Google Suggest

In Google Suggest, everything looks exactly like the google search. Only difference is that as you type into the google search box, Google Suggest guesses what you are typing and offers suggestions in real time! For example, if you type “samsung” Google Suggest will offer a list of suggestions that include “Samsung mobile” or “samsung phones”, etc. Similarly, if you type in only part of a word, like “Sam” Google Suggest will offer suggestions like “samsung” “sample”, etc. You can choose one google suggestion by scrolling up or down the list with the arrow keys or mouse.

Google currently offers Google Suggest through several Google services, and plans to add more. You can use Google Suggest by downloading the latest version of the Google Toolbar for either Internet Explorer or Firefox.

How does Google Suggest work?

Google algorithms use a wide range of information to predict the queries users are most likely to want to see based on overall popularity. Google Suggest does not base its suggestions on your personal search history.

Why use Google Suggest?

By suggesting more refined searches up front, Google Suggest can make your searches more convenient and efficient by keeping you from having to reformulate your query. Google Suggest might offer suggestions that you will find quite COOL.

Worth1000 is a community of mostly Photoshop users who use their skills to manipulate images for the respect of others, and possibly get cash prizes along the way. The site’s been around since 2002 and has an avid, active user base of technology aficionados and people whom like creating and looking at well-done “photoshopping.”

What makes the service especially great is the design. Each contest is set up like a forum thread. You can casually browse hundreds of photos in a sitting. In addition to photos, there are also contests for multimedia, and text writing that follows a similar format.

Worth1000 comes from the same folks who created Aviary, a small suite of Web applications for Web design and photo, audio, and video editing.

www.worth1000.com

Basecamp is a Web-based project management tool from 37signals. Groups can come together and work on large or small projects, sharing the same collaborative space.

It’s essentially a mash-up of various productivity tools, including a to-do list maker, shared storage space, message boards, and calendaring. What has made it so successful is how it’s been tied together. It’s well known as a service that fits both personal and group organization into one handy tool.

Basecamp has several tiers of service, with varying degrees of shared file storage and active projects.

www.BasecampHQ.com

Skype is a text, voice, and video-chatting platform that works using your Internet connection. Skype has branched off from a desktop software solution to work in mobile phones and household phones that just need a Wi-Fi or Internet connection to run. Like instant-messaging clients, Skype gives users a buddy list instead of a set of phone numbers.

Over the years, Skype has also introduced a number of new features. One of the more interesting ones is SkypeOut, a service that lets Skype users call outside numbers, both long distance and international. There’s also SkypePrime, a service that lets users create their own pay-by-the-minute lines for expert advice or consulting services.

www.skype.com

Meebo is a multinetwork instant-message service that runs in your browser window. It emulates the look and feel of similar software services, yet requires no download or installation. You can also “pop out” your chat windows and buddy list, just in case you want to escape the confines of your browser.

In 2007, Meebo launched an application platform, letting developers create applications and services that tie into Meebo’s chat architecture. At launch there a small handful of video and voice chat tools. Since then there are nearly 50 community created applications including file transfer, speed dating, and multiplayer games.

Besides basic one-on-one chat, Meebo also offers a service called “Rooms,” which makes it easy for users to share media and Web sites. All you have to do to embed a YouTube video or a Flickr photo (or media from Metacafe, Google Video, Photobucket, or MySpace) is paste the URL into the chat window; then other users will be able to play media directly, without leaving the chat session.

www.meebo.com

Kayak is like Google for travel sites. Its search engine scours the Web to help you find the cheapest deals on travel services around the world. It searches more than 140 travel sites and lets you sort and customize the data. You don’t actually purchase the tickets or hotel bookings through Kayak, it simply directs you to the purchase page.

Some of its most useful features are the Buzz and Fare Alert planning pages. Buzz shows you the cheapest deals as discovered by other Kayak users in their searches. These prices are aggregated from historical data and listed when you do a search from your city. The Fare Alert service will send you an e-mail when a trip from one city to another becomes available at a low price, letting you pick when you’re going to travel by the cheapest price.

www.kayak.com

Craigslist is a free, online classifieds service that’s localized by geography. Do you need to sell that old refrigerator this weekend? Put it on Craigslist. Users can post items they want to sell and get responses by telephone or e-mail from people who live around them. It cuts out the middleman and often results in quicker sales than you’d get with other services such as eBay or your local newspaper.

In addition to a free-for-all buyers-and-sellers market, there’s also a job board that’s populated by many employers who agree to pay the $75 per category to list their openings. There are also house and apartment listings, personal ads, and an active user forum where people can talk about whatever they want

www.craigslist.org