Reuters Technology News

Hi All,

If you are interested in computers, tablets, internet news, smartphones or anything else related to technology you might want to visit RTN.  What is RTN?  Simply put its an acronym for Reuters Technology News.

With main topics like business, Google, Apple, Cybersecurity, Technology videos, and more, readers will be in the know with respect to technology news. News is current, relevant and the articles are very well written.

Enjoy the site and the technology news!

Regards,
Stu

Delete Your Online Account

Hi All,

Deleting your online account isn't as easy as you think these days!  It takes more than just an email or filling out a websites' form in order for the site to delete your account.

AccountKiller solves the problem of deleting your account to many of the most popular social media websites and regular websites on the web.  Click here for a link to AccountKiller. 

To learn more about AccountKiller, click on this link which goes to AccountKiller's 'About Us' page. 

AccountKiller also has an FAQ page which discusses some of the specifics of how AccountKiller works.  Note the section on what the various colors on the site mean - white, black and grey.  

Some of the well-known sites include: Facebook, Skype, Twitter, Yahoo, Spotify, Google, WhatsApp, MySpace and MSN. 

Enjoy the site - and enjoy knowing that you can eliminate your account from some sites on the web!

Regards,
Stu

Learn Something New Every Day!

Hi All,

Answering reference questions at the library means that I get to use the internet A LOT!  I jot down the names of interesting, useful, unique websites in the hopes that I can generate a blog entry just like this one!

Introducing...interesting, useful and unique websites!

Fake Name Generator - your randomly generated identity

My Fonts.com - Have you seen a font in use and want to know what it is? Submit an image to WhatTheFont to find the closest matches in our database. Or, let cloak-draped font enthusiasts lend a hand in the WhatTheFont Forum

Camel Camel Camel - Shows you the price history of anything on Amazon and alerts you when the price drops. You can even upload your entire Amazon wish list directly.

Mailbox Locator - Tells you where the closest USPS mailbox is to wherever you are.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Gives you the history and derivation of any word.

Account Killer - Shows you exactly how to close any social media account forever, not just disable them.

Sky Scanner - Lets you search flights by date, price, and budget — even if you don’t know where you want to go.

Date Duration Calculator - Find out exactly how many days/months/years passed between two dates.

Enjoy the sites!

Regards,
Stu

The Internet in Real Time

Hi All,

Very interesting website alert!  The Internet in Real Time.

What the heck is this you ask?!  Great question.  

Readers can click on this link to watch as various internet giants (Twitter, YouTube, Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Netflix, WhatsApp, Yelp, Foursquare, Pinterest, Pandora and more) do what they do best! 

Users can see LinkedIn (the number of user searches), YouTube (the number of videos hours watched), the number of check-ins at FourSquare or the number of the reviews posted on Yelp or the number of files saves on DropBox or the number of Likes and Posts on Facebook or the number of hours watched on Netflix or the number of hours streamed on Pandora...and much more...

Very simple, colorful and entertaining website.  Here is the link again.

Enjoy the site - don't spend too much time on it!

Regards,
Stu

Top 500 Global Websites

Hi All,

Alexa is a website that is owned by Amazon.com. Alexa is - as described on their 'About Us' part on their website - a company that focuses exclusively on delivering the richest and most meaningful analytics tools for our customers...the blurb goes on, which you can visit by clicking on this link.

The important part of Alexa.com that I found was this link to the Top 500 Sites on the Web.  Sure, the top 10 are populated by the sites you would expect:
1. Google.com
2. Facebook.com
3. Youtube.com
4. Yahoo.com
5. Baidu.com
6. Wikipedia.com
7. Amazon.com
8. Twitter.com
9. Taobao.com
10. Qq.com

But if you scroll down the list you'll see some very interesting changes to the web.  For instance, notice how many Chinese companies are in the top 100 of the list! There are 18 Chinese companies in the top 100!

5. Baidu.com
9. Taobao.com
10. Qq.com
14. Sina.com.cn
15. Weibo.com
23. Hao123.com
29. Sohu.com
43. Alibaba.com
49. Fc2.com
56. 163.com
67. Gmw.cn
75. Xinhuanet.com
82. Alipay.com
83. Soso.com
89. Jd.com
90. Cntv.cn
94. Youku.com
98. Chinadaily.com.cn

That all said, of the top 100 sites the following might be worthwhile for the reader to visit....

39. Microsoft.com - if you have any Windows questions, you might want to start your search here.
47. Imdb.com - features plot summaries, reviews, cast lists, and theatre schedules.
69. Diply.com - an entertainment website
116. Booking.com - worldwide accommodation reservations
130. Yelp.com - members share their favorite recommendations - everything from latest restaurants to shops and more.
139. Cnet.com - Reviews, news, and prices on all tech products - as well as free downloads and newsletters
161. Indeed.com - search engine for jobs - with a radically different approach to job search.
196. Zillow.com - Empowers users to learn about real estate.  
237. NIH.gov - US government department that is in charge of medical research.
276. Goodreads.com - let's users track and rate books and network with other readers.
278. Groupon.com - features a daily deal for most major metropolitan areas in the United States
292. Avg.com - Antivirus and security software products for home and business users. Free trials.
311. Hulu.com - Ad-supported streaming television shows and movies, including some in HD.
317. Accuweather.com - Features radar and satellite images and 5 day forecasts for US locations.

So there you have it!  A whole passel of interesting websites - entertainment, computer, technology, shopping, travel, weather and health are included in the list - all in one place!  And they are well-known, popular and, for the most part, free...

Enjoy the popular links.

Stu

Brief History of the Internet

Hi All,

So you like to use the internet to: send email, exchange pictures, post to Facebook, send birthday cards, download games, do online banking, check in with your favorite quilting site, buy books on Amazon.com, send Tweets on Twitter, search for movies on the Internet Movie Database, use Google to find out about gardening, stream movies via Netflix, check sports scores or write a blog entry?  I guess that means that you are a bona fide internet user!  Congratulations.

And now...that you use the internet, wouldn't it be at least a bit interesting to learn about how it came into being? Indeed it would be - its an interesting story filled with lots of technology, history, big names in computing, government sponsorship and much more!

Click on this link from the Internet Society for a very comprehensive (they call it 'brief') History of the Internet.  The article includes a timeline, has sections on internet concepts, proving the ideas, documentation and a very extensive list of footnotes.

Regular readers will not be surprised to see this next link from Wikipedia.  This Wikipedia entry goes to an article titled, 'History of the Internet'.  Similar but different than the prior article. One interesting link from the Wikipedia article goes to 'External Links'....

Another interesting article come from the Computer History Museum - and includes a very interesting (and extensive) timeline of the internet.  Cool stuff - and easy to digest and read.

Finally, click on this link from History.com for an article titled, 'Invention of the Internet' - while fairly brief, it introduces readers to some of the major players and the basics of the invention of the internet.

Enjoy the links - and of course - enjoy the web and the internet.

Regards,
Stu

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi All,

Quite possibly one of the best foods of childhood is the chocolate chip cookie.  Yum.  Just thinking about them makes me hungry - and don't forget the milk.

Click on this link from SeriousEats.com for a serious article on the 'Science of the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies'.  OMG, I'm hungry already! This is a very comprehensive article about exactly what happens when a chocolate chip cookies is made - complete with what happens to various ingredients (milk, egg, chocolate chip, batter and more).  The pictures are fantastic and make the cookies look delicious!

For an 'off-the-wall' article titled, '23 Life-Changing Ways to Eat Chocolate Chip Cookies' click on this article from Buzzfeed.com.  Silly, but fun - and you might like to try one of these ideas. Or not.

Click on any of these three links to find scrumptious recipes for great chocolate chip cookies.

Hershey's Kitchens - Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies`
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies - from, believe it or not, Crisco.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe EVER! - SavorySweetLife
AllRecipes.com -  Another list of 'Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever'

Back in early March of this year, the New York Times reported on Chips Ahoy! Bringing Back the Familiar (Chocolate-Chip) Face in its advertising.  Click here for the article - and the reason why I'm writing this blog post.

For more timely information on Chips Ahoy! click on this link - you'll go to the Chips Ahoy! Facebook page.

Readers might want to click on this link to go to the Chips Ahoy! webpage from Nabisco.  At the bottom of the page is product information and at the top of the page you can play games (kids)...

Finally, readers might get a kick out of this page - a link from PopularCookieRecipes.com - which goes to National Chocolate Chip Day!!! Woohoo!

Enjoy the links, and more importantly, don't forget to stock up on the milk!

Regards,
Stu

Organ Donating and Facebook - Too Much Social Networking?

Hi All,

Click on this link to an interesting new program that Facebook has announced.  Basically Facebook has made it easier for users to sign up to register to donate organs via Facebook.  Users can identify themselves as organ donors on their Facebook page. Question:  Will this new program increase the number of organ donations?  Excellent question.  Click here for another article about Facebook's organ donation program - this time the article is from USA Today. 

Click on this link to visit the site that Facebook has partnered with for the organ donation program: Donate Life America.

Finally,click here to learn about all the pro's of organ donation.

I hope you found this blog entry interesting and useful!

Regards,
Stu

Part II from 8/10/10 Entry Entitled ‘Alphabetically a List of Fun Websites’

Part II from 8/10/10 Entry Entitled ‘Alphabetically a List of Fun Websites’ (I hope its fun at least...)

Hi All,

Way back on August 10^th I generated a fun entry with the first half of the alphabet…here is a link to that post if you missed it. This entry is the second part of the alphabet – L-Z. Enjoy – there might be some interesting sites that you haven’t heard about or tried yet.

Stu

Don’t forget to friend the library on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!

L: LinkedIn – great networking resource for job searchers

M: MySpace – social networking forerunner that has been overshadowed by Facebook

N: Netflix – great site for downloading movies or having them mailed to you…pay site!

O: Orbitz – make travel plans here…Overstock – online shopping at clearance prices

P: Pandora – listen to free internet radio and find new music…Paypal – send money or pay online

Q: Quicktime – view internet video , HD movie trailers, personal media in a wide range file formats – free

R: Realtor.com – get real estate listing, school/neighborhood information and other important info you need to know before you move or buy a house/co-op/apartment

S: Skype – internet calls for free…SparkNotes: study guides and discussion forums on various academic subjects…

T: Translator-free online language translation service via Google Twitter-what is going on in your world in 140 characters or less TMZ – celebrity gossip and entertainment news and Hollywood rumors Travelocity – great travel site for airline tickets, hotels, flights vacations

U: Urban Dictionary – streetwise lingo posted and defined by readers/viewers

V: US Department of Veterans Affairs – provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents

W: Weather.com – find weather across the country Wikipedia.com – free encyclopedia that anyone can edit

X: Xbox – games, uploads, info about the amazing Xbox

Y: Yahoo.com – news, weather, sports, business, science and much more …Youtube – homemade videos and some commercial videos from Google – easily searchable and lots of fun!

Z: Zillow – more free real estate information, search for homes for sale, home values, recently sold homes, mortgage rates, condos, co-ops, apartments and much more…Zip Code Lookup – find a zip code by entering an address (from United States Postal Service)