4Kids.org - Week of September 24, 2000

Week of September 24, 2000

Be A "Tech This!" Star

Starting in October, 4Kids.org will offer a new feature: 4Kids Project: Tech This! You will find a fun, educational project to complete in which you will collect info from a Web site, puzzle through a problem, and offer your own conclusion. After you complete the project, you will have the option of printing a 4Kids Tech This! Star certificate. The results of everyone who successfully completes the monthly Tech This! project will be displayed on a Web page at 4Kids.org/techthis. Compare your results with others, and look at our sample results, too. Perhaps best of all, successful entries will be included in a drawing for a 4Kids T-shirt. What are you waiting for? Get ready to "Tech This!"

Try "Tech This!" at 4Kids.org/techthis (Tech This! is no longer featured on 4Kids.)

Visit the Featured Web sites to find the answers

What should you do before entering a contest or signing up at a Web site?

Ask your parents first
Brush your teeth
Read the Privacy Policy

What is an American Redstart?

A bird
A horse
An alligator

What info should you never give out, according to Agent Glitch?

hair color
phone number
family car license plate

I Spy . . .

Agent Glitch is at your service. You can spy on him at www.agentglitch.com. Print out disguises and get your own agent I.D. card, just like the ones Agent Glitch uses. Check out the list of safety tips that even the most advanced agents follow. Sneak into the Glitch Games, and apply your super sleuth abilities. Attack computer bugs and save Glitch from his evil enemies. Then print out an Agent Glitch poster and escape the scene. Look out for his crazy gadgets, though. They're a bit buggy. (This site is no longer available.)

Science Academy

Nature, science and the Web are brought together in this unique online science site by the education department of the Chicago Academy of Sciences. Grab your beaker and head to www.caosclub.org. You'll find an Ecological Citizenship project and Enivronmental Issues Forum in the Nature section. The Science section has info about science fairs. The Web section offers Museum in the Classroom and the Chicago Wilderness and Pond Partners ecology projects. At Nature, Science and the Web, science learning is always fun.

Do you think computer technology courses should be required in school?

Speak Out Here!

Dear Amy: How does defragmenting my PC make it run faster? --Justin, Boston

Dear Justin: Some files stored on a hard drive are too large to keep in one place, so the files have to be stored in multiple locations, or fragments. The drive head must then go to each location to access the entire file. A disk defragmenter brings the pieces together so that the computer is able to access the files faster, decreasing the amount of time to open files. You can find more info about defragmentation at www.cyberwalker.net/quicktips/defragment_
hard_drive.html

Dear Amy: What does "404--Not Found" mean? --Theresa, Park City, Utah

Dear Theresa: It's frustrating to receive an error message and have no idea why. The "404--Not Found" message means that you have tried to access a page that doesn't exist at the given URL. First, make sure that you have typed the URL correctly. If that doesn't work, the page probably doesn't exist anymore. Learn more about "404" and other errors at http://coverage.cnet.com/Resources/
Tech/Advisers/Error/index.html. Just be sure to type in the URL error-free. (This site is no longer available.)

Ask Amy a Question