The Internet environment is in a state of change. Until now, most of the information found on the Web has been entirely free. With the fall of the dotcoms, many free Web service sites have ceased operations or have had to start charging for their services. One example is Britannica. When Britanica.com went online in October 1999, the entire encyclopedia was offered free of charge. Like many Internet-based companies, Britannica.com is searching for a way to stay afloat and is now charging $5 a month for full access to their encyclopedia. Other Internet sites have, so far, remained gratis. Let’s enjoy these Internet freebies while we can. Here are a few of my favorite free Internet services.
Atomica
Download and install Atomica and access the Internet. Then anytime you come across a word or phrase that you would like defined or explained, just click on the word while holding down the ALT key on your keyboard. You don’t have to leave the program that you are using; you don’t have to start up a search engine. Just click and the information is right at your fingertips.
Click on a word and a window will pop up with the meaning of the word, similar words, famous quotations about the word, and even a translation for the word in nine different languages. Click on a city and instant information about the city is on your screen. There will also be a city map, weather forecast, telephone dialing code, geographic information, and more. Click on a famous person’s name and you access his or her biography, links, and other pertinent information. Click on a company name and you will see company information, current company news, the company’s stock price, stock chart, and other information.
Atomica is especially worthwhile if you have an always-on connection like cable or DSL. Atomica (www.atomica.com) is a free download for non-commercial PC users. If you are a Mac user or don’t want to download the program, you can still enjoy Atomica’s services by using its online version at the Atomica Web site.
Google Toolbar
The Google toolbar is available free of charge. Just surf to Google.com, download a small program, and you are ready for some easy searching. The Google toolbar works with Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, or Me. You must also have Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.0 or greater installed. Unfortunately, there is no Mac version, but Windows users will find Google’s toolbar a great little program to try.
After installation, the Google toolbar will appear under the Internet Explorer toolbar. If it doesn’t appear automatically, just click on View, Toolbars, then click on Google to turn it on.
The first thing that the toolbar does is to allow you to access Google’s search technology from any Web page. Google says that their search index contains over one billion URLs (Internet addresses). In most cases, Google simply returns better and more relevant Web pages than most other search engines that I have used.
The Google toolbar offers a place to enter the item or phrase to search for. Once you enter that phrase, you are given a choice of searching the entire Web or just searching the Web site that you are on. This is one of the toolbar’s most impressive features. I have visited many Web sites with no search buttons, and I have also encountered many sites whose search engines are almost completely useless. The Google toolbar is different. Simply enter what you want to search for and search only the site that you are on. Google gives you the ability to highlight the search words wherever they are found in the text by clicking on the Highlighting pen on the toolbar.
WebShots
Want to have a little fun with your computer? Try visiting the Webshots Web site. WebShots is a photo-sharing site that has tons of outstanding photos. Download the free WebShots Desktop software and any photo you choose can become your wallpaper and/or screensaver with the click of a mouse. The software is quick to download and a joy to use, very easy and intuitive. Two things make this site outstanding: the quantity and the quality of the photos.
My Windows desktop is now filled with pictures so eye-catching that people pop their head into my office just to see what photo I have chosen for the day. In March, I celebrated March Madness with a screen full of basketballs. April and May found me enamored with wonderful flower pics. In July I found flags and fireworks appealing. Now with the dog days of summer upon us, I have become attached to several cooling polar bear scenes. With over four million photos to choose from and new photos featured daily, you are sure to find many to your liking.
You can also upload your own photos to WebShots, making them available to everyone or restricting accessibility to only family. There are even a few banner ads to tolerate, but once you access this site and download the software, you will be lost in the endless possibilities of beautiful photos.
