NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, September 2005
27 Useful Bookmarks
by Richard O. Johnson
The
Web is a marvelous resource, and most of us come nowhere near tapping its full
potential. I've attempted here to list 27 websites that without any necessary
downloading provide exceedingly useful free non-specialized services and tools,
that require no particular knowledge except how to navigate the World Wide Web.
1.
2. Memo to Me www.memotome.com
Using these two email
reminder services you'll never forget another upcoming activity or event.
3. Way Back Machine www.archive.org/web/web.php
Is a website you're seeking no longer around? If it was active as late
as 1996, you'll probably find it easily in this huge archive.
4. Centerwatch Clinical Trials www.centerwatch.com
Gives information on more than 41,000 active clinical trials
in which you could participate. (Some compensate you handsomely for helping,
along with free medical monitoring.) Includes a notification
service, for trials in areas of your interest. Also describes the newest
drug therapies.
5. Objectgraph Dictionary www.objectgraph.com/dictionary
A combination standard dictionary, technical dictionary, and
thesaurus. (There's also a dictionary of chemical elements, of rather limited
interest). A unique feature is the site's ability to "read your mind"
if you're not sure of the word you're thinking of--or its spelling--or if you
just want to save typing.
6. Myway email www.myway.com 9.
Furl www.furl.net
An excellent Web-based
email provider with an exceptionally clean interface (no banner ads or
pop-ups). Unlike the case with competitors like Yahoo mail, Myway
will respond
to support inquiries. (It also has a terrific weather page--see link #7
following.)
7. Myway weather weather.myway.com
The best weather page on
the Web. Even though its weather information is from weather.com, you'll see
when you use it that the interface is much cleaner (and loading therefore
faster) than if you were to bring up either weather.com or one of its
competitors. You can personalize the weather according to your home town or zip
code; the page you'll want to bookmark is that personalized page
8. Yesterday's weather http://snipurl.com/oldweather
If you're like me, you
often want to know how today's projected weather compares with yesterday's
actual weather. If you have today's forecast, you'll be able to make that
comparison with the information at this site.
Bookmarking
10.
Ta-da Lists www.tadalist.com
Here
you can set up as many easily editable to-do lists as you like. Enjoy an
admirably clean interface and some handy features, like optional notes
pertaining to each list as a whole, self-created clickable links, and the
ability to easily email yourself any list.
11. Password Generator http://mistupid.com/computers/passwordgen.htm
Random characters compose the safest passwords. This tool will create
a password with random characters according to your specifications. On your
instructions, will even avoid ambiguous characters [o and 0, 1 and I].
12. Zap2it www.zap2it.com
With Zap2it you can check out both TV and movie schedules. Various
options let you permanently personalize each set of listings, to give you just
the information you need, in the format you prefer.
13. Acronym Finder www.acronymfinder.com
Don't be baffled by
acronyms and abbreviations you encounter on the Web and elsewhere. This site
offers definitions for about 2½ million such
terms. Optional downloading of any of a number of search tools (for various
browsers) will allow you to view a definition almost instantly.
14. Translation Wizard www.faganfinder.com/translate
The Translation Wizard uses other sites' services to ease the process
of finding a translation--that otherwise might require visiting ten or more
sites to find the language of interest! It also has a neat button to identify a
mystery language.
15. TrackEngine www.trackengine.com
16. ChangeNotes www.changenotes.com
These free services notify
you via email of changes in webpages you select.
Choose the Web address of a local theater, to see what plays are coming up. Or
see every new installment of a favorite newspaper column, without having to buy
the paper. TrackEngine offers many more options, but
limits you to five pages per email address, as compared to 100 allowed with ChangeNotes.
17. GovBenefits.gov http://govbenefits.gov
A source of information on over 400 government-funded programs that
extend benefits for which you
may qualify, including compensated volunteering. Features a
confidential questionnaire designed to point you to the most likely matches.
18. Books Price www.booksprice.com
Use this site to find the very best price for books you want to buy.
Unlike other comparison sites, it figures in shipping costs for your location,
and will calculate those costs for multiple-item purchases.
19. Craigslist www.craigslist.org
This
nonprofit website serves as a free community bulletin board. Users post their
needs and interests in various categories, like jobs, for sale, services,
housing, personal, etc. (Navigate to the site for your community.)A great
resource!
20. Health on the Net Foundation www.hon.ch
Certifies at no charge health-oriented sites that meet its standards
for useful, ethical, and reliable information. Helps you find such sites
related to issues of your choice, and offers a tiny toolbar to tell you whether
a site on your screen is certified
21. Metacritic www.metacritic.com/film
22.
Kids-in-mind www.kids-in-mind.com
Metacritic is an excellent source for
movie critiques. For each film, it arranges its large variety of reviews from
most to least favorable, and then tabulates the opinions, for an overall "metascore." (Additional Metacritic
pages cover videos, music, and games.) For evaluating movies for children, or
if you have a concern about violence, sex, or profanity, Kids-in-mind will
rate and describe each film's content in those three areas.
23. CardRatings
http://cardratings.com
This site maintains information on over 700 credit cards, and will
suggest the best cards in a variety of categories--low or no credit, no annual
fee, low interest, rewards/rebates, etc.
24. CheckFree www.checkfree.com
There are a host of good
reasons for paying your bills online. It saves time, saves the cost of stamps,
reduces the chance of late payment, extends the time in which you can use your
money, cuts down clutter, eliminates the danger of checks lost in the mail, and
facilitates tracking. With CheckFree you'll be able
to pay many or most of your bills online, and the service is free to the
payers.
25. Bug Me Not
www.bugmenot.com
This site and the one following save you time and trouble while
helping you cut down on spam. Bug Me Not keeps on hand log-in data (passwords
with user names) for a huge number of sites that require registration. If you
want access to such a site (like nytimes.com), but don't want to register, just
visit the Bug Me Not site and log in easily.
26. Spam Bob http://evil-wire.luvfeed.org/cache/1269
Spam Bob offers a choice of three email addresses that you create, to
protect your privacy. Anything@spambob.org
is a phantom address, messages to which disappear into the ether. Use anything@spambob.com if
you'll want to check on a reply message. (This is handy for registrations that
require confirmation.) And you may want to use anything@spambob.net for all your correspondents.
Mail from each such "net" address can be forwarded to you, and if it
starts generating spam, just cancel the forwarding order!
27. Google
Maps http://maps.google.com
Head and shoulders above the competition, these maps are much larger
and far easier to configure. (They can quickly be zoomed and re-centered, and
even dragged.) You can locate by category businesses in the map area, along
with their phone numbers and other useful information about them.
Richard
Johnson is a writer and editor, and founder/administrator of FREE FOR ALL The
Skills Pool, a 29-year-old membership organization (http://theskillspool.org). He
is a volunteer with TUGNET HelpContact for assistance
with Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and Gmail.
You may reach him at rj@theskillspool.org.
There is no restriction against any non-profit group using this
article as long as it is kept in context with proper credit given the author.
The Editorial Committee of the Association of Personal Computer User Groups
(APCUG), an international organization of which this group is a member, brings
this article to you.