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Festive Favourites

by Peter A Bell - Pragmatix Communication

The Festive Season is upon us once again and that means lots of people with new computers and broadband connections. So I thought it might be a good idea to devote this column to some websites that might be useful. And, given the season, a few that are just for fun. All links open in a new window.

For new users the computer and Windows environment can seem quite confusing. There is always the user manual and Windows own help files, of course, and I would encourage anyone to make fullest use of these. There are also a number of online resources which may be helpful. Many offer only the basic tutorials free and charge a fee for further lessons. But the basics may be all that is needed. Three websites worth looking at are -

www.gcflearnfree.org/tutorials

www.helpwithpcs.com

www.mistupid.com/tutorials/windowsxp

I will mention one more in this category which, while an excellent site for troubleshooting problems with Windows XP, is probably not ideal for real beginners. It is called Kelly's Korner and can be found at -

www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm

The internet is a massive repository of information on every topic imaginable. It would be quite impossible to offer a comprehensive catalogue of what is available. Using a search engine such as Google is the best way to find what you are looking for. But here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Wikipedia is a huge and constantly growing user-compiled online encyclopedia. It makes an excellent starting point for any research project. Or just a facinating place to browse. Find it at -

www.wikipedia.org

How Stuff Works is exactly what its name suggests. Go to -

www.howstuffworks.com

Google Earth "puts a planet's worth of imagery and other geographic information right on your desktop". Visit -

www.earth.google.com

Music lovers will enjoy Pandora. Give some information about your musical tastes and Pandora will come up with its own suggested listening. Go to -

www.pandora.com

And for the movie buffs there is the Internet Movie Database. Everything you ever wanted to know about movies and the people who make and star in them. Go to -

www.imdb.com

As it is the holiday season, let's end with some online fun. The following websites offer a great selection of online games –

www.shockwave.com

www.miniclip.com

And finally, my own particular favourite. Online jigsaw puzzles at JigZone -

www.jigzone.com

Enjoy! And very best wishes for 2007.