Module 4 Tasks: Tools Plug-ins

This task involved downloading tools or plug-ins which would assist us to use the internet more efficiently. It should aso be helpful in completing assignment no 1.

1. Adobe's pdf reader: Like most people I already have adobe reader installed on my computer. All new computers come with Adobe reader already installed.

2. Flash/Shockwave Players: I already had these two installed on my computer. I create a lot of flash in my job as a graphic designer, so these two are essential.

3. Media Players: I already had Windows Media Player and Quicktime installed, so I also installed the Real One player. When surfing the net you will occassionally get links to Real One files, but by far and away the most commonly used player is Windows Media Player.

4. Search Manager/Combiners: This was a good one for me because I had never heard of search manager combiners before. I downloaded and installed Copernic Meta for PC, as suggested by Curtin.

I spent 20 minutes testing the software by doing some random searches. Copernic uses some of the major search engines such as Alta Vista, AOL, Lycos and MSN to perform searchs instantaneously.

This is a great time saver, and a great example of using the web efficiently.

5. Bookmark Manager: Bookmark manager is a more advanced version of your basic IE favourites system. I decided not to download or install this application because I find my simple IE favourites system of organising and filing to be more than adequate.

6. Offline Browser/Copier: This type of software enables you to copy sites to your hard disk and read them offline.

In some cases this could be very handy, but I live in the city with unlimited downloads on my broadband connection, so this will be unnecessary for me.

However if I ever take off to the country for a weekend and would like to do some study, then I will definately investigate this further.