These aren’t necessarily the best 50 sites around—who could decide that—and
many of them have competitors that may more suit your taste.
With that said, however, these are 50 great places to start your forays onto
the Web.
NEWS
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1 CNN Interactive
http://www.cnn.com
Although you will find written news at CNN Interactive, what’s more important
is the audio and video, which you can see and listen to with a browser plug-in
such as the RealPlayer or with the Windows Media
Player. The quality, of course, isn’t as good as cable television, but you can
pick what you want to watch and when, or you can tune in to live coverage of
important events. With sections on news, weather, sports, entertainment,
travel, style, and more, CNN Interactive has something to interest almost
everyone, in a format that’s still exciting for the Internet.
2 ESPNET SportsZone
http://espnet.sportszone.com
No sports fan will want to miss this all-encompassing sports site from
ESPN. From the home page, you can jump straight to the sport of your choice,
from the NBA and NFL to tennis and horse racing. You’ll find headline news and
“today’s best” recommendations, plus live radio and television, polls,
television listings, special sections, and fantasy game information.
3 The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com
You’ll get exactly what you’d expect from The New
York Times on the Web, and then some. Browse today’s headlines, jumping
quickly to international or national news, politics, business, technology,
science, sports, weather, opinion, and more. You can opt for the text-only
version if you don’t want to wait for photographs to load. In the Archives
section, you can search articles from the past year for free; downloading the
full text costs $2.50.
4 MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com
This graphics-intensive news site, a joint venture
between The Microsoft Network and NBC, offers sections on news, business,
sports, technology, health, weather, and more. You can listen to audio
headlines or enter your ZIP code to receive local information. NBC news shows
add to their content by offering transcripts or additional information in the
On Air section of the site.
5 NPR Online
http://www.npr.org
This site is a must-see for anyone who appreciates
National Public Radio. The site offers hourly audio news via RealAudio
or Netshow, plus links to your favorite
shows, including “All Things Considered,” “Fresh Aire,”
and “The Thistle & Shamrock.” You’ll find archives of shows you missed,
schedules of upcoming guests, and information that couldn’t possibly be
transmitted over radio waves—such as a behind-the-scenes peek at “Prairie Home
Companion” and a list of every car tune that’s ever been on “Car Talk.” If
that’s too exciting, you can look up member stations or learn how to purchase
transcripts.
6 Pathfinder Network
http://pathfinder.com
This site from Time Warner calls itself “the Web’s
most complete news, information and entertainment site,” and this just may be
correct. Time, People, Money, Fortune, and Entertainment
Weekly are among the accessible online magazines; headlines from each of
them are on Pathfinder’s home page. There are daily news updates, and you can
read up on entertainment and sports, track stocks, search the archives, or chat
with other Pathfinder users.
7 SmartMoney Interactive
http://www.smartmoney.com
The classy online version of SmartMoney
magazine contains all the business news and investment information you’d
expect, with stock market information updated hourly. But it also includes
interactive tools, including a place to track your portfolio and a chart center
that analyzes your investments. For general reference, don’t miss the
8
http://www.usatoday.com
If you like USA Today, you’ll want to make its candy-colored Web
site one of your daily visits. You can jump straight to your favorite sections,
from
9 The Weather Channel
http://www.weather.com
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Why wait for the television-version
of The Weather Channel to get to the information you want? With the Internet
version, you can jump straight to the weather in the city of your choice,
whether it’s in the
REFERENCES
10 Exchange Rates
http://www.x-rates.com
Using data based on that day’s
11 Better Homes & Gardens Online
http://www.bhglive.com
When you need information on food, home decorating, gardening, health, money,
and education, Better Homes & Gardens is one of the most trusted
names around, and it’s one of the most complete sites on the Web. You’ll find
articles and a slew of reference materials, including a searchable database of
plants, online recipes listed by category, a home improvement encyclopedia, a
relocation guide, and a guide to parenting. There’s also a search engine and a
shopping area.
12 MapQuest
http://www.mapquest.com
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“Exploring” on the Internet is
never quite the same after you visit MapQuest, a free
Web site provided by GeoSystems Global Corp. that
lets you access maps of millions of towns and cities around the world. You can
pull up a map of a given location, then zoom in and
out for more or less detail. Or you can find door-to-door or city-to-city
directions, tweaking the search to locate the fastest or shortest route between
two points, or opting to avoid limited access highways and toll roads. A “Plan
a Trip” feature taps into Mobil Travel Guide ratings on hotels and restaurants,
and it has city information and details on weather.
13 Monster Board
http://www.monster.com
Despite its whimsical design, the Monster Board is one
of the biggest and best job search sites on the Internet. You’ll find company
profiles, information on jobs in the
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14 Switchboard
http://www.switchboard.com
If you’re looking for someone, whether at home or
online, the Internet has an ever-growing number of directories. But
Switchboard, which lets you look for a person, business, or E-mail address, is
one of our favorite places to start the hunt. To find a person, the last name
is requisite; first name, city, and state are optional. To find a business, you
can search by name, category, or location. And if you can’t even find
yourself—one of the most popular activities at such sites—there’s a link to get
your own name out there.
15 Telephone Area Code Finder
http://www.mmiworld.com/telephone.htm
When you have a number to dial but want to know where the telephone will be ringing,
check out this list of area codes from MMI World Communications. The site lists
area codes numerically and alphabetically (by state), and the listings include
the time zone. The ads are a bit pesky, but the information is useful.
16 WWWebster Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm
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It’d be hard to find a better
candidate for bookmarking as a frequently used site than
a dictionary. And this online one from Merriam-Webster couldn’t be much more
logical. From the home page, just type in a word, then press the ENTER key.
You’ll get the definition plus a pronunciation key. The thesaurus is almost as
easy to use, although it has more options. If that’s not enough, you also can
get a sampling of the newest words added to the dictionary (browser and hyperlink
among them), play a word game, or read the “word of the day,” which is also
available by E-mail.
17 ZIP Code Lookup
http://www.usps.gov/ncsc
The United States Postal Service doesn’t want you to have any excuse for not
knowing a ZIP code (including those four extra digits). You can either
punch in the delivery address, city, and state to find the ZIP code, or punch
in the ZIP code and find out where it is. There’s also a list of the
abbreviations the post office really wishes you’d use.
PUBLIC
SERVICE & INFORMATION
18 Better Business Bureau
http://www.bbb.com
There’s no need to wait on hold with the Better
Business Bureau; this Internet site probably has everything you need, right
down to an online form for filing complaints against businesses gone bad.
There’s an online database of businesses, plus a variety of resources,
including consumer alerts, buying guides, and information on local chapters of
the Better Business Bureau. Internet users may be especially interested in the
BBB OnLine Programs, which aim to promote trust and
confidence in the Internet.
19 FBI
http://www.fbi.gov
If you want to do a little snooping into what the
Federal Bureau of Investigation is up to, check out its Web site. You’ll find
news, crime statistics, career information, details on the Freedom of
Information and Privacy Act, and a science and technology section. A Kids and
Teens Educational page is a great reference, with information on crime
detection and prevention, Internet safety tips, and a radio show. You’ll also
find the FBI’s famous “most wanted” lists, with mug shots of fugitives, gang
and crime alert information, crimes about which the FBI is seeking information,
and more.
20 IRS
http://www.irs.gov
People don’t usually laugh about the Internal Revenue Service, but the Web site
for this organization is not just useful but . . . amusing? The Digital Daily,
the IRS’s free publication that acts as a gateway to reams of online tax
information, boasts that it’s “faster than a speeding 1040-EZ” and the “easiest
tax publication on the planet,” and the site’s whimsical design may lighten
your mood at least a bit. You can read tax statistics and regulations, download
forms and publications, search the entire site, and even send E-mail with unanswered
questions to a representative. The text-only areas are a nice touch.
21 NASA
http://www.nasa.gov
The well-designed site for the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration emphasizes education for both adults and
schoolchildren, and it aims to get people excited about what NASA does. You can
follow the unfolding stories of the Space Station, Mars Orbiter, Deep Space 1,
or any other NASA project. You’ll also find news, history, educational
resources, information about how you can see a launch
in person or take a tour of NASA, and even details on how to become an
astronaut. Depending on your own technology, you can either
visit a text-only site; check out a multimedia gallery with photos,
videos, audio, and art; or even view real-time data from NASA.
22 The New York Stock Exchange
http://www.nyse.com
Whether you want to learn more about the stock market or check closing stock
prices, this richly designed site is a great place to start. With market
information, listings of companies, updates on market regulation, educational
material including history and a glossary, and links to other important sites,
the New York Stock Exchange has something for every end of the stock exchange
spectrum. You can even spend money in the gift shop.
23 Shape Up
http://www.shapeup.org
This organization, founded by C. Everett Koop, aims to
ease the cost of health care by educating people about how to live healthier
lives, both through physical activity and better diet habits. Its Web site
includes a Cyberkitchen, which calculates your
nutrition needs based on information you provide, lets you pick meals (budget
and vegetarian choices are flagged), and provides recipes and shopping lists.
The site also helps you calculate your body mass index, assess your fitness
level, and learn about getting into shape. Various educational guides also are
available.
24
http://www.senate.gov
Learn about legislative activities, committees, senators, and more at this
red, white, and blue site for the people. In addition to finding out what
senators have been up to, you can read about the history of this governmental
body, look up Senate terms in a glossary, take a virtual tour of the U. S.
Capitol, or plan a real visit. There’s a list of senators by name and state,
along with their E-mail addresses.
25 White House
http://www.whitehouse.gov
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The Web site for the White
House includes information on
ARTS
& EDUCATION
26 Culture Finder
http://www.culturefinder.com
Looking for a little culture? The Culture Finder has information on theater
and Broadway shows, classical music and opera, visual arts, dance, and film, in
locations from
27 Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov
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Just as the Library of Congress
is a wealth of information, so too is its Web site. You’ll find details about the
library’s programs and services, legislative information, and access to
catalogs. The most interesting area is the American Memory Section, with
collections of digitized documents and photos, sound and moving pictures, and
text. More than 40 multimedia collections are currently available on topics as
diverse as architecture and interior design, baseball cards, map collections,
sheet music, and the railroad. It’s only a fraction of the library’s holdings,
but it’s a stunning collection nonetheless.
28 Moneyopolis
http://www.moneyopolis.org
This brightly designed “place for money-sharp
kids” is a great example of what an educational Web site should aspire to. Moneyopolis is geared at grades six through eight, and it teaches math and financial planning while
introducing youngsters to decision-making processes and computers. The free
site, provided by Ernst & Young, centers around the same five steps the
company uses to educate adults: assessment, goal setting, strategy setting,
implementation, and review/adjust. It includes a teachers’
section, library, and calculator.
29 National Park Service ParkNet
http://www.nps.gov
If you’re planning to visit a national park, ParkNet should be your first stop for maps and information
on fees and reservations. You also can use the site to help you pick a park to
visit; parks are categorized by theme, location, or an online feature such as
“wild and scenic riverways” and “lesser-known areas.”
You’ll also find extensive sections on histories, cultures and places,
education and interpretation, and natural resources. From water resources to
Civil War battle summaries to the architecture of the Gateway Arch, this site has a lot to teach.
30 Pitsco’s Ask an Expert
http://www.askanexpert.com/askanexpert
Have you ever wished you could ask a question of an artificial intelligence
expert from MIT? Or query an animal keeper, Amish expert, guitar maker,
Webmaster, direct mail expert, immunologist, ham radio expert, collection law
expert, or college admissions guru? The folks at Pitsco
Inc. have done a wonderful thing in creating this directory of links to Web
sites that provide information and to people who have volunteered to answer
questions—you’ll often be instructed to read the information on their Web sites
before sending E-mails. Ask an Expert has 12 categories and more than 300 Web
sites and E-mail addresses. Categories include science, health, recreation,
money, law, career, Internet, arts, and religion. The concept is wonderful, the
design delightful.
31 Smithsonian Institution
http://www.si.edu
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This huge site is an excellent example
of what every museum site should be. It’s a great place to plan an upcoming
visit to the Smithsonian galleries, and you can view displays online, including
scanned artwork and text—if you don’t mind waiting for your computer to
download high-resolution pictures. Although the site is incredibly large, it’s
easy to navigate. You can jump straight to your favorite gallery (there are 17
museums on the list, as diverse as the Arthur M. Sackler
and the National Zoo) or one of 12 research centers, or you can search the
entire site. There’s a list of what’s new, plus special event information and
job listings.
32
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu
Do you want to look up information on a college or graduate school? Would
you like to do a line-by-line comparison of up to four different schools? Or do
you need advice on how to pay for college? Whatever the case, who better to ask
than U. S. News & World Report? There are
sections on getting into college, financial aid, campus life, and beyond
college, plus the expected rankings. The list includes business, law, medicine,
engineering, and education schools. You’ll find lots of well-packaged great
advice from a trusted source.
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SHOPPING
& SERVICES
33 Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com
This online-only bookstore made a splash when it opened eons ago in
Internet time (July 1995), and although other bookstores have caught onto the
idea, Amazon.com is still widely considered the best name around. With more
than 3 million books, compact discs, videos, Digital Video Discs, and computer
games, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll find whatever you’re looking for in
this easily searchable yet highly browsable store.
Personal touches include customer reviews, book and music recommendations, and
gift ideas. Purchasing options range from one-click shopping to the more
old-fashioned method of calling in your credit card number once you’ve filled
out the order form.
34 Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel Online
http://www.frommers.com
This outspoken, opinionated travel site helps you get the most from your travel
dollar, both by telling you about discounted rates and by teaching you
money-saving tricks for travel. A daily newsletter emphasizes news that has a
direct impact on travelers. You’ll also find “hot spots” and “best buys,”
discounted cruises, air fares from travel consolidators, low-cost car rentals,
half-price hotel rooms, message boards, and advice on everything from beginning
to plan your trip to actually being there.
35 eBay
http://www.ebay.com
Looking for Beanie Babies? Elvis paraphernalia?
Computer equipment? Anyone can auction anything at
eBay, which acts as the mediator between buyer and seller in a 1990s kind of
public market. The individuals buying and selling negotiate the money/property
swap, so eBay requires a certain amount of trust in humankind. But while the
auction is taking place, you can ask the seller a question and read about his
or her history, including statistics and feedback from others who have bought
from him or her at eBay. This is definitely a fascinating part of Internet
culture—and who knows what you might find?
36 InsWeb
http://www.insweb.com
This site, which purports to be one “where you and
your insurance really click,” lets you shop for auto, life, home/renters, and
health insurance without hassle or pressure. Free quotes, based on information
you provide, are for coverage from leading companies such as State Farm and
Liberty Mutual. The toolbox includes quizzes, estimators, analyzers, and
calculators, and you’ll also find various articles and reports to help you
become an expert on more than just the bottom line.
37 Kelley Blue Book
http://www.kbb.com
Learn about purchasing the print version of this trusted publication—or get
the information you want at this eye-pleasing and logically designed site that
gives out more than 10 million free pricing reports per month. There’s
information on new and used cars and a section on motorcycles. You also can
search for automobile dealers in your ZIP code, link to automobile
manufacturers, research insurance and financing, and even find out about buying
a car online. The site also has more general information, including advice
about pricing and value, reviews, and a list of the “Hot 50” cars.
38 Netgrocer
http://www.netgrocer.com
Just when you thought your only link to the
outside world was the need for groceries, along comes Netgrocer,
which will bring groceries straight to your house via Federal Express.
Departments include beverages and snacks, international and gourmet food, pet
care, cleaning, health and beauty, and even books and software. The search
engine works well, and Netgrocer can track your
purchases and perhaps save you some time next month. You’ll know your total
before it’s time to check out, and maybe you can even avoid the candy aisle.
39 ONSALE
http://www.onsale.com
If you’re curious about online auctions, this is a great place to start,
with its categories for computer products, sports and fitness, home and office,
and vacation and travel. If you want to make a bid, you’ll have to register and
give your credit card number, but you can snoop around, read about items being
auctioned, and observe the bidding with no risk—unless you’re easily tempted.
Express Auctions compacts the drama into one hour, and bids start at $1.
40 Preview Travel
http://www.previewtravel.com
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Although you’ll find destination
guides and vacation packages at Preview Travel, the site’s star is its easily
searchable reservation information from more than 500 airlines, thousands of
hotels, and major car-rental agencies. And it’s free of charge to anyone who
signs up. Your account information can include travel preferences (such as
vegetarian meals on flights or non-smoking hotel rooms), and you can sign up to
receive travel reminders and specials. If you’re price-conscious, don’t miss
the Fare Alert service, for notification when tickets to up to three selected
destinations reach a certain price point, and the Farefinder,
to learn the best current prices on selected trips. Whether you make purchases
online or just use Preview Travel for research, it’s one of the best travel
sites around.
41 Virtual Vineyards
http://www.virtualvineyard.com
Wine, as you might imagine, is the first item of order at this popular,
chatty shopping site, which emphasizes offering potential customers detailed
information about the fine wines for sale. You can search by category, varietal, price, origin, style, or producer, or check out a
tasting chart (how about complexity or the tannin?). You can order online, or
just browse and maybe do some research. Food and gifts also are available.
ENTERTAINMENT
42 Mountain Arts
http://www.bluemountain.com
You can send an animated, personalized greeting
card for any occasion at this fun, creative Web site. The recipient receives an
E-mail notification about the card, then picks it up
online with a Web browser. According to Blue Mountain Arts, most browsers are
able to send and receive the cards, which may include sounds and music.
Categories cover various holidays (from Valentine’s Day to National Dog Week),
special occasions (like weddings and graduations), themes (from Girl Scouts to
wildlife), and lots more. Best of all, it’s free.
43 Happy Puppy
http://www.happypuppy.com
For anything related to computer and console
(Sony, Sega, and Nintendo) games, turn first to Happy Puppy, a clearinghouse of
demos, freeware, shareware, and more. A weekly newsletter, classified ads,
hints and cheats for games, and bulletin boards make it one of the most popular
gaming sites on the Web.
44 The Internet Movie Database
http://us.imdb.com
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This movie lover’s dream covers
more than 160,000 titles. It also includes information on actors, directors,
writers, composers, costume designers, producers, and more, with categories
from classics to cult favorites. You also can check the running time or rating,
look for sequels or spoofs, and read news or box office information. And the
search engine alone will blow you away—not only can you look for a
movie/television title, cast/crew name, or character name, but you also can
search for famous quotes, find movies where certain people are working
together, or look up trivia. There’s also a list of the top movies, as decided
by IMDb users.
45 RealNetworks
http://www.real.com
If you’re excited about getting audio and video
from your Internet connection, check out the RealNetworks
Web site. If your Web browser doesn’t already have multimedia capabilities,
you’ll find information about getting the RealPlayer plug-in, which lets you
play audio and video on computers that are relatively up-to-date. The RealGuide has an extensive listing that covers business,
music, news, show business, and sports categories, with a heavy dose of
concerts and movie trailers. The quality’s not as good as cable TV, but you get
to pick what’s on.
46 Star Wars
http://www.starwars.com
Not only is this a must-see for anyone who’s counting the days to a certain
prequel, but the official Star Wars site is one of the most intensely designed
Internet sites, with incredibly sharp graphics and video that take advantage of
top-notch home PCs. Learn a lot about the new movie and its making, and be
blown away by how good the Web can look.
47 United Media
http://www.unitedmedia.com
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The Comic Zone from United
Media gives you about 30 fewer reasons to pick up the daily newspaper, with
comic strips from “Dilbert” and “Robotman” to
“Peanuts” and “Alley Oop.” Jump straight to your
favorite comic by selecting it from a list on the home page, or browse through
“today’s” comics. Strips are a week old, but they’re free (which means watch
out for the flashy ads and comic paraphernalia). If you’re behind on your
favorites, you can catch up in the four-week archive. Editorial
cartoons and special “Dilbert” and “Snoopy” sections round out the site’s
attractions.
COMPUTING
48 Excite
http://www.excite.com
If you feel lost on the Internet, Excite is one of
the many sites that wants to help you find your way, both by helping you find
the information you want and by automatically delivering it to you. Its search
engine lets you access more than 50 million Web pages. Its free online service,
which you can make your entry point to every visit online, can automatically
serve up your selected news headlines, a link to your favorite comic and
columnist, horoscopes, anniversary reminders, and more, and you can even set
text and background colors. Plus, you’ll find news from Reuters and United
Press International, bulletin boards and chat rooms, an instant messaging
service, and Web-based E-mail.
49 Shareware
http://www.shareware.com
This powerful search engine from CNET lets you peruse more than 250,000
software files, including freeware, shareware, demos, fixes, patches, and
upgrades, then jump to download sites. A weekly E-mail newsletter keeps you on
top of new arrivals at this free, popular site.
50 Yahoo!
http://www.yahoo.com
Yahoo! is another of the sites that wants you to feel at home on the
Internet, with services similar to those offered by Excite, AltaVista (http://www.altavista.com), Lycos (http://www.lycos.com), and others. Check out a
few of these services before you settle on one. From the Yahoo! home page, you
can jump to Internet site categories ranging from arts to computers to health
to regional information, each with subcategories. The indexes consist of
screens full of site descriptions, with “cool” sites marked with sunglasses.
You’ll find sections for shopping, maps, classifieds, games, a travel agent,
and more, and you can personalize the page to deliver exactly what you want
each time you go online.
50+1 Smart Computing
http://www.smartcomputing.com
There’s one bonus site that we can’t help mentioning—ours. Smart Computing’s
highly searchable site lets you look up answers about computing from its
monthly issues, Reference Series, Learning Series, and Guide To issues. You can
search by category, or look specifically for general, troubleshooting, or
how-to articles. In addition, you can learn how to subscribe, order back
issues, or preview the upcoming issues.