Article • September 21, 2010

Find the Best Hotel Rooms Last Minute

LateRooms is a new way to score cheap hotel rooms

Mustering the desire to take a vacation is easy. Finding affordable places to stay while traveling, not so much.

Thankfully there’s LateRooms, an international service that helps you find the cheapest possible deals on hotel room (and other travel arrangements).

If you have a specific place in mind, start by searching for a hotel by location or name. If you’re just looking for extra incentive to get away, you can search for specific deals, including free nights, extra amenities, combo deals or free upgrades.

LateRooms also gives you the option to book “secret rooms,” which will give you the general vicinity of the hotel and its star rating but won’t disclose the name until you book (this is done so fancy hotels can save face by filling rooms without having to advertise a discount).

If you’re looking for something a little homier than a hotel room, you can also book cottages, apartments or villas throughout Europe. Car rentals are also available, and they offer free city guides many European hubs.

As for convincing your boss to give you the time off, you’re on your own.

Visit LateRooms


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Article • July 16, 2010

Save, Annotate, and Organize Web Pages and Resources

Simplify online organization with Diigo

If you’re anything like us, the mess of bookmarks, sticky notes, and clipped web pages is so confusing that you’re just a step away from reverting back to post-its.

To make things a bit more streamlined, try Diigo, a free service that combines bookmarking, web clipping, and annotation tools.

To begin, create a free account with Diigo and download the toolbar (it works with every major browser).

The toolbar allows you to bookmark pages, highlight text, send articles via a bevy of social networking tools, and mark items for later reading.

(Diigo even allows you to capture pages as fully searchable screenshots, so you can archive a page and view it offline.)

After you’ve made any changes, Diigo pushes that information to their servers, or “the cloud.” You don’t have to worry about setting up separate syncs for different types of data since everything updates together at once.

The service also has apps for the iPad, iPhone, and for Android devices.

You are now free to annotate the entire Internet.

Visit Diigo


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Article • July 15, 2010

Shelf Space

A Netflix-Style Rental Service For Your Literary Needs

Reading is fundamental.  But budget cuts are making many local libraries less of an option for avid readers.

Thankfully, there’s Bookswim, an online book rental service that lets you compile a Netflix-style queue of books to be delivered to your door.

Simply set up an account and choose the pricing plan that best suits your reading speed (they start as low as $23.95 a month for 3 books at a time, which includes shipping and handling).

After that, begin selecting books to add to your “Rental Pool.” Bookswim offers everything from best sellers to classic literature to textbooks

There are no due dates or time limits on the books you borrow (unlike a library, you’ll never pay a late fee). When you’ve finished a book, simply pack it in the provided return envelope and send it back to receive the next title on your list.

It’s like having your own personal Dewey Decimal System.

Visit Bookswim


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Article • July 14, 2010

Chatter Box

One-on-One Language Lessons With Native Speaking Teachers
Learning a foreign language is a noble goal. But it’s hard to find the time and the proper instruction.

Enter Learn 2 Lingo, a service that pairs students with language teachers via webcam for one-on-one language tutoring sessions.

Simply create an account and choose the language you want to learn (they offer everything from Algerian Arabic to Zulu).

You’re given a list of teachers to choose from, complete with user ratings and credentials. From there, simply schedule a convenient time for your session.

Learning materials are sent to you by your teacher at no cost, and with its unique chat room style layout, you’ll be able to perfect both written and oral skills simultaneous.

Each half-hour lesson costs $12 (the site charges in Euros), an outright bargain compared to those college classes you squandered.

Eager to teach? Simply set up a teacher’s account. You’ll be paid $9.50 per session.

You finally have an excuse to book that “field trip” to Sao Paolo you’ve been dreaming about.

Visit Learn 2 Lingo


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