Like most people, I enjoy going out to places with my friends. Restaurants, movies, overnight trips, amusement parks, paintballing – you name it and I’ll go. Going out as a group is great but sometimes there are complications, especially when it comes down to money.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll cover someone if they’re short on cash and I’ve been covered on occasion as well. However, if your group of friends (or family, coworkers, colleagues, etc.) is the type that expects everyone to be reimbursed perfectly, the whole act of tracking debts can become a headache. This is also applicable to roommate situations where different people are paying for different bills.
Fortunately, there’s a new website that aims to solve this problem. It’s called What Do I Owe You? and it’s an extremely simple solution that gets the job done – and it’s different from traditional bill splitters and budget managers.
Here’s the basic layout of the website. Don’t be turned away by its simplicity, though. Haven’t you ever heard not to judge a book by its cover?
The gist of What Do I Owe You? is that you can add or remove people from the group that you want to split bills with. Each person has a name (which is by default “Click to Edit“) and a list of items that they’ve paid for. As far as I know, you can add as many items per person as you want.
When you’re done with all of the items for all of the people, a single “Who Owes What?” click will tell you what each person owes to whomever else.
Editing people in the group is easy, too. To change their names, all you have to do is click on the “Click to Edit” and start typing.
The “Add Bill” button will add more input fields where you can more items that they’ve paid for. The text field is smart because you can start it off with a money value (like $40.00) and the rest of it will be ignored, so you can use that to describe what that bill was for.
Here’s an example setup that I’ve created. As you can see, it’s as straightforward as can be. As far as I know, there are no limits to how many people can be added to the group. (I stopped at 25 because there will never be a situation where I need to track 25 casual debts with my friends.)
And finally, once you click that beautiful “Who Owes What?” button, the site will tell you what each person owes and to whom they owe that amount. Again, it’s not very pretty and there aren’t too many bells or whistles that go along with it, but the information is accurate.
If you want to start over, there’s a Reset option. You can also send an IOU Email to an address, which presumably reminds them in a friendly way that they have a debt to settle. Perfect for people who don’t like face-to-face confrontations!
The last two features are what make What Do I Owe You? something that will be used by many people – mobile support and progress saving.
At the bottom of the site, there’s a link that lets you switch into a mobile version of the site. On some devices, the site may detect that you’re on a mobile phone and change its format accordingly. Either way, I’m sure there are many applications for this website while on the go, so having mobile support is aces.
Progress saving is also quite nice. If you want to do long-term tracking of debts, just update the bills and click “Save” at the top right. This will tie your progress with your browser using a cookie and all of your data will be reloaded whenever you come back. However, in case you delete your cookies mistakenly, the site provides a link that you can use to restore your progress.
Overall, a fantastic website. The graphics could use some polish (okay, a LOT of polish) but the functionality is great. If more people used the site, I’m sure the creator would keep it updated with new features over time. There’s a “Feedback” link in case you want to send in your comments and suggestions.
It was straight out of your favorite spy novel. The US and Israel felt threatened by Iran’s totalitarian-esque government and its budding nuclear program. If this initiative wasn’t stopped, there was no telling how far the growing conflict could escalate. So militaries from the two countries reportedly turned to one of the most novel weapons of the 21st century: malware. The result was Stuxnet, a powerful computer worm designed to sabotage uranium enrichment operations.
When Stuxnet was found infecting hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide, it was only a matter of time until researchers unraveled its complex code to determine its true intent. Today, analysts are up against a similar challenge. But they’re finding considerably less success taking apart the Stuxnet cousin known as Gauss. A novel scheme encrypting one of its main engines has so far defied attempts to crack it, generating intrigue and raising speculation that it may deliver a warhead that’s more destructive than anything the world has seen before.
Gauss generated headlines almost immediately after its discovery was documented last year by researchers from Russia-based antivirus provider Kaspersky Lab. State-of-the-art coding techniques that surreptitiously extracted sensitive data from thousands of Middle Eastern computers were worthy of a James Bond or Mission Impossible movie. Adding to the intrigue, code signatures showed Gauss was spawned from the same developers responsible for Stuxnet, the powerful computer worm reportedly unleashed by the US and Israeli governments to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program. Gauss also had links to the highly advanced Flame and Duqu espionage trojans.
Don’t forget: John and I will be at the Surly Girl Saloon tonight around 6:30 PM. Look at the happy smiles on those faces! That could be you, this time! Feel free to tell us about the cool world-changing projects on which you’re working. We love to meet people working on amazing stuff.
In my younger years I drove an ambulance, and while I saw a broad range of nastiness, the most consistently horrific things were injuries sustained in automobile accidents. It was the era before airbags became ubiquitous, and there were still plenty of people who refused to wear a seatbelt. A subset of people subscribed to this ridiculous conventional “wisdom” of the time: “If I wear a seatbelt, I could be trapped in a burning or submerged car and die because the belt was locked shut.” There are no statistics that support this as a likely occurrence, either then or now; but pass through any junkyard and you’ll see your share of pre-airbag cars that bear the clear marks of a human head going into the windshield.
I bring this up because of the object pictured here. That’s Gerber’s GDC Hook Knife, a little two-inch device meant to be worn on a keychain, and the blade “can be used to quickly cut yourself out of a piece of clothing, seatbelt or other safety strap.”
My first thought was that it’s an unnecessary device, as that scenario is unlikely—but then I realized this $11 device could have saved a lot of lives. Not by allowing people to cut themselves free from seatbelts, but by assuring people that they could do so, and hopefully encouraging them to strap the goddamn things on in the first place. It’s a strange kind of product design placebo.
You know what today is. Today’s the day when Google “launches” new products, ThinkGeek unveils new “products,” and every tech blog has something new and astounding to “report.” Everyone gets to have a little fun, and every site gets to go a little crazy. It’s April Fool’s Day, and here are the pranks around the web worth checking out.
In the Google-verse
Go Treasure Hunting with Google Maps:Explore 2D hand drawn landmarks! Find hidden treasure chests! Beaware of pirates! Treasure Maps is our Beta Maps technology and has certain system requirements. Your system may not be able to display at higher resolutions than paper print. Take care when unfolding the map to avoid ripping it. (Go to Google Maps, then click “Start Treasure Hunting” in the lower-left corner, or “Treasure” in the upper-right. Some locations have mini maps with treasure marked with an X, and make sure to try Street View!)
Google Nose BETA:The new scentsation in search! Coming to your senses: go beyond type, talk, and touch for a new notation of sensation. Your internet sommelier: expertly curated Knowledge Panels pair images, descriptions, and aromas. Take a whiff: the Google Aromabase – 15M+ scentibytes. Don’t ask, don’t smell: For when you’re wary of your query – SafeSearch included.
YouTube’s Ready to Select a Winner:Thanks for all your great entries. YouTube finally has enough videos to begin selecting a winner. What do you think is the #bestvideo on YouTube? We’ve been thrilled with all of the diverse, creative entries we’ve seen so far, and we can’t wait to begin the process of selecting the best video. We’ll be announcing the winner in 10 years.
Gmail Blue:Gmail launched nine years ago on April 1st, 2004. Since then you’ve been able to use hundreds of new features that push the boundaries of what email can do and make it easier to get things done. Starting today, you’ll get to experience the next big step for Gmail, Gmail Blue. (Introducing Gmail Blue.)
Your Photos +Emotion:Google+ Photos is all about sharing your experiences and emotions with the people you care about. We’re constantly looking for ways to help you create richer, more expressive photographs. Many months of research on how people communicate on the Internet have convinced us that when it comes to expressing yourself, nothing beats the richness and elegance of a few properly placed colons, parentheses, letters and hyphens.
Renovate your house on Street View with Google SCHMICK:Is your house looking a bit tired and shabby? Want to make your narky step-aunt jealous? Trying to keep up with the Joneses but don’t have the money to complete an expensive reno? Now you can give your house a lick of fresh paint for free on Street View with Google SCHMICK (Simple Complete House Makeover Internet Conversion Kit).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcgWRpQP6ds&hd=1 Google Fiber to the Pole:Google Fiber to the Pole provides ubiquitous gigabit connectivity to fiberhoods across Kansas City. This latest innovation in Google Fiber technology enables users to access Google Fiber’s ultra fast gigabit speeds even when they are out and about.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M278uLalYTo&hd=1 Levity Algorithm:You know the drill. Dreary two hour meetings you can’t wait to escape. Emails that go on forever without getting to the point. Another invite to a meeting with no clear purpose. Today we’re introducing the Levity Algorithm in Google Apps to help you spice up even the most boring of work days.
Everywhere Else
Annncng: Twttr:Starting today, we are shifting to a two-tiered service: Everyone can use our basic service, Twttr, but you only get consonants. For five dollars a month, you can use our premium “Twitter” service which also includes vowels. We’re doing this because we believe that by eliminating vowels, we’ll encourage a more efficient and “dense” form of communication.
Hulu:Hulu has a huge update today, including a celebration of the 85th anniversary of the hit children’s show “Itchy and Scratchy,” new episodes of “The Rural Juror,” “Inspector Spacetime” and “Space Teens with Robin Sparkles,” and two exclusive serieses to Hulu, “Ya Herd with Perd” from the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department and the UK’s craziest game show, “Numberwang.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=Tc_iT1bSrJM Scope Bacon: “For breath that sizzles.” Scope Bacon is the newest addition to our line of products. It tastes like bacon, while still killing 99.9% of bad breath germs. And, it keeps your breath minty fresh 5 times longer than brushing alone.
Play-Doh 3D Printer:Why buy things from stores when you can print them yourself? The DIY 3D printer revolution is here, friends, and have we got the entry-level 3D printer for you. It’s the Play-Doh 3D Printer, and it’s loaded with features without a price tag that will set your wallet on fire.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OluXGI967xw&hd=1 Adventure Time BMO Interactive Buddy:We want to play video games, especially if they are Adventure Time video games. And there’s only one person(?) we want to play Adventure Time video games with – that that’s BMO! BMO is everyone’s favorite gaming system, whether they know it or not, and now we have to joy to present to you the Adventure Time BMO Interactive Buddy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1G5CqGJVcE&hd=1 Aliens Chestburster-in-a-Can:Just picture it: you’ve been circling a boring sector of space for months on a “routine” USCM patrol mission. The call comes down that in a few days, you’ll be escorting a civilian from some space freighter to planet Acheron. The rest of the crew gets excited, and you know it’s the perfect time to strike. You replace one of the standard USCM Ration Cans with a Aliens Chestburster-in-a-Can.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7lGyLQNYZ8&hd=1 Death Star Trench Toss:Everything that has transpired has done so according to our design. We wanted the perfect outdoor game for our BBQ parties this summer, something that would be enjoyable for our non-geek relations while offering the opportunity for cosplay and Jedi jokes. Fortuitously, at a very un-fun family reunion, one of our monkeys stumbled on the perfect idea—and Death Star Trench Toss was born.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=zbzHqVQL4zQ&hd=1 Sony Introduces Animalia Line of Tech Products for Pets:Today, we are stoked to announce the Animalia line of technology products specially designed and created for pets. The introductory line-up includes Sony-branded products targeted at owners with dogs, cats and hamsters, with additional devices and networked services slated for release later this year. Check out this video to learn all about our new K9 4K TV, M3-OW KittyCans, and In-Cage Speakers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=6bSoeKMNBgI&hd=1 Naga Phone Update:When your mouse is your phone, your phone is your PWN. Through a simple firmware update, you can now unlock the ability to transform your Naga into a communications device. Utilize VOIP functionality and even tie into your existing phone # to keep your friends and family as close as your enemies. With the Naga Phone, communication is always in the palm of your hand. You won’t have to dig through your pocket mid-game to answer that important call. And after taking out a couple of n00bs, you can even order take-out.
The Freedom Bay:You probably heard about our recent move to North Korea.
Many of you rightfully bashed us for siding with a dictatorship. We want you to know that we have listened to your critique. So without further due, we hereby announce that we have moved our servers from the evil North Korea to the greatest fuckin nation in the entire world. The United States of America, f**k yeah!
Your Favorites
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9DQq0LPtJQ Get Glossy With The NEW Revision3!:In the wake of G4’s recent rebranding as Esquire, Revision3 was faced with a difficult question: What is the future of media today? We’re happy to announce that the future of media today is here NOW! And it’s magazines! That’s right! Rev3 is rebranding itself as magazines. And not just any magazines… ALL MAGAZINES! Say goodbye to tech reviews, video game analysis and science news. And say hello to the paper cut free online magazine experience!
Lift: v0.1 Goal Tracking by Mail:For the first time ever, we’re offering Goal Tracking by Mail. You can capture your progress toward Lift goals by filling out a simple paper star chart and sending it in to Lift HQ.
Metafilterest:Metafilter, inspired by Pinterest, has changed its homepage so all articles are headlined by images of adorable kittens. Or Vermont. Or ponies, whatever you choose from the drop-down menu on the upper left of the screen. The articles are real, the kittens are just a bonus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=l1Vvyu99GxA&hd=1 Coursera: Underwater Basketweaving: In this course, you will learn to weave beautiful, structurally superior wet-weave baskets in the ancient Aquacamamata style. Underwater basket weaving is a craft that seamlessly merges scientific intellectualism, manual dexterity, and deep spiritual engagement. We look forward to having you with us on this exciting journey into art and anthropology!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=GMQoWInZVvQ&hd=1 The Amazing Nose Light!:The future, is NOW! Hackaday is pushing the boundaries of modern technology and good taste with our latest invention, the Nose light. Never fumble with a flashlight again! Simply engage your nostril lamp and see the world under a new light! Comfy design makes this implant a pleasure to install, and as you can see, removal is super fun!
Did Da Vinci Invent Google Glass?:Leonard Da Vinci, the 15th-century Renaissance man, is credited with envisioning or outright inventing hundreds of modern-day devices; facsimiles of everything from a machine gun to parachutes and even today’s helicopter can be found in his detailed drawings. The schematics and notes he left behind are a treasure trove for researchers, including Dr. Burt Wilde. The University of Illinois researcher says he’s discovered evidence that the first design for something very much like Google Glass was created by the master himself. “The drawing is rudimentary, but the text and notation are unmistakable,” said Wilde in a phone interview.
We’ll update throughout the day with additional pranks as we find them. Let us know which ones are your favorites in the discussions below!
Want to see what was popular in years gone past? Here are some of the best April Fool’s pranks from 2012, 2011, and 2010.
Like most people, I enjoy going out to places with my friends. Restaurants, movies, overnight trips, amusement parks, paintballing – you name it and I’ll go. Going out as a group is great but sometimes there are complications, especially when it comes down to money.
