To: hlpinout who wrote (79127 ) 3/5/2000 7:42:00 AM From: hlpinout Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 97611
PC Magazine's Guide to News, Tech, Government, Business You can't always find what you want, to paraphrase Mick Jagger. But if you try the right tools, you'll find what you need. And finding what you need on the Web becomes more and more difficult as it grows. The general-purpose search engines can't keep up with the onslaught. The answer? Specialize, of course. You can blow right past the general-purpose search engines if you want to get into the Web's considerable depth in news, technology, government, and business sites. For instance, we have a dozen strong contenders for your favorite business-oriented search/link site. Because they're tuned to look at specific kinds of sites and particular kinds of pages, they don't get bogged down in the millions of inconsequential pages that bedevil the general-purpose engines. But even the dozen business-specialized sites don't trip all over one another with duplication. Yes, there's some, but there's a surprising (to me) amount of uniqueness in the links and references that they turn up. You might think that some of our tech link/search sites are a stretch (the Folklore and Urban Legends site comes to mind), but wouldn't you like to verify whether there is a Good Times virus or whether it's a hoax? Among the hidden gems, look for SpeechBot, a project from Compaq research that lets you search and retrieve over 2,500 hours of radio interviews. These are the experts' picks of the best search/research sites to get you where you want to go. I guarantee that some of our sites will find their way into your bookmarks and favorites. I'd like to be jaded and laid-back about this, but when I show people some of these sites, I tend to gush, "Is this cool, or what?!" If you think it's cool too, or if you think there's a site that should be on this list, let me know in Talkback, below. Read PC Magazine's Internet Reference Guide Don't miss PC Magazine's First Looks for hands-on reviews of new shipping products Site Analysis Services Improve Your Online Presence You've done the best you can on your company's site, but chances are that some expert analysis can make it better. And "better" translates to more customer satisfaction, more stickiness, more sales, and higher dollars per sale. Site analysis isn't cheap, but it can be vital to your e-business. We'll tell you about some of the leading contenders. You may be surprised at the sheer range of services available: Some will critique your workflow, ergonomics, appearance, and content. Others focus on performance, features, availability, and reliability. Some do follow-up with your customers to give you real-life feedback. And more. This is a valuable resource to take your site to the next level. Read PC Magazine's review of Site Analysis Trends Don't miss PC Magazine's First Looks for hands-on reviews of new shipping products A "VCR" and Editor for Winapps Never mind that the job isn't done until the paperwork's complete ? the work on in-house apps and sites isn't done until you deliver the training materials. That job just got easier, thanks to Camtasia, a virtual camcorder that records and edits your tour through Windows applications. Yes, you can do a lot of the basics with Lotus ScreenCam. But Camtasia goes well beyond ScreenCam's capabilities. You can download it free for 30 days, and decide for yourself. Read PC Magazine's review of Camtasia Don't miss PC Magazine's First Looks for hands-on reviews of new shipping products Visit the Internet Utilities Product Guide for reviews and more information