Reasoning: you want something, they got it. You got something, they want it. Anyone can use ebay. Anyone at all. No matter what your personal interest are, somehow, you can use this site.
2) Google.
Sad to say, google is king of the internet. It's uses are universal and plenty.
3) YouTube
I consider YouTube to be the next form of free speech. Is there plenty of dumb stuff? Yes. But a variety of Vlogs with decent video's stuff people do in their backyard just really appeals to me. Anyone can literally voice their opinion, regardless of how stupid, to the entire internet.
A rarely talked about site, but the concept is that when people sit down and logically talk things out about a question, a better answer will come up than just asking one person. If you have a question, see what a group has to say.
5) Wikipedia
Quick easy answers, little research. Just don't quote them.
6) Atomfilms/Newgrounds
Honestly? I'm a huge fan of independent creativity.
7) Amazon.com
Online shopping made simple.
8) Mapquest
Mapquest was made for people like me. I'm an idiot when it comes to directions. Mapquest hasn't failed me once. Everyone should know about this site- it saves you time and effort.
Coolest nonfictional stuff ever. Always a good read.
10) Worth1000
Both artistic photography and manipulated photography. This is a true showcase of photoshop talent- an art you'll find no where else but online, and they have the best.
Digg.com Is another really good site. It is a link site where user can submit stories and once a story gets enough votes it gets promoted to the front page of the site. The comment section is ok. The posters aren't that great on average, but it does feel like they are getting better.
Project Gutenberg is another great site. It has a huge archive of texts that are in the public domain. If you are looking for anything that is old enough to be out of copyright, this is a good first place to look.
Also, it's not really a site, but I would encourage anyone who doesn't already read webcomics to look into them. There are plenty of great ones out there that you will surely be able to find some you'll love. I don't know of a good place to start looking offhand, but I'm sure someone can provide that in this thread. The ones I currently read are: Questionable Content Goats The Noob Penny Arcade Ctrl Alt DeletePosts: 2437 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Get Firefox.com If you don't already have firefox, you should strongly consider getting it. If you do have it, you should spend at least an hour getting the addons that make the browser much better for YOU. I particularly like "Add Bookmark Here" and "StumbleUpon." I've found my favorite websites through stumbling, and wasted many hours too.
www.bugmenot.com Allows you access to a lot of good websites that require logins, both purchased and free (but annoying to register at).
MIT OpenCourseWare Features the lecture notes, syllabi, quizzes, tests, and other fun stuff from many of MIT's classes. Free learning.
AcademicBlogs Wiki If you've got a subject you love, or something you've always wanted to learn more about, this wiki will lead you to blogs about the subject.
The BBC and The Economist are like the British versions of CNN/NBC/Fox and Newsweek/U.S. Weekly, except much, much better. Good places to get your news, especially if you want more than two headlines on international stuff.
Etsy Think of it as the Amazon or eBay of hand-crafted items (and supplies!). Great selection, beautiful things, and a wonderful inspiration.
I have a bunch more, but I think that will do for now.
Posts: 2409 | Registered: Sep 2003
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NoodleTools - a free MLA citation generator, for when you have that weird cite and your MLA handbook isn't handy.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Woot -- one great deal per day. It's hit or miss, but I got a 250 gig HDD for 40 bucks a few months ago. Mostly techie stuff.
Fark -- is the like the Jon Stewart of internet news sites.
Stripped music has exclusive live acoustic performances of about 30 big time musicians. Content is limited, obviously, but they have new stuff every week. A great timekiller if you like popular music.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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reddit - a smaller, leaner version of Digg.
Shoutcast - my favorite place to get net radio stations.
Radioparadise - hands down, the best net radio out there. Yes, even better than Pandora. Where else do they have playlists that include Bob Dylan, Beatles, Beck, The Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, The Cure, U2, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sting! (and streaming at 192kb)
Onion AV Club For unique interviews of musicians and artists by the people who brought you the Onion.
quote:Stripped music has exclusive live acoustic performances of about 30 big time musicians. Content is limited, obviously, but they have new stuff every week. A great timekiller if you like popular music.
Thanks! That acoustic version of "How to Save a Life" is amazing!
Abebooks.com If you are having a hard time tracking down books, this site is definitely worth a try. It saved me heaps of time and got me out-of-print things I didn't know existed, but had to have when I found them.
Google Scholar Google for research - sometimes very useful.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ Had the best blog coverage of the Foley scandal as it was breaking. Multiple political bloggers on several linked sites.
I've only been going to http://www.blognoggle.com/politics.html for a few weeks, but it's cool. Tracks the top 100 political blogs, both right and left. Gives me a chance to see the Republican talking points of the day soon after the daily memo goes out.
Political humor: http://www.sadlyno.com/ Delights in ripping apart right-wing bloggers and pols in a funny way. Great comments crowd, very funny.
IMDB.com - Sorry if someone already mentioned this, too lazy to go check - The Internet Movie Database (how did I ever live without it?), and of course Netflix.
I'm at work, so I don't dare try to type it in to see if I have the address right in my head, but something like www.theunderdogs.com is a great site for downloading "abandonware" for the PC.
www.download.com is a good site for downloading other software. As far as I know it's legal and safe. It's not all free or anything, but you generally get to try stuff before you buy it.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Did I miss it or has The Onion not been mentioned? It's one of my regulars.
Also, an interesting sight for movie reviews is Plugged In Online I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but it reviews movies for things like curse words, violent content, positive and negative aspects, and, probably controversially, spiritual aspects.
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homestar - actually surprised that this is the first mention
ninjai - a very cool flash animation site about a little ninja. Great animation, fantastic score and wonderful voice work. The story arc is not complete yet and it updates slowly but it is a great site.
JJ Huddle - Site dedicated to Ohio High SChool Athleteics. Great for fans, even better for coaches.
The Mat - Home of USA Wrestling. THis is the real stuff, not that crap on TV.
ESPN - Don't know what I would do without my daily fix.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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ESPN is without a doubt the worst sports-news site on the internet, bar none. Buggy, ad-filled, and full of craptactular vids that load without my permission. In addition to that, most of the stuff I'd be interested in reading is subscription only content.
Si.com and cbs sportsline are both far superior, and even foxsports is a good bit better. I like the analysts at ESPN, but that site is just inaccessible at best.
Icky, agreed about mlb.com. And I don't even like baseball.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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Donate if you search -- Start your Google, Yahoo, Amazon etc searches from here and you can donate to your favorite charity while you search or browse.
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while I agree that the site has it's probelems I continue to visit because it has the best sports analyst out there.
Posts: 1294 | Registered: Oct 2003
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www.allmusic.com Don't take their reviews too seriously, or the "album picks" or ratings, which often drastically contradict themselves. But think of it as IMDB for albums. If you want to know how many albums a group released, what year they were put out, what was going on at the time, where they were from, and how long the third song on their seventh album is, this is the place to look. It will even give you a fairly complete list of works written by a classical composer, and every version of every piece you're ever likely to come across. Startlingly useful.
www.sacred-texts.com Scriptures and classical works from just about any religion you can think of.
www.npr.org/programs/asc/archives/index.html This is one of the most useful sites ever for discovering new music. These guys just listen to whatever is coming out, and then play full tracks from their favorite albums. You can either listen to full 45-minute shows, or just browse through the artists you think sound interesting and listen to their songs. Not all of it will fit any taste, but some of it will fit every taste. And the great thing is (unlike most review sites with text descriptions and 30-second clips) you'll know exactly what to expect before you buy it. I can't even estimate how much money this site has cost me. But none of it has been wasted.
www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/100list.html Not as generally useful as the last one, but still endlessly entertaining. An archive of fascinating documentaries on some of the greatest American musical works of the 20th century. NPR is the greatest thing ever.
www.artrenewal.org/ This site moves a little slow, but I've never found a bigger collection of classic artwork anywhere else. One of those sites I could browse for hours without getting bored.
Posts: 563 | Registered: Feb 2006
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Bluesnews.com For all things game related. Gamefly.com Netflix for console games. If you want a free trial let me know I can set up 10 or so people for 1 month free. Kernel.org Kernel.org: Where to get the latest Linux kernel. WorldOfWarcraft.com WoW related things. MMORPG if you aren't in the know.
Most of the others I visit have been mentioned. /. SA Google Maps.
Posts: 1132 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Elfwood.com A great collection of sci-fi and fantasy stories, as well as some other beautiful works of art.
Posts: 993 | Registered: Jul 2006
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I'm biased because I write for them, but www.WiseGeek.com has a lot of useful information. It's all written by people who know their stuff, and the information is to the point and easy to digest, without lacking in content.
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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I've used that site, and it really was helpful. No brownie points for presentation, but 10/10 for content.
Posts: 1762 | Registered: Apr 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Tarrsk: No need for Mapquest when the far superior Google Maps is available.
Y'know, while Google's interface is spiffy, I use Yahoo Maps much more often. The sidebar options are excellent; to pick one example I use a lot, it takes two clicks to include the location of every subway stop on the map.
Posts: 884 | Registered: Mar 2005
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Its my mother-in-law's site. She can also answer most gardening questions (certified Master Gardener, and recent honor student at Gwinette University Agriculture Department)
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