Amazon Mechanical Turk: It Just Makes Cents

It seems like many internet users are looking for great ways to make money online. Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) might be the solution to that problem... Maybe...

AMT is a service provided by Amazon that provides work opportunities for internet users. A user must sign up to participate, and payments are issued through direct deposits into bank accounts or by Amazon gift cards if you don't trust posting your bank account online (like me).

So what type of work can be done on AMT? Basically different clients of Amazon post online jobs (called hits) that they desire for their site that a robot cannot do. These hits require human input (such as choosing a picture that matches a topic) and do not require much skill.

About 75% of the hits are extremely simple and provide payouts of about 10 cents per job (not much, I know). There are hits that pay much higher (I've seen up to $10), but these require a HUGE amount of effort and are not worth the rewards.

As you can probably see above, AMT is not a job that you can do full time and make minimum wage. The best time to do a hit would be during times of extreme boredom. It is not worth the time if you have better things to be doing. Over time, these small hits can add up to, say, a free DVD on Amazon or some money off a purchase.

Amazon Mechanical Turk is a great idea because it benefits users and Amazon clients. It is also one of the few sites online where users can legitimately make money, even though it is not much. If you have some free time and do not care about making a large amount of money, try Amazon Mechanical Turk. If not, I don't blame you.

Review: HowStuffWorks - The Answer to Life's Questions

I find it extremely hard to find a good site on the internet that provides an in-depth answer of a question that I have. Most sites such as WikiAnswers and Yahoo! Answers answer basic questions by providing a short, quick answer to a question. Unfortunately, they do not have the ability to answer a question that has a long, complex answer.

HowStuffWorks is extremely different from these sites. It thouroughly describes topics that cannot be summarized in one sentence. HowStuffWorks answers questions like "What causes rigor mortis?" and "How do solar panels work?" with several pages of valuable information covering the topic. It also provides answers in many interesting technological areas such as how computers, cell phones, and GPS systems work, as well as almost any other topic you can think of.

Hours can easily be spent looking through what appears to be endless information on HowStuffWorks. It is one of the few websites I have seen that actually benefits society by improving user knowledge. The site looks very clean, and it is easy to search for a specific area of inquiry. For questions about processeses or to learn about how things work, I highly recommend HowStuffWorks.

Review: StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon is a browser add-on that allows members to visit user-submitted sites. A user can click "Stumble" in their browser, and they are sent to a site that another user has recommended. It is a great way to find new sites and a fun tool to use when you are bored.

In addition to visiting a submitted page, StumbleUpon allows the user to give the page a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down." This tells StumbleUpon whether the user liked the site or not, and giving a site a thumbs down eliminates the user from ever finding that site again through "Stumbling." A thumbs up increases the chance that the user will Stumble on similar sites in the future.

StumbleUpon also offers users the ability to Stumble favorite sites of friends, images, videos, and news items. This specificity of Stumbing options is also a great feature included in the StumbleUpon browswer add-on.

StumbleUpon is not the most productive internet tool out there, but when boredom knocks on the door, it is a great way to find new sites for entertainment and hobbies. I would definitely recommend using StumbleUpon.

Book Review: "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand

The objectivist philosopher/writer Ayn Rand seems very relevant today. As we go through this recession, it seems as if socialism is the only alternative, and nationalization is the only cure. In the book “Atlas Shrugged” Rand shows what a society would look like if the government took control over private property and corporate leaders went on strike.

Do not let the book intimidate you. It is rather large novel with about 1200-1300 pages depending on what edition you get. Each page brings a new surprise, and you will find yourself not wanting to put the book down. I would recommend this book to any mature readers especially if you are interested in philosophy.

Rand has a different take on life, she was born in Russia and migrated to the United states as a teen. She spent much time writing about the cons of a totalitarian dictatorship. If you are looking for a an oldie, but a goodie, Atlas Shrugged is Awesome.

Movie Review: Pulp Fiction

Ranked number 5 on IMDB's top 250 movies, Pulp Fiction is known as one of the best pictures of all time. It was released in 1994, a year that included other movie greats such as Forrest Gump and The Shawshank Redemption. Directed by Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction has an "A" list of actors including Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bruce Willis, and Uma Thurman.

Pulp Fiction is the story about how four different person's lives intertwine with violence and mob activity. The movie shows glimpses from each individual's viewpoint and brings it all together towards the end. When viewing the movie, the viewer can feel the uniqueness of it's directing style, which is very intriguing.

I laughed out loud when I first saw John Travola as a mobster, knowing him from movies such as Grease and Hairspray, but he fit his part extremely well. Samuel L. Jackson was very entertaining through his "bad-ass" attitude towards the other characters with amusing punchlines in almost every scene. I also enjoyed that Pulp Fiction included 3 or 4 main characters, not focusing on one specific person.

By using great actors as well as impressive directing, Quentin Tarantino did a fantastic job with Pulp Fiction. I recommend this movie to everyone except children because of the use of vulgar language and frequent gore. This movie offers much more than just explaining why a quarter-pounder with cheese in France is called a royale with cheese. Go see it!

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

After winning 8 Oscars and 63 other movie awards, Slumdog Millionaire has had a very successful year. Winning best picture at the Oscars has put it up with likes of Schindler’s List (1993), Forrest Gump (1994), and The Godfather (1973). Slumdog Millionaire, however, does not deliver the same level of perfection as past winners, and viewing it does not give a feeling of “this is the best picture of the year.”

Slumdog Millionaire is the story of young Jamal Malik, a teen from Mumbai that gets chosen to be on India’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” He does not have much education, but he answers many questions correctly based on life experiences. When a question is asked, the movie flashes back to the past to reveal why he knows the answer for that particular question.

Director Danny Boyle did do a good job with presenting the movie in a fresh way, but it did not have the expertise of a typical “best picture.” The story is fairly interesting, but there are not any surprises with the story’s direction, therefore the story is predictable for most of the movie. Best pictures should show audiences fresh and unpredictable stories, but Slumdog Millionaire does not. A question is presented when the movie first starts, and it is answered at the very end. The way this was designed, and the question itself for that matter, seemed tacky and irritating as well.

Flaws aside, Slumdog Millionaire is a good movie. I do recommend seeing it even though I do not believe it is best picture material. When it is released on DVD, rent it and decide for yourself.

Book Review: "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

On a monthly basis, I make a trip to the bookstore and search every single shelf until I find 3-4 books that I feel might be worth reading. I usually get a classic, a light reading, and something I know nothing about. This past trip resulted in: “The Complete works of Edgar Allen Poe”, “The Wealth of Nations” and “The Road”.

I knew very little about the story “The Road” but I decided to read it first. Do you ever get that feeling in the first couple of pages into a book: This is more than a book, this is a masterpiece! Only a few other times have I ever enjoyed a book as much as this. McCarthy is not just a writer but an artist. “The Road” is the story of a father and his son traveling through a post apocalyptic world, trying to survive with nothing more than a revolver and a shopping cart.

In late 2009, Hollywood is planning on making “The Road” a movie. I would recommend to any solid reader, to pickup and read this book before the film comes into theaters. McCarthy is also known for writing “There will be Blood” which was also made into a movie.

Review: IFL Wallpapers

In the past, I never had much luck in finding a good desktop wallpapers. Searching for wallpaper sites in Google typically leads to cluttered pages with poor wallpapers and too many ads. I happened to stumble upon a site the other day called Interface Lift.

They have a huge selection of user-submitted landscapes as well as many HDR photos. The landscapes are very diverse, and there is an extremely large selection to choose from. The best part, however, is IFL's choice of wallpaper resolutions. Many different aspect ratios and resolutions are supported.

They also allow users to create an account. This lets users comment on wallpapers and add them to their favorites. The quality and selection of Interface Lift is unmatched, which makes it one of the best sites for desktop wallpapers.