Experts & How-To

Ask questions, follow step-by-step instructions, or learn from online tutorials in all kinds of subjects by using these sites.

Resources in this category:

Allexperts.com
http://www.allexperts.com/

A directory of experts in the areas of television, music, legal, medical, software, cars, sports, love & romance, and miscellaneous subjects who have volunteered to answer e-mail questions in their subject of expertise. Click on a subject area and you'll get a list of volunteers in that area, which includes notes on each person's specific area of interest, along with a link to an e-mail form. Level of expertise will vary since volunteers are only required to have "an above-average level of knowledge of the subject." The site requires a java-enabled browser.

eHow
http://www.ehow.com/

"eHow.com is the most comprehensive source of information on how to do things, offering thousands of specific project instructions...With 14 categories featuring 120 subcategories, eHow offers staff-written, reviewed and edited step-by-step solutions."

Food Timeline: Food History Research Tips
http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaqa.html

Helpful advice and tips about how to conduct research on particular foods. Includes a list of "Tools of the Trade" and a glossary.

How Products Are Made
http://www.madehow.com/

Ever wonder how products are made? Come to this site and learn about the manufacture of things as diverse as chewing gum, blue jeans, vacuum cleaners, paint, fireworks, refrigerators, and artificial snow. This online encyclopedia contains 7 volumes of different items.

How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com/

"How Stuff Works is a great place to come to learn about how things work in the world around you. Have you ever wondered how the engine in your car works, or what gears do, or what makes the inside of your refrigerator cold? A new article gets added every week." Sections include: Engines & Motors; Around the House; Electronics; Things You See In Public; Basic Technologies; Computers; Understanding Digital Technology; Food; and Your Body. Searchable.

How Things Work
http://www.ipl.org/div/pf/entry/48486

Are you curious about how machines, computers, and other technologies around us work? Do you just have to know how water gets to the 100th floor of an apartment building? If you do, then this IPL pathfinder will help you find the print and Internet resources that can answer these questions.

How To Guides for Starting and Running a Business
http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/index.html

Resources on starting a business, money, management, marketing, sales, advertising, human resources, and technology from Entrepreneur.com.

HowToCleanAnything.Com
http://www.howtocleananything.com/

"[A] comprehensive collection of information, compiled by industry professionals, that seeks to provide the best quality" information on household cleaning methods. Information arranged by house exterior, interior, pets, auto, recreation, and stains. Includes glossary of cleaning terms and articles about topics submitted by readers. Six experts affiliated with the site take e-mail questions from the general public; they are professionals in carpet, janitorial, pets, chemicals, clothing, and computer cleaning.

Kitchen Table Computers
http://www.kitchentablecomputers.com/

Here is an illustrated, step-by-step guide in simple language to help you build your own do-it-yourself computer. Use the resources and information here to build your own pc. Check out the tools, components, software, assembly, and more. Our goals are to present an illustrated, step-by-step guide that presents basic information in simple language to help make your do-it-yourself computer-building project as enjoyable, educational, and rewarding as it can be.

Learn2.Com
http://www.tutorials.com/fd/tutorials.asp

While this site has expanded to offer computer-related online tutorials for sale, their Free Learning area still has hundreds of illustrated tutorials on how to do things that are useful in daily living, from how to poach an egg to how to avoid junk mail to how to remove a tick. The tutorials can be searched or browsed by broad subject category. New tutorials are added each week.

Researching Companies Online
http://www.learnwebskills.com/company/

This website provides methods for obtaining "company and industry information" on the Internet.

SoYouWanna.Com
http://www.soyouwanna.com

SoYouWanna.Com provides step-by-step advice for doing everything from joining the CIA to converting to Buddhism. The writing style can be humorous, but the advice is real.

The Straight Dope
http://www.straightdope.com/

"The official Internet home of Cecil Adams, World's Smartest Human Being, and his famous syndicated column The Straight Dope". With searchable online archives of the column, this site is an excellent reference tool for finding answers to "just curious" type questions like "Why are races always run in a counterclockwise direction?" and "Why did kamikaze pilots wear helmets?".

The Tutorials Search Engine
http://www.findtutorials.com/

"FindTutorials.com is a Web index and search engine dedicated to bringing you the best of the Web's tutorials and online courses." Most of the free tutorials have to do with programming, web design, or finance.

Typing Pal Online
http://www.typingpal.com/index.asp

Typing Pal offers a free basic typing course to improve keyboarding skills. The site also offers a useful typing test to estimate typing speed and ten tips to improve typing performance. Learning exercises, text practice sets, and information about ergonomics add to the comprehensiveness of the site. Typing Pal also offers a free demo version of Typing Pal Junior, a keyboarding course designed for 7 - 14 year olds. Full versions of both software packages are commercial products offered for sale on the site.