Latest Posts from Download Squad

Apparently, the owner of the Web site HoaxCall is unable to determine just what it is his site actually does. According to a press release, he needs help answering the following question: "Is HoaxCall.com the Latest Form of Cyber-bullying"

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: Grow up.

In the release, founder Marc Waesche explains, "I created this site with the prankster in mind. I can remember doing prank calls as a child and wanted to give prank calls a high-tech makeover." Well, here's a thought. If something is funny when you're nine then chances are, it isn't when you're twenty-nine.

Here's HoaxCall's schtick. Pick a prank call scenario, then dial any phone number right from the browser. Listen as a pre-made audio clip plays for the person you've called, and wait for hilarity to ensue. The three options available at the moment are "The Annoying eBay Buyer," "You're on Air [sic]!" and "Yeah, Who's This Then?" Evidently, there are more coming soon.

Before dismissing the site entirely, I listened to two different scenarios and they were predictably bad, over-acted, and just downright silly. In fact, the "funniest" part of any call would be if someone was actually tricked into thinking they were talking to a real person other than a recording.

The only thing this Web site got right is that it won't let you dial the same number more than once every two weeks. I wasn't able to verify that claim, however. According to the FAQs HoaxCall collects phone numbers in a database and I wasn't about to offer mine up to them.

While the site is no doubt sophomoric, the most troubling thing about it is the glib references to the very serious issue of cyber-bullying. Well, that and HoaxCall's attempt to provide "an outlet for the prankster in each of us." I don't know about you, but I grew out of making prank calls right about the same time burp jokes stopped being funny.

Judging by the terrific sense of humor I see in Download Squad readers, I'd say you've grown up, too. So, who's up for some real fun?

Are you leaving work early to fly off somewhere with your sweetie? You could Tweet that to your followers on Twitter, or you could tell them, "I'm going to ? out of work early today and hop a ? to Montego Bay with my true ♥."

Adding symbols to Tweets used to involve remembering a whole bunch of keystroke combinations but thanks to TwitterKeys, created by the folks at The Next Web Blog, all you have to do now is cut and paste.

Just drag the TwitterKeys bookmarklet to your toolbar and next time you're looking for a symbol, just click the link to open the directory. Find the symbol you like, copy it (Control + C), then paste it (Control + V) into your Tweet. Pretty sweet.

Two things to note: TweetDeck users will need to change the apps defult font setting to international/utf8 in order to use TweetKeys. Also, Mac users will recognize many of these symbols from the Special Characters set found on OS X. While not all of those characters will work cleanly in Twitter, the ones selected for TwitterKeys will.

If you're social life won't be complete until you're socially connected to David Hasselhoff, I have some good news for you. Now you can sign up to be one of the Hoff's 15,000 closest friends by joining his social network HoffSpace. Woo.

Free membership on the site gets you your own home page, and access to Hasselhoff's media collection of pictures and videos (though I'm guessing not this one.) You'll also be able to read Hasselhoff's blog, shop for personalized gifts, and chat with his adoring fans worldwide. There's even a page filled with ringtones and wallpapers for your mobile phone.

I know you're probably thinking this has to be the oddest social networking site ever created. Probably not.

More on Hoffspace over at Switched.

I know your secret.

You've searched online to find out what happened to an old flame, where your best friend from college ended up, or whether there are incriminating anecdotes about your boss on the Internet. Google will get you some good results, but use the new iSearch search engine created just for locating people and you'll probably find incriminating anecdote of your best friend and your old flame. With your boss. It's that good.

Simply type in a name and approximate location (the narrower the geographic area you choose, the more finely-tuned your results will be), then let iSearch do its thing. Soon you'll get a long list of names starting with exact matches and descending to near matches. Once you find the person you're looking for, you can choose to get information on your target's friend's professional contacts on LinkedIn, what social networks they're a part of, where they turn up on blogs or in the news, and even what email addresses and domain names are associated with them.

iSearch will also perform a public records search via and give you info on known addresses, bankruptcies, arrest records, and loads of other legal documents discoverable online. You'll need to pony up some cash for those goods, though, and pay anywhere from $2.99 to $49.95 to get the real skinny.

There are already some sites out there that do people searches and spit out public record information, but few do such a thorough job of it. Honestly, after searching my own name, I felt like I'd been x-rayed. And I know another secret. You're about to go check out your name at iSearch, too. Right?

[Via Wired]

A reader dropped us an email recently, requesting information on where to find educational software for elementary and middle-schoolers. That's a great question -- there are plenty of Web-based sites to choose from but, as our reader pointed out, it can be tough to find things to put on your computer to use later without an Internet connection.

If you dig around a little, though, you can find a few gems.

Kaboose has a long list of downloads in lots of different categories, including math, science, social studies, and music. Each list is also broken down by age group and operating system (Mac and PC). Several links point to Web sites that only contain printable PDFs and worksheets, but be sure to hunt around for downloadable software too.

The HomeSchool Mom, a popular Web site among home educators has a mile-long list of free educational materials in every conceiveable subject from typing tutors to Forensic Medical studies. Some of the links are for Web-based activities but many take you to sites where you can download free software or send away to receive goodies in the mail.

Adam Smith Academy offers free educational podcasts you can download and listen to on an MP3 player or your computer's media player. Younger children will enjoy stories from Kipling or Aesop, while older kids will love hearing stories by James Joyce or Nathaniel Hawthorne. The site even has a number of history lessons and college lectures available for download as well.

If you're looking for help with specific topics, be sure to check the Web sites of museums and science centers in major metropolitan cities. You could get lost for days roaming the Web site of the Exploratorium, San Francisco's famous science museum. Though much of the information is Web-based and interactive, there are plenty of links to other sites for additional printables and downloads. Budding astronauts of all ages can find virtually anything related to space, astronomy, and space travel at the educational portion of NASA's Web site.

One of the best places to find free and fabulous educational software is within the open source community. Although a few programs require the Linux operating system to run, most will also run on Windows or Mac. Have a look at this comprehensive list to see what's available and what's recommended for students of all ages and skill levels.

Now that school is officially underway throughout most of the country, help your kids flex their brain muscles with these three terrific educational sites:

NickNews - Yes, that Nick. The folks at Nickelodeon have done a great job putting together a news Web site just for kids. It covers everything from the presidential election to poverty in America in a way that teens and pre-teens can grasp. Have your kids use it as a way to keep up on what's happening in the world, as well as a place to do research on current events.

Funbrain - This is the ultimate "education-disguised-as-fun" Web site. It helps teach important academic basics in ways that are nearly irresistible to kids: math skill builders are hidden in arcade games, reading enhancers are stashed in Web comics. It's as clever as it gets. As an nice added touch, there are even blogs targeted at different age groups.

EdHelper - This one's more for parents and teachers than kids. Use EdHelper to design worksheets, games, and other printables to give kids the extra practice they need in spelling, math, or reading. Total access to the site is available at various pricing levels, but the free area will be more than adequate for most families.

There are activities for every age and grade level from pre-k to high school. In one area of the site, you can enter your child's spelling list for the week and up pops a crossword puzzle using all the words. Another section offers SAT vocabulary word lessons for 9 - 12 graders, and yet another section contains writing prompts and critical thinking exercises. What the site lacks in visual pizzaz, it more than makes up for in educational value.

Stay tuned later this week when we explore ways to find educational software that you can download right to your computer. For even more educational Web site ideas, see this post.

Plain old 404 Web site error pages are so last century. Now you can make your own custom page with AllVoices' 404 Error Creator tool.

Choose a person from a pre-populated list to create the background image, or upload your own. Then, add a title, a few comments, and click "create." Your new 404 error page is created in seconds, along with the code you need to save it for your Web site or post it on your blog.

Judging by the inordinate amount of political figures in the list of background images, this tool was probably created to let people voice their opinions during the election season. Since you can upload your own image, though, the possibilities of how to use the 404 Error Creator are pretty much endless. Of course you can use it as a way to mess with your friends, but since you can add whatever text you want -- including URLs -- it's also not a bad way to put together a fun temporary redirect page for visitors to your Web site.

If you need a quick way to round the corners of an image but hate messing with a full-blown image editor, then make sure you bookmark RoundMyCorners. Similar to other apps like this we've covered before, it's a very basic online tool but it works exactly as promised.

Simply select an image from your computer then choose your options. Corners can be rounded from 1 to 10 pixels and customized with just about any color you can think of. Decide if you want a reflection included, what format you want the image saved as (PNG, JPEG, or GIF), then let RoundMyCorners do its thing. The final image will download automatically to your desktop, with "rounded" thoughtfully provided in the file name.

This is a fantastically handy tool, but there are a couple of small improvements I'd like to see. A preview function would be terrific, as would the ability to name the file before it's downloaded. The developer says additional functionality is on the way, so let's hope these are two features that make the cut.

There's nothing flashy or fancy about this Web site, but RoundMyCorners a great tool to get the job done.

If you enjoy the concept of redecorating rather than the actual process of shoving furniture around the room, then you'll have a ball with MyDeco. Using real furniture in a 3D room, you can rearrange, repaint, and readjust without moving -- or spending -- a thing.

With this Flash-based tool, you can adjust the size of your room by simply dragging the walls into place, then select from thousands of furniture items neatly categorized by type. If you're designing a living room, start with the birds-eye view to figure out where to put the couch and coffee table, then switch to the side view to paint the walls and hang some art. It's unlikely you'll find an exact match of your sofa in the furniture catalog, but there's sure to be a reasonable representation.

If you're not sure just what to put in that goofy little niche in the corner of your bedroom, use the tool's search feature to find accessories of specific dimension. A secretary's desk might look silly, but you may find that a quilt rack is just the ticket.

MyDeco keeps a running list of the furniture you've tried and discarded, and also sports an adjustable "camera" that you can drag around the room to see it from every conceivable angle. When you've got everything the way you want it, save the layout so you can come back later.

MyDeco is a pretty cool way to have fun redecorating your house without emptying your wallet in the process.