The PC Informant » Useful Web sites

How to read a lot of magazines

Vic Laurie — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:17:24 +0000

Personally, I already have more to read than I can manage, but if you are looking for some extra reading materials, Maggwire offers selections from 650 magazines. At the moment, the selections are free but premium material seems likely in the future.

MakeUseOf reviews the site:

Maggwire (beta) is an online destination for those who are interested in free online magazines. You may subscribe to a few, but it’s impossible that you can read them all. Maggwire brings to you popular content from 650 magazines around the world. Articles from these many magazines are arranged according to the categories they represent and it is across the board. From world news to bridal stories you will find it all.

Maggwire doesn’t ask you to register; you can start browsing the free online magazine list from the homepage itself. But a simple user account gives you some control features over the articles you read.

Site on technology for seniors

Vic Laurie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:16:59 +0000

Eric Taub writes in the New York Times:

The market research firm and Web site Aging in Place Technology Watch is a valuable source of information. It covers technology trends that help the elderly stay connected to society while remaining in their homes as they get older. It is run by Laurie Orlov, a tech industry veteran and a long-term care ombudsman in Florida, who is a font of information about the elderly and the tech industry.

Here is the link for Aging in Place Technology Watch.

Microsoft updates MSN.com

Vic Laurie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:38:41 +0000

Microsoft is giving a new look to its Web portal MSN.com. Computerworld reports:

Microsoft plans to start rolling out a redesigned MSN.com on Wednesday in the U.S., the first major update for the page in more than 10 years.

Frequent visitors to the site will immediately notice one major change: The new page has only half the number of links as the old one. That’s a sharp departure from the previous design, which featured around 40 links on just the top third of the page. The site has also dropped the trademark blue background for a simpler white page.

Free movies on the Web

Vic Laurie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:32:41 +0000

Although there are very popular commercial services like Netflix that provide movies for downloading or streaming, there are also sites with free movies. MakeUseOf recently reviewed three sites:

MakeUseOf also has a free PDF, The Internet Guide for the Movie Addict:

This entirely free PDF production will show you anything you’ve ever dreamed about knowing. Whether you want a quick heads-up, are looking for download and streaming possibilities, or even want to fix broken AVI’s — you’ll find it in there!

And don’t forget a site I mentioned before, Sol Libes’ video site.

New file extension site

Vic Laurie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:53:54 +0000

Nir Sofer is one of those public-spirited programmers who provides useful, free utilities for the PC community. Recently he also announced a site for getting information about file extensions. The site allows you to find out which Windows software can open a specific file extension.

Attenborough nature films online

Vic Laurie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:39:05 +0000

The naturalist David Attenborough has been making excellent TV programs for BBC for years. Now his selection of 50 of his most memorable natural history moments is available on the Web. A description of some of the material is at this BBC blog.

Free eBooks

Vic Laurie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:35:49 +0000

Do you like to read or download books in digital format? Maybe you have a Kindle but then maybe you prefer free books. For free books, here is a TechSupportAlert site with a list of 193 sites that legally offer free books (eBooks) for download or for online viewing.

Outstanding free security list

Vic Laurie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:19:04 +0000

“Gizmo” Richards has long been a source for excellent advice on free security software. His TechSupportAlert site has a new list of the best security software of all types, almost all of it free. The only problem with the list is that it is so comprehensive that it may be a little overwhelming. For those who want some specific recommendations for their particular situation, Richards offers Gizmo’s Freeware Security Wizard .

Another way to get your answers

Vic Laurie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:46:40 +0000

The Internet is full of information, some good, some bad. Periodically, I mention sites for getting answers to your questions (for example, in this post). Here are some more recommendations, this time from Webware, which recommends Ask Me Help Desk and Amazon’s Askville.

Anybody tried these?

List of interesting sites

Vic Laurie — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:51:46 +0000

There are many lists of favorite sites on the Web and each has its own character. Every now and then I post one that’s a little different. PC Plus magazine has a list at TechRadar called 95 websites you should totally bookmark today. I am unfamiliar with a great many of those listed and would have made a very different selection. But that’s why I am posting about the list. Diversity of opinion can be educational.