Cool Web Sites
by Don Singleton
Tulsa Computer Society
From the January 2001 issue of the I/O Port Newsletter
This was a regular feature in the printed I/O Port, but for some reason
when we had to discontinue the printed version I dropped it from the Only
On The Web I/O Port (I really don't know why I dropped it). But at the
request of the membership, I have reactivated it in the February 2001
issue, and decided to do one for the January issue as well, because we
are going to have a program on them for the February 26 Internet Sig.
Including links previously reviewed at
http://www.educationindex.com/index.html,
http://www.komando.com/,
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/arch.htm,
http://www.yahoo.com/picks/,
and http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html
Tired of spending precious time surfing the Web for reference materials? Well, surf no
more because we’ve found xrefer.com, your one-stop reference engine for online
encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri & books of quotations from the world's leading
publishers, all in one place. Sink your cerebral teeth into the weekly Brainteaser or sign
up for their newsletter.
The newly launched Electronic Literature Organization aims to serve as hub and
gathering place for literati of the Net, providing news, resources for authors and readers, and a
growing showcase of online work, from avant-garde hypertexts and visual poetry to more familiar
fiction and non-fiction formats. The ELO is also building a directory, which promises to grow into a
valuable catalog of digital authors and their online work.
This "daily dose of delectable drawings" is the first web site we've seen that serves as an archive of
Palm Pilot art. Our host, Sabrina, uses software called Diddle to create a sketchbook diary of her
daily meals, then she uses DiddleEx to upload them to her PC. Each drawing is accompanied by a
short blurb that embellishes the culinary moment. It looks like comic-strip line art, but drawn with a
skinny stylus in a shaky hand.
My Phone Book.com is exactly that, an online phone book.
If you don't really dig carrying your personal organizer on
you all the time or having to replace dead batteries, then try
this all digital, all Internet approach. Access phone numbers
to an entire contact list from any computer with Internet
capabilities. And, like so few things in life, registration is
free! So, if you've been looking for a place to put your
contacts, try this site and see if it works out for you.
Wonder who won big in the national elections? Money
did, says this report from the Center for Responsive
Politics, which found that the power of big bucks was
evident in race after race across the country for the
U.S. Congress.
The folks from AOL have whipped up this site for people
like you and me, who need little reminders every once in a
while. Find out what's happening anywhere with the
personalized Event directory. Keep track of appointments,
birthdays, anniversaries, reminders, and upcoming activities
with the Personal calendar. The handy Group calendar is
designed to help groups of people, from volunteer groups to
small companies to parents of Boy Scout Troops, stay in
touch online.
An intellectual twist on the ubiquitous but generally
brainless quizzes found on the Web. Netsurfquiz
actually lets you see how Net knowledgeable you are.
Do you love words? Drop in on WordSpy, a web archive and daily mailing list "devoted to recently
coined words, existing words that have enjoyed a recent renaissance, and older words that are now
being used in new ways."
Browse the archive for a look at coinages that haven't quite caught on, or ones that might be worth
using judiciously on the right occasion.
Each weekday, The Word Spy presents a new word, its
definition, and a citation (usually from a major newspaper or
magazine) that shows how people are using the word. You also
get extra goodies such as background on the word's formation,
a list of related words from The Word Spy database, quotations
on words and language, and more.
This particular calendar system is totally awesome! You can
schedule it to interact with Microsoft Outlook 97-2000 or
even a Palm organizer! Sign up so you can view your
calendar by year, month, or day. Plan events among other
people who can also see your schedule so they won't have
any excuses for forgetting your birthday. There is also a
to-do list and a storage place for all of those
"notes-to-selves" reminding you to take out the trash or to
file that report at the office.
The Public i takes an investigative look at party
machines, lobbyists and special interests. Brought to us
by the highly respected Center for Public Integrity.
The name of this program is a bit misleading because it can
do so much more than just serve as a plain old diary. You
can schedule important events, keep in touch with friends
and business contacts, and set meetings, appointments, and
maintain a task list. All you have to do is fill in the
information and sit back to watch as Easy Diary does the
rest for you. What could be easier?
"Devoted exclusively to finding the most memorable local eateries along the highways and back
roads of America," Roadfood is a feast of regional cuisine from the land of the free and the home of
the hamburger. Recent restaurant reviews offer a mouth-watering assortment of catfish, fried
chicken, tacos, cinnamon rolls, chili, and pie. Search the Roadfood review files by state or by
restaurant type, a list that includes everything from all-you-can-eat to vegetarian.
Test your knowledge for movie trivia, read thrilling reviews, browse the top ten trailers,
take a peek at upcoming movies, search for show times in your area, check out the
billboard of top ten DVD sales, read the daily headlines, or check out what’s playing at
the box office. All of this is just seconds away at movies.go.com.
BuyBuddy.com aims to make comparison shopping on
the Web easier and quicker. Includes user reviews and
price updates in a wide range of categories.
http://www.buybuddy.com/
Gasp as you discover a bizarre array of unique, mindblending web sites! Scream as you discover
that you can submit your own site and swap messages with other like-minded web enthusiasts! Emit
a knowing "A Ha!" as you discover that the proprietor of this excellent collection of new and notable
sites is none other than Glenn Davis, creator of the original Cool Site of the Day!
"Astoundingweb.org is a participatory community created to honor the best design, writing,
and programming on the web. Existing awards shows and 'picks' sites have become too commercial
and glitzy to do this job right."
This site offers a free kit for what it says is a simple,
sanitary, non-invasive screening test you can do at
home.
AnyDay.com brings you a calendar you can use any day
you need to do so. You can schedule any event by the hour
and set reminders for yourself about anniversaries or
birthdays. Get events from the Net and schedule events you
find interesting and wish to partake in. You can also
synchronize with your organizer or computer! If you want
versatility in your schedule, this site is definitely you.
There's something eerily fitting about watching Matrix
videos on a computer screen. These exclusive clips
may help show you why this sci-fi flick won an
Academy Award for visual effects.
This project chronicles the seminal history of Apple's Macintosh computer via primary source
documents, interviews, and images. Scholar Theodore Roszak writes about the connection between
sixties and seventies counterculture and the rise of personal computing in "From Satori to Silicon
Valley." An essay called "Technical Writing and the Macintosh" highlights the unique symbiosis
between documentation and development as the Macintosh evolved. Papers on the role of user
groups, the design of the mouse, and the influence of innovative marketing strategies offer tools to
understand public adaptation of new technologies, then and now.
The classics are well represented in this simple, text-only collection of
urban legends, one liners, and drinking games.
Computers DO Have A Gender might be of interest to computer users,
The Neiman-Marcus Cookie Story is a major Urban Legend,
M&M Duels appeals to one's sweet tooth,
Prison vs Work provides an interesting look at corporate life, and
Lessons for Life should be read by all.
And you can always count on Interesting Facts
for clever cocktail party banter: goldfish have three second memories, it's
impossible to sneeze with your eyes open, an ostrich's eye is bigger than
it's brain, etc. Browse and enjoy, but whatever you do, don't forward.
The University of Michigan Documents Center dishes
out everything you may have ever wanted to know
about Election 2000 but were afraid to ask your
librarian about because you might come across as a
political junkie. And we mean everything!
And while you're at it, familiarize yourself a little more
with that key document that's been getting major news
play lately. ConstitutionFacts.com provides insights
into the men who wrote it and how it's been
interpreted over the years.
"Street Level" is the tenth special issue produced by Feed Magazine, the New York City-based
web magazine and fount of digital culture. This artfully architected collage of intimate cityscapes uses
diverse media formats to reveal and report on urban spaces and urban visions. A series of webcams
lets you travel from Manila to Montreal to Moscow in a click. Succinct, thought-provoking articles
comment on a range of city phenomena including Bucky Fuller's proposed Manhattan dome, state of
the art mapping technologies that create virtual cities, and the unrealized desert dream town
Arcosanti. More great feed for thought.
Drop by FirstGov and you may come away
convinced that the federal government is getting
cybersavvy. Designed to be a one-stop portal linking
citizens to more than 20,000 government Web sites.
The Internet Directory of Botany is an index to botanical information
available on the Internet. It consists of two parts, an alphabetical
directory and a categorical directory. The alphabetical list (formerly
List of WWW Sites of Interest to Botanists) was compiled by Anthony R.
Brach. It was originally posted on TAXACOM in March 1995. HTML format is
created and maintained by Shunguo Liu. The subject category list (formerly
A Collection of Botany Related URLs), is maintained by Raino Lampinen since
Autumn 1993. It started as a personal bookmark list of botanical gopher
sites, since March 1994 also www sites, and was made available via WWW in
December 1994.
Describing itself as a Privacy Service Provider,
SafeWeb promises to protect your anonymity and
security on the Net. A free service that says it employs
the kind of encryption technology used by financial
institutions.
Have you received an e-hoax you want investigated?
Ask Dr. D. Bunk stands ready to tackle urban myths,
chain e-mail and "pervasive riff-raff spread via the
Internet." Weekly e-hoaxes and "All Time Favorites"
make for some fun reading.
The Animated Oliphant alone is worth the visit to
uComics. But there's much more fun to be gained,
from Doonesbury to Garfield to Ziggy. (Along with an
invitation to have the comics e-mailed to you free.)
Here's a web companion to an exhibition from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art. The
show celebrates the days of paper-based mail, before full-color HTML email, clip art, and
embedded image tags. Illustrated correspondence was done by hand, with pencil, pen, even water
colors or crayons. Marvel at Winslow Homer's 1876 letter recalling his war-time horror, a
hand-drawn map that sculptor Alexander Calder sent to artist friend Ben Shahn on a 1949 postcard
invitation, and an eloquent RSVP from William Wegman to a speaking gig with his famous
Weimaraner Man Ray.
Chemdex has existed on the WWW since 1993 and exists to maintain a
directory of chemistry on the world-wide web. There are 5721 links in the
Chemdex
The Blue Book Of Grammar And Punctuation
makes the jump to cyberspace. The online version of
the popular guide for writers, proofreaders, editors,
teachers and students offers convenient topical
drop-down menus.
You've heard the reports about the possibility of
flowing water on Mars. Thanks to the Web, you can
look at the evidence.
Find out which political candidates your neighbors
financially supported at this FECInfo site. Just type in a
five-digit ZIP code to get names of everyone from that
geographic area who has contributed to federal
campaign committees as far back as the 1980 election
cycle.
Hidden in plain site: A secret coding system that a
KGB agent would have killed for: Spam Mimic, which
encodes your message into something that people have
learned to automatically ignore.
If you're a baby boomer, the child of a baby boomer, or just friends with one, you're bound to enjoy
this whiz-bang collection of rocket ships, astronauts, and moon landings. America's fascination with
space reached a fever pitch in the mid-Fifties, and many future NASA astronauts and engineers
grew up on books with titles like Space Ship to the Moon and You and Space Travel.
An upgrade to YourCancerRisk: A personalized
method for estimating an individual's risk of the 12
most common cancers in the USA. And then find out
how to lower that risk.
For more information on the Tulsa Computer Society click here
This page has been accessed
times.
Tulsa Computer Society 1/07/2001
Don Singleton, President
djs@ionet.net