Sinfully yours

CHOCOLATE, the first love of all mankind! Everyone craves for chocolate whether it is a bar or a slab, or a dessert made out this sinfully yummy, gooey dark brown elixir. It serves no ends and promises a few minutes of sheer delight as one digs into and relishes the chocolate treat. So it is no surprise that chocolates are also given as present to those and by those who are true chocoholics.

Chocolate.com is one website which truly caters to these chocoholics. But before your mouth waters in anticipation, let me warn you. There is only so much use you can make of this website. It is basically a venue for online shopping for chocolates. And if you are not planning to buy anything from here, then the sight of scrumptious chocolate treats will only increase your longing for them, depressing you even further. But let us be optimistic enough to whatever we can get from this website.

To begin with, there is an extensive section on recipes which are either based on chocolates, or include it. So the next time you are attempted to try out something really different in terms of a chocolate-related dish, look no further. The interesting part in the recipes is that they all involve ingredients which are easily accessible. You can always experiment with something new like white chocolate cheese cake or chocolate banana custard.

Other than the recipes, there is a useful tips section as well, which is a great guide on different ways of using chocolate while cooking. For instance, there is an article on how you should store chocolate when you want to make use of it in cooking anything. Such hints will ensure that the recipe turns out as amazing as it is portrayed on the website.

For those who do not easily give in to this mouth-watering delight, there is an interesting research section on chocolates, which makes for quite an enlightening read. It quotes a study that has scientifically proven that dark chocolate is one of the most significant factors in lowering the blood pressure. So here is a chance of snubbing your doctor when he tells you to lay off chocolates. But interestingly, the research has showed that white chocolate does not lowers blood pressure. Well, one has to treat facts like these with caution since the website is dedicated to selling chocolates.

If, however, you cannot resist the temptation and order online (at your on own risk), then there is definitely a wide range of options available. All the chocolate products are categorised in several ways, so you can avail the option which is most convenient for you. You can use the budget category to search for products that falls between your desired price range. Or you can access the products by their category of chocolate for instance; white chocolate, milk chocolate, brownies or cakes. There are so many different categories here that you will certainly be spoilt for choice.

For whatever reason you visit this website, it is sure to cheer you up especially if you are one of those people whose spirits are lifted at the mere sight of chocolate. And there is no guarantee that you may end up running to your refrigerator or the store to sink your teeth in this sinful indulgence.

Check out various chocolate treats at http://www.chocolate.com

What a racket

IT is quite encouraging to see that even though cricket and hockey are the major domains of sports in this country, there is a sizeable number of people who can be classified as avid tennis fans. Of course, Aisam-ul-Haq’s recent winning spree may have motivated a lot of them to begin appreciating the game. And for those among you who are interested in reading about the latest news on tennis and the likes of Justine Henin, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Pro Tennis Fan is right up your alley.

Pro Tennis Fan caters to those who have developed interest in tennis recently, as well as those who have been watching the game for years. Being a blog, Pro Tennis Fan actually makes a very interesting read since it not only keeps one updated on all that is happening in the world of tennis, but also carries blogger’s views on the current scenario. At the time of writing this review, the US Open is in full swing. Having entered the semi-final stage, it has been marked with its share of controversies and disappointments. Few of the highlights include Serena Williams being dubbed ‘classless’ courtesy her comments at the post-match press conference after losing out to Justine Henin in the quarter-finals, and Rafael Nadal being knocked out of the tournament. Needless to say, the blog is pretty much dominated by news of the US Open at this point.

There is also a commentary on the matches and players’ activities. The case in point is the retirement announcement of Tim Henman. The blogger has also added his comments regarding who has and has not made it to the quarter-finals.

What makes the blogger’s comments far more interesting and readable is that the entries are short and to the point. He has not rambled on about anything, so it is easy to keep yourself updated quickly.

In addition, some applicable and appropriate links are provided to interesting articles from all over the cyberspace. So you can, for instance, check out who Jon Wertheim of Sports Illustrated has chosen as the winner at the current Grand Slam.

Another worthwhile feature of the website is that the posts have been categorised not by topic, but by the players. So if you are looking for specific stories regarding any player from James Blake to Dinara Safina, simply select the name from the side bar and you will have access to all the entries about that player. There are links to the official and unofficial websites of different players as well. So if you are a die-hard fan, you can surf those as well.

The blogger invites his readers to have their say as well. Unfortunately, despite its great content, there are few readers as can be judged by the number of entries for each blog, which are two comments at the most.

So the next time you log onto the internet to check out the latest scores on Yahoo Tennis, make sure you visit Pro Tennis Fan.

Keep up-to-date in the world of tennis. Log on to http://www.protennisfan.com/

Watch what you download

WHO has not heard of YouTube? At some point, most of us have received a link to a YouTube video by email. And sometimes there are links to YouTube videos on different websites and forums as well.

The point being that video sharing is something that has become quite popular over the years, and as the trend becomes more popular, the websites which cater to video buffs have increased as well. Apart from YouTube, there are other sites like Yahoo! Videos, Zippy Videos and Metacafe to name a few.

But life is never this easy. If there is a hitch in these video sharing websites, it occurs when you have to watch them online. The content of these videos is streamed to the respective website which means that - barring a few websites - there is no download link at all, even if you go through the HTML of the webpage to extract one. So what do you do if you want to download a video? Or what if your connection is not good enough to allow you to watch videos online?

The solution lies in Video Downloader (http://www.videodownloader.net). It is basically a handy tool which will extract the download link of whichever video you are watching at the moment. Then click on that link to download the respective video from that website.

If you are using Firefox as your browser, then all you have to do is download a small add-on from this website and install it in your Firefox. Then, whenever you have a specific webpage opened with the streaming video, all you need to do is to click on the Video Downloader icon and a pop-up window will appear, giving you the download link.

One of the best features of this website is that it supports many video sharing websites which include You Tube and Zippy Videos. Also, if you are not interested in downloading or installing, the website has the facility by which you can simply copy and paste the link of the page which has the video you want to watch, and click download. The website will handle the rest of the work for you.

Trouble is, sometimes, the downloader does bungle up the links a little bit. Resultantly, instead of the download link, you end up getting something completely different. Nevertheless, if it you are lucky, you will get the right link. And if things are not working at all, you can always get in touch with the developer of this tool, who has left his email address on the website.

Another little problem which we used to face when using Video Downloader is that the download link had the extension of .flv instead of .wmv. This means that even if we did manage to download the entire video, we could not play it in your standard Windows Media Player or Real Player. This problem has also been solved. There is a link on the website to download the FLV Player so that even if you are getting links with a .flv extension, all you need to do is download that very player to watch your videos.

At the end of the day though, if your connection is working fine, you can have a collection of all your favourite videos. Then it is up to you whether to store them on the PC/Laptop or burn them on CD/DVD. All thanks to the Video Downloader.

To watch the videos of your choice, log onto http://www.videodownloader.net.

Website a day, eh?

HUNTING websites is an interesting as well as a tiresome task. You have to be specific about what exactly you are searching for in order to put correct keywords in the search engine to get as close a result as possible. But if you simply want to browse through different websites, then you must have a good deal of knowledge about the search engines which you can visit other than Yahoo and Google. However, it should be kept in mind that more or less all search engines carry the same URL of websites.

This is where a website like Cool Site of the Day comes in. This website offers a newsletter service in which the subscriber receives a link to a new website everyday through e-mail. For those of us, who are wary about submitting our e-mail address to a new website and are already irritated recipient of unlimited spam, then we can simply visit the website daily and can check out the link of the day.

The website is pretty much to the point. The homepage is clutter-free, and very neatly structured. It does not dwell on lengthy descriptions of the daily highlights. Instead, if you click on the appropriate link, it will take you to the the day’s website. You can also, always leave your feedback about the selected webpage in the drop down menu that lingers at the top for a while.

The website also allows you to visit a random site. Simply click on the icon which says, ‘Random Cool Site’ and you will find yet another website to browse through. The archive of links is available as well – comprising all those websites which have already been featured on Cool Site of the Day. So, if you are not content with just one website per day, or if the site is not according to your liking, you can access the archive and browse many more.

If you own a website, and are looking for a platform to launch, then here is your chance. This website features an option in which one of the submitted sites is picked as the cool website of the day. You just have to use the online form to submit the website. It will be reviewed and if found up to the mark, will make it in the queue of the cool site of the day. There is just one catch here. Apparently, this website is rather popular so they charge fee for reviewing your website. But if you feel it is worth it, go ahead.

And of course, if you like this website and find it useful for the internet gurus like yourself, then you can help in promoting it, especially if you own a blog or a site. There is a range of different banners and buttons available here that can be downloaded and put up on your blog. However, a very important omission is the accompanying HTML code with these banners and buttons. If the code was given, even the novices among us could have easily inserted the link in your website or blog. As it happens, only those familiar with HTML can use this promotional business.

It is true that once-a-day services such as these have been around for a long time and have been very popular, but they exist precisely for their utility and the convenience they offer to all those internet users who are genuinely interested in browsing new and interactive websites.

To access a new website every day, log onto http://www.coolsiteoftheday.com/

For your eyes only

Magazines and newspapers not only help in satiating the appetite of reading enthusiasts, but also keep people updated on all that is happening around the world. Newspapers fulfil the latter function better than magazines do, which tend to fall in the area of entertainment. There are many who cannot start their day without reading a newspaper, while there are others cannot wait for the month to begin so that they can get their hands on the latest issue of their favourite magazines.

Fortunately, the internet world also offers such services, and websites like All you can Read mainly cater to newspaper and magazine lovers. The website is basically a database of magazines and newspapers from around the world. It contains links to up to 23,000 publications printed in different regions and continents.

At the first glance, this may put you off since the homepage shows a lot of links and not any reading material in particular. However, once you begin navigating the website you can make most out of it. The magazines and newspapers are categorised by regions as well as interests. So while you can access all the newspapers published in Japan and Brazil, you can also catch up on all the different genres of magazines published around the world which are categorised by special interest and the target audience to which they cater to.

The newspapers, on the other hand, are categorised by continents, and then further sub-divided into countries.

Once you access the area of your interest, you can start browsing the content they offer. For example, if you are inclined towards magazines that deals with women issues, you can access the appropriate link from the main page and you will find a list of such magazines. These are hyperlinked to their official websites. Some official websites offer only subscription while some come with full text of articles published in the most current issue. These articles can be in both HTML or in PDF format, so you can easily save them to your computer to read them later.

The website can be of invaluable use to those of you who may be doing some formal research at any level. If you wish to find any kind of material that is published in foreign publications, or even if you want to analyse the image of Pakistan in the foreign press, this place is right up your alley.

If you are the kind who love to thumb through your magazine or newspaper in anticipation of what is coming next, then the online version may not attract you as much. However, on the whole, despite a few visual problems, courtesy a fine print, the website is a real treasure trove for those who do not mind reading on the monitors.

At the end of the day then, it is all about how much passion you have for reading and how keen you are to have a healthy stock of publications coming your way via cyberspace. And there is always the option of taking print outs, the moment your eyes scream for mercy from staring at the screen

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To access foreign newspapers and magazines, log onto http://www.allyoucanread.com