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Searching the Internet
The key word for the Internet is "any". Anything, anywhere, anytime. Because the Internet is such a huge resource it can be a little overwhelming at first glance. Our main search page is designed to help you find the exact information you're looking for quickly. Here is a sample search for a seemingly obscure subject: Humpback whale sounds. I won't go into details about my search results but the keywords that I entered into a search engine are in bold:

humpback whale songs (no songs but I did find a good learning site www.enchantedlearning.com which I added to my favorites.
humpback whale sounds (I found some sounds but the files were large wav files over 1MB)
humpback whale sounds mp3 (found what I wanted since I know that mp3 files are much smaller than wav files and I have an mp3 player, also found a CD at www.cdnow.com of whale songs that I might pick up for Christmas)

Advanced Tips
- using quotation marks
When you know exactly what you're looking and have an idea of the exact wording, you can put quotes around your search. Here is an example:
the left side of the brain is used for (I got lots and lots of pages but I didn't take the time to wade through them all)
"the left side of the brain is used for" (This search returned only 2 results and the first one told me exactly what I wanted because the page contained the words: The left side of the brain is used for logic, judgment, speaking, reading and mathematical analysis)

Q - I want pictures of bears but keep getting stuffed teddy bear pictures

A - Entering a minus sign followed by a word (i.e. -teddy) tells the search engine that you don't want that word to appear in the search results
(bear pictures -teddy)

Q - I've tried everything but can't find what I'm looking for

A - 1. try a different search engine 2. try searching newsgroups (also called Usenet) 3. find a chat room and ask someone

The Internet is growing at such a phenomenal rate that search engines will never have every inch of the internet in their database. If you're looking for something local (like a nearby computer store) sometimes the best bet for finding a web site is to check in the yellow pages.

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