Ocean Hills Computer Club--Web Page Development Group

Here is the link to the "Top 100 Alternative Search Engines" presented at the February "Surfing the Web" Workshop...Have fun exploring Alternative ways to search for information on the Web...

Surfing the Web is usually a personal desire to explore and find relevant information regarding a person's particular interest. Surfing the Web can take an almost unlimited scope, depending upon the individual.

The Computer Club tries to keep abreast of the latest Browsers as well as Security products needed by surfers. We try to answer questions and show our members the how and where to look (search) for information.

Since 2006, a product from Google, called Google Earth has been one of the main topics at our monthly meetings. There are so many and varied uses and users of Google Earth, that we can only cover the tip of the iceberg, but we like to share our experiences in order to be entertained as well as learn new techniques.

Google Earth which pulls together satellite photographs from around the world makes it easy and natural for all users to use. The Google Earth world map is becoming the presentation standard for user of all kinds around the world.

http://housingmaps.com and find virtual pushpins on a map of the neighborhood you are interested in...The housing listings come from http://craigslist.com and are merged with the Google Earth map.

If you want to make sure the neighborhood is safe: check out http://mapsexoffenders.com to see the local registry of sex offenders with their particular address on a map.

Many US and world businesses have begun to exploit the Google Earth map platform to sell their ideas or goods.

While using Google Earth, you may be interested in checking out the following site to find out practically all of the statistical and political information about a particular country that you are flying over...Click here and type in the country you are interested in.

Competition for Google Earth is starting to find its way into the mainstream with Yahoo, Microsoft and Amazon being among the largest.

Yahoo maps has long been very popular and Microsoft Live is becoming more popular every day. Amazon.com has found a niche with it's A9 search engine and there are several if not many more competitors vying for leadership in the search business.

Want to find out the selling price of your home anywhere in the USA? ...and the selling price on your neighbor's home as well, just check out http://www.zillow.com and you will see 60,000,000 homes with their approximate price!!! The site uses part of the Google Maps to pinpoint your neighborhood...Enjoy, but remember these are "estimates"...check with your realtor for "real" prices!!!

TODAY'S FEATURES

Internet puts world of facts and figures at your fingertips (DPA) 13 February 2006 WASHINGTON -

Did you know that Internet use is growing faster in the Middle East than anywhere else - followed closely by Africa? Or how about that the Pitcairn Islands are the world’s least populated country, with a grand total of 46 inhabitants? Or that the world-wide rate of population growth is expected to decline by more than half over the next fifty years? If you have an appetite for facts and figures, amazing statistics and mind-boggling nuggets of information, the Internet is your five- star dining experience.

Never before has so much hard data been at the fingertips of so many. Some of the world’s most respected information gatherers have assembled it on web sites you’ve probably never heard of but might just want to bookmark once you do.

It’s true that web search engines like Google are all about finding information as well. But the trouble with search engines is that the information they provide is too often from sources that are informal or commercial.

That’s where a site like InfoPlease (http://www.infoplease.com) comes in. This repository of facts, figures, and overviews contains free information from such sources as encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries, and in-depth articles. Type in ”Germany,” for example, and you’ll quickly be presented with a list that includes an almanac’s overview of the country, its people, and major statistics, as well as pointers to German literature, history, art and architecture, and rulers. The site’s focus on facts and articles from reputable sources makes it a great landing place for students and information junkies alike. Here, you won’t have to wade through dozens of irrelevant links, as you do with the typical search engine. And for those who think facts aren’t fun all by themselves, the site also provides enticing features such as “This day in history” and “Today’s famous birthdays.”

InfoPlease’s partner site, Fact Monster (http://www.factmonster.com), is a search engine replacement for kids. Complete with a bright colour scheme, games, and quizzes, FactMonster weeds out the detritus and helps kids learn by piquing their curiosity about the world around them. An example: The site’s headings under the category Science include “A peek inside your body,” ”the ladder of life,” and “the brain: more than just a thinker.”

Merging facts with function is the purpose of HowStuffWorks (http://www.howstuffworks.com), a site that combines informational texts and videos on subjects ranging from autos to zoology. Designed similarly to a Web-based magazine, HowStuffWorks reels you in from the start with headlines such as “how digital cameras work,” ”how safecracking works,” and “how laptops work.” Click on one of the thousands of articles, and you’ll get the inside scoop on something you might otherwise never have learned about.

A visit to the site’s Health Stuff section, for instance, lures you with an article on “how tatoos work,” while a doctor in the corner of the screen starts talking to you about the anti-wrinkle drug Botox. “In 2004,” the doctor says, “there were over 3 million Botox injections, as more and more people seek a youthful appearance.” The doctor then goes on to explain how Botox enables people to look younger by apparently doing away with wrinkles.

Globalists will want to give two fact-filled world statistic sites a spin. GeoHive (http://www.geohive.com), a treasure trove of global statistics, and WorldStats (http://www.worldstats.org), an atlas with lots more than pretty pictures, can take you around the world in the comfort of your computer chair. How else would you learn, for example, that India’s population is increasing by 41,435 people a day?

GeoHive and WorldStats don’t provide the type of immersive, first- person, three-dimensional experience that you’ll get with Google Earth (http://earth.google.com). But they do make it easy for you to learn high-level facts about any continent, country, and city on earth. Through descriptive text, tables, charts, and maps, you can quickly learn about a country’s people, currency, government, languages, transportation and communication issues, military, and much more.

More is of course what the Internet is all about, so it’s fun from time to time to find out just how Internet penetration is progressing around the world. Internet World Stats (http://www.internetworldstats.com) will tell you all about it. Every Internet-related statistic you can imagine is probably represented here. While you might not be surprised to learn that Internet usage as a percentage of total population is largest in North America, for example, with 68 per cent of the population having access to the Internet, Internet use growth is greatest in Somalia, where from 2000-2005 use of the Internet grew at a rate of 44,400 per cent.

Surf these fact-based Internet sites long enough, and you’ll probably come away having learned more about the world in a few hours than you have in a long time. But just be careful about how you use your newfound knowledge in public: citing population growth statistics on a first date may not be the best way to break the ice.

Have you heard that eventually most computer applications like Word, Excel, Power Point or even Quicken will be web-based and available for a for-use fee. It will no longer be necessary to buy these applications for your personal computer, the application will reside ONLINE and be accessible for a fee...

Experimental sites are now available, such as, Writely, a free word processing program, NumSum a spreadsheet site, and Voo2do, a scheduling and calendar site.

The Mystery Guest for the June Meeting was none other than Dick Travis's REAL son--Tom Travis.

Everyone enjoyed meeting him and questioning him about the development of web pages at Los Angeles County and many other questions that we have been asking his Dad for years...Alas, someone who really knows what is going on!!!

Discussions were also held regarding Tom's views of the Microsoft Corp. and their renowned leader...pictured below

...mixed reactions among the attendees were discussed in a professional manner.

Below is a group picture taken by Werner Greve...and another of myself and Tom...

Want to make a WAV sound file? Click on the link, but read below for the easiest way to do it...

Bell Labs has a web site that allows you to "type a message" and it creates a WAV sound file for you. It has 9 different types of voices available. Just choose your type of voice (I prefer the Big Man voice, myself), then type your message and end the message with a period.

Choose the WAV format and click on SYNTHESIZE and wait for the SAVE dialog box, click SAVE and be sure to change the name of the file to whatever you want. I prefer to leave the first part of the file as voicestts- then just add whatever you like before the .wav.......and be sure to save it where you will remember where it is on your hard disk.

Once it has been downloaded to your hard drive, you can open it and see how it sounds. If you don't like it just keep trying new voices, sayings, whatever...its free and pretty neat. Check out my home page for a sound I created there.