| For some reason, computers are often looked upon as scary, hated pieces of equipment. Even expert computer users can be seen slamming their fists in frustration while dealing with them. After all, they tend to fail, crash, freeze or just plain not work, and usually at the most inconvenient times. And, that's when you know what you are doing.
The thought of learning advanced tasks or exploring new computer concepts and operations can be worse yet. However, the very cause of these frustrations can also be the key to easier living. It's all just a point and click away.
The Internet houses a vast amount of knowledge covering nearly every conceivable topic. It isn't often that you hear “Oh, that isn't on the Internet.” The fact is, if you know where to look, you can find any type of information online.
A great place to start is Tech TV (http://www.techtv.com/help/). They break down their information into small digestible pieces of information on varying topics. Everything from getting started to hardware and software concerns, games, operating systems, the Internet and expert advise is offered.
Tech TV also offers specific topic help sections called super guides, which cover topics such as digital cameras, wireless Internet, viruses, MP3s and basic downloads. Usually these sections are comprised of a string of short articles covering a super guide topic.
Another all inclusive online help guide is CNET's help.com (http://www.help.com). Yes, they actually managed to get the much-sought after domain name help.com, making it very easy to find and remember.
Help.com's topics include hardware, electronics, software, games and the Internet, and they offer tutorials and a question and answer section in addition to the general information areas. As an example, this week's spotlight was a feature called “Get started with scanners.”
CNET also has a section dedicated to building Web sites called CNET Builder.com (http://www.builder.com). They cover everything from basic to advanced Web site building topics. This includes a how-to library, reference section and a resource area to find useful tools and downloads.
The Web site How Stuff Works.com (http://www.howstuffworks.com) is dedicated to not only computer workings but the explanations of many fun or common items in the world today. Their computer section is one of the main features of the site but you can also find explanations of everything from copy machines to atom splitters.
Just about every time I mention finding Web site building help, I bring up Web Monkey. This is a site run by Hot Wired and Lycos. It is certainly one of the best resources out there, but this time I wanted to mention their section for children.
They have lessons, projects, a virtual playground and tools all designed for kids to learn about their computer and building a Web page. This can be found at (http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/kids).
My last resource for finding help is really just a search engine called Ask Jeeves (http://www.ask.com). However, I mention it here because it is set up so you may ask your question using plain English.
So, you just go to their home page, type in any question you have and the site will try to match you with where you will find the best resource to answer your question.
The important thing to remember is that the computer is there to help and assist you with simple day to day tasks. Whether it is communicating with relatives or editing your personal novel, our lives are better with computers.
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