User Pays

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday October 30, 2006

Seamus Byrne

Seamus Byrne sorts his household bills before getting into some pumpkin-carving.

SMART

BillQ

www.mybillq.com

Keeping track of regular outgoings is a royal pain, so a site like BillQ can be a big help in keeping everything in order. Adding bills to your account is easy, signing up is free and your account can be set to Aussie timezones. Reminder timing can also be set in detail. The real strength of this site is in helping a share household pay split bills. All flatmates can be put in a bill group, sharing bill details. Reminders are sent and members flag when they have paid their share. It won't pay the bills for you but it might help keep the power on and the phone connected.

USEFUL

Cooking Bread

www.cookingbread.com

There is nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread. Whether you're a regular baker or a novice to the doughy arts, this website will expand your repertoire in the kitchen. There is plenty of basic breadmaking help here for beginners, plus a huge range of recipes for all bread lovers, including gluten-free and high-fibre options. There are many non-standard bread recipes too, from sweets to savouries, along with naan, focaccia, sourdough and Chinese pork buns. There are even some great recipes for getting more from your bread machine, if you have gone the automated route. You can also share your own tasty bread recipes and sign up to the site's newsletter to have the latest breadmaking updates delivered to your inbox.

FUN

Pumpkin Carving

www.pumpkincarving101.com

Its never taken off here but surely some Australians are curious enough to get creative with their squash. This site will help you start at the beginning, from choosing the right pumpkin to getting your hands on the best tools for the job. You'll also find some great advice on how to grow and harvest your own pumpkins. All up, there are more than 10 pages of tips and tricks on pumpkin carving to suit any beginner, with images throughout to help you understand what they're talking about.

Add a dash of history and plenty of Halloween links - including free carving patterns - and we've got the perfect place to join in on the Halloween fun.

WEIRD

Day in the Life

www.conceptlab.com/simulator/

Remember those pick-a-path and choose-your-own adventure novels? Here is a piece of conceptual art that follows that idea, except with far less adventure and far more of the mundane routine of an average day in some kitchen worker's life. It starts with an alarm providing you with the option to snooze or get up, then it continues (providing options along the way) - shower (too hot, too cold), get dressed (choose clothing), eat breakfast (choose cereals) - as you grind your way through the day. If you can push on and get to the end of the day, are you in for a pleasant surprise? Not really. Few websites are so mundane while being rather clever at the same time.

FREE

Dead Pixel Buddy

www.laptopshowcase.co.uk/downloads.php?id=1

With different policies and timeframes on dead pixel warranties, it's a good idea to check your screen for trouble when you get it home. Dead Pixel Buddy makes it very easy to see where any trouble lies, letting you view your screen in flat colours across the pixel range to see the dead spots. Just download, run and hope you don't see dead pixels. If you see many (you may have already known if there was serious trouble), check your manufacturer's pixel policy. Good to have some hard data to back up any claim you may need to make.

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

Back to News Index | Back to Home