Peter Greene's Top 10+ as announced on Monday - June 6th, 2016

This list is for providing you with easy access to these "useful" Web pages. Please visit my NEW "Tips and Favorite Applications" Page, WEBHITZ^® for access to our Web menus! Use of the products and services offered on any of these Web pages is at your own risk! E-Mail me and give me your feedback at web1@infostar.com. Due to the volume of email I get I cannot possibly reply to every message!

Next show is August 1st, 2016

1. betterworldbooks.com - collect and sell books online to donate books and fund literacy initiatives worldwide.
   
2. songfacts.com - a searchable database of song information where you can find out the stories behind the songs, get the lyrics, and watch the videos.
   
3. projectorreviews.com - resource for information on all types of projectors. We provide in depth reviews of Home Theater Projectors, plus reviews of projectors optimized for Business, K-12, Higher Education and large venues. Also visit: projectorcentral.com and pcmag.com.
   
4. UL.com - UL is a global independent safety science company with more than a century of expertise innovating safety solutions from the public adoption of electricity to new breakthroughs in sustainability, renewable energy and nanotechnology.
   
5. longforecast.com - forecasting gas & oil prices, mortage-interest rates, gold & silver prices, etc ....
   
6. signupgenius.com - a free resource that helps with organizing groups; use it for group signups for events.
   
7. thesportal.com - resource that covers major league and professional sports news about on and off the playing field.
   
8. socialsecuritynumerology.com - the goal of this site is to educate consumers about social security numbers. It provides information and tools to understand what the number means and how it is assigned. This resource also provide the users with information and tips for safeguarding their personal information to avoid identity theft.
   
9. av-comparatives.org - is an independent organization offering systematic testing that checks whether security software, such as PC/Mac-based antivirus products and mobile security solutions, lives up to its promises. Using one of the largest sample collections worldwide, it creates a real-world environment for truly accurate testing. AV-Comparatives offers freely accessible results to individuals, news organizations and scientific institutions.
   
10. cancer.gov [NIH - National Cancer Institute] - federal government resource that provides access to lots of informtion on cancer research including clinical trials and mush more. Also access their online dictionary: The NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms features 7,899 terms related to cancer and medicine.
    
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    *** Some Extras listed below ***
    
12. *****macrium.com - another backup software program; also has ghosting feature (duplicating "drives" - especially hard drives - check out their FREE version of their "Macrium Reflect" software.
    
13. ****Classic Shell ---> This is a Windows 8 "free utility" to make it look more like Windows-7 or Windows XP. I have used it a few times on Windows 8 systems; and, it has worked well for me. Good luck!
    



Peter Greene's Selection of Most Popular Applications (Apps) - Software

14. Microsoft "Office" - remember Visicalc? WordStar? WordPerfect? Lotus 1-2-3? Multiplan? Also now: "Google Docs"
    
15. Adobe's "Photoshop" - they are also known for their "Creative Suite". Related - remember Corel Draw? Saw money and use "Google's Picasa".
    
16. "Google's Gmail". Also: Yahoo Mail, AOL, Outlook by Microsoft, Windows Live Mail (by Microsoft), Apple Mail.
    
17. "Google Maps" or just using your smartphone for a GPS [Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system]. Remember MapQuest?
    
18. Google's "YouTube". Along with "Twitter", "Pinterest" and "Facebook" you are a social butterfly. Remember "MySpace"?.
    
19. "eBay" - connects buyer's and seller's from all over the world.
    
20. "Speedtest.net" by Ookla; just nice to know how face your Internet connection really is. I have been using this for years and really appreciate it!
    
21. "Skype" (for traveling) - it has changed hands (owners) a few times. So the rules / costs might change just like cell phone plans do!
    
22. "WhatsApp" (for traveling) - also handy for travelling outside the U.S.
    
23. Apple's "iTunes". If you own an Apple product then you pretty much have to use it. But don't forget this handy app --->"i-FunBox" [I like the classic version]
    
24. The "Staples": Operating Systems: Free"Ubuntu" and paid for version such as Apple's OSX (Yeosemite) and Microsoft Windows 8.1 (I still like 7 over 8). I think OSX runs better and if you hate doing backups you can't beat TimeMachine in OSX. Under the hood Apple's OSX really is a version of Unix; and Linux (Ubuntu, Redhat and others) is also a version of Unix.
    
25. The other Staples: Web browser - Mozilla's "FireFox". And the others: Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Chrome, Apple's Safari.
    

*** Below are last month's choices ****

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26. recallguide.org - a free resource to use to keep track of your medications, and learn about important recalls and prescription information that may directly affect you.
    
27. peteducation.com - offerings provided to the public by Drs. Foster and Smith pet supplies to help pet owners access veterinary authored or screened information on pet care.
    
28. sublimetext.com - (available for OS X, Windows and Linux) a sophisticated text editor for code, markup (HTML, etc...) and prose.
    
29. instructables.com - a place to explore, research, document and share your creations; well organized sharing of 100,000+ projects.
    
30. grants.gov - is your place to search, find and apply for federal grants. Great resource to understand how to utilize and tap into government capital; you can register as an individual (Most funding opportunities on Grants.gov are only eligible to organizations, but there are opportunities for individuals just have to look for them.)
    
31. explainthatstuff.com - do you want to know how something works; this is a free online science and technology book (ebook).
    
32. doityourself.com - for remodelers and home builders; help with projects to get some insight and options on how to fix things or help to take on those projects you have no prior knowledge on and seem difficult and/or expensive and you want to know more.
    
33. nationalgeographic.com - a resource by the "National Geographic Society", is a global nonprofit organization committed to exploring and protecting our planet. They fund hundreds of research and conservation projects around the world each year and inspire new generations through our education initiatives and resources.
    
34. mlbtraderumors.com - is a clearinghouse for relevant, legitimate baseball rumors. This resource focuses on trades and free agent signings. Rumors come from established journalists, including our own writers, and always include a link to the source material. All 30 teams are covered.
    
35. uwbadgers.com - the official digital magazine of the Wisconsin Badgers.
    

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As discussed on a previous show - I have listed resources to help you search for access to public information, and, information that may be purchased.
Note: I have no affiliation or am I making any endorsement for use of these resources; just pointing out examples to access this kind of information on the Internet and World Wide Web. I tried to group the resources together as best as possible.
Keep in mind that even though you may sign-up to be a member of a Web site - that some of your information, such as a "user name" for your membership may be accessible outside of that resource by search engines such as Google.com (this also includes images). So you may want to change your use of your "user name" across multiple sites; similar to changing your use of the same passwords to protect yourself. Or it is a question to ask yourself - how visible or invisible do I want to be online? If you associate your name (even a nickname or alias and someone knows it) with a face then you are visible.
A way to save money - sign-up for a trial account that may give you "a 7-day window to use the service" if you pay the annual fee; however, make sure you note the cancellation date or you may end-up paying for the entire year!

Google.com [make sure you check out their "Other Products Page"] , Google's Image search, YouTube.com (part of Google), and Google's Plus (similar to Facebook); note Google makes money by selling advertising - they make this statement as related to Google Plus - "'Google may use my account information to personalize +1s on content and ads on non-Google web sites.'"
Yahoo.com and Bing.com two other search engines to work with that are also popular.
Facebook has become popular not only for individuals but business and organizations to use as a social media marketing tool to gain popularity.
LinkedIn - typically considered for business professional but also used by others.
MySpace - was more popular before Facebook but still used by individuals. Another social connectivity resource like facebook.
Twitter - a social networking tool - find out what’s happening, right now, with the people and organizations you are interested in (if they tweet !!!).
Manta.com - business community where you can find out more detailed information on a business and its contacts.
Bizapedia.com - provides free online company search and people search tools.
CorporationWiki.com - information on 37+ million Companies and 35+ million executive.
Netprospex.com - helps Business-to-Business companies discover and connect with millions of targeted sales prospects. Find verified contact information, including email, phone, and social media.
LookUpAnyone.com and PublicRecords.com - comprehensive people search resources to use; costs/fees to access (I have no experience with them).
pipl.com - search engine that claims to be the "most comprehensive people search on the Web"; dive into the deep Web to bring you results you won't find in any other search engine then we use a powerful identity resolution engine to link those seemingly disparate results into a set of meaningful profiles so you can easily find the person you are looking for.
Radaris - another comprehensive people search resource to use.
Spoke.com - another comprehensive people search resource to use.
SocialDiligence.com - a social media search tool.
Ancestry.com - looking for close relatives, family tree, divorce, marriage, birth, death records?
Archives.com - claims to have an extensive database of images, newspapers, vital records, and more for your ancestors' historical records.
Areaconnect.com - a resource that has access to local Yellow Pages, White Pages, search, directories, news, weather and more.
411.info - looking for phone numbers, addresses, reverse look-ups?
Netronline.com- gain entrance to those official state Web resources that provide online access to property tax and related information. Check out the State of Wisconsin info and local Dane County examples below.

and

Wisconsin and local resources examples:
Access to the Public Records of the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) from the Wisconsin Court System - commonly referred to as "CCAP"; and City of Madison Property Taxes

Peter's schedule for appearing as a guest on Larry Meiller's show can seen by clicking here.

You can listen to Peter on WPR (Wisconsin Public Radio) - 970AM WHA Radio in Madison, WI monthly! It is broadcast live over the WPR radio network from the 7th floor of Vilas Hall, and is "Web casted" live via Real Audio - you'll need the "Real Audio player". The show is 90 minutes in length and covers the latest in PC computer technology , the Internet and the World Wide Web; show is a question & answer format. I have supported Wisconsin Public Radio for nearly 27 years with a monthly radio show on computer technology. The show is produced by Judith Siers-Poison, and, hosted by Larry Meiller.