More Cool Web Tricks

If you ask most people what frustrates them most about the Internet, many of them will tell you "It's the little things!"

It seems like all the great tricks and tips that make people exclaim "STOP! How did you do that?" never make it into any manual (at least where I can find them).

My father (and co-author of "Turn Words Into Traffic") calls it the "reverse oral tradition" of computing, where children teach parents the survival skills of PC life.

Well, if you want to look good to your kids or buddies around the water cooler, check out the following cool web tricks.

Cool Google Tricks

Virtually everyone knows that Google.com ranks at the top of most people's search engine lists, but it does a lot more than just tell you where to find vitamins or information on George Washington's wooden teeth!

Need a map to a specific location?

Type in the address, city and state of virtually any location in the US, hit the search button, and Google serves up several different map providers across the Web.

Want to know what software application a certain file goes with on your computer?

Input the file name into Google's search box and a number of reference sites will help you know exactly what purpose a file serves.

I actually used this to feature to identify a piece of "spyware" lurking on my computer.

Want to know who's calling you on the phone in the US?

You can just input the phone number on your caller ID or cell phone display into the Google search box and get information on listed numbers before your answering machine can even pick up!

Log on to http://www.google.com/help/features.html for more cool search features that harness the search power of Google.

Text Zoom

Next time you can't see small text clearly on a website, try holding down the "CTRL" key and then moving the scroll wheel on your mouse up and down.

The text in your web browser (and some programs) will increase and decrease in size as you roll the wheel back and forth.

This little trick provides an excellent means of quickly getting what you need from websites with tiny text.

Slow Surfing?

If your Internet Explorer web browser starts giving you problems, you might want to clean up your "Temporary Internet Files."

Most people don't realize it, but when you leave a web page, it doesn't leave you!

Most of the time you keep a copy of websites you visit on your hard drive and, over time, they build up.

This collection of old web pages can eventually cause your surfing to slow to a crawl and even cause errors!

Here's one way to clear out those old files. Click your "Start" button, then "All Programs," "Accessories," "System Tools" and "Disk Cleanup."

After an initial check of your hard drive (which can take some time if it's the first time you've ever launched the utility), you can check the boxes of the files you wish to delete.

To speed up your surfing, at a minimum, make sure you delete the "Temporary Internet Files."

Surfing Shortcuts

To quickly cycle back and forth through a series of web pages you've visited, hold down the "ALT" key and tap your left and right arrow keys.

Left arrow takes you back while the Right arrow takes you forward.

The Page Up and Page Down buttons allow you to quickly move up and down any web page without struggling to find the scroll bar slider on the right side of the page.

About The Author

Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist (http://www.TheNetReporter.com) and is the author of several best-selling ebooks, information products and software programs.

Need MORE TRAFFIC to your website or affiliate links? "Turn Words Into Traffic" reveals the secrets for driving Thousands of NEW visitors to your website or affiliate links... without spending a dime on advertising! Click Here> http://www.TurnWordsIntoTraffic.com

---

Uninstall Windows Media Player 10 and Start Enjoying Your Media Again

Windows Media Player 10 has been full of bugs from... Read More

How to Buy a Plasma Television Set

Most people think that all you have to do to... Read More

A Peek Into the Near Future of Electronics Technology

How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years?... Read More

5 Minute Guide to Video Editing for Beginners

Getting started with video editing is very simple you only... Read More

Freezing - Time To Warm Up Your PC

Freezing is also known as crashing or hanging. It's frustrating.... Read More

Flash Memory, Part I: MMC and SD

MMC and SDFlash memory is available in so many formats... Read More

Registry Tools Demystified

Not sure what Windows registry is or how it works?... Read More

Basic Computer Thermodynamics

That desk in front of you and everything else around... Read More

Three Things You Can Do to Keep Your Computer Running at Maximum Performance

Although there are many things that can affect the performance... Read More

Why Get a Microsoft MCSE Certification?

In the years of the dot com boom and bust,... Read More

Enhanced Web Browsing With Toolbars

As the Web grows more crowded and just plain "noisy"... Read More

What?s the Difference Between Plasma TVs and LCD TVs?

Plasma and LCD TVs are the latest trend in home... Read More

Toshiba Wins Hollywood Support for the HD DVD format

What led them to this choice, as all four studios... Read More

Computer Performance Tips

Introduction In this article I will clearly spell out the... Read More

Cisco Certification: Taking Your First Certification Exam

Youâ??ve studied hard; youâ??ve practiced your configurations; youâ??ve used your... Read More

Setting File Permissions On A Unix Server

File permissions are one of the strengths that the Unix... Read More

Upgrading Your PC for Non-experts

IntroOne of the big advantages of PCs over earlier types... Read More

How to Set Up Simple File Sharing WinXP

The first step is: Start > My DocumentsSo you have... Read More

What Does That Error Message Really Mean?

Surf the 'Net for about 10 minutes and chances rate... Read More

More Cool Web Tricks

If you ask most people what frustrates them most about... Read More

Seven Things to Consider When Choosing a PDA

In the early days, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) were not... Read More

10 Tips to SPEED Up Your PC

1. Let your PC boot up completely before opening any... Read More

Help, I Need a New HDTV! (Part 4 of 5)

Feeling overwhelmed in selecting a new TV? With all the... Read More

Smart Apple iPod Tips and Techniques

Are you thinking of buying an Apple iPod? Or have... Read More

Buying a Personal Computer (PC)

For many people the computer industry is a seeming unsolvable... Read More

Some Thoughts on Choosing a Flash MP3 Player

Flash mp3 players come with an exciting array of features,... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Dexterity Customizations

Microsoft Business Solutions is on the way to popularize it's... Read More

Cache In Your Chips And Get A Bus!

Computer related terminology could sometimes be daunting to newcomers. These... Read More

Font Organizers Review, Part I

Do you know how many fonts are currently installed on... Read More

Cisco Certification: The Most Important Cisco Study Youll Ever Do

All of us are familiar with the pyramids of Egypt.... Read More

15 Good Programming Habits

1. Before sitting down for coding, you must have formal... Read More

How to Use SQLXML to Retrieve Data from SQL Server Database?

Using SQL Server 2000 and above versions you can retrieve... Read More

JVCs First Three-Layer Combo-Disc Blu-Ray / DVD

JVC developed and used a high-performance reflective film to produce... Read More