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Online Restaurant Searches for D.C.

The D.C., Virginia, Maryland area has some of the best culinary diversity in the country. These web tools can help you find some good eats.

Finding Restaurants & Reviews

Chow.com has Chowhound reviews of local restaurants by members. Membership is free.

DonRockwell.com is a forum on local D.C. and Baltimore area restaurants, farmers markets, and food events.

eGullet.org has forums specific to D.C., Virginia, Maryland dining and cooking.

VegDC has a list of local vegetarian friendly restaurants. HappyCow.net has vegetarian restaurants worldwide.

Washingtonian has the best known local reviews and news on D.C. metro area restaurants. They also have a search with Restaurant Finder.

The Washington Post has a Food & Dining section.

Booking a Table

OpenTable.com has a D.C. area section for booking restaurants over the Internet.

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Get a Battery Boost with APC Mobile Power Pack

The APC UPB10 (about $60) is a handy little battery that is charged from and charges over USB. It is the size of a deck of cards and is very useful if you need to finish that game, movie, or phone call when you are away from a power outlet.

The APC UPB10 more than doubles the power to an iPhone, Blackberry, or Sony PSP. It charges any USB device, which also includes some GPS devices and cameras.

It does require you to push a button to activate the power. If the device you are charging is nearly out of power, the APC will continue to charge it. If the device is nearly full, the APC will only charge it for about 20 minutes before you need to press the button again. It does this to save the battery.

If you are like me and sometimes find yourself on the other side of D.C. without any cell phone power left, the APC UPB10 can help.

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Synchronize your browser bookmarks

One of the most useful pieces of software for anyone with more than one computer is Foxmarks. Foxmarks is a free plug-in for the Firefox browser that seamlessly synchronizes your Firefox bookmarks and bookmark folders on any computer and any operating system that you are running it on.

This makes your bookmarks all the more valuable. You can find a new site from your home computer, bookmark it, and then see it in your work computer’s bookmarks. Foxmarks will encourage you to organize and better use your bookmarks.

With more and more software moving to the web, bookmark organization is important. Foxmarks makes that easy for all your computers.

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Best Instant Messengers

There are many instant messaging options for communicating with your friends and colleagues. In order for instant messengers to work together, they need to use the same protocol. To avoid interoperability issues, consider one of the messengers listed here that supports multiple systems.

Windows and Linux

Pidgin works with all the major IM systems: AIM, ICQ, Jabber/XMPP, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!, Bonjour, Gadu-Gadu, IRC, Novell GroupWise Messenger, QQ, Lotus Sametime, SILC, SIMPLE, MySpaceIM, and Zephyr.

It is also highly customizable with lots of plugins. Lifehacker.com lists their ten favorite plug-ins.

Mac OS X

By default, the Mac comes with iChat which is the best videoconferencing solution for Mac. Unfortunately, iChat only works with Macs.  It uses a Jabber transport and connects with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), .Mac, ICQ and XMPP.

For instant messaging and more interoperability on the Mac, Adium is similar to Pidgin and works with all the major IM protocols.

IM + Video + Calling Land Lines

If you also want videoconferencing, Skype is the most popular solution. It works on Windows, Mac, Linux, and even some mobile devices like Windows Mobile PDAs and the Sony PSP (pictured). It also has the paid options of Skype Out (calling a phone) or Skype In (getting a phone number that rings your Skype account). On the downside, Skype is a proprietary protocol that only works with Skype.

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Online Real Estate Tools in Washington D.C. Area

Whether you’re buying, selling, or just want to know what’s going on, it’s easier than ever to follow real estate online.

Finding Comparables

Zillow provides a property value estimate based on neighboring comparables and their sale prices. It was started in 2005 by the people who started Expedia.com because they were frustrated that these tools were only available to real estate agents.

Real Estate Listings

Google recently added Real Estate to their Maps option. Google Base also recently began listing Real Estate with full search capabilities.

Long and Foster has been one of the most popular sites to search MLS listed properties.

Credit Report

Before buying a house, you need to know your credit score. You should also check it occasionally just to be sure that there are no errors. It is not uncommon to find that someone has impersonated you or that the credit agency just got something wrong.

AnnualCreditReport.com allows you to request your credit report for free once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Mortages

Bankrate.com provides a good starting point for finding mortgage rates.

If you are in the Military or part of a Military family, consider Pentagon Federal Credit Union or the Navy Federal Credit Union. There are local offices in Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.

Realtors

If you understand the comparables and have done the search yourself, you should consider a low-cost realtor.

Both ZipRealty and PenFed Realty (for Military personnel) both offer low fees or cash back.

Real Estate News

The Washington Post – Real Estate section provides real estate news and stories in D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.