From
Sreenath Sreenivasan
Columbia University journalism professor
WABC-TV's "Tech
Guru" on Thursday mornings in NYC
area [Tech Guru archives at http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/
Now with Real Video archives]
Welcome
to the latest issue of the SreeTips newsletter (it's back
after a hiatus). As always, I look forward to YOUR tips, feedback
and suggestions: sree@sreetips.com.
This
month's tipsters: Akash Alam, Pat Arnow, Mervin Block, Jon Dube,
Sandy Edry, Atilla Kocsis, Rob Romano, Al Tompkins. This newsletter
started as an offshoot of the "Smarter Surfing: Better Use of
Your Web Time" workshops I teach around the U.S. and abroad. If
you are interested in having me do a session for your office,
organization, school or hamlet, please visit http://www.sree.net/web
New-ish
USEFUL SITES & TIPS (sites
I find useful in some way)
SreeTips.com
http://www.sreetips.com
After receiving complaints about the structure of my personal
site, Sree.net (too crowded! too busy! too ugly!) I have set up
a new tips site filled with, well, tips of various kinds. It's
SUPPOSED to be easier to navigate. You be the judge.
Statistics.com
http://www.statistics.com
If you are looking for statistics, this is a great place to start.
It provides links to data about all sorts of topics (business
to education to sports). The site, run by stats maven Peter Bruce,
doesn't provide the data itself, but links out the best places
on the Web for the respective stats. For example, if you wanted
to find the latest salary info for college professors, Statistics.com
will send you to "Faculty Salaries, 2001-2" at the Chronicle
of Higher education <http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/2002/>.
ARCHIVE TIP: Another good site for statistics is the "Finding
Data on the Internet" page provided by journalist Robert
Niles on his site: http://www.robertniles.com/data/
Roboform.com http://www.roboform.com This useful site allows you to manage your passwords (remembering
Web passwords has never been my strong suit). Once you download
the free version of the software, it lives in the background of
your computer and remembers passwords, Web identities and such,
and shows up only when a site prompts you for the information.
Your data is stored on your PC, rather than on the company's servers,
which means it's mostly safe for you to use. I would not use it
for your most important passwords, such as online banking, or
if your PC is shared with others. You can opt out of using Roboform
for particularly sensitive sites. There's a more sophisticated
paid version for non-personal use (for $30), but like the free
version, there's no Macintosh support on that either.
WorldInformation.com http://www.worldinformation.com
The
London-based site offers many useful features, including basic
facts on 200+ countries and territories, along with a visitor's
guide, maps, current news links, and Web resources.
I use it to find basic information about countries I don't know
enough about or to start research about a nation or region. As
with any Web resource, it's good to double-check the information,
especially since the amount and quality of data on this site is
not uniform. Still, this is a good resource worth checking out.
New-ish
FUN SITES & TIPS
(proof "fun" is a subjective word)
Predict Time's Person of the Year -- contest to predict this
year's winner http://www.sree.net/contest
I have been a fan of Time's "Man of the Year" issues (renamed
"Person of the Year" of late) since grade school -- even though
I have rarely agreed with the choices. So in 1999, I launched
an informal little contest to see if my friends could predict
who would be the "Person of the Century." 73 people from six countries
entered that year. It's time for this year's contest -- your chance
to predict who Time magazine editors will pick as the 2002 "Person
of the Year." Not who you WANT it to be, who it WILL be. Stop
by and submit an entry. Please ignore if you hate lists, contests
or Time's "Person of the Year." We may all have thoughts on who
we would LIKE each year's winner to be, but that doesn't mean
our choice SHOULD, or more importantly, WILL, be chosen. So let's
put your prognosticating skills to the test. Note: this contest
has NOTHING to do with Time Inc. Deadline: Friday, Dec. 10, 2002.
GUEST
TIP (A SreeTips reader shares a tip - last issue's was so useful,
I am repeating it) Have a tip you would like to share? Send it to sree@sree.net
SANDY
EDRY, NY-based writer, suggests visiting WhoRepresents.com:
"It
is incredibly useful -- especially for journos doing celebrity
stories. It gives you the publicity agent and/or manager for practically
everybody who's anybody." I agree: the site works well for
Hollywood celebrities and it is worth going through the almost
instant, free registration process to test it out. Of course,
written out as a URL, the site's name becomes pretty funny: http://www.whorepresents.com Sandy's e-mail: SEdry@aol.com
Have
a tip you would like to share? Send it to sree@sree.net
- - - - -
MY
DEFAULT SUCH & SUCH...
(my starting points for various things; may change monthly)
Search
Engine:
Google http://www.google.com/
The best search engine out there. 'Nuff said. But here's Walt
Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal on Google: "...simply the
best search site I've ever used." If you know Walt's work -- and
you should be following it religiously at http://ptech.wsj.com/
-- you know that he doesn't hand out such praise often. Be sure
to download the free Google toolbar; it will change the way you
search: http://toolbar.google.com/
(no Mac version right now)
Reference
Site:
Refdesk http://www.refdesk.com/
Excellent reference site. Don't just take my word for it. The
New York Times quoted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell saying
this is his favorite Web site. Run by Bob Drudge, Matt's dad (though
Refdesk doesn't run rumors).
Encyclopedia:
Britannica.com http://www.britannica.com/
The Encyclopedia Britannica on the Web -- basic info free of charge
(the full-access version, which used to be free, now costs $7.95
a month, or $50 a year).
Dictionary:
Merriam-Webster http://www.m-w.com/
In offices, dictionaries grow legs and walk. Hence an online dictionary
is a must. This one addresses a major problem I have had with
traditional dictionaries: You need to know how to spell a word
before you look it up. Not here. Just punch in an approximation,
and it will give you a suggested list. And nice etymology. Also
see the new button for your browser; once you download it, you
don't need to go to the site itself in order to lookup a word.
You can do it right from whatever site you are in.
Atlas:
National Geographic's Map Machine http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/
Leave it to National Geographic to make the best online atlas
with these dynamic maps that will take you to any spot you choose
and allow you to change what kind of map you see, on the fly.
I had no idea there are three towns named Santa Claus in the U.S.
or that my grandfather's village in India is an easy find.
Driving
Directions:
MapQuest http://www.mapquest.com/
For U.S. driving directions, MapQuest remains the best
site. But I also like the new "straight-line" maps from
MapBlast <http://www.mapblast.com>
World
Time:
TimeAndDate.com
http://www.timeanddate.com/
The best set of world clocks and calendars. I like the personal
world clock, which allows you to set and track time in up to 16
cities at one glance.
Software
Downloads:
Download.com http://www.download.com
No need to hit the store to buy software. Almost everything you
need is online and has free trials.
Media
Goings-on:
Jim Romenesko's Media News http://www.medianews.org/
Hosted by Poynter.org, this is news-junkie heaven. I read it more
often and more closely than any other site.
-
- - - -
SREE-DOT-NET
Must-Sree TV http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/
My "Tech Guru" segments on WABC-7 in the New York City area run
every Thursday morning on channel 7 at 6:45 (yes, that's the a.m.).
This is a link to archived Web versions of my segments -- now
includes Real Video versions for the newer segments.
"Smarter
Surfing" Workshops http://www.sree.net/web
Smarter surfing for people of all skill levels. Interested in
scheduling a class for you and your colleagues? Learn more.
"Smarter
Surfing" Links: Better Use of Your Web Time http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html
Links for various categories of sites, annotated for your surfing
pleasure.
SreeTips
-- the new site http://www.sreetips.com
Links to my tips and thoughts on various items, including laptops,
digital cameras, freelance writing, Web production and more.
Poynter.org
Web Tips
http://www.poynter.org/web/Archive2001.htm
Every Tuesday, I write a short Web tip for Poynter.org; MSNBC
technology editor Jonathan Dube writes one every Friday.
If you're in the news biz, you may want to subscribe to Jon's
terrific Cyberjournalist.net monthly newsletter - "tips
& talk for the wired world." Drop an e-mail to cyberjournalist-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
