sree.net > tips > newsletters > Feb. 2002
Web version: http://www.sree.net/tips/200202.html

Sree Tips
A free monthly newsletter of Web tips and tricks

To receive a free advance copy of this newsletter each month, send an e-mail to sreetips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (just one message a month)

From Sreenath Sreenivasan
Columbia University journalism professor
WABC-TV's "Tech Guru" on Thursday mornings in NYC area
[Tech Guru archives at http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/
Now with Real Video archives]

http://www.sree.net/ * sreetipsreax@sree.net

Feb. 2002: http://www.sree.net/tips/200202.html
Archive: http://www.sree.net/tips

Subscribe: sreetips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (just one message a month)
Feedback: sreetipsreax@sree.net

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Manhattan, Feb. 28 -- Welcome to the latest issue of the "Sree Tips" newsletter. In addition to some USEFUL-ISH and FUN-ISH Web sites, we have a new feature: a guest tip. Each month, I will feature a tip from one of you.

As you may know, this newsletter started as an offshoot of the "Smarter Surfing: Better Use of Your Web Time" workshops I teach around the U.S. and abroad. If you are interested in having me do a session for your organization, civic group, school or hamlet (I do most of them pro bono), please visit http://www.sree.net/web

As always, I look forward to YOUR tips, feedback and suggestions: sreetipsreax@sree.net. This month's tipsters include: Tara Calishain, Jonanthan Dube, Subrata Chakravarty, Bob Romano, Sarah Milstein, Al Tompkins.

Why wait a month for the next newsletter? Visit the constantly updated "Smarter Surfing" links at http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html
Also see new "Web Tips" published every Tuesday on Poynter.org: http://www.poynter.org/web/Archive2001.htm

Reminder: Your friends can add themselves to this once-a-month mailing list by e-mailing sreetips@sree.net

{Cheers, Sree}

New-ish USEFUL SITES
(sites I find useful in some way)

SAJA's Pearl Pages -- dedicated to slain reporter Daniel Pearl
http://www.saja.org/pearl.html: news roundup
http://www.saja.org/pearltribute.html: tributes from around the world
At the South Asian Journalists Association, we maintain a database of stories about slain Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl and the investigation into his murder. You will find stories dating back to his kidnapping and articles and editorials about developments in the case and about the suspects. In addition, there is a tribute page with dozens of messages from friends and strangers around the world. Among them, one of the American hostages held in Iran in 1979. You will also find links to other Pearl Web resources as well as information about making a donation.

MervinBlock.com -- writing tips from a broadcast writing coach
http://www.mervinblock.com
The Tech Guru's writing guru is Mervin Block, America's leading broadcast writing coach. Block has worked with such TV legends as Walter Cronkite, Ed Bradley, Tom Brokaw, Diane Sawyer and Dan Rather and with his new Web site (which I helped out on) -- he can work with you. He shares some of his tips and thoughts on writing well. Spend some time with his "Dozen Deadly Sins," "Top Tips of the Trade" and archives of newswriting columns and you will learn a lot. These are gathered from his bestselling books about writing. Though most of this is aimed at folks who work in TV or radio, I believe everyone who writes can benefit greatly from his tips. I am, of course, now worried about all the errors he will find in this newsletter.

Repair Clinic -- appliance help
http://www.repairclinic.com
All applicances, all the time. Here you will find repair help for household appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners and microwave ovens, along with spare parts and manuals. If you are un-handy like I am, the Repair Guru provides plenty of free assistance. [I think I have just exceeded the legal limit for mentions of the word "guru" in one newsletter. This is known as "death by guru."]

ENCORE: Last month's NEW-ISH USEFUL SITES
from http://www.sree.net/tips/200201.html

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New-ish FUN SITES
(proof "fun" is a subjective word)

TrekShare -- share your travel experience
http://www.trekshare.com
This free site allows you to plan a vacation or journey online and create travel journals. You can make tailored maps of your journey and photo albums and also get feedback from fellow travelers. It isn't just trekking -- you can use it for all sorts of travel and then have memories you can keep and share with friends. Here's an example of a journey by Joseph Kultgen, the site's CEO: http://www.trekshare.com/members/joseph/?p6=621

The Stinkers -- the worst movies of all time
http://www.thestinkers.com
You're waiting for the Oscars, but here's a site that seeks out only bad movies. Sign up to become a member of the Hastings Bad Cinema Society and you can help pick the worst films of last year. You will find a parody of the American Film Institute list of the 100 "greatest" movies of the last century: "100 Years, 100 Stinkers - The Worst Films of the 20th Century." Unlike the AFI list, this one is in alphabetical order, starting with "Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls" and ending with "Xanadu." Just as I didn't agree with all the movies on the AFI list, I would dispute at least a couple of the titles here (I liked "Independence Day," for instance), but the site's good, time-wasting fun.

ENCORE: Last month's NEW-ISH FUN SITES
from http://www.sree.net/tips/200201.html

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GUEST TIP
(A SreeTips reader shares a tip)

SARAH MILSTEIN, a NY-based freelance writer, offers this tip: "The New York Public Library site
(www.nypl.org) has a link to ProQuest in its electronic resources area. Using the number on the back of your library card, you can access--for free--the ProQuest database, which includes archives of the NYTimes, the WSJ, and hundreds of other publications. It's not 100% complete (I recently couldn't find a Times article published in 1998, although I did track down one from 1996), but it's pretty good. There are other handy databases on the site, and, presumably, other public libraries around the country offer similar fare."

Thanks, Sarah. You can e-mail her at milstein@pipeline.com or see her movie reviews at http://DogsandShoes.com (don't ask!) Have a tip you would like to share? Send it to sree@sree.net

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MY DEFAULT SUCH & SUCH...
(my starting points for various things; may change monthly)

Search Engine:
Google
http://www.google.com/
The best search engine out there. 'Nuff said. But here's Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal on Google: "...simply the best search site I've ever used." If you know Walt's work -- and you should be following it religiously at http://ptech.wsj.com/ -- you know that he doesn't hand out such praise often. Be sure to download the free Google toolbar; it will change the way you search: http://toolbar.google.com/ (no Mac version right now)

Reference Site:
Refdesk
http://www.refdesk.com/
Excellent reference site. Don't just take my word for it. The New York Times quoted U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell saying this is his favorite Web site. Run by Bob Drudge, Matt's dad (though Refdesk doesn't run rumors).

Encyclopedia:
Britannica.com
http://www.britannica.com/
The Encyclopedia Britannica on the Web -- basic info free of charge (the full-access version, which used to be free, now costs $7.95 a month, or $50 a year). I also use, to a lesser extent, Encarta.com from Microsoft (many free articles, pay for others).

Dictionary:
Merriam-Webster
http://www.m-w.com/
In offices, dictionaries grow legs and walk. Hence an online dictionary is a must. This one addresses a major problem I have had with traditional dictionaries: You need to know how to spell a word before you look it up. Not here. Just punch in an approximation, and it will give you a suggested list. And nice etymology. Also see the new button for your browser; once you download it, you don't need to go to the site itself in order to lookup a word. You can do it right from whatever site you are in.

Atlas:
National Geographic's Map Machine
http://plasma.nationalgeographic.com/mapmachine/
Leave it to National Geographic to make the best online atlas with these dynamic maps that will take you to any spot you choose and allow you to change what kind of map you see, on the fly. I had no idea there are three towns named Santa Claus in the U.S. or that my grandfather's village in India is an easy find.

Driving Directions:
MapQuest
http://www.mapquest.com/
For U.S. driving directions, MapQuest remains the best site. But I also like the new "straight-line" maps from MapBlast <http://www.mapblast.com>

World Time:
TimeAndDate.com
http://www.timeanddate.com/
The best set of world clocks and calendars. I like the personal world clock, which allows you to set and track time in up to 16 cities at one glance.

Software Downloads:
Download.com
http://www.download.com
No need to hit the store to buy software. Almost everything you need is online and has free trials.

Media Goings-on:
Jim Romenesko's Media News
http://www.medianews.org/
Hosted by Poynter.org, this is news-junkie heaven. I read it more often and more closely than any other site.

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SREE-DOT-NET STUFF

Must-Sree TV
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/technology/
My "Tech Guru" segments on WABC-7 in the New York City area run every Thursday morning on channel 7 at 6:45 (yes, that's the a.m.). This is a link to archived Web versions of my segments -- now includes Real Video versions for the newer segments.

"Smarter Surfing" Workshops
http://www.sree.net/web
Smarter surfing for people of all skill levels. Interested in scheduling a class for you and your colleagues? Learn more.

"Smarter Surfing" Links: Better Use of Your Web Time
http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html
Links for various categories of sites, annotated for your surfing pleasure.

Sree Tips -- the Web page
http://www.sree.net/tips
Links to my tips and thoughts on various items, including laptops, digital cameras, freelance writing, Web production and more.

Poynter.org Web Tips
http://www.poynter.org/web/Archive2001.htm
Every Tuesday, I write a short Web tip for Poynter.org; MSNBC technology editor Jonathan Dube writes one every Friday.

Sree Talks
http://www.sree.net/talks
List of forthcoming talks and presentations in various cities.

Info Overload & Moi
http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/columnists/mediasavvy/savvy1.htm
An essay for USAToday.com on handling information overload (yes, I am a major info polluter).

Content is Still King: Lesson from the Online Journalism Awards
http://www.sree.net/talks/c&w.html
A keynote speech I gave at the "Computers & Writing" conference in May 2001 at Ball State University.

[Reprint requests: reprints@sree.net]

That's it for now.

Remember, you can track my "Smarter Surfing" links at http://www.sree.net/tips/web.html

See you (your inbox, actually) next month.

Cheers, Sree
http://www.sree.net/

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Sree Tips List
Copyright 2002 Sree.net

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sree.net > tips > newsletters > Feb. 2002



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