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A URL for just about everything |
With more than 61,000 acronyms in the site's database, the Acronym Finder
will help you decode that mysterious abbreviation, be it serious, whimsical,
or both. Entering SALT for example retrieves both "Strategic Arms Limitation
Talks" and "single and loving it." The site assumes a wild card after what
you've entered, so returns are usually pretty comprehensive. An advanced
search option lets you find an acronym by the words it abbreviates.
Stuck at some crucial point in your development project? This online reference library of technical books and other information archives more than 14,000 resources to help you out. Enter a keyword to pull up returns, which typically include the document or chapter title and a summary. Click to retrieve the full text, usually accompanied by links to other chapters in the same book. The Directories section, categorized by technology, lets you search for applets, scripts, and white papers.
Same category
DevSearch
No Wonder
Before you bash your computer into a heap of twisted circuitry, try
this online technical-help center to help you solve your computer problems
with blessed ease. The Resources area, a collaboration between No Wonder
and ZDNet, is a searchable database of helpful hints and FAQs. If that
doesn't work, fill out a form describing your problem and you'll get a
personal reply within 24 hours.
Yahoo! People Search
Search on name, domain, city, or state to find e-mail and white-pages
info. Returns from the white pages come with name, address, a linked phone
number, and links to maps, whereas e-mail hits provide direct mailto links.
Advanced e-mail searching lets you specify address as well as organization
(such as a company or high school).
http://www.whowhere.lycos.com/
Visa and MasterCard
http://www.visa.com/cgi-bin/vee/main.html
http://www.mastercard.com/atm/
In a strange town and in need of cash? These sites can help you find
automatic tellers around the world. Visa's ATM Locator lets you specify
a street address or cross street, city, state, and ZIP code; the MasterCard/Cirrus
ATM Locator lets you choose only region and location from a drop-down list
(though big cities are usually broken down into neighborhoods).
The World Wide Web is loaded with sites and pages full of graphic images.
Communicator automatically displays JPEG and GIF images, two of the most
commonly found, but there are many graphic file formats it doesn't natively
display. You'll need an inline plug-in or helper application to display
these (including BMP, PBM, PGM, and TIFF). In Communicator you can use
many of these helpers, including LView Pro, VuePrint, ViewDirector, and
ACDSee. One of the best sources for information about helper applications
is the Stroud's site. There's information about all kinds of viewers here.
A great place to find an attorney and, just for kicks, get bios on the
likes of Johnnie Cochran and other cable-TV talking heads. Select a city,
state, and area of practice from drop-down lists to retrieve a list of
firms with easy links to address, phone, and fax info. Advanced searching
lets you specify lawyer or firm name and city, state, country, specialty,
and language. Click on a name for a synopsis of an attorney's legal career.
Hoover's Online
An excellent resource for getting a snapshot of any company out there,
Hoover's harbors info on some 13,500 public and private companies worldwide.
Type in a company name, ticker symbol, keyword, or person's last name and
get a company capsule that contains basic info, plus a synopsis of company
history, a current stock quote, sales and sales growth data, net income,
number of company employees, names of corporate officers, and CEO bios.
For a $12.95 monthly membership fee, take advantage of advanced searching
capabilities and more.
http://www.companiesonline.com/
Computer Magazine Archive
Can't remember where you saw that article about the hot new scanner?
ZDNet's Computer Magazine Archive lets you search more than 200,000 computer-related
articles and abstracts from over 200 industry publications. You can search
on keywords to pull up story titles, synopses, and dates, but access to
the articles themselves--the chief charm of membership--costs $69.95 for
an annual subscription.
OneLook Dictionaries
Even the heftiest Webster's will seem like a slender volume next to
OneLook. Here you'll find an index of almost 2 million words from several
hundred dictionaries, many of which harbor not just definitions but pronounciation
guides, antonyms, synonyms, and rhymes. Enter a term into a keyword box
(you can use wild cards for unknown letters) to retrieve a list of dictionary
names and descriptions, each accompanied by a link to your word. Stephen
Sondheims of the world, take note: Where else will you find 38 rhymes for
nonplussed?
Forum One
If you want to keep up with what people are saying about your company
online, don't forget to check Web discussion forums. Search over 225,000
forum discussions by keyword or general-interest topic. Returns usually
provide a link to the latest message posted as well as one to the forum
host for easy access to registration. Advanced searching lets you employ
simple Boolean operators (AND, OR, and AND NOT) to narrow your search.
NetNames USA
You may not specialize in hot gossip, but for 50 bucks, you can do what
Matt Drudge did on February 14, 1997, and register your own domain name.
Search here to determine the availability of a name, which if free can
be registered from the site itself. You can also search on the name of
any nonmilitary or nongovernment site to determine who registered it and
when the site was created.
MapQuest
Get door-to-door directions to any spot in the U.S. without sacrificing
an ounce of pride at a midjunket service station stop. Simply enter the
addresses of your origin and destination to retrieve a turn-by-turn map
as well as a text description of your journey, complete with the mileage
of each leg. Advanced door-to-door options let you avoid routes involving
major highways, local streets, ramps, and alleys.
http://www.mapblast.com/mapblast/start.hm
Filez
An index of more than 7,000 FTP servers and the millions of files they
contain, Filez lets you access freeware and shareware archives, locate
the latest version of your favorite programs, and find graphics, movie,
and sound files. Search using a keyword box and drop-down lists that let
you specify OS and file type. Returns comprise lists of matching filenames,
complete with descriptions and date and size info. Click on a filename
to retrieve a directory listing and to download locations and file data.
Company Finder
http://xlink.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/cofinder/cofinder/
Need the basics on the next IPO highflier or that industry kingpin?
ZDNet's Company Finder furnishes profiles of more than 4,700 high-tech
companies. Search on company name or product category or browse companies
alphabetically, selecting from a string of letters. Returns are packed
with information ranging from the latest stock quote and quarterly income
statement to a list of other products the company makes.
The List
Change your Internet service provider (ISP) as often as you change your
socks? You need The List, a buyers' guide to almost 5,000 ISPs across the
U.S. and Canada. Click on an area code to retrieve a list of providers,
replete with information on service speed and dedicated-service compatibility.
Click on one to access fee, phone, and Web site info. A keyword box on
the front page is provided, but the search function is faulty: Searching
on MindSpring and EarthLink, for example, turned up nothing.
The CareerBuilder Network
These virtual want ads let you specify job location, description, and
salary requirements from drop-down lists and enter any specifics into a
keyword box. Each drop-down box provides an "any" option, so you can search
on, for example, all the available programming jobs in Ohio. Click on a
listing for a more detailed description, as well as the option to e-mail
a potential employer your resume.
Project Vote Smart
If you suspect your elected officials have performed more flips than
an Olympic gymnast, check out this site, which tracks the performance of
more than 13,000 political leaders including governors, members of Congress,
the president, and state legislators. Here you'll find biographies, campaign-funding
info, positions on issues, and voting records. Links to other online resources
help you expand your search.
TeleWorth
http://www.teleworth.com/scripts/pbisa050.dll/lattice/service_broker/request_service
As this site will tell you, there are hundreds of long-distance companies
besides AT&T, MCI, and Sprint, but we don't hear about them because
they don't call during dinner every night. The site's TeleRate comparison
engine culls its data on the big 3 (and 497 of their counterparts) to hook
you up with the best carrier for you. Enter your area code and prefix,
then use your latest phone bill to enter numbers dialed, the time of day
for each call, and what you were charged. The site returns a list of rate
plans, with easy links to sign up or acquire more information.
Liszt
Want to join a mailing list dedicated to Microsoft? "Ally McBeal?" Portugal?
Classical music? Look no further than Liszt, a gamut-spanning directory
of more than 90,000 mailing lists worldwide. Search on a keyword or browse
a portal-like array of general categories to pull up a list of names and
links to subscriber info. Limit your search with advanced search options
such as wildcards.
Medical World Search
If it hurts when you do this, search this selected index of nearly 100,000
medical sites for articles and documents. Synonyms are automatically searched
as well, so colon cancer, for example, will return all occurrences of colon
carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the colon. At the top of the returns list
is usually a link to the term or phrase itself, which you can click to
view a definition, description of relevant symptoms, and list of synonyms.
Deja News
Your road map to the complicated hierarchy of newsgroups, Deja News
lets you search on a keyword to pull up a list of postings ordered by date
or browse portal-style channels to find forums on favorite topics. Power
searching lets you specify subject, forum, author, and date, as well as
sort by one of five parameters. Registering with the My Deja News service
automatically subscribes you to forums that match your interests.
http://www.remarq.com/default/main.pl
ClassMates and PlanetAll
http://www.classmates.com/
http://www.planetall.com/mainSplash.asp
Wonder whatever happened to your old high-school sweetheart? These sites specialize in helping you locate, if not old friends, then at least people who share your alma mater. Both maintain hefty memberships, which you can search according to high school, and PlanetAll extends the approach by letting you search also on university, graduate school, and employer. At Classmates, contact info will cost you $20 for 36 months of service, while PlanetAll e-mails the people you'd like to contact to see if they'd agree to exchanging personal info.
Also
http://www.sixdegrees.com/
On Now and Yahoo! Net Events
http://www.onnow.com/
http://events.yahoo.com/
Fifty-seven channels and nothing on? Try your TV Guides for the Web.
Both sites let you search on keyword, and On Now gives you a home page
with a list of events transpiring at the moment. Each provides links to
today's events, as well as ongoing happenings, and each also lets you browse
broad topics. Returns at each site comprise lists of event names, synopses,
and dates, but only On Now gives you times up front.
WhoWhere? Personal Home Page LookUp
http://homepages.whowhere.com/
Can't remember whether your friends planted their Web stake at GeoCities,
at Tripod, or through their ISPs? This directory of personal home pages
can help. You can use a keyword box to search on name, interest, or affiliation,
or browse an assortment of categories such as languages, occupations, schools,
and universities. Keyword searching pulls up a list of pages containing
your term or phrase--however peripherally--complete with a page description
and link.
KnowX
Save yourself a trip to the county records office digging through musty
files. After registering, you can search on any name to access a database
of residences, death records, home values, and home buyers and sellers.
You can also conduct what amounts to a background check, unearthing lawsuits,
judgments, liens, UCC filings, and bankruptcies on anyone. And that's not
all: You can also retrieve a business's corporate and sales tax records,
verify professional licenses and executive affiliations, and identify property
ownership and value. Such access will cost you, however: Per-record prices
start at about a dollar.
Edgar Online
Want to know what's really going on at that company in which you're investing? Cybernet's Edgar Online provides access to real-time filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. An online counterpart to the government-run Edgar, which supplies the site with records, Edgar Online provides the full text of filings as well as related info like executive profiles. Advanced searching lets you retrieve a specific form, or all forms within a given date parameter. For-fee services (starting at $9.95 per month) let you access today's filings, receive e-mail notification of new filings, and more.
Same category
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
AccuWeather
http://www.accuweather.com/weatherf/index_corp
Access weather around the corner or around the globe. Enter a U.S. city or ZIP code to retrieve a five-day forecast, accompanied by satellite photos and a link to conditions for the week. Clicking on World pulls up satellite images of regions beyond and drop-down lists of countries and cities. If you are truly weather-obsessed, for $39.95 a year you can access ten-day and hour-by-hour forecasts to plan that weekend getaway or that golf game.
Same category
Weather.com
http://www.weather.com/twc/homepage.twc
Switchboard
Search for businesses nationwide by entering a category in a keyword box or selecting from a drop-down list containing numerous classifications from accountant to wrecker. Then indicate any combination of business name, street, state, and ZIP. Returns comprise business names, addresses, and phone numbers, and each entry comes with easy links to maps and driving directions.
Same category
Zip2
United States Postal Service ZIP Code Lookup
Your letter carrier will love you if you use the services of this site, which retrieves a nine-digit ZIP code for any address you enter. Returns also include county name and, in case you were curious, carrier route number and route delivery points. There's also a section where you can access all the ZIP codes serving a specified city and vice versa.
Same category
ZipInfo