Computer and Web Articles

What a great idea! The Squashed Philosophers site is something along the lines of the CliffsNotes for some of the world’s greatest writings.

The site has superb summaries of the major works of Plato, Machiavelli, Copernicus, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Thoreau, Freud, Einstein and Turing, just to name a few.

Each bit of writing is marked with a clock, showing the estimated amount of time it will take you to read the overviews provided; currently the range is from 14 minutes to 61 minutes.

The site is continuously being updated and refined. So go on. Learn something new today: http://tinyurl.com/3okde.

I’m regularly asked if I can find out who to contact in relation to specific websites. Can I look up who owns the site? Can I find a phone number or e-mail address linked to a specific site? When I come back with the requested information, people often treat me as if I’m some type of special internet detective. I wish. I just use WhoIs.

There are a ton of “WhoIs” services on the web; I like to use www.coolwhois.com, but it really doesn’t matter which service you choose as they all provide you with the same information.

Simply type a website address in at a WhoIs site like www.coolwhois.com and unless someone has specified that the information be made private, you’ll be provided with the a wealth of information, including the site’s creation date, registration date, domain name expiration date, hosting information, address, phone number and contact e-mail.

You may not need to use coolwhois.com today, tomorrow, or next week, but it’s a great tool to have up your sleeve when you’re on the hunt for specific information.

BrainCast is a new service that allows you to leave voice-mail reminders for yourself. You can retrieve your reminders online at any time, and BrainCast even e-mails you notifications so you won’t forget about them.

Though the service limits you to calling from three numbers (most likely your home, office and cell), it’s entirely free. Not a bad deal at all, and it’s super easy to use. Just dial a toll-free number and leave your message at the beep.

Sound like it may be of use to you? View the BrainCast website here: http://braincast.viatalk.com. Make sure to click the “FAQ” link on the bottom right of the homepage; their answers to the Frequently Asked question are concise and easy to understand.

Visit Monster Stockings (www.craftyrobot.com/monsterstockings.html) and you’ll find a variety of … well … monster stockings for Christmas. We’re not talking monster as in big, we’re talking monster as in dragon.

Blue stockings, red stockings, stockings with green claws, stocking made out of velvet, stockings with white fur, embroidered satin stockings, and so on. Custom stockings MUST be ordered by today, Dec. 1, but there are plenty of pre-made stockings of all colors and styles to choose from if you don’t make the deadline.

P.S. Monster Stockings isn’t actually its own website; it’s a subsection of the Crafty Robot website.