One can never have too many resources on the internet when it comes to finding information. After all, the primary purpose of the internet is to be an information repository first.
With that said, here’s the list:
- Archive.org Wayback Machine – Find archived copies of web pages. Especially useful for web sites that are now offline. Example use would be to search for "www.geocities.com".
- Bing – General internet search.
- Blekko – General internet search. Very new to the scene and provides search options that others don’t.
- Google Blog Search – Searches blogs. Typically has more right-now information compared to a generic Google.com search.
- Bing Maps – Maps and directions via the Bing.com maps service. If you haven’t tried it yet, give it a go.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary – Look up definitions of words. Obviously much more accurate than Wikipedia. Always go here first for word definitions.
- Google Images – Find images.
- Ixquick – General search. Very good privacy policies for privacy-friendly searching.
- Internet Movie Database – Find information on any movie, TV show or actor. Also an excellent resource for TV/movie trivia and actor histories.
- SourceForge – Tons and tons of free open source software, many of which are very good and stable releases for just about anything you can think of.
- Urban Dictionary – Someone typed OMGWTFBBQ to you and you have no idea what it meant. Search it on Urban Dictionary and it will tell you.
- Domain Tools WHOIS lookup – Wondering if that dot-com is available and want to search in a way that’s not data-mined? Use this.
- Rhyme Zone – A poet’s, lyricist’s and songwriter’s best friend.
- Internet Anagram Server – Stuck for creating a new username? Use an anagram of your name.
- Netscape Color Chart – This web page is as old as dirt, but has been referenced to millions of times by people looking for the correct colors to modify profiles, email signatures and so on.
- CalculateMe – Convert any possible figure you can think of to something else. Didn’t think you could convert stones to grams or knots to centimeters per second or metric horsepower to megawatts? You can here.
- XE – How much is the US dollar worth today? Find out here.
- Manuals Online – Sooner or later you’re going to need the manual for that thing you bought 10 years ago, except now it’s gone – but it might be here.
- "Comparison of" Wikipedia search – If you want a complete list of something, Wikipedia is a good way to get it. You go to Wikipedia first, then in the search box type "Comparison of [thing here]", such as "instant messengers", which results in Comparison of Instant Messengers. This also works for things like web browsers, file archivers, operating systems and many more. You’ll probably be bookmarking quite a few of these.
- HotPads – Best way to find a rental property, period.
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