For a reliable site with useful downloads of free software utilities, as well as relatively impartial reviews, go to CNET.  For CNET downloads, type www.downloads.com.  CNET also offers its “tracker” utility, which remembers the programs you’ve downloaded and reminds you when upgrades become available.  CNET also has some useful tutorials, such as how to chat with MySpace IM, erase data on your old PC, and set up surround sound theatre speakers.

 One of the more reliable sites for downloads of the latest versions of utilities (anti-spyware, firewall, compression, etc.) is filehippo.  For more advanced users, try Merijn.org, but be careful: many of these programs can delete files that can result in harm to your computer as much as they can help.

 Looking for freeware downloads, try these sites:  snapfiles.com; portablefreeware.com; freedownloadscenter.com. The safest: Cnet, which has both Windows and Mac downloads, as well as mobile and webware.

 If you’re interested in editing graphics and photos, but don’t really want to spend the relatively high price for Photoshop (C3 is about $649), there are several free alternatives.  Try www.picnic.com; www.splaship.com:  http://a.viary.com; www.photoshop.com/express; www. snipshot.com; www.flauntr.com; http://gui.picresize.com.picresize2; www.pixenate.com; www.fotoflexer.com; www.phixr.com to name just a few.  Some are simpler than others; some are limited; some are advertising supported.   My favorite is Gimp.

 If you’re looking for an answer to a specific question, Google searches work fairly well.  But there are other, more in depth question and answer sites available:  There’s Yahoo Answers, Answers.com, FaceBook Questions, Formspring, Aardvark, ChaCha, WikiAnswers, eHow, AnswerBag and others.  The current new favorite:  Quora, a site created by two former FaceBook executives, which has developed a loyal Silicon Valley following.

 Links to file compression programs such as PKZip, WinRAR, SecureZip, jZip and WinZip are also provided in the Glossary.

  Yes, you can sync your iTunes with Android.  Use DoubleTwist.

 iHateSpam: There are lots of ways to avoid or control spam in your emails.  Separate accounts, blacklists, junk filters all work to some extent.  [We can advise you how to set up your emails so you don’t get this stuff, or at least filter it out.]  But, if you’re already set up and receiving spam on an existing account, there are still things you can do.  If you are sticking with Outlook, it is a good idea to get a spam filter such as iHateSpam. It works with Outlook and Outlook Express and is very simple to setup and operate. A true no-brainer of spam filters. It automatically filters and analyzes all incoming e-mail and suspicious e-mails are then quarantined for your review. I used to recommend against unsubscribing from spam, as it only let’s the spammers know they’ve hit a live address, but experience has shown that legitimate (corporate) e-mail which is removed using the unsubscribe button seem to work well. OTHER HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SPAM PROGRAMS (from clients):  InBoxer, Cloudmark.  Also, SafeSubcribe.

 Trying to monitor your kids on Facebook without being obvious?  Try ZoneAlarm SocialGuard.  It’s from Check Point Software Technologies, and costs $2/mo. or $20/yr. after a free trial period.  This program isn’t invasive, allows your kids their privacy, but still monitors your kids’ Facebook accounts for potential predators, cyber bullying, age fraud, account hacking and links to inappropriate or malicious websites, all without disurbing your kids’ privacy by allowing you to read their posts.

 Tired of your Internet Service Provider?  Wanna make a switch, but it seems like such a bother.  A service named TrueSwitch claims to make changing your ISP easy. It copies all your personal data to the new account, notifies everyone with the new email address, forwards emails sent to your old email address and helps you cancel the old account. 

 Travel Apps:  TripIt.com compiles an itinerary of all flights, hotels or car rentals if you forward the e-mail confirmations.  FlightTrack Pro (for iPhone and Android) shows details of every flight, obtains flight information in advance of airline computers, synchs with TripIt.  Airlines have various check in apps, Delta is the best.  Kayak is an app for searching, but not purchasing, tickets.  FlightAware.com tracks a flight’s process, useful not only for the flier, but those who are picking them up.  Thanks to David Pogue.

 Adobe Air:  As discussed in the Glossary, this program is a non-browser based version of Adobe Flash.  Download site, click HERE.  Also, check out the other Adobe applications, such as Adobe Media Player.

 I have always thought that one of the finest applications of the World Wide Web has been to spread knowledge and information resources (like the Library of Congress), without charge, to the people of the world, and that it is especially useful to those persons who, because of their physical or geographic limitations, are unable to obtain these resources.  One of the most creative of these sites that I have found is called TED:Ideas Worth Spreading.  It is a compendium of “riveting talks by remarkable people” and is a searchable list of lectures by the movers and shakers in their respective fields, in several languages, discussing important topics of the times.

 Check WirelessAdvisor.com for comprehensive, up-to-date and unbiased wireless communication service information.  It provides lots of answers to questions about selecting a wireless carrier, definitions, etc.

 Check M-Law’s Wacky Warning Labels for a great collection of stupid warning labels (e.g. “Don’t Iron Clothes While Wearing” on an iron).  I love these things.  It makes you wonder whether someone actually did the stupid things which led to the disclaimer.

 Interested in the latest trends and products?  Conversely, want to jump-start your product with some free advertising:  Check out DailyCandy, Thrillist (more guy-centered), coolsiteoftheday, and grubtrotters (food oriented).  If any of these sites accept your product as unique, cool and trend-setting, you are virtually guaranteed success!

 It’s not exactly cloud computing or whiteboard sharing, but Skype does have a service that allows you to share your desktop - for free.  Let’s say you’re trying to explain to a friend how to do something on the computer.  You’re looking at your computer screen and trying to explain yourself, but it’s not working.  If you have Skype, you can call them, share your screen, and show them how it’s done.  Click this LINK to find out how. ’Course, I still like LogMeIn free, or Citrix, if you do it much.

 For a pretty comprehensive list of piggy-back, unwanted add-on software installed by various packages, click HERE.

 Looking for more security when using your laptop to sign into your network from the road.  Try Phone Factor, a service which authenticates your sign-in with an automated phone call ortext mesage to which you must accurately respond before you will ge granted access.  see www.phonefactor.com.

 If all of the clutter on web pages bothers you, there is a botton that you can add to your browser’s menu bar named Readability.  With one click, this app eliminates everything from the web page you are viewing with the exception of text and photos.

 For those of you interested in typography and fonts, there is a website (typofile.com) which contains, among other things, an interactive Resources page which has lots of interesting information.  Check out the Blogs as well:  There is a thread, for example, dealing with the negative feedback that Ikea got when it changed its 2010 catalog typeface from Futura to Verdana.  Amazing to think that people even notice such things.  Click HERE for more information.

 There are now several sites where you can view television shows that you might have missed in the past few days: Hulu, Joost, TV.COM and Fancast are the most popular sites, but there are others, including TVGuide.  And, if you have a TV in your car or van, check out FlowTV for getting live mobile TV.

 If you are provided with a “short” URL, say in an e-mail or tweet, don’t click on it unless you can verify the entire address.  To do this, use the free utility LongUrl.   If you’re looking for a way to convert long URLs into smaller ones on a computer (most smartphones and software like Twitter automatically do this) use TinyURL or bit.ly.

 If you upgrade to Windows 7 and have scanner driver problems, it may be worth the $40 to get a copy of Vue-Scan, a generic device driver that works with a overwhelming variety of scanners.  It is written fy a programmer and former NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab staffer Ed Hamrick.

 You can fax from your computer for free without a fax machine or phone line.  FaxZero uses your internet connection to send faxes for free from your web browser.  This is for the occasional faxer that only needs to fax once and a while.  The service is completely free, no signup required.  If you require full fax sending and receiving on a more consistent basis, but don’t want the bother of a fax machine and telephone line, you can sign up for eFax, which runs about $15/mo.  See also, MyFax and RingCentral.  If you have a telephone line available, I’ve used a shareware program called Fax Talk Communicator for sending and receiving faxes; It seems to work about as well as WinFax or the more expensive programs for occasional faxers. For apps which you can use with your iPad and Android smart phones to send faxes, see the Phone page of this site.

 Years ago, traveling to a foreign country meant at least trying to learn the language or lugging around a dictionary or guidebook of phrases.  Now, smartphones act as instant translators.  You’ve probably seen the commercial using the Apple app (in that case, Jibbigo; see also linguo, iLingual) where you speak into the phone and see and hear the translation.  Google, too, has the Google Googles app for the Android phones, where you can use the built-in camera to photo, perhaps a French menu, then use your finger to create a box around the text you want translated, then translate or reverse translate the text.  iLingual snaps a photo of your mouth, puts it on the phone screen, then moves it as it translates pre-programmed phrases.  You’ve gotta see this (HERE), if nothing else than to be impressed by its ingenuity.  This stuff truly amazes me.

 I always forget that not all of us can type, much less type well.  I was forced to learn typing in high school, in addition to such other archaic things as latin (dates me, doesn’t it?).  Luckily, there are alternatives other than learning typing (I recommend the DVD Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for that purpose) that can solve this deficiency.  In the RANT section of this website, I discuss Livescribe, the pen that actually takes notes (classes, meetings, conversations) and digitally transcribes them.  (For a comparison of the top 6 digital pens, click HERE.) For heavy duty dictation, there’s Dragon Naturally Speaking, which has been around for many years and, with some training, is quite perfected.  Also, if you have an iPad, the five-dollar Note Taker HD lets you write notes with your finger or a stylus and transfer the digital documents to a computer by e-mailing them as PDF files (not editable, unfortunately).  Some manufacturers such as Lenovo make tablet computers that let you enter handwritten notes with a stylus, which then use a Windows O/S feature to convert the hand-written notes into typed (editable) text.  Rather than post the links, which are readily available, you should look on YouTube for demos of these devices to see how they actually work.  At Computer Coach, we have lots of experience with dictation and transposition software, both residentially and commercially, so please call is if you are considering these products - we can advise you, install the software and train you in its use.

 You may be surprised to learn just how much information you have shared with other over the Internet.  Now, there’s an internet tool “I Shared What?!?” (at isharedwhat.com) that displays the information that Facebook connect and Facebook apps share with others.  The same developer also has a site, showmefirst.com, which lets you preview what you’re about to share on Facebook, allowing you to adjust your info or privacy settings before clicking.

  For a comparison of various streaming audio/music services available on the Internet, see Streaming Audio in the glossary.

  For those of you who are traveling where electricity may be unavailable or in short supply, there are viable solar alternatives.  Voltiac Systems makes a solar charger for your tablet, smartphone and digital camera.  They claim 10 hours in the sun will provide sufficient power for all three.  Netbook Samsung NC215s has a built-in solar cell in the lid which, Samsung claims, provides an hour of life for each two hours of sun.  The Logitech wireless keyboard K750 charges with sunlight and also ambient indoor lighting.

  Bing is adding airport maps. Starting with 42 airports in November, 2011, via the desktop version of Bing, users can now type the name of an airport into Bing Maps, then zoom all the way into the building itself.  Airport maps will include everything from information about parking garages, terminals and gates, baggage claims, currency exchange, eateries and more.

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