Searching #78:Video

1) I looked for the television show “Desperate Housewives" both in Truveo and Blinkx. I find Truveo to be easier to use than Blinkx. In Truveo I found quite a few hits for “Desperate housewives” linking me to Hulu, YouTube , ABC. Using Blinkx I also got hits for “Desperate Housewives” linking me to TV.com (the episode had been removed due to “terms of use violation”), the other link megavideo although it had some free items you had to create an account, another link was YouTube like in Truveo. I did not realize that there were so many free sites to watch videos! Some were full episodes, other were just clips, and some had music added to the episode. 2) I watched the very first item uploaded to YouTube from HCPL “How not to reserve a computer or laptop”. It was funny. Now there were quite a few very interesting entries. Uploading videos in YouTube would be great to attract teens and tweens and even younger children. I base this on the fact that “Old McDonald Puppet Show” had 17,927 views and “How not to reserve a computer or laptop” had 10,332 views.

Searching #77:Images

1 It took four clicks to find the Santa that did not look like a troll. At AllFreeClipart/plug in “Santa” on search, click/then click on Santa Pictures (ClipArt) and then click on the second row Santa

2 I have used Flickr.com in the past. On flickr Creative Commons they offer free graphics as long as you credit the source but when you do a search I never know if I have left the free graphic area or not. They really is not that much to choose from if you are looking for something specific. Reading “10 places to find free images online” I also found besides Flickr.com MorgeFile.com. This site has very clear, beautiful pictures. Easy to navigate and free to use. You cannot claim ownership of the image in its original state and you cannot sell, license, sublicense, rent, transfer or distribute the image without it being modified.

3 We are having a program on March 29, 2010 called “The Taste of Ireland” I though this picture would be appropriate.

Image credit schools.clipart.com

Searching #76-Sound Effects

1 Using FindSounds I was able to hear a dog barking at www.ndrr.com. This was Donald Kinney’s Web Site and I did not find any copyright symbols. I found an elephant sound at www.foxarc.com this is a commercial website selling software so I imagine that it was copyrighted. A very robust rooster sound I found on www.focusedrecordz.com which again is a commercial record label which is copyrighted. I found FindSounds confusing, I need to research the site further. I also managed to freeze up the computer a few times.

2 Simply the Best Sounds is for me a far friendlier site to use. You can hear the sound of thejungle, the sound of sea and the sound of thunder.
Not everything in Simply the Best Sounds is free, but it is clear which sounds are free.

Searching #75 Google and Beyond

1) Searching in Blindsearch for “All the fine young cannibals” (an old movie) Google was the one giving me the result that I was searching for. Searching for “Harris County Texas” both Google and Yahoo gave me the best results. Searching for “Living will” I found the website to get the Living will forms in both Google and Yahoo. Bing gave me the Martha Stewart’s website.

2) Google is the #1 website listed on Hitwise on January 25, 2010. Facebook is a close second. Then comes Yahoo #3 and Bing comes #10. The statistics show that my favorite websites (Google and Yahoo) must be popular with others also.

3) I like the clean look of Google. I like Google images and maps. Yahoo is more cluttered but it also gives you plenty links to other websites and “breaking news” is readily available. You can customize Yahoo to be “My yahoo”. You can make Bing your homepage also and it has an attractive homepage but I do not like searching with Bing.