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Thursday, 23 June 2011

Put Your Digital, Social & Technical Skills To The Test With Smarterer

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer-intro.jpg" alt="skill assessment test"/>Success in the modern job market is underlined by one simple fact – the skills you bring to the table. The fresh web service called href="http://smarterer.com/">Smarterer aims to shake our inertia about learning skills and make smarter workers out of us all. Smarterer pits us against the technology, digital, and social tools we use every day and tells us if we are able or inept with them.

Smarterer’s mission is to put a number (or a score) on the skills we write about in our resumes. If you have the smarts, let’s head below and see how Smarterer and its battery of tests validate your digital savvy.

What Is Smarterer?

Smarterer tests your skill level and knowledge in the digital apps you use every day. The web app has developed a proprietary system and algorithm that can benchmark anyone’s skill in just 10 questions and 60 seconds.

The Smarterer blog says – Smarterer’s scoring algorithm validates and quantifies skills using an 800 point scale, similar to the GMAT or SAT, and provides users labels such as “smart”, “smarter,” and “smarterer” to describe their skill level at a glance. Only 5 percent of users score in the top level, which reflects the adaptive nature of the algorithm and their rank against the community of users.

More importantly, the blog also says that Smarterer is designed for professionals within the first 10 years of their careers — college students who have little experience (but a broad set of skills that make them employable) and individuals who are making their first or second career move and need to show skills to get the next great job.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer.jpg" alt="skill assessment test" width="580" height="284" />

Bring On The Tests…

Register and log into Smarterer. Smarterer allows us to take as well as create skill assessment tests. Just to get a feel of things, I think I will take a few tests and see how I score. There are nearly 70+ tests with the likes of Facebook, Gmail, LinkedIn interspersed in the midst of tests like Dog Training and Literature for Children.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer01.jpg" alt="computer skill test" width="580" height="302" />

Some of these tests are of course user-created but it goes to show that as the variety starts piling up, you can really put all facets of your personality under the scanner.

Here’s a screen from the Google Search test I opened with:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer02.jpg" alt="computer skill test" width="580" height="290" />

You can try out the single test question just to get a feel of things and how the system times you through each question. Correct responses are indicated by green, incorrect ones get emblazoned in red.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer03.jpg" alt="computer skill test" width="580" height="324" />

The tests are rapid and each question needs to be answered in 20 seconds or less. The screenshot below shows how I fared with Facebook (the results from my Google Search test weren’t red hot!):

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer04.jpg" alt="skill test" width="580" height="371" />

Your ‘smartness’ gets measured on an 800 point scale. As the screen shows, I am merely ‘smart’ so far, not the smartest one around. You can share your score via Twitter or Facebook. But I think I will make an attempt at improving them before I let the whole world in. You can answer a few more questions to improve your score and graduate up the smartness scale. There are some things which influence the final score. This is where the ‘intelligence’ of the site kicks in.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/smarterer05.jpg" alt="skill assessment test" width="506" height="243" />

Smarterer not only allows you to add your own questions to existing tests, but also create a brand new skill assessment test on a topic. You can create the tests, write the questions, and design the answers. If all goes well with the tests and your answers, you can see yourself on the leader board. Moreover, you can ‘show off’ you score with an embedded badge on your blog, website, or email.

There’s lot to like about Smarterer: from its very user-friendly and clean design to the speed of the tests. I liked the scoring system which made picking up the points not just a case of answering correctly. Do you have the smarts? Take a test on href="http://smarterer.com/">Smarterer and let us know your score for this href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/quiz/">quiz and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/learning/">learning app.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/put-digital-social-technical-skills-test-smarterer/">Put Your Digital, Social & Technical Skills To The Test With Smarterer is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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Encrypt & Protect Your Computer Files With CryptKeeper [Linux]

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cryptkeeper-icon.png" alt="encrypt folders linux" />Easily add encrypted folders to your Linux computer. Locking down your files doesn’t get any easier than CryptKeeper, a shockingly simple piece of encryption software that locks down individual folders. Just tell CryptKeeper where you’d like your new encrypted folder to be and what password you’d like to protect it with.

In the past we’ve covered Truecrypt, which makes class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/encrypted-folders-truecrypt-7/">encrypted folders others cannot view. That’s a great program for Linux, Mac and Windows computers – there’s even an upcoming MakeUseOf manual with in-depth coverage of all its features. Stay tuned for that.

CryptKeeper has its own advantages, however. It does one thing and does it very well. If all you want is a specific folder on your computer to be protected from prying eyes, CryptKeeper has you covered. Since this is all CryptKeeper does, it’s simpler in many ways than Truecrypt.

Encrypting Your Files

CryptKeeper runs in your system tray. Click the icon and you’ll see your encrypted drives:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cryptkeeper-tray.png" alt="encrypt folders linux" width="430" height="163" />

The first time you click this you’ll see the preferences. Take a look at them and you’ll have the options above. If you already have a EncFS file, you can import it easily. If you don’t know what that means, simply click “New Encrypted Folder” to get started.

You’ll see a window for creating your folder:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cryptkeeper-new.png" alt="encrypt files linux" width="580" height="156" />

Figure out where you want your encrypted folder to be, and what you want it to be called. Then you’ll have to pick a password for the encrypted folder. Remember that if you forget this password, you’ve basically deleted your encrypted folders. Be sure to class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-strong-password-forget/">create a strong password that you won’t forget.

Once you’ve created your encrypted folder, you’ll see it in your file browser:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/cryptkeeper-folder.png" alt="encrypt folders linux" width="580" height="154" />

As you can see, the system mounts the encrypted folder as a “drive”. You can easily move files in and out of this drive just as you would with any other. Moving large files into this folder may be a slow process; encryption takes a while. Still, the security is worth it.

Installation

Installing software on Linux is easy. Just fire up your system’s package manager and install the “cryptkeeper” package. If you’re on Ubuntu it’s even easier: simply class="vt-p" href="apt:cryptkeeper">click here to install CryptKeeper.

Once you’ve installed CryptKeeper you’ll find the software in your menu. Fire it up!

Get It Working In Unity

Fire it up in Ubunty 11.04, however, and you’ll notice that nothing happens. This is because Unity abandoned the old system tray in favour of class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/readd-functionality-ubuntus-tray-indicator-applets">indicator applets. Never fear, though; there is a fix. Simply type these two commands:

gsettings set com.canonical.Unity.Panel systray-whitelist "['JavaEmbeddedFrame', 'Wine', 'Skype', 'Cryptkeeper']"/> setsid unity

The first command allows certain programs to show up in the system tray; the second restarts Unity. Hopefully, with future versions of CryptKeeper, this will not be necessary.

If you’re interested, I found the above commands in class="vt-p" href="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/cryptkeeper/+bug/689071">a bug report about this issue.

Conclusion

Encrypting files is essential if you want to ensure they’re safe. Losing your computer to a thief is bad enough. Having people access your personal files could be even worse. This is a great way to protect yourself.

Do you have any additional safety tips? Share them in the comments below, along with any alternative programs for this process.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/encrypt-protect-computer-files-cryptkeeper-linux/">Encrypt & Protect Your Computer Files With CryptKeeper [Linux] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/data/" title="data" rel="tag">data, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/encryption/" title="encryption" rel="tag">encryption, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/privacy/" title="privacy" rel="tag">privacy, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/security/" title="security" rel="tag">security, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/security-tips/" title="security tips" rel="tag">security tips/>

5 Model iPhone Apps You Can Create With No Coding Skills Required

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/xcode1.png" alt="how to create iphone apps" />Last week we ran an article about class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/create-iphone-android-app-coding-skills/#comments">How to Create an iPhone or Android App Without Any Coding Skills, which is an introduction to a fairly easy-to-use online web application program called class="vt-p" href="http://www.buzztouch.com/pages/">Buzztouch. It works sort of like putting together a website in which you use templates and plug-ins as a basis for your iPhone or Android app. With a little imagination and of course media content, you can create your own application using Buzztouch, and have it exported to the respective software development kit – Xcode for Mac or Android SDK – for final coding production. Buzztouch could also be used as the building block for learning more advanced coding.

In this follow-up article, I will share five model iPhone applications developed using Buzztouch. While these apps are not at the top of any iTunes Store List, you will see how they are useful for niche markets, organizations, clients, and the like. Imagine not only handing your clients your business card but also a portfolio mobile app of your work. Or what about turning your business PDF guide or ebook into an app? It’s really simple with Buzztouch.

All the following apps make use of over a dozen Buzztouch tools and templates for app creation. Let’s examine how these developers used these tools.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/buzztools.png" border="0" alt="how to create iphone apps" width="300" height="376" />

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/101-keyboard-shortcuts-for/id430371316?mt=8">101 Keyboard Shortcuts For Mac

101 Keyboard Shortcuts makes creative use of nearly all the Buzztouch tools, including a quiz game, custom HTML pages for the shortcut instructions, and the sharing tool properties for the social networking menu items.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot643.jpg" border="0" alt="create iphone apps" width="580" height="423" />

The developer includes sub-menu properties that include a simple Email Us template that generates a pre-written email about the app that users can send and share with others.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/101quiz.jpg" border="0" alt="create iphone apps" width="580" height="386" />

Similar menus are built in for Twitter and Facebook sharing, with a pre-written message about the app for easy user sharing. Finally, there’s a handy little quiz – a fun review tool for what users learned about Mac shortcuts.

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/erres/id413192645?mt=8#">ERres

Josh Mularella created a basic information app for medical students. The homepage begins with a set of icons, each linking to medical review information first laid out in Microsoft Word or perhaps saved as a PDF. Buzztouch includes template properties for both Word and PDF content.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/medicalapp.jpg" border="0" alt="create iphone apps without code" width="580" height="414" />

Some menu items are links to webpages. Though this app was written specifically for students at the Albert Einstein Medical Center, it’s a useful model for creating similar information review applications for any organization or large business in which you may need to routinely update information and distribute it to users.

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/top10lv/id438132216?mt=8#">TOP10LV

Top 10 Best Places of Las Vegas is a great model app for travel destination businesses or tourist sites. This app opens with a location notification request followed by icons for each of the sub-menus in the app.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/vegasapp.jpg" border="0" alt="create iphone apps without code" width="600" height="400" />

Each club, casino, restaurant, and show icon links to a sub-menu of items, including Google map directions for specific places (using the Buzztouch location tool). The Call Us tool was used to include a pre-typed phone number to a specified place. When that menu item is tapped, a confirmation box pops up for users to okay the direct call. Finally, a custom RSS feed is used that links app users to an RSS feed of tweets posted about a designated place in Las Vegas.

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-travel-ebook/id431039284?mt=8">Light Travel eBook

Light Travel eBook is an ebook about digital photography. The developer used the PDF Doc properties tool, which enables you to add up to 8MB of text document to your application.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot644.png" border="0" alt="Screenshot644" width="580" height="429" />

If you have already produced an ebook for downloading, it would probably take less than 20 minutes to create an app of it using Buzztouch.

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jol/id421100107?mt=8&ls=1">Jim On Light

Finally, developer Jim Hutchison created an app, Jim On Light, that includes all the features of his website, which is about lighting, light and art, lighting devices, lighting fixtures, etc.

style="text-align: center;">class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/screenshot6451.jpg" border="0" alt="how to create iphone apps" width="580" height="419" />

It looks as if Jim used nearly all the Buzztouch tools, including custom webpages for articles, the YouTube tool which simply requires the URL of the video you want users to view, a quiz about lighting, a gallery of photos from his Flickr.com stream, using probably the RSS Reader properties tool, a Resource Map using the Map Location tool, and a RSS feed to Jim’s Twitter and Vimeo video feeds.

The app is very well designed and a great model for how the content of a website can be used for a mobile app.

Other Buzztouch model apps include a wedding information app, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/best-man/id441357505?mt=8&ls=1#">Best Man; a math tutorial program, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-christian-mathematician/id434155101?mt=8">The Christian Mathematician; class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ohio-evidence/id427769984?mt=8">Ohio Evidence, a law review app; class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rcems-field-guide/id423445788?mt=8">RCEMS Field Guide, a menu app of medical treatment protocols; and a study guide app for web designers, class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/basics-of-web-design-review/id437995393?mt=8">Basics of Web Design Review.

Have you tried Buzztouch yet? If so, let us know what you think about it.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-model-iphone-apps-create-coding-skills-required/">5 Model iPhone Apps You Can Create With No Coding Skills Required is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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Green

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Put Your Digital, Social & Technical Skills To The Test With Smarterer

What Is Smarterer?

Bring On The Tests…

Similar articles:

Encrypt & Protect Your Computer Files With CryptKeeper [Linux]

Encrypting Your Files

Installation

Get It Working In Unity

Conclusion

Similar articles:

5 Model iPhone Apps You Can Create With No Coding Skills Required

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/101-keyboard-shortcuts-for/id430371316?mt=8">101 Keyboard Shortcuts For Mac

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/erres/id413192645?mt=8#">ERres

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/top10lv/id438132216?mt=8#">TOP10LV

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-travel-ebook/id431039284?mt=8">Light Travel eBook

class="vt-p" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jol/id421100107?mt=8&ls=1">Jim On Light

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