Some "hot" online destinations - by Janani Gopalakrishnan

The other day when I was thinking about what the Internet is used most commonly for by women these days, “browsing” is the answer that came to my mind immediately. The search for information, for children’s school projects, for your own office work, for recipes, for beauty and homemaking tips, for film reviews and music, for whatever, leads you straight to your Web browser. Although it is true that any information you seek can easily be obtained by going straight to Google and tapping out the keywords, it would also help to know about some interesting sites, which can come to your aid when you need information or are merely in need of some entertainment during a lull! Here are some such sites which I haunt quite often. Please note that I have only listed some freely accessible sites here; commercial sites are not listed.

Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com)
Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia, which is available in more than 150 languages. The English version of the encyclopedia has 1,264,382 articles. The best and worst thing about Wikipedia is that it can be freely edited by people. This is advantageous because when somebody knows something more about a subject, they can add it to the encyclopedia. So, it is dynamic and alive, and you can be assured of a vast coverage of any subject, with latest information. However, this can also be disadvantageous, because although a core team of specialists try to validate all information that is added to Wikipedia by the public, sometimes erroneous information also creeps in. If somebody doubts the content of a page, they “dispute” it and a note saying that the content of a page is disputed is displayed on the top of the article. Avoid using information from such articles. Otherwise, in general, Wikipedia is a GREAT resource for information on thousands of subjects!

BBC – Languages (http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/)
Interested in picking up some International languages in your free time? Look no further than BBC. Check out BBC Languages and learn several International languages such as German, Italian, French, Spanish, and so on, for free. We all know how good any BBC venture is, so you can rest assured that your language skills are being honed at the right place.

BBC - Get Writing (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/)
For ye budding writers, here is another offering from BBC. Log onto BBC Get Writing, and let the creative juices flow!

Krsna Prasadam (http://www.harekrsna.com/practice/prasadam/recipes/recipes.htm)
This site is a real treasure trove for vegetarians. It has over 2000 vegetarian recipes. It includes several rare recipes as well as well-known recipes from various parts of India. The Dictionary of Ingredients included in the site is extremely helpful in identifying ingredients in various Indian languages.

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (www.m-w.com)
Feel lazy to reach out to the dictionary when you are typing out a document on your computer? Simply open the online version of Merriam-Webster’s dictionary and check out the meaning of any word you want. Another option is www.dictionary.com
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Lifehacker (www.lifehacker.com)
Are you always wishing you could get more out of your time, be more productive, and achieve more? Everybody tells you that computers can help you achieve more in less time, but most people fail to tell you how. Turn to LifeHacker to learn how. It’s not just about computers and software either. Lifehacker basically helps you become more productive – it includes tips for attending interviews, time management tips and tricks, some software that can help you organize yourself better, and so on. Beware though; Lifehacker is so interesting that it is almost addictive!

Lifehack.org (http://lifehack.org/) is a similar and equally interesting website. In fact, it even shares tips on how to train yourself to get up early in the mornings!

Hope you enjoy visiting these websites! Do add your favorite sites to this list too, by using the discussion forum.
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Hello Janani,

'Hot' online destinations is great. I checked out the sites that are totally new to me, which I learnt from your article. Lifehacker- was really useful. Also, liked the descriptions on the sites. It was good to know the nature ('Wikipedia is dynamic') than merely use it. Interesting piece and useful info- thanks.

regards
Vidya

Dear Janani,
Some really good wesites....have added them to my favourites...thanks for the info...keep them coming.

Hi Janani,

Nice article about interesting websites. Though some of the sites were already known, your description about the sites aids in using it better.
I too liked the life hacker site as mentioned by Vidya. Shall try using it mainly for time management

Thanks again,

Rathi

... to know that the description of the sites were useful! Hope to keep meeting you with more techie stuff every month.

You could also tell me about what you'd like to read about so that I can write to suit your needs rather than my writing pleasure alone

Dear Janani,
I am neither young nor a computer professional, but I love Browsing. The websites you mentioned are very enjoyable. In fact the foreign language site has taken my fancy,
Thankyou,
Regards,
Meenu