Mouse Clix

By: Hobie Lunin

Getting around on the Internet

After more than four years of surfing on the Internet, I still have not tired of it. Perhaps because innovations help make it fun and interesting. A case in point is going to the news web pages and finding that there are brief little videos with “voice-over” that is similar to the TV, but you can choose what news interests you, rather than getting spoon fed on the 11 o’clock news.

If you go to any of these and you do not have the correct software to see a video clip, the site will usually download it to you. If you have Windows Media Player, you will be able to get many of these special sound and video stories but not all. Downloading is only a matter of following the directions. Popular programs like QuickTime and Yahoo Player are available free and take only moments to download. These will make your surfing a plus experience.

On a daily basis there seems to be so many new “cyber gadgets” available. Take “Weatherbug.” Here is a program that puts an icon on your desktop and the current outside temperature on the taskbar. Is that ever handy? By clicking on the temperature, I get a screen that gives me a local forecast. You can program the local site, mostly schools that provide the weather data. I can also access the radar from there, weather at travel locations and a myriad of other places as well as weather trivia (on that score readers, I am well off the 50% correct pace.) Get it at Weatherbug.com

Tied in is “gator” a friendly little alligator that arrives at any site where I need a user name and password and provides it so that I do not have to enter it. Another program “Real Player” also downloaded free allows me to listen to radio programs from many places in the world providing me with my favorite music while I am surfing. Just keep the Real Player screen minimized on your desktop and you will continue to hear it as you surf. The best news about Radio is that the quality is improving by leaps and bounds and if you have decent speakers it will rival your stereo. Or you can even play the music through your stereo speakers.

Another idea I like is getting certain items sent to me each day. I get technical information, Windows tips, food recipes, health advice and a few other informative letters each day. One comes from “HowStuffWorks.com,” an amazing site that explains how anything works. A caution when you sign up for these kinds of services. I do not think it is helpful to have it coming to your main address where you are awaiting your important mail. Register for another mailbox preferably on Web-based one. You can find them nearly anywhere. Do a “search “ for one, or go directly to Yahoo or Netscape or NBC1, Hotmail or Beethoven.com where you can turn on their radio (the most listened to radio station in the world) and hear great music while you check your mail. Having a few extra mailboxes allows you to sort your mail even before it arrives!

How can you keep track of all your mailboxes, I am asked. I use the link bar on my Internet browser so I can click and arrive at the mail site without having to look in Favorites. Here is how to do this. When you are on the Internet click on View in your Browser Taskbar (Internet Explorer) and point to Toolbars, make sure Links is checked. You will see a new bar with some standard installed links. If you click on Customize Links, the Browser will take you to a Microsoft Windows site that describes how to use the bar. Print that page. You will then find if you right click this new tool bar you will be able to change all the present links to those of all your mailbox locations (that are web-based) and so you can easily check 3 o4 boxes in a few minutes. You will probably also have room to put some other favorites. If you load it past what is visible on the screen you can find the hidden ones you want by clicking the button (>>) on the right end of the bar. Another idea is to reduce the names of the sites to a two or three letter code taking up less room on the bar. This will make it easier to get to some of your favorite places as well as your mail.

If you find that having that bar takes up too much of the screen, you can reduce the number of bars you have by clicking on view and deselecting them. My preference is to squeeze all that information into 2 bars by dragging them and then adjusting the lengths by using the little vertical shadow lines (when you point to them you get a double headed arrow) that allows you to customize them. Some will end up off the screen but can be easily accessed by clicking on the double arrows at the right end of the bars. This makes more room on your screen without losing all the handy buttons.

Start getting comfortable with using search engines (see my article of 11/16/00). These will help you find just about anything you want. You can always surf from any site you find that way. If you are thinking of buying something new, run it by a search engine and find a site that has reviewed the product and maybe you can even buy it on-line and save the sales tax.

Have fun “getting around.”

Please note that I have changed my e-mail address as email.com has been having serious technical problems.

Hobie Lunin will answer questions at hlunin@netscape.net. To see previous columns, go to http://mouseclix.tripod.com