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Your online guide to moving

I'm currently in the process of buying a home, and the big move is looming. To try to improve the process of staying organized and making good choices, I've tracked down a variety of moving-related Web tools.

(If you want to see even more tools, check out this roundup of apps we tried out last year.)

Stay organized

Before the movers come, it's important to stay organized. Get labels for the boxes. Create a checklist, so you don't forget anything. And be prepared.

HomeExpo If you want to attach labels to the boxes around your house, HomeExpo is the way to go. You can choose from a variety of labels and print them for free. The site has labels marked by room. You can even add your own description to labels for miscellaneous items.

Mayflower's checklist The Mayflower moving company has an interactive guide available to anyone who signs up on its site. Included is a checklist that provides you with a full list of things that generally need to be attended to before you move. It reminds you to contact doctors, banks, and service providers, notifying them of the change of address. It also has helpful hints to remember as you start your move. You can even have the site e-mail you weekly reminders up to eight weeks before your move, so you don't forget a step.

Maestro Label Designer The Maestro Label Designer from OnlineLabels.com is the site's online-label design tool. You can add text to labels or add clip-art images for more advanced designs. The tool makes it easy to create labels, but beware that it will cost you $6.95 per month to use it. That said, it does come with a free trial, so you can try it before you decide to subscribe.

OneSimpleMove OneSimpleMove is a fantastic moving tool. Once you sign up for the free site, you're immediately brought to its calendar page. There, you can set your moving day and populate the calendar with tasks. It will even send e-mail reminders to you whenever you have a task to complete.

Besides the calendar, OneSimpleMove has a directory of movers, rental truck companies, supplies firms, and much more. When you input your current place of residence and tell the service where you're moving, it immediately puts together a list of companies that will aid you in your move. When the move is complete, you can write a review on OneSimpleMove of the companies with which you worked. The site says it will donate $20 to your favorite charity when you write that review.… Read more

Webware 100 winner: Yelp

Site: Yelp.com Category: Location-based services

Yelp is an online reviews service for local eateries and attractions. Users can leave reviews for any business they've been to, including photos and personal anecdotes. Yelp then gives the establishment a 1-5 star rating based on the total number of user ratings, which makes it easy to find out whether or not a restaurant is worth going to.

Yelp's service can also be found on mobile devices, both as a mobile-friendly Web app and a native client where users can pen in the beginnings of a new review while out and … Read more

Yelp gives business owners a public voice

In response to criticism that small business were largely powerless against negative reviews on Yelp, the community reviews site has rolled out a feature that allows business owners to respond to reviews of their establishments, whether good or bad.

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman wrote in a company blog Thursday that the free feature was rolled out Wednesday:

Last night we rolled out a highly anticipated feature that allows business owners to publicly comment on their reviews. Already we've seen a number of sharp-eyed businesses make good use of this new functionality to provide additional context around specific reviews for … Read more

Yelp for iPhone 2.0: First Look

Still holding back on downloading Yelp for the iPhone and iPod Touch? Refrain no longer. Version 2.0 adds two significant features that put the mobile version of the online rating service back on the map--activity feeds and two ways to submit modified ratings and reviews. Still, Yelp 2.0 is not without at least one very large hole. Find out where it scores and where it misses the mark in this First Look video.

New Yelp for iPhone lets you (sort of) write reviews

I was lukewarm about Yelp's initial iPhone application, but some new features stitched into Yelp for iPhone 2.0 (and iPod Touch) this week are beginning to stoke my affections.

High on the list of Yelpers' demands was being able to write a review from the iPhone. In addition to any technical impediment Yelp may have experienced here is the fact that typing long missives, praises, and rants on the iPhone's virtual keyboard just plain stinks. To work around this, Yelp now gives you two ways to review a business. The first is through a Quick Tip, where … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 950: Hackers brave bats and dragons

AT&T had an outage yesterday morning in the bay area due to fiber-optical cables being cut. This didn't just affect landlines, but cell phones as well. Rafe describes the dangers hackers would face in trying to cut those cables. We also estimate the distance to New York as 12 worms, and give a plus-five Holy Avenger sword salute to Dave Arneson.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 950

AT&T was vandalized in the Bay Area? http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26715

AT&T uses Twitter … Read more

The 404 318: Where we feast on cupcakes and golden oreos

Caroline McCarthy and Tim Geisenheimer join The 404 today, while Jeff pretends to celebrate the Passover with his family. The ace reporter brings in cupcakes made with bacon cream-cheese frosting and beer. Sounds incredibly healthy. Here's the recipe.

On today's show, we cover the news that Yelp is finally letting businesses respond to negative reviews that users write. Did you know that The 404 has a Yelp page? Wilson discovers that you can actually write reviews for almost anything, including homeless people. In the same vein, feel free to write Yelp reviews for your favorite 404 hosts.

In more outrageous news today, PETA is holding an animal protest rally in World of Warcraft. WoW players are slaughtering baby seals in the "Howling Fjord." We think PETA should spend its time trying to stop Tim from killing baby seals on the weekends, rather than virtual seals. Also, a man in Texas got stabbed for farting in the room with his buddies. This happens on a daily basis in Wilson's office. More from Texas: a state legislator says that Asian American names are too confusing. And South of the border, Mexican drug dealers are sending blatant death threats on YouTube.

Thanks for sending in your survival stories. Keep them coming. E-mail them or call us at the usual number. And be sure to RSVP for the upcoming 404 meetup on April 16 next week. Here's the link. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Megan Fox will be there! (Not really, but Natali Del Conte will be.)

EPISODE 318 Download today's podcast Subscribe in iTunes Subscribe in RSSRead more

Yelp: Businesses may publicly respond to reviews

Next week, Yelp is set to roll out a new feature that will allow business owners to respond to user reviews--both good and bad--of their establishments.

In an e-mail sent out to the service's "Elite users," one of Yelp's local community managers Don Bourassa said the service is being set up to give business owners a way to provide constructive feedback in a public forum, as the current system requires businesses to correspond with users through private messages.

"The goal is for all comments to be pleasant and useful," Bourassa said. "For example, … Read more

Yelp to release new iPhone app

A full five percent of reviews site Yelp's traffic comes from its downloadable iPhone app, the company said Thursday. In response, it's revamping the iPhone app, originally launched last year, to add new features that place a fresh emphasis on location awareness. The new download will be available in the iTunes App Store in a few days.

The most significant upgrades are the ability to post 140-character (read: Twitter-length) "quick tips" from the iPhone, a wholly new feature, which other members can give a Digg-like thumbs-up to. Popular ones may eventually be displayed on that business' … Read more

MySpace goes after Yelp with Citysearch partnership

MySpace started off as a hub for indie bands to connect with their fans. Now, with a new partnership with the IAC/InterActiveCorp-owned Citysearch, it's hoping to do the same for the likes of bars, clubs, and restaurants.

Called "MySpace Local," the new section on the News Corp.-owned MySpace will be rooted in existing listings from Citysearch (restricted to major U.S. cities) that are souped up with social features like the ones that you might see on a band or celebrity's MySpace page (photos, videos, comments, and the like). It's launching with just &… Read more