InfoStar.com - Current Top 10+ Web Sites announced by Peter Greene

This list is for providing you with easy access to these "useful" Web pages. Please visit my "Tips and Favorite Applications" Page, WEBHITZ for access to our Web menus! Use of the products and services offered on any of these Web pages is at your own risk! E-Mail me and give me your feedback at pgreene@infostar.com. Due to the volume of email I get I cannot possibly reply to every message!

Next show is August 12th, 2019

ICWDM.com - [Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management (ICWDM)] attempts to consolidate existing and future information on integrated pest management (IPM) in wildlife damage management. Its goal is to increase adoption of IPM practices in wildlife damage management by centralizing resources. ICWDM is a non-profit, grant-funded site that provides research-based information on how to handle wildlife damage problems responsibly.
Wrike.com - is the collaborative work management platform. Claim to have 18,000+ organizations with 2,000,000+ users worldwide. Free version for up to 5 users is available. Last year they had reached 100 million completed tasks within their cloud platform.
Lineups.com - represented are: NFL (football), NBA (basketball), MLB (baseball), and CFB (college football), and sports betting. Well organized and includes lots of information about the players for each of the listed sports. If you want data and information about the sports they list - you will enjoy this Web resource.
Immunize.org - The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC) works to increase immunization rates and prevent disease by creating and distributing educational materials for healthcare professionals and the public that enhance the delivery of safe and effective immunization services. The Coalition also facilitates communication about the safety, efficacy, and use of vaccines within the broad immunization community of patients, parents, healthcare organizations, and government health agencies. [The Immunization Action Coalition does not promote or endorse any third party's Website, products, or services.] Also visit: VaccineInformation.org, immunizationcoalitions.org and VaccineMakers.org [committed to public education about vaccine science].
HRSA.gov - [Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA); HRSA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services] - Tens of millions of Americans receive quality, affordable health care and other services through HRSA's 90-plus programs and more than 3,000 grantees. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary federal agency for improving health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.
InternetWithoutBorders.org - [recommend that you use Google's Chrome to translate from French; founded in 2007] is a French association, and an international network of non-governmental organizations whose aim is to promote the free flow of information and knowledge, to defend digital rights and freedoms and to fight against all forms of censorship on connected networks. Their mission: Internet access is a fundamental right - protection and exercise of human rights on the Internet.
Shutterstock.com - Images for every project, plans for every budget. Access to 267+ million images [Claim they add 150,000 new images every day].
Viewpoints.com - access reviews of products and services. Also visit: Trustpilot.com, ConsumerSearch.com and 28 Product Review Websites - a "weblog" article about where to find at least 28 more review Websites [useful to know and also for online marketing].
MakeUseOf.com [Founded in 2007] - an online publication that issues tips and guides on how to make the most of the Internet, computer software, and mobile apps. Their mission is to help users understand and navigate modern trends in consumer technology.
Windows101Tricks.com - find the latest Windows 10 update news, tips, tweaks, error fixes and Windows "How-To-Guides". Here is more info on May-of-2019's Windows-10 Build 1903 update: ITProToday.com's article, ZDNet.com's article, HowToGeek.com's article and Windows101Tricks.com's search results for Build 1903. Important: Microsoft issued an alert in mid-May called BlueKeep: CVE-2019-0708 | Remote Desktop Services Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. If you still use Windows "Legacy versions" such as XP, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 versions - you need to read these articles and get the "BlueKeep" flaw/vulneraility patch: NSA warns that 'BlueKeep' vulnerability in Windows XP and Windows 7 is especially dangerous, BetaNews article about BlueKeep, NSA.gov's official Advisory announcement of 6-4-2019 and their Official PDF version of the NSA CyberSecurity Advisory about BlueKeep.
On June 3rd, 2019 Apple announced that it is breaking up iTunes! Apple will be creating separate standalone apps (software) to access Apple Podcasts, Apple TV, and Apple Music for their next version of macOS "Catalina". Some technology writers have stated that this is long overdue, and that it should make accessing digital content much easier. Apple is adding new features to their OS such as Sidecar to improve useability of your computer/device workspace. And, some technology writers are even saying "thank you!" (read Wired.com's article).
Here are some online articles about Apple's latest announcement: TheVerge.com's article, Popular Science's article, CNN's "Rest In Peace iTunes" news article, VOX.com's article and Wired.com's article.
Here's more on Apple's next MacOS called "Catalina": Apple's Newsroom preview about Catalina, DigitalTrends's coverage of Apple's announcements at their WorldWide Developer's Conference, and MacRumors.com info about Catalina.
End of top 10 for this month
Windows 10 - creating a recovery thumbdrive, Windows 10 recovery drive #2 or Windows 8 or 10 recovery drive Solution #3.
Windows 10 Missing Fonts Solution #1 or try this other Windows 10 Missing Fonts Solution #2.
DoNotCall.gov - National Do Not Call Registry - Wisconsin now uses this - but here is Wisconsin's DoNotCall Web resource: Wisconsin Do Not Call Registry. Also visit: How to report unwanted calls.
How to Stop Unwanted Calls on Your Cell Phone or Landline: Lifewire.com article, HowToGeek.com article, and PCMag.com article.
Another resource to check out for Cell Phone/PC/Online privacy and security apps (software) that includes secure & encrypted chat, messaging, calling; plus password managers, Web browsing in privacy, and more is: Tom's Guide article. I use "CM Security" on my Samsung Android powered phone to screen and block almost every annoying "telemarketer" incoming cell phone call. Please note ---> that this is not an endorsement by me; it works ok but is not without its own quirks. Use it at your own risk.
Troubleshooting Windows 10 printer problemsLast show's tip on how to fix common Windows 10 printer problems (it is not you - it is Microsoft that keeps having trouble!.

*****macrium.com - another backup software program; also has ghosting feature (duplicating "drives" - especially hard drives - check out their FREE version of their "Macrium Reflect" software.
****Classic Shell ---> This is a Windows 8 "free utility" to make it look more like Windows-7 or Windows XP. I have used it a few times on Windows 8 systems; and, it has worked well for me. Good luck!

Peter Greene's Selection of Most Popular Applications (Apps) - Software

Microsoft "Office" - remember Visicalc? WordStar? WordPerfect? Lotus 1-2-3? Multiplan? Also now: "Google Docs"
Adobe's "Photoshop" - they are also known for their "Creative Suite". Related - remember Corel Draw? Saw money and use "Google's Picasa".
"Google's Gmail". Also: Yahoo Mail, AOL, Outlook by Microsoft, Windows Live Mail (by Microsoft), Apple Mail.
"Google Maps" or just using your smartphone for a GPS [Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based satellite navigation system]. Remember MapQuest?
Google's "YouTube". Along with "Twitter", "Pinterest" and "Facebook" you are a social butterfly. Remember "MySpace"?.
"eBay" - connects buyer's and seller's from all over the world.
"Speedtest.net" by Ookla; just nice to know how face your Internet connection really is. I have been using this for years and really appreciate it!
"Skype" (for traveling) - it has changed hands (owners) a few times. So the rules / costs might change just like cell phone plans do!
"WhatsApp" (for traveling) - also handy for travelling outside the U.S.
Apple's "iTunes". If you own an Apple product then you pretty much have to use it. But don't forget this handy app --->"i-FunBox" [I like the classic version]
The "Staples": Operating Systems: Free"Ubuntu" and paid for version such as Apple's OSX (Yeosemite) and Microsoft Windows 8.1 (I still like 7 over 8). I think OSX runs better and if you hate doing backups you can't beat TimeMachine in OSX. Under the hood Apple's OSX really is a version of Unix; and Linux (Ubuntu, Redhat and others) is also a version of Unix.
The other Staples: Web browser - Mozilla's "FireFox". And the others: Microsoft's Internet Explorer, Chrome, Apple's Safari.

*** Below are last month's choices ****

weather.gov - [the official Website of the National Weather Service (NWS)] - very comprehensive Web resource. They provide reliable weather, water, climate, and environmental information. Their mission: "Provide weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings for the protection of life and property and enhancement of the national economy." They have detailed data & information about the recent Historic and catastrophic flooding. When I travel or when I am researching vacation destinations I like to use "Holiday-Weather.com" - it provides a lot of useful information.
Vox.com - [Vox.com explains the news.] They state "We live in a world of too much information and too little context. Too much noise and too little insight ... so they explain the news" and cover a wide variety of newsworthy items with detailed online articles to help you to understand better what is being put forth in the news. For example: their article about "Lab-Grown Meat" - "Would you eat a burger grown from animal cells rather than a whole cow? What about a plant-based burger, once researchers finally pull off a perfect imitation of the texture and taste of a meat burger? That question, believe it or not, might be one of the most important of the century. Modern meat production involves shockingly inhumane conditions, mass use of antibiotics with worrisome public health implications, and high environmental costs. And demand for meat is expected to rise 73 percent by 2050, expanding the scale of factory farming�s horrors while putting more strain on our food system." With all that in mind, researchers are desperately working on better alternatives to meat.
crisprtx.com - [ "CRISPR" (pronounced "crisper") is shorthand for "CRISPR-Cas9." CRISPRs are specialized stretches of DNA. The protein Cas9 (or "CRISPR-associated") is an enzyme that acts like a pair of molecular scissors, capable of cutting strands of DNA. CRISPR is a family of DNA sequences found within the genomes of prokaryotic organisms such as bacteria and archaea. These sequences are derived from DNA fragments from viruses that have previously infected the prokaryote and are used to detect and destroy DNA from similar viruses during subsequent infections.] The potential is here to deliver a new generation of cancer therapies to patients. Their specific, efficient and versatile CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing platform into therapies to treat hemoglobinopathies, cancer, diabetes and other diseases.
BuzzFile.com - Buzzfile Basic (Buzzfile Professional and Buzzfile.EDU are listed below) is the most advanced freely available company information resource in the market today. [Buzzfile Professional is a prospecting and research tool designed to meet the needs of sales, marketing and research professionals. With Buzzfile, clients can search Buzzfile's vast database of 18 million companies, 50 million contacts and 6 million places to uncover more prospects] [Buzzfile.EDU is one of the most comprehensive employers-by-major resource available to colleges and universities.]
TrustPilot.com - a review platform open to everyone. Share your experiences to help others make better choices, and help companies work on imporving their products and services.
FTCComplaintAssistant.gov - a government resource to help with complaints from consumers. It helps the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to detect patterns of fraud and abuse. The FTC would like to know about your complaint and this Website, their Complaint Assistant, will help guide you to submit your complaint.
ZellePay.com - a fast, safe and easy way to send money in minutes1 to your friends and family. A useful alternative to PayPal.
VaccineMakers.org - committed to public education about vaccine science.
DayOfTheBadger.org [April 9th] - A day for Badger Nation to unite in celebration of the UW. Add to your calendar now and return soon. Day of the Badger runs 1848 minutes � 5 p.m. CT, April 8 to midnight, April 9, 2019. [It�s the first annual Day of the Badger - 4/9/2019].
apple.com - announced on March 25, 2019 new offerings for services in video streaming (Apple TV), news (News and News+), gaming (Apple Arcade) and payment apps (Apple Pay and Apple Card). The announcement is detailed by "MSN" and CNBC FactBox". Key items are:
[1.] Apple will offer both "News [Free] and News+ [$9.99/mo - Monthly subscription]". What Apple News & News+ will feature are: Dive into your own personal newsstand, with full access to hundreds of magazines [with animated covers] and leading newspapers. Flip through current and past issues as covers and layouts come alive in beautiful new ways.** Download a magazine or save a recommended article to read on the go. And continue to enjoy all the amazing features of Apple News � all for one great price. Designed for the iPhone, iPad and Mac [Apple] computers and devices. Claim they don�t allow advertisers and publishers to track you.
[2.] "Apple TV+" [available May, 2019 with "+" coming in the fall] Features to offer - 100,000 movies to buy or rent, popular streaming services [Internet connection required]. And coming this fall, original shows and movies from Apple TV+. Includes Apple TV 4K. Other players in this space include [but not limited to]: "Amazon Prime Video", "Netflix", "Hulu", "Sling", "Vimeo [formerly called LiveStream]", and others. Here is a PC Magazine article about "Best Video Streaming Services for 2019", and another article about "11 Places to Watch Free (or Cheap) TV on the Web [you need a decent Internet connection]" and learn to access video content like "NBC's Online Video Library".
[3.] "Apple Aracade [c/net article]" detailing what they are planning to do: for a monthly fee, people can access a bundle of exclusive premium games through the App Store, called "Apple Arcade", an offering of premium paid games from various developers. will be available for the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV this coming fall in more than 150 countries worldwide. With the subscription, Apple said people can play as much as they like without ads or additional purchases. Will also be able to play offline. Other players in this space include: Google's just announced "Stadia" and its studio - called "Stadia Games and Entertainment" to create new content, "Microsoft's Xbox Live" [Microsoft & Electronic Arts], "Sony's PlayStation Network", Amazon's "Twitch.tv", Nintendo's "Switch", and other online PC Gaming. Very formindable competition. Some interesting details about "Twitch", a live streaming video platform, owned by a subsidiary of Amazon ----> as of May 2018, it had 2.2 million broadcasters monthly and 15 million daily active users, with around a million average concurrent users. And here's more about Google's "Stadia" - Stadia is a service that lets you play games by way of a wide variety of devices and an internet connection, similar to how you watch shows and movies on Netflix. Stadia offers convenience: you don't need a chunky game console or expensive PC. Just a TV, set-top box, browser, phone or low-end PC that can surf the web using Google's Chrome browser. You can use your own keyboard, mouse and a controller you have lying around, or you can use a specialized controller from Google that connects to its service over Wi-Fi.
[4.] "Apple Pay" and "Apple Card" [coming summer of 2019]. Apple Pay vs. "Samsung Pay" vs. "Google Pay": Which mobile payment system is best? Here's an article by "c/net" that gives a great overview on them.
TheMasterSwitch.com - learn about the world of audio technology & gadgets. This Web resource covers headphones, amps, home theater systems, speakers, projectors, soundbars, TVs, radios, and gaming gear.
Podium.com - a product/service to help businesses build an accurate, authentic online reputation through reviews.

As discussed on a previous show - I have listed resources to help you search for access to public information, and, information that may be purchased.

Note: I have no affiliation or am I making any endorsement for use of these resources; just pointing out examples to access this kind of information on the Internet and World Wide Web. I tried to group the resources together as best as possible.

Keep in mind that even though you may sign-up to be a member of a Web site - that some of your information, such as a "user name" for your membership may be accessible outside of that resource by search engines such as Google.com (this also includes images). So you may want to change your use of your "user name" across multiple sites; similar to changing your use of the same passwords to protect yourself. Or it is a question to ask yourself - how visible or invisible do I want to be online? If you associate your name (even a nickname or alias and someone knows it) with a face then you are visible.

A way to save money - sign-up for a trial account that may give you "a 7-day window to use the service" if you pay the annual fee; however, make sure you note the cancellation date or you may end-up paying for the entire year!

Google.com [make sure you check out their "Other Products Page"] , Google's Image search, YouTube.com (part of Google), and Google's Plus (similar to Facebook); note Google makes money by selling advertising - they make this statement as related to Google Plus - "'Google may use my account information to personalize +1s on content and ads on non-Google web sites.'"
Yahoo.com and Bing.com two other search engines to work with that are also popular.
Facebook has become popular not only for individuals but business and organizations to use as a social media marketing tool to gain popularity.
LinkedIn - typically considered for business professional but also used by others.
MySpace - was more popular before Facebook but still used by individuals. Another social connectivity resource like facebook.
Twitter - a social networking tool - find out what’s happening, right now, with the people and organizations you are interested in (if they tweet !!!).
Manta.com - business community where you can find out more detailed information on a business and its contacts.
Bizapedia.com - provides free online company search and people search tools.
CorporationWiki.com - information on 37+ million Companies and 35+ million executive.
Netprospex.com - helps Business-to-Business companies discover and connect with millions of targeted sales prospects. Find verified contact information, including email, phone, and social media.
LookUpAnyone.com and PublicRecords.com - comprehensive people search resources to use; costs/fees to access (I have no experience with them).
pipl.com - search engine that claims to be the "most comprehensive people search on the Web"; dive into the deep Web to bring you results you won't find in any other search engine then we use a powerful identity resolution engine to link those seemingly disparate results into a set of meaningful profiles so you can easily find the person you are looking for.
Radaris - another comprehensive people search resource to use.
Spoke.com - another comprehensive people search resource to use.
SocialDiligence.com - a social media search tool.
Ancestry.com - looking for close relatives, family tree, divorce, marriage, birth, death records?
Archives.com - claims to have an extensive database of images, newspapers, vital records, and more for your ancestors' historical records.
Areaconnect.com - a resource that has access to local Yellow Pages, White Pages, search, directories, news, weather and more.
411.info - looking for phone numbers, addresses, reverse look-ups?
Netronline.com- gain entrance to those official state Web resources that provide online access to property tax and related information. Check out the State of Wisconsin info and local Dane County examples below.

and

Wisconsin and local resources examples:
Access to the Public Records of the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) from the Wisconsin Court System - commonly referred to as "CCAP"; and City of Madison Property Taxes

selected Peter's schedule for appearing as a guest on Larry Meiller's show can seen by clicking here.

You can listen to Peter on WPR (Wisconsin Public Radio) - 970AM WHA Radio in Madison, WI monthly! It is broadcast live over the WPR radio network from the 7th floor of Vilas Hall, and is "Web casted" live via Real Audio - you'll need the "Real Audio player". The show is 90 minutes in length and covers the latest in PC computer technology , the Internet and the World Wide Web; show is a question & answer format. I have supported Wisconsin Public Radio for over 31+ years with a monthly radio show on computer technology. The show is hosted by Larry Meiller.