New Sites and Software

New Software
Firefox Browser 3.0.4 Alert! Anyone using FireFox 3.0 should upgrade to version 3.0.4 immediately! Version 3.0 contains a serious security hole. New features: Malware Protection: malware protection warns users when they arrive at sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, trojans or other malware. Easier password management: an information bar replaces the old password dialog so you can now save passwords after a successful login. Full page zoom: from the View menu and via keyboard shortcuts, the new zooming feature lets you zoom in and out of entire pages Save what you were doing: Firefox will prompt users to save tabs on exit. Speed: Compared to Firefox 2, web applications like Google Mail run twice as fast in Firefox 3 and much more...
AVG Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware Free Edition Version 8 "Get your free copy of the AVG Anti-Virus/Anti-Spyware System - AVG Free Edition and you will be able to use it without any limitations for life of the product. You can download free updates to get the latest program virus/spyware databases." Free and highly recommended.
Glary Utilities "Offers numerous powerful and easy-to-use system tools and utilities to fix, speed up, maintain and protect your PC. It allows you to clean common system junk files, as well as invalid registry entries and Internet traces. You can manage and delete browser add-ons, analyze disk space usage and find duplicate files. You can also view and manage installed shell extensions, encrypt your files from unauthorized access and use, split large files into smaller manageable files and then rejoin them. Furthermore, Glary Utilities includes the options to optimize memory, find, fix, or remove broken Windows shortcuts, manage the programs that start at Windows startup and uninstall software. Other features include secure file deletion, an Empty Folder finder and more." Free and highly recommended.
VideoLAN "A free cross-platform media player, supports a large number of multimedia formats, without the need for additional codecs. It can also be used as a streaming server, with extended features (video on demand, on the fly transcoding, ...)" Highly recommended - much simpler and easier to use than Windows Media Player - with a much smaller system resource footprint.
Picasa from Google Yet another breakthrough web-software application from Google. You download a small program that allows you to organize and manipulate (simply, powerfully) your images and then publish them ALL AT ONCE to a web albumn for others. Terrific idea! Highly recommended. Latest development: "Picasa Web Albums, Google's free and therefore widely-popular photo-sharing tool, added facial recognition technology to online photo albums Tuesday, Sept. 2."
Chrome from Google Google's very own browser - now in beta. Seems stable and a lot of features to like, including improved handling of Javascript-heavy sites, like Gmail and Google Docs. As it is still in beta expect to experience some bugs.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 Interested in seeing what cutting (bleeding?) edge new fangled browser features MS is offering next? If you try this, as always, expect plentiful bugs in betas. Here is a review that suggests: "This is an important browser, and one that all businesses, technical enthusiasts, and other power users should begin evaluating immediately. But it's not something that's ready for the average consumer. Not yet."
Spyware Terminator Fast spyware scanning 100%, real-time protection, HIPS protection, Antivirus protection. All in one free package! Does excellent analysis of running and installed programs to show you potential threats. Highly recommended.
Unlocker Allows you to "unlock" and delete files or folders that Windows will not allow you to delete because they are "in use." Very handy. Free and highly recommended.
PortableApps.com "Now you can carry [on your flash drive many useful] computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind." Includes portable Firefox and Thunderbird, Open Office, and much more. Free and highly recommended.
OpenOffice 2.4 "OpenOffice.org is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute." Available for Windows and Linux. Here is an article with an overview of OO 2.3 features. Now includes a database (named BASE) that stores its data in XML (reads and writes Access, DBase, and MySQL files). Here is a tutorial blog devoted to OO.
jZip "Create, extract and manipulate Zip, RAR, TAR, GZip, 7-Zip and other file archives, absolutely FREE for everybody, home and enterprise users, easy to use and fast archiving software."
Safari New Apple (Mac) web browser.
CamStudio "CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)." Free!
SpamPal Open-source spam blocker.
Mailwasher Free version of a commercial anti-spam program.
IsoBuster "Rescue lost files from a bad or trashed CD or DVD!"
Google Earth "Quickly zoom from space down to street level and combine imagery, 3D geography, maps, and business data to get the total picture in seconds." Free version available for download.
Juice Receiver "Want to listen to internet audio programs but can't when they are scheduled? This program lets you create your own custom online audio anytime, anywhere. Really."
Jpegdump "Makes an binary image copy of a memory card and extracts all included jpeg files, even if the files have been deleted (but not overwritten). "
DeskPins "DeskPins can be used to make any application topmost, that is, to keep it above all other windows. Just grab a pin from the DeskPins icon in the system notification area (a.k.a. taskbar tray) and click on any window. This functionality is identical to the "Always on Top" setting found in some programs. With DeskPins you can add this feature to any program!" Marvelously useful, free tool - keep the system calendar, calculator, anything, visible while you edit/create documents.

New Sites/Articles
Jim's Top 10 Tips for Optimizing XP From "Cleaning your registry" to "Shutting down unused services" and more - some easy tricks to wring more performance out of XP. Most of these apply to Vista as well.
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows Evaluates "important upcoming technologies, including Microsoft Windows, Windows Server, Office, and Xbox 360, plus related digital media, Internet and home networking, and more, from Microsoft and its competitors. This Web site provides continuous updates about these future products and technologies, while offering reviews, technology showcases, FAQs."
Ted.com "Inspired talks by the world's greatest thinkers and doers" - great stuff!
Local Gas Prices Enter your zip code in the site below, and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening.
Brainbox Nifty brain stretching games from the BBC TV series. If you want a workout to thwart the onset of early senility this will do it. In order to play the games you must have Javascript enabled in your web browserand have at least Flash version 8 on your machine.
FreeRice An Internet word game has generated enough rice to feed 50,000 people for one day. The game, FreeRice, tests the vocabulary of participants. For each click on a correct answer, the website donates money to buy 10 grains of rice. Companies advertising on the website provide the money to the WFP to buy and distribute the rice. FreeRice went online in early October and has now raised 1bn grains of rice.
Balderdash & Piffle Website to accompany the BBC word hunt program "Balderdash & Piffle" - "the Oxford English Dictionary asked for public assistance to help them trace the history of 40 well-known words and phrases. From 'identity theft' to 'pole dance', Balderdash & Piffle's wordhunters stopped at nothing to do their bit for the English language."
LibriVox LibriVox provides free audiobooks from the public domain.
Dell Coupons/Dell Deals Dell Coupons and Dell Coupon Codes page at Cheapstingybargains.com - good source for finding the best current Dell computer deals.
Codex "A code cracking history challenge set inside the British Museum. Here you can visit the picture galleries to view the museum artefacts, play the ancient history multi-quiz, or watch video clips from the show."
ClarkHoward.com "Save more, spend less and avoid ripoffs." Consumer information and advise. Very useful.
The World's Water "A site dedicated to providing up-to-date water information and data"
Interactive Weather Map Weather.com's real-time street-level weather maps. Cool and useful! Still in beta testing, so is sometimes unavailable.
Washington Post Puzzles Crosswords, sudoku - includes printable (archived) puzzles
USAToday Many puzzles, including crosswords, sudoku
Casual Printable Crossword Seven American-style crosswords are available each day (rotated at midnight eastern time). Solutions available the next day.
Newsday Crosswords Many daily crosswords, with easy to use interface, that can be saved or printed.
Retirement Planning Websites From the NC Treasurer's website
Internet Speed Test Test you connection speed. Requires Flash.
PhilosophyTalk.org "A weekly, one-hour radio series. The hosts' down-to-earth and no-nonsense approach brings the richness of philosophic thought to everyday subjects."
Snipshot "This website allows you to upload images from your computer and edit them. Or you can enter the Web address of any photo stored online and get a copy with which to work. Snipshot uses nondestructive editing - the original image that is taken from your computer or the Web remains untouched. The site also keeps a copy of the uploaded image for 24 hours before discarding it."
Princeton University: WebMedia - Lectures Many streaming videos of lectures by eminent intellectuals in many fields. Great stuff!
Google Docs & Spreadsheets With Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you can: Use our online editor to format documents, spell-check and more. Upload Word documents, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML or text. Download documents to your desktop as Word, PDF and more. View your documents' revision history and roll back to any version. Plus, since its online, you can: Invite others to share your documents by e-mail address. Edit documents online with whomever you choose. Publish documents online to the world, or to just who you choose.
DSLreports Speedtest Test the speed of your Internet connection.
Roger McGuinn Incredibly beautiful folk music on 12-string in RealAudio/MP3 - former leader of the Byrds of "Mr. Tamborine Man" and "Turn, Turn, Turn" fame. Here is a video of Roger singing/playing "Turn, Turn, Turn."
BBC Radio 4 Great audio content - streaming audio programs - Arts and Drama, Comedy, Religion/Ethics, History
The Connection.org "The Connection with Dick Gordon website" - interesting interviews/call-in programs on many topics
Classical KING-FM "Broadcasting classical music LIVE from Seattle Washington on the radio and on the NET! The widest variety of live and recorded classical performances. Excellent for at work or homework!"
WCPE.org WCPE (Classical) streams audio over the Internet 24 hours a day in MP3, Ogg Vorbis, Real Audio, Windows Media & QuickTime!
Turning the Pages "Leaf through 15 great books and magnifiy the detail - uses the Shockwave plug-in, which can be downloaded from the Macromedia website, to simulate the action of turning the pages of a real book." Fantastic!
The Harvard Classics/The Five-Foot Shelf of Fiction "The Harvard Classics provided the general reader with a great storehouse of standard works in all the main departments of intellectual activity. The Five-Foot Shelf, with its introductions, notes, guides to reading, and exhaustive indexes, may thus claim to constitute with these Lectures a reading course unparalleled in comprehensiveness and authority."
Help2Go "A community committed to offering free computer technical support, help, and tutorials, in a way that everyone can understand."
Google Print "Search the full text of books (and discover new ones)."
Odeo "Explore the world of podcasting: play, download, and create MP3s about interesting things."
ZDNET podcasts Computer technology podcasts
yahoo's podcasts Search yahoo's comprehensive catalog to find the best podcasts on the Web.
WiFi Hotspot Locator "Wondering where to find the nearest publicly available WiFi Internet access? TechNewsWorld's Free WiFi Hotspot Locator is a global directory of nearly 70,000 locations in 26 countries."
Global Tectonics Fascinating animations illustrating geological processes.
ChangeDetection " Every day ChangeDetection will check to see if the web page you are monitoring has been changed. If so, you will receive an e-mail to let you know."
Google Guide Extensive and interesting tutorial on how to best use Google.
Windows Password Recovery "How can I gain access to a Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 computer if I forgot the administrator's password? How can I reset the administrator's password if I forgot it?" Another method here.
What to do when a Word document won't open "Try these tips to help make the recovery."
North Carolina Department of Justice ID Theft Site Contains good info for anyone who has been a victim of ID fraud, or wishes to protect themselves from such. "Approximately 286,000 North Carolinians have their identity stolen each year. A typical victim spends on average $800 and 175 hours over 23 months to clean up his or her credit and erase $18,000 in fraudulent charges."
MIT's OpenCourseWare "A free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and self-learners around the world." Incredible content!
HOW THINGS WORK Encourages everyone to learn about the physics and science of the world around them.
Photoxels "Provides news about the best digital cameras in concise fact sheets. Our digital camera reviews are hands-on and free of technical jargon. Photoxels also includes a buyer's guide, a history of cameras, a tutorial and a glossary."
Myproductadvisor.com Interesting concept - you interactively make choices that result in recommendations customized for you - helps when shopping for items where there a lot of choices, like digital cameras, PDAs, smartphones, notebook computers, and autos - which incidently this site is currently built to handle. This is a concept that needs to catch on.
GetNetWise Public service site with tips and tutorials (some video) on Internet safefy, privacy, spyware, spam, viruses.
Understanding DVD Physical Compatibility Web site of the Optical Storage Technology Association. If you are thinking of buying a DVD recorder to transfer VHS tapes or record TV programs, you need to know some facts about the different DVD formats.
Bandwidth Meter speed test "The CNET Bandwidth Meter speed test will check the bandwidth of your Internet connection against top DSL, cable modem, and other broadband services."
UCTV.TV Some great educatiional Real video-on demand content, available in both live and in archives.
A Brief History Of The End Of Everything "A series exploring how our ideas about the end of the universe have been shaped by religion, belief, and the contemporary state of scientific thinking and observation." A series of streaming audio programs on contemporary cosmology.
BBC - Languages "Learn Spanish, German, French and Italian and other languages with the BBC Languages site. From holiday phrases to a complete course."
Fun-with-words.com "Over 500 pages of word puzzles, games, amazing lists, and fun facts."
USA Today Financial Calulators Free online calculators for home mortgages, retirement, credit cards, autos, and many more.
Nationmaster.com A data source and comparison tool for national statistics...you can generate maps and graphs with ease.
Knowledgerush.com An online book directory: 9500+ free books from 1500+ authors
WWW unit converter Online conversion of area, density, energy, force, length, mass, power, pressure, speed, temperature, volume and bytes.
Word for the Wise "A popular radio program broadcast on public radio stations ... offers a daily glimpse into the world of words and language. You can read transcripts of past shows and listen to audio recordings of the program."
Urban Legends and Folklore (and Hoaxes) Help combat urban legends & hoaxes! How many email and virus hoax messages do you receive per month? Too many, no doubt. Help stamp out the curse of email time wasters and hysterical virus warnings. This site has a comprehensive list of Internet and virus hoaxes. Read in-depth articles about the sources and evolution of urban legends. Also see The Urban Legend Combat Kit for a free collection of canned responses to help you combat Internet myths and urban legends - like the Free M&Ms hoax.
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity "The world's first home theater audio/video magazine to be published only in electronic format on the Internet, available since 1994"
Tying Ties How to tie Windsor, half-Windsor, Four-finger. Mirror-image drawings. Indispensable.
Fathom.com "This archive, provided by Columbia University, offers access to the complete range of free content developed for Fathom by its member institutions. Columbia encourages you to browse this archive of online learning resources, including lectures, articles, interviews, exhibits and free seminars."
5 Star Support "A free technical support site with thousands of Tips, Tricks, Tutorials and problem solving technical information."
Interest.com "Comparison shop for the lowest mortgage rates on the Internet with Interest.com! Consumers can also learn everything they need to know about financing a home." Also has a large collection of Javascript and Java mortgage and financial calculators.
The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Beautifully rendered tour of the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc
CD-Recordable FAQ "A Usenet newsgroup FAQ, updated and posted around the middle of each month. The main foci are explaining CD-R technology, describing hardware and software solutions for creating audio CDs and CD-ROMs, and helping people find solutions to common problems."
EHow "Learn how to do anything and get what you need to do it"
HowStuffWorks Have you ever wondered how the engine in your cell phone works or what makes your refrigerator cold?

What's New at Internet Resources

Updated: Sunday, November 16, 2008