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Filed under: Internet, Search

MetaGlossary finds concise definitions for terms you search


There are plenty of places to go looking for definitions on the Internet. One I like to refer to is MetaGlossary, which tries to extract matching definitions from other web pages.

Enter a term and MetaGlossary returns a list of URLs that provide insight and a definition from the page's text. It's usually quite accurate and provides a great way to look up acronyms, annoying IM abbreviations, or anything else that requires a little clarification. It even does a good job with chemical formulas.

MetaGlossary also provides a Firefox search plugin for quick access to the engine (or you can always just bookmark the search field).

Filed under: Mozilla, Freeware, Browsers

Wikilook Defines Words in Firefox Without Leaving Your Tab


Firefox is great on its own, but we love us an addon that makes it even more powerful. Wikilook fits the bill, making it a snap to look up definitions for unfamiliar words.

Sure, you can just google a term or head over to Wiktionary and key in a search, but Wikilook will do it for you without ever leaving your current page. It's dead simple to use: hold down shift and hover over a word, wait patiently for a second or two, and the definition appears right before your eyes.

Quick links are presented for the Wikipedia match and key terms in the definition itself are also linked for you, and yes - you can even shift-hover text in the definitions if there are words in them you don't understand.

It's a great little timesaver for a 32k download.

Filed under: Fun, Internet, E-mail, Web services, web 2.0

Bacn, the new web 2.0 term

Bacn, the new web 2.0 termThis one's hot off the presses, so we're still deciding on the lame factor. It seems we have a new term in Web 2.0 land, 'bacn'.

Brought to light at the recent Pittsburgh Podcamp event, the term is being described as "notifications you want, just not right now." It is in regards to all the special email newsletters and notification we sign up to. Even though you're expecting them and love the content, now is just not a good time to read them - but you want to; you just don't have time right now.

What does DLS think about this term? We're still deciding, but it's a little confusing since bacon is commonly referred to as money. Our proposal would be more along the lines of: 'brusselsprout - good under some conditions.'

UPDATE: Chris Brogan has more insight on Bacn here.

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With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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