04/21/2008 Monday

The Top 20 Articles of 2007: About Internet for Beginners

1. "What is RSS? How does it work"
   Rich Site Summary is the modern-day fix for info junkies! Get live web feeds pushed directly to your screen, to update you on the topics you are interested in. About.com explains how it works, and what you can do with RSS...
   
   
2. "What is 'pwned'?"
   And is it the same as 'pwnage'? About.com explains this modern web expression here.
   
   
3. "What does 'YAHOO' really stand for?"
   Yahoo is an acronym, yes! About.com explains this little-known bit of techno-trivia here...
   
   
4. "What is 'haxor'?"
   And is it the same as "hacker"? About.com explains...
   
   
5. "What is 'Codec'?"
   Does your downloaded movie fail to play? Perhaps you need the correct compressor-decompressor program. This is how it works.
   
   
6. The Famous Netiquette Quiz, Level 1
   Test if you are Internet rude! Don't be surprised if you are...
   
   
7. "What is 'FTW'?"
   What a strange expression! And it is so popular in internet conversations. What exactly is FTW?
   
   
8. How to Become a Power eBayer
   From eBay essentials to power tips, this is a comprehensive collection of tutorials for Power Buying and Power Selling on eBay.
   
   
9. "How Does PayPal Work?"
   The most popular online method for transacting money without divulging credit card information, PayPal is used by millions. Are you new to PayPal? Don't quite understand how it works? Then spend ten minutes learning PayPal here.
   
   
10. The Student's Internet Research Guide
    From advanced web search techniques, to verifying sources, to correctly citing references, this is a powerful guide for high school and college students.
    
    
11. The Internet Beginner's Handbook
    Whether you are a complete newbie, or a confident self-taught user, you are guaranteed to learn something here. This is a comprehensive collection of quick tutorials and guiding advice to help you navigate the Net with more confidence.
    
    
12. The Glossary of Internet Abbreviations.
    ROFLMAO, BRB, TTYL, IMHO, RTFM, WIBAMU, and all those other acronyms...here is a translation of what they mean.
    
    
13. Lock Down Your PC!
    If you subscribe to Cable or DSL broadband at home, then you are likely to be casually "attacked" by hackers up to three dozen times a day. Take these crucial security steps now, and shut down those hackers before they destroy your hard drive contents.
    
    
14. How Plug-Ins Work, and Where To Get Them
    While a plain web browser allows you to view static HTML pages, Plug-ins are optional software additions that enhance and/or add functionality to a web browser. Don't miss out on sound, animation, documents, and multi-media...learn about plug-ins here, and where to get them.
    
    
15. Emoticons 101
    You see these odd heiroglyphs in email and chat: C):-) o{-<]: ><((((o>. But what do they all mean? The Top 100 smileys and emoticons are explained here...
    
    
16. The 15 Most Addictive Flash Games of 2007
    Whether you want to kill 10 minutes at work, or perhaps spend an entire evening of engaging online fun, these games are for you.
    
    
17. What Phishing and Email Scams Look Like
    If you do not feel confident identifying an online scam, then spend ten minutes here. This is a breakdown of what the most popular online scams look like, complete with screen captures. See those con games before they sucker you in!
    
    
18. The 35 Best Torrent Search Engines
    For the millions of P2P downloaders out there: here are the absolute best places to locate downloadable movies, songs, and software.
    
    
19. How to Play Bin, Cue, Dat, and RAR Movie Files
    It isn't difficult, but it does require some specific knowledge. Here is the tutorial for understanding this ever-popular process for downloaded movies.
    
    
20. The Top 10 Internet Scams
    Here they are: the creme de la creme of online con games. See how clever thieves get you to trust them with your credit card information.