Jim’s Favorite Web Sites

The Internet is a fascinating place, home to literally millions of Web sites containing tens of millions of Web pages. A lifetime devoted to “surfing the net” probably couldn’t begin to scratch its surface. Often, the incredible volume of information available makes finding something you’re looking for a daunting task. Well, to help you narrow down that list of sites to visit, here’s my list of favorites that I’ve developed over the last ten years. I’ve organized them by subject area:

Finance, stocks, and business

finance.yahoo.com - Financial news, stock quotes and investment advice
www.etrade.com - The original online brokerage house
moneycentral.msn.com - Comprehensive site about money and finance
www.fool.com - Everything you ever wanted to know about investing

Computers

www.pcmag.com – PC Magazine online; personal computing news, reviews and tech tips
www.tomshardware.com – Reviews and information on personal computer hardware
www.download.com – Freeware and shareware software for your PC
www.gamespot.com – Reviews on thousands of games for consoles and PCs
www.microsoft.com – Check here for information and updates for your PC

Search engines and reference sites

www.google.com – My favorite search engine
www.yahoo.com – The first Internet search engine
www.howstuffworks.com - Explains how the world around us works
www.ehow.com - Clear instructions on how to do (just about) everything
www.superpages.com – The Yellow Pages online
www.dictionary.com – Online dictionary and thesaurus
www.firstgov.gov – Gateway to the U.S. government online
www.webopedia.com – Computer and Internet technology definitions
www.wikipedia.org – Free encyclopedia that anyone can edit

Job Hunting and Careers

www.monster.com – Resumes, jobs, and career information
www.dice.com – Focuses on technology jobs

Shopping

www.amazon.com – The original Internet store, it’s not just books anymore!
www.overstock.com – Name brand products at clearance sale prices
www.ebay.com – The original online auction site

News, information and entertainment

www.msnbc.com – My favorite news and information site
www.espn.com – Sports news and information
www.npr.org –National Public Radio; audio feed of live shows
www.si.edu – The Smithsonian Institution
www.bhg.com – Better Homes and Gardens
www.live365.com – Thousands of Internet radio stations
www.imb.com – Internet Movie Database
www.zap2it.com – Online TV guide
www.webmd.com – Medical information and advice
www.gutenberg.org – 16,000 free electronic books

Travel

www.mapquest.com – You’ll never get lost again!
www.expedia.com – Reservation site for airline flights, hotels and rental cars
www.reserveamerica.com - 100,000 campsites across the country
www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks - Pennsylvania State Parks

Miscellaneous

www.pennsylvaniawine.com – Pennsylvania wineries and wine trails
www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com – New York’s Finger Lakes wine country
www.realtor.com – Listings from real estate agencies nationwide
www.allrecipes.com – Thousands of recipes and cooking ideas
www.pct.edu – Great college Web site!

In addition to my list you can also see the most popular sites on the Internet at www.alexa.com. While there you can download their nifty Internet Explorer toolbar, which gives you additional information on each Web site you visit.

Hope you find some new useful and interesting Web sites on my list. Enjoy your summertime Internet surfing.

Questions and comments on this article can be directed to Jim’s e-mail, jim@shokora.us. All of Jim’s technology columns are available online at his blog: http://jec1230.blogspot.com.