I love FatWallet.  What can I say, they offer cash back if you buy through their links for over 800 merchants, display deals and coupons for those merchants and have what I think are the best forums around for finding deals, freebies and coupons.

Now, Fat Wallet is using its staff to select daily deals they find their members will want to peruse and hopefully buy.  Here is their press release.

FATWALLET.COM UNVEILS TODAY’S TOP DEALS

Rockton, IL, May 7, 2009—At 12:00 p.m. CST, FatWallet.com launches Today’s Top Deals, an at-a-glance listing of handpicked FatWallet.com deals.

A dedicated FatWallet.com deal hunting staff is delivering a selection of browsable deals to online consumers via Today’s Top Deals. The daily list of select deals from various shopping categories includes product images, pertinent coupon and purchase links, as well as staff quick reviews and links to corresponding forum community discussions. A sample of Today’s Top Deals welcomes consumers landing on the FatWallet.com homepage; and the full list of fifty-plus deals can be viewed at www.fatwallet.com/top-deals. This light and consumer-friendly page is one of many money saving resources available to consumers to experience the wealth of economical information to be found on FatWallet.com.

As the preferred shopping resource for over one million savvy consumers, FatWallet.com works closely with over 800 merchant partners like Dell, Travelocity, and Wal-Mart to publish exclusive offers, online coupons, and cash back rebates. The growing FatWallet.com forum represents the pulse of not only FatWallet.com but also an evolving online marketplace where consumers gather to share and learn. FatWallet.com ranks by Quantcast as one of the top 1,000 Internet properties, worldwide. www.fatwallet.com

For more information, please contact Laura Pagles of FatWallet.com, (815) 877-8992. marketing@fatwallet.com

So, go and check out their new feature and let me know what you think.  I certainly will be subscribing to this feed to add to my dealnews and The Bargainist.

Here is a list of 75 sites that will help the shopping enthusiast or even sporadic shopper get the best price through deals and coupons.  This list is far from complete but offers an array of sites that you may not have heard of before.  I would love to keep this list growing so if you have a site that is not listed here please leave a comment with the website.

1. 247malls.com – quality merchants & special savings Online Coupons, Deals and Special Discounts for over 1.000 stores!
2. Airfarewatchdog - Compare airfares that are not always part of the bigger travel sites like Southwest and Jetblue. Includes smaller airlines as well. Sign up for free airfare alerts from your local airport.
3. AntiRebate.com Great Deals, Coupon Codes, Free Stuff, Price Breaks, Save Money, No Rebate Hassles!  A source for buying various products at discount prices without the hassles and problems of mail-in rebates. Links to great deals, coupon codes, instant rebates, price breaks, free stuff and other money saving ideas.
4. BaeBo A shopping site that lets you compare Amazon, eBay and Yahoo all in one place! Monitor Amazon product prices via RSS Feeds! Amazon + eBay + Yahoo + RSS = The best shopping feed EVER!
5. Ben’s Bargains Lowdown deals!
6. Booking Buddy Comparison search engine for travel sites. Compare airfare, cruises, hotels, car rentals and vacations from the top travel sites.
7. Boddit Makes it simple for you to discover deals for what you want by aggregating deals from a huge selection of bargain hunting websites. Searches online for all the latest deals from bargain hunting websites.
8. Bountii Comparison shopping site showing you the best prices.
9. Bradsdeals – published by Brad Wilson, finds and filters online shopping deals, online coupons and codes and in-store printable coupons.
10. Brand Name Coupons A web deals site that combs the Internet to find the best coupons, discounts, and clearances.  Has a great Amazon Deal finder tool.
11. Buxr Shop and save, share and earn.
12. CheapStingyBargains Your top resource for Dell Coupons, HP Coupons, Coupons, Deals and Freebies.
13. Combyo Combines hot deals & coupons from top deal sites like Fatwallet, Slickdeals etc. and presents them with real-time price comparison side by side. In case you don’t have the time to look for deals everyday, tell us what you are looking for and the price you are looking for.
14. Coupon Chief Find and share coupon codes.
15. Couponmom Blog Nice blog that has deals and coupons, mostly drugstores.
16. Daves Hot Deals at Daily Tool.com This site posts 2-10 daily deals on cool stuff. Most of these deals and coupons expire quickly. On Fridays this site posts one deal every hour.
17. DealArmy Aggregates coupons and deals from a variety of sites.
18. DealBundle Social Shopping for Deal Fanatics!  A social shopping community supported by its members. Users submit deals for review then the community rates those deals on quality and popularity which promote them to the main site.
19. DealCatcher Free Online Coupons Dell, Amazon, Best Buy, Overstock.  An online community that helps shoppers save money and make educated purchases. On the site you will find online coupons, products, sales, reviews, and rebates.
20. Dealhack Deals, Specials, Rebates, Coupons
21. Dealigg – A social bargain hunting site. A web2.0 community where members find and vote for the latest deals. Popular deals have received seven or more votes.
22. DealMine.com Save money and time when you shop online!  Search stores for discounts, miles, points and other rewards. Compare prices of millions of products at thousands of stores.
23. dealnews.com Find the lowest prices and coupons on computer hardware, software, digital cameras, iPods, MP3 players, plasma TVs. Great email newsletter sent out daily.
24. deanNshop Hot deals, freebies, & online coupons for sites like Amazon, Staples, Best Buy and Buy.com.
25. DealsofAmerica Online deals, coupons, promotions, special offers & deals from popular US stores.
26. Dealio Online Coupon Codes, Discount Coupons & Online Deals.
27. dealplumber Find the best deals and coupons & save!  A social network for deal savvy consumers to find, save and share deals online.
28. dealspl.us Hot Deals, Bargains, Coupons, Lowest Prices and Shopping. A great bargain/coupon site to check out
29. DealPocket Provide the deals and coupons found on internet.  Post coupons, discount offers everyday which will help shoppers pocket smiling.
30. Dealsea Coupon codes and deals.
31. DealStop They search for truly exceptional deals and bargains each and every day and publish them as soon as they find them. Also, list coupons for popular stores. They write brief stories and reviews about new or lesser known ways to save money.
32. Deals.com Uncovering the Best Discounts & Deals. User submitted deals and coupons. Community votes on best deals which end up on the front page. Digg-like interface.
33. DealsVista.com Helps you figure out what is best to buy, why it’s best, and where to buy it at a good price. They sort through all the information and hype on products, and clearly and concisely recommend the best for what you need.
34. DealTuner Hot deals and listings from deal sites such as FatWallet, SlickDeals, Ben’s Bargains and Deal Catcher. Deals are shown by date posted and categories.
35. Dealyzer.com Helping you find great deals on the Internet!  A search engine that searches many of the popular deal sites on the internet to help you find the best deals. Give it a try.
36. Digital Deals The Internet source for bargains
37. eDealinfo Daily deals discount site with coupons.
38. flippid – Post what you want Flippid lets you name your price for the stuff you’re looking for. Sellers on flippid like it because it doesn’t cost them a thing to see what buyers want. Sellers will even compete with each other just to sell to you!
39. FatWallet Freeonline coupons, online bargain shopping, price comparison, and forum community. Also offers cashback on purchases made from merchants through their site.
40. FreeShipping.org Free Shipping Coupons to 1478 Stores.
41. Frucall An online comparison shopping website for mobile shoppers. Use your mobile phone to find out online prices for items while shopping in stores. Very handy.
42. GasBuddy.com Find the lowest gas prices in your city.
43. Gilt Groupe An invitation only site (leave a comment and I will send you invite) that features sales on designers clothes, accessories and home goods.
44. GottaDeal.com Today’s hottest deals from online forum threads.
45. Information About Hot Deals: Deals Aggregator Pulls together deals from leading deal and merchant sites. Sites included slickdeals, techbargains, bensbargains, dealsea, dealslist, buy.com, newegg, tigerdirect, amazon and other sites. Deals are updated every hour.
46. Jellyfish.com Get cash back while shopping online. Also has Smack Shopping which is like a reverse auction. Check it out.
47. Kaboodle Share and find shopping deals with friends.
48. mobsaver – SMS price comparison tool Use your cell phone to send text message to get price comparisons while out shopping. checks against amazon and ebay.
49. my Holiday Shopping List Your online personal shopper, searching the web around the clock to find the best prices available. You’ll receive regular emails with your shopping results, and you’ll be just a click away from the items you want, at the prices you want, directly from t
50. myTriggers.com All Items. All The Time.  A “persistant” shopping search engine where you enter an item you are looking for and the maximum amount you are willing to pay and the application searches over a million merchants, including eBay, and returns relevent results.
51. NetHaggler A shopping companion toolbar to help you get the best prices. Tag an item at a price you desire. Nag the merchant for a lower price. Haggle as a group for bargain rates.
52. Passwird Deals and bargains on a variety of items including electronics, gadgets, computers and accessories.
53. PlanetBargains Find discount clothing, cheap shoes, and deals on dining.
54. PopDeal The latest tech deals and bargains from around the web. One page aggregator of the latest tech deals on the web including feeds from DealNews, Buy.com, TechBargains, Deal Catcher, ResellerRatings, Ben’s Bargains, XP Bargains, AntiRebate, Woot, SlickDeals, FatWallet and GotApex.
55. Price Comparisons A web mashup based on Yahoo Shopping, Shopping.com, Amazon, and eBay for comparison shopping. It offers tagging, custom feeds, custom product grouping and pricing history.
56. Price Protectr – Get your money back! Find the item you bought online, enter the url and your email. If the price drops within the price protection period you will receive an email. Works for Amazon, Backcountry.com, Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco, Future Shop, Jenson USA, Office Max, Sears.
57. Printable Coupons – Printable coupons for a variety of stores.
    
58. redtagcrazy They sell one hot item from one sought-after label at a time, casual and designer, at deep discounts of 50-80%. Quantities are limited, time is limited, and their attention span is limited – so stay awake.
59. RetailMeNot Coupon codes and discounts for over 30,000 stores.
60. SecretPrices.com Deals, Coupons, and Price Comparison Shopping. Unheard of Prices. Primary focus is finding the lowest prices for you. This includes any coupons, rebates, discounts or combination of them. Other shopping comparison sites lack important deal, rebate and co
61. ShopBIG A comparison shopping search engine providing aggregated user reviews from merchant sites and price alerts.
62. Shop It To Me: Your free personal shopper for sales on clothing and accessories This site sends you clothing that matches your size and brand preferences as soon as it goes on sale. Select your favorite apparel brands and sizes and you will receive an email with a daily or weekly summary of which new items go on sale in your size.
63. SlickDeals.net – Your Daily Source for the BEST Deals on the Net!! Find the some of the best deals and coupons for today’s top internet retailers! They also have a comprehensive list of coupons for you to use at online shops.
64. SmarterTravel.com Free online consumer community helping people save time and money on travel. Offers travel advice, blogs, travel tools, articles on specialty travel and travel deals and bargains.
65. Snoopr you can find, share, rate, and discuss the hottest deals on the web. You need to participate to get the most out of snoopr.net, so register now (it’s free).
66. Spoofee Coupons and Deals Find daily deals and coupons. Consumers are informed with the best deals. Users can submit deals on the discussion boards.
67. sylenotes sister site to dealnews focusing on discounts and coupons on Women’s clothing, apparel, jewelry, accessories and home decor.
68. TechBargains Bargains, for discounted computer sales, cheap laptops, and cheap digital cameras.
69. Techdeals.net A guide to technology deals and more.
70. The Bargainist | Deals, Sales & Coupons Finds the best deals around on just about everything. From gadgets to home furnishings, you’ll always read about the hottest bargains, sales, coupons, and freebies right here.
71. TheFind.com – Shopping Search Reinvented – What can we find for you? A product search engine that crawls over 500,000 online stores and 150 million products web-wide and ranks results by leading products, brands, stores and styles giving you the most relevent results up front.
72. Trezr.com: The best sale and discount items, coupon codes, and money-saving tips Links to the best sale and discounted items on the web each day: designer shoes, digital cameras, cashmere sweaters, travel deals and more. You’ll also find coupon codes to stores all over the web and helpful tips for saving money.
73. Woot : One Day, One Deal An online store and community that focuses on selling cool stuff cheap. One deal a day is offered until it is sold out. Fun to see what the deal of the day is and whether the price is worth it.
74. wowcoupons Source for free printable discount coupons for retail and grocery stores, restaurants and travel rebates.
75. Yugster Daily deals plus as a member special deals are shown.  Prices are very good.

What sites do you visit for deals and coupons?

In my last post I said I had trouble explaining what Twitter was.  Well, if Twitter is difficult to explain then torrents are even more difficult to describe.   Basically, torrents are a faster way of sharing files with other people. In the Big Book Of BitTorent,  put out by the Make Use of Blog, Saikat Basu explains that torrents says,

“Most of us are more familiar with more conventional forms of file sharing such as email and
FTP. BitTorrent is just another file sharing protocol (a set of rules on how to do things) we
can use. Email and FTP rely on one computer hosting the file and transmitting it to another
connected computer. BitTorrent introduces a major difference – the hosting and the
downloading is spread out over many computers using a technology called Peer-to-Peer. We
can use BitTorrent to share or download any type of files – .exe, mp3, AVI, Jpeg, and Doc
etc…

Hey, stop the muddles before they come on…it‟s not terribly complicated. Here‟s a likeness
of how BitTorrent works…
There is a book I want to read but I have only one chapter with me. I look around and find a
friend who has a few more chapters. It still isn‟t a complete book, so we search for few more
guys around the block who might have the remaining pages. We find a bunch of guys and
though nobody has the complete book, we share the chapters amongst each other till all of
us get a copy of the complete book one by one.
On the internet the “book‟ becomes our file, which is broken up into little pieces or bits. Each
of us has at least one and we download and share these “bits‟ till we have the entire file.
Each piece one of us downloads is available to all the others for upload. Thus we all share
rather than placing the onus on one computer to host the file and distribute it.”

By sharing files this way the download of a large file becomes quick rather than waiting hours for it to download.  BitTorrent can be used for all kinds of files including music and video files.  Basu talks about the legality of some torrents like the ability to find the latest movies in the theater on the internet.  It’s up to you whether you want to download something you know is illegal or not.  I am not sure of the copyright laws regarding television shows but I look at is as a friend taping the show for me to watch on my DVD player later.

The Big Book Of BitTorrent covers many topics to help you understand thoroughly choosing a BitTorrent client, finding torrents, downloading torrents, torrent etiquette and creating your own torrents.  The book is in PDF format so give it some time to load.

I use uTorrent as my BitTorrent client.  I love it.  I also use a few torrent sites to find files to download.  I use BTJunkie as a torrent search engine, Mininova,  Demonoid (now has open registration, otherwise by invite only)  and a site that has British television and radio shows called TheBox which is invite only and I have invites to if you like British television.

I want to thank the people at Make Use Of for offering this book for free (this is a great blog to and I suggest reading it or subscribing to it and Saikat Basu for writing such a clear document that helps the novice understand bittorrents.

So, if you want an invite to TheBox let me know, I have 8 of them please leave a comment and I will send one off to you.

Did the book help you understand BitTorrent? Do you use torrents to download files?  Do you have a favorite BitTorrent client? Site or search engine?  Please share to let others know.

If you watch television news you have probably heard newscasters talk about Twitter or show a Twitter stream of people responding instantly to a question being asks by a newscaster or pundit.  Even Oprah has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon.

So, what is Twitter?  To tell you the truth I have a hard time explaining it.  It is known to be a microblogging service where you have 140 characters to type in “What are you doing?”  This information is then shared with your followers on Twitter.  When a follower leaves what is called a “tweet” you see it in your timeline.  The more followers and people you are following the more interactive Twitter becomes, for some it becomes almost an addiction.

Wikipedia’s definition is:

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that enables its users to send and read other users’ updates known as tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers). Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by default, allow anybody to access them. Users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website.

When you first join Twitter you have no one you are following or who is following you back.  How do you get people to follow you?  You first follow them.  You can follow me at http://twitter.com/infomaniac.   Then you can look at my timeline and see who my followers are, the “tweets” they leave and whether you want to follow them.  Usually when you follow a person they will follow you back unless they are a big celebrity like Oprah or Larry King … http://twitter.com/oprah and http://twitter.com/kingthings.

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I wrote a post, Smart Phone: Samsung Omnia From Verizon, not long ago where I mentioned Resco Keyboard which costs  for $19.95 as the keyboard I chose for my Omnia.  Now, it is a great keyboard application giving you lots of customization and different keyboard layouts.  But, I now have found a keyboard that really fits my needs and best of all it’s free!

The keyboard is called FingerKeyBoard 2.1 and for the Samsung Omnia you want to download the FingerKeyb-2.1-WQVGA.cab for the Omnia.  Being a free keyboard developed by two people it has its quirks and they fix any bugs promptly though I have not found any problems using the keyboard.  I LOVE IT!

The screenshot above shows the keyboard in portrait mode.  I have found that it is easy to type with my thumb messages and emails.  Each key has two functions, first the the regular keyboard keys you see in bold and then the lighter keys you see above the regular keys.  A simple press of a key brings up the regular key, a longer press brings up the lighter key.

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