In an age of hectic lives, some people have found the need to escape for a while through the Internet. One of the growing fascinations is MMORPGs which stands for “massively multiplayer online role playing game”. These games allow users from all over the world to interact with each other in real time.

There are two main types of MMORPGs. The first type is combat multiplayers. One of the most famous is World of Warcraft (WOW) that has over 11 million users. These types of MMORPGs center around various themes that pit players against monsters that they must fight to gain levels of experience and coin. Most of them allow users to chat with each other as well.

The other kind of MMORPG is the “virtual world”. Second Life is an example of this type. These worlds do not follow the typical video game structure. Frankly, many wouldn’t recognize them as a game. There is no winner, loser or test of skill. It is a completely free form virtual mimic of real life. Users can build real money making businesses, shop, date or join immersive roleplay communities. Some even have real educational opportunities.

Both styles have their advantages and disadvantages. In virtual worlds, you can find amazing friendships and learn from people all around the globe. However, just like in real life, it can have its own version of interpersonal drama. On the other hand, combat MMORPGs are pure escapism. For a moment, you can take a break and destroy some villians and save the universe. Of course, it lacks the deep relationships and learning available in virtual worlds.

Either way, MMORPGs are worth trying if you have some spare time and a need for a safe adventure.

Some Other MMORPGs:
Wizard 101
Blue Mars
IMVU
Free Realms

The image editor, Adobe Photoshop, has come a long way since its days of being known mostly as a program that edits and enhances photographs. Today, it is used by graphic designers, photographers, Web designers and hobbyists to make any graphic imaginable. One of the common uses for the application is to create textures.

Although many people are accustomed to making architectural and natural textures with it, they overlook the ability of Photoshop to make realistic cloth patterns and textures. You can make everything from worn leather to plaid wools.

The uses of these finished tiles is only limited by the imagination. I have used them on everything from professional design projects to personal scrapbooking crafts. The best part is that you can control everything about them from color to tiling.

To learn how to create fabric textures for your own projects, view the following tutorials:

I remember back in the day I was just giddy when CSS introduced real design options for Web designers. It truly was a visual dark ages before that when all we had was HTML to layout a page. CSS did harbor its own host of frustrations because of the lack of compatibility across browsers. Yet, it didn’t deter the bright eyed pioneers from diving in and developing the first real graphical style for the Web.

Now in the age of Web 2.0, the look of stylish websites has changed quite a bit. Gone are the heavy, dark sites of the past. They’ve been replaced with slick, glossy ones that are spacious and inviting. Designers today opt for bigger, easy to read fonts and less icon clutter.

But, I’d have to say the biggest change is in the wide variety of technology that is available at your very fingertips now. You don’t even have to know how to write the code yourself. There’s a gadget or widget for almost anything you can imagine especially if you are into social media. One of the trendiest areas of Web 2.0 is of course staying connected with the world through social networking sites like Twitter.

For those interested in learning more about designing sites for Web 2.o, check out the How to do Web 2.0 Design page.

If your computer is infected with malware or viruses you may need to re-format your hard drive in order to thoroughly rid yourself of the problem. If you do have those problems but are not up for formatting your drive, be sure to check out the guides, “How to Remove Malware From Your Computer”, “How to Protect Your Computer from Malware”, and “How to Protect Your Computer from Viruses”. Malware and viruses could be affecting your performance.

When formatting and re-installing the operating system, you may want to consider dual booting so you can operate more than one operating system at a time. This may be especially true if you’re trying out a new operating system and may want to run some programs that are only compatible with your old one, or you’re just not quite sure about making the switch. Check out the guide, “How to Dual Boot” to learn how. Also, don’t forget to backup all of your important data. Everything will get wiped out when you format, so if you want to keep your data, follow this guide on “How to Backup Your Computer Hard Drive.”

Using these “how-to” guides you can improve your computing experience and make your work go more smoothly. If that’s not enough and you’re just frustrated and want a change, you can always learn how to convert from PC to Mac!

I have spent the last few days traveling. I started in Ireland, travelled to London, and now I am in the US. I will be visiting Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis and several other cities during my trip and I just wanted to share with you how I used Mahalo, the internet, and technology in general to make my trip more manageable and more enjoyable.

When traveling to many cities in only a couple of weeks with no set schedule you come across some problems. How am I going to make sure I get a good, affordable room at the last minute? How do I keep track of flights, bus and train schedules and still have a good experience? Well the answer of course is technology.

The first thing I needed to find was cheap flights. Unless you can afford to fly business class you probably want cheap flights. So the first question I asked myself was where can I find out the best way to get cheap flights? The answer: Mahalo. There is a great how to article which explains how to book a cheap flight and ensure you are getting the best deal. Another great article explained how to bid on travel. After reading through both of the great articles I was able to find many good deals and find the ones which suited me best. Expedia and Hotels.com turned out to be two invaluable sites for me when booking flights and hotels.

The second way in which technology has helped me on my trip is keeping me informed of addresses, flight times, and important phone numbers. A few years ago these pieces of information would have had to be noted down on paper. Now however, with the power of smartphones, all this information can be kept in one device and remain up to date. I brought my iPod touch with me and I have found it perfect for my travelling needs. When in hotels and airports I was able to access the internet through it. With an app named Flight Track Pro I was able to find out my flight times at a glance and find out if there were any delays. I also create a group in the Address Book app which I added hotel addresses and phone numbers to.

To be honest I’m not sure how I would have coped without the recent advances in technology, particularly in mobile computing. I’m currently still travelling so if you have any tips please let me know in the comments.

Hulu is one of the online services on which you can watch your favorite television shows for free.

Miss the season premiere of your favorite show? Wonder what all the buzz is about for a new show? Want to catch up with a series that you just started watching? If so, then watching TV online is the solution. DVRs are great, but what if the show has already aired and you didn’t know you wanted to record it, or you just plain forgot to record it? Most shows are available on the web, although how long they are available varies by network and by series. Hulu is a popular video service which carries content from Disney (ABC), News Corp. (FOX), and NBC, among others. Other shows may be found on the networks’ websites. Check out this great guide on how to watch tv online for free. You may like it so much that you decide to save money and cancel your cable or satellite service!

Most of the Mahalo staffers have returned, safe (and mostly) sound from TechCrunch50. There were some amazing start-ups presenting their products to the judges on stage—and equally amazing companies presenting their work in the demo pit.

The companies that caught MY eye—since my area of interest is Mahalo’s “How Tos”—were the ones that dealt with community building, and mobilizing a labor force. Basically, companies that were finding solutions to the issues we tackle every day at Mahalo’s How To Task system.

Read about the highlights after the jump!

CardFlower

From the people who started Dolores Labs, CardFlower taps into “large pools of casual workers” to spend a few minutes performing micro tasks—like making phone calls to local businesses to check their hours of operation, or gathering contact information for financial aid offices. At Mahalo, we know there are tons of casual, online workers out there, who are eager to take on menial, short term tasks to supplement their income. CardFlower is tapping into these workers, and mobilizing their services. It seemed like a great idea! CardFlower presenting at TechCrunch50

TheSwop.com

If you’ve ever freelanced, went into business for yourself, or built a start-up, you are probably familiar with the practice of giving and getting favors in order to network, or build trust among your clients and peers. This company takes that unofficial business practice, and turns it into an online “job” board and global community. “Swop” your graphic design services, and get back points from the community, then use those points to “swop” a developer to build an iPhone app.

I thought this was a compelling idea, because, as unemployment rises, more and more people will be attempting to go into business for themselves. The judges didn’t feel like TheSwop.com was a compelling concept—one said something about bartering having died thousands of years ago. But, these are changing economic times. And this service might fill a great niche. TheSwop.com presenting at TechCrunch50

RedBeacon.com

This one won the show! It’s a more advanced, specialized version of classified ads. You need some specific service done—need a house cleaner? A personal trainer? A mover? Request it, compare quotes from service providers, then book the job. Simple, straight forward, and much more immediate than Craigslist. RedBeacon presenting at TechCrunch 50

It was a great show! Exciting to see so many great ideas and innovative start-ups…

We get it, not feeling the day’s run a marathon under the guise of color war competition. Get some shade, catch up with your friends and click into your favorite tunes, just to find the page blocked. Of course, Mahalo’s got you covered this summer with how to get on MySpace at Camp.

Maybe you’re at band camp. Real band camp, not an eleventh sequel to ruin the American Pie franchise Band Camp. And you got on MySpace, checked out all your favorite cello players, you’re in the right spot, but the playing just isn’t happening for you. Try reading a step-by-step guide then. How to begin to play cello.

Following the summer theme, we’ve got how to make frozen yogurt and how to use solar power.