Virtual Fun Sites
by
Robin Hall
The Internet is not all work and no play. Today's note is about play, fun and learning online. You can do your own searching for fun sites by doing a query like this: " fun sites " . Use your own words too.
Science fun and educational sites can be found with this query: " science fun sites "
The Oldies, Music Finder
Visual Thesaurus
World of Microscopes
NASA 3 D Maps, Satellite Tracking
Online Coloring Book
SodaPlay, Fun for Aspiring Engineers and Others
Photos, Photo Cards to Send with Basset Hounds Galore
Comic Strips
Children's Fun and Educational Directory
Optical delusions
You are the director of your own online fun. Click away and play a bit.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Internet 102: Research Primer
Research Primer
by
Robin Hall
Today's note is mostly queries for you to try yourself. I tried them all with good results. Most of the rest of Internet 102 will be adding to older notes.
As you understand better what queries are, how much lattitude there is and the different results you will find if you use other search engines, you will have plenty to do for yourself.
I just ran across some interesting sites to add to your search engine list. I mentioned them before. The first one queries Google, LiveSearch and Yahoo. It takes the top 10 results and displays the best: Jux2 Comparison Searching .
This one gives you lots of choices about your topic itself. It helps you expand your queries AND dig deeper into them: Clusty
Click here for a different look at a directory to help those more visually inclined:
Quintura Visual Search
Even if you have little or no formal training in doing research and writing the results, there are hundreds of online tutorials that will get you up to speed. This is not to suggest classrooms are without value. The instructor provides you with feedback.
It is somewhat like preparing a speech. You learn a few tricks from books, tutorials, figure out how to outline and begin your research.
After you decide on a topic you collect your notes, organize them, outline the paper or speech, proofread and proofread. A friend or fellow student can help with this. Then you present the paper or speech. Simple. OK, maybe not. But it IS possible to be an independent learner. You be the teacher and student.
Try these queries at: Google : " collecting facts " " organizing " " research tutorials " " internet research " " citing internet research " " writing research papers " " writing research papers " .
Also, try the following search queries and link to give you more ideas and places to help you broaden your own search. Query these: " dictionaries " , a really useful site found under " reverse dictionaries " or click here:
Reverse Dictionary " encyclopedias " , " thesaurus " , " research ideas " , " how do I do research " .
Its fun. : ^)
Read my Internet 101 & 102 notes. Be your own teacher. Then go fetch.
by
Robin Hall
Today's note is mostly queries for you to try yourself. I tried them all with good results. Most of the rest of Internet 102 will be adding to older notes.
As you understand better what queries are, how much lattitude there is and the different results you will find if you use other search engines, you will have plenty to do for yourself.
I just ran across some interesting sites to add to your search engine list. I mentioned them before. The first one queries Google, LiveSearch and Yahoo. It takes the top 10 results and displays the best: Jux2 Comparison Searching .
This one gives you lots of choices about your topic itself. It helps you expand your queries AND dig deeper into them: Clusty
Click here for a different look at a directory to help those more visually inclined:
Quintura Visual Search
Even if you have little or no formal training in doing research and writing the results, there are hundreds of online tutorials that will get you up to speed. This is not to suggest classrooms are without value. The instructor provides you with feedback.
It is somewhat like preparing a speech. You learn a few tricks from books, tutorials, figure out how to outline and begin your research.
After you decide on a topic you collect your notes, organize them, outline the paper or speech, proofread and proofread. A friend or fellow student can help with this. Then you present the paper or speech. Simple. OK, maybe not. But it IS possible to be an independent learner. You be the teacher and student.
Try these queries at: Google : " collecting facts " " organizing " " research tutorials " " internet research " " citing internet research " " writing research papers " " writing research papers " .
Also, try the following search queries and link to give you more ideas and places to help you broaden your own search. Query these: " dictionaries " , a really useful site found under " reverse dictionaries " or click here:
Reverse Dictionary " encyclopedias " , " thesaurus " , " research ideas " , " how do I do research " .
Its fun. : ^)
Read my Internet 101 & 102 notes. Be your own teacher. Then go fetch.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Internet 102: The Deep Web
Internet 102: The Deep Web
by
Robin Hall
The Deep Web, Hidden Web or Invisible web. Just who hid this information and why? Queries " deep web " , " hidden web " " invisible web " all get you definitions, information and tutorials, so begin there. Click http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html for some very good sourses and tutorials and here for another, http://www.internettutorials.net/deepweb.html .
Keep in mind, much of the information on the Deep Web is from older, outdated articles. Many of the links to deep web searching are long dead.
This topic would have been more timely seven years ago but there is still much to learn and places to seek the sort of information found in the Deep Web: databases, collestions, directories and journal articles, etc. that are not indexed by the major search engines.
Our good friends at http://www.google.com/ have improved their search engine so rapidly that it now digs deeper and deeper. Just stay tuned to Google itself, http://www.google.com/contact/newsletter.html and let them share their new capabilities when they come out. Google is NOT shy about promoting these products either. Its many new facets like http://scholar.google.com/ are slowly prying into the nooks and crannies of many previously hidden resources, databases etc. New journals are being indexed all the time.
Another useful site is, http://www.noodletools.com/index.html It has free and paid parts that access library sources. This link has an excellent listing for digging into your searches in different ways and making the Deep Web shallower, http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html On this page check out http://clusty.com/ for drilling down into a subject and http://www.jux2.com/ to compare the top 10 results of Google, Live Search / MSN and Yahoo.
"Discover over 70,000+ searchable databases and specialty search engines" at http://completeplanet.com/ . This is a directory of databases and links that make the Invisible Web even easier to see.
Today's note will help you dig deeper into the Deep Web than ever before. So, get out your binoculars, microscope and telescope to explore what is underneath, inside and previously much more hidden. Deep Web tools for all.
Keep this in mind. Some of the Deep Web databases do co$t and with good reasons. They are proprietary sites with indexed information and journals that cost a bundle to keep up to date so get out your wallet and maybe your scuba gear too if your needs include what is hidden inside this Web we all use so much.
by
Robin Hall
The Deep Web, Hidden Web or Invisible web. Just who hid this information and why? Queries " deep web " , " hidden web " " invisible web " all get you definitions, information and tutorials, so begin there. Click http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html for some very good sourses and tutorials and here for another, http://www.internettutorials.net/deepweb.html .
Keep in mind, much of the information on the Deep Web is from older, outdated articles. Many of the links to deep web searching are long dead.
This topic would have been more timely seven years ago but there is still much to learn and places to seek the sort of information found in the Deep Web: databases, collestions, directories and journal articles, etc. that are not indexed by the major search engines.
Our good friends at http://www.google.com/ have improved their search engine so rapidly that it now digs deeper and deeper. Just stay tuned to Google itself, http://www.google.com/contact/newsletter.html and let them share their new capabilities when they come out. Google is NOT shy about promoting these products either. Its many new facets like http://scholar.google.com/ are slowly prying into the nooks and crannies of many previously hidden resources, databases etc. New journals are being indexed all the time.
Another useful site is, http://www.noodletools.com/index.html It has free and paid parts that access library sources. This link has an excellent listing for digging into your searches in different ways and making the Deep Web shallower, http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html On this page check out http://clusty.com/ for drilling down into a subject and http://www.jux2.com/ to compare the top 10 results of Google, Live Search / MSN and Yahoo.
"Discover over 70,000+ searchable databases and specialty search engines" at http://completeplanet.com/ . This is a directory of databases and links that make the Invisible Web even easier to see.
Today's note will help you dig deeper into the Deep Web than ever before. So, get out your binoculars, microscope and telescope to explore what is underneath, inside and previously much more hidden. Deep Web tools for all.
Keep this in mind. Some of the Deep Web databases do co$t and with good reasons. They are proprietary sites with indexed information and journals that cost a bundle to keep up to date so get out your wallet and maybe your scuba gear too if your needs include what is hidden inside this Web we all use so much.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Internet 102: Other Search Tools
A brief note. I will add to Other Search Tools as I find more tools.
Searching is also a learning experience. You try to find things online, you learn about the things you find.
The Internet is a vast school room and you are both teacher and student. You learn from others and use the information for yourself. You collect pieces to your own puzzle, your search project. While you do this you are learning how to use the Internet as well. You share what you learned with others and are the teacher. The circle is complete.
You act on this information after you have judged its worth to your project. Be open to misnakes you make. Typing the rong word can land you in a different world altogether. Don't berate yourself. Pause on the search page and see what is there.
When we begin many searches, we use directories like Yahoo, the Open Directory and dozens of others such as The Librarians Internet Index, http://lii.org/ . There are other forms of directories too.
One is http://about.com/ . Unlike most directories, About has paid guides that collect links for you. They also update these links, write topical articles on their interest field and do much more. A small caveat, definately turn your pop-up blocker ON when you visit. This site offers an adequate search utility to the guide's articles and links. Its a learning and teaching site and should not be ignored just because you have gone beyond the basics.
Here is an interesting search and learning tool, http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/ You can do tutorials on a range of topics, add your own links to the tutorial then you follow the entire tutorial with your own input.
Some sites co$t of course and why not? They are offering even the most remote learner / searcher resources only a few libraries in the world have. Click http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp then About Questia. You will see the wealth of information available for $.30 a day. Now that is a bargain.
Another tool I have used is a client search engine, http://www.copernic.com/ . "The Search Engine for your PC," is how they promote this software. It has many parts. The main part is free and it searches your PC and the Internet. Adding parts, you get the ability to keep up to date on any site you choose. You can do this with other tools combined and there is much online about " rss " and google alerts, http://www.google.com/alerts . Copernic just helps you do these automated searches and organize the results. Its definately worth DLing the free version to see how it fits YOUR needs.
A couple of sites I stumbled on. Click here for symphony information: http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/ It looks like a project at http://thinkquest.org/ and it is a fine learning tool for students.
Newspapers from around the world with a click: http://www.newspapers.com/ http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/ http://www.newspaperlinks.com/voyager.cfm for American newspapers.
I will add more later. Now think about this. You must pace yourself in any task. Take breaks, drink some water, chat with a friend or family member. Then get back to work. Eat, sleep, then work. Take a shower, do the laundry then work...
Searching is also a learning experience. You try to find things online, you learn about the things you find.
The Internet is a vast school room and you are both teacher and student. You learn from others and use the information for yourself. You collect pieces to your own puzzle, your search project. While you do this you are learning how to use the Internet as well. You share what you learned with others and are the teacher. The circle is complete.
You act on this information after you have judged its worth to your project. Be open to misnakes you make. Typing the rong word can land you in a different world altogether. Don't berate yourself. Pause on the search page and see what is there.
When we begin many searches, we use directories like Yahoo, the Open Directory and dozens of others such as The Librarians Internet Index, http://lii.org/ . There are other forms of directories too.
One is http://about.com/ . Unlike most directories, About has paid guides that collect links for you. They also update these links, write topical articles on their interest field and do much more. A small caveat, definately turn your pop-up blocker ON when you visit. This site offers an adequate search utility to the guide's articles and links. Its a learning and teaching site and should not be ignored just because you have gone beyond the basics.
Here is an interesting search and learning tool, http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/ You can do tutorials on a range of topics, add your own links to the tutorial then you follow the entire tutorial with your own input.
Some sites co$t of course and why not? They are offering even the most remote learner / searcher resources only a few libraries in the world have. Click http://www.questia.com/Index.jsp then About Questia. You will see the wealth of information available for $.30 a day. Now that is a bargain.
Another tool I have used is a client search engine, http://www.copernic.com/ . "The Search Engine for your PC," is how they promote this software. It has many parts. The main part is free and it searches your PC and the Internet. Adding parts, you get the ability to keep up to date on any site you choose. You can do this with other tools combined and there is much online about " rss " and google alerts, http://www.google.com/alerts . Copernic just helps you do these automated searches and organize the results. Its definately worth DLing the free version to see how it fits YOUR needs.
A couple of sites I stumbled on. Click here for symphony information: http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/ It looks like a project at http://thinkquest.org/ and it is a fine learning tool for students.
Newspapers from around the world with a click: http://www.newspapers.com/ http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/ http://www.newspaperlinks.com/voyager.cfm for American newspapers.
I will add more later. Now think about this. You must pace yourself in any task. Take breaks, drink some water, chat with a friend or family member. Then get back to work. Eat, sleep, then work. Take a shower, do the laundry then work...
Monday, March 12, 2007
Internet 102: Collecting and Organizing Your Links
Collecting and Organizing Your Links / Favorites / URLs from research or simply stuff you want to keep.
First off, these new notes are Internet 102. When I include a query for you to try, I will put it in this form, " query " . Just copy the query from within the quotes and don't copy the quotes. If the quote IS a quote, I will put that inside the quotes too.
For the most part I will not list that many links, just the query itself. You can do the search, change it to suit your needs, add an s on the end of the query like Tara Calishain of ResearchBuzz http://www.researchbuzz.com/ suggests or roll your own. You will find plenty of information.
If you read my other notes here, Internet 101 you will already have read most of the information on how to access http://www.google.com/ more efficiently and have read the tutorial on Google here: http://www.googleguide.com/ . For instance, another sort of query is to change " query " to " ~query " and you will get the query and synonyms.
OK, now just how in the world DO you organize the links / URLS / Internet sites etc. you have collected? Over the last 9+ years online I have collected more than 5000. YIKES. Since http://www.google.com/ has become so powerful, most of the time I simply use it. I learned a lot about using http://www.google.com/ and I don't have to collect many now. However, there are reasons to keep your own collection/s.
For instance, you might read dozens of blogs, news sources or any other topical sites that change daily. Well, you could get rss feeds or you can go directly to that site. One way to do the latter is collect the sites, put them in order and view them at your leisure.
Another reason to collect your own links is for research itself. Say you are writing a newspaper article, a term report, thesis or dissertation. You would normally outline it while you are collecting your sources and writing at the same time. If you organize your links, they too could be in order. You can include them in many pieces as documentation. The links can be hidden, just for you or written out.
Sure you can use your browser's Favorites, Hotlinks, Bookmarks or the like but most of these are very hard to put in order and they are messy too, plus, saving them in this form can be tricky.
One way to save them is in an online " blog ", your blog. Another way is one of the many online " online bookmark manager " sites. These can be very powerful and are accessible from any Internet connection, unless you are traveling or live in a very repressive country. The downside of these is the NEED for that Internet connection to access them at all. You can make some of the pages appear on your computer by copying the pages or simply writing them in your word processor or text editor and saving them. It has the advantage of you being able to include links directly into your research paper or outline. The downside here is they can simply become unmanageable by their number alone.
The query " bookmark manager " gets to my favorite way to collect links. If you scroll down to http://www.kaylon.com/power.html in this search you will find the one I use. It has almost limitless storage and works like this. You get to a site, click the green flag and the URL is stored with any meta data already there. I will explain this in a moment. You then add any words you wish so you remember your own thoughts when you got to the site. Later you type the query into the search box and violins, its there. Sometimes the query brings along friends from other sites, other links and you can visit those. Just click on the link and a browser window opens the link. Cool.
There are lots of tricks to searching and I will pass them along as I remember or find them. One is, when you find a site you really like and want to return to, you bookmark it. If this was found as a result of your search query, then you might ask yourself, "What drew me to this site?" An excellent way to discover that is to check the " meta tag " by right clicking in a clear space on the page and choosing View Source. This gives you some other words to include in your search.
Here is an example. Visit http://www.kaylon.com/power.html , right click, choose View Source and you get this line: < name="keywords" content="bookmarks, bookmark manager, opera, netscape, internet explorer, personal search engine, favorites, hotlist, status check, navigator, communicator"> ( I moved the < > open and close marks for web pages over one space since the line would not show up. The real line would not do this. ) You see just what the folks at Kaylon wanted the Internet spiders to find: bookmarks, bookmark manager, opera, netscape, Internet explorer, personal search engine, favorites, hotlist, status check, navigator, communicator. You can then do queries on any of these terms and get even more results.
Interesting, http://www.google.com/ does not give any results for this query, " < > " but http://www.answers.com/ does. Hmm. Well there you go. Don't rely on just one source for information. Keep digging. I found that the meta search engines http://www.webcrawler.com/ and http://www.dogpile.com/ do not find this query nor do other search engines like http://www.altavista.com/ , http://www.excite.com/ , http://www.live.com/ or http://search.looksmart.com/ .
Visual symbols, images and the like ARE hard to find it seems. This is curious and I will explore it more. I know the popos have this technology. So should we.
Searchers, start your search engines !!!
First off, these new notes are Internet 102. When I include a query for you to try, I will put it in this form, " query " . Just copy the query from within the quotes and don't copy the quotes. If the quote IS a quote, I will put that inside the quotes too.
For the most part I will not list that many links, just the query itself. You can do the search, change it to suit your needs, add an s on the end of the query like Tara Calishain of ResearchBuzz http://www.researchbuzz.com/ suggests or roll your own. You will find plenty of information.
If you read my other notes here, Internet 101 you will already have read most of the information on how to access http://www.google.com/ more efficiently and have read the tutorial on Google here: http://www.googleguide.com/ . For instance, another sort of query is to change " query " to " ~query " and you will get the query and synonyms.
OK, now just how in the world DO you organize the links / URLS / Internet sites etc. you have collected? Over the last 9+ years online I have collected more than 5000. YIKES. Since http://www.google.com/ has become so powerful, most of the time I simply use it. I learned a lot about using http://www.google.com/ and I don't have to collect many now. However, there are reasons to keep your own collection/s.
For instance, you might read dozens of blogs, news sources or any other topical sites that change daily. Well, you could get rss feeds or you can go directly to that site. One way to do the latter is collect the sites, put them in order and view them at your leisure.
Another reason to collect your own links is for research itself. Say you are writing a newspaper article, a term report, thesis or dissertation. You would normally outline it while you are collecting your sources and writing at the same time. If you organize your links, they too could be in order. You can include them in many pieces as documentation. The links can be hidden, just for you or written out.
Sure you can use your browser's Favorites, Hotlinks, Bookmarks or the like but most of these are very hard to put in order and they are messy too, plus, saving them in this form can be tricky.
One way to save them is in an online " blog ", your blog. Another way is one of the many online " online bookmark manager " sites. These can be very powerful and are accessible from any Internet connection, unless you are traveling or live in a very repressive country. The downside of these is the NEED for that Internet connection to access them at all. You can make some of the pages appear on your computer by copying the pages or simply writing them in your word processor or text editor and saving them. It has the advantage of you being able to include links directly into your research paper or outline. The downside here is they can simply become unmanageable by their number alone.
The query " bookmark manager " gets to my favorite way to collect links. If you scroll down to http://www.kaylon.com/power.html in this search you will find the one I use. It has almost limitless storage and works like this. You get to a site, click the green flag and the URL is stored with any meta data already there. I will explain this in a moment. You then add any words you wish so you remember your own thoughts when you got to the site. Later you type the query into the search box and violins, its there. Sometimes the query brings along friends from other sites, other links and you can visit those. Just click on the link and a browser window opens the link. Cool.
There are lots of tricks to searching and I will pass them along as I remember or find them. One is, when you find a site you really like and want to return to, you bookmark it. If this was found as a result of your search query, then you might ask yourself, "What drew me to this site?" An excellent way to discover that is to check the " meta tag " by right clicking in a clear space on the page and choosing View Source. This gives you some other words to include in your search.
Here is an example. Visit http://www.kaylon.com/power.html , right click, choose View Source and you get this line: < name="keywords" content="bookmarks, bookmark manager, opera, netscape, internet explorer, personal search engine, favorites, hotlist, status check, navigator, communicator"> ( I moved the < > open and close marks for web pages over one space since the line would not show up. The real line would not do this. ) You see just what the folks at Kaylon wanted the Internet spiders to find: bookmarks, bookmark manager, opera, netscape, Internet explorer, personal search engine, favorites, hotlist, status check, navigator, communicator. You can then do queries on any of these terms and get even more results.
Interesting, http://www.google.com/ does not give any results for this query, " < > " but http://www.answers.com/ does. Hmm. Well there you go. Don't rely on just one source for information. Keep digging. I found that the meta search engines http://www.webcrawler.com/ and http://www.dogpile.com/ do not find this query nor do other search engines like http://www.altavista.com/ , http://www.excite.com/ , http://www.live.com/ or http://search.looksmart.com/ .
Visual symbols, images and the like ARE hard to find it seems. This is curious and I will explore it more. I know the popos have this technology. So should we.
Searchers, start your search engines !!!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Internet 102: Its just You and the Internet
Internet 102
by
Robin Hall
First read or reread Internet 101: Finding what you want online. Then read Internet 101: Search Engines and Directories ; Internet 101: Encyclopedias 4 U and Internet 101: Tools and Useful Sites.
Next get VERY comfortable with http://www.google.com/ . Click all the links to help in LEARNING this tool. Make it yours. Own it and use it.
Read About Google and the links on that page. Click and read all the links about special features by right clicking on: more and even more. That page has a virtual wealth of information you need if you are going to take your search skills to the next level. For anyone serious about searching, pay special attention to http://scholar.google.com/ . This collection of scholarly articles indexed by Google is likely to become one of the most valuable tools this giant of the industry has come up with.
Click Google web search features and learn everything on this page. Pay special attention to Refine your search. http://www.google.com/help/features.html#refine and this page, http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html
I just found a WONDERFUL tutorial for GoogleFans. Its a must read. http://www.googleguide.com/ for beginners and pros. Its amazing what you can find at the bottom of the page or the top, right and left.
Get the Toolbar to speed your searches on Google, http://toolbar.google.com/T4/index_xp.html?utm_source=en-et-more&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en I use this dozens of times a day. Google and others have additional buttons too. I use the one here, http://www.acronymfinder.com/ to quickly search for acronyms.
For LOTS more about Internet searching just http://www.google.com/ any of a number of queries like " internet ~research " or " internet research " . Vary your terms. There is a wealth of information online about how to search, plenty of tutorials and hundreds of specialized directories like http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/resources/index.html put out by Purdue University. Many universities offer these links for you to surf through and don't forget, large and small libraries all over the world have their own directories and search professionals.
I will now mention paid search sites and tools. Some of these are for entire governments, businesses, libraries and large schools. They are priced accordingly. Others catalog hundreds of journals and offer great search findings within these journals. Some are mainly for business searching. Many sell individual articles. You can set up accounts for these smaller transactions with a credit / debit card and just buy what you want. The companies usually offer a teaser so you are sure you get the article you need. Some offer a free trial.
Most of you know http://global.lexisnexis.com/us since its in a great number of universities. There are lots of different plans to purchase and they deal with the law as well as politics, business interests and more.
This next company used to do regular web searches and now specializes in designing corporate search engines as well as having an excellent business search where they have major accounts and single search offerings too. http://www.northernlight.com/ Another link gets you directly to the queries you need, http://www.nlresearch.com/pubsearch.php
Try this query " fee based searching " at http://www.google.com/ . Vary your terms. Become your own teacher.
Try this query, " corporate research " at http://www.google.com/ for tips on how to research a specific topic. Vary the topics as you need to: " academic research " ; " health research " ; " statistical research, " etc.
Information Trapping, Tara Calishain's latest book for serious searchers contains a lot of information on paid searching, automated searching and more. Click here for the book: http://www.amazon.com/Information-Trapping-Real-Time-Research-Web/dp/0321491718/ . Another site http://digitalhistoryhacks.blogspot.com/ is highly targeted information for those interested in digital history and making your own search queries, programming them to work in a search engine. Read these two resources for some very modern ways to search and keep information coming to your front door on a daily basis. Its "real time research" for U.
It seems to me that Internet research is about you learning how to find things; then where to find them. Its you thinking first, using the best tool for the job, letting it collect the information then its back to you to do the judging and using. Its you separating the wheat from the chaff so start bringing in the sheaves !!!
None of these sites and tools are meant to replace the libraries you grew up with by any means. Searching is often getting out of your place and hitting the pavement, interviewing bona fide authorities in person or calling them. With the new VOip and Internet phones calling is very affordable too.
Many fine libraries offer up their catalog for you to see online. Some have research librarians that will talk to you as well. PS: you don't have to tell them you are in Key West while they are in Anchorage.
NEVER forget libraries and the real world. Books, journals you can hold, magazines, stuff in the Reference Department and those trusty Research Librarians know where to look. Hey, its their job, why not keep them employed?
Future entries here in Internet 102 will be about the hidden web, books on searching and more. If you have a topic of interest, let me know or send the ideas and I will put you on http://internet101and102.blogspot.com/ to help us all find what we want.
by
Robin Hall
First read or reread Internet 101: Finding what you want online. Then read Internet 101: Search Engines and Directories ; Internet 101: Encyclopedias 4 U and Internet 101: Tools and Useful Sites.
Next get VERY comfortable with http://www.google.com/ . Click all the links to help in LEARNING this tool. Make it yours. Own it and use it.
Read About Google and the links on that page. Click and read all the links about special features by right clicking on: more and even more. That page has a virtual wealth of information you need if you are going to take your search skills to the next level. For anyone serious about searching, pay special attention to http://scholar.google.com/ . This collection of scholarly articles indexed by Google is likely to become one of the most valuable tools this giant of the industry has come up with.
Click Google web search features and learn everything on this page. Pay special attention to Refine your search. http://www.google.com/help/features.html#refine and this page, http://www.googleguide.com/advanced_operators_reference.html
I just found a WONDERFUL tutorial for GoogleFans. Its a must read. http://www.googleguide.com/ for beginners and pros. Its amazing what you can find at the bottom of the page or the top, right and left.
Get the Toolbar to speed your searches on Google, http://toolbar.google.com/T4/index_xp.html?utm_source=en-et-more&utm_medium=et&utm_campaign=en I use this dozens of times a day. Google and others have additional buttons too. I use the one here, http://www.acronymfinder.com/ to quickly search for acronyms.
For LOTS more about Internet searching just http://www.google.com/ any of a number of queries like " internet ~research " or " internet research " . Vary your terms. There is a wealth of information online about how to search, plenty of tutorials and hundreds of specialized directories like http://owl.english.purdue.edu/internet/resources/index.html put out by Purdue University. Many universities offer these links for you to surf through and don't forget, large and small libraries all over the world have their own directories and search professionals.
I will now mention paid search sites and tools. Some of these are for entire governments, businesses, libraries and large schools. They are priced accordingly. Others catalog hundreds of journals and offer great search findings within these journals. Some are mainly for business searching. Many sell individual articles. You can set up accounts for these smaller transactions with a credit / debit card and just buy what you want. The companies usually offer a teaser so you are sure you get the article you need. Some offer a free trial.
Most of you know http://global.lexisnexis.com/us since its in a great number of universities. There are lots of different plans to purchase and they deal with the law as well as politics, business interests and more.
This next company used to do regular web searches and now specializes in designing corporate search engines as well as having an excellent business search where they have major accounts and single search offerings too. http://www.northernlight.com/ Another link gets you directly to the queries you need, http://www.nlresearch.com/pubsearch.php
Try this query " fee based searching " at http://www.google.com/ . Vary your terms. Become your own teacher.
Try this query, " corporate research " at http://www.google.com/ for tips on how to research a specific topic. Vary the topics as you need to: " academic research " ; " health research " ; " statistical research, " etc.
Information Trapping, Tara Calishain's latest book for serious searchers contains a lot of information on paid searching, automated searching and more. Click here for the book: http://www.amazon.com/Information-Trapping-Real-Time-Research-Web/dp/0321491718/ . Another site http://digitalhistoryhacks.blogspot.com/ is highly targeted information for those interested in digital history and making your own search queries, programming them to work in a search engine. Read these two resources for some very modern ways to search and keep information coming to your front door on a daily basis. Its "real time research" for U.
It seems to me that Internet research is about you learning how to find things; then where to find them. Its you thinking first, using the best tool for the job, letting it collect the information then its back to you to do the judging and using. Its you separating the wheat from the chaff so start bringing in the sheaves !!!
None of these sites and tools are meant to replace the libraries you grew up with by any means. Searching is often getting out of your place and hitting the pavement, interviewing bona fide authorities in person or calling them. With the new VOip and Internet phones calling is very affordable too.
Many fine libraries offer up their catalog for you to see online. Some have research librarians that will talk to you as well. PS: you don't have to tell them you are in Key West while they are in Anchorage.
NEVER forget libraries and the real world. Books, journals you can hold, magazines, stuff in the Reference Department and those trusty Research Librarians know where to look. Hey, its their job, why not keep them employed?
Future entries here in Internet 102 will be about the hidden web, books on searching and more. If you have a topic of interest, let me know or send the ideas and I will put you on http://internet101and102.blogspot.com/ to help us all find what we want.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Internet 101: Fun and Games Online
Internet 101: Fun and Games Online
This is the final Internet 101. Internet 102 is next in line.
So you want to play games? Scrabble, bridge, reversi, hold'em poker, pool and hundreds of others are available online. Some are one player games, some are multi-player games. Most are free, some are not.
As always, when doing a new search I http://www.google.com/ . This query is " games ". This is all you need to begin your search.
You can input particular games too. Take " poker " for instance, but you should hide your credit card. Most of the better sites under this search are fee based. You can lose your shirt, pants, socks, shoes and your house if you don't take them seriously so beware. ( money = 0 ) if you are not a decent player or learn to be on the free sites. I would add, buy the books, STUDY them, play free and only then attempt a small stakes game of hold'em poker or the like.
On the plus side, some major world poker stars began online in low stakes games. Chris Moneymaker comes to mind.
There are public games and secret games of Scrabble, bridge and others. Some are free, some are not.
Here are some places to begin your search for games. The first two are HUGE sites with dozens of games and thousands of players.
http://zone.msn.com/en/root/default.htm
http://games.yahoo.com/games/front
These three are accessed through one of the chat clients.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/
http://www.skype.com/
http://www.paltalk.com/
"Remember to do your work," the quote I like from Zen and the Art of the Internet, holds especially true of online games. You can lose your time, you can lose yourself too.
This final Internet 101 was just practice finding games with http://www.google.com/ . Playing can be lots of fun. Broadband is highly recommended for most of the games I know of. One final game site, for pay, is the increasingly popular and addictive http://secondlife.com/ . Check it out and have fun online.
This is the final Internet 101. Internet 102 is next in line.
So you want to play games? Scrabble, bridge, reversi, hold'em poker, pool and hundreds of others are available online. Some are one player games, some are multi-player games. Most are free, some are not.
As always, when doing a new search I http://www.google.com/ . This query is " games ". This is all you need to begin your search.
You can input particular games too. Take " poker " for instance, but you should hide your credit card. Most of the better sites under this search are fee based. You can lose your shirt, pants, socks, shoes and your house if you don't take them seriously so beware. ( money = 0 ) if you are not a decent player or learn to be on the free sites. I would add, buy the books, STUDY them, play free and only then attempt a small stakes game of hold'em poker or the like.
On the plus side, some major world poker stars began online in low stakes games. Chris Moneymaker comes to mind.
There are public games and secret games of Scrabble, bridge and others. Some are free, some are not.
Here are some places to begin your search for games. The first two are HUGE sites with dozens of games and thousands of players.
http://zone.msn.com/en/root/default.htm
http://games.yahoo.com/games/front
These three are accessed through one of the chat clients.
http://messenger.yahoo.com/
http://www.skype.com/
http://www.paltalk.com/
"Remember to do your work," the quote I like from Zen and the Art of the Internet, holds especially true of online games. You can lose your time, you can lose yourself too.
This final Internet 101 was just practice finding games with http://www.google.com/ . Playing can be lots of fun. Broadband is highly recommended for most of the games I know of. One final game site, for pay, is the increasingly popular and addictive http://secondlife.com/ . Check it out and have fun online.
Internet 101: Photography 4 U
Photography Searching I am going to show you how I begin a search for photography. You can change photography to any topic and it works about the same. First, as I suggested in another entry, Internet 101: Search Engines and Directories on 3 1 2007, lets use a directory since we don't know as yet just what we are seeking.
So http://www.google.com/ first and type " photographi " into the search box, that line with the Search button to click, and click it. Duh, I misspelled the word and google helpfully and not too rudely, says Did you mean: photography . I click photography and we start our search. Take a few moments to look at the page. There is a definition near the top. If you click this you are taken to http://www.answers.com/photography&r=67 with the root URL http://www.answers.com/ . I right click most links to open in a new window.
The photography page there is overflowing with excellent material and I begin reading the dictionary definition, several encyclopedia articles, a history article with its own clickable links and at the bottom of the page is a directory to help me narrow my focus plus some foreign language versions of the word, photography.
By now I am on my way. I click stock photography and http://www.answers.com/ has a page on this branch of my topic. The method of searching is the same for most any topic you choose.
Let's take a different route and go directly to a search engine, http://www.google.com/ . You CAN use other search engines, I just don't. OK, I type " photography skools " into the search box. Duh 2. So I click photography schools and dig in for some serious surfing. [ A brief aside here. Sometimes the mispeld word can be fun to surf at timz. ]
My next idea to http://www.google.com/ is to look for online tutorials or lessons so I use both these terms after the word photography, " photography tutorials " and " photography lessons. " The order rarely makes a difference to http://www.google.com/ nor does capitalization but I usually put them in the order I think is right. You are thinking first, typing next, sifting / judging the results then USING the results. Its the best of both worlds, you and your computer / the Internet.
One more search for practice. You are seeking " photography fine art prints " for your house or office so you http://www.google.com/ the query. There are paid clicks on the right. I usually do click one to keep google's owners in luxury. Then I sift the information and check out the sites. I like http://www.art.com/ so I click it. If you have a favorite shooter, expand the query to include their name. I will try " Galen Rowell photography fine art prints " and its right there on top, http://www.mountainlight.com/ . Cool, eh?
That is all there is to most searches. You do the thinking, http://www.google.com/ does the finding, you do the judging and using. Vary the words as you like. Find new ways to search with both http://www.quintura.com/ and http://www.webbrain.com/ and look for antonyms at http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ . These three sites are for the more visually inclined. Happy searching and finding.
So http://www.google.com/ first and type " photographi " into the search box, that line with the Search button to click, and click it. Duh, I misspelled the word and google helpfully and not too rudely, says Did you mean: photography . I click photography and we start our search. Take a few moments to look at the page. There is a definition near the top. If you click this you are taken to http://www.answers.com/photography&r=67 with the root URL http://www.answers.com/ . I right click most links to open in a new window.
The photography page there is overflowing with excellent material and I begin reading the dictionary definition, several encyclopedia articles, a history article with its own clickable links and at the bottom of the page is a directory to help me narrow my focus plus some foreign language versions of the word, photography.
By now I am on my way. I click stock photography and http://www.answers.com/ has a page on this branch of my topic. The method of searching is the same for most any topic you choose.
Let's take a different route and go directly to a search engine, http://www.google.com/ . You CAN use other search engines, I just don't. OK, I type " photography skools " into the search box. Duh 2. So I click photography schools and dig in for some serious surfing. [ A brief aside here. Sometimes the mispeld word can be fun to surf at timz. ]
My next idea to http://www.google.com/ is to look for online tutorials or lessons so I use both these terms after the word photography, " photography tutorials " and " photography lessons. " The order rarely makes a difference to http://www.google.com/ nor does capitalization but I usually put them in the order I think is right. You are thinking first, typing next, sifting / judging the results then USING the results. Its the best of both worlds, you and your computer / the Internet.
One more search for practice. You are seeking " photography fine art prints " for your house or office so you http://www.google.com/ the query. There are paid clicks on the right. I usually do click one to keep google's owners in luxury. Then I sift the information and check out the sites. I like http://www.art.com/ so I click it. If you have a favorite shooter, expand the query to include their name. I will try " Galen Rowell photography fine art prints " and its right there on top, http://www.mountainlight.com/ . Cool, eh?
That is all there is to most searches. You do the thinking, http://www.google.com/ does the finding, you do the judging and using. Vary the words as you like. Find new ways to search with both http://www.quintura.com/ and http://www.webbrain.com/ and look for antonyms at http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ . These three sites are for the more visually inclined. Happy searching and finding.
Internet 101: Children and the Internet
Internet 101: Children and the Internet
by
Robin Hall
While I am not a parent, in my 9 years online, doing a daily Internet 101 Forum for some months on Firetalk and an occassional one on Paltalk, the subject of child safety often comes to mind. The search engines of today are VERY powerful. Topics and images can be accessed that children should not see.
Adults should have access to all sites without censorship. Children should not. That is my view.
Parents. The best way to monitor your child's time online is to be with them. The Internet is NOT TV where you can block certain channels. There is NO current software that works perfectly to prevent sites from being accessed. You are the monitor, the censor for your children. PERIOD.
That said, with preparation, you and your child can have endless fun, find wonderful photos to view and share, do school work research and learn about everything from photography to languages and so much more.
Now take the easy way for your research into online safety. Go to Google, input just what you want, explore that and then set up a folder of nice searchengines for your child. Later set up another folder of sites visited and enjoyed and use the Internet WITH your child.
So, click here Google type in: childrens search engines and look at as many as you want then save the ones you like. The first link I found is this excellent article by Danny Sullivan, one of the most respected names in the professional search engine business:
Children's Search Engines
I will add another choice here that looks VERY nice:
Quintura for Kids
This is a fine start. Don't be intimidated at the breadth of the Internet. It takes time and patience to find what you want among the 80+ million websites and 400,000+ terabytes of information. Google alone checks / spiders over 8 billion pages, at least.
Most of my online search tips will be for adults. Parents can use them to find what they want and want to share with their children.
Learn to use Google . Input words like this, no caps needed: topic, then extra words. Say you want to find online encyclopedias. The query you put in the search box will simply look like this: " encyclopedias online "or " encyclopedia " . Its that simple.
Well, good luck with the online experience with your children. Have fun and be patient. Using the Internet is easy. Just type, click and learn...
by
Robin Hall
While I am not a parent, in my 9 years online, doing a daily Internet 101 Forum for some months on Firetalk and an occassional one on Paltalk, the subject of child safety often comes to mind. The search engines of today are VERY powerful. Topics and images can be accessed that children should not see.
Adults should have access to all sites without censorship. Children should not. That is my view.
Parents. The best way to monitor your child's time online is to be with them. The Internet is NOT TV where you can block certain channels. There is NO current software that works perfectly to prevent sites from being accessed. You are the monitor, the censor for your children. PERIOD.
That said, with preparation, you and your child can have endless fun, find wonderful photos to view and share, do school work research and learn about everything from photography to languages and so much more.
Now take the easy way for your research into online safety. Go to Google, input just what you want, explore that and then set up a folder of nice searchengines for your child. Later set up another folder of sites visited and enjoyed and use the Internet WITH your child.
So, click here Google type in: childrens search engines and look at as many as you want then save the ones you like. The first link I found is this excellent article by Danny Sullivan, one of the most respected names in the professional search engine business:
Children's Search Engines
I will add another choice here that looks VERY nice:
Quintura for Kids
This is a fine start. Don't be intimidated at the breadth of the Internet. It takes time and patience to find what you want among the 80+ million websites and 400,000+ terabytes of information. Google alone checks / spiders over 8 billion pages, at least.
Most of my online search tips will be for adults. Parents can use them to find what they want and want to share with their children.
Learn to use Google . Input words like this, no caps needed: topic, then extra words. Say you want to find online encyclopedias. The query you put in the search box will simply look like this: " encyclopedias online "or " encyclopedia " . Its that simple.
Well, good luck with the online experience with your children. Have fun and be patient. Using the Internet is easy. Just type, click and learn...
Internet 101 & 102: Finding what you want online.
These links are about Internet Research newsletters and tutorials. You can find hundreds of tutorials by searching for the query, " internet tutorials " at most any search site.
I have thousands of links saved from 9 years online. Mostly today, I rely on knowing how to use http://www.google.com/ . I also use its excellent toolbar.
Today's links are starting places for serious searchers or beginning searchers interested in becoming more proficient.
Tara Calishain's http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/ has an excellent, FREE newsletter. She also has reference books of her own and she refers to other authors who do top drawer work like she does. Plus Tara is quite funny at times, the queen of Internet Research and Internet Research humor.
This link is for another fine newsletter, http://www.freepint.com/gary/direct.htm Its in the UK but don't let that stop you. The information is valuable everywhere.
At http://www.pandia.com/ you will find a fine web directory, a newsletter, tutorials on searching and many back articles.
The fine staff of http://searchenginewatch.com/ are dedicated to keeping you up to date on all things technical about searching and web placement for advertisers. They have several newsletters too and are considered THE resource for webmasters.
Folks, if you click these links and grok them, "you in like Flynn."
Happy searching.
I have thousands of links saved from 9 years online. Mostly today, I rely on knowing how to use http://www.google.com/ . I also use its excellent toolbar.
Today's links are starting places for serious searchers or beginning searchers interested in becoming more proficient.
Tara Calishain's http://www.researchbuzz.org/wp/ has an excellent, FREE newsletter. She also has reference books of her own and she refers to other authors who do top drawer work like she does. Plus Tara is quite funny at times, the queen of Internet Research and Internet Research humor.
This link is for another fine newsletter, http://www.freepint.com/gary/direct.htm Its in the UK but don't let that stop you. The information is valuable everywhere.
At http://www.pandia.com/ you will find a fine web directory, a newsletter, tutorials on searching and many back articles.
The fine staff of http://searchenginewatch.com/ are dedicated to keeping you up to date on all things technical about searching and web placement for advertisers. They have several newsletters too and are considered THE resource for webmasters.
Folks, if you click these links and grok them, "you in like Flynn."
Happy searching.
Internet 101: Encyclopedias 4 U
Encyclopedias 4 U
The easiest way to find online encyclopedias is just http://www.google.com/ " online encyclopedias " . Most of the better ones are there. Most give brief articles as a teaser and want you to pay for ongoing access or buy DVDs or hard cover versions.These wonderful resources are for students AND teachers. The online subscriptions feature lesson planning ideas plus current event news and opinion that is very hard to beat and hard to ignore.
If you need an encyclopedia consider buying their disks. Britannica's is only 50 bucks. There are three entire encyclopedia versions included: adult, student, child. The print version is $1395.00 Imagine, too, the entire Encyclopedia Britannica online as a subscription for $69.00 or Britannica and the Unabridged Merriam-Webster Dictionary for only $85 a year. http://www.britannica.com/
Another fine choice is Encarta. http://encarta.msn.com/ It too has DVD and subscriptions. Hey, $30 a year isn't bad.
For youngsters and adults this one has excellent country information and so much more. http://www.worldbook.com/ . Their entire encyclopedia is on disc for $23.
That is about all for encyclopedias. Just imagine, with any modern computer, encyclopedia DVDs and an Internet connection, broadband is a must for some of the movie clips, you have a window on the world that entire libraries of the past could not offer. The information age is certainly here.
BEWARE, some of the discs are NOT compatible with Windows Vista. This will change of course but for now... One more note, a brief rant.
I try to steer clear of the Wikipedia for a number of reasons. The most important reason for me is the lack of credibility which they offhandedly mention on their own site. The following are two quotes from their site, http://wikipedia.com/ .
From the main page, " Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. "
From their page About Wikipedia, " Because Wikipedia is an on-going work to which in principle anybody can contribute, it differs from a paper-based reference source in some very important ways. In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles may still contain significant misinformation, content, or vandalism. Users need to be aware of this in order to obtain valid information and avoid misinformation which has been recently added and not yet removed. "
While the above recognized encyclopedias have articles written by noted authorities with peer reviews and professional editors, Wikipedia does not even pretend to. This is the case with any "open" information source. Caveat emptor seems to be their motto.
When this site first came out I wrote google suggesting they buy their own encyclopedia and give it the highest weighting when the search query called for an encyclopedia. Google did not take my suggestion and Wikipedia is often at the top of searches.
Use caution with it. Sure casual searches are OK but when you need an authority, my suggestion is to go with the recognized leaders in the encyclopedia business, Britannica, Encarta and World Book.
Internet 101: Calling you. Videoing you.
Just a few links today. Most anyone online knows about chat, a generic term for typing in real time through some program or other, voice chat and video chat so these links are not likely new. There are lots of other programs on the market as well. Simply get a webcam and headset and start chatting.
Here are the programs I have and use. Take care NOT to install toolbars etc. unless you really want them. These programs are free AND you can use each to make PC to phone calls by loading up a phone card sort of account. Each has video chat and games. Each has some benefit of its own. Do consider a decent headset or if your space is quiet a very good speaker set with external mic. Broadband is recommended but each works OK with dial-up. There could be a bit of a lag at times without broadband.
Yahoo Messenger http://downloads.yahoo.com/ scroll down to the link to DL, download, and install. I think this is the most fun for casual video chat. I do NOT like their "rooms."
Paltalk http://www.paltalk.com/ This one has "rooms" / forums too and they are much easier to use. Particular ones like PCTech in the Computer section offer some excellent help sessions hosted / administered by qualified volunteer techs. This room is open 24/7 but I find the best help is daytime in the US.
Skype http://skype.com/ To me, this one has the best sound quality and its my only long distance service. Surf around on the site to discover their excellent offering of unlimited PC to phone calling.
Here are the programs I have and use. Take care NOT to install toolbars etc. unless you really want them. These programs are free AND you can use each to make PC to phone calls by loading up a phone card sort of account. Each has video chat and games. Each has some benefit of its own. Do consider a decent headset or if your space is quiet a very good speaker set with external mic. Broadband is recommended but each works OK with dial-up. There could be a bit of a lag at times without broadband.
Yahoo Messenger http://downloads.yahoo.com/ scroll down to the link to DL, download, and install. I think this is the most fun for casual video chat. I do NOT like their "rooms."
Paltalk http://www.paltalk.com/ This one has "rooms" / forums too and they are much easier to use. Particular ones like PCTech in the Computer section offer some excellent help sessions hosted / administered by qualified volunteer techs. This room is open 24/7 but I find the best help is daytime in the US.
Skype http://skype.com/ To me, this one has the best sound quality and its my only long distance service. Surf around on the site to discover their excellent offering of unlimited PC to phone calling.
Internet 101: Tools and Useful Sites
If you are new to computers and the Internet, in a few days I will put up a two page guide to getting started online, Internet 101. It includes all the steps I took and many I learned about and has brief paragraphs on how to buy a computer, what to buy next, ISPs [ Internet Service Providers ], safe Internetting [ virus scanners, firewalls, spy ware prevention and removal, etc. ] and more.
Today's note is about some useful links / sites / urls I have found in 9 years of using the Internet. Let's begin with a history lesson. Click http://www.archive.org/index.php and you come to a site that has archived the Internet since 1996. It has over 85 billion pages. I just used it to access a small domain I once owned, http://www.snorfle.com/ . I could read some stories from 1999. The WAYBACKMACHINE is an astonishing resource.
Try http://tucows.com/ for the most comprehensive list of current software you can imagine. Most of the software is free, freeware, or for sale with a free trial, shareware. The ultimate collection of windows software, tucows has literally hundreds of programs that it rates and has for downloading. Excellent. They also host sites and more. For advanced users there is a current article on VoIP service providers.
You can also google [ http://www.google.com/ ] the query which I will explain for me is this, the query will be in quotes but do not include the quotes. I will leave extra space so you can copy / paste the search terms. So, the query to google is " software downloads " and you get dozens of other sites. Many are almost as comprehensive as tucows. I just like the way tucows is organized.
Another site I have gotten fine programs from is http://www.download.com/ . I like the front page of http://www.filehippo.com/ . You will see at a glance the most popular downloads. I am looking at about 7 that I use regularly. Filehippo is always among the first in line to get new programs and updates too.
There are hundreds of dictionary sort of sites. Just http://www.google.com/ " dictionary ".
These next two programs are for more visually minded searchers. The first two are visual search engine, http://www.quintura.com/ and http://www.webbrain.com/ while the third is a visual thesaurus http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ . The latter is not free but it is amazing and helpful for adults and children and well worth the modest fee.
Click this link http://toolbar.google.com/T4/index_xp.html for one of my very favorite programs [ pieces of software. ] I use this dozens of times a day. It is un-intrusive and oh so helpful. There is a search box leading to google searches as well as a pop up blocker and other parts. Read the page and DL [ download ] this right now, or else. : ^)
I am glad you were wondering about consumer reviews. Try http://consumersearch.com/ . This site reviews the reviews. Its a great place to begin shopping and I use it before I buy anything. I just got a new webcam based on a review and just love the little spy-eye on my monitor. There are other sites that have consumer reporting but I like http://consumersearch.com/ the best.
Two others I use are http://consumerguide.com/ and http://toptenreviews.com/ for software, hardware and movies.
There more targeted review sites too. Click http://www.tomshardware.com/ for, well, computer hardware. Excellent. Check out the current guide to multi-function printers under $150.
Another targeted site I like a lot is http://homeofficereports.com/ . It reviews computers, software and much more. Read their Rating Guide on the left, then click Reviews to get started. Professionals working from home should enjoy their other articles about business products and the rest of us can compare the reviews to the other site's opinions on which is the very best product for you. When I do this comparing, I will bring up a window with http://homeofficereports.com/ , http://consumersearch.com/ and one of the other sites. This is a fine way to shop for me. Maybe for you too.
One final site is for anyone wanting EXCELLENT and exhaustive reviews of current digital cameras, printers and photo-software, http://www.steves-digicams.com/ . I will have much more on photography later. I use http://www.steves-digicams.com/ at least weekly for digicam news and reviews. Check it out.
So this should give you some ideas about the terrific Internet tools available. Think about what you are seeking, sift through the links and find what YOU want. Just http://www.google.com/ it.
Today's note is about some useful links / sites / urls I have found in 9 years of using the Internet. Let's begin with a history lesson. Click http://www.archive.org/index.php and you come to a site that has archived the Internet since 1996. It has over 85 billion pages. I just used it to access a small domain I once owned, http://www.snorfle.com/ . I could read some stories from 1999. The WAYBACKMACHINE is an astonishing resource.
Try http://tucows.com/ for the most comprehensive list of current software you can imagine. Most of the software is free, freeware, or for sale with a free trial, shareware. The ultimate collection of windows software, tucows has literally hundreds of programs that it rates and has for downloading. Excellent. They also host sites and more. For advanced users there is a current article on VoIP service providers.
You can also google [ http://www.google.com/ ] the query which I will explain for me is this, the query will be in quotes but do not include the quotes. I will leave extra space so you can copy / paste the search terms. So, the query to google is " software downloads " and you get dozens of other sites. Many are almost as comprehensive as tucows. I just like the way tucows is organized.
Another site I have gotten fine programs from is http://www.download.com/ . I like the front page of http://www.filehippo.com/ . You will see at a glance the most popular downloads. I am looking at about 7 that I use regularly. Filehippo is always among the first in line to get new programs and updates too.
There are hundreds of dictionary sort of sites. Just http://www.google.com/ " dictionary ".
These next two programs are for more visually minded searchers. The first two are visual search engine, http://www.quintura.com/ and http://www.webbrain.com/ while the third is a visual thesaurus http://www.visualthesaurus.com/ . The latter is not free but it is amazing and helpful for adults and children and well worth the modest fee.
Click this link http://toolbar.google.com/T4/index_xp.html for one of my very favorite programs [ pieces of software. ] I use this dozens of times a day. It is un-intrusive and oh so helpful. There is a search box leading to google searches as well as a pop up blocker and other parts. Read the page and DL [ download ] this right now, or else. : ^)
I am glad you were wondering about consumer reviews. Try http://consumersearch.com/ . This site reviews the reviews. Its a great place to begin shopping and I use it before I buy anything. I just got a new webcam based on a review and just love the little spy-eye on my monitor. There are other sites that have consumer reporting but I like http://consumersearch.com/ the best.
Two others I use are http://consumerguide.com/ and http://toptenreviews.com/ for software, hardware and movies.
There more targeted review sites too. Click http://www.tomshardware.com/ for, well, computer hardware. Excellent. Check out the current guide to multi-function printers under $150.
Another targeted site I like a lot is http://homeofficereports.com/ . It reviews computers, software and much more. Read their Rating Guide on the left, then click Reviews to get started. Professionals working from home should enjoy their other articles about business products and the rest of us can compare the reviews to the other site's opinions on which is the very best product for you. When I do this comparing, I will bring up a window with http://homeofficereports.com/ , http://consumersearch.com/ and one of the other sites. This is a fine way to shop for me. Maybe for you too.
One final site is for anyone wanting EXCELLENT and exhaustive reviews of current digital cameras, printers and photo-software, http://www.steves-digicams.com/ . I will have much more on photography later. I use http://www.steves-digicams.com/ at least weekly for digicam news and reviews. Check it out.
So this should give you some ideas about the terrific Internet tools available. Think about what you are seeking, sift through the links and find what YOU want. Just http://www.google.com/ it.
Internet 101: Search Engines & Directories
I hope I do not repeat myself, too much. This is a note about the differences between search engines and directories.
Search engines use programs called spiders or bots to search for items on the Internet. There are literally hundreds of sites that call themselves search engines. Some work great, others don't. I stick to http://www.google.com/ for most of my queries and I can find other search engines by googling these words " search engines " . End of story for me about search engines. Google those terms and read all you ever want to know for YOUR searching...
In the simplest sense a Directory is a large collection of links / URLs put together by most anyone interested in a particular topic. They are organized by humans, not software. Google is a search engine and also has a fine directory http://directory.google.com/ . Another directory is http://dir.yahoo.com/ .
Directories can be a terrific place to begin most any search, esepcially when you are not yet sure what you are looking for. Many of the entries are quite well researched, others are old and out of date, others are short.
There are lots of directories to choose from. The above two will serve most general needs. There are more focused directories such as those done by libraries, http://www.ipl.org/div/blogs/ and http://www.internettutorials.net/choose.html .
There are also meta-sites done by Internet Researchers like the great folks at Pandia Post, http://www.pandia.com/ .
All of these sites are overflowing with tutorials, search engines and directories.
PS look for information on " the invisible web " . Just google the query then check out this article http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2162871 .
Good luck with finding what you want.
Search engines use programs called spiders or bots to search for items on the Internet. There are literally hundreds of sites that call themselves search engines. Some work great, others don't. I stick to http://www.google.com/ for most of my queries and I can find other search engines by googling these words " search engines " . End of story for me about search engines. Google those terms and read all you ever want to know for YOUR searching...
In the simplest sense a Directory is a large collection of links / URLs put together by most anyone interested in a particular topic. They are organized by humans, not software. Google is a search engine and also has a fine directory http://directory.google.com/ . Another directory is http://dir.yahoo.com/ .
Directories can be a terrific place to begin most any search, esepcially when you are not yet sure what you are looking for. Many of the entries are quite well researched, others are old and out of date, others are short.
There are lots of directories to choose from. The above two will serve most general needs. There are more focused directories such as those done by libraries, http://www.ipl.org/div/blogs/ and http://www.internettutorials.net/choose.html .
There are also meta-sites done by Internet Researchers like the great folks at Pandia Post, http://www.pandia.com/ .
All of these sites are overflowing with tutorials, search engines and directories.
PS look for information on " the invisible web " . Just google the query then check out this article http://searchenginewatch.com/showPage.html?page=2162871 .
Good luck with finding what you want.
Internet 101: Internet and Computer Quick Start Guide
Getting a Computer and Getting Online
As close as I can get for the entire 12 years of having computers and 9 years of being online with low end gear, it has cost me about $63.00 a month. Think about that.
Anyway. That is all about the money. If this is within your budget, no problem.
My suggestion on buying a computer is get Dell. It always ranks on or near top for service, equipment and accessories. I have had 4 different brands, Dell is the best for my money.
Go to their site http://www.dell.com/ , surf around, understand the benefits of notebook computers vs. desktop, choose one of these, choose a model, buy it, set it up and use it. That is all and set up can be surprisingly easy, don't be fooled. Kids do NOT know more about computers than adults do. Kids may have more experience with them, may not worry about hurting their gear but adults can gain experience too. Do not be intimidated. You are much more capable than you think or soon will be with patience.
If you can afford it, get online with broadband: cable, DSL, wi fi and satellite are options in different places. Dial-up is cheaper of course but the cost in money is nothing compared to the frustrations of slow connections. Just emailing? Dial-up is fine. For all the rest like information gathering, videos, surfing, gaming, collecting interesting links, all of the rest of the Internet, get broadband. I will also recommend that if you depend on the Internet for business, extended time usages like entertainment and finding friends, that you also have a dial-up account for when broadband is out. This WILL happen.
Cheap dial-up accounts can be $10.00 a month and are often a good place to have your main email address. [ OK, this part is not necessary but should you take this advice, use http://www.netzero.net/ and put in my user name snorfle as the person who recommended you, I will get a bit of ca$h and you will have the ISP I have used for 5+ years. ] Later you can tell folks about the service and you get the $30.
Here are some tips:
NEVER set your computer up without first using a very good surge protector or preferrably a battery UPS, uninterruptable power source. NEVER.
NEVER use the Internet without a good virus scanner that is kept updated automatically.
NEVER use the Internet without a firewall that is updated automatically.
Get several spyware removal programs, update them regularly and use them at least weekly.
Do your computer chores regularly. This includes updating your programs; running defrag weekly and running scan disc / chk disc at least monthly to check for errors on your hard drive.
"Remember to do your work." This is a quote from an earlier book, Zen and the Art of the Internet. We can become so entranced by the computer and online world that everything else is forgotten. Real life can take a back seat. "Remember to do your work."
When you get online find a good user name, a nickname / nick. Remember it, see the next tip for the whys. Find a way to generate passwords that you will ALWAYS remember and that is "strong enough" so it cannot be hacked easily. Your birthday, names of friends and family etc. do not work here.
If you want to find most anything online, learn how to use http://www.google.com/ . This search engine is vast and powerful. Simply input what you want and sift the results. For instance, type, without the quotes, " how do I defrag my computer " and you are led to articles / tutorials that tell what you want. Another query, " tell me what surge protection is, " will do just that. In other words, everything I mention here is something you can find out by using a search engine. Use the power of the Internet to explain computers, the Internet itself and most any bit of information if you dig deeply enough.
Do not think searching for the meaning of life or how do I get rich and retire early are questions the Internet can deal with. Information, email, entertainment, business, education ARE online, the meaning of life is not.
My # 1 tip may seem odd to newcomers. Get a spiral notebook or the like, record all email addresses you need, record all your user names and passwords, everything you are sure you will miss if you don't. I guarantee you will thank me some time for this.
The next part is short, some benefits and pitfalls of being online.
II. What can a computer and Internet access do for you?
And the list goes on and on. Give it a chance, find things to do and use the computer and Internet. Do not let them use you. Be safe online. Keep yourself from many of the pitfalls like losing your money to an identity thief. Do not become unduly enchanted by people you meet. Keep a clear head when / if you use chat rooms and personals online. Don't leave your computer open to attack from hackers.
Its all new for many people. It can be wonderful fun. Exciting new learning can happen. Take your time, "do your work," remember to eat etc. and you should do just fine.
I. Do you really need a computer and the Internet?
A. You need to understand the costs involved in money, time and frustration.
1. Upfront equipment cost.
a. Computer; monitor; webcam, if any; scanner; printer and supplies PLUS good surge protection and a battery UPS is much preferred.
b. Software.
c. Extra warranty for the gear.
2. Repair and replacement cost.
3. New software cost.
4. Interesting new hardware like portable music players, digicams and phones that hook up to your computer.
5. Internet fees.
6. Subscrition fees for paid sites like encyclopedias.
7. Unknown costs.
B. Do you understand the time needed to get your gear going and keep it working?
C. Do you understand the frustrations involved to keep your gear in order?
1. Time spent hooking up the gear.
2. Time spent on the phone with technical help.
3. Frustrations involved with daily maintenance like updates.
4. Time spent learning to understand the computer and Internet.
5. Time spent actually finding what you want online.
As close as I can get for the entire 12 years of having computers and 9 years of being online with low end gear, it has cost me about $63.00 a month. Think about that.
Today, you will likely spend more. Original purchase price, upkeep, new hardware and software, fees, online access and broadband could easily be more than $100 a month. Also think about the fact that you can get unlimited long distance calling for $63.00 or less a month.
Anyway. That is all about the money. If this is within your budget, no problem.
My suggestion on buying a computer is get Dell. It always ranks on or near top for service, equipment and accessories. I have had 4 different brands, Dell is the best for my money.
Go to their site http://www.dell.com/ , surf around, understand the benefits of notebook computers vs. desktop, choose one of these, choose a model, buy it, set it up and use it. That is all and set up can be surprisingly easy, don't be fooled. Kids do NOT know more about computers than adults do. Kids may have more experience with them, may not worry about hurting their gear but adults can gain experience too. Do not be intimidated. You are much more capable than you think or soon will be with patience.
If you can afford it, get online with broadband: cable, DSL, wi fi and satellite are options in different places. Dial-up is cheaper of course but the cost in money is nothing compared to the frustrations of slow connections. Just emailing? Dial-up is fine. For all the rest like information gathering, videos, surfing, gaming, collecting interesting links, all of the rest of the Internet, get broadband. I will also recommend that if you depend on the Internet for business, extended time usages like entertainment and finding friends, that you also have a dial-up account for when broadband is out. This WILL happen.
Cheap dial-up accounts can be $10.00 a month and are often a good place to have your main email address. [ OK, this part is not necessary but should you take this advice, use http://www.netzero.net/ and put in my user name snorfle as the person who recommended you, I will get a bit of ca$h and you will have the ISP I have used for 5+ years. ] Later you can tell folks about the service and you get the $30.
At any rate, regardless of your choice of dial-up accounts, I heartily recommend having one. You can input this query at http://www.google.com/ to find other choices, " low cost internet access " You can click the sponsored link for Netzero on the right and both google and Robin can benefit. : ^)
Here are some tips:
NEVER set your computer up without first using a very good surge protector or preferrably a battery UPS, uninterruptable power source. NEVER.
NEVER use the Internet without a good virus scanner that is kept updated automatically.
NEVER use the Internet without a firewall that is updated automatically.
Get several spyware removal programs, update them regularly and use them at least weekly.
Do your computer chores regularly. This includes updating your programs; running defrag weekly and running scan disc / chk disc at least monthly to check for errors on your hard drive.
"Remember to do your work." This is a quote from an earlier book, Zen and the Art of the Internet. We can become so entranced by the computer and online world that everything else is forgotten. Real life can take a back seat. "Remember to do your work."
When you get online find a good user name, a nickname / nick. Remember it, see the next tip for the whys. Find a way to generate passwords that you will ALWAYS remember and that is "strong enough" so it cannot be hacked easily. Your birthday, names of friends and family etc. do not work here.
If you want to find most anything online, learn how to use http://www.google.com/ . This search engine is vast and powerful. Simply input what you want and sift the results. For instance, type, without the quotes, " how do I defrag my computer " and you are led to articles / tutorials that tell what you want. Another query, " tell me what surge protection is, " will do just that. In other words, everything I mention here is something you can find out by using a search engine. Use the power of the Internet to explain computers, the Internet itself and most any bit of information if you dig deeply enough.
Do not think searching for the meaning of life or how do I get rich and retire early are questions the Internet can deal with. Information, email, entertainment, business, education ARE online, the meaning of life is not.
My # 1 tip may seem odd to newcomers. Get a spiral notebook or the like, record all email addresses you need, record all your user names and passwords, everything you are sure you will miss if you don't. I guarantee you will thank me some time for this.
The next part is short, some benefits and pitfalls of being online.
II. What can a computer and Internet access do for you?
A. The Computer. It can help you:
1. Crunch numbers.
2. Play games.
3. Give you lots of information.
a. Dictionaries.
b. Encyclopedias
c. Learning new skills like math, history, language lessons etc.
3. Build and run a business.
4. Help you type better using powerful word processing programs and output this to a printer.
5. Use other very powerful programs like CAD, spreadsheets and more.
6. Learn to program computers.
B. The Internet can help you:
1. Play interactive games with people all over the world.
2. Find even more information than just a computer alone.
3. Communicate with people all over the world with VoIP, video chat and other programs.
4. Help you find friends with similar interests.
5. Let you publish your own interests and share them, as in a blog / a weblog, an online journal.
6. Let you give your opinion to companies, other people in a new and unique way.
And the list goes on and on. Give it a chance, find things to do and use the computer and Internet. Do not let them use you. Be safe online. Keep yourself from many of the pitfalls like losing your money to an identity thief. Do not become unduly enchanted by people you meet. Keep a clear head when / if you use chat rooms and personals online. Don't leave your computer open to attack from hackers.
Its all new for many people. It can be wonderful fun. Exciting new learning can happen. Take your time, "do your work," remember to eat etc. and you should do just fine.
I wrote another version of this. Feel free to email me for a copy. Internet & Computer Quickstart Guide 1.
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