gHacks technology news » questions http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:56:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Aardvark Combines Yahoo Answers With Instant Messaging http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/17/aardvark-combines-yahoo-answers-with-instant-messaging/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/17/aardvark-combines-yahoo-answers-with-instant-messaging/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:07:04 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=14485 Tobey mailed me an invite to Aardvark the other day which left me puzzled for a short time. The email basically stated that Tobey had invited me and trusted my opinion on blogging, computers and technical advisory. That’s actually a very nice way of inviting users to join a service that they know nothing about. Aardvark basically is a way to ask questions to a community of experts who then answer this questions. What makes it different from Yahoo Answers and search engines is the social component and the ways questions can be asked and answered.

Registered users can ask questions from several popular Instant Messaging clients such as Google Talk, Windows Live, AIM or Twitter, practically all email clients (no matter if they are online or desktop clients) and the Aardvark website. One major component is the friend network that user’s can utilize to have their questions answered. When posting a question Aardvark will analyze that question and try to find the best possible friends who can answer that question. Questions will also be directed to friends of friends, co-workers, people living in the same location and people who are topical experts.

Answers will be either send to an Instant Messenger of choice if the user who asked the question is online at that time or to the email account if the user is offline in the client. The time it takes to get a response depends largely on the question, the time the question is asked and the friends of the user. All questions that have been asked during tests (with only 1 offline friend present at that time) were answered by dedicated users of the service in less than five minutes.

The concept itself is pretty amazing and users can contribute by answering questions. The main benefits of Aardvark over similar services like Yahoo Answers are that the answers (seem to be) more professional, that questions can be asked from Instant Messengers, Email or the website, that the answers arrive in less than five minutes on average and that the community does not seem to be spammed by webmasters promoting their own services.

Aardvark offers a great alternative to Yahoo Answers, similar services and doing research on the Internet.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/07/17/aardvark-combines-yahoo-answers-with-instant-messaging/feed/ 4 How To View Experts Exchange Answers Without Account http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/09/how-to-view-experts-exchange-answers-without-account/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/09/how-to-view-experts-exchange-answers-without-account/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:46:14 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=11851 experts exchangeA recent post over at Techie Buzz explained how to access the answers of the Expert Exchange forum. Users who regularly search the Internet for solutions will eventually stumble upon that forum which on first glance provides answers to questions only to registered – meaning paying in this case – users.

Users who do not stop here and turn their back on the forum in frustration can actually access the answers quite easily without having to use third party services or changing their web browser’s configuration. What many users fail to realize that the answers are right in front of them, or more precisely right at the end of the scrollbar.

The Experts Exchange forum uses a very clever forum disguise to make visitors think that they can only access the answers if they signup as the banners and information directly below the question suggest. If they happen to scroll down further however they will realize that all the answers are located below that block.

There is one requirement though. Only visitors who are coming from search engines will be able to see the answers this way. There is however a quick and easy way of achieving this. Copying and pasting the title of the thread into a search engine form will do the trick. The posts at the Experts Exchange forum are usually well indexed and one of the first entries should be a direct link to that forum post.

A click on that link will open the Experts Exchange page with the question and its answers which are located below the middle block.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/09/how-to-view-experts-exchange-answers-without-account/feed/ 18 Questions from your girlfriend that are not real questions http://www.ghacks.net/2007/04/04/questions-from-your-girlfriend-that-are-not-real-questions/ http://www.ghacks.net/2007/04/04/questions-from-your-girlfriend-that-are-not-real-questions/#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2007 06:48:26 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2007/04/04/questions-from-your-girlfriend-that-are-not-real-questions/ I thought the following story was to funny to not pass it on to everyone who experienced situations like the following. How do you react when your girlfriend asks you how she looks ? What do you say when she asks if you find another woman pretty ? Don’t you hate the “What are you currently thinking” question as much as I do ? The site Double Viking takes a look at some of the most common questions that girlfriends ask their boyfriends, analyzes the intention and gives you tips on how to deal with them. This could be interesting for woman as well; At least for those who can laugh about stereotypical behavior especially when it might include their own. Want some examples ?

“How do I look?� What it really means: “Tell me I am attractive. Now.�

“Do you think she’s pretty?� What it really means: “Prove to me you aren’t attracted to other women.�

“Where do you want to go tonight?�What it really means: “Read my mind.�

Those are just the headings of the paragraphs. Some tips that they give might actually be worth looking at while others are plain stupid. I don’t think it helps a lot to kiss your girlfriend hard on the mouth whenever she asks you what you are thinking. I guess the truth could not hurt here but this is probably something like “Nothing”, “Sex”, “Work” and might lead to a long discussion.

My advice. Don’t take this serious. It is a nice read and good for some laughs but at the end the truth is the best way to deal with it.

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