Issue date: June 10, 2001
Free
(Browser Makeovers)
You know just how you like your morning coffee (tall skim latte, dash of hazelnut) and your CDs (alphabetized by genre, then artist). But how do you want your Web? With so many hours spent nose to screen these days at work and home, it's worth it to personalize your online environment with a time-saving surfing tool or a funky new browser.
Believe it or not, Internet Explorer isn't the only Web-surfing program. While you may not want to ditch IE entirely, a couple of cool, free indie browsers are worth trying. Opera (download it at opera.com) loads pages faster than Explorer and boasts built-in e-mail and a search bar, plus a button that lets you zap clunky graphics that slow you down. For variety, NeoPlanet (neoplanet.com) can set you up with a futuristic browser that looks like a rocket cockpit and is customizable in hundreds of motifs and colors. My latest favorite is Katiesoft (katiesoft.com), a simple yet powerful tool that allows you to view four sites on your screen at once.
But if you aren't quite ready for the next wave in surfing, consider downloading these useful add-ons to boost the browser you already use:
Google.com Toolbar Add it to your Internet Explorer toolbar and you'll be able to perform a search from any location on the Web.
Gator.com Tired of filling in Web forms? This tool does it automatically. It also stows your passwords for various sites, and compares product prices in a click.
-- Rula Razek
Correction: The name of a "Star Trek: Voyager" character mentioned on the May 18-20 "Where on the Web" page should have been spelled B'Elanna Torres.
Go to top
My Web: Orlando Jones
Movers, shakers and their bookmarks
Orlando Jones is known as the annoying guy in TV commercials who blurts, "Make 7 ... Up yours!" But he hits the big screen this weekend, starring with David Duchovny in "Evolution" as a volleyball coach who helps discover alien life. In real life, Jones, 33, says he's a "homebody" who loves watching ESPN's SportsCenter at his L.A. house with friends. And yes, he's a Web fan, with one exception. "My idea of a good time isn't sitting on the Internet for six hours chatting with someone I don't know." Favorites:
imdb.com At this movie database, he can "check out the weekend box office. I usually hear from the studio on mine. But, just for friends, rooting for them."
weather.com The Weather Channel's site "just cracks me up. Whatever the newscaster's showing you is right on your computer screen. So what you need him for, I don't know!"
adcritic.com "They basically have all the commercials on there, and you can download them. I like the one where the guy head-butts the ram." (BTW, Mr. 7-Up, it's that other soft drink, Mountain Dew.)
-- Tameka Hicks
|
