Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Sites You Might Like
By Cate Eales
Appeared October 19, 2007 on castanet.net

Don't ask what made me do it, but I started cleaning out my Firefox Bookmarks (Same as "Favorites" in Internet Explorer) last night, and I found out I had close to 1500 bookmarks.

Granted, they were mostly in folders and in alphabetical order so I didn't have to scroll through a gigantic list every time I needed to find a site. But they still needed cleaning out. As I worked on that project, I thought I'd share a few of the useful sites with you.

See your search results as screen shots
This is kind of fun, and I think it's useful, too. When you use the Pagebull search engine you will see screen shots of your search results. Pagebull explains this better than I do:

Pagebull...gives you actual screen shots of the search results. Most search engines simply list the site. You have to click on them to find that the site is not quite what you wanted. With Pagebull, you can see the front page, allowing you to sort out the most helpful pages for you...

Results are displayed on a grid in your browser. You can customize the size of the preview windows so they're reasonably easy for you to see. I am starting to like Pagebull. I find I have a better idea about whether or not it's what I really want when I can see the preview. You do need a fast connection, like cable or DSL. Pagebull will not work well on dial-up.


Find out what program opens that mystery file
Got a file via e-mail and don't know how to open it? Downloaded a document and don't know what archiver was used to compress it? Check what TrID can tell about it.

The absolute least geeky thing on Marco Pontello's Home Page is TrID. Check it out here. Just browse to a file on your computer, and click on the "Analyze" button. Or, check the "Every File Extension In The World" website, here, but you will have to scroll through lists.

Find keyboard shortcuts for just about anything
We've talked before about keyboard shortcuts in Windows, but KeyXL.com claims to have the largest database of keyboard shortcuts for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems. (A keyboard shortcut is just a combination of keys that accomplish a small task in less time --- or with less hand stress --- than using a mouse.)

I found the site well-organized and easy to search. For instance, I've been using WinAmp for my mp3's for years, and I had no idea there were so many shortcuts. And if you're using Outlook Express, have a look here. There are lots of ways to make your life easier!


Clean out your Favorites and Bookmarks
Oh, yes. The whole point of this was cleaning out the Firefox Bookmarks. AM-Deadlink, available here, will detect dead and duplicate links in Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Netscape browsers, and let you get rid of them. It will also let you back up your Bookmarks/Favorites before you do that, in case you get a little carried away! It works with any version of Windows from 98 through Vista, and it's free. AM-Deadlink found quite a few links to websites that are no more, and many duplicate links. I had a pretty good clear-out, and I'm happy with the results. I wish they had a version that would deal with the clutter in my garage.


Thank you to everyone who emailed their comments and suggestions. Please keep them coming! You can contact me at cate@rlis.com.  If you'd like to look at past columns, browse over to the column archives, here. If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.

See you next week!



Links
Pagebull http://pagebull.com
TrID File Identified http://mark0.net/onlinetrid.aspx
Every File Extension In The World http://whatis.techtarget.com/file-extension-list-A/0,289933,sid9,00.html
KeyXL shortcuts http://www.keyxl.com/
Keyboard shortcut definition http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci1076600,00.html
Outlook Express shortcuts http://www.keyxl.com/aaa233a/212/Microsoft-Outlook-Express-Email-keyboard-shortcuts.htm
AM-Deadlink http://www.aignes.com/deadlink.htm
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives http://rlis.com/column.htm
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/f.fbz?Sub=20618
RSS Feed http://rlis.com/rlis.xml

---
Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.