Internet Tips & Tricks
By MARK DAVIS
General Manager, CommSpeed Internet Service
Vice
President, Prescott Computer Society
Visit the Computer Society Website
www.prescottcomputersociety.org
Online Reference Tools
 We
used to have to either drive to the library or buy our
own encyclopedia, dictionary and thesaurus to find
useful information. Not anymore. The Web has opened up
the world, and it's free! You might want to bookmark
some of the following sites.
www.m-w.com is the
Merriam-Webster online dictionary, with definitions for
every word you can think of. Click on the ‘speaker’
icon for any word and it will be pronounced for you.
There’s also a thesaurus for looking up synonyms and
antonyms.
www.thesaurus.com
has both a thesaurus and a dictionary. There are
downloads enabling you to access the dictionary directly
from the toolbar on your browser. There’s also a handy
language translator. Type in a sentence in English and
have it translated into your choice of 15 different
languages. Or, try some word play in the “fun & games”
section, with crossword puzzles, word search, hangman
and more.
www.webopedia.com
- There are so many acronyms and strange words
dealing with computers, it's easy to get confused.
Webopedia does a great job of taking the mystery out of
a sometimes foreign language.
www.quotationspage.com - Quoting the great minds
of our day can liven up a speech, letter or email. It's
also fun to read what other people have said about a
specific subject. “Do Not Disturb signs should be
written in the language of the hotel maids.” – Tim
Bedore
www.infoplease.com
- Information Please has been providing answers to
all kinds of questions since 1938 - first as a popular
radio quiz show, then starting in 1947 as an almanac,
and on the Internet since 1998.
www.refdesk.com
– You can gain access to online dictionaries,
encyclopedias, and myriad other reference sources: the
day's leading news stories, popular search engines, and
more. Think of it as Yahoo! crossed with your local
librarian.
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