Occasionally, I'll need something quick from a website that requires a login or insists on sending my data in the form of an email. I find it annoying to go through the process of registering my name, email, and address unless I know I'm going to use the service more than once. In the past, I used to just toss these sites the email address to a dummy Gmail account so that my real account doesn't get filled up with unwanted newsletters and spam. However, logging in and out of multiple accounts is a big pain; especially when that confirmation email doesn't come right away. There has to be a better way. Guess what? There is!

1. BugMeNot


Bugmenot is simple. You enter the URL for the website you want temporary access to and Bugmenot returns a list of user-submitted user names and passwords. Each login has a percentage next to it that shows the probability of its success so you can easily see which logins have been shut down by the administrator. Even better, BugMeNot has a Firefox add-on that makes the process that much more seamless.

2. Anonymous Email Boxes


This service allows you to make a temporary address @makemetheking.com and check it instantly with no password or login. That's it! Just give the annoying website your dummy address and wait for the email to show up. Nice!

Perusing the front page of the New York Times website for news is so 2008. Instead, check out the prototype New York Times Article Skimmer.


This web app lets you easily browse the sections, blogs, and topics of the newspaper using your keyboard or mouse. You can alter the way that headlines are presented by selecting the different schemes in the settings. The interface is slick and the overall experience is effortless.

All things considered, this is an intriguing experiment by the Times. It will be interesting to see if this method of delivering digital content sticks as the industry struggles to reinvent itself. What do you think? Does this kind of interface represent the future of news websites? Leave your comments below.