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How to Help Thyself

39 ways to make online help systems more helpful--or find better answers elsewhere.

Harry McCracken

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Need an Expert? Check Here

>>TIPS Some of the best PC advice comes from real people: consultants, IT pros, and savvy amateurs who know the products inside and out. For free help from all of the above, cruise to these sites.

Hardware

The PC Guide: You'll find lots of nuts-and-bolts guidance on PC matters here, plus message forums where visitors help each other. The site also features an extensive hyperlinked index.

Windows

SysOpt.com: This do-it-yourselfer's dream site offers hard-core hardware tips on CPU overclocking, graphics-card tweaking, and plenty of other geeky topics.

Windows-Help.net: Don't let this site's clutter of ads faze you--the friendly tutorials it provides are worth the hunt.

Annoyances.org: The busy companion site to O'Reilly's Annoyances books (see "Help by the Book" on the next page) has downloads and discussion forums.

Bob Cerelli's Windows Page: At this site you'll get no fancy graphics, no ads, no nonsense; just tons of tutorials and tips.

Applications

Woody's Office Portal: A true rarity: Microsoft Office help that's consistently funny, opinionated, and invaluable.

Ask Mr. Excel: This savvy consultant fully justifies his moniker with a variety of free tips, advice, articles, and much more.

The PowerPoint FAQ: The presentation pointers here range from the basic to the arcane. Though it could use more PowerPoint 2002 information, it's still worth a visit.

WordPerfect Universe: The world is still swarming with happy WordPerfect holdouts. For proof, check out the array of helpful forums maintained here.

AdamKB@AOL.COM: These nifty links to multiple help resources for AOL are neatly organized for easy perusal, though they were slightly stale when we last checked them.

Dr. M's Quicken Hints & Tips: Ugly graphics and irritating music give way to genuinely worthwhile finance tips, plus a free Quicken newsletter.

Photoshop Tips & Tricks: Enjoy expert walk-throughs of multiple features in Adobe's always potent but sometimes puzzling image editor.

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