 Number 196 - September 1999 |
| Go Figure! Calculators on the Internet | ||
| by Susan Ives, May 99 PC Alamode, Alamo PCUG, San Antonio, TX | ||
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I've been making a point
to take conscious note of how I use the Internet. Like many users, I
live and die by e-mail. I check the news at least once a day, using Yahoo's Today's News for world news and the Express-News for the local stuff. When we get itchy feet, I go to either Microsoft Expedia or Travelocity to mull over airline fares, and any time I drive across town I print a map, either using MapQuest for residential addresses or the Express-News Yellow Pages for businesses.
Much to my surprise I found that I mostly use the Internet as a utility. All those annoying calculations and missing bits of data are now at my fingertips and hardly a day goes by when I don't use the Net to solve an immediate and practical need. Here are some of the resources I've come to adore: Calculators: There are a gazillion calculators on the Internet that can figure out everything from the depth of field for camera settings to American to European shoe size conversions. Need to estimate how much paint and wallpaper you need to redecorate the spare bedroom? Or how big your fish tank should be? Convert dollars into Euros? Fear not. You can do it on the Internet. Martindale's Reference Desk has a list of more than 2,000 calculators. Convert It has some of the most popular numerical conversions. Kiplinger's has the best collection of personal finance calculators. Want to know how much to sock away every month so you can become a millionaire? Which is better, a rebate or low rate credit card? It's all on the Internet at the press of a button. ZIP Code Finder:1 The other day we received notice that a box had been delivered to the Federal Express office. All that was listed on the yellow slip was the zip code of the city it was shipped from. If it was my new laptop, John was under orders to dash across town during rush hour to retrieve it. If it was anything else, I was content to wait for delivery. This ZIP code finder has you enter a zip code and it then tells you the city of origin. It will also calculate distances between two US Zip Codes, and give additional info about a zip area, such as population and latitude and longitude. Or, of course, you can enter an address and it will return the zip +4. It's saved us many a trip to the post office! |
Telephone stuff:2
I tend to write down phone numbers on the backs of envelopes and assume
that I will remember to whom the number belongs. I never do. The
reverse lookup telephone directory allows you to enter a phone number
and see who's at the other end of the line. Once you find the person,
you can snoop all sorts of other information, such as their address, a
map to their house, maybe an e-mail address and, coolest of all, the
name, address and phone number of everyone who lives on their street.
If you're as nosey as I am, the list of people on the street will intrigue you. I always show my classes the Bexar County Appraisal District site. Just type in your street name and it will show you the property values for every house on your street. Another nifty telephone utility lets you convert your phone number into a word or phrase. I typed in ours (694-4582) and the best of the twenty listed was "my-hi-luck." I know what you're going to say--too many characters. They sometimes add a letter at the end to make a real word, but the phone will ring before you dial it. Numbers with too many zeroes or ones, like Alamo PC's, don't convert. Susan Ives is the past president of Alamo PC - go figure that out!
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Number 196 - September 1999 |
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