Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Cool Stuff
By Cate Eales
Appeared July 26, 2007 on castanet.net

What could be better in the hot weather than finding some cool stuff? I've got some goodies for you, followed by the almost inevitable security updates reminders. Enjoy...and be safe.


See what you're doing
Visual Task Tips provides a thumbnail preview image for each task in the Windows Taskbar. If you have a lot of programs open, you can hover over any of them in the Taskbar, and you'll see a small picture of the window, whether it's open or minimized. Grab it here.

It doesn't work with every program; sometimes you just see a black thumbnail, but it's still useful. Get used to it; Vista includes this capability.


Find what you're looking for
Even though Google doesn't like it any more than Xerox did, Google has become a verb. (I'm not aware of any complaints from FedEx...) If you'd like to Google more effectively, check out the GoogleGuide by Nancy Blachman. The site is divided into tutorials and references for experienced and inexperienced Googlers alike. Helpful, easy-to-follow examples show you what search terms will give you the results you expect.

If you ever want to search in more than one search engine at once, try 12 Elite Multi Search, here. Pick two or four of the search engines listed, and the results will be shown in two or four panes in your browser window. Dig a little deeper and you'll see that you can split the results for searches in news sites, for images, in shopping sites, and more. The search engine is in Beta right now, so you might experience a kink now and then. But it will be interesting to see how this progresses. Even Google was in Beta once.
 

Discover "Playable Search"
Do you ever wish you could listen to music you don't own without having to buy, borrow, or download it? If so, browse on over to SeeqPod, here, and stream what you find. SeeqPod's "playable search" engine looks for music on the web which is publicly available, but sometimes hard to find. Type in an artist's name, click on "Search" and you will get results (if any exist) for that artist from a multitude of sites. Put one or more of those results in a play list, and search for the next artist. You can keep adding to the play list as you play. Create an account (This is free and took less than 30 seconds.) and you can save your play lists, and hear them whenever you return to the site.

If you click on Discoveries instead of Search, SeeqPod will return results of artists you might like based on what you entered. The term Duke Ellington gave me results that included Dave Brubeck's "Take Five" and Glenn Miller's "In The Mood."

Discoveries for Tom Petty inexplicably returned "Sugar Sugar" by the Archies, so this doesn't work all the time! You can search by title, too. Searching on You Can't Always Get What You Want found many Rolling Stones versions, and one by The Grinning Lizards. Searching on Grinning Lizards...well you can see where this is going. There's lots more to the site, which is still in Beta. Discover some new music or take a stroll down memory lane.


Get Those Updates
In the past two weeks, there have been security updates for Adobe Flash, (yes, again), Java (yes, AGAIN!!) and a big update for Firefox. To find out if you are current, visit the Secunia Software Inspector, here. This will work in IE6, IE7, or Firefox. (If you're using IE, you will have to accept an ActiveX control to run the inspector.) If the Inspector sees that you need an update, it will give you a direct link to the download page for the application.


Once again, thank you for writing with comments, questions, and suggestions; please keep them coming. Remember that you can browse the column archives at any time here. We're open 24/7/365!  If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.


Links
Visual Task Tips http://www.visualtasktips.com/
Google is not a verb http://news.com.com/Google+wants+people+to+stop+googling/2100-1030_3-6106479.html
Xerox is not a verb http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=18492
FedEx is a verb http://nyjobsource.com/fedex.html
GoogleGuide http://www.googleguide.com/
12 Elite http://www.12elite.com/
SeeqPod http://www.seeqpod.com/
Secunia Software Inspector http://secunia.com/software_inspector/
Get Cate's column by email http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=20618
RSS Feed: http://rlis.com/rlis.xml
Cate's list of good, free software http://rlis.com/columns/column75list.htm

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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.