Web In Review ~ thupui

Kate Russell gives us her latest selection of the best sites on the World Wide Web.

OTAKU SOFTWARE (www.otakusoftware.com)

If you struggle with the amount of icons on your desktop then the trial version of Deskspace from Otakusoftware.com could be worth a try.
This software enables you to organise programs and icons on multiple 3D desktops and to switch between them using the mouse and keyboard.
It is free to use for 14 days but you will have to pay if you want to keep using it beyond this period. And it only works in Windows 2000, XP and Vista.
Download and installation is super fast and easy. Hold down Ctrl, Alt and Shift then use your mouse pointer to spin to the desktop you want.
It takes a few seconds for the new desktop to settle, then you can use it as normal.
You can customise the look of each desktop and even leave documents and web pages you are working on open.

EXPERT VILLAGE (www.expertvillage.com)

Expert Village

Need an expert? We cannot all know everything so it is good to know there is a place on the web where you can find someone who does.
This site has lots of great instructional videos to help you accomplish a variety of tasks from using a block plane to applying the perfect mascara for your wedding day.
Click the categories tab to browse through the content by subject. Most films are placed in a series, allowing you to step through the various stages of a topic in small bites.
You must remember that these people are experts, not presenters, so a lot of the content is quite dry.
But the level of detail and knowledge contained in them is very impressive - and it is all totally free to watch.

POKETALK (www.poketalk.com)

PokeTalk

There are many great websites offering stuff for free these days. So how do you fancy a free 10-minute phone call to anywhere in the world?
At first glance Poketalk.com seems too good to be true, but aside from any incoming charges such as roaming fees for using your mobile abroad, these calls are totally free and you do not need a microphone or headset to proceed.
Calls are paid for by the sites advertising and all you have to do is sign-up and put in a request giving the number you are calling from and the one you want to connect to.
Within a very short while - it took about five seconds for me - you will hear your phone ring. Pick up and you will hear a dialling tone as you are connected to your call.
You are limited to 10 minutes, and not every country is covered, although the list is quite impressive. Check out the destinations tab to learn more.
It is worth noting too that in some countries you can only make calls to and from landlines. But altogether this is an astoundingly simple and useful service.

LET ME GOOGLE THAT FOR YOU (http://letmegooglethatforyou.com)

Let Me Google That For You

Who has not been in a chatroom or forum and had someone ask some simple piece of information they could easily find out for themselves?
Letmegooglethatforyou.com makes the point directly and with the sharp edge of humour which will hopefully help them see the error of their ways.
Just type the question they asked in the interface of this website and click the Google search button.
Instead of turning up a list of URLs you have to troll through for their answer, you are given a single URL to post in reply.
The result is a cheeky animation of you typing in the question and suggesting it was not that hard to do.
This then jumps the viewer to the Google page results they seek.