PC Talk Educational Links

PCTalk:

Educational - An area dedicated to listing those sites offering further insite into some aspect of computer science. Usually there is no downloadable or purchasable software. All reading is done on-site.

Table of contents:

Certification Communities Digital Hardware History Hoaxes HTML Internet Miscellaneous Netiquette OS Reference Search Security Software Testing Tips Tutorials

Certification

certification-crazy.net: a website primarily involved in trying to help people studying for I.T. certifications by providing information and links to numerous free training guides and tutorials for all the major certifications.

LearnThat: Multiple online Certification tutorials.

Communities


: Gaia Online anime roleplaying community. Rating: PG-13. Read my post about this site in the forum at GaiaOnline
GirlGeeks: GirlGeeks is an online community for women and girls interested in technology and computing.
Parents Helping Parents: Empowering Families & Communities to Meet Children's Special Needs. I was looking for the php programming language when I found this and decided it might be of use to those who still have children.

Digital Literacy

Microsoft Digital Literacy: The Digital Literacy Curriculum consists of five courses. Each course has an e-learning module and an assessment. You can also take the Certificate Test, which covers topics from all five courses. If you pass the Certificate Test, you can print out a personalized Digital Literacy Certificate.

Hardware

BIOS Arcana: This document explains the meaning behind the different BIOS set up parameters.
CD-Recordable FAQ: This was originally developed (and is still maintained) as a Usenet newsgroup FAQ. If you'd like to check out the newsgroups, point your news reader at ...
Hardware Central: In-depth computer hardware information.
HowStuffWorks: Computer knowledge in easily understandable form.
Karbosguide: A complete illustrated Guide to the PC Hardware.
PC Mechanic: PC How-to Information Resource.
PC Pitstop: Helps you get your PC in top form; running fast, stable and secure.

Chronology of PCs: An attempt to bring various published sources together to present a timeline about Personal Computers.

Copyright: 10 Big Myths about copyright explained.
Hoax Busters: These pages describe some of the warnings, offers, and pleas for help that are filling our mailboxes, clogging our mailservers, and that generally do not have any basis in fact.
Snopes.com: Rumor Has It
Urban Legends: The AFU & Urban Legends Archive.
Urban Legends and Folklore: What you need to know about Urban Legends and Folklore.
VMyths: The truth about computer virus myths and hoaxes.
Discovery Channel Myth Busters: They have one cause. Leave no urban legend untested.

HTML - HyperText Markup Language

Meta Tags - Back to Basics: META tags can be very useful for Web developers. They can be used to identify the creator of the page, what HTML specs the page follows, the keywords and description of the page, and the refresh parameter (which can be used to cause the page to reload itself, or to load another page). And these are just a few of the common uses!
Meta Tags - Generator: Meta-Tags Generator helps you add Meta-Tags to your site.
Meta Tags - Guide to the Robots META tag: The Robots META tag is a simple mechanism to indicate to visiting Web Robots if a page should be indexed, or links on the page should be followed.
Meta Tags - How to Use: Want to get a top ranking in search engines? No problem! All you need to do is add a few magical "meta tags" to your web pages, and you'll skyrocket to the top of the listings. If only it were so easy.
Meta Tags - what, where, when, why?: The Meta tag in html is not a required tag when you're creating your web pages; many pages don't use the tag at all, ...
W3C Recommendations - HTML: The global structure of an HTML document.

Internet

HowStuffWorks-Internet: Internet knowledge in easily understandable form.
IRChelp: Internet Relay Chat (IRC) help archive.
IRC DAEMON: IRC Server Software: This page provides information and lets you download IRC server software, commonly known as ircd (IRC daemon). It also contains information on how IRC operators run these servers. Because these topics are extremely advanced, the pages below assume that you are relatively experienced with IRC. This is not intended for new IRC users.
IRC Server Request FAQ: This is required reading for anybody who is interested in running an IRC server, being an IRC operator, or otherwise interested in learning more about how IRC servers work.
Joel on Software: Hosting or Co-Location?
TestMySpeed: Check the speed that your computer is connecting to the internet with modem speed tests from all over the world.
WebMonkey: The web developer's resource.
WebReference: Develop the Web.

Miscellaneous

Microsoft - Child Safety: A parent's primer to computer slang. Understand how your kids communicate online to help protect them.
Microsoft - Game Safety: Ready, set, game: Learn how to keep video gaming safe and fun. 10 tips for dealing with game cyberbullies and griefers.

Netiquette

Master the Basics: Netiquette: We expect other drivers to observe the rules of the road and the same is true as we travel through cyberspace. Here are a few pointers to help you out...
Netiquette Home Page: "Netiquette" is network etiquette, the do's and don'ts of online communication. Netiquette covers both common courtesy online and the informal "rules of the road" of cyberspace. This page provides links to both summary and detail information about Netiquette for your browsing pleasure.
NetManners.com: "Using technology effectively to communicate with others both personally and professionally with knowledge, understanding and courtesy."
RFC 1855 - Netiquette Guidelines: This document provides a minimum set of guidelines for Network Etiquette (Netiquette) which organizations may take and adapt for their own use. As such, it is deliberately written in a bulleted format to make adaptation easier and to make any particular item easy (or easier) to find. It also functions as a minimum set of guidelines for individuals, both users and administrators. This memo is the product of the Responsible Use of the Network (RUN) Working Group of the IETF.

Thanks to Tom Wilcox for pointing out that the prior link did not work. He suggested a replacement but his suggestion had pop-up ads, this one doesn't.
The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette: User Guidelines and Netiquette - Index

OS (Operating System)

FAT & NTFS File Systems in Windows XP: Files in Windows XP can be organised on the hard disk in two different ways.
NTFS - New Technology File System designed for Windows NT, 2000, XP: NTFS is a high-performance and self-healing file system proprietary to Windows XP 2000 NT, which supports file-level security, compression and auditing. It also supports large volumes and powerful storage solution such as RAID. The most important new feature of NTFS is the ability to encrypt files and folders to protect your sensitive data.

Reference

Color Name Samples: The 140 web color names are displayed alphabetically in the table below along with their respective RGB values.
FedStats: The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies.
FileExt: A detailed database of file extensions and programs that use them.
FolDoc: Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing.
HowStuffWorks: Knowledge. The gift that keeps on giving. Plus it's cheap. That makes you look good.
Startup Apps: The intention of these pages is to provide a central resource for PC users and Tech Support staff alike who are concerned about the poor performance of their PCs due to the number of programs that run at system start-up.
TECHtionary: World's first animated technical dictionary.
VisiBone - Webmaster's Color Laboratory: Web based colors give HTML color codes when selected. The 216-Color Webmaster's Palette.
WhatIs: Definitions for thousands of the most current IT-related words.
WinGuide Network: Technical resources and support to tweak, manage and secure the Windows operating system.

Search

ChefMoz: A User built and maintained directory of Culinary information.
DMOZ: The Open Directory Project.
gnod: Gnod is an experiment in the field of artificial intelligence. It's a self-adapting system, living on a server and 'talking' to everyone who comes along. Gnods intention is to learn about the outer world and to learn 'understanding' its visitors. This enables gnod to share all its wisdom with you in an intuitive and efficient way. You might call it a search-engine to find things you don't know about.
Google: The main Google search engine.
Remove Content: Need to remove content from Google's index?
MapQuest: The MapQuest geographical search engine.
Zeal: Zeal directory search.

Security

Examples of Links That Lie: Phishing refers to fraudulent email messages designed to trick you into providing personal information. As part of the scam, the links in the email message do not take you where they appear to. Instead you are taken to a web site that looks real but exists on a computer controlled by the bad guys.
Microsoft - Protect your family: child safety - Whether your kids go online to browse, research school projects, play games, or chat with friends, you can help to keep them safer while they explore online with the following articles and tips.
alt.spam FAQ: Figuring out fake E-Mail & Posts.
Aunty Spam's Net Patrol: Spam, spyware, spoofing, security breaches, and other Internet nasties. Aunty Spam's Net Patrol gives you up to the minute reporting, along with a healthy dose of editorial commentary and pithy, witty remarks.
Google As Big Brother: One persons take on the Google hierarchy.
Privacy & Security: Protecting Your Privacy & Security on a Home PC.
Spam Primer: Getting rid of SPAM and other email pests.
SpyWareInfoForum: Your central location for everything you need to know to protect your privacy on the internet.
: WiredSafety provides help, information and education to Internet and mobile device users of all ages. We help victims of cyberabuse ranging from online fraud, cyberstalking and child safety, to hacking and malicious code attacks. We also help parents with issues, such as MySpace and cyberbullying.

Software

DOS Command Index: Information about all current DOS commands.
DOS Essentials: If DOS is ancient history, why should we bother to learn it? Simply put, if you want to be able to fix troubled IBM-compatibile personal computers, there are times when nothing else will do.
Driver Guide: A guide to finding device drivers.
Exception Errors Win98: Fatal Exception Errors are codes returned by programs when there is a problem.
Exception Errors Windows: Provides support to various types of errors of the Windows platforms.
Favicons: Tutorial on adding a Favorites Icon to your web site.
SearchWin2000: Part of the TechTarget Network of Enterprise IT Web Sites.
Start-Up Apps: Start-Up Applications, do you really need them?
TweakXP: Site dedicated to improving and customizing Microsoft® Windows® XP.
Windows Support Center: Supporting Microsoft Desktop Sysytems, Windows Operating Systems & Leading Application Software.

Testing

Half-Baked Software: An independent company, set up with support of the University of Victoria and the UVic Innovation and Development Corporation.
SparkNotes: Tests, study guides, and commentary.

Tips and Tricks

Excel Tips: The place to find easy-to-use, succinct answers to your questions about Microsoft Excel. The site contains over a thousand articles and tips, categorized across scores of topic areas.
Word Tips: This site contains over 1,600 tips and tricks on how to use Word better, faster, and more easily. You can quickly access the answers you need.

Tutorials

1st Page 2000 Editor Installation Guide: HTML and Script Editing Tool.
1st Page 2000 Editor Tutorial: The 1st Page Editor is an HTML Text Editor. It can be used for other text editing. However, almost all the options are set up to support HTML, CSS, Javascript, SSI and ASP. That doesn't mean that it couldn't replace Notepad. The one disadvantage of this editor over some others is that it takes a long time to launch.
Home Net Tutorial: This tutorial will explain how to set up a small computer network for file and printer sharing using NetBEUI.
HTML Goodies: Primers and tutorials on programming in HTML.
Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101: Do you feel confused, befuddled, & lost when it comes to computers? Do you wish you had the time, and dollars, to take a real, live course on computers? Then these lessons are for you!
Karen's Power Tools Newsletter 03 March 2005: This issue contains information about her "URL Discombobulator program" program.
NCSA HTML Guide: The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) "A Beginners Guide to programming in HTML".
Updating and running Lavasoft's AdAware-SE: Using AdAware is fairly simple. Most options can be ignored unless you really feel like being tricky, so don't be intimidated by the loads of different buttons you are presented with when you first open Lavasoft's nifty little app.
Updating and running Spybot: Search & Destroy: Spybot: Search & Destroy is just as handy as AdAware. Not as pretty, perhaps, but it's a nifty little program that will find things that AdAware leaves behind. (And conversely, AdAware finds things that Spybot doesn't, this is why we run them both)
w3schools CSS Tutorial: In our CSS tutorial you will learn how to use CSS to control the style and layout of multiple Web pages all at once.
w3schools HTML Tutorial: With HTML you can create your own Web site. This tutorial teaches you everything about HTML. HTML is easy to learn - You will enjoy it.
W3C - Style Sheets: Style sheets describe how documents are presented on screens, in print, or perhaps how they are pronounced.