Some Interesting Websites
I always enjoy being educated and amused. Here are a few websites that you should be aware of due to their huge amount of interesting data. My favorite is Netflix, but that costs about $10/month, and I’ll only discuss free items here.
- Stumble Upon https://www.stumbleupon.com/
When you first go to this site, it asks if you want to become a member and then gives you a wide variety of subject areas to choose that represent your interests. It asks for 10, but you can provide fewer, and the list of options is enormous. Don’t worry about picking them perfectly; they are easy to change. Once you provide some other information, like your name, you are ready to go. A few times a week, you’ll receive email with links to about four articles that are chosen because StumbleUpon thinks you will find them interesting. There are thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons on each article, and if you click on one, you are telling the system that, in fact, you enjoyed (or did not enjoy) what it provided. This will further identify your interests. I find that about 50% of what it now sends me is very interesting. Articles are short, usually about 2 pages.
2. IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. These two sites provide insight into movies and TV. Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/ aggregate reviews, categorizes them as positive or negative, and then averages them. They provide two scores: one based on general viewers, and the other bsed on professional reviewers. I have learned that my preferences frequently do not align well with the professionals. The site also allows you to purchase tickets.
IMDB is similar though it has a lot more information on the movie and links to all the directors, cast, etc. I always check both when considering whether to watch a movie on TV. http://www.imdb.com/ IMDb also provides, if available, show times and the ability to purchase tickets.
- Youtube is one of my favorite sites and I use it all the time. I decided to see if he movie Gladiator was available there for free. Frequently movies are noyt, but in this case it was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwEWOro5o7Y. Last year I considered buying tickets for a concert and there was a piece of modern music on the program. I suspected that I wouldn’t like it and worried that it was going to be long. So I did a YouTube search, found it was 7 minutes, listened to it and enjoyed it, and bought the tickets’
I love the old tap dancing movies of Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, etc. When you search for something on youtube, it then provides a set of links to similar material so that I can watch this for hours. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T45iRSvxaVM .
Then if you follow the links, you can find The Nicholas Brothers who I suspect most of you are not familiar with. Here is a spectacular number of theirs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNKRm6H-qOU&index=2&list=RDEBqSBVxUKM4 .
Or see the Clark Brothers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNVDBH_z8VA&index=5&list=RDEBqSBVxUKM4
And I’ll leave this section with my favorite Triplets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjW_yvrC0cE . This looks impossible but how did they do it? By balancing on artificial legs strapped to their knees, Fabray reports; they fell dozens of times before getting it right and relied on pain-killers.
- Find the best price for something. PriceGrabber http://www.pricegrabber.com/ and Google Shopping https://www.google.com/shopping . Both sites look at hundreds of places to purchase a particular item and tell you the best on-line or brick-and-mortar location. Obviously do this when you have decided what you want. Using Price Grabber I did a search for a ream of copy paper and got back a pretty good deal.
Let me finish with something a bit creepy. https://www.deadmansswitch.net/. You write emails and store them. Periodically the system will send you an email asking if you are alive. If you do not respond then the system will send the emails. Batter be careful if you change your email address, though!
A long-time computer expert and guide, John provides his helpful hints in this monthly BOLLI Matters feature. In the comment box below, provide questions or comments for John on any computer/tech topic .
john.rudy@alum.mit.edu (781-861-0402)