Welcome to the October 13, 2002 issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ . Hewie's Quick Thoughts appear almost daily at http://www.hewie.net/weblog/ .

Make it a daily routine to see what is added. It is a log of items as I find them. There are archive pages, so you can catch up on older items. Feel free to let your friends know about this page and the entire site.

In this issue
++++ Re-Introduction
++++ QuickBrowse allows you to do just that
++++ Security Test
++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites

October 13, 2002

++++ Re-introduction
This e-newsletter is sent to subscribers from "Hewie's Favorites" website at http://www.hewie.net . As of this issue, this newsletter will appear monthly in the Central Florida Computer Society (http://www.cfcs.org) newsletter. I guess I will have to make sure that I have at least a monthly issue. If other non-profit groups wish to use this newsletter, they must first obtain permission, which will almost always be granted.

The author is me, Hewie Poplock. I sometimes plagiarize directly from the source, but I always give you the URL so that you can get the entire article. "Hewie's Favorites" has been on line since 1995. There are over 1,500 links which are checked by software and updated and removed as needed. New sites are added at least monthly. The new additions are always found at the end of the newsletter, but the column may be shortened. You may find a list of the latest at http://www.hewie.net/23.html .

The website is a reflection of my interests, and these are wide and ever-changing. I design web sites, train and support beginners and advanced computer users, and teach web courses at a local university. My background includes extensive general computer knowledge, teaching, radio/television production, the food and beverage industry, and a strange sense of humor. Since I live in Orlando, Florida, there is a big section of Florida web sites.

++++ QuickBrowse allows you to do just that

I started using Quickbrowse (http://www.Quickbrowse.com) a few years ago, as a free service. When it went to subscription, I found that it saved me so much time, it was worth the $12.95 for 3 months.

Instead of looking at one web page and then another, it displays all the sites I want in *a single*, fast-to-browse page. I have it retrieve my daily reading material and deliver it all -- in a single page -- via e-mail automatically every morning. I have several collections. Some of these include The Daily Comics, The Newest Files, The Latest Tech News, Local News (Orlando and Florida), Upstate NY News, and Radio News. I have the Latest Tech News delivered in an email at 6:30 am.

In the Tech News Daily Collection e-mail, I include the following URLs:
CNET News.com - Tech News First (http://news.cnet.com)
Lockergnome Windows Daily (http://www.lockergnome.com/issues/daily.html)
ZDNet News: Page One (http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/)
PCWorld.com – News (http://www.pcworld.com/news/index/0,00.asp)
InfoWorld (http://www.infoworld.com)
Computerworld (http://www.computerworld.com)
NewsLinx Web News (http://www.newslinx.com/)
Graphics.com (http://www.graphicsnews.com/)
Usability and Human Factors for the Internet (http://webword.com/)
Mike's List (http://www.mikeslist.com/default.htm)

I can add or remove websites to this collection, create new collections, and have any of the emailed on a time and day determined by me. Now you know how I can gather so much information quickly and easily.

There is a free trial of 14 days, and after that it's $12.95 for 3 months. If you use the link below you get a free 2-week trial account plus an extra free month if you subscribe after the trial account expires. http://www.quickbrowse.com/register_free.cgi?refcode=TF71102
Sign up for a free trial, and if you decide to subscribe for a paid subscription at any time after that you'll get one extra month free, but you have to use that URL.

++++ Security Test

One more item before this issue gets so big that you won't read it. I do a lot to protect my computers and my network with many programs and services. I have mentioned several in previous issues and will do more soon. If you want to become real paranoid, try the Digital Defense Test, Readiness Report Card I from ZDNet at http://techupdate.cnet.com/enterprise/0-20424045-724-20428906.html .

According to the site, home users, employees, and small business owners should take this test. The fight for cyber security is joined whenever a single system connects to a network. Cyber security starts at home and follows you to work. It's the responsibility of anyone and everyone who touches a keyboard.

This test is based on a list of best practices for individual users and home network users developed by the CERT® Coordination Center, a federally funded Internet security research and development center at Carnegie Mellon University.

Try it and see how secure you really are.

++++ New additions to Hewie's Favorites