Quick Site Index

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CUCUG
PO Box 716
Champaign, IL 61824-0716

Best of the Web

This is a listing of non-computer specific links which our members have come across which have been reported to be very useful, educational, entertaining or all of the above! If you have a suggestion for a link on this page, please send it to khisel@cucug.org.

Submitted by Kevin Hisel

My Facts Page - This is the Swiss-Army knife of quick information loook up! Besides a quick, one-field, instant www search, dictionary, thesaurus, acronym, e-mail and file look up, there are links to dozens of quick information sources like maps, encyclopedias, historical info, weights/measures, etc. This one link could replace HALF of your already bulging bookmark list!
Deja.com - Searcing the web for real information can be tedious and since most of the search engines' spiders are a few months behind in their web crawling duties, the latest topics are almost never found. Deja.com is a stunningly up-to-date, searchable database of over 15,000 Usenet newsgroups. These discussion areas contain daily messages posted by newsgroup users and cover almost every imaginable topic. While the accuracy of the information of Usenet messages cannot always be relied on, it's often quite helpful and timely.
Dog Pile - There is no one web search engine which adequately searches the web for all the information you need. To do a proper web search, you've got to use multiple search sites. Dog Pile saves you time by searching all of these sites at once and returns all the results on one page. Advanced search options are available and you can even limit the time of the search. A must-have for anyone's search arsenal.
Revese Phone Book - A few years ago, only the phone companies and the police had access to this information. Have you ever found a phone number scribbled on a piece of paper as a note to yourself and wondered whose number it was? Now you can be your own private investigator and just type in the phone number to find out who it belongs to.
Champaign Weather - Need to know what the weather is or will be in the local area? Here's the best general weather site, The Weather Channel and its special page for the Champaign-Urbana area!
Submitted by Kevin Hopkins
AltaVista - The mother of all search sites. AltaVista was the first monster search engine and still consistently returns more hits than any of the others. That's both boon and bane for this master site of searching.
The Ultimate Band List - A HUGE database of music and bands. Search for your fave band and find not only web sites but lyrics, guitar tabs, news groups, tour info, midi files, etc. This is another monster site with so much content, you'll never see it all. If you like music, you could easily get lost in the UBL!
Submitted by Jim Lewis
National Geographic Magazine - Nice, natural science site. If you are into traveling the world with David Attenborough, you'll *love* this site. All the splendor of the monthy magazine is laid out in the privacy of your computer room. "HEY, get those naked dancing natives offa there, you!!" :^)
Dino Russ's Lair - If you like dinosaurs, this is the site for you. Hosted by one of the CUCUG Amiga SIG's founding members, Russ Jacobson, A.K.A. "Dino Russ", this site has much more than just the dry scientific patter so common to these sites. "HEY, get those naked dancing T-Rexes offa there, you!!" :^)
WAND-TV Weather Forecast - Local weather from the "little guys" at WAND. A surprisingly well-done local effort with a real-time Dopplar radar map and timely local forecasts.
Submitted by Rich Rollins
How Things Work - Have you ever wondered why water stays in the straw when a finger is pressed over one end? Or why a fuzzy tennis ball travels further than a smooth one? Well, here are (almost) all the answers to all your questions about how things work!
The World Wide Web Acronym and Abbreviation Server - Ever wonder what in the world H.A.Z.W.O.P.E.R. stands for? Do you need to know the handy mnemonic to help you remember B.B.R.O.Y.G.B.V.G.W.? Then, you've found just what you're looking for!
CyberRouter - How to get from one place to another (in the physical world). This site will tell you exactly which roads to take, where to turn and how long each leg of your trip is. And if that's not enough, it will draw you a map!
Submitted by Jim 'Mac Daddy' Huls
The Trailer Park - Is your favorite part of going to the movies watching the trailers? Wouldn't it be nice to see a trailer for a movie anytime you want in case it's not shown when you might normally watch TV? Well here ya go! The Trailer Park is the ultimate site for downloading, over the Internet, trailers in Quicktime format of your favorite or not-so-favorite big screen movies. Keep in mind that this nice benefit can be frustrating for those with little bandwidth to spare. These Quicktime trailers can be anywhere from 3-8 megabytes in size.
PageWatch - Conserve your time with PageWatch. This site provides a free service that will monitor sites daily which you define. It then will notify you by e-mail when they are updated or changed. It's a great service for folks who want to know what's new on a website before their friends and neighbors.
Official Big Ten Site - Keep up on the latest stats, scores, and schedules of your favorite Big Ten Conference team. Go Illinois!!!
AutoSite - Plenty of information on new and used cars/trucks ranging from book values to troubleshooting as well as the latest rebates and incentives offered by companies. It will even show you any recalls made on a vehicle since 1989.