Just three years into life on the Web, we take for granted that whatever we want is somewhere online-emphasis on "somewhere." But while it may be comforting to know that libraries of human knowledge have been digitized (including the wisdom of the ages at www.wisdom.com), the search process is more maddening than ever. Hundreds of thousands of new pages hit the Web every year, yet search engines haven't improved much at sifting the wheat from the chaff. What's more, searching with different engines, be it an Infoseek or a Yahoo, can bring you alarmingly divergent and unrelated results.

It's a small wonder that 1997 has been the Year of the Packager. We've seen the rise of push services that automatically select, format, and deliver Web information directly to your desktop. There's been a boom in mini-Yahoos-sites like Digital City and Microsoft Sidewalk, which cull local Web offerings and ostensibly give you the cream of the local crop. Along with companies that use intelligent software agents to unearth Web gold, sites like The Mining Company (www.miningco.com) use actual human guides (i.e., editors) to find and point out fabulous sites by topic. They update and add new ones regularly. And of course, there's Yahoo, the original and still overwhelmingly popular Web catalog.

But as the packagers have discovered, there's way too much out there to keep up with. As a result, traditional catalogers like Yahoo offer fairly sophisticated Web search tools, filters, and intelligent agents, while traditional search engines like Infoseek offer more and more edited catalogs. And more and more sites-especially directories like Bigfoot (www.bigfoot.com)-offer free email accounts and more. The aim, of course, is to keep you entirely within a site's fold. You can search the Web, send email, get news, find an address, and check your stock portfolio.

Of course, no single packager-or collection of packagers-can uncover all the gems amidst the glorious chaos that is the Web. That's why we're here. What follows is our Best of the Web, a polished collection of sites that emphasize business, plus a few divergent realms for those times when you want to let your hair down.

ONLINE TRAINING

I was happily surprised to find how well training-whether it's learning new applications and Web techniques or studying more traditional subjects-lends itself to being online. I found numerous sites where you can take courses and learn useful subjects in a systematic, self-paced way. And you don't have to hassle with traffic or parking, either.

Digital Think
www.digitalthink.com

Here's the most appealing online school I've found. Digital Think offers a variety of self-paced courses ranging from Adobe Photoshop and Internet searching to wine-tasting and personal finance. Prices range from $40 to $80 per course, and depending on the technical material and exercises required, you'll need anywhere from 4 to 30 hours to finish. In addition to tuition, some classes require a book. All are taught by experts in their particular field. Read the course outline and the specific class goals before you sign up.

University of California Extension Online
www-cmil.unex.berkeley.edu/online/

UC's extensive adult education program has taken the online plunge, offering a variety of college-credit classes and certificate programs available on the Web site and through AOL (keyword: UCAOL). Classes range from short workshops to semester-long courses on topics including technical writing, quality management, computer science, film history, creative writing, world religion, environmental studies, economics, politics, and more. There are two drawbacks: The fees are steep ($100 to $500 per class), and finals must be taken at the university with a qualified proctor.

InterNIC 15-Minute Series
rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/

This site uses a slide show approach to giving you the scoop on Internet tools and technology, from Net history to using search services. If you really want to delve into packets, TCP/IP, or protocols, this is probably as painless an introduction as you'll find. You can view the training modules in HTML or PowerPoint. This series is excellent if you need to train someone in your office on a basic aspect of the Net.

ZDNet University
www.zdu.com

Venerable computer megapublisher Ziff-Davis has put together an intriguing (and little-known) service called ZDU. For $4.95 per month, you can register for as many four- to eight-week classes as you like, covering computer topics such as JavaScript, C++, HTML, Photoshop, NT System Administration, Visual Basic, and several desktop applications. An instructor gives weekly assignments which are posted on message boards. Most classes require you to buy a specific book and use shareware or freeware.

Cheltenham Computer Training
www.cctglobal.com

If you like the comfort of a manual sitting nearby as you suss out the finer points of Word, Excel, Windows, OS/2, Access, or PowerPoint, check out this site. Cheltenham offers some 25 courses in programming and business applications, which you download in PDF format. You can't view the courses online, but you can download samples and view course outlines and descriptions.

Windweaver Web and Windows Resources
www.windweaver.com

Tracy Marks offers in-person Windows and Internet training in the Boston area, but at her site you can pick up more than a few tips plus a handy Windows 95 manual (with exercises) online.

Introduction to HTML
www.its.unimelb.edu.au/courses/publish/HTML/IntroHTML.html

From the University of Melbourne comes this helpful step-by-step guide to HTML 3.2. Each section, ranging from tags and tables to multimedia objects and hypertext, features explanations and exercises. You can participate online or download the course.

The Internet Guide
www.fis.utoronto.ca/conted/bytitle/guide.htm

This friendly University of Toronto online course covers seven areas: Netscape Navigator, communication, shopping, research, software, Internet basics, and discussion groups. Buy a six-month password for US$50 and you can take sections at your leisure. A just-added second class covers how to use agents, bookmarks, newletters, push, and other technologies.

The Internet: Applications and Implications
www.hamilton.edu/html/academic/compsci/cs149/

Hamilton College, a small school in upstate New York, offers computer science class lectures and links online, covering topics including email, Usenet, HTML, e-commerce, and social policy (freedom of speech, media monopolization). Though designed for Hamilton students, it is useful for informed Net cruisers.

BAY AREA CAREER AND JOB SITES

Thanks to the Internet, there's been a boom in high-tech jobs in the Bay Area. And thanks to the Internet, there are hundreds of general resources for job seekers, from job listings to resumé tips to interviewing help. Here are some sites dedicated to our little corner of the cyberuniverse.

Bay Area Jobs
www.sonic.net/cory/ba_jobs.html

This site claims to provide more than 1,000 pages of Bay area job resources. My brief trip confirmed many worthwhile links, including regional and national job banks, publications, placement firms, and more. You'll also find ads for local technical job fairs and classifieds from various local and regional newspapers' job listings.

Craig's List
www.cnewmark.com

Craig Newmark is a helpful San Francisco software guy who started posting job announcements for the wired set a couple of years ago. His site now lists hundreds of current Bay Area technology jobs, housing situations (mostly for those looking, not providing), consultant and for-hire notices, and events (you could have sold those extra Burning Man tickets here). This is an excellent site to visit regularly; you can also get listings via email.

Data Processing Independent Consultants' Exchange
www.dice.com/gateway.html

For the data processors, engineers, and technical writers in the crowd, DICE lets you advertise your availability to more than 600 companies in a twice-weekly emailing. You can also link to the sites of almost all the companies that subscribe to DICE.

Dream Jobs
www.hotwired.com/dreamjobs/

Dream Jobs is a multipart site with numerous recent job listings. Most are technical Internet jobs. You'll find threaded discussion about jobs, news about companies that are hiring, and eager candidates. The daily job listings (searchable by location, industry, or company) are written like short features, giving you a little more color and detail than you'd find in a classified. Check out The Greener Grass List, a link from the main Dream Jobs pages with snapshots of "our favorite companies" (read: the coolest ones).

E.span
www.espan.com

This is a more generic job site for employers and job seekers, with many useful links to job-hunting resources; articles on networking, resumé writing, career fairs, and special employment needs; and links to the most popular, generic job-hunting sites. Check out the Salary Calculator, which lets you compare salaries by state. E.span is a useful addition to a job-seeker's bookmarks.

Hot Jobs
www.hotjobs.com

Add your resumé or search jobs by keywords, location (Australia or United States), or company in the site's broadly defined fields: computer/technical, financial/accounting, or marketing/sales. There's a form you can fill out to post your resumé, which you can password-protect. A test search for San Francisco jobs found nearly 60 in less than five seconds. There's a fast engine under this hood.

Information Center Career Search
www.greatinfo.com/business_cntr/career.html

This is a handy page of links to major job search sites, from Monsterboard to the Online Career Center to Exec-U-Net. It's an easy way to methodically jump to a wide variety of sites and listings. Note: The quality varies.

Top 100 Electronic Recruiters
www.interbiznet.com/eeri

Here are links galore for the job-seeker, the human resources professional, and the recruiter. You may post or read resumés, scan information about jobs and companies, get employment advice or recruiting information, and jump to job listings and directly to company sites. An excellent list of the top 100 job-hunting resources is supplied. There's a lot of meat here, so try to ignore the confusing ads and buttons that litter the page.

What Color Is Your Parachute/Job Hunting Online
www.washingtonpost.com/parachute

Dick Bolles' book may be 20 years old, but it's still the bible of career shifters. Even better, the online job site Bolles has created with the Washington Post has the best collection of employment links I've found. There's everything from resumé help to career gateway sites to job listing areas to career counseling. Bookmark this site if you're considering a career change; you'll use it a lot.

ONLINE HELP

Using a computer is so simple, you never need a manual, right? And when you do, it answers all your questions. Of course. And Bob Dole won the '96 election. Luckily, when your own resources fail you, online help can come to your rescue-if you know where to look.

A Beta Tomorrow
www.igoldrush.com/beta/

For the avid Win95 user who dreams of beta testing-and perhaps improving-new software, A Beta Tomorrow is nirvana. Maybe. Once you sign up via email, you can download and try out prereleased products and get email about updates, features, and extra offers. The site is brand new, so a list of beta programs aren't yet published. The same site pitches companies to join the beta program for marketing purposes, so expect that targeted information will come your way.

A Kinder, Gentler HTML Validator
ugWeb.cs.ualberta.ca/~gerald/validate/

Wow! An easy way to double-check your HTML 3.2 or 4.0 code. Just enter the URL of a page you've coded or want to study and stand by for an incredibly detailed report on the page's compliance with established HTML standards, coding errors, syntax discrepancies, and more. There's a helpful FAQ and links to HTML sites and other Web-building tools.

Builder.Com
www.builder.com

This new c|net service is geared toward Webmasters and Web mavens. You'll find downloadable tools, help files, plug-ins, reviews, news, and timely articles on programming, graphic design, servers and hardware, and technical Web trends.

Creating a Successful Web Site
www.hooked.net/~larrylin/Web.htm

Thank you, Larry Lin, for putting together a great annotated site. It has a lot of Web building tips; links to great sites, such as Doctor HTML and GIF Wizard; and a site that critiques your site for free. This is a real public service and it's easy to use.

Cyberspace Law Institute
www.cli.org

Are you worried about online copyright issues? How about corporate email policies, trademark control, liability for network system failures, or spamming? Go directly to the CLI, a consortium of lawyers working on Internet law issues, and dig in. You'll find an immensely helpful set of documents and readings on virtually every intellectual property and Internet-related issue you may face.

Dan's World
www.danworld.com

Dan Piparo is "a professional Internet surfer and video gamer," and that's lucky for us, because his site is packed with tons of programs, utilities, patches, and tips, mostly for Windows 95 users. Everything is smartly categorized so you'll seldom get lost.

The Geek Guide to the Web
www.rentageek.com/resources.html

This is a handy roundup of links to technical and business support sites. On the programming side, you can get help with Unix, Windows, the Mac, Web publishing, and more. On the latter, you'll find sites that help you solve marketing, job search, and consulting conundrums. It's geared toward the "geek consultant," but anyone can join the fun by sending in URLs fitting these categories, which makes for an even better hotlist.

Healthy PC
www.healthypc.com

ZDNet and Symantec have teamed up to create a site with software, articles, tips (all free), and a paid service ($4.95 per month) that maintains your PC's health with virus scans, software updates, patches, and drivers.

ICQ
www.mirabilis.com/index.html

ICQ ("I seek you," get it?) is a net-wide version of the AOL Buddy List. Download the free software, create your list of net pals (who need the ICQ software, natch), and wait for those messages to flash at you. ICQ facilitates real-time fun like scheduled game-playing, online meetings, and chats. ICQ also offers tools that let Webmasters create chat and message areas on their sites. The software is only available for Windows 3.1, 95, and NT, but Mac and Java versions are supposedly imminent.

Intel Secrets: What Intel Doesn't Want You to Know
www.x86.org

Robert Collins is described as a "noted Intel antagonist," and it shows in this ambitious and Ÿber-nerdy site. Do you want Intel motherboard manuals, data sheets, or secrets about Intel architecture? The latest Pentium bug, perhaps? Step right up. Collins and other contributors provide commentary, workarounds, programming tricks, links, and FAQs for every aspect of that chip inside. As Collins gleefully notes, his Web site's title alone infuriates Intel. Just in case you were wondering.

JavaMan.com
www.javaman.com

Do you have Java on your mind? Javaman is an earnest and helpful compilation of information on all things Java: developer information, conferences, news, jobs, and more. Javaman Sean Bowes promises that step-by-step examples and even source code are soon to appear.

Mediazine
www.mediazine.com

Mediazine has one of the most annoying frame setups around (it can also crash your browser), but the information and help offered are worth the teeth-gnashing. Mediazine offers articles on multimedia basics, downloadable files, and tutorials on Macromedia Director, HTML, JavaScript, PageMill, Illustrator, and Photoshop. There are also short reviews of authoring tools and graphic, texture, and video applications. Free software is available to people who join the mailing list. This is a helpful, friendly site. If only they would dump the frames!

Microsoft Support
www.microsoft.com/support/

"Thousands of engineers standing by" is how Microsoft describes its tech support site. Whatever the claims, it's still a good place to find help files, "service packs" (read: bug fixes), FAQs, searchable databases, and product data. It's also a place to send your questions about umpteen Microsoft products.

Navas 28800-56K Modem FAQ
www.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.htm

Independent computer consultant John Navas loves to share information. His instructive, plain-language site about PC modems is packed with tutorials, news about who's making what, updates on upgrades and new releases, troubleshooting tips, and more. He doesn't provide tech support or endorse products, but perhaps this site is all the more useful as a result.

Network Professionals Resource Center
www.inetassist.com/urlidx.htm

This helpful roundup of links leads to sites covering ATM, telecom and Net tools, Novell resources, standards organizations, ISDN, Internet technical resources, and more. It's a handy bookmark.

Top 50 Winsock Apps
www.deerfield.net/top50/

"These Internet applications are among the best available," claims this folksy site. "Get 'em now or risk being a pathetic loser." Well, everyone wants to be a winner, so browse the site for all sorts of cool agents, email programs, HTML editors, and Telnet utilities. Each download file is clearly marked with size, date, choice of 32- or 16-bit version (when available), links to developers or publishers, and a rating. Try 'em all and nominate your favorite.

Windows 95 Annoyances
www.creativelement.com/win95ann/
O'Reilly Associates publishes a lot of good books. Even better, it has built Web sites with tips and information culled from various tomes. Its new Annoyances series kicked off with our favorite operating system, Windows 95. Seek this site for troubleshooting help, software drivers, workarounds, and links to other helpful Windows and Net resources.

BUSINESS NEWSLETTERS

There is a rich reservoir of information on the Web for marketers, developers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and just about everyone else making her way through the business jungle. Some are emailed to you, and some are Web sites. All offer useful or instructive help in every area of business and professional life.

Bay Area Internet Users Group
www.baiug.org

BAIUG, a young, informal regional user group, holds monthly gatherings for the Internet community in San Francisco. Speakers and demonstrations are the highlights of the meetings, held in downtown San Francisco at an Internet café. Get a sense of the topics and schedule and sign up for the email announcement list here.

Edupage
www.educom.edu/web/pubs/pubHomeFrame.html

This email newsletter is published three times a week by Educom, a Washington D.C.-based education consortium. Edupage consists of short news summaries about information technology developments. It is always good reading, it has intelligent selections, and it references publication citations for the stories.

Infobeat
www.infobeat.com

This editorial news service is a painless way to get finance and business stories, headline news, sports results, and more. You can easily request an additional alert service for breaking news and choose up to three messages daily for finance news.

Interactive Media Weekly Recap
www.organic.com/recap

Compiled and maintained by Catherine Kirkman, an attorney with the Silicon Valley legal megafirm Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, the Recap is a business and legal news roundup covering technology, the Internet, and multimedia developments. It also has a calendar of upcoming conferences listing speakers of interest. Back issues are archived by date; you can subscribe here to the email version.

Netsurfer Digest Home Page
www.netsurf.com/nsd/index.html

"More signal, less noise" is the motto of this long-standing, high-quality report on newly launched or topical Web sites and Internet news. Each review is a gem of summation and style, and you'll find yourself cruising to places you might not have found as easily or as quickly. The Digest is excerpted in Computer Currents, but its home page has oodles more information.

New Media Mailing Lists
www.creative.net/~brock/resources/newmedia.shtml

Sheryl Brock's page is a linked list of Bay Area and general email announcements and discussion lists for Web professionals and consultants. It puts a special emphasis on women's groups and resources.

The Scout Report
rs.internic.net/scout_report-index.html

This excellent, readable weekly newsletter reviews all sorts of Internet resources, with a bent toward the technical and academic. Compiled by the computer science department of the University of Wisconsin, evaluated sites are always information-rich.

Windows Watcher
www.windowswatcher.com

This respected newsletter for Windows developers is also a great insider source for Windows and business computing developments. The site offers selected articles and a table of contents from the monthly printed newsletter. There's a private area for subscribers to get full text and archived stories, but the free information is also good and includes links to Microsoft resources, recent PC software release news, and back issues.

ONLINE 'ZINES

The 'zine-personal, quirky, a labor of love-has a natural home online. In fact, searching for "zine" yields more hits than you could ever wade through. This section gives you some good starting points for finding business, professional, and digital technology 'zines.

eZines Ultimate Magazine Database
www.dominis.com/Zines/

From academic to travel, environment to pets, medical to business, eZines is a great place to search for online journals, reports, newsletters, news via email, and other Net publications. Browse through links organized by subject or search the keyword database to find a satisfying publication you never knew existed.

Inc. Magazine
www.inc.com

The Boston-based small business magazine makes for good online reading at this site subtitled Beyond the Magazine. There are features, live chats, interviews with entrepreneurs, marketing tips, management how-tos, and many helpful links. The Online Entrepreneur and Virtual Consultant pages post articles on topics such as intranets, online market research, and junk email and templates for fleshing out your business plan. (See our review in the August 5, 1997, Multimedia in Review.)

Media Central
www.mediacentral.com

They're not kidding when they say "central." Cowles New Media, a trade publisher of magazines like Folio, Cable World, American Demographics, and Catalog Age, has done a great job of repurposing stories and news. Whichever front door you choose among the company's publications or research arms, you'll find a compilation of relevant daily news and features. The links lead to an excellent lot of promotional, publishing, and interactive sites. The Zine and Noted link takes you to online and offline 'zines.

Salon 21st
www.salonmag.com/21st

Doubtless you've come across the award-winning Salon already, a handsome and provocative 'zine featuring superb writing and intriguing takes on literature, culture, and politics. Recently I've paid more attention to 21st, the digital enclave of Salon. It features weekly think-pieces and commentary by technology-watchers like Scott Rosenberg and Andrew Leonard. Subscribe to a weekly email alert about upcoming issues and take a break from the daily grind.

Todd Kuiper's E-Mail Zines Listing Details
propagandist.com/tkemzl/full.htm

If you prefer your 'zines in email form, head to this site to subscribe to more than 200 of them, from technology or Internet titles (Meme, Computer Law Observer) to sports (Baseball Transactions Daily) to pop culture (Chronicles of Chaos). Even if you don't subscribe, you'll find terrific reading via the links.

COMMERCE

Ah, shopping-it's the stuff of life, at least for some of us. And thanks to mail order, we've been shopping in our jammies for years. Now, thanks to the Web, you get the ultimate in shopping convenience: No malls! No traffic! No surly help! And direct-to-your-door delivery. But like mail order, you won't always get a great bargain.

Amazon.com set the standard for buying books online, but what other commerce sites measure up when it comes to selections, bargains, ease of use, and raw information? Here are a few standouts in the still-growing online shopping realm. All offer secure online transactions or a toll-free number.

NetGrocer
www.netgrocer.com

You can't stand shopping for cleaning supplies, pet food, or shampoo? Does waiting in line at Costco get you down? With a little forethought, NetGrocer could be your best bet. The site stocks a selection of name-brand, nonperishable goods like baking supplies, pasta and grains, condiments, household products, and more. NetGrocer guarantees FedEx shipment within four business days for a reasonably low price. You pay as you go (by major credit card) and can set up recurring orders and shopping lists or order for others. If you're a coupon-clipper, you'll like the comparison browsing and volume price indicators. You can search for nutritional and dietary restriction information, too.

Harper Audio
www.harperaudio.com

The Web and books-on-tape are a natural pairing. Not only can you easily find titles you're looking for, you can download actual clips in RealAudio or WAV format. HarperCollins' site offers contemporary business, advice, humor, fiction, and biography titles plus offerings from Caedmon Classics, the much revered audio producer. Where else can you find a tape of Henry Fonda reading Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath" or Dylan Thomas reading "Under Milk Wood?" Not every title has a sound clip, but surely that's just a matter of time.

Computer ESP
www.uvision.com

Another terrific idea: Collect current prices on all manner of personal computer hardware and software from manufacturers, VARs, and retailers in one place. Then make it searchable so buyers can compare prices, delivery dates, and specs. Computer ESP claims it has 700,000 products in its database, and given how many categories and subcategories are evident (from accessories to mass storage), I believe it. Armed with this site and your favorite product reviews, you, too, may feel like the smartest nerd on the block.

Smartbooks
www.smartbooks.com

Now here's a great idea: It's a book site that keeps tabs on the flood of Internet books. Whether it's a book about HTML, building an intranet, Net advertising, or just being a smart online consumer, Smartbooks lists it and often has excerpts. The site doesn't sell directly. Instead, it links to scores of computer book sites and publishers. There's a useful events page on upcoming Internet conferences and workshops, a growing directory of authors, and links to Internet news and new titles.

Virtual Florist
www.virtualflorist.com

This fast-loading page has a lot of easy-to-view photos of the (somewhat predictable) FTD/Teleflora bouquets, arrangements, and food baskets you can order. Even more fun, you can order a free virtual bouquet featuring a picture of respectable arrangements, an over-the-hill balloon bouquet, a junk food basket, or nerd-with-carnations. The virtual bouquets are, of course, delivered via email, and you provide the message. The rest of the site is nicely organized and easy to order from.

Calyx and Corolla
www.calyxandcorolla.com

Catalog shoppers may already know this upscale florist, which offers a small selection of unusual arrangements and vases. If Gerber daisies, gardenias, and miniature roses are more to your liking, C&C may become your favorite. Preserved arrangements and blooming plants are also available. However, you must flip through three screens to view each arrangement, which is annoying.

1-800-FLOWERS
www.1800flowers.com

Of the major online florists (it's also on AOL), 1-800-FLOWERS takes the best advantage of the Web. To start shopping, you can search by occasion, product (flowers, plants, food, balloons), and price. You also get links to information on floral decorating and design tips, state flowers, caring for orchids, and expressing yourself in greeting cards. This is a dynamic and engaging place to shop.

Current Labels
www.currentlabels.com

Maybe you order yours from an insert in the Sunday paper, but there's a better way. The Current Labels Web site lets you easily (and economically) order self-sticking or gummed address labels in a variety of images, fonts, and features. You can also jump from here to order personalized checks with your favorite images, from Elvis to Old Glory.

Reel.Com
www.reel.com

Here's a first: an ambitious movie site whose claim to fame is opening a real store (in Berkeley, Calif.). But the online store is the main draw, and the few rough spots are worth enduring as you cruise through the mountain of information that's offered for the middlebrow film buff. You can search for umpteen characteristics to find tapes, laserdiscs, and even a small selection of DVDs to buy. You can read summaries from major reviewers, study filmographies, and click a button to find titles in the same vein. Naturally, there's a personal profile area. There's a downloadable, cool new visual tool, Perspecta, which lets you cruise in a 3-D space to film titles by context. It's all a bit overwhelming, but it's richer and more cognizant of a wider range of films, genres, and periods than most other movie sites. Also of note is Reel's Cinema U., which offers cheap online film classes. (You watch assigned films, whether from Reel or not; read class notes; and participate in student discussions.) Reel is an excellent destination for film lovers.

Consumer rating services

BizRate
www.bizrate.com

This site is a great idea, and long may it wave. BizRate is an independent site that rates online shopping areas based on consumer feedback; no vendor can pay to appear here. Consumer information and online commerce links are provided for the wary shopper. Listings are rated by Web aesthetics, product selection, fast delivery, and customer support. Searchable categories include computer products, consumer electronics, books and stationery, gifts, games, toys, collectibles, fitness, and apparel.

CompareNet
www.compare.net

Until Consumer Reports opens a Web site (it's currently on AOL), CompareNet is the next best thing. (There's one disturbing note: The source provider isn't clearly identified.) This product research site focuses largely on consumer electronics, cars, appliances, and home office goods. Search in a product category by price and desired features and you'll get a list of available products, which you can compare side-by-side.

Product Review Net
www.productreviewnet.com/bg.html

This product review site lets you search for a variety of household and consumer products, from cars to cameras, and get a linked list of reviews from various sources. The page of links to buying guides is especially helpful. From here, you can jump to a few sources like Popular Mechanics, PC World, and the Gadget Guru: These guys have actually scrutinized the given product. The site isn't comprehensive, but it's a good place to gather information before you buy.

CITY AND REGIONAL GUIDES

With the Web, the cry is increasingly, "Think global, search local." Even metasite Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), which started out as a catalog of the Internet universe, now offers geo-centric sites for Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, Twin Cities, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C., plus several countries. Once you've picked a location, you'll get a page of organized links to local events, news, business, sports, transportation, schools, and real estate.

Picking up on this trend are several large city-guide producers, such as CitySearch (www.citysearch.com), which like Yahoo offers organized local links to sports, shopping, arts, and news by community. To date, CitySearch has sites open for San Francisco; New York City; Pasadena; Austin; Nashville; Portland; Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill-Cary, N.C.; Salt Lake and Park City, Utah; and Australia.

Sidewalk (www.sidewalk.com), Microsoft's contender in the local sites category, has the most sophisticated, if somewhat busy, look. Sidewalk has the advantage of hiring local writers and editors that cover, say, kid-friendly restaurants or the latest CDs selling in town. So far, Sidewalk is open in Boston, New York, Seattle, and the Twin Cities. San Francisco, Denver, San Diego, Washington D.C., and Sydney will soon follow. Like Yahoo and CitySearch, you stay within the Sidewalk proscenium while you're looking at linked sites-a format that is more attractive to advertisers.

Another less formidable contender is AOL's Digital City (www.digitalcity.com). Although the local content is fairly slim-news, sports, and links to outside sites that apparently have partnerships with Digital City--it covers the most American cities: 24 at last count.

Another contestant is Cox Cable (www.cimedia.com/sites.html), which has joined with various local publishers and TV and radio stations in Cox markets to produce city sites. At present these include Access Atlanta (www.accessatlanta.com), Austin 360 (www.austin360.com), and nine others, with more to come. Cox has also built sites for the South and Northwest.

Which mega-city site is for you? It's a matter of personal taste. All provide a reasonable amount of useful information for the visitor or new resident; long-term locals may be fussier. Sidewalk certainly earns points for developing its own editorial; the others tend to partner with various local publishers and such. But then again, local publishers--like the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner (www.sfgate.com)--may have some of the savviest, most-current information around. To find local and regional papers, calendars, news, and reviews, go to Yahoo at www.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/Regional/U_S__States/ to hone your search.

OUTER SPACE

We're not talking sissy virtual environments but the real thing: stars, planets, vacuum, stray bits of Mir. And there is a galaxy of fabulous Web sites devoted to the astronomical plain.

Live From Mars
quest.arc.nasa.gov/mars/index.html

Geared toward teachers and students, this great site lets you post questions (and get answers) about Mars and the Pathfinder mission. There are scheduled live chats (and transcripts of previous chats) with Mars experts, video clips of Mars, and cool Rover photos presented as thumbnails and closeups.

Mars Pathfinder Mission
mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov

Aside from the latest news and detailed description of the Pathfinder Mission, this site has an image archive, a current report of Rover's status, science results from Mars, weather and atmospheric conditions, navigation information, and a whole lot more. And don't worry about being shut out of the action; there are scores of corporate mirror sites around the world for this page.

Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
sd-www.jhuapl.edu/NEAR/

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab sponsored the NEAR spacecraft and naturally, a NEAR Web site, which features the probe's June 1997 flyby of asteroid Mathilde. There are pictures, a cool video of the encounter, a teacher's guide, diagrams, and other neat stuff.

Pacific Regional Planetary Data Center
www.soest.hawaii.edu/PRPDC/

This University of Hawaii-based center is a repository for space images, data, and educational resources. There are a lot of good links to government space resources, and Quicktime VR images made from NASA mission videos, lesson plans, and maps.

Project Galileo: Bringing Jupiter to Earth
www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/

The Jupiter mission is an exciting one, and you'll get current news; new and past images; and links to status reports, orbital diagrams, and the upcoming flyby schedule (to each of Jupiter's moons).

Space Telescope Science Institute
oposite.stsci.edu

Hubble, Pathfinder, and Hale-Bopp are among the stars you'll find here, complete with retina-boggling images of nova and star clusters. You'll also find links to science teachers' resources.

United Space Alliance
www.unitedspacealliance.com/index.html

Lockheed Martin and Boeing do the shuttle processing, ground operations, and mission training for and with NASA. This site is home base for the alliance, complete with photos, audio, video, press releases, and exciting shots of USA executives in action!

IN THE REALM OF THE SILLY

When asked, "Why on earth would you want to do that on the Web?" the reply of choice seems to be, "Because you can." What follows is an, um, appreciation of a proverbial garden of delights and a testament to the wondrous workings of the human brain. Don't forget to turn on your speakers for the full effects.

Dancing Baby Homepage
rodan.asu.edu/~mark/dancing_baby.html

Whether you like retro, Hendrix, rappin' or rasta, there's a diaper-clad baby just waiting to party down. Click the appropriate tot and sit back (download time permitting) to watch the performance. This kid's got rhythm.

Ethereal Estoerica 137
www.137.com/index.html

Charlie Lester is the sort of guy the Web was made for. By day, he's a church organist and student of the classical pipe organ. By night, he's a connoisseur of, yes, vintage vaccuum cleaners, the obscure musical instrument called the Theremin, and did I mention UFOs? He's built a charming and nicely organized site that speaks to his varied passions with a lot of photos, clever musical bits, and much tongue in-cheek. If you can't quite place the front page audio greeting, think Stooges.

Countdown to the Big Four Zero
www.impolex.demon.co.uk/countdown/index.html

Meet Nicholas E. Grinder Esq., an anxious Brit with the tongue of a black adder and the soul of a misanthrope. He began his countdown at day 555 way back in 1996 because, well, 666 would be satanic, 777 would be too superstitious, and 888 was before he was on the Web. Oh well. Follow his highly readable daily angst reports and compare and contrast your own lot in life. His FAQ links to other memorable personal journals.

Cybercheeze
www.cybercheeze.com

Bet you can't eat just one! Here's a handy compendium of all the jokes you get via email, plus more. An anthropologist could make much out of the humor categories: gender, computer, Internet, programming, sexual, and-Microsoft. Sign up for the joke-a-day email, submit your own, or steal what's here for your after-dinner speeches. The list of list humor itself is worth a visit: The Top 17 Ways to Seem Presidential, The Top 12 Things You Don't Want to Hear From Tech Support, and 100 Zany Ways to Phone in A Pizza Order.

Klingon Imperial Diplomatic Corps
www.klingon.org

For all things Klingon, here's your port in a (galactic fire) storm. First your passport undergoes a security scan, then you're ushered into the "international organization dedicated to fostering Klingon culture and society here on earth." Browse much and learn more about Klingon rituals and traditions, who's who in the Corps, Klingon conventions, a Klingon Internet dictionary, intergalactic dining links, and much more. Don't forget to bring your pain stick.

Wak-A-Nixon
www.superpants.com/wnix/

Hand-eye coordination is everything here, where the faces of recent presidents pop up suddenly and it's your job to, yes, whack them with a mouse click! Excellent mindless fun.

Roadkills-R-Us
www.rru.com

You'll find some seriously twisted brains at work on this "first nation in cyberspace" (RUU seceded from the United States earlier this year). Of course, the twistedness got even better when Toys 'R' Us threatened to sue Roadkills-R-Us. And naturally enough, RUU links to TRU. Stories, jokes, and silliness all revolve around the proud, loud state of Texas, grisly roadkill stories, and sartorial tackiness.

AM News Abuse
www.amnewsabuse.com

"Your daily dose of apparent intelligence" is a great compilation of those people-do-the-darnedest-things news stories, like the one about Japan Air Lines giving permission to crews to tie up unruly passengers or the recent discovery that squirrel brains can have the same effect as mad cow disease. A link to the Headline Hall of Fame provides even more journalistic wackiness.

© 1997 Karen Wickre. All rights reserved.

Karen Wickre (karen@nerak.com) is a grizzled Web veteran who's written and edited books, articles, and reviews about the Web since 1994. By day, she's Web producer and executive editor for Upside Magazine/upside.com; by night, she's plotting her own long-overdue Web site, which she is determined to open this year.