Links To Web Resources
References to Education, Computer, News, Health, Etc. Internet Sites
We hope that these links to various Internet sites will be helpful references. New sites will be occasionally added to this page. Please e-mail us at webmaster@sws-wis.com if you have any links that you think would be of interest to "Focus on Taylor County" visitors. Please let us know if you find any links that no longer work.
Children Sites:
- Bonus.com- "Supersite for Kids" Includes quizzes, activities, games for children. Take the tour to get started. Requires a Java-capable browser to enjoy many of the activities. (With Win95 - Netscape 2.0 or higher, Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher, AOL 3.0 or higher. With Mac. - Netscape 3.0 or higher or Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher.)
- Disney.com- Web site for families, where Disney fans can discover exciting features, news, advice, and fun.
- NASA KIDS - The NASA Kids site has just four main sections -- Space & Beyond; Rockets & Airplanes; Projects & Games; and Pioneers & Astronauts with links to a BUNCH of easy-to-understand, kid-friendly articles on space-related information.
- 700 Plus Great Sites- a collection of web sites "for kids and the adults who care about them."
- Yahooligans- Search Engine geared to children's topics (by Yahoo).
- Surfing The Net With Kids- A collection of sites reviewed, rated and organized by topic, by syndicated news columnist, Barbara Feldman. Dedicated to finding the
best family-friendly Web sites.
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Communication Resources:
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Computer Related:
- Ask Bob Rankin - Answers to computer and internet/e-mail related questions.
- AVG Virus Scanner - Free Virus protection software from Grisoft
- The Clip Art Connection- free resource for all types of downloadable clip art and digital imagery.
- The Computer Network (CNet)- The latest information about browsers, email, computers, the latest tech headlines and Net stories, read reviews of the hottest computer hardware and software.
- Dave Central- large directory of downloadable software - freeware, shareware, demos and betas.
- Drivers Guide- Web site where drivers for various computer components (printers, modems, video, sound cards, scanners, etc.) can be downloaded.
- Fix Your Own Printer - resources for making your own printer repairs, including printer repair kits, service manuals, a public forum for answering questions and printer drivers.
- Internet Connection Speed test - how fast is your internet connection? There are
a bunch of sites out there that test your connection speed but a few are:
- Price Watch- Site where dealers post their current prices on computers and various peripherals. Keep in mind that prices shown are advertisements. Pricing advertisements are published at this site in order to assist you during a buying decision. It is up to you to qualify a retailer.
- Shareware.com- search for, browse, and download software--including freeware, shareware, demos, fixes, patches and upgrades--from software archives and computer vendor sites on the Internet.
- Startup Programs - concerned about the poor performance of your PCs due to the number of programs that run at system start-up. This web site lists the programs, what they do and which ones you don't need. . . and how to stop them from starting up.
- WhatIs - an online dictionary of computing terms which explains complicated computing terms in plain and succinct language.
- ZDNet- information on many aspects of the computer industry including product reviews, help and tips for using your computer, the Internet and computer industry news.
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Education:
- All Public Schools - This site has a list of all public schools as well as private schools, colleges, hospitals, nursing homes and funeral homes in the United States. Also has links to available web sites.
- American Library Association- Resource and links for parents and kids.
- Ask Dr. Math- This site is run by a group of students at Swarthmore College who help children (grades K-12) with their math problems through question archives and e-mail.
- College information and rankings
- College Times - The New York Times created news directory for the college audience. The articles are organized by academic discipline so that college
students and faculty can easily find New York Times articles related
to their specific fields of study.
- Direct Textbooks - This site helps students and book lovers find textbooks and books by searching over 30 online stores and 1000s of
- ETS Net- These folks run the SATs, GMATs, GREs and all those other alphabet-soup tests, and you can get practice questions for the SATs on this site, but it also features
information on jobs and careers, on different colleges and on helping to finance your college education.
- Homework Spot - A free homework information portal that features K-12 homework-related sites. Resources for English, math, science, history, art, music, technology, foreign language, college prep, health, life skills, extracurricular activities and much more.
- I-Chapters - "e-text books" on line. Download electronic versions and pay for a single chapter if that's all you need or download the entire volumn.
- InfoPlease - useful information by subject area, develop better writing, note-taking and study skills, and search through previous questions and answers from other students.
- Kids Connect - KidsConnect is a question-answering, help and referral service to K-12 students on the Internet. The goal of the service is to help students access and use the information available on the Internet effectively and efficiently.
- Kids On The Web- Collection of Web sites for kids, their parents and educators that can be used for kids play, homework and education references or for adults to find the things they need for their work related to the care and education of children.
- Math and Reading Help for Kids - A collection of original articles and resources centered on the topic of children's education.
- New York Times Learning Network - Created for students and teachers in grades 3 through 12, The Learning Network is a free news service that provides news summaries, quizzes, and even daily lesson plans. To make their articles more accessible to younger readers, The Learning Network offers built-in vocabulary and geography tools.
- Publications for Parents- download a variety of useful pamphlets from the US Dept Education on helping your child with math, reading, test-taking and other subjects, as well as booklets like "Parents Guide to the Internet" and "Simple Things You Can Do To Help A Child Read Well and Independently", and "Getting Ready for College Early", a booklet aimed at middle-school and junior-high kids and their parents, with information on why kids need college, how they can prepare for it and how parents can begin to make financial decisions now that will ease the shock of tuition when the time comes.
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Finance and Business:
- Better Business Bureau- United States' biggest consumer protection advocate. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a local, private, non-profit organization that provides reports on business and information about charity groups and organizations. In effect, the BBB is a local watchdog organization whose mission is to "promote and foster the highest ethical relationship between businesses and the public through voluntary self-regulation, consumer and business education, and service excellence."
- CNNfn- CNN's Financial Network, gives stock quotes, money management tips and the top business stories of the day.
- Currency Converter- determines the exchange value of currencies from different countries.
- E-Finance - Original articles, advice, and links focused on loans and finance related issues.
- Wall Street Journal- business, finance and investments
- Kipling- widely respected journal that can guide in financial decision-making.
- Wisconsin Better Business Bureau- The Better Business Bureau provides instant access to business and consumer alerts as well as helpful resources. Plus, you can file a complaint online and more.
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Health:
- 1Up Health - Medical resource provides extensive information and news on diseases, symptoms, tests, surgery, injuries, nutrition, medications, and poisons. Focuses on family and community health.
- American Heart Association- information on heart disease, health, nutrition, exercise, prevention, recovery, etc.
- Anatomy of the Human Body - Gray's Anatomy of the Human Body features 1,247 vibrant engravings-many in color-from the classic 1918 publication, as well as a subject index with 13,000 entries.
- Arthritis Foundation- information on arthritis, how to improve the quality of life for those affected by arthritis and research to find the cure for and prevention of arthritis.
- Consumer Safety Commission - Federal regulatory agency to help
reducing the risk of injury or death from consumer products. Also the place to report unsafe products and to find product recalls.
- Fatfree Recipes- archive of fat free, low fat and vegetarian recipes and other information about low fat diets.
- Food And Drug Administration (FDA)- information and guidance for those interested in food, cosmetics, medicines, medical devices, and other consumer products the FDA regulates.
- Food and Nutrition Information Center- The FNIC home page is a great place to start your Internet search for nutrition information. We have many publications on nutrition and also provide an excellent "jumping off point" for other good sources of nutrition information.
- Health Central Pharmacy - look up pharmaceutical drugs, their uses and precautions in taking.
- Medicare - Information on Medicare programs, nursing home comparisons and other Medicare related information.
- The Merck Manual Home Edition - in-depth, easy-to-understand information about diseases, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment.
- State of Wisconsin Prescription Drug Resource Center - This website gives our citizens the ability to buy certain prescriptions at significantly lower prices directly from Canadian pharmacies that our state has visited and found to be safe, reputable, and reliable. It also provides information about SeniorCare, the new Medicare drug benefit, and other programs that may be an option for you.
- Storksite- provides new, expecting and future mothers and fathers with a forum to learn about the issues, challenges and joys associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Its goal is to provide emotional and informational support in an interactive, community-based environment.
- Shuteye- resource devoted to problems related to insomnia and sleeplessness.
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Internet Resources:
- OneList - searchable list of ListServe mailing lists on hundreds of topics.
- Bloglines - Bloglines is a free service that makes it easy to keep up with your favorite blogs (short for Web Logs) on almost any topic and newsfeeds. You can subscribe to the RSS feeds of your favorite blogs, and Bloglines will monitor updates to those sites or you can read the latest entries easily online within Bloglines.
- Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC)- Resource to find, verifiable information about Internet hoaxes and chain letters with links to web sites relating to legitimate virus and Trojan horse information.
- Computer Virus Myths - Lists and discussion of myths and hoaxes relating to computer virus and Trojan Horse scares.
- Fact Check - Nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer advocate for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor and research the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
- Jott - Jott is a service that will convert your voice into email or a text message. Just call a toll-free number from your cell phone, and leave a voice message. Jott will translate your spoken words into text, and then forward the text to an email address or send a text message to a cell phone.
- Snopes - Hoaxes, urban ledgends and other myths are listed here. Check here before following the directions, "Send this to everyone in your address book".
- Consumer.gov - Consumer protection and information about protection from fraud, scams, etc. with federal information resources available online. Covers topics such as Food, Health, Product Safety, Your Money, and Transportation.
- Consumer Reports - Consumer Reports magazine's web site - independent testing of consumer products and services providing valuable information that will help you shop wisely, make informed choices about products and save money too. Note: Some areas available by subscription only.
- E-mail Anywhere & POP3Now - are two free online services where you can connect from any computer to collect (read, send, forward, etc.) your e-mail through your web browser. In order to use them, you'll need to know your User name, Password, and your ISP's Mail Server name (Example: pop.tds.net).
- Google Groups - This is a World Wide Web interface / search engine to the Usenet News Groups. News Groups provide a means of discussing almost any subject you can think of.
- Internet Lost and Found - Place free listings or search for lost and found animals and other items in Wisconsin or worldwide.
- Liszt - directory of over 90,000 Mailing lists / discussion groups and News Groups. Find a list on a topic of interest and learn how to subscribe (no fee).
- LISTSERV - Mailing List Resource- Catalog of LISTSERV mailing lists. Similar to User Groups described below but exchanges are via private e-mail rather than by visiting a Newsgroup on line.
- Picasa - Picasa is free software provided by Google that helps you instantly find, edit and share all the digital pictures on your PC.
- Recalls - Resource for finding any item that has been recalled by the U.S. Government including recalls on: Consumer Products, Motor Vehicles, Boats, Food, Medicine, Cosmetics, and Environmental Products.
- Talkway- free service available to all online users with an interest in participating in Usenet, the largest collection of online communities. Talkway provides users with a friendly, Web-based, graphic interface to Usenet Newsgroups.
- Wayback Machine - archived web pages including those of no longer existing web sites.
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Leisure:
- Catalog Choice - this web site allows you to opt out of unwanted catalogs that are mailed to your address. Save a tree by selecting which catalogs you don't want to continue to receive.
- CBS Sportsline- brings you the latest scores and headlines, analysis, and sportscasters.
- Discovery Channel- information on Discovery channel programming.
- Epicurious Eating Index - Epicurious, the online headquarters for Bon Appetit and Gourmet magazines. This page has links to almost everything that is food-related, including: Recipe File, Lexicon - online food dictionary, What's Ripe, Cooking Class, Cooking for Health, Forbidden Pleasures, Greatest Hits, Occasions seasonal recipes, and much more.
- ESPN Sports Zone- brings you the latest scores and headlines, analysis, and sportscasters.
- Knutson's Kitchen- frequent guest on Wisconsin Public Radio provides recipes discussed on the program.
- National Wildlife Federation- links to all of the NWF publications, Ranger Rick, National Wildlife, etc. and other natural resources related links.
- Nature Net Forum- public forum for various nature-related topics.
- Roots Web- billed as the "Internet's Oldest and Largest Genealogy Resource"
- Vote Smart - Learn how your government representives are voting on the various bills before Congress and other issues concerning
our government as well.
- Wisconsin Common Market - a virtual shopping mall of over 200 small, Wisconsin businesses and set up to allow you to work directly with the artisan, crafter, merchant or farmer within the safety of a secure and established e-commerce site. Search for unique and original Wisconsin products and businesses by keyword. Or, simply browse the array of product categories! Support small, local business -- shop the Wisconsin Common Market for unique, original products and gifts from Wisconsin business owners.
- Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine- online version of the fine natural history monthly publication by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
- Wisconsin Directory designed to be a one-stop destination for anything you can think of that is about or related to Wisconsin.
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Mailing/Shipping Services:
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Miscellaneous:
- Broadcast.com - offer a large selection of streaming audio and video programming, including
live programming in sports, talk and music radio, television, business events, full-length CDs, news, commentary and
full-length audio books.
- BuyBlue.org - BuyBlue.org uses our power as consumers to vote with our wallets, supporting businesses that abide by sustainability, workers' rights, environmental standards, and corporate transparency. Go to their web site to see how various businesses stack up in their political contributions, workers rights, environmental issues, etc. and then vote with your wallet by supporting those businesses with which you agree.
- BizRate Guide- independent guide to shopping the Web. Rates Web merchants according to criteria such as pricing, ease of returns and product information.
- Do It Yourself - as the name implies, this site has information on how to build, repair, remodel, decorate, indoor & outdoor projects, finance, etc. with tutorials and links to related information.
- Edmunds Automobile- provides information on features, and values of new and used cars.
- Ebay - Auction Web site where you can bid on anything from from A to Z. Snipe eBay and win more!
- Auction Sniper - Let EZ Sniper place Ebay bids for you at in the last few seconds of an auction to give you the best chance of winning.
- First Gov - a hub of information for federal, state and local government resources, services, transactions, and forms.
- FreeCycle - Join the FreeCycle group of recyclers in the Taylor County area where items can be given away or requested - it's our "green" effort not to fill our landfills with stuff that others can use. Check it out.
- How Stuff Works - Discusses the mechanics of how things (engines, motors, home appliances, tools, body functions, and much more) in the world around you work.
- Kelley Blue Book- provides used car values, Blue Book values and new car pricing information.
- Secure The Call - non-profit organization that collects and converts old cell phones into free 911 emergency cell phones for distribution to your local community. Your phone will be reprogrammed (all phone information will be wiped clean) and given to organizations such as battered women's shelters, senior citizen centers, Police and Sheriff's offices, school crossing guards and school bus drivers.
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News Resources:
- CNN- 24-hour global news and information television network. CNN provides its U.S. audience in-depth, live coverage and analysis of breaking news events, the latest in business, weather, sports, entertainment, health and science news.
- My Yahoo- Personalized news service provided by the folks at Yahoo. Provides your preferences in news, finance, entertainment, sports, etc. events.
- Top News- Top news stories and links to news-related sources, by Excite.
- The Computer Network (CNET)- resource for technology-related news and information.
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Research References:
- 1Up Info - Encyclopedia & Reference Resource with areas of topics including Earth & Environment, History, Literature & Arts, Health & Medicine, People, Philosophy & Religion, Places, Plants & Animals, Science & Technology, Social Science, Law, Sports, Everyday Life, and more.
- American Heritage Dictionary - Over 90,000 entries feature 10,000 new words and senses, 70,000 audio word pronunciations, 900 full-page color illustrations, language notes and word-root appendixes.
- Free Translation - Have a word or phrase in another language that I'd like to have translated or have you found an Web site of interest, but it's in a language you can't read? Just copy and paste the text to be translated into this web site and it will translate text that you type in (or cut and paste) to the language of your choice. It's not perfect, but can usually give you the general idea. Or if you have an entire web site you'd like translated, go to AltaVistas Translator and type in the URL of the web site in question.
- Ask an Expert - one of the more famous expert resources online. In addition to Web site links, there are also e-mail addresses and
descriptions on its list of over 300 experts willing to field questions.
- Ask-An-Expert - is another set of links, though these are organized more
along the lines of school subjects (fine arts, history, etc.)
- Britannica Encyclopedia Internet Guide - a World Wide Web navigation service that classifies, rates, and reviews more than 65,000 Web sites. Britannica editors search the Web to identify quality Web resources, which are clearly and concisely described, rated according to consistent standards, and indexed for superior retrieval.
- CityTownInfo.com is a collection of information on U.S. cities and towns. The site includes almanac-like reference data, housing statistics, employment info, local climate, links to the official city government sites and maps for thousands of cities & towns.
- E-Conflict (Encyclopedia)- web sited devoted to avoiding world conflict by increasing cultural awareness. Contains information (including Anthems, Flags, Maps, Weather, Defense, Economy, Geography, Government, People) of the Nations of the World.
- E-How - Learn how to do "anything" and get what you need to do it--from making repairs and educated decisions on purchases to how to build a deck or kiss on a date./li>
- Genealogy Resources:
- Ancestry.com - The Ancestry World Tree consists of millions of records submitted by thousands of genealogy enthusiasts throughout the world. They also offer the free Social Security Death Index database, with over 56 million names, free lessons in genealogy research, and some fee-based services for those who want to dig deeper.
- Cyndi's List - index to over 49,000 genealogical resources on the Internet. It includes links to genealogical resources in many different countries.
- Roots-L- a mailing list for people who are interested in genealogy. Although there are others, ROOTS-L was the original Internet genealogical mailing list, dating back to 1987. ROOTS-L has over 10,000 subscribers who have voluntarily maintained a useful collection of files and databases.
- U.S. GenWeb Project- website for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States, the Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free access for everyone.
- Information Please- reference site that freely offers millions of up-to-the-minute facts and statistics covering just about everything. The site integrates the various Information Please(R) Almanacs on sports, entertainment and general knowledge with the Random House Webster's College Dictionary and The Columbia Encyclopedia (Fifth Ed.) into a single reference source.
- Intute - free online service providing access to web resources for education and research. All material is evaluated and selected by a network of subject specialists to create the Intute database.
- Library of Congress- Legislative information, research resources, library services, exhibitions.
- Library Spot - Convenient links to popular online Almanacs,
Calculators, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, Historic
Documents, Quotations, Statistics, and Thesauri.
- Merriam Webster Online Dictionary- Need a definition? Search more than 160,000 entries in the Web's most up-to-date dictionary. Also features audio for word pronunciation.
- Merriam Webster Online Thesaurus- Looking for the perfect word? Find it in the Merriam Webster's thesaurus.
- Plants Database- Database provided by US Department of agriculture provides standardized information about plants. PLANTS provides standardized plant names, symbols and other plant attributes.
- Project Gutenberg- Electronic text (Etext) versions of various texts - basically described as:
- Light Literature (such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Aesop's Fables, etc.)
- Heavy Literature (such as the Bible, Shakespeare, Moby Dick, Paradise Lost, etc.)
- References (such as Roget's Thesaurus, almanacs, and a set of encyclopedia, dictionaries, etc.)
- Reference Desk
- links to multitudes of information resources, encyclopedias, and other wide-ranging references.
- Smithsonian Institute- information on Smithsonian, other reference tools and tours for children.
- Study Web- Research resource. The variety of subjects and categories should allow most users to narrow in on a topic for a report, find background material for a story, begin research for a paper or just increase their knowledge of a particular topic.
- Virtual World Museums- listings of museums and respective web sites around the world.
- Wikipedia - extensive but free encyclopedia that anyone can edit (lots of people are constantly improving Wikipedia, making thousands of changes an hour).
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Search Engines:
- AddAll.com - is a free, online bookstore search engine. The site will tell you how much it will cost
to have a particular book shipped to you from each of 37 different
online bookstores - including all of the major "players".
- Alta Vista- popular search engine
- AnyWho- Directory from AT&T to find people (or business) address, phone number, e-mail address and even a map to that address.
- Dog Pile- searches multiple search engines and brings back results simultaneously.
- Excite- popular search engine
- Freeality.com- search engine directory - searches of all kinds, including personal and business phone numbers, e-mail addresses, area codes, maps, jobs, reference sources, metasearch engine, etc.
- Google
- one of the most popular search engines.
- Hot Bot- Use the "look for" option to refine your search.
- Lycos- popular search engine
- Northern Lights- groups search results into handy folders.
- MetaCrawler- searches six search engines simultaneously.
- WebCrawler- used by America On Line
- What-U-Seek- popular search engine
- GoTo.com- formerly WWW Worm search engine
- Yahoo- actually not a search engine, but a very popular index/directory.
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Travel & Maps:
- Map Blast- Enter street address, city and state and a printable map will be created. Similar to Map Quest below.
- Map Quest- Interactive Maps, Driving Directions, Travel Planning
- Live Local - Maps and aerial photos available.
- TerraServer- Did you ever wonder what your neighborhood looked like from space, or wished you could get an aerial shot of your favorite vacation spot? Terra Server provides USGS aerial photos of anyplace in the world available online for viewing or download.
- Travelocity- helps travelers find and book the best deals on airfares, lodging and car rentals around the world.
- Travel Information- This site offers the latest vacation guides, maps, brochures and travel planning kits and will send them to you free of charge.
- Travel Zoo- The Web is full of travel bargains. There are many companies offering special rates on their web sites in order to boost traffic. The bad news is: it's a challenge to find the bargains. Travelzoo.com is an independent resource that helps making your search fast and efficient.
- Wisconsin Road Conditions- current weather-related and road construction conditions.
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Weather:
- Astronomical Data- U.S. Naval Observatory site with information on phases of the moon, times of rising/setting of the sun and moon, eclipses, comets and other celestial bodies information. (Look under data online.)
- Current Radar Shot- weather radar showing Taylor County, Wisconsin. (Eau Claire WI Radar)
- Weather for Taylor County- 2 day forecast
- The Weather Channel- weather forecasts and travel conditions around the world.
- Wisconsin Weather- text based Web site with forecast, hydrology, climate, flood and road conditions information.
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