No need to put your trousers on

We’ve added two new sub-categories to the Computers section of the Gateway to Websites. So I will waffle on about these rather than pick individual sites.

Give us the tools and we’ll conquer the Web

It’s not good enough to surf the Net these days, you have to be interactive. That’s b******s of course – you can have a great time just drifting about the Internet, but using interactive tools can be useful and fun.
Our new sub-category "Online tools" highlights a few of the cyber-gadgets you can use to organise your life, and other people’s lives as well if you manage to get them hooked. Del.icio.us (how stupid to clutter up a perfectly good word with full stops!) is like a set of portable favourites. Once you have set up your own list of links, you can reach it anywhere with Internet access, not just on the machine you asked to "add to favourites".
Birthday Alarm does far more than birthdays. You tell it your important dates (anniversaries, holidays, days in court…) and Birthday Alarm sends you a reminder.
Google tools include calendars and online documents (which you can share with others), and a simple way to set up your own blog (which we used to set up the WTH blog).
As for Zoho, I read an article the other day advocating getting rid of all your Microsoft Office software and keeping your entire electronic office on Zoho. You don’t download anything – you just use their word processor or spreadsheet or presentation tool online. It’s all free, and as with the other tools we’ve mentioned, you can share all your stuff with friends. You can even conduct exams online using Zoho!
Whatever next? Well don’t ask me, I’m reeling from that lot.
(From the Gateway to Websites, select "Computers". The Online Tools link is towards the bottom of the page.)

Where are they now? (in front of a screen)

If you want to find long-lost chums, keep up with the chums you never lost, or make new ones, there’s an online community to help you. We are featuring just a few of these in our "Online communities" sub-category.
Myspace has got a name for enabling kids to pretend they’re being sociable without actually meeting anyone, or even bothering to get dressed. But of course it’s what you make of it. You can keep in touch, arrange to meet, or invite all and sundry to listen to your latest music recording; they can join in or not…
Facebook does a similar job, I read at the weekend that 150,000 people a day are joining up. The mind (mine anyway) boggles.
Friends Reunited is another modern legend. You need to bear in mind that you cannot do very much with it unless you register (which is free), and that to use it to re-establish contact with all the spotty oiks in Year 10, there will come a time when you will have to pay.
Gumtree is a community for some, while for others it is just a place to find a job or a flat or a cheap holiday. It’s vast and sprawling, free to read and cheap to advertise on. It’s the nearest thing I know to the notice board in the corridor with news, immoderate opinions and small ads jostling for space, and a couple having a snog as they lean against the bit you’re trying to read. Happy days…
(From the Gateway to Websites, select "Computers". The Online Communities link is towards the bottom of the page.)