Time to rethink your start page?

For many years I've used Yahoo as my home page - the page that loads automatically when I open a new browser window. At the time I set it up, it was one of the few services that enabled me to customize the content of my start page. I could choose the color and the layout in which to display various news links, movie times, weather, reference links and bookmarks.

But I'm now looking at other options. There are newer services that offer even more customization, making your start page a convenient portal to the web as you want it. Here are some services to try:

Netvibes: Select from among thousands of modules and RSS feeds. It's a snap to set up - just drag and drop widgets onto you private netvibes page. Netvibes is also a great RSS reader - you can subscribe to blogs and other content from various websites, and read it all from within your netvibes page.

Webwag: In addition to a large selection of content widgets, there is a "Widget On Demand" tool that lets you capture content from any website. Whenever the content of that website changes, you'll see the change within the customized widget on your webwag page.

iGoogle: If you like to use a lot of Google services, this is the most convenient place to access them all on one page. You can also create widgets with your own content - e.g., photo frames, countdown to an event, your own Top 10 list and more.

Don't feel like taking the time to customize a start page, but still want up-to-date content and variety? Start using one of the above with the content they already provide. You can change it at any time. Or try one of the "pre-fab" start pages at:

• Yahoo
• AOL (You don't have to be a subscriber)
• FunkyHomePage No need to register - just give your country and region to include news and other geography-specific content.

Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Factory tours - on the road and online

Looking for some low-cost educational entertainment? Try a factory tour. Many manufacturers offer free tours as part of their public relations programs.

These are fun diversions for either day trips close to home, or on extended vacations. I live within an hour's drive of Hershey Foods, the Crayola factory,the Harley Davidson plant, and many others.

To see what factories are near you (or on your vacation itinerary) here are some websites that list tours:
Factory Tours USA Search by region or by category

Rick Steves' article on factory tours in Europe

For specific destinations use the Ask search engine - it offers helpful refinements to your search. For example, your search could look something like this:

Toronto factory tour

UK factory tour


If you can't visit factories in person, there are tons of "virtual" factory tours online - both slide shows and streaming videos. Here's a list. Watch a video of how duct tape is made at 3M Corporation; see how toothpaste is made at Tom's of Maine; go behind the scenes where Silly Putty is created.


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Online videos for your mind and soul

When it comes to online videos, most people think of You Tube. I do enjoy some of their clever and entertaining clips, but if I want something more serious and educational, YouTube is not the best option.

Recently the Wall St. Journal published an article on "highbrow" videos - documentaries, speeches, panel discussions and other scholarly content. For example, many shows from the Frontline and Nova science series are available online, as are lectures from the Brookings Intstitution, arts, current events and academic research.

If you can't access the WSJ article from the link above (many newspapers archive content to a paid service after a couple of weeks) here are the websites mentioned:

ForaTV - Contains lectures, panel discussions and more, on a variety of topics. Includes forums for vewier comments.

The Research Channel - A consortium of major universities with over 3,000 video presentations of academic research and technical topics.

University Channel - Another group of university lectures, coordinated by Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Offers downloadable audio as well as video.

Research-TV - Most videos are from UK-based universities.

Traditional Fine Arts Organization - Emphasis on American representational art and artists

TED.com - One of my favorite sources for mind-stimulating presentations

Energy Policy TV - Videos on all aspects of fuel and "green" energy consumption


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com

Search Engine for product reviews and rankings

Are you the type of person who does a lot of research before buying certain items? Do you try to read as many reviews as you can, check ratings charts and compare prices? I bet that takes a lot of time.

Now you no longer have to surf from one website to another to gather the information you need. Wize.com does it for you. It's a search engine for product reviews, buying guides and rankings, delivering the aggregated results all in one place.

According to the wize.com website, it "searches more than 7,151 websites, ranks almost 30,419 products and features more than a million user and expert reviews."


. . . Now that you've got a great research source, let's talk about that need to make sure you get the absolute best possible combination of features and price. Studies have shown that people who do a lot of research before buying, are apt to feel LESS satisfied with their purchases than those who settle for good enough!

Psychologist Barry Schwartz calls such people "maximizers" and attributes their dissatisfaction to having too many choices. See his article, "The Tyranny of Choice."

Take an online quiz to help determine if you are a maximiser.

Pauline
TeachMeInternet.com

3 options for sending large files

If you need to send someone a large file (movies, music, etc.) you probably won't be able to attach it to an email message through your regular email program such as Outlook Express or Mac Mail.app. These usually have limits on the size of file attachments. But there are other options:


1. Use an online file transfer service such as yousendit.com. Simply upload the file to yousendit, and type in your recipient's name. The recipient will get an email from yousendit with a link to download the file.


2. Get your own online storage. At MyOtherDrive.com you can get up to 5 gigs of storage free. And unlike yousendit.com, you can upload multiple files at the same time.


3. Use a web email address. When you log into your email account on the web, you bypass the limits set by your regular email program. Get a free web email address at one of the following:

GMail: Send attachments up to 20 megabytes

Mail2WebLive: Send attachments up to 100 megabytes

Lycos mail: UNLIMITED attachment size!


NOTE: Keep in mind that when you email a huge file to someone, they have to download it at their end. If they have a slow email connection, it will clog the downloading of their other messages.

Therefore, to be courteous, ask your recipients how they prefer to receive the large file - via email or via download from a service such as yousendit.com or myotherdrive.com

Pauline
TeachMeInternet.com

Customized medical news by email

Are you interested in a specific medical condition or treatment? Keep up with the latest developments on your medical topic of interest by setting up news alerts.

At google.com and yahoo.com you can register to get an email whenever a story with your keyword appears in the news. But you'll probably get a lot of irrelevant or duplicate results.

Here's a better way: To get medical news by email, sign up at one or more medical websites. It's almost like having your own personal news clipping service. Here are some options:


Healthline: This specialized search engine will send you results only from pre-screened reputable sources. You can also choose your own keywords (rather than selecting from a list of medical conditions.)


Medical News Today: This U.K.-based service produces original articles from current medical news. The articles are more in-depth than those from mainstream news. Choose from among 101 topics.


Health Central: Topic-specific newsletters include tips and news.


If you are in the people-helping business and want to leverage your expertise, click here to get the recording of my recent teleseminar with marketing expert, Mark Hendricks. You'll also get a bonus of 6 audio files (9 hours) of Mark's mastermind coaching sessions.


Pauline
http://teachmeinternet.com

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If you have a tip that you'd like me to post, please email me:
drwallin at drwallin.com

Who shares your birthday?

Happy Birthday to me today. I was born on the same month and day as Angelina Jolie and Dr. Ruth. (The year was somewhere in between them.)

Want to find out who shares your birthday? Click here.

For a comprehensive list of links to all sorts of events and calculators associated with your date of birth, try this website:



BONUS TRIVIA QUESTION:

In a room with 30 people, what are the odds that any two of them will have the same birthday (day and month, not year)?

Answer: 70%

. . . And with 50 people, the odds are 97%

Get the explanation here

If you are in the people-helping business and want to leverage your expertise, click here to get the recording of my recent teleseminar with marketing expert, Mark Hendricks. You'll also get a bonus of 6 audio files (9 hours) of Mark's mastermind coaching sessions.


Pauline
http://teachmeinternet.com