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**Warning: Top Sites and Help page is HUGE (over 300k). Please give it time to fully load.
If you have a Broadband connection (DSL or Cable) it will be almost instantaneous.
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How to fast scroll with your keyboard...
If your scroll keys don't work on a web page, try clicking on the page with your mouse first to make the page "active". You can also click and "drag" the gray scroll button on the far right of your screen up and down to move quickly through the page. (Hold your left mouse button down on the gray scroll button and "drag" it up and/or down.) For ALL known Windows keyboard shortcuts, see Microsoft's keyboard shortcuts table. You can usually use your ïBack button (top left of your browser) to go back to previous links. |
America Under Attack -- Some helpful words...
ØReference: Some of the best and most popular computer and online reference sites on the Internet.
ØInternet Search: Lists the most popular and effective search engines.
ØTutorials, Help, Viruses & More and Tech Support sites: The best of the best free help, tutorials, and tech support sites for new and beginner level computer users. (And lots of good stuff for the more advanced!) If you need to know where to go to get free or low cost help, or you want to learn more about your computer and the Internet, these are the sites to visit. I have compiled the best of these sites in such a way that you as a new or beginning computer user can learn step by step how to become a pro with your computer and the Internet. (There are many other excellent tech sites not listed here that cover more technical aspects of computing and the Internet, but would be beyond the scope of what this website is about right now.)
ØFeatured Sites: Specially selected sites you should know about.
ØJesus and Eternal Life: About Jesus and eternal life, lots of links and comments.
ØEverything Else: Some helpful and fun sites that have been carefully chosen to give you a hint, a tiny glimpse of the kinds of things you can find, use, and do on the Net.
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REFERENCE
& INFO SITES
Main Menu | Top
of Page
What's here?
Some of the best and most popular reference sites on the Internet.
Computer Reference Sites
Smart Computing (in Plain English): A must visit for all computer users.
Price Watch: Compare street prices from many online computer/electronics stores. Displays the most current prices on everything relating to computers, peripherals and electronics. Prices are submitted to Price Watch by retailers.
Shopping.com: Probably the most popular product price comparison and review site. Prices are submitted to Shopping.com by retailers.
CNet Shopper.com Price Scanner: Another site for checking the latest street prices. Prices are submitted to Shopper.com by retailers.
Blue Book for Everything: The current "fair market values for the most popular products based on actual transactions from online auctions and prices from online retailers. Strong Numbers sorts the raw data into specific related categories based on how consumers actually search for products." (But never depend on one source for current prices. Just searching Google can turn up prices that don't show up in these services.)
ZDNet: One of the popular computer resources on the Internet. (Used to be the one of the biggest and best, but they have downsized.)
ZDNet Reviews: Lots of product reviews by ZDNet. See also ZDNet's Editor's Top Products. A good place to start, but always look at several sources for reviews when researching a product or solution you are considering.
PC Magazine Online: One of the popular computer magazines in the industry. (But watch for a little too much favoritism to their advertisers.)
Webopedia:ïNew window Definitions for every computer term ever invented (almost)! A bit technical sometimes, but clicking on the underlined "hypertext" links can help. ("Hypertext" links are what tie the whole World Wide Web together. Look up hypertext by clicking on it.) Know what "MODEM" stands for? Here's DSL and broadband. What is a "computer" anyway? Do you know what "software" is? What is a program? How about CPU, BIOS, CMOS, USB, CD-ROM, CD-RW, and DVD? What does "boot" your computer mean? (No, it doesn't mean kick it.) What do "Internet" and "World Wide Web" mean? Where did "bugs"come from (the ones computers get, that is)? What's the difference between megabytes and gigabytes? Microsoft Windows is a GUI ("gooey") based operating system. What is that? If you have an older version of Windows (9x thru ME), it actually runs on top of another much older, basic operating system originally developed for the first IBM PC in 1981 called DOS. I'm sure you know that PC stands for "personal computer", but how did it all begin? And finally, what's a FAQ? (Here's a sample comparison of DSL speeds from BellSouth.)
Webopedia Did You Know? ESD (Static Electricity) and Computers: A good brief in lay terms on what you should know about Electrostatic Discharge (static electricity) and computers.
What is...: More definitions for every conceivable "computereez" term, very thorough.
Online Reference Sites
Internet Public Library: One of the best collections of quality online references and resources in every conceivable category. Reference websites, online encyclopedias and reference works, exhibits, magazines and newspapers, etc. etc.
Internet Public Library Reference Resources: Dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, biographies, experts & how to, genealogy, geography, news resources, periodical directories...
Librarians' Index to the Internet: One of the best sources of information and reference. Open the page to see what's here. Under each category, be sure to click on "more" to see the entire category listing!
Librarians' Index to the Internet - Ready Reference and Quick Facts: Dictionaries, encyclopedias, almanacs, biographies, experts & how to, genealogy, geography, news resources, periodical directories...
eLibrary.com: Very comprehensive online library, "premium" articles available with subscription.
Refdesk.com: One of the best places on the Internet for facts, info, and reference resources about anything.
Reference.com: One of the best places on the Internet for reference resources (online almanacs, dictionaries, thesauruses, encyclopedias, literature databases, etc).
OneLook Dictionary: Searches more than 731 online dictionaries for your word or phrase. Dictionaries in seven languages are available. Be sure to note the "hints" given below the search box for truly effective ways to find what you want!
FindArticles.com: "A vast archive of published articles that you can search for free. Constantly updated, it contains articles dating back to 1998 from more than 300 magazines and journals."
Encyclopedia Britannica Online: By far the most thorough of the online encyclopedias, but... They now charge a fee to view articles. (You can buy the entire Encyclopedia Britannica Deluxe edition on CD-ROM for as little as $25 when it's on sale, which I would highly recommend!)
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Online: You now have to pay a fee to view many articles, unless you own the CD version.
Encyclopedia.com: Part of eLibrary.com. Probably provides the most free content of the subscription based encyclopedias. Additional articles available upon subscription.
Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia (English): "Wikipedia is a multilingual project to create a complete and accurate open content encyclopedia." Started in January 2001, there are over 1 million articles in the English version and growing at the rate of about 1,700 articles per day (from ZDNet). This online encyclopedia is constantly improving and becoming very comprehensive. It is the MOST comprehensive of any free online encyclopedia and is actually copied by many other websites on the Net. Anyone can contribute to or create an article. The quality and accuracy can be very poor to excellent. Note that "truth" is NOT in their interest, "The threshold for inclusion in Wikipedia is verifiability, not truth," and that Wikipedia "...does not publish original thought or original research [nor allow it]." (From Wikipedia's Official Policy on Verifiability.) You should check your research in Wikipedia against more established works, such as the latest releases of commercial encyclopedias and reputable news sources who DO have truth in reporting and research as their aim/interest. (And correct Wikipedia's articles when you find anything wrong. J )
Answers.com: Highly categorized, comprehensive "answers" on any reference topic you are searching for. See Why Answers for a good description of what this site is about as compared to other reference sites. (Uses Wikipedia as one of many of it's sources for articles.)
Spartacus Educational Reference: Educational and history reference
Historyplace.com: History reference
World History: History reference. Guess what my favorite subject is? (Next to prophecy and eternal life, that is. You need to look in both directions to know where you're going!)
American Secular Holidays Calendar
: Official American holidays for any year past, present or future.
Online Locators
Online "yellow pages", Maps, Zip Lookup
These people/business finders are white and yellow pages on steroids. Very powerful ways to look up any company or person (if listed), including reverse lookup by phone no, and other options.
AT&T AnyWho: Find addresses, phone nos., businesses, etc. (if listed)
Switchboard: One of the most popular and complete people/business finders on the Net
SmartPages: Another good people/business finder. (If you can't find what or who you're looking for on one site, try the others.)
Maps On Us: Detailed street maps of any address in the US. Includes detailed, customizable to your traveling preferences, turn by turn route planner. Very customizable, and you can save your customizations and preferences.
MapQuest: Detailed street maps of any address in the US and other countries. This one often provides a lot more detail than Maps on Us, and has been more accurate in some cases. Also, includes arial photo view, customizable, turn by turn route planner with various options and features to make it as easy as possible to find your way with their maps.
Google Maps: Similar to the others (each has their strengths and weaknesses), but fancier, slicker, overlay street maps over satellite/photo images, drag the map with your mouse, covers the entire globe. Or just type an address with commas in the Google search bar (eg 4550 nw 18th ave, pompano beach, fl) or a phone no.
US Postal Service Zip+4 Lookup
US Postal Service Postage Calculator
INTERNET SEARCH
Main Menu | Top
of Page
What's here?
The best and most popular search engines. These search engines vary in their comprehensiveness. No one search engine indexes more than 20 to 30% of the total content of the World Wide Web.
You'll get much better satisfaction from searching the Internet if you spend a few minutes learning how to use these tools. Many of the searches done on the Internet bring up tons of results, yet miss most of the best websites or pages containing what the searcher is really looking for.
For example, with most search engines, sometimes using double quotes (") around exact phrases you are looking for, such as <"gettysburg address"> (ignore the pointed brackets < >), gets you the web pages containing that exact phrase, leaving out a lot of junk that has nothing to do with your search. However, for a topic such as <scanner help>, you're better off not using quotes. There's much more you can do to get the best pages containing just what you're looking for, but that's a start. Most search engines have "help" links or "hints" that give you a brief list of tips to make the search work better for you.
Google: Currently the most popular search engine on the Net. Very fast, and usually gives the most results or "hits". Try Google Advanced for advanced options. Will also find addresses with maps if you type in an address. Google Answers even connects you to an expert Google researcher who will do research for you (for a small fee). You pay them if and when you're satisfied.
Google - All services, specialized search and tools: Over 35 useful services, tools and free utilities and growing.
Yahoo: Yahoo is far more than a search engine or index. This is what is known as a "portal" -- an array of many resources and services.
Ask.com: Formerly AskJeeves.com. Easy to use, very thorough, plain English search engine that searches the search engines. Quoting from ZDNet:
"Ask.com [has] a new customizable "toolbox" with shortcuts to 10 default search tools including maps, images, weather, dictionary and local search.
Ask.com also has beefed up its maps and driving directions tools to add walking directions, dragable location pins that automatically recalculate directions, the ability to right-click on a spot on a map to add it to a route, aerial photography that can be combined with regular street views, and the ability to print aerial shots for a fee.
The new tools also include encyclopedia search that displays direct answers from Wikipedia, Houghton Mifflin and others at the top of the results page, and Web-based desktop search for looking for information on the computer's hard drive. The company already offers a standalone desktop search application."
Basically, ask.com is trying to match and even go beyond Google.Alltheweb: Very thorough, and very fast
Dogpile: Searches all the major search engines. Use this if nothing else finds what you're looking for.
FEATURED SITES
Main Menu | Top
of Page
What's here?
Specially selected sites you should know about.
Featured Sites of the Month: Featured sites for this month: CNet's Internet Price Scanner, Price Watch, Buy.com, Best Buy, Mr. Ink Jet, ComUSolv.
Integrity.com: Integrity is a good, family-safe internet provider. They protect you and your family from unsafe and obscene websites and email, spyware, viruses and spam (junk email). They state that their service, "will effectively shield you from over 99% of the most objectionable web material." Its not perfect (nothing is) -- you still need the standard firewall and protection software installed on your computer. Their "email filtering technology will stop over 90% of your email spam and protect you from 99.9% of all email viruses." High speed dial-up (5-7x faster overall than standard dial-up, except email and file downloads) ($22/mo) or DSL ($49/mo). Or add their internet filter software to your existing service ($50/yr for up to 3 PCs). They use Netsweeper for their filtering service.
Pros: Probably about as good and balanced a filtering provider service as you will find at these prices. Good internet and email protection. No special software to install. Phone support, but some long hold times at peak hours (as with any service). Their DSL service includes basic computer support as well.
Cons: DSL service is slow (relatively) and pricey ($49/mo.) at 384kbps (kilobits per second) compared to others. (Christian-Net is $50/mo. for 1500k/256k, $60 for 3000k/384k compared to non-filtered DSL with Bellsouth FastAccess DSL Xtreme at $38 for 3000k/384k.) ALL internet chat rooms/services are blocked. No custom "white list" or "black list" capability. They will take requests to make blocked websites available or to block websites you want blocked, but they make the final decision. You can't turn off the protection service if you want temporary total access to the internet. (Other family-safe providers are more flexible but may cost more.) Can be bypassed by connecting to an alternate internet provider. (Someone would need a credit card or PayPal account or be able to send money to the alternate provider to sign up and connect. However, this would not work if you purchased Integrity's protection software instead of the service.) Support staff does not seem particularly computer-knowlegable, but adequate for basic support.
Finally, If you need more flexibility to modify what's blocked and what isn't, you can obtain or use any standard internet service and add Integrity's software for $50/yr. You can then also disable the protection software with a password if you ever need total internet access, but a real computer-knowledgeable kid can bypass the software if he/she tries hard enough. Plus, you can't control what they're doing at their friends' houses. The bottom line is that you still need to watch your kids and know what they are doing, and ideally, be able to trust them. Those who are technically skilled and determined to get around it can, but this makes it more difficult. This type of service can be a great help to protect everyone, but as everything else, is not perfect.
Previously Featured Sites
Mister InkJet: Discount printer supplies, hi res. & photo quality paper & card stocks, compatible printer cartridges. All inks are custom formulated by Mister InkJet for each printer model to duplicate the formula used by the original manufactures such as HP, Epson and Canon. They provide first-class tech support if you have any problems. Discount prices on ink jet supplies. An Epson Stylus 600 compatible black ink jet cartridge is $8. Retail is $24.95.
Click here to find out more.MyInks.com: Discount inkjet cartridges. Usually has the lowest prices, depending on the quantity ordered. Be alert to the lower quality of ink. Your print quality may not be as good as the real thing.
Free Tutorials, Help, Virus Info, and More
Main Menu | Top of Page
For fast up and down scrolling
1. Use your [Page Up] and [Page Down] keys on your keyboard.
2. Use your [é] [ê] arrow keys for line by line scrolling.
3. Hold them down for fast repeat.***Note on links to Virtualdr.com***: All tutorial services at virtualdr.com have been discontinued. All links to these are no longer valid. I will be removing and/or replacing those links in the future.
What's here?
These free tutorial training, anti-virus, and help sites cover just about everything you need to know to become a real pro with your computer and the Internet, and stay protected from virus attacks. Some are even kinda fun! Most of them are also good reference sites you can come back to any time you need help with something. Bookmark the ones you find useful into your Favorites so you can go back to them easily.
Most of these are free. There are many fee-based online training sites that offer their courses on the Net for a small charge that are better. I have chosen at this point just to list the training sites that don't cost you anything, and many of them are just as good or sometimes better than the fee based ones. Support them every way you can, as they can't go on for ever without some way to pay the bills.
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How to use your computer's search or "Find" feature on this
page
Press <Ctrl>-F
On your keyboard, press <Ctrl>-F (together) or at top left, click "Edit", then "Find". Type a word (or part of a word) in the Find what box, such as "illegal" (for "Illegal operation error") and press your <Enter> key (or click [Find Next]). This searches "down" the page. For "training", use "train" which will find all forms of the word. You can keep pressing <Enter> or clicking [Find Next] in the Find box as many times as you want, until you get a "Finished searching..." or "...not found" message. In the "Direction" box, you can then click "Up", and then [Find Next] to search back up the page. Press your <Esc> key or [Cancel] to close the Find box. You can do this on any website. |
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. More About Training/Tutorials
and Technical Support
How to "bookmark" a website in your Favorites menu
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Getting Started
Back to Tutorials, Help and Viruses Menu
KroyTech - Web Surfing Tutorial: What is a link? How do you (easily) go back to a previous web page? What is a browser? What to do about blank or garbled web pages. Common Internet and computer errors will be covered soon!
Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101: Nicely done basic tutorial taken from lessons which this site owner taught in her computer literacy coarse at a state college in Tennessee.
EzInstructions.com: Basic instructions on Windows, your computer hardware, and some popular programs.
DISCONTINUED -- virtual Dr - The Basics Tutorial
DISCONTINUED -- virtual Dr - Up and Running Tutorial
DISCONTINUED -- virtual Dr - Computer Basics (Main Menu)
Webopedia:ïNew window Definitions for every computer term ever invented (almost)! A bit technical sometimes, but clicking on the underlined "hypertext" links can help. ("Hypertext" links are what tie the whole World Wide Web together. Look up hypertext by clicking on it.) Know what "MODEM" stands for? What is a "computer" anyway? Do you know what "software" is? What is a program? How about CPU, BIOS, CMOS, USB, CD-ROM, CD-RW, and DVD? What does "boot" your computer mean? (No, it doesn't mean kick it.) What do "Internet" and "World Wide Web" mean? Where did "bugs"come from (the ones computers get, that is)? What's the difference between megabytes and gigabytes? Microsoft Windows is a GUI ("gooey") based operating system. What is that? Windows runs on top of another basic operating system called DOS (Windows version 9x thru ME, that is). I'm sure you know that PC stands for "personal computer", but how did it all begin? And finally, what's a FAQ?
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.. What is a program?
Dissecting AOL
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Windows
9X/ME/XP/Vista Tips & Tutorials
Back to Tutorials, Help, and Viruses
Menu
Microsoft.com Insider: Free Interactive Tutorials on Windows XP, Internet Explorer and FrontPage. The best free tutorials on these topics I've seen so far.
Trainingcenter.com: Free sample tutorials from MindLeaders to give you a feel for their paid plans. These MindLeaders tutorials are about the best, most comprehensive, easiest to understand graphic online tutorials I've seen on the Net. These tutorials have lots of realistic, interactive simulation. Check the list of courses to be sure they cover the topics you want, and be sure you are prepared to put the time into it for the next year before you fork over the money! If you can do it, it's well worth it!
Virtual DR Support Forum - Windows XP
TechAdvice - Windows XP Page: Covers some how-to info, known problems, and issues with Windows XP
TechAdvice - Windows ME Page: Covers most how-to info, known problems, and issues with Windows ME
TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED -- MSWebbie Does Windows (95/98): This girl really knows her stuff! Easy to follow "how to" pages and tips on every conceivable thing you can do in, with, and to Windows on your computer. (Windows 95 / 98 only, but most tips also apply to XP).
TEMPORARILY DISCONTINUED -- MSWebbie Does Windows - Windows 9x Keyboard Shortcuts: Comprehensive tables listing all known keyboard shortcuts. Print them out and keep them handy. You can do things a lot faster on your keyboard than with a mouse, especially if you're a typist!
Microsoft Keyboard Shortcuts: Shortcuts for leading Microsoft products.
HelpwithPCs - Windows XP keyboard shortcuts: A few additional shortcuts.
The Elder Geek on Windows XP:
The Elder Geek on Windows Vista:
HelpwithWindows:
HelpwithWindows - All about Windows "system resources": Trying to figure out what all the hoopla is about "resources too low" and why you keep running out of them (Windows 9x)? This help document with additional links explains everything.
File Extensions:
"FILExt is a database of file extensions and the various programs that use them. If you know the file extension you want to learn about simply enter it into the search box on the left and click on the Search button. If it's in any of the FILExt databases the data we have on that file extension will be shown on a results page. If it's not in any of the databases you will be given a link to a page with hints on how to do further research."
