Enter GottaPark, a website launching today where people with unused parking places meet up with those that are in need of a space to park.

Anyone can register their parking spaces, rates and hours of availability. Those who are looking for a space can set up an account and book parking online. The renter will be charged with the rate determined by the provider plus additional fee of $0.60 if the parking spot costs $5 or less. If the parking costs more than $5, the fee is an additional 15%.

GottaPark’s service is currently available in San Francisco.

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With the new application, you do not have to be on TokBox’s website to accept or make video calls. Installing is a breeze (something that is common to applications built using Adobe AIR). When installed, it acts like your usual instant messaging application. Just click on a friend or colleague will enable you to do video calling and get immediate notification when someone is calling.

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Smart To-Do List is Windows-based and there is no plan yet for a Mac version. Karstetter said that it was developed using Microsoft tools and a Mac version would be difficult.

The application is small enough that it can be installed on to a USB drive for portability. Karstetter is also looking at interfacing with other web-applications to compensate for the absence of a web interface.

Smart To-Do List costs $14.95 but it’s cheaper than similar applications Tudumo ($29.95) and TodoPaper ($29.99). There is a free trial version.

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In a survey commissioned by Access Systems Americas and conducted by Amplitude Research, buyers of new cell phones look at video capability (33%), music (34%), accessing the Internet (61%), email capabilities (63%), camera (67%), and text messaging (73%) as the most important features that they look for.

Other notable findings of the survey are:

• 62 percent said they would use Bluetooth while 51 percent will use the hands-free microphone to comply with restrictions when driving
• 39 percent said they have added new applications to their cell phones.
• 41 percent said they send or check emails one to five times a day while 28 percent said they do not use their cell phones for email
• 40 percent said they use their cell phones for traffic, weather, and stock market alerts
• 30 percent said they use their cell phones for banking transactions

What is important though is that 88 percent said that it is very important to have a cell phone to use in case of emergency.

I have to admit that I am not too familiar with my cell phone’s functions. I use it simply to call and send text messages. Of course, this was until yesterday when I received a note from T-Mobile informing me that text messaging rate will increase from $0.15 cents to $0.20 cents effective August 29, 2008.

What features of your cell phone are most important for you?

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I signed up with the free service, hoping to score a cheaper ride when I need to go out. The service is still new so there isn’t that much members yet offering carpool services, especially in my area. I’ll be keeping an eye though.

Meanwhile, here is their Gas Calculator for you to gauge if it’s time to carpool.

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TripSay

Here’s a rundown of the new features:
• Groups for sharing trip plans and destinations
• Activity Hub to show recent activities
• Recommendations for travel tips
• Leaderboard for content contributors and earned points
• Sharing favorite and dream destinations

TripSay, however, is not about getting the best price for your vacation but a community to get recommendations, reviews, budget estimates, and document your travel discoveries.

Because web workers need to travel and take a break also, TripSay is providing WWD with 500 invitations. Just send an email to info@tripsay.com with the subject GigaOM.

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This is Yahoo’s second price increase in under a year.

The $22.00 increase is a hard pill to swallow for web workers who have used Yahoo to register domain names for their web projects. Competing registrars are reacting. GoDaddy, for example, is offering a 30% discount on domain registration this week.

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So, I welcome this news that PlanOn is now shipping Printstik, its mobile printer which can print from Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Its list of features are:

• No smudging and no leaking of ink
• Prints up to three pages per minute
• Pocket size, including a cartridge roll of 20 pages and battery

With printers, it is the cost of consumables that turns me off. PrintStik, however, uses thermal paper which you purchase in packs of 3, or equivalent to 60 pages, for $24.99 or 41 cents each. That’s the cost already of color printing at Staples.

Price is on the high-end though starting at $299.99 but I guess that’s what we pay for portability.

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The record came despite its downtime for about two hours after site visitors overloaded its server. At its peak, the server was said to be serving 17,000 downloads per minute. Mozilla’s CEO John Lilly has a blog post that will give you more figures about the first 24 hours.

Downloads came from various parts of the globe, led by the United States, Germany, Japan, Spain, and Britain. The previous version of Firefox was downloaded just 1.6 million times in the 24 hours after its launch.

Mozilla said that Guinness World Records is reviewing the world record attempt and may take a few days before confirmation.

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I need to compensate for the lost income and being a web worker has allowed me to continue earning and lessen the burden on my family.

When I decided to forego job hunting and become a web worker instead, I made sure to check on my skills set to see what I can put to use. Dig deeper. You just don’t realize the things that you are capable of doing.

I ended up writing for blogs and consulting on those setting up one. Go through the major tech blogs and you’ll see that most have job boards. I even did web design for small companies.

I need flexible time. Though I still follow a set time for working, I now have the opportunity to pick up my kids from school and bring them to any after-school activities. No more rushing out of the office and tons of savings from after-school care.

I start my day early. Stories that I cover usually come in between early morning until about noon. It is always better to start work early to save some personal time in the afternoon for errands, if needed. Besides, setting aside your work for later can only mean that you will set it aside for the rest of the day. It will haunt you at bedtime.

I maintain a list of things to do for the day which I write the night prior. This way, I cover most of the tasks and not leave any important ones.

I need to learn new skills. Being a web worker and the flexible time has allowed me to learn new skills, like cooking.

When I decided to write, I looked around for a school where I can take short courses on writing. But I opted instead to go to News University. It provides training for journalists and journalism students through interactive e-learning. Most courses are free. All you need is your computer and Internet connection.

I need to become more sociable. I’ve been consistently attending meetups, conferences, and small gatherings. It’s a nice breather after being confined in a cubicle for years.

It is in these events where you get to meet people who may eventually help you one day to get some work. I once attended a small meetup held in a cafe where I eventually landed two blog consulting projects from one of the attendees. Go to Meetup.com and search for any local gatherings based on your interests. You may also want to try Likemind.us.

It is not as easy and rosy as it seems. The needs that I enumerated can be easily outweighed by the 6 reasons why you shouldn’t be a web worker.

How about you? What are your needs?  Is being a web worker meeting them?

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With most web workers maintaining their own blogs and monetizing through Google Adsense or other advertising networks, Technorati Media is another welcome addition to try. The network boasts of having deep agency and client relationships that it can deliver targeted campaigns from top brands at high CPMs.

Interested web workers may join the network here.

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