen casting for online meetings.

spinko — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:15:20 -0800

Moving company overseas, any software to help with online communication like Video & live Screen casting for online meetings. I'm moving out of the UK in a few months, got rid of the staff and office to save money. Moving to Spain...

I have a few concerns regarding communication. Anyone know any professional software to ensure great communication for both me and my customers.

Phone numbers:
All going into Skype Pro

Video conferencing:
Video chat in Skype seems very clear for 1 to 1 video meetings. Anything else?

Screen casting live:
Im a designer, would like to show customers in real time if we are talking about tweaking a design. So far VNC, give them access to my screen when im working.

Anyone suggest anything else or better software. Will pay if needed as it needs to be professional.

Oh yeah, im on a Mac.

How to browse a neighborhood?

underwater — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 16:32:15 -0800

How can I "browse" a neighborhood online? I just moved to a new area and I want to "browse" it with an online map, by which I mean I want to be able to use a zoomed-in map and see every store, restaurant, gas station, etc. so I can get a good sense of what's around here without just driving randomly. I don't care about actual satellite imagery; I just want some sort of map image that has streets and names and information of businesses (maybe with pop-up balloons on hover). I couldn't find a way to do this in Google Maps. Does such a service exist?

Basic online privacy questions

lorimer — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:17:35 -0800

Basic online privacy, from other people using my same network? I moved into a new place and am sharing the password-protected wireless with my roommates. They're not able to use something more secure than WEP, so we have to assume other neighbors might be on our network too. I need some basic privacy advice, which I'm finding surprisingly hard to google. I'm running Mac OS 10.4.11 and my browser is Firefox.

I think (?) I'm set for email: I'm using SSL for the pop and smtp connections for each of my accounts.

I think (?) I'm set for file access on my own drives: in System Preferences / Sharing, I have everything unchecked and the firewall On.

For browsing, I need a simple way to just prevent my roomates from seeing the URLs I visit, any clear-text form submissions, etc. I'm not doing anything illegal or far out, I just am living with strangers and don't want to share things like my porn viewing or browsing habits.

Finally, my friend in another city has a shared drive on his machine that I can drop things into, running AFP over IP, and I want to be quite sure the things I transfer to him that way are not viewable by my roommates.

Thanks for your help!

Better Ebay selling

Solomon — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:11:20 -0800

Imagine you're browsing ebay for an item you want to buy. Two sellers have exactly the same item. What is it that persuades you to buy from one seller as opposed to the other? How can I enhance my ebay auctions, to make them more favourable to the purchaser, and therefore make them more likely to sell? If you're a buyer, what do you look for when purchasing an item? If you're a seller, what techniques have you found to work in your favour?

I already list an item with pictures, both in the search results and within the details of the auction, offer Paypal, and write a bit of blurb about the item itself. I'd rather avoid using techniques that cost money, unless they actually bring increased return on the item.

What is the best online property research service?

socrateaser — Fri, 30 May 2008 13:07:16 -0800

I need to provide a recommendation to my bosses on which online property research service the company should subscribe. We had been using Nite Owl which we were accessing via a third-party. Cost isn't too much of an issue, and we were happy with Nite Owl. But I wonder if there aren't others that are just as good? I've been looking at Parcel Quest and DataQuick. Any recommendations for others? We need data for the United States; California, specifically. Incidently, we don't use the information for marketing purposes. It's for socio-economic analyses in support of environmental impact assessments.

Looking for ideas on managing files from multiple locations

djgh — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:25:56 -0800

Give me some ideas to manage my files, my data, my general computer setup etc. etc. for best use from multiple locations. Basically, I have the following situation:

I have a laptop (Macbook, Tiger), which I use to take notes on etc. I also occasionally make notes on other computers elsewhere (PCs, can't install software on them - they've got web browsers and Cygwin, and some have the option to boot Linux - can't remember which distro). I don't leave my laptop on and on the internet all the time (so I don't think remote desktop is a viable solution).

Sometimes I have an internet connection, sometimes I don't.

I'd like to be able to access all my files from everywhere (this includes PDFs), edit from everywhere etc. - but I also quite fancy version control, and having my own backups.

I have shell access to a shared server, and some (but not a huge amount) of technical competence (I've set up PHP/MySQL sites, dabbled in Ruby, but I'm far short of rolling my own fullblown solution).

I have access to an iDisk.

Could you outline (and provide any links) to my various options - so far I'm thinking Google Docs solution (but I'm worried about reliability - my worst nightmare is making notes offline, and them not syncing and then losing them all - plus I'd quite like to have overall control of my stuff), or some kind of version control system (but what if I have no connection - I probably can't get the latest version of a doc to edit).

Other stuff being available (address book etc.) would be great.

Any ideas appreciated, including purchase of new hardware (within reason - eeePC etc ok, rack mounted server less so).

How to sell photos online?

furtive — Sun, 25 May 2008 12:27:44 -0800

I'd like to create a stock photo service for a client. Does anyone have any recommendations for existing services such as photostockplus.com or those that focus on selling digital content such as tidwit.com or the now defunct blish.com. Is there a leader in this marketplace? My main priority is speed and not cost, so using an existing web service would be greatly appreciated. I'm also debating putting a Wordpress front end that would point to content hosted by one of those (or other) sites.

Freeform Roleplaying Opportunities Wanted

Anonymous — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:40:40 -0800

Know of any good freeform roleplaying sites? I want to find a good chat room or forum where people engage in freeform roleplay. I'm most interested in communities where the emphasis is on the writing, not the stats or whatever, but I also want a place that's pretty nice to newbies... Since that's what I'll be.

I don't care about environment, genre or any other specifics. Just give me what you've got! Pretty much, I have some free time I wasn't expecting and it's making me miss roleplaying like I used to. I want to get into some "interactive writing" with some fun people and not too many rules. Does any place like that still exist?

(This is anonymous because I don't need coworkers teasing me.)

Online expert system/decision tree software?

hatmandu — Tue, 20 May 2008 09:46:59 -0800

I'm looking for a script (ideally PHP) to run a website which asks various questions and then suggests the 'best fit' answer, in the manner of an expert system. Examples of the sort of thing I have in mind are the Search by Sight facility at Fonts.com or the 20 Questions game at 20Q.net (the latter uses some sort of neural network simulation, I think). Even just a decision tree tool would be good, though I guess that's more rigid. (I've seen this thread but that doesn't seem to answer my question.) Any ideas?

What is the psychology of friendship?

pipstar — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:10:55 -0800

Lately, the concept of "friends" seems to have become incredibly diluted by the casual use of the term by Facebook, MySpace et al. But in "the real world" what do you consider to be important when you are making and becoming friends? Is it how long you've known someone? How frequently you meet up? What you have in common? Something more intangible? Also, I'd love recommendations of any books looking at the psychology of how people become friends.