Cool Websites #4

ZoomText user Kathy Kalaluhi sent in a bunch of websites that she thought other ZoomText users would find interesting and helpful.  We liked the idea so much that it’s become a regular “column” in ZoomNews!  Below are her suggestions and if you’d like to submit any websites for the next issue, please email them to Becca at !

• Social Security - I know this may sound odd.  Here is the story.  My cousin’s brother in law was recently diagnosed with cancer.  My cousin’s husband surfed the net and government sites looking for some finacial help for his brother as no doubt he will eventually lose his home from the medical expenses and no income.  Under the Social Security website, he found a program called Compassion.  Here’s the direct link.  It provides disability payments of up to $3,200 a month to offer financial help for those with certain types of cancer.  Breast cancer is listed along with several others.  There is also an application on the site.  Not very many people know this exists and it is not well publicized.  My cousin works for a lawyer who works for the attorney general for NY State and she never heard of this either.  It is the best kept secret.  I thought readers might want to know of this as so many family and/or friends are afflicted with cancer at one time or another. 


• Elance - This is a great site if you’re looking for some work you can do at home.  They talked about it recently on one of the morning shows like the CBS Early Show.  You send in a proposal to do, for example, administrative work like creating a PowerPoint presentation for someone.


• Jango - Looking for new music?  Jango is a free radio on the web that allows you to insert the artist that you currently have listed on your play lists and then searches for other artists with the same sound.  You can create multiple stations for different kinds of music.  The site also has a social networking aspect where you can create a profile and then look at other users’ radio stations for their play lists for “new” music selections. 


• thredUP - A swap site for used children’s clothing.  Free membership is available but there is an upgrade that can be purchased.  You need to list a box of used children’s clothing in order to purchase a box of clothing.  The boxes sell for $5 and a flat rate shipping fee applies in the amount of $10.75.  If you pay for a membership, you gain access to buying new clothing from different retailers for the same amounts. 


• I Can’t Find My Phone - At first I thought this was so stupid as if you have no phone to which you can call it so you can follow the ring, then why would you have a computer and the web laying around?  But then realized that many people do not have a land line in their homes anymore and rely solely on cell phones.  Well, here you go.  You can go to this site and click on the “hello” button.  Enter your cell phone number and someone will dial it for you so that you can follow the sound to where your phone is hiding.  Editorial note:  I am loving this - I cannot tell you how many times I can’t find my phone!  However, this won’t help me if it’s on silent...


• Screencast-O-Matic - This site allows you to create an on-screen video that captures steps you are taking to perform a task on the computer.  Good for those computer illiterate relatives who bug you from around the country with questions on how to do something on the computer.  Well, now you can go to this site, click on the create button and it captures your mouse movements so that they can follow along.  The site will navigate you through selecting which part of the screen you want captured etc.  Once you create the video, you can upload it to YouTube or save it to your desktop and email it to those annoying non-nerds.  Or, show it to your friends saying “can you believe my didn’t know how to do this”?

Thanks to Kathy for these great suggestions!