This week: A follow-up on Part I, Part II, and Part III of this series. Keep your ideas coming. If you know of sites or services worth paying for, e-mail me at poynter@sree.net (and let me know if I can quote you). Next week, back to the free stuff.
Before I share the paid sites, though, I thought I’d share a note I received from reader Mark Heschmeyer in Bethesda, Md.: “I have yet to find a WWW site worth paying for. For every site that charges, I can generally find two or three other sites that offer equally valuable information for free.” This view has been echoed by several other folks who have written to me these last three weeks.
If you have a response, do send it my way.
RoboForm (free for basic version; $29.95 for pro)
Abigail Goldman of the Los Angeles Times writes: One of my favorite paid services is RoboForm, which remembers every password, all my various addresses (which you control by creating different identities) and unlike Gator, contains no spyware. It also stores all your info safely on your computer. If we were voting based on number of uses per day, Roboform would have to get my top vote. I have subscribed to so many sites, I would never remember them all. Creating your own lists is a) a hassle and b) not as efficient as the auto-filling Roboform. (You can turn on and off auto-fill, or set it to prompt you with however many empty fields you’d like.) If you only use 30 pass cards and use it for personal reasons, it’s free. For me, it was worth the $29.95 to upgrade to Pro. I paid for this because they require you to if you use it at work (which I do, several times a day), I have way more than 30 cards, and I’m glad to help these guys out.
Excellent tip, Abigail. I recommended the free version last year. I had meant to write a description of the paid version and you just saved me the effort.
South China Morning Post online edition ($32 a year)
Dan Zinkand of Iowa Farmer Today writes: Check out the South China Morning Post online. The Hong Kong newpaper is great. So is the website. Online costs about $32. Lots of info on SARS recently, plus customization options.
Thanks, Dan; some other dailies slowly trying paid models, too.
Have a site you like? Let others know. Send your suggestions to poynter@sree.net.
Sree’s Links:
Journalism workshops, panels, seminars at SAJA’s annual convention in Manhattan, June 20-22. You don’t have to be South Asian to attend!
