Computer and Web Articles

The questions have been piling up in my Inbox lately. It’s time to share some answers!

---

Question: Sometimes you write about something called “Mozilla” in your articles. What is that?

Answer: Mozilla is an Internet browser. Think of it as an alternative to your Internet Explorer or AOL. Many people swear by it, not just because it’s an alternative to a Microsoft product, but because it has a number of outstanding, useful features. Mozilla has “tabs” which allow you to load multiple Web sites at once - instead of opening separate instances for every Web site. It has a built-in pop-up ad blocker. It offers automatic import of all your Internet Explorer bookmarks (so you don’t have to worry about losing them or resaving them). Plus, Mozilla offers a clean interface and great speed. I use it all the time. You can have multiple Internet browsers on your computer at the same time. You can download Mozilla for free here: http://www.mozilla.org.

---

Question: Hello eRin. I have a small Web site for my business in Summit County. As the number of unreliable sites, scams and useless Web pages out there continues to grow, I am becoming increasingly concerned about making sure my Web site appears credible. Do you have any tips for me?

Answer: A few years back Consumers Union (www.consumersunion.org) commissioned the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University to undertake a study that looked at how people judge a site’s credibility. One of the major findings suggests that site designers should “avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.” Broken links and misspellings are sure to make your company appear as if it simply doesn’t care and fails to pay attention to details. Another major finding recommends that site owners update their site’s content often - or, at the very least, show that it’s been reviewed recently. Stale, outdated content makes your site visitors wonder if you still exist.

A third finding explains the importance of making it easy to contact you. The study’s complete results can be found in .pdf format at http://tinyurl.com/2bmqm, and the research summary (a bit easier to digest) can be found here: www.webcredibility.org/guidelines.

---

Question: Hey eRin. I’m a retired English teacher and love looking at grammar, spelling and literature sites online. Do you have any fun suggestions for me?

Answer: Most definitely! Go to http://yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html to view a list of the 100 most often misspelled English words. Or check out one of my personal favorites, the 100 most often mispronounced English words (and phrases): http://yourdictionary.com/library/mispron.html.