« July 2006 | Main | September 2006 »
Google Books is now allowing people to download full copies of books that are no longer under copyright. Their old policy was to allow viewing of these books online, but now users can download PDF versions of classic books, including Shakespeare and Dante. Just do a normal search on Google Books and then select Full View.
TechBargains is a site that offers lists of the best deals on technology. You can browse the site by category, coupons, or rebates. The site also offers an RSS feed for current headlines and an email newsletter. Additionally, you can do specific searches for products you are interested in.
LiteralSystems offers free audio books that range from folktales to poetry to classic literature. Very nice.
Suggestica is a site that offers recommendations for books, audio and video from the perspective of authorities in specific disciplines, including marketing, sales, entrepreneurship, self-help, and strategy. The authorities are big name authors in their fields and the suggested books are a fascinating look at popular business culture.
whocalled.us is a website that lists phone calls from strangers where the caller ID says "Name Unavailable." The site has lists of the callers who call the most, the numbers that have the most comments, and the states that get the most calls. All of the lists have the top of all time and the top for the last seven days. You can also click on Who Is Calling to get a map and reported numbers. People are welcome to add to the database of numbers as well as add their comments about the identity of the callers.
evhead: Podcasting Site Roundup is a list of the more popular podcast directories and services. Using the Alexa rankings for sites, they are then listed from top ranking to lower. This is a useful list that captures the state of podcast sites right now. Perhaps you will learn about sites you didn't know about, or just learn more about the world of podcasting. Either way, you benefit.
NativeWeb is a site focusing on information for and about Native Americans. You can find news, articles on people and places, over 5000 online resources, hundreds of recommended books and videos, and much more.
LearnThat is a site that offers free online computer tutorials and classes. Subjects include websites, Windows, spyware, hardware, certifications, Word, and digital cameras.
Beloit College does a Mindset List each year that reveals the mindset of the incoming Freshman class. It is great fun as well as very interesting to see how differently these young people see the world. Additionally, you can listen to the Wisconsin Public Radio broadcast about the List on At Issue with Ben Merens.
Here are some telling facts for the mindset of the Class of 2010:
The Soviet Union has never existed.
There has only been one Germany.
"Google" has always been a verb.
Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.
They have always been searching for Waldo.
Womenshealth.gov is a government site from the National Women's Health Information Center of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The site has information on health topics, organizations, online tools to aid in health maintenance, and a site dedicated to girls' health as well.
Docuticker is a blog that has hand-selected resources from government agencies, think tanks and public interest organizations. You can sign up for daily updates or the weekly newsletter via email, or read it in blog format via an RSS feed. Subjects cover a wide range including international, consumer, travel, media, technology, education, social and cultural issues, business, and law.
Inside Cancer is a visually stunning site that allows you to understand the biology of cancer. The site includes the hallmarks of cancer, causes and prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and finally the way that cancer functions at a cellular level. Fascinating.
Cool! Adobe has a Customer Showcase that has a Site of the Day. The showcase is browsable by product used, or you can select an industry or project type to browse. It can also be searched by keyword. This is a good site to bookmark for finding new websites.
Anyone who has downloaded updates online has downloaded at least one update they regretted. OldVersion.com is a site that maintains downloads of old versions of software, so that you can revert back to a previous version that works better for you than the new one. Files include AOL Instant Messenger, Kazaa Lite, WinZip, Skype, Trillian, Eudora, Firefox, IE, DirectX, and iTunes. Very handy!
Seth Godin has a very nice list of Web 2.0 companies and how they rank for web traffic. Warning, the list is LONG with over 900 sites on it. But even for casual viewers, the top-ranked sites can offer a glimpse into the Web 2.0 world.
Doing citations for papers can be confusing, but this site makes it much easier. Just choose which format you wish to have the citation in, MLA or APA. From there you choose the type of material you are citing, including books, magazines, newspapers, web sites, online resources, or encyclopedias. Enter the information in the given fields and the website does the rest, providing correct punctuation and formatting.
This mathematics site offers printable graph paper, links to recommended math sites, TI calculator help, and notes on college algebra, pre-calculus, calculus, geometry and discrete mathematics.
SlickDeals.net is a site that offers information on discounts, coupons, and other online deals at the top stores. The site lets you browsse by category, latest deals, alphabetized lists, expiring soon, or read the forums to discover even more deals or ways to save money. It also has an RSS feed to subscribe to.
X-Entertainment is an entertainment, pop-culture site with more than a little attitude, style and sense of fun. It covers current pop-culture blended with a strong 80s vibe with articles on '80s movies, toys and TV shows. It also has a blog to add to your RSS reader.
Performancing has an interesting new service that they just announced: Performancing Exchange. The service is a classified ad style site for bloggers. You can post to add bloggers to your site, advertise to sell and existing blog, or throw your own credentials out there and see if someone hires you.
McAfee SiteAdvisor is a handy way for people browsing the Internet to steer away from spyware, malware, and online scam sites. Available for both Firefox (as a plugin) and IE, a button that changes color as you browse to warn you of issues is added to the browser window. I tend to scavenge around the Internet to find sites for this blog, so this is a welcome addition to my browser. But anyone who uses the Net knows the problem of a computer clogged by malware and spyware. This seems like a small step to take from a reputable company to try to stay away from problematic sites before your computer becomes infected.
NetSquirrel.com is a site filled with information on computers, security issues, troubleshooting, and wireless. Visit the section on How-To Articles for user-friendly guides on making your computer run faster and better. The Internet Tourbus is a free email newsletter you can subscribe to in order to stay abreast of these issues as well.
ThemeParker.com is a site that has news and reviews of theme parks and their rides. Theme parks from around the world are included. You can also join in the conversation on the active forums.
Teaching History With Technology is a site that offers resources, recommended links and workshops for K-12 history and social studies teachers on how to integrate technology into their curriculum and classrooms.
Bookwormz is a site that lets you search for independent booksellers in your area. Just put in your zip code, city or state and then say the radius of your search in miles. Independent booksellers can add themselves to the database.
Whoa! This blog has been mentioned on Walt Crawford's Cites & Insights 6:10 - Looking at Liblogs article. Way cool! I must admit that I read his last list longingly, but never expected to be included on any future lists.
So it looks like both of my blogs are part of "The Great Middle." Hey, am I the only one on the list with two blogs featured? This blog scores high in number of posts and also gets a mention for being so terse. Golly, I had better stop typing in order to preserve that honor. ;)
A big thank you to Walt for reaching beyond those well-known bloggers and finding those of us just blogging away in our own niches. I am honored to be included.
Teachnology is a site that helps teachers integrate technology into their classrooms. You will find lesson plans, printables, rubrics, tips, recommended games and downloads, Webquests and thousands of reviewed sites.
Car Seat Compatibility Listing is a site that tells you what type of seat offers the best protection for children, what features to look for in a seat, how to install you seat correctly, a database that tells whether the seat you wish to purchase will fit in your vehicle, and a FAQ.
The Renewable Planet is an online resource covering renewable energy projects around the world. The site can be searched by country, state/province, and type of project (biomass, solar, wind or other). In addition, there are more filters that allow even more narrow searches. If you know of a project not listed on the site, you can have it added.
Bookyards is a site that is filled with over ten thousand eBooks, links to websites, and news and blog links as well. You can browse the eBook collection by title or author, or do a keyword search. The keyword search can also be done on the website, news and blog links. This is a site with a lot of depth that takes some time to explore.
Cool! Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, has his own blog on NationalGeographic.com. You will find his take on the latest episodes as well as discussions about his techniques to rehabilitate dogs and train owners.
BritCaster.com is a podcast directory that features British podcasts. Latest podcasts are featured in a blog list, and are available via RSS feed. Or you can find a favorite on the list and click for their most recent cast.
The Physics Front is a website for K-12 teachers of physics. It offers a special section for new teachers, a laboratory survival manual, measurement section, and much more.
WorldCat has a cool beta search screen for the public (and us librarians) to use. It is clean, clear and sweet. Even better, it has a keyword search and doesn't get all caught up in Boolean and other confusing search terms that baffle patrons. Does this mean that libraries will begin to think that perhaps Amazon has not been wrong all this time with its keyword search? Let's hope so! In any event, this is a site worth knowing about.
ZapZap allows you to select your favorite podcasts, create a channel of all of them to listen to, and then subscribe to the channel via RSS feed. Even if you don't want to create a channel, the site is great for finding popular podcasts.
Mashable* is a blog that covers social software and Web 2.0. This is a great blog for people interested in Web 2.0 to subscribe to. It covers new launches of Web 2.0 sites as well as changes to popular sites like MySpace. Great stuff!
Wisdom Quotes is a website that offers quotations. But this site does it a little differently. They focus on quotations that are "challenging or inspiring or interesting." You can do a keyword search or browse quotes using the huge list of categories.
YellowPages.ca is a yellow pages directory for Canada. This is definitely a site for us northern librarians to be aware of as many of our patrons travel to our neighbor to the north.
Looking for a site filled with really deep information on dinosaurs and other prehistoric life? Then Paleautonomy.com is the place for you. This is not a children's site filled with glossy colorful pictures, but a site with information on famous paleontologists, fossils, evolution, dinosaurs, and the "extinction event."
Kidscom.com is a site filled with online games, chat, polls, webtoons, e-pals, music, jokes, and much more for children, all done with a fun feel.
The Christy Award is an award given to the top Christian fiction of the year. The 2006 winners have been announced and features a variety of genres within Christian fiction including contemporary, historical, romance, and suspense.
YES.com is a very cool and useful site. Enter your zipcode or the call letters of the radio station you are interested in, and they will show you what songs have been played in the last 24 hours. Did you hear a song and can't remember the artist or song title? This is the way to find that out. Additionally, you can click on any of the songs to purchase them from iTunes. Very nice!