Friday, October 26, 2007

14 Ridiculously Useful Websites

CrossfitA free fitness website that posts a new "Workout of the Day" every day. The workouts focus on total body fitness. The workouts are used by military personnel, athletes, and normal people. The site also contains an index of the exercises used in the workouts complete with videos and slideshows. They offer a newsletter for those willing to pay. It is an outstanding site for both fitness gurus and average Joes.


Lonely PlanetThis site offers, among other things, an outstanding resource for anyone researching travel destinations.

Retail Me NotA catalog of online coupons posted and reviewed by users. The coupons vary from sites like Polo to Amazon to Papajohns.

Web MDProvides a reference for anyone looking to diagnose his or her symptoms or research medical issues. It is a good place to visit before making that, oh so expensive, trip to the doctor.

EpicuriousA source of cooking information ranging from recipes to techniques to restaurant reviews.

E-HowA reference site for just about everything else. Want to k now how to wax snow skis? Make pizza dough? Install a bathtub? This is the place.

KayakCombines search results from several different travel websites and presents them in a very user-friendly interactive format.

BartlebyOne of the better academic research websites I've come across.

How Stuff WorksA very cool website that contains explanations of those mysteries in life that you just can't figure out. A few examples are Murphy's Law, Pickpockets, and Light Sabers (Yes, light sabers).

Product WikiA wikipedia-type product review website. All reviews and articles are written and updated by the site's users.

What Should I Read NextCan't decide what to read next? Simply enter a book title and/or author that you like and the site will recommend a number of books for you.

The Universal Packing ListThis is a very unique website I found that creates a packing list for you based on information you provide regarding your trip and intentions/plans.

Happy MedianEnter your location and a friend's location and this site will tell you where you should meet (Halfway).

MusicoverySeriously, the coolest music-related site I've seen. You choose the mood, intensity, and genres of the music you would like to hear and the site will provide you with a virtual web of music to explore. The web evolves with each choice you make. You can click on any song in the web at anytime.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Top 15 (legal) Sources for Free Stock Images





These resources are some of the most popular free stock image sites on the Web and with good reason. If you’re looking for some mainstream images, these are the first place to try.

FreeFoto: FreeFoto.com claims to be “the largest collection of free photographs on the Internet.” They’re available for offline projects as well, as long as you’re not using them to make a profit.


KAVEWALL: Look for images and textures in unique categories like tattoo, smoke, and food.


Digital Dreamer: Free, royalty-free stock images can be found here.


Free Photos Bank: This features a handful of the newest photos in their directory, so check back often.




Free Digital Photos: Find gorgeous, easy-to-download photographs in categories like animals, celebrations, home & garden, and lots more.

PD Photo: Browse through the categories and subcategories in this site’s database, most of which depict the urban and rural landscapes of the United States.




Visipix: Search over a million photographs and fine art pieces.

Cepolina: On cepolina, you can choose to save photos in up to five different formats.

DexHaus: A wide array of beautiful images are found on this well-organized site.

FreeStockImages.net: Chances are you’ll find whatever it is you’re looking for on this terrific site.

TurboPhoto: TurboPhoto has 10 categories keep the high res photos easy to find.

Yotophoto: An immensely popular site, Yotophoto is worth checking out.




Stockvault: Search by photo subject or by the newest and most popular photos on Stockvault.

Dreamstime: While most of the photos on this site cost a fee (some as low as $0.26/image), Dreamstime provides a few free stock photos.

Open Stock Photography: This site offers over one million images for you to download and use however you want.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Journey through the center of the Earth


Suppose you could drill a hole through the Earth and then drop into it. How long would it take you to pop up on the other side of the Earth?

Link:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mechanics/earthole.html

Beyond Wikipedia: 20 References You Can’t Do Without

You may not know this, but there are actually a number of great references available to you that isn’t Wikipedia. Now, don’t get me wrong - I love Wikipedia, too. Whenever I first begin a project I almost always go and overview it through Wikipedia. It’s a great introduction to a subject, also connecting you easily to other related ideas, people and places.
But it’s not all you have. Now, put aside the enormous amount of electronic resources your school gives you access to that you never use, this is mostly resources anyone can use (with a couple of notable exceptions). Some even make use of Wikipedia, though not in the usual way. We’ll start with general resources, and then get down to the resources available to a few specific disciplines.

Bartleby - This site has far more than quotes, you can find full texts here as well - poetry in particular.Citizendium - This is supposed to be the more “professional” Wikipedia. So far it’s not really taken off, but the information here is often a bit more “elite” but usually not as detailed.Answers.com - Answers.com is a sort of “commercial” Wikipedia. It makes use of the info on Wikipedia, combined with many other reference sties, to become a one stop shop. It also has a mobile site that I tend to use a great deal.ePodunk - If you’re looking for information regarding a city or place, it doesn’t get much better than ePodunk.

Encylopedia Britannica - I know it seems awfully “old school” but this site is an excellent source of information and much more authoritative than Wikipedia.

Scholarpedia - A step up from both Wikipedia and Citizendium in terms of scholarly respectability, it doesn’t have nearly as much information, but the articles have all been written by experts with peer review. An academic paradise!

JSTOR - You know all those stuffy journals around your professors office? And those articles in your course packets? This is pretty much that. For research it enormously useful.

Oxford English Dictionary - The definitive resource when it comes to the English language. Not just for English majors, the OED (as it’s known) is useful for almost anyone in the social sciences.
Wikiseek - When you absolutely, positively, must have the real thing - WikiSeek is Wikipedia with a better search engine. I would also suggest WikiMindMap for when you’re trying to get a better holistic grasp of a subject.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

360Desktop



What is 360desktop?

360desktop extends your Windows® desktop as a user generated, photo-panoramic space and delivers a personalized web, free of the browser, into a virtually unlimited desktop.
Grab all of your favorite web apps and content — web widgets, RSS feeds, AJAX start pages, or any part of any web page — and make them available any time, in an expanded photo-panoramic desktop.



Link:http://www.360desktop.com/