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Tooling Around Favorite Web Sites
By
Gloria McConnell, Columnist
This
column is about the World Wide Web — a nearly limitless resource. Is there any
doubt that it is the world’s most valuable reference tool? Today, every region
on this planet includes Internet users. Within a year, it is very possible that
the number of users will top 1 billion. (As of July 21, 2005, the worldwide
total exceeded 938 million, according to
http://www.internetworldstats.com.)
And what are these users doing? For the most part,
surfing the Web. (Of course!) From one Web server in 1990 to nearly 60,000,000
today, the Web has grown by enormous leaps and bounds, as shown in the following
chart, based on data from the Hobbes’ Internet Timeline site (http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/).
When you consider the number of individual sites hosted by these servers, it’s…
wow!
If you are a trivia junkie, then these details are
just your cup of tea. And so easy to find on the Web!
Getting Down to Business
Trivia is fun, but it does not help technical
communicators. (Unless you are writing a Tooling column!) So, without
further ado, here are a few of my favorite Web sites (a baker’s dozen). What are
some of your favorites?
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Category |
Site |
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Book search |
Bookfinder:
http://www.bookfinder.us/
Sometimes we want the
hard copy, right? Book search sites abound, but I particularly like the
very thorough results presented by this one. It’s fast, and all
information you need is presented (availability, shipping price, tax).
It’s all there for you to compare! Another site that is similar, but not
as fast in its search, is
http://aaabooksearch.com. |
|
Dictionaries,
Thesauri |
CNET glossary:
http://www.cnet.com/Resources/Info/Glossary/index.html
To quote the site,
“Netify your vocabulary!” Friendly, easy-to-understand explanations. |
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Merriam-Webster:
http://www.m-w.com
Tried-and-true standard.
|
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Onelook:
http://www.onelook.com/
Pick a dictionary, any
dictionary… Onelook returns a list of dictionaries containing the term you
have entered, including those grouped by specialty (Business, Medical,
Tech.). |
|
Roget’s Online
Thesaurus:
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
Definitions, synonyms,
and antonyms all at once. |
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Visual Thesaurus*:
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/
I love this one – it’s
just so fun to use. |
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Encyclopedias |
About:
http://www.about.com/
Lots of different
topics, from technical to general. Topics are maintained by “Guides,”
enthusiastic experts in their fields. They have a great article on, and
lots of references for, screen capture software. It’s not all about work,
though. With a son going into the Marines, I found their military
information invaluable. |
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Webopedia:
http://www.pcwebopaedia.com/
Internet technology
info. |
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Whatis:
http://whatis.techtarget.com/
IT info. Lots of links
returned, including sponsored links. Somewhat confusing at times, but you
can usually find what you’re after. |
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Grammar and Writing |
Commnet:
http://www.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar
A very thorough and
widely received guide to grammar and writing, sponsored by the Capital
Community College Foundation. |
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Common errors in
English*:
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/index.html
From “aisle/isle” to “youse,”
this site has plenty of humor mixed with good information. |
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Translations |
Babel Fish
Translation:
http://babelfish.altavista.com/
Mais
oui! |
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Web information |
HTML Dog:
http://www.htmldog.com/
An excellent site for
learning XHTML and/or CSS (three tutorial levels!). Quick and
easy-to-understand reference information on HTML tags, CSS properties as
well. |
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All Things Web:
http://www.pantos.org/atw/tips.html
Great resource for Web
design information. |
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* Software, book, or
other product available for purchase, too. |
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