| Product: |
Top Ten Websites |
| Date: |
14/08/03 (1420 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Trying to pick your top ten websites is a more difficult task than you might think. I didn't realise I visited so many sites until I started this list, and I?m sure I'll remember a good few more that I've missed within a few minutes of posting this. I left out the sites that everybody knows about already like www.google.co.uk, www.amazon.co.uk and www.bbc.co.uk, as well as anything I've already written about on dooyoo like www.octopustravel.com. Here's what's left:
www.asiarecipe.com
I found this site after my eldest son, who had just returned from working in Asia, made a wonderful Korean dish for the family to try (though he did his best to ruin the taste!). As well as recipes for main dishes, vegetarian meals, desserts and sauces from twenty-two Asian countries, the site also has cultural information, cooking methods, news headlines and discussion pages where you can pick up cooking tips for all those lovely recipes.
www.ilovelanguages.com
A very simple site that carries links to online dictionaries, translation resources and free web based instruction for nearly 200 languages. If you're trying to learn a language then this is the best place on the internet to start. Alternatively, you can teach yourself Saxon or search for language schools worldwide.
www.myvillage.com
Guides to local communities throughout Britain, including links to news sites, job listings, details of pubs, clubs, cinemas, restaurants and festivals and message boards. The pages are split into twenty-three different cities and areas from Southampton to the Highlands and Belfast to Norwich. It's an excellent resource if you?re planning to visit another area of the country.
www.ntb.org.uk
Talking of which, my favourite part of the country is undoubtedly Northumbria, which is luckily right here on my doorstep. The official site of the Northumbrian Tourist Board is an excellent place to start
planning a trip to England's unspoilt wilderness, home to more than fifty castles, two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Roman forts, Saxon priories, Viking fortresses and deserted beaches. Just don't tell anyone else about it!
www.igoyougo.com
One of the many sites I've discovered through my children, igoyougo is basically a site for travellers to write short guides to places they've visited in return for rewards like frequent flier miles, gift vouchers and travel equipment such as luggage, hiking gear and cameras. The site is based in the USA so there are postal surcharges on the delivery of most of the rewards, though amazon vouchers will apparently be added very soon. You get points for writing travel journals - an overview of a destination (highlights, quick tips and the best way to get around) plus five other short pieces (500 word maximum) on hotels, tours, famous sights, restaurants or activities. The journals are rated anonymously by your peers and are also read by a staff member, who awards extra points for high quality work. To get most points try to upload photographs to illustrate your journals and check the Hot Destinations lists for bonus points. There's no need to wait for suggestions to be added (you can write about anywhere you want), the staff are very helpful, the standard of the submissions is very good and I know for a fact that they deliver rewards as promised. There are also lots of user forums where you can post travel questions or ask established members for advice about the site. Even if you're not interested in writing it's a great place to find travel information.
www.xe.com
The most widely used currency converter on the net, xe.com has exchange rates for every currency (over 180 from 250 countries and territories). There are also specialist services for webmasters and business travellers. Fast, accurate and easy to use - just type in the amount, select the currencies from the d
rop down boxes (Euro, Sterling Yen, US and Canadian dollars at the top, then alphabetical listing), and click on convert. I need to check the rate of the Euro quite a bit in my line of work and this by far the best converter I've found.
www.fastmail.fm
As the name suggests, fastmail is another extremely rapid service. Free accounts offer IMAP/ WEB access, up to 40 MB storage space, a 45-day inactivity period and 40 MB bandwidth per month, making it an ideal backup for the days when Hotmail is on one of its go slows. It's not very pretty to look at but it does have lots of interesting features such as the ability to retrieve email from other your other accounts, an online users' forum and the option to bounce spam back to the sender, making your email account seem inactive. Paid for accounts start at $14.95 a year, and there?s a full list of frequently asked questions at http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/faqparts/FMFAQ.htm.
www.webshots.com
A great place to store your digital photos, a free account with Webshots allows you to upload your own pictures as well as view and download almost 40 million pictures from other users split into categories like Travel, Sport, Scenery and Family & Friends. You can also email links to your account and make your own customised eCards.
www.planetfootball.co.uk
My favourite site for all the latest football news. As well as club-by-club coverage of the Premiership, there is excellent coverage of all the major international leagues and competitions, reviews of football books and regular feature articles by some very famous names.
www.fantasy.premierleague.com
The official Fantasy League is completely free and has monthly prizes of Budweiser goody bags to the top ten managers plus an end of season grand prize of a VIP trip to a Premier League game of your choice, two nights hotel accommodation and £250 spending money. Not bad for nowt!
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