Top 100 Web Sites on the internet

If you got a few hours to kill, it's extremely fun to walk through all 100 top web sites named by PC Magazine.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2328651,00.asp

I am a big fan of Google Gmail, Calendar, Documents, Reader, and many more.
I can't go through all 100 and weed it down to my top 25, go through and read for yourself.

A few great ones:
Addicting Games
Project Gutenburg (Free downloadable books)
Yelp - Reviews by the people, restaurants & more
Trulia - Great Real Estate research site (trends, foreclosures, for sale)
Page on Technology in PC Mag is a must walk through

Art, Pictures, Wallpaper

With my 22" LCD monitor I like to have nice desktop wallpaper to greet me everyday.
There are many sites you can get pictures from, but be careful! Many sites offer wallpaper programs that are used for malicious reasons and could result in virus infection and stealing your identity.

Of course, my list of web sites have none of these issues and are completely safe. :)

First, For MicroSoft XP users, you can download and install a program called "Wallpaper Changer" to automatically change your wallpaper background every x minutes. I have mine set to 30:

Next, browse sites and download images until you puke!
NOTE: I recommend always getting max resolution for your screen, even above what your monitor can handle. The screen changer will resize downward to fit. In the future, when you upgrade your computer, your images will have the additional detail needed.

Free High Resolution Wallpaper (link set to widescreen)
Digital Blasphemy, computer art
Blog entry on collection of wallpaper images

Great pics, all shapes, sizes, topics and many can be used for wallpaper
DeviantArt
Nasa Picture Library

I don't like Flickr, but its popular, not able to find pictures by size easily
http://www.flickr.com/

Second American Revolution Video

Not exactly a fun, neutral topic for this blog.
But I found the video interesting, made me think, figure I'd share.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFKGrmsBDk
Kinda rings of my theme in my financial blog, but not about finance, more of a macro rant on America's direction.

In any event, I don't agree with everything the video states, but good to watch to think.

Online Game I play

A few friends of mine play Quake 3 Arena every Wednesday night at 9:30pm to 11pm
If your interested, contact me, I can give you the disks you need to play.
For more information, visit our Wiki by clicking here

Soon there will be a NEW Quake called "Quake Live".
It will be Free (nice price) and playable through your web browser.
For more information click here
We may or may not switch to the new version when available.

Watch TV on your Laptop or PC

There are three basic devices to allow you to watch TV on your PC.

Direct Cable converter attached to a specific computer.
Pro's
Cheap
Does not "take over" existing cable box or DVR (it is a tuner)
Con's
Attached to the actual cable wire and to a specific PC.
Cannot view remotely (out of the house) and cannot use on a laptop and move around the house
Cannot watch encrypted channels (such as HBO)
Example devices:
Click for example USB Controlled defice (laptop/Desktop) 80 buck range
Click for example Card put inside your desktop (not compatible with laptop) 30 buck range

Networked Video

This device will allow ANY PC on your network to watch Cable TV. (130 bucks)
Click for example Device, 130 to 170 bucks

Pro's
Can operate on any PC and on mobile laptop.
Does NOT take over your DVR, Cable box, etc, the device has it's own TV Tuner.
Con's
Not able to view video outside your home.
Does NOT allow you to see content on your DVR and cannot view encrypted channels like HBO.

PlaceShifting Video

This device allows you to remotely control a DVR, Cable Box, DVD, VHS, etc from anywhere in the world
(Obviously DVD/VHS need local access to put tape/DVD in player)

Pro's
Can operate on any PC, anywhere in the world
Does allow you to see DVR content, encrypted channels, etc.
High Definition Video
Can even watch TV on certain cell phones!
Eventually allowed to remotely control through other TV's (click)
Con's
Required to take over an existing DVR or Cable box, this can cause conflicts with other people in the house.

Click for example device, cost about 180 to 200 bucks

Breakthrough in Facial Computerization

This company uses computers to analyze movements of actors to create virtual people.
Take a look, amazing.
http://www.awntv.com/videos/image-metrics-emily-project

Emily is a computer generated image, NOT actually a person image (except at very end)

Places to get Information on the internet

General News stories
Digg - News that is voted "worthy" by readers bubbles to the top of the homepage of Digg
http://digg.com/

Slashdot - Moderated news that is determined "worthy" by selected readers (similiar to Digg, but centralized control)
http://slashdot.org/

Google News - from world sources, organized and headlines based upon number of reporting agencies
http://news.google.com/

McClatchy - Old school newspaper online, with more depth than average reprint news
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/

Engadget - Like gadgets? Keep up with latest Gadget news
http://www.engadget.com/

Wikipedia - Need facts or definitions? THE place for "defining" words, phrases, people, and places
http://www.wikipedia.org/

Online Stores with good prices

NewEgg.com - Best place to buy Computer Equipment and Electronics
http://www.newegg.com/

MonoPrice - By far cheapest place to purchase cables
http://www.monoprice.com/

MediaOutlet - Cheap place to get blank CD, DVD's, etc.
http://www.allmediaoutlet.com/

VitaCost - Cheap place to buy vitamins
http://www.vitacost.com/

Audio Books - I love this place! Download onto computer, ipod, whatever.
http://www.audible.com/

Ebay - Always good to check Ebay for current pricing
http://www.ebay.com/

Amazon - Can't beat Amazon for prices on many items
http://www.amazon.com/

Finding good deals on the internet

There are a few sites I have found over the years that have been exceptional for finding good deals on items.

Dealnews.com - By far my favorite site to check everyday.
http://dealnews.com/

Woot.com - Lists One item per day (typically) at typically lowest price on the internet.
http://www.woot.com/

WOW Coupons - Before going to the store, print out a coupon and save!
http://www.wow-coupons.com/all-printable-retail-coupons.php

Deal Coupon - OnLine Coupon codes and print out coupons
http://dealnews.com/coupons/

Find best deals on travel using travel zoo super search across multiple sites
http://supersearch.travelzoo.com/

Top 20 deals on TravelZoo
http://top20.travelzoo.com/

Welcome to Internet NotePad

Anything of "note" that I come across I will blog here.
Anything from where to get a good deal on an item, to cool video, new game, whatever.