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With the number of websites available to us besting 350 million this year, one wonders how you find gems in the mess.
I’ve dug up a few rather obscure sites that are downright amazing. I know there are more. Email them to me for a future column.
Spotify is not bragging when it claims all of the world’s music in one place. Search on artist, title, album or genre, and there it is, Rolling Stones to Schubert. The quality is good, and so is the price: free.
My Damn Channel sounds edgy but is not. This is a reprieve from the billions of foggy amateur YouTube clips. It centers on short entertainment (nothing runs for more than five minutes). There are sitcoms, instructional video, cooking, soaps and on and on, all professionally done. It’s my favorite TV.
Just when you think new media is getting ridiculous, there’s The Onion to restore sanity. Well, insane sanity. Don’t eat while reading. You’ll laugh coffee all over your screen. (And check out the Onion Sports.)
Are you weary of the obtrusive ads and privacy invasions of your average search site? DuckDuckGo solves that, looking like Google before it became a Wall Street hit. It’s a secure site, and there’s no user tracking or spam ads. Big plus: It really works.
The coolest online tool I’ve seen is Instapaper. This application allows you to save Web stuff to read later. And get this — you can save it to a file to read in your computer, e-book reader or iPhone, or print it. It’s free.
Starfall’sactually an old timer, but longevity indicates effectiveness here. Call your youngster over and watch as the site improves reading skills in very entertaining ways. It works.
Tired of those ubiquitous electronic phone systems that insulate companies from their customers? GetHuman offers a solution: The back-door phone numbers to many businesses that ring on a human’s desk. Imagine that.
With the number of websites available to us besting 350 million this year, one wonders how you find gems in the mess.
I’ve dug up a few rather obscure sites that are downright amazing. I know there are more. Email them to me for a future column.
Spotify is not bragging when it claims all of the world’s music in one place. Search on artist, title, album or genre, and there it is, Rolling Stones to Schubert. The quality is good, and so is the price: free.
www.spotify.com
My Damn Channel sounds edgy but is not. This is a reprieve from the billions of foggy amateur YouTube clips. It centers on short entertainment (nothing runs for more than five minutes). There are sitcoms, instructional video, cooking, soaps and on and on, all professionally done. It’s my favorite TV.
www.mydamnchannel.com
Just when you think new media is getting ridiculous, there’s The Onion to restore sanity. Well, insane sanity. Don’t eat while reading. You’ll laugh coffee all over your screen. (And check out the Onion Sports.)
www.theonion.com
Are you weary of the obtrusive ads and privacy invasions of your average search site? DuckDuckGo solves that, looking like Google before it became a Wall Street hit. It’s a secure site, and there’s no user tracking or spam ads. Big plus: It really works.
duckduckgo.com
The coolest online tool I’ve seen is Instapaper. This application allows you to save Web stuff to read later. And get this — you can save it to a file to read in your computer, e-book reader or iPhone, or print it. It’s free.
www.instapaper.com
Starfall’sactually an old timer, but longevity indicates effectiveness here. Call your youngster over and watch as the site improves reading skills in very entertaining ways. It works.
www.starfall.com
Tired of those ubiquitous electronic phone systems that insulate companies from their customers? GetHuman offers a solution: The back-door phone numbers to many businesses that ring on a human’s desk. Imagine that.
gethuman.com
