THE 411US.info BLOG

How You Can Use 411US.info to Get All Your Information Every Day

You can use to get to everything you need, every day using 411US.info !

Here’s how:

Go to www.411US.info
Briefly skim the What, Why, How sections.
Enter your zip code in the upper right, “Enter Zip” box.
Have at it.

Every Day

(You can follow along by clicking on this link to go to 411US.info in a new tab or window.)

At home

Check Weather Today, at upper right.

Biking or Hiking today? Playing golf Friday? Football game this weekend?
Click “Detailed (your city) Weather” to check extended forecast.

“You really need to check out the site … It is truly a one-stop resource for finding any information you could possibly need….news, sports, weather, shopping, researching. You won’t believe it. There are links to everything you can imagine. And simple. You’ll use it every day!” – Gary Hynden

For Today

Check out quote of the day.
Check photo of the day.
Move on.

Skim Top News stories for major happenings in the country and world.
Skim Top Political News stories for campaign and political news.
Click to drill down to any top news item of interest.

Under COMMUNITY, click Facebook to check out friends’ posts. Comment or post a status update; send a friend a message.

On your browser’s now-open 411US.info Tab, go to NATIONAL, News, check out “CNN” ‘s list of stories. Check “USA Today “and “Yahoo”, others if you want. Skim story headings, drill down into interesting ones. Highlight and copy a link to share it.

On your browser’s still-open Facebook tab, post a comment and paste the story link to share.

At work

Open 411US.info on your PC. Use it as a work reference for Reference, Maps, Search, Travel, etc. Leave it open – for quick access to Dictionary, Wikipedia, Thesaurus, Translate, Search, Maps, News.

At Lunch

With little time available, go to 411US.info on your PC, laptop or iPad, and skim Top News and Top Political News. Skim Sports and Weather. Check Facebook for friends’ posts. Comment. For news from Center, Right, and Left go to News, “CNN”, others, and skim stories. Go to Opinion/News, go to “Drudge”, and skim top stories Drudge has. Go to “Fox News” for their stories. Still in Opinion/News, go to “Huffington” and skim. Go to “NBC News”(formerly MSNBC) for their stories and viewpoints.

If you have doubts about any stories or issues (or emails), and want to check it out, go to Opinion/News,”Fact Check”. (Or, to NATIONAL, Other Info, “Email Validity”.)

A fast tour like this will get you informed, quickly, across news stories and viewpoints. To be really informed.

[Optionally,] Copy the link to any stories of interest, and go back to your browser’s open Facebook Tab, and post a comment and the link to share with friends.

Go to LOCAL, choose Newspapers. Choose a newspaper from the presented list. Skim for local news happenings. To close the newspaper list (if desired), click Newspapers again to toggle and remove the list. For more breaking local news, click TV Stations, choose your fave from the list, and skim their stories. Copy any story link and post to Facebook to share.

Go to the QUICK SEARCH box in upper left to do a fast Google search, on anything.

Use the interaction for speed.

From News, “where is that?”, to Maps, “Google Maps”.

From an article, “what’s that mean?”, to Reference,” Dictionary”

From Sports (or from anywhere), “Who is that?”, to Reference, “Wikipedia”.

Keep 411US.info open, with all choices on top. Move around 411 – from News to Search, To Facebook, to Maps, to Reference (“Dictionary”, “Wikipedia”, etc.). Move between browser tabs. From your open 411US.info tab to your browser’s still-open Facebook tab, to other opened tabs. Quick, quick, quick.

To research reviews, and buy products.

Check out products – Under NATIONAL, go to Reviews, choose, say, “Consumer Search”, quickly find the best product, summarized from multiple reviews.

Buy the product – Under NATIONAL, Buy/Sell, go to, say “Amazon”, find the best price. Order online for delivery to your front door. Done.

Car-shopping? – Under NATIONAL, Cars has links to a wealth of information for finding the value of cars and trucks – whether selling or buying, for car ratings, and finding cars for sale.

For Tonight

Check out Movie for tonight?

Go to LOCAL, Movies, see what’s playing close by. Click “movie info” to see how critics and viewers rated them (thereby saving the agony of wasting time and money sitting through a bomb.) Or, go to NATIONAL, Reviews, “Movies” to see more detailed info on that movie, and more movie ratings. (Works to look up ratings for movies on TV too.)

Where to eat tonight? (Woo Hoo!)

Go to LOCAL, Local Reviews, click Restaurants. See the reviews. Filter on restaurant type. Find a great new place that others like.

What to watch on TV tonight?

Go to LOCAL, TV Listings. Find what’s on, when. Scroll down listings. Or, Filter for Sports only, or for movies only.

And a Lot More!

Scroll down 411US.info’s list of items and see what’s there.

The information choices are always there, always on top, always open in its own tab, for quick access for everything you need.

Posted in Using 411US.info | Tagged Best websites, information, Local Information, National Information, news | Leave a comment

How to Use the Local Information Section of 411US.info

The Local Information section of 411US.info is tailored to your local location. Tailoring 411US.info to your local area is quite simple and it’s easy to flip between multiple local areas.

You can find everything from local weather information to local newspapers to local traffic and even local gas prices! In this post we’ll talk about only a couple of the things you can do under the Local Information menu on 411US.info; the rest can be an adventure for you!

How Do I Tailor 411US.info to My Local Area?

This is a very simple, one step process that can be done for any locality in the United States.

Step 1: Once you’re on 411US.info, look in the upper right hand corner to find the field where you can enter your “ZIP” or “City, ST.” Enter your zip code or the “City, ST” and hit Enter or click “Go.”

411US.info is now tailored to your local area.

Only the links under the Local Information menu will be tailored to your local area since the National and Community Information menus are geared toward, well, National and Community information.

What Kind of Information Can I Find Under the Local Information Menu?

As mentioned earlier, we’re not going to go into every link under the Local Information menu on 411US.info. We will touch on some of the cool features under the menu, but I won’t spoil it all for you. (:

We’ll talk about all of the cool local weather things 411US.info does as well as look at the Newspapers and Movies links under the 411US.info Local Information menu.

Cool Local Weather Things

One of the first things you may have noticed after putting in your zip code or city and state is that a little weather module has appeared beside the box you entered your local information in. This is a quick look at the current weather, today’s weather, and a very brief 2 day forecast. There’s also a link under it that will take you to a more detailed forecast on weather.com.

That little module will update throughout the day if there are changes to the forecast. To see the new weather information (if any) all you have to do is refresh the page.

Don’t like weather.com? Under the Local Information menu, the first link is “Weather” which will take you to your local weather information on myforecast.com.

Don’t like weather.com or myforecast.com? On the other side of the page under the National Information menu, the second link is “Weather” which will give you links to weather.gov, weather.com, and Yahoo! Weather. However, these will not be tailored to your local area. Only the links under Local Information will be tailored to your local area.

Newspapers & Movies

These two links will work completely differently from each other. The Newspapers link will display a list of local newspapers in the center of the page while the Movies link will take you to an outside website tailored to your zip code.

There are three links that work like the Newspapers link:

Newspapers – displays local newspapers
TV Stations – displays local TV stations
Government – displays local and state government sites (if available)

All other links under the Local Information menu work like the Movies link where you will be taken to a site that is tailored to your local area. The Movies link will take you to moviefone.com with theaters listed in order of the closest to your zip code or city.

There’s lots to discover on 411US.info. Just enter your zip code and start exploring the web!

Posted in How To | Tagged How To, Local Information | 1 Comment

5 Takeaways from the Latest Quinnipiac University Presidential Poll

1. Likely voters:

Independents favor Romney 47%-45%. (D’s, R’s 91+ % for their candidate)
Blacks favor Obama 94%-2%. (Whites, Romney 53–43)
Women favor Obama 56-38%. (Men, Romney 52-42)
[In spite of recent reported gains by Pres. Obama with swing-vote Catholics:] White Catholic voters favor Romney 60-36%.

2. Mind made up 95%; might change 5%.

3. Somewhat, or very, dissatisfied with how things are going in the nation today:

Independents 67%.

4. Debate pick

Voters expect 54-28% that Pres. Obama will win the debates.

5. D’s and R’s

“Voters dislike the Democratic Party less than they dislike the Republican Party, giving the Democrats a negative 45 – 49 percent favorability rating, compared to a negative 41 – 52 percent for the Republicans.” – Quinnipiac

Details:
http://www.quinnipiac.edu/institutes-and-centers/polling-institute/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=1801

-Jerry Guzi

Posted in News | Tagged 2012 election, 411US.info, Catholic, Democrat, election, independent, information, Mitt Romney, Obama, Politics, polls, quinnipiac, Republican, romney | Leave a comment

How to Use the National Information Section of 411US.info

411US.info is full of all kinds of information, but its largest section is the National Information section. There’s so much information in that one little menu that it might seem daunting at first, but it’s really quite easy to use!

We’re not going to look into all of the National Information categories in this post, but we’ll dive into a few! Most of the categories are pretty self explanatory (for example, the News category has links to News sites) so let’s dig into some particularly interesting ones: Education, Cars, and How To.

Education

This category was recently added to 411US.info. When you hover over it you’ll see several links for online education. Free online education. If you have the desire to learn something new or if you need a little extra information to supplement your classes, you should start here.

Learnist, Coursera, and Code Academy were recently featured in the Time Top 50 Websites 2012 while Khan Academy made Time’s Top 50 in 2011. All three of these links have information that is free to use and very helpful!

Cars

If you’re considering buying or selling a car this category has all of the right sites for you! Everything from Auto Reviews to KBB, this category has you covered.

Using 411US.info makes it easy for you to switch between looking up reviews on a car you’re interested in and finding out how much it should cost.

How To

Do you enjoy doing projects yourself? Has it been years since you’ve called a repair man because you enjoy fixing things yourself? How To is the category for you!

There are links for everything from auto repair to electronics and just about anything any between. Just like the rest of the links on 411US.info, these sites have been checked that they do have good information and are safe.

How To Use the National Information Menu

Now that we’ve talked a bit about what kinds of links are in some of the categories, can you start to see how awesome the National Information Menu is? You don’t need to use Google to find reviews about a particular product; just go to the Reviews section of 411US.info and click on one of the review links. You’ll be sent to a trustworthy review site that can be more trustworthy than a random discussion you’ve found online.

Use the National Information Menu not only as a quick click guide to some of the best sites on the web, but also for a look into the web at sites you may not have otherwise found. You can easily switch between categories since 411US.info will always be open in the original window or tab.

It’s a great way to easily navigate the web with just a few clicks!

Posted in How To | Tagged 411US.info, National Information | Leave a comment

What is 411US.info & How Can I Use It To Find Information?

411US.info is the mother of all Internet menus. It is a collection of links that have been vetted and are some of the best of the best websites on the Internet. The site contains links for everything from National News to Local Traffic and just about everything in between.

Whether you’re an Internet Power User or just starting out surfing the web, 411US.info has something for you. Let’s take a look at a few things on 411US.info.

The Menus

There are three main menus on 411US.info:

National
Local
Community

National Menu

Under the National menu you’ll find links to, well, National Information. This includes News, Travel, Faith, Games, and a lot more. By hovering over each main category you’ll be shown several different links that you can choose from. When you click one of those links a new window or tab will open, depending on your browser preferences, leaving 411US.info open in the original window or tab to easily return to.

Local Menu

In order to use the Local Menu you need to put your zip code into the box in the upper right hand corner and click “Go.” Larger cities, such as Richmond, D.C., Long Beach, Austin, etc., will see their city’s name appear at the top of the page as well as the city and state displayed under the zip code box. Smaller cities, such as Dearborn, Salem (VA), Mossyrock, etc., will see 411US.info displayed at the top, but their city and state displayed under the zip code box.

Once your zip code has been submitted, you can click on the links under the Local Menu for great local information such as: Local traffic, local maps, local newspapers, local TV Stations, and more. Inputting your zip code will also give you local weather in the middle area of 411US.info.

Community Menu

The Community Menu gives you quick access to popular community websites. Use 411US.info as quick and easy access to your favorite popular Social Media websites. Like most other links on 411US.info, when you click one of the community links a new tab or window will open with that website, leaving 411US.info open in the original window or tab for easy access.

Using 411US.info to Find Information

Here’s the scenario we’re going to use to demonstrate how you can find information on 411US.info:

It’s about 7:00 am on a Thursday morning, you’re in Richmond, VA, and you get a call from your sister in Detroit: She’s having her baby…today and she wants you there. You had planned to drive up there Friday after work since she wasn’t due until this Saturday, but it looks like you’ll be leaving a little earlier than originally planned.

Fortunately you have enough vacation hours to call into work and let them know you weren’t going to be there, but how are you going to get all the way up to Detroit in time? Seems like a plane would be the quickest option. As you’re throwing clothes into a suitcase you open your laptop and pull up your browser (411US.info is your homepage).

First things first, you need a plane! Hovering over travel you see Hipmunk and click on it to open the website. After putting in your depart and arrival locations you’re presented with several different options. You sort your results to show you which ones would cause you the least amount of agony since you’re stressing out already.

Great! You’ve found a flight that lasts just under 4 hours and only has a 30 minute layover in Charlotte. You can use that layover time to brush your hair and pick out a cute toy for the baby. Booked!

Just as you’re about to relax you realize that the only things you’ve thrown in your suitcase have been socks and shorts. What’s the weather going to be like when you land in Detroit? During your Charlotte layover time?

Flipping back over to 411US.info you go to the zip code box an type in, “Charlotte, NC”. Quick as a flash you see the weather in the middle of the website turn from “Today: Clear & High 82°F / Low 53°F” to “Today: Clear & High 81°F / Low 54°F.” Looks like socks and shorts will be alright to hang round in Charlotte for half an hour, but what about Detroit? Again you use the zip code box to type in “Detroit, MI.” This time you see a slightly darker forecast: Today: Mostly Cloudy & High 70°F / Low 50°F. Looks like you’ll need to throw a hoodie into the mix!

After adding a few more things to your suitcase you get ready to head out the door to get to the airport as quickly as possible, but there’s one last check on 411US.info you need to make. After switching back over to your Richmond zip code you click Traffic to see if there are any backups around the airport. Looks like Interstate 60 is backed up at the airport exit. Guess you’ll be taking the back roads!

You’re now in the airport at your gate and your plane is running late (of course!). On your iPad you pull up 411US.info and head over to Facebook to share in the excitement your family is having over the baby on its way. Once your plane finally arrives you hop on board and settle in for the short journey down to Charlotte.

Since your first flight was delayed you don’t have any time to search for a present for the baby or your sister as your running through the airport trying to catch your flight. You make it there 10 minutes before they’ll start loading passengers. Using your smart phone you once more head over to 411US.info; you need to get your sister and her baby something. Once more you type in the zip code box “Detroit, MI.” Under the National Menu you go to Deals and select Groupon. Maybe there will be a spa or baby sitter Groupon!

You’re in luck! There are two great deals on spas and an amazing deal on a photographer. You decide to go with the photographer deal since you figure your sister isn’t going to have much time to go to a spa. She could get great pictures of her new family with this photographer! Perfect. You purchase the deal on your smart phone; your sister has a printer you can use when you get to Detroit. As soon as you breathe that last sigh of relief the plane begins to board and you’re on your way to see your sister and her new baby with a little help from 411US.info.

Posted in How To | Tagged How To, Local Traffic, Local Weather, National Flights | Leave a comment

www.411US.info – Information. Around the corner. Around the world. SM