Where do you want to surf today?

The Internet continues to grow by leaps and bounds, yet the enormity of said growth goes largely without notice. While there are certainly people who are intrigued by the latest site to hit the information superhighway, most mere mortals--I include myself in this later category--care only to know about sites that make one's personal or professional lives easier. For instance, most of us care a site we use frequently to be updated regularly...and we expect this at little to no cost! We expect producers of said sites to have their minions constantly improving its effectiveness. Personally, the sites I prefer generally allow you to surf anonymously and for free. Anonymous surfing is important to avoid getting spam and solicitations you never requested, and free is well...Free! These are some of my favorite Favorites...

www.dpreview.com - Digital Photography Review dot com is an indispensable site for

• comparing features of digital cameras--if you're looking to buy a new digital camera,
• comprehensive technical and user reviews of products, and
• learning about all of those features that you'll never use on your existing camera

www.pricewatch.com - Even guys can appreciate a good bargain. But if you're looking for the cheapest price and you're still buying "Computer Shopper" magazine--a phone book-style rag that's ~1% articles and 99% advertising--you're doing yourself a disservice. If you're looking for a monitor, Video card, memory, or other computer parts, PriceWatch has the low down on the best Internet vendors carrying computers and parts and results are pre-sorted by price. If you spend time on a PC for any length of time, eventually you discover some component to upgrade. Keep in mind that under current commerce rules, you (generally) don't pay tax if you buy from an out of state vendor--this can add to additional savings on big ticket items. And when the lady of the house chastises you about getting your newest computer part in the mail, ask her about all those shoes in the closet!

www.w3schools.com - Interested in learning about technology at zero cost? Think you might be looking for a career change to some computer-related job? Not sure how to get started? A great place to start is W3 Schools. W3 Schools touts itself as the "Largest Web Developer site on the Net," and the depth of their site adds validity to the claim. This site has tutorials, references, code samples, and interactive quizzes to test yourself--all at no cost to you. Better still, you don't have to enroll or sign up, just jump right in! Of course, if you want to get certified, they'll point you in the right direction. Likewise, once you recognize that Windows' Notepad is a less than adequate editor, there are links to commercial tools that may be of interest. This site had many relevant sponsors.

www.dictionary.com - I still like looking up words the "old-fashioned" way, but when I'm at work and my Microsoft Word dictionary can't find a word, Dictionary.com is the place to go. As its name implies, it's an online dictionary and the site has a sister site, thesaurus.com. Dictionary.com is supported by ads, but if you're using an ad blocker it shouldn't be a problem.

www.Google.com - You know your company has arrived when your its moniker is used as a verb! Xerox, TiVo, and now Google. The Google Search engine has become the Swiss Army Knife of the Internet; however, it has more uses than finding relevant web pages. A friend of mine told to try this: enter your phone number--with hyphens--and see what comes up. Forget CallerID, Google had my number and my address for all to see! Fortunately, Google does provide a form to remove the number for privacy reasons. The bad news is there's no security around number removal--so you could potentially remove someone's number who intended to have it published! Identity mangling issues aside, Google is still the gold standard of search engines. I've dispensed with Ask Jeeves, Lycos, and Yahoo for the most part. And Google's interface makes it an equally good option for searches from wireless devices, such as Blackberry and Palm Treos.

www.CNN.com - Microsoft may know software, but no one does comprehensive news coverage like CNN. Nobody. And their web site is reflective of that. 'Nough said.

www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm - History buffs and art lovers alike will enjoy this web site on the Louvre. I've been lucky enough to go to France, but never made it to this feature attraction--ran out of time and I didn't want to go AWOL in order to visit the museum...call me crazy. The Louvre was established in 1793 by the French Republic and houses some of the most famous artifacts in the world. The Mona Lisa, Michelangelo statues, and paintings by Eugène Delacroix can all be found here. The Louvre has had expansions and renovations over the years, and the changes are also captured on the site. Additionally, the museum has exhibitions of historic art and artifacts from various other countries.

www.time.com - Time magazine is one of the few periodical publications that doesn't skimp or force you to enter your subscription number to view detailed content. No time to hit the newsstand?--no pun intended--then go to Time's web site to find great articles on the upcoming Olympics, Business, and Entertainment.

www.etrade.com - E*Trade has carved a niche in providing great tools with reasonable prices for trades. Yes, you do have to open an account to execute trades. However, if you're just monitoring the market and learning about investing, most all of E*Trades tools are available for free.

movies.guide.real.com - There are lots of movie review sites on the Internet, but few give you comprehensive, instant access to trailers for films currently in theaters and/or on their way to a video store near you. This site is simple to navigate and the designers at Real--famous for the Real media player--are not "in your face" trying to sell you something at every opportunity. While video streaming is adequate at 56k, a broadband connection--cable modem or DSL--is recommended.

These certainly aren't the only sites I frequent, but they are links I utilize regularly. If you know of sites that are useful, free, and allow users to surf anonymously--please share the wealth. Inquiring minds want to know!

Peace,

+THINKER