Today's class was so interesting and helpful!  There are 2 categories of information that I learned which I am excited to share with the world!

1.  Search Engines - how many of us have our homepages set to Google?  I know I do.  Over the years I have come to trust Google - whether its for basic information, directions, deals on flights, or even just a picture of something really obscure, Google usually comes through for me.  

Although it felt in a way that I was cheating on my friend Google, I did take the opportunity to check out some of the other sites we talked about in class.  However, to be fair to Google, I mainly focused on the more specific categories!  In terms of "MetaSearch Engines" (which combine the results of from a number of different search engines in one place), I enjoyed IXquick, SurfWax and DogPile.  I also checked out the "kid-friendly" search engines (which before today I had no idea even existed!) and I was very impressed with OneKey (which is the Google search for kids - see, I am faithful to my Google!), Ask Jeeves for Kids, and Kids Click.  Who knew so many options were available?

2.  Websites to Save Ourselves - Ok this is not how it sounds.  How many of us have had that late night of working on some sort of school or work project and then something happens and suddenly it is gone - vanished into cyber space or some microorganism that lives inside our computers has hidden it out of our reach?  This happens all too often.  How can we protect ourselves, and save ourselves from the inevitable nervous breakdown that we would have if we lost that 100 page thesis paper the night before it was due?
Several options are available if we are willing to put money into them - an external hard drive, multiple USB keys or memory sticks, but who knew that there were sites on the Internet that could do the same thing?  I am amazed.  Of course, we could link important school resources to this website, but I'm sure most would prefer not to clutter it with all the documents on our personal computers.  The answer?  DropBox!  If you've never heard of DropBox, CHECK IT OUT.  This is an online magical place where you can store any and everything that you want to (document wise, of course!)  Seriously, this thing can change your life.  Go check it out. Now. There is also Google Drive, which I found less user-friendly, but for someone slightly more computer-literate than myself, it may be perfect.

Mike
10/11/2012 03:09:16 pm

Your passion for this subject makes me want to just go out and search and save everything! This isn't an in-depth comment, I just felt the need to tell you officially. :)

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