Trick #1: How Fast is Your Internet Connection?

You sign up for a wiz bang internet connection and sometimes suspect that your internet provider is skimping on speed. If that's you, then here's an easy way to quickly tell how fast your connection really is.

There are a bunch of places on the web that will test this for you, but using this neat place doesn't require you to install any software and has an attractive easy to understand "dashboard" layout. Just go here and click "Start Speedtest". In a flash they analyze your broadband internet access by measuring your download and upload speeds - plus some more exotic measurements.

Now you have an easy way to tell if those rascals are holding back on the throttle.

Trick #2: The Awesome Web Site Highlighter

How often have you wanted to easily send a friend or associate a copy of a web page and highlight the important parts so it's easy to make your point? These folks make it easy with this neat one trick pony.

You simply visit their highlighter page, enter a web page address and use their simple highlighting tool to select the text you want to emphasize. Once done they give you a small link to the highlighted page that you can send along with your comments.

This tool is quick, easy, effective --- and on the house.

Great Place #1: Get The Scoop On Offshore Pharmacies

Has the cost of meds got you down? Well here's a great place run by an independent American consumer research group that provides free ratings and price comparisons for more than 40 online pharmacies based mainly in the United States and Canada.

These folks rate the online pharmacies on a scale of 1 to 5. They show whether a pharmacy is licensed, requires a prescription, provides its address and phone number and offers personal privacy and payment security. They compare prices for over 1,000 drugs at these pharmacies and give you details on shipping fees and delivery times.

The prices for identical drugs vary widely offering you a chance to evaluate the pharmacies and often save significantly. Great place for saving a bunch of shekels.

Great Place #2: The Translator To Beat All Translators

In this shrinking world it's becoming more important to be able to easily communicate with those who speak a different language. That's where this great place comes in.

Nothing fancy about this translator with its "Google-esque" style. But, even though it's in Beta, it works like a charm. Here you can enter text and easily look at translations into any one or all of 27 languages.

This great translation place works quickly, easily and, best of all, is on the house.

Copies of all previous "Real Estate CyberTips" columns complete with all direct links are available at REcyber.com/reintelligence/cybertips.html.

Published: March 12, 2009

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

John M. "Jack" Peckham is the Executive Director of REcyber.com (the Real Estate CyberSpace Society). In that capacity he oversees the development and delivery of the latest up to the minute Real Estate Cyberspace tools, strategies, networking structures and services that the Society provides its members to leverage their effectiveness, visibility, professionalism and earnings. As host of Real Estate CyberSpace Radio, he provides over 40 hours of programming to help listeners integrate the power of the Internet into their daily business lives. He is the author of several real estate books published by Prentice Hall and Harcourt Brace Jovanovich including his latest Master Guide to Income Property Brokerage from Wiley Publishing. A columnist for the Boston Herald for nine years, his syndicated columns have appeared in over 100 papers nationwide. Jack loves to sell real estate has been involved directly in the sale of over one billion dollars in Real Estate. Today he sells in his jeans and fuzzy slippers as a one-man shop and has closed over $40,000,000 in sales on the Internet recently in 20% of his working time. The balance he spends directing the affairs of the 10,000 member Real Estate CyberSpace Society. The Society awards the RECS (Real Estate CyberSpace Specialist) Designation to members based on the current criteria. He served as Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), is a Past President of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and has been honored as the Massachusetts State Realtor of the Year. You can reach Jack at or by calling 617-523-4441.