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BOOT CAMP 061
FINDING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES
You know how it is, you meant to write or phone but… It's all
too easy to loose touch with family and friends over the years but when you want
to track someone down who may not even live in this country anymore, where on
earth do you start? Your PC of course!
The Internet is jam-packed full of resources, directories and
databases that can help you to find people, even if they are not Internet users
themselves. Even so, with the number of people now connected and on-line there
is a good chance that your search will quickly yield an E-mail address or phone
number if not for the actual person, then a close relative who may be able to
help.
Before you begin arm yourself with as many details as
possible about the person you are trying to find. That includes obvious things
like their full name, but it may also help to know apparently trivial facts,
such as the name of the school, college or university they attended. Their occupation
or membership of professional bodies or associations can often provide useful
leads, as can any information about hobbies, interests and sporting activities.
It is worth trying a basic E-mail search first, however bear
in mind that there is no such thing as a central E-mail directory, nor is there
likely to be for quite some time. The Internet is simply too big and it is growing
at a phenomenal rate with new Internet Service Providers and 'domains' coming
on stream almost daily. Moreover, there
is a significant churn rate -- especially in the UK -- as users chop and change
their ISP's, often creating E-mail addresses that subsequently lapse into
disuse.
Nevertheless, if the individual uses one of the longer
established service providers your chances of success are quite good. The Yahoo
People Search web site (see Contacts) is one of the best places to start. All
you need is the person's surname and first name (always try both forename and
initials); don't be surprised if you get multiple entries and a lot of irrelevant
'hits' from people with the same name, especially if it happens to be a common
one. Even if you think the person is unlikely to have an E-mail address try it
anyway, but if that doesn't work the next step is a telephone search.
British Telecom still refuse to put the UK telephone directory
on the Internet but this hasn't prevented others from creating their own
searchable residential and business telephone number databases from information
available in the public domain (electoral register, commercial lists etc.). The
controversial UK Info Disk CD-ROM contains the telephone numbers of more than
42 million UK residents. BT have tried to suppress the disc but it is now
freely accessible on its own web site (see Contacts). It will search out an
address and telephone number using just a surname, though refining the search
with a Christian name or initials usually produces more manageable results. This
site also gives you the opportunity to send a card, gift or flowers to the person.
It is also possible to carry out a 'reverse' search if you are willing to buy
the CD-ROM or pay a subscription; this will allow you to find a name and
address from just a telephone number. There are also several commercial and
business directories such as Thomson's and Yellow Pages (see Contacts), that
may well help if you know the person's trade, business or profession.
Incidentally, if you are concerned about your own address
and telephone number being available on the UK Info Disk and published on the Internet
you can request that your entry be deleted.
If you are seeking someone who has moved abroad, and you
know which country they are living in then there is a chance they'll be listed
in one of the hundreds of searchable international telephone directories on the
Internet. The Excite World People Finder web site has a list of almost 70
countries with links to residential and commercial directories (see Contacts). The quality and depth of these directories
varies from country to country but in many cases these are the country's main telecomm
company databases.
If phone and E-mail listings draw a blank try using the person's
name as a key word in any of the larger 'search engines', such as Altavista, Infoseek,
Lycos, WebCrawler, Yahoo etc. You may well come across a family 'homepage',
possibly with links to the individual or his or her relatives.
If you are attempting to trace old school or college friends
then use a search engine to find out whether the school or university has its
own web-site. Many of them have alumni notice boards dedicated to finding old
boys and old girls, often with details of recent or forthcoming class reunions.
You may even be able to post a 'wanted' notice in the hope that ex pupils and
students may still be in contact with the person you are seeking.
Although few clubs and associations post details of members
on their web pages it is well worth E-mailing or writing to membership secretaries
of relevant organisations, asking if the person you are looking for is known to
them, and if so to pass on your message.
Next week -- Your PCs best friend -- Tweak UI
CONTACTS
DIRECTORIES & RESOURCES
Yahoo People Finder: http://people.yahoo.com/
UK Info Disk: www.192.com
UK Yellow Pages: http://www.yell.co.uk/
SEARCH ENGINES
www.altavista.com
www.infoseek.com
www.lycos.com
www.webcrawler.com
JARGON FILTER
DOMAIN
The unique name that identifies an Internet site
ISP
Internet Service Provider, company providing individuals
with Internet access. Until recently most ISPs charged a monthly subscription
though a growing number of ISPs now provide free access
SEARCH ENGINE
Internet sites that seek out information, by topic, keyword
or name
TOP TIP
Normally the contents of the Taskbar sitting at the bottom
of your screen (or wherever you decided to put it) are decided for you by
Windows and the applications you are running. You can take control of it and turn
any folder on your PC into a Toolbar icon on the Taskbar, so you can quickly
access the programs or files it contains. All you have to do is put the mouse
pointer into an empty area on the Taskbar and right-click, from the menu that
appears choose Toolbars and select New Toolbar. This will open a directory tree
dialogue box, choose the folder you're interested in and click OK. The folder and
its contents will now be displayed on the Taskbar; you can shuffle through the
folder by clicking on the little arrows. If you want to get rid of it go back
to the Taskbar menu, click on Toolbars again and de-select the item. If the
layout of your Taskbar changes don't worry, you can move the item blocks around
by dragging the dividing bars with the mouse pointer.
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