TODAY'S TOURBUS STOP(S): ONLINE SHOPPING / BOTS

Did you know it's actually SAFER to use your credit card online, than in a brick & mortar store or over the telephone? That's because your transaction is automated -- no human will have a chance to copy down your card info and sell it to a guy in a trenchcoat behind the store.

Read on for product reviews, price comparison sites, web coupons and some cool Bots to make your online life easier. Also in this issue, an analysis of the David Rhoades scam, and goodies for pet owners.

Online Shopping

I still meet people who tell me they've never purchased anything on the Internet. I always tell 'em that it's safer to use a credit card online than in a department store, and there are so many tools to help you find the right product AND save money in the process.

Do you want to find online product reviews? Compare prices at online stores? Pick up web-only discount and coupons BEFORE you shop? How about learning some online auction tips, or how to avoid online shopping scams and fraud? Read on!

http://www.askbobrankin.com/online_shopping.html

Bots and Intelligent Agents

Remember back when you were a kid, watching The Jetsons and wishing someone would invent a robot to do your chores? Decades later, we still haven't realized the promise of a machine to clear the dishes off the table, but nowadays there ARE some useful Bots roaming the Internet, ready to help you with shopping, information gathering and other tasks.

What's a Bot? The word is derived from "robot", and refers to a computer program that gathers information or performs a service, usually on some regular schedule. Learn about Chatter Bots, Shopping Bots and intelligent agents ready to do your bidding.

http://www.askbobrankin.com/bots_and_intelligent_agents.html

Create Currency Quickly

If you've been online for more than an hour, you've probably gotten one of those "PHENO MENAL MUNNEY MAYKING PROGRAMS" that promise to make you 50 grand in short order. It's the classic David Rhoades scheme, now legendary on the Net. Have you ever wondered if those things really work?

(Out-of-control spam filters required me to make some "cosmetic" modifications to the text above. I hope the simple substitutions in words and letters below are not too distracting. Anti-spam technology needs to get better, sigh...)

http://www.askbobrankin.com/create_currency_quickly.html

Pet Resources

Calling all cats, dogs, exotic critters and those who love them... Here's an annotated list of the best websites for and about pets, covering pet health, training tips, travelling with Fido & Fluffy, and other cool pet sites you won't want to miss!

http://www.askbobrankin.com/cats_and_dogs.html

The Next Best Thing

Linda from Marlinton, West Virginia recently wrote and said "The next best thing to Tourbus is the Smart Computing magazine that you guys recommend. I've been getting it since last summer and it has solved numerous problems for me and my friends." Thanks, Linda!

We hope other Tourbus riders will discover the Plain English answers to their computing questions that Smart Computing delivers every month. Do you want to speed up your PC? Eliminate the threat of computer viruses? Get rid of spyware and keep hackers out? Try Smart Computing today -- get your FREE TRIAL issue NOW!

http://www.internettourbus.com/smart.htm

That's it for today. Have a safe and happy week, and we'll talk again soon.