Speedtest - How Fast is Your Internet?

Hi All,

How fast is your internet connection?  Does your internet service provider claim one download speed and one upload speed - and you believe that it is much slower than that?    Indeed!


Click on this link from Speedtest.net and you can see what your exact upload/download speeds are anytime of the day.

Its simple, click on the words 'Begin Test' and you're computer will be pinged and you'll find out what your upload speed is and what your download speed is!

Mobile apps are available from the App Store, Windows Store, Google Play and Amazon Apps by Speedtest.net by clicking on this link! 

At the end of the test users will be able to rate their internet service provider and find out what their IP address is by looking at the bottom of the screen. 

Finally, users can click on the 'My Results' icon at the top of the page and see how their computer compares to a range of other computers and servers in various locations.

Enjoy the site and hopefully you have a fast internet connection for your downloads and uploads!

Regards,
Stu

Apps For All

Hi All,

New year, new apps...here's a list of interesting, new apps for various operating systems...click on the next three links to go to the traditional app stores at Google, Apple and Microsoft.


Here's a very, very partial list...3 links for each category...

Android Apps
F-Droid
PC Mag - 100 Best Android Apps of 2017
Tech Radar - Best Free Android Apps of 2016
Android Authority - 15 Best Free Android Apps of 2017

iOS Apps
Tom's Guide - 40 Best Free Apps for iPhone
Macworld - 77 Best Free iPhone Apps - Fantastic iOS Apps That Don't Cost a Thing
Popular Mechanics - 23 Best iPhone Apps to Download Now

Microsoft Apps
Top30 Best Windows Phone Apps 
20 Must-Have Apps For Windows Phone
20+ Must-Have Apps For Your New Windows Phone 

Blackberry
Blackberry 10 Apps
Digital Trends - Best Blackberry 10 Apps
102 Best Blackberry Apps

Enjoy the links and the apps!

Regards,
stu

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

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

Microsoft....Help!!!!

Hi All,

While the world seems to be migrating toward a tablet-centric world (iPad's, Nooks, Kindles, Samsung Galaxy smartphones, Amazon FirePhones and more) Microsoft Windows is still an important tool in the office workers toolkit.  For example, more than 1.1 billion people still use Microsoft Office - that's 1 in 7 people on the planet!

But what happens if you have trouble using your version of Microsoft Office? Indeed!  Microsoft has a wonderful support page.  Just click on this link and you are there!

Users can search by product (Windows, Internet Explorer, Office, Surface, Xbox, Skype and Windows Phone), download, store or contact Microsoft.  And while there are a lot of options on the page, the section I want to discuss is the Office link.

Users can choose their particular version of Microsoft Office or find a list of questions under the heading 'Popular Topics'.  Examples of popular topics include: 'installing or removing individual Office programs and components', 'Activate Office 20xx programs', 'download/backup/restore Microsoft Office products'.

There is also an very helpful search bar at the top of this page - users can put in any search terms related to Microsoft Office and the relevant results will appear on the page. 

One last thing: the Microsoft Knowledge Base is an awesome way to get answers on those pesky, problems that users have when using Microsoft Windows. Basically, the Knowledge Base (KB) is a huge FAQ where any and all problems are addressed by Microsoft specialists!  Click here for a link to the Knowledge Base - its filled with answers to the questions that you need.

I hope the answers you are looking for are available on the Microsoft Support site!

Regards,
Stu

Reading...

Hi All,

I've come across two separate websites that are related to reading in different ways. 

The first article is from the NewYorker.  Entitled 'Being a Better Online Reader' the article discusses how to be a better reader.  Sections of the article discuss the physicality of the book vs the ephemerality of the screen, online distractions when you read, reading comprehension and how it differs when you read a book vs reading online with a monitor/screen/tablet and ways to increase reading comprehension when reading on a monitor/screen/tablet.

The second entry came via an article from the New York Times.  Entitled, 'With the Blessing of Bill Gates, an Unlikely Summertime Best Seller', the article discusses a business book that Bill Gates (one of Microsoft's founder) highly recommended.  The book in question is 'John Brooks'', 'Business Adventures'.- which was published back in 1969 - and has been out of print since then.  Because of Bill Gates' recommendation, the book is coming back in print and is a bestseller on Amazon.com.

The article discusses Bill Gates book blog - entitled GatesNotes - which is where he recommended the book.   Click here for the blog entry where Bill Gates recommends the book - along with five others that he recommends for summer reading.  Click on this link to read Bill Gates' full review of Business Adventures by John Brooks.

So, the real appeal here is that the reader can read book reviews by Bill Gates - of course from the books that he's read.  And what an eclectic reader he is!  Even a cursory look at the titles of the books he's read is breaktaking in its variety and scope!

Title/subject

Business Adventures/Business
Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism/History
Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History/Environment
Reinventing American Health Care/Health Care
Why Does College Cost So Much?/Higher Education
Most Powerful Idea in the World/history, steam engines, technology
World Until Yesterday/anthropology
Poor Numbers/economics,statistics

Enjoy the links - and if you click on any of the titles listed above, you'll go to that particular book review GatesNotes. 

Finally, click on this link to go to the online library card catalog to see if any of these books are available at the Farmingdale Public Library.

Enjoy!


Regards,
Stu

Tech Websites Galore!

Hi All,

I've listed a whole bunch of tech friendly, tech related websites.  Why?  I'm preparing for a CHIP Chat class that I'm hosting on Monday, December 2nd and Thursday, December 12th at the library.  BTW, CHIP is an acronym which stands for Computer Help In Person....get it?  Computer Help In Person - CHIP is the first letter of each of the words...

Anyway, in preparing for this presentation I've put together a fairly comprehensive list of tech and tech related websites.

Click on any of the links and you'll go directly to that particular website.  Wow - there's a lot of tech information available on the web -as one would expect!

My faves...PCWorld, Cnet, ExtremeTech and Technorati!

Enjoy the techie links!
Stu

http://www.microsoft.com (Microsoft’s website)

http://www.PCWorld.com

http://www.PCMag.com

http://www.Cnet.com

http://www.Extremetech.com

http://www.Techcrunch.com

http://www.thenextweb.com

http://www.wired.com (future web trends and at one time a print magazine)

http://www.tech2.com

http://www.gizmodo.com (gadget lovers)

http:/www.mashable.com

http://www.theverge.com

http://www.digitaltrends.com

http://www.techradar.com

http://www.technorati.com (tech blogs and more)

And here are a bunch of App-related websites to boot!

http://www.play.google.com (Google Play Store)

http://www.Amazon.com

http://www.appsites.com

http://www.appbrain.com

http://www.androidfreeware.net

http://www.freewarelovers.com/android

http://www.appsaga.com

Do You Have Computer Problems?

              

              Hi All,

Whether you are having problems with Windows 7, Microsoft Word, your router, how to print or if you have a question on how to use Picasa, you’ll find half of a 'Baker’s Dozen' (which means 6) websites that will help you get started solving your computer problems/issues. 

Oh, look for part 2 of this list in forthcoming weeks...possibly around the beginning of July...

1. Bestdownload.com - great for updates and computer downloads

2. Cnet.com - great for computer news and currents events, trends and more

3. Google.com - got a question? type it in and you'll get a list of websites that more than likely answer your question

4. Majorgeeks.com - serious computer site that covers Admin Tools, Android, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus, Back Up, Benchmarking, BIOS, Browers, Data Recovery,  Drivers, Firewalls, Graphics, Macintosh, Mail Utilities, Messaging, Multimedia, Networking, Office Tools, Registry, System Info, Video and more...amazingly organized and useful.You'll spend lots of time at the site!

5. Oldversion.com - non-new version of dozens of pieces of software...

6.  PCAholic.com - free tips, free videos, resources and more available...

Enjoy the links - hope they help you solve your computer-related problems.


Regards, 
Stu