How to Learn (But Not Master) Any Language in 1 Hour (Plus: A Favor)

* Infographic: The True Cost of Homeownership Everyone is talking about how now is a great time to buy a home. And, on the surface, it looks like the perfect time. Home prices are low, and mortgage interest rates remain at near-record lows. Ranking of Foreign Language OpenCourseWare Education Sources There are many free foreign language courses online, but not all of them are equal in content and quality. Generally, OpenCourseWare doesn't award college credit. Here is a ranking of the best foreign language education sources based on school reputation and breadth of course offerings.

Girls Love Gadgets, Too: Gifts for Your Geeky Sweetie Picking the perfect Valentine's Day gift for the woman in your life can be more fraught with fatal errors than a pirated copy of Windows XP.Roses are tired. Lingerie is always trickier than it should be. Diamonds come with too much baggage. The 15 Most Influential Books I Read in 2009 Wait! Before you read any further! If you like this post, don’t miss my most recent book list: The Best Books I Read in 2010! OK, resume. Last year was a big reading year for me, primarily because without college I have so much more time to read books that really boggle my brains. What I like about constantly having a book going is the way the world around you changes depending on what your reading.

An Intro to Passive Income, Popular Ways of Getting It and the Mindset You Need to Start Creating It EmailEmail Most of us have a job where hard work is expected and necessary. We offer our knowledge and/or labor to the company we work for in order to get recognition, satisfaction and compensation in return. TED Curator Chris Anderson on Crowd Accelerated Innovation Free online video is creating new global communities—giving their members both the means and the motivation to step up their skills and broaden their imaginations. Photos: Ted.com At last year’s Academy Awards, in front of a global audience of millions, a new troupe, the Legion of Extraordinary Dancers, or LXD, performed a jaw-dropping number.

Google Voice Number-Porting Goes Live! (Have Fun Storming the Castle) Google Voice users are now free to turn their current cellphone number into their main Google Voice number, the company announced Tuesday, bringing the much-requested feature to all users after a short, but very public, testing period. For many porting will bring joy. For others, expect hours of pain — on hold with your mobile carrier. Porting, which costs $20, allows users to turn their mobile number into a Google Voice number, obviating the need to try to spread a new number to your contacts. 10 Tech Concepts You Need to Know for 2010 1. Anthropomimetic Machines No matter how closely a robot resembles a human on the outside, if you crack it open, the jumble of wires is unlikely to bear much resemblance to our insides.

I Make Projects - Giving Yourself a Sixth Sense for Wireless Networks Giving Yourself a Sixth Sense for Wireless Networks What This Is This project is for a small electronic unit that allows the user to sense the presence and relative signal strength of wireless hotspots. It can be worn as a pendant or carried in a pocket. It is "always on" and communicates the presence and signal strength of an in-range hotspot by way of sequences of pulses - like a heartbeat you can feel. The stronger and faster the "heartbeat", the stronger the wireless signal detected. How to Build Custom Speakers With the sides, top and bottom of the cabinets drying, it's a good time to start work on the front and back panels. First time builders may choose to simplify this step and simply cut a large circle opening for the speaker driver to mount in. In that case, the speaker drivers' frame will rest on the surface of the speaker, protruding an 1/8" or so.