home / contact / Established on 9/1/2007 --- Please send us suggestions for sites to add to this list -- and suggestions on how we might improve the site / Tell your friends about this site: we have no ad budget and depend on happy visitors to spread the word. Please report dead links and errors / Martin R. Carbone / 5123 Don Rodolfo Drive / Carlsbad, CA 92010 / Telephone: 760-603-1910 / FAX: 760-603-1930 / Website <<http://www.alphabeticalist.com>>

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ARE YOU HAVING A HARD TIME FINDING HOW-TO INFORMATION?

If you Google "how to" -- you will get 979 million leads, while "how-to" (with a dash) gets you 1 billion, 10 million leads. That is obviously way too many to sort through.

We are trying to help by putting all that information into a more easily digested form.

We are herewith listing some of the most popular how-to sites by Google's standards. These sites probably get the most traffic -- but that does not mean they have the best information on any particular subject. The 20 sites with the red numbers were culled form the first 100 entries on Google's list as of 9/1/07. The numbers refer to the order they were in at the google site. Supposedly google lists are ordered mostly by popularity -- but you can bet these 20 are not in a strict order of popularity:

As we develop this site further, we will analyze each of these sites and try to tell you which are worthwhile and which are not worthwhile as a source of how-to information.

• Also check -- these "search and find" websites
• Also: Library Of Congress / Internet Information from LOC -- probably the best place to start any search.
• AND : Scout, The Internet Scout Project (Over 23,000 entries) -- Start by clicking on "Archives" at << http://scout.wisc.edu/ >>. Since 1994, the Scout Project has focused on developing better tools and services for finding, filtering, and presenting online information and metadata. Located on the University of Wisconsin-Madison's campus, and part of the University's College of Letters and Sciences... Note the alphabetical Index to Library Of Congress Subject Headings. Use this index to find the subject(s) of your interest. If you see the following "Archived Scout Publication URL:", you can copy that URL, paste it into the address line of your brower and go there.
• AND: PBS: The Public Broadcasting Service -- Follow these instructions for efficient use of the wonderful site: (1) go to << http://www.pbs.org >>; (2) click on "SEARCH", near the top-right (do not fill in the search window); (3) click on "Site Map"; (4) scroll down and browse through the Headlines (About PBS, About This Site, Arts & Drama, History, Home and Hobbies, Life & Culture, News & Views, Science & Nature, Search, Station Finder, TV Schedules); (5) note the various subjects under each heading; (6) Click on the Headline or subject that seems most likely to lead you to the information you want; (7) repeat #6 as needed. If you do not follow these steps, we can almost guarantee you will get lost.
• AND: Websites #1 -- most popular -- BY Alexa -- "The Web Information Company" << http://www.alexa.com/ >> Alexa tracks all websites and puts together various information about the traffic at each of the 100,000 most popular websites. You will find these three important topics on the top bar -- Search / Traffic Rankings / Directory. "Search" takes you to << http://www.alexa.com/search?q= >>. At the bottom of that page, you will find a link to "Top 500 Sites" -- click on that and you will get to links to the meat of the site. Click on "browse -- by subject" and you can find the most popular site for any subject. Bookmark that page << http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500 >> because it is sometimes hard to find your back. (Alexa kept taking me back to pages I did not want)

The following is an alphabetical list -- the red numbers show their listing order at google.

1. AARP LEARN TECH (#10) / http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/howto/ --- 125 how-to computer articles from AARP. Once you get to the site -- put "how to" in their search window and you will find 13, 444 articles in no particular order.AARP LEARN TECH / http://www.aarp.org/learntech/computers/howto/ --- 125 how-to computer articles from AARP. Once you get to the site -- put "how to" in their search window and you will find 13, 444 articles in no particular order.
2. ABOUT.COM (#16) / http://www.about.com/ -- If you go to About.com and enter "how-to " in the search window -- you will get 7,849 entries on a variety of subjects. (if you enter "how to" (without the dash)-- you get zero entries).
3. ANSWERS.COM (#20) / http://www.answers.com/ -- this website from Answers.com is wide, deep and long with detailed information on tens of thousands of subjects ( for instance -- 70,000 family names) . In three to six clicks you can usually find information about almost anything. They claim to cover 4 million topics. In any event - it is a great place to browse for information on any subject. They say they have "handpicked reference content from publishers such as Houghton Mifflin, Columbia University Press, Thomson Gale, Britannica, Barron's, Computer Desktop Encyclopedia, MarketWatch, Investopedia, All Media Guide, Who2, AccuWeather and eSpindle (just to name a few), to make sure that you always have reliable and frequently updated facts on any subject you look up."
4. EHOW (#1) / http://www.ehow.com/ -- They claim to tell you how to do "just about everything". They cover the following categories: Arts & Entertainment / Business / Careers & Work / Cars / Computers / Culture & Society / Education / Electronics / Fashion, Style & Personal Care / Food & Drink / Health / Hobbies, Games & Toys / Holidays & Celebrations / Home & Garden / Internet / Legal / Parenting / Parties & Entertaining / Personal Finance / Pets / Relationships & Family / Sports & Fitness / Travel / Weddings
5. ENTREPRENEUR (#15) / http://www.entrepreneur.com/howto/index.html -- Help & How-To from Entrepreneur Magazine. "Ask an expert. Find answers. Discover how to."
6. GAPING VOID (#14) / http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000932.html -- "How To Be Creative". The website on which this article appears was acting peculiarly -- so I do not know where the article comes from. However, it is a worthwhile treatise on the quoted subject. Read it -- no matter what you do for a living.
7. HOW STUFF WORKS (#4) / http://www.howstuffworks.com/ -- Has 15 "helpful how-to guides" clickable from their front page
8. HOW TO CLEAN ANYTHING (#7) / http://www.howtocleananything.com/ -- "There are more than 1300 free cleaning tips on this site ...". "A unique feature is a central listing of cleaning service providers from around the world."
9. HOW TO DO THINGS (#3) / http://www.howtodothings.com/ -- "reliable information from experienced contributors". They cover the following categories: Automotive / Business / Careers / Computers / Education / Electronics / Family & Relationships / Fashion & Personal Care / Finance & Real Estate / Food & Drink / Health & Fitness / Hobbies / Home & Garden / Pets & Animals / Religion & Spirituality / Sports & Recreation / Travel
10. HOW TO LEARN (#11) / http://www.howtolearn.com/ -- Evidently a site put up by (or in the interest of) Pat Wyman, M.A. "Best Selling Author, ... America's Most Trusted Learning Expert"
11. HOW TO WIRED (#5) / http://howto.wired.com/wired/index.cgi -- "... a collaborative site ... all kinds of projects, hacks, tricks and tips on how to live, work and play better.". From Wired.com.
12. HOW-TO.COM (#17) / http://www.how-to.com/ -- "How-To's for Business" ... 96 business-oriented entries as of 9/1/07
13. INC. (#6) / http://www.inc.com/guides/ -- "How-to guides from Inc.com ... on specific business-management issues"
14. LIBRARY SPOT (#9) / http://www.libraryspot.com/howto.htm -- Mostly a library oriented site -- but it does have some how-to articles clickable from the front page
15. LOC (#19) / http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/bibhome.html -- Library of Congress Bibliographies, Research Guides and Finding Aids. Find books on every subject at this site.
16. MARICOPA COMMUNITY COLLEGE (#12) / http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/webhound/ -- "How To Find Information On The Web": Dedicated to foster student success by the Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction (MCLI), part of the Maricopa Community College District, which is dedicated to supporting and advancing teaching and learning by working collaboratively with faculty, administrators, and district-wide groups to provide quality services, programs, and resources."
17. NY TIMES (#18) / http://www.nytimes.com/ -- Enter any topic in the search window and you will get every article published on that topic in the N.Y. Times. The Times makes available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free.
18. QUAMUT.COM / How-to at quamut.com -- a new (April, 2008) how-to site by Barnes and Noble
19. SUNY, BUFFALO (#13) / http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/howtostudy.html -- "How to Study": A Brief (about 32 pages) Guide by William J. Rapaport Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Department of Philosophy, and Center for Cognitive Science State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260-2000
20. US SENATE (#8) / http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/b_three_sections_with_teasers/howto.htm ... A selection of 14 how-to items on the site of the U.S. Senate
21. WICKIHOW (#2) / http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page -- "a (how-to) manual anyone can write in and edit". They cover the following categories: Arts & Entertainment / Food & Entertaining / Philosophy & Religion / Careers & Education / Health / Relationships / Cars & Other Vehicles / Hobbies and Crafts / Sports & Fitness / Communications / Holidays & Traditions / Teenagers / Computers & Electronics / Home & Garden / Travel / Family Life / Personal Care & Style / Finance & Business / Pets / Other