By Dona Z. Meilach
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Today’s column has features you may want to clip and put on your bulletin board so you remember that they are available to you.
By the time you read this, 100,000 people will know something you may have been missing! That’s the benefits of signing up at www.freecycle.org. Need something? Want to get rid of something? At no cost to you or the other person involved? Then click on the URL now and be amazed. Find your city or nearby town, join the site and you’re in! There are over 2,270 local chapters in 50 countries through which you can give and get free stuff and help protect the environment in your hometown.
It’s not a swap, item for item. You want a dresser out of your garage that you no longer need? Someone does and they’ll pick it up. Need to get rid of that wedding dress that someone else could use? Or a computer monitor you’ve replaced? Don’t toss it or put it in rummage. Give it where it will really be appreciated. Next time you need something, put a “wanted” message out there and someone will have it and contact you.
Freecyle.org was the brainchild of environmentalist Deron Beal in 2003 who came up with idea of starting a website for people who wanted to give things away. One woman needed musical instruments for her boys to play in the school band. She got them free through freecycle from a woman whose boys were grown. She had been moving them around in her storeroom for years and was happy to give them a good home.
Check the Web site for a group near you, or if there isn’t one you might want to start one. It could lead to the best fun you might ever have…and do people and the environment a world of good. The Freecycle™ Network is open to all communities and to all individuals who want to participate. Local volunteer moderators from run Freecycle™ groups across the globe who facilitates each local group - grassroots at its best!
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Google continues to stay ahead of the pack of browsers nibbling at its heels with features you never dreamed of having. Once you use the new maps offered by Google you may never go back to MapQuest. The easiest way to get the feel and look of this revolutionary mapping software is to enter “google maps” in the Google search engine. A full screen map of the North America greets you, for example. Then enter the name of the place you want and you’re taken there almost as if on a flying magic carpet. That’s only the beginning.
You can drag the map from one side of the screen to the other and zoom in
any spot you’ve designated. Try it with your own home to experiment. THEN…if you
want to find a specific type of business, enter that in the search box.
Restaurants? Specific types of restaurants? Sushi? Vegetarian? Wi fi spots? Hospitals? It will list
them with addresses and phone number. Want to go to one of them? You can get
turn-by-turn driving. Additionally, each step along the route offers
a link that, when clicked, pops up an enlarged view of the
intersection.
So far there are a few limitations to using the
maps. It supports
only Internet Explorer or Mozilla-based browsers. Try it for your own
neighborhood to see how it works.
Another clever application is
“Google suggests”. Look up a topic such as “glass art” for example and you’ll
get a drop down list of suggestions for other word combinations to use to find
what you’re seeking. These will appear as you type. Doesn’t happen with
everything but when it does, it’s cool. Try typing in “sushi” and watch what you
get.
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As a registered voter, I opted to receive material from an all voter email note telling me that I would be informed about the political scene. After I sent in my willingness to subscribe, I had second thoughts. I began to think that
A) I may be snowed under with political missives
B) It might be a scam to get information from me.
So a search for “voteremail” netted pay dirt. The following made me realize that my subscribing gave the company access to many dollars from politicians looking for people who would read what they wanted to tout. The voter email company boasted a 20% reply rate from voters and guaranteed that their clients were buying into an up-to-the-minute mailing list of interested subscribers.
Fortunately, after I agreed to subscribe, I needed to a send a confirmation which I ignored.
Here is their come-on and if you get it, a word to the wise will keep your inbox a little less cluttered.
“This year, voters will go to the polls to decide who will represent you in Congress. Elected officials, candidates and advocacy groups supporting specific candidates for office would like to contact you through periodic e-mail regarding the election. Electronic communication provides you with the ability to:
To ensure future e-mail from your elected officials is delivered in a timely manner, click here to confirm your desire to opt-in, and to send an e-mail to us with the word subscribe in the subject line.”
When I found their site at http://www.ngpsoftware.com/voteremail.html this paragraph made me realize that they
were offering to sell my name to their politico subscribers.
“We now have email addresses for registered voters who have agreed to receive information from political candidates.
Where the email addresses came
from:
Working with partners, we've matched the entire national voter file against multiple email databases nationwide. We then sent each of those people an email saying that political candidates and organizations were interested in communicating with them and giving them the opportunity to opt-out. In some states and districts we got up to a 20% match rate. You can buy email addresses for voters targeted by party, geography, age, gender and/or voting frequency and in most cases we can have them in your hands within 24 hours. Click here to see how many email addresses we have in your area.”
If you get this email, ignore it, or at best, be aware of what you’re asking for.
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Dona Meilach is the author
of over 85 books with 10 on computers. Her newest books are WOOD ART TODAY from
SchifferBooks.com. And a new cookbook, THE 50 BEST PUDDINGS AND SOUFFLES from
www.Bristolcookbooks.com.
Other computer organizations interested in running this column should contact
the author. The column is also available as a free E-zine. Subscribe DCC:
Contact dmeilach@msn.com. Dona’s
Computer Capers may also be found at http://www.smalladdictions.com/Skateboard.