Need a little help with long URLs?

TinyURL.com

Sometimes you need to send a Web address to someone, but the URL link is, like, 39 characters long with lots of question marks and underscore characters. You know it’s going to reach that recipient in a jumble, and probably not in one unbroken line.

That’s when you turn to TinyURL.com. This is another chestnut site, in that it’s at least four years old but isn’t widely known. But it’s also one of the handiest, since it can make you look brilliant when you simply must send a link that can’t get broken up or chopped into pieces in an e-mail.

It’s fairly basic. You need to cut and paste the long URL you need to send into a dialogue box at TinyURL. That site creates a tidy and much shorter URL that will not break when re-sent. Best of all, that new URL will never expire.

BrainCast

http://braincast.viatalk.com

For people who get great ideas while riding on the bus or driving but cannot stop to write down the inspiration, here’s the Web alternative.

BrainCast lets you call a toll-free number and record your brainstorm right then. BrainCast then sends that recorded message within minutes to your e-mail account. You log onto the Braincast page and gather the message online.

Is it safer to pull out your cell phone for those moments? Yes, probably, but for some people BrainCast will be just another excuse to drive and talk at the same time.

Mixed Nuts is a regular feature of .TXT.