Education and reference

I'm currently in the process of buying a home, and the big move is looming. To try to improve the process of staying organized and making good choices, I've tracked down a variety of moving-related Web tools.

(If you want to see even more tools, check out this roundup of apps we tried out last year.)

Before the movers come, it's important to stay organized. Get labels for the boxes. Create a checklist, so you don't forget anything. And be prepared.

HomeExpo If you want to attach labels to the boxes around your house, HomeExpo is the way to go. You can choose from a variety of labels and print them for free. The site has labels marked by room. You can even add your own description to labels for miscellaneous items.

Mayflower's checklist The Mayflower moving company has an interactive guide available to anyone who signs up on its site. Included is a checklist that provides you with a full list of things that generally need to be attended to before you move. It reminds you to contact doctors, banks, and service providers, notifying them of the change of address. It also has helpful hints to remember as you start your move. You can even have the site e-mail you weekly reminders up to eight weeks before your move, so you don't forget a step.

Maestro Label Designer The Maestro Label Designer from OnlineLabels.com is the site's online-label design tool. You can add text to labels or add clip-art images for more advanced designs. The tool makes it easy to create labels, but beware that it will cost you $6.95 per month to use it. That said, it does come with a free trial, so you can try it before you decide to subscribe.

OneSimpleMove OneSimpleMove is a fantastic moving tool. Once you sign up for the free site, you're immediately brought to its calendar page. There, you can set your moving day and populate the calendar with tasks. It will even send e-mail reminders to you whenever you have a task to complete.

Besides the calendar, OneSimpleMove has a directory of movers, rental truck companies, supplies firms, and much more. When you input your current place of residence and tell the service where you're moving, it immediately puts together a list of companies that will aid you in your move. When the move is complete, you can write a review on OneSimpleMove of the companies with which you worked. The site says it will donate $20 to your favorite charity when you write that review.… Read more

I ended up spending the Memorial Day holiday weekend in Las Vegas, a city in which I do not set foot particularly often. When I wasn't partaking in my preferred activity of lounging by the hotel pool with a good book and a pina colada (yes, that's right, I don't gamble), I decided to test-drive a new iPhone app. Namely, it's the free app from lifestyle e-newsletter UrbanDaddy, which hit the iTunes App Store earlier this week.

UrbanDaddy--which operates city-specific newsletters for New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Miami, and Los Angeles, as well as … Read more

Memorial Day is one of the busiest traffic days of the year. No matter where you're going, you're likely to get caught in traffic. But if you're looking to find a way to escape it, you've come to the right place. We've found a variety of apps and sites that can be accessed from your mobile phone or GPS device that provide you with all the traffic data you need to stay away from busy roads. But remember: you shouldn't use these apps while you drive. So either try these out in the passenger seat or hand them off to your travel companion while you cruise down the road.

Commuter Feed If you can access Twitter from your mobile phone, Commuter Feed will be helpful. The site is a network of Twitter users that communicate bad traffic areas with the rest of the community. Whenever they see a backup or an accident, they update the site with its location. It's not a huge community, so finding traffic in smaller areas will be tough. But if you're in a big city and you can access Commuter Feed while on the go, I think you'll be happy with what you find.

Google Maps Accessing Google Maps' traffic data takes no time if you have a mobile phone, like the iPhone or T-Mobile G1. Once you find the area you're looking for, you can click the "traffic" button above the map. The tool will then color-code streets based on the amount of traffic at the time. Green means you won't need to worry about traffic. Red means you will. It covers most areas in the U.S. It's a great tool.

Live Maps Microsoft's Live Maps features outstanding traffic data. Similar to Google Maps, Live Maps displays traffic in streets in most areas across the U.S. You can even export the map to your GPS device. Mobile phone users who have the mobile version of Live Search installed can choose an area (most major metro areas are currently supported) and see how traffic is at any time. Unfortunately, only BlackBerry and Windows Mobile users can download the mobile version of Live Maps.

Mobile Millennium Mobile Millennium is a free public traffic-information system that uses speed and position information gathered from GPS-equipped cell phones. Users can download the software onto their device and see how traffic is in their area. Unfortunately, Mobile Millennium only works on a select number of phones -- so far, mostly BlackBerry devices and Nokia smartphones -- so not everyone will be able to use it.… Read more

Memorial Day is fast approaching, and we're all thinking about our plans for the summer. For those of us planning beach trips, it's time for the body to come out of winter hibernation.

Earlier this year, we looked at services that give you exercising tips. But good exercise, as experts say, isn't everything behind a great beach bod. Eating well is another major component.

Below is a roundup of tools that help you track your calorie intake and exercise routines, as well as help you find support from others who are working toward the same goal.

A Calorie Counter Tracking your calorie intake is important. That's why A Calorie Counter is a useful tool. It enables you to search the USDA Food Nutrition database for anything you've eaten throughout the day. Once you find what you're looking for in the results, it reveals nutritional facts and a box that lets you change your serving size. When you update your serving size, the nutritional fact image changes to show you exactly how many calories you consumed. I was happy with the size of the database, and changing your serving size takes seconds.

BuddySlim.com BuddySlim operates on the belief that trying to lose weight alone is too difficult. Because of that, it enables folks who are trying to lose weight to form communities around their common goals and inspire each other to keep exercising. The site lets you search for others by diet, exercise, goals, location, or gender. Once you find a "buddy," you can keep in touch through a free e-mail account the site provides, as well as blogs and forums. The tool itself features a weight tracker so you (and others) can monitor your progress. But the real value of BuddySlim is its active, engaging community.

The Daily Plate The Daily Plate is primarily a calorie counter. But it does quite a bit more. The site lets you track how many calories you've burned by exercising throughout the day. You can set up weight goals and track your progress toward them with charts and graphs. Although I was happy with The Daily Plate, I wasn't overly pleased with its calorie tracking. It's not nearly as useful as A Calorie Counter.

DietTV.com This site provides an end-to-end healthy lifestyle service with calorie tracking. But one of its best features is the option to create a workout regimen. It asks you for your current weight, finds out what your ideal weight would be, determines what kind of exercises you'd like to do, and creates a full-body workout.

I was able to create a regimen that included 60 minutes of exercise, four days a week, on an elliptical machine, supplemented by weight exercises to build muscle mass. It was a fantastic tool. I also liked that DietTV lets you join a support group. Since forcing yourself to work out can be difficult at times, joining the various support groups on DietTV could help you stay motivated. Each group lets you upload your weight, include photos of your progress, and communicate with others. It's a great system that more of these tools should have.… Read more

Earlier this week, I listed some useful Firefox extensions that help you become more productive while you blog. Now it's time to see how well your blog is performing.

I've found and tried 12 online applicatons that track your blog's traffic. Some are better than others, but they're all designed with the same goal in mind: helping you grow your blog.

Clickdensity Clickdensity not only tracks the number of page views and unique visitors to your site, it overlays a "heat map" on your page that tells you where visitors are clicking. It's a helpful tool. You can see if the way you place content on your site is helping you increase traffic. And it will give you insight into where to place page elements. Pricing starts at $5 per month. If you want to improve your site's design, try Clickdensity.

Clicky Don't let its childish name fool you; Clicky is outstanding. You'll find charts and graphs, but one of its best features is its visitor detail, which gives you accurate information on individual visitors in real time. It tells you which country they're from and how long they've been on your site. Clicky also has a mobile page designed specifically for the iPhone. It boasts all the same features as Clicky's online version. Plus, it's snappy, so you won't waste time checking traffic. Pricing starts at $29.99 per year.

Google Analytics Google Analytics is a free service that provides you with a graph showing how many people visited your site. The tool also lets you see which pages visitors clicked, how many unique visitors went to your site, and information on where the most people entered and exited. It's not nearly as advanced as other apps in this roundup, but it's certainly the easiest to use. If you want something simple and accurate, Google Analytics is for you.

Histats.com Histats.com sports the slickest design of any tool in this roundup. You'll find common tracking elements like page views, visitors, and referral information, but that's all displayed in the most user-friendly design I've seen in this space. The graphs are gorgeous. The app's ease of use is unparalleled, thanks to slick menus. And changing the data you want to look at is simple. I was really impressed by Histats (and its free price tag).… Read more

As a Firefox user and blogger, I realized not too long ago that the best way to be more efficient was to find useful add-ons for the Mozilla Web browser.

After trying a variety of Firefox extensions, I've found 15 that do a fine job of making my blogging more productive.

Apture Editor: Apture Editor enables you to easily add contextual images, videos, reference guides, links, and more to a blog post. Whenever a reader moves her mouse over an Apture-linked term, a box is displayed, showing the related media you chose. Whenever a reader clicks on an item, a new window opens, displaying the source of that media. It's a great way to add more value to your blog posts.

Clipmarks: Clipmarks lets you "clip" (copy) sections of a Web page, including text, images, or video, and add them to your Clipmarks profile. You can then send all your saved clips to your blog. You can also send them to Friendfeed, Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. It's a useful tool. Check it out.

Fire Analytics: If you want to track how well your blog is doing, the Fire Analytics Firefox extension will help. To use it, you'll need to link your Google Analytics account to Fire Analytics. Once complete, you can see all your Google Analytics reports in Fire Analytics without ever going to Google's page. It's not as pretty as Google's reports, but you'll get the same information in a much shorter amount of time. It's worth trying out.

FireFlix: Finding images for your blog post is made simpler with FireFlix. The sidebar extension lets you quickly search and upload photos from Flickr without leaving the page you're on. If you use Flickr to find photos for your blog, this extension is for you.… Read more

A few years ago, Greenpeace singled out Apple when assessing companies for toxic waste. The clash now seems to be in the past, as Greenpeace has started using Apple's iPhone to spread its message on the importance of selecting the right toilet paper.

Greenpeace has launched an iPhone application version of its "Recycled Tissue and Toilet Paper Guide" that lets consumers compare brands available at their local grocery store to find which brands are most environmentally sustainable.

The app, developed by 3rdWhale, gives advice on a scale from "Recommended," "Avoid," or "They … Read more

If you saw "Star Trek" over the weekend, you might be wondering how you can use the Web to connect with other fans.

It's not as hard as you might think. From Ning social networks to Facebook groups, there are a variety of ways to connect with "Star Trek" fans around the world.

Star-Trek If you're a Twitter fanatic, the Tweetworks Star-Trek group might be worth checking out. It's not a vibrant community--there are just a few dozen members--but it's the largest "Star Trek" Twitter group on the Tweetworks network. You'll find other Twitter users to communicate with. And you can leave as many tweets as you want about the movie. But until it grows, consider it your last destination.

"Star Trek" Facebook group The "Star Trek" Facebook group is the place to go if you're a real "Star Trek" fan. It's that simple. The page has over 2,400 members. Its discussion board is brimming with messages about topics ranging from Spock and his mother to Captain Kirk. The page also has more than 100 Wall posts discussing the movie, commenting on the series, and much more. Definitely check it out.

"Star Trek" MySpace page The official "Star Trek" MySpace page is a must-see for any "Star Trek" fan. It features the movie's newest trailer. And if you want to see scenes from the film, it has a couple clips for you to watch. But it's the page's forums that will keep you coming back. More than 22,000 "Star Trek" fans are currently discussing the movie, the franchise, and everything in between. The "Star Trek" MySpace page is one of the best places to connect with other fans.… Read more

I was looking through the Google Maps directory recently and found a variety of maps worth checking out. From up-to-date weather to barbershops, they should all be added to your list of Google Maps modules.

Barbershops: The map's description says "Barbershops are one of the last bastions of manliness today." And that's why the developer created a map providing locations to barbershops all over the U.S. Not every area is covered, but if you live in a major city, you'll find at least one or two barbershops to try out.

Best Nightclubs and Bars: If you want to find the best nighttime hangouts in major cities like New York; Scottsdale, Ariz.; or Las Vegas, the Best Nightclubs and Bars Map is for you. After picking an individual city to get a listing of hot spots, you should find all the places you're looking for. It would be nice if it supported more cities, though.

Chandra X-Ray Observatory: The Chandra X-Ray Observatory map gives you in-depth information about Harvard's Chandra X-Ray lab. It has dozens of markers around the world. Each time you click on a map marker, it explains exactly why the location is important to Chandra's operation. If you're interested in space and you want to learn more, this map is for you.

Current Air Quality: Those who have breathing problems will be happy to know that there is a Current Air Quality map that updates each hour with information gathered from government air quality sites. It only tracks the U.S., the U.K., and China, so if you live anywhere else, this probably won't do you much good. But I find it quite useful for where I live.

Distance Measurement Tool: Ever wanted to know what the distance is between Hoboken, N.J., and Tokyo? With the help of the Distance Measurement Tool, you can do just that. Simply click on one spot on the map, then click on another. The tool will show two markers and the distance.

Flickr Mapplet: It's not perfect, but the Flickr Mapplet is a neat addition to your Google Maps favorites. You can search for any kind of image. Once it finds photos that match your query, they will be indicated on the map with markers based on where the photographer claims the photos were taken. Once you click on the marker, you can view the pictures. Its search could be better, but it's still an interesting way to see photos.

Follow the Rainbow: If you want to go to Ireland, Follow the Rainbow is for you. It provides you with all the top spots for history, food, art, and music. When you click one of the markers (they're all color-coded, thus the "Rainbow" name), it tells you where it's located in the country, what it offers, and how to get there.… Read more