THIS IS USEFUL
A Collection of Useful Things
Add more tabs to Google

  

The personalized Google homepage limits you to 6 tabs. If you need more than six tabs, simply copy the following line of code into your address bar and hit enter to create an additional tab.

javascript:_renameTab(); _dlsetp('at=')



Larger image available here.



MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/22/2007 11:40 PM | View Comments (1) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Get YOur Group Communicating Online -- Free!
 OfficeZilla is a free Internet service that bills itself as an intranet/extranet service. That definition might work for technology consultants, but for the rest of the world, a better explanation might be a free group calendar and message boar website.

Public or Private: Private!
One person, acting as an administrator starts a site and then invites members to join, assigning them user names and passwords to keep the group private.

Ad Supported: No!
There are no advertisements on the site you create.

Limits on group size: No!
no limits on the size of the group and the site can be customized with the group's logo, etc.

Limited Features: No!
Your group site includes a complete set of features: Calendars, Contact Manager, Message Forums, Knowledge Base, Pop Email Reader, Link/URL Sharing, File Sharing, Chat Room, Bible Search Tool, Phone Message Pad and Task Manager.

Each feature can be turned on or off for the group by the adminstrator (creator) of the group.

Useful For:
Sunday Schools
Scout Troops
Civic Clubs
Virtual Office Teams
Group Collaboration Projects

In short, this free and full featured virtual office would be a great place to host any club, civic or church organization.

MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/22/2007 8:28 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Google Alerts


Google Alerts are emails automatically sent to you when there are new Google results for your search terms.  The comprehensive alerts cover news stories, blog entries, and new google search results.

Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
    * monitoring a developing news story
    * keeping current on a competitor or industry
    * keeping tabs on your company or website
    * keeping tabs on your own name
    * keeping tabs on someone else's name
    * tracking medical advances
    * getting the latest on a celebrity or event
    * keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams

Requirements:
No Google membership is required, any email address will do.  You can
elect to recieve alerts once a day, once a week or as it happens.  
I usually opt for the once a day comprehensive alerts.

How Do You Sign Up?
Simply visit the Google Alerts home page, enter your search, the type of alert you'd like (News, Web, comprehensive, etc.), how often you'd like us to receive alerts, and your email address. When you're done, click the 'Create Alert' button. Google will send you a confirmation email; clicking the link in this email will activate your Alert.

MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/22/2007 1:43 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
What Will the US Congress Do Next?


Documents produced by the private think-tank working for the United States Congress might help answer that question.  Many of the reports produced by this private think tank can be accessed free online at the "Open CRS Network".

Revealing Future Trends:

These reports can reveal what Congress is thinking about months before the subject hits the news stands. Seeing these reports also helps explain why our elected representatives occassionally appear so well versed on current legislative topics.

From the Las Vegas Review Journal, Feb 20, 2007:

"Deep inside the Library of Congress labor the 500 researchers of the Congressional Research Service, established in 1914 as Congress' supplier of nonpartisan research and analysis. At an annual cost to taxpayers of about $100 million, those staffers generate some 6,000 reports per year at the request of members of Congress. Our elected delegates seek the research to aid them either in drafting or in deciding how to vote on pending legislation. And they can ask about virtually anything, from weapons systems to farm subsidies."

Recent Titles

Just viewing the titles of recent reports available at Open CRS is revealing, the actual reports themselves reveal even more of the future trends in the US Congress!

March 20, 2007
Congressional Redistricting:
The Constitutionality of Creating an At-Large District

March 20, 2007
Who Are the "Middle Class"?

March 19, 2007
Recent Changes to the Section 8
Voucher Renewal Funding Formula

March 19, 2007
Subprime Mortgages: Primer on Current
Lending and Foreclosure Issues

March 19, 2007
The Corporation for National and Community Service:
Overview of Programs and FY2008 Funding

March 16, 2007
An Overview of Recent U.S. Supreme
Court Jurisprudence in Patent Law

March 16, 2007
Ethanol and Biofuels: Agriculture,
Infrastructure, and Market Constraints
Related to Expanded Production

MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/21/2007 11:28 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
ThisIsUseful Features

ThisIsUseful will feature articles on the following topics: E-Learning, Offline World, Web Browsing, Desktop Tools, Windows and How To.  I will probably come up with some more feature categories as I get into the swing of things here.

Anytime you get a hankering for more articles on a particular topic, use the comment field to let me know, or drop me line at mark [at] thisisuseful [dot] com. 

MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/9/2007 10:19 AM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Firefox

If you don't have firefox, go here and download it today. 

I was prepared to write a detailed article about why you should be using Firefox when I came across an article on Microsoft's web site which helped me out a great deal.  In an article on Tech Web, Microsoft identified Internet Explorer as "the number one Internet threat in 2007":

From the article...

"Threat #1: IE
Internet Explorer heads the list of top Internet security attack targets in the most recent joint report of the FBI and security organization SANS Institute."

and...

"Still, the best way to reduce your PC's vulnerability to ActiveX exploits is to download and install another browser, and set it as your default browser. Mozilla's Firefox is the most popular IE alternative."

Just in case Microsoft wakes up and take the article off of their site, here is a screen capture from the article taken today.

MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/8/2007 4:26 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)
Why I Started This Site

I started this site for several reasons. 

To create a central repository:
I regularly send emails to friends alerting them to useful things I discover.  This site will provide a more permanent record of those things collected in one place.  

To help others:
The things I find useful may help someone else.  Many of the things I write about will help people get more out their computers, online and offline.

To build a technical support library:

I provide technical support services for a living.  This site will become a repository of technical support documentation.  I hope it grows into a useful library.

MORE >>
Posted by Mark at 3/8/2007 1:04 PM | View Comments (0) | Add Comment | Trackbacks (0)