xenmaster's favorite web-services
this is a list of all my favourite websites. Fire up your bookmarkers, because you will want to visit these sites again and again!
Note: I am planning on adding sigalert.com to this as soon as I create an entry for the application. Great tool for keeping track of traffic alerts in big cities and 100% free to use!
social-media
I use this as my primary social network. It allows people to form private groups for their friends and family. It is pretty reminiscent of Google Plus for folks that used to use that service and many users are refugees from that service. It has some pretty significant backing as well, including from Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web!
I use this site exclusively for professional networking. Has a lot of spam, but a great way to keep in touch with old colleagues and to make new connections professionally. Use with care and always refuse invites from third-party headhunters!
education
I use Duolingo for most of my language learning, but they aren't as good as HelloChinese for learning Chinese. My only complaint is that while HelloChinese is very good, it will get you only to the basic level of learning the language - there are more specialized solutions that can take you to the advanced level, although I recommend having a tutor for that part of the process.
Useful for learning Spanish, I use Duolingo also for learning Thai and Vietnamese, which is pretty acceptable so far.
There are so many courses here - I primarily use it to self-teach on Design and Website Engineering. Some courses are better than others (Their Django course is extremely outdated) so proceed with caution.
A site specifically about web-design, it includes great articles, eBooks, and tutorial courses.
entertainment
Hulu is my go-to for old school TV shows I know and love from my youth in the 80s and 90s. Holds awesome movies too. It has pretty good original series too, especially compared to Netflix, which has more flops than gems in the catalog.
Another great place to get awesome videos - it has some offerings that Hulu does not have. Also, you get bundled discounts, free shipping, and bonuses at Whole Foods, you cannot beat this deal!
Has great original series, although the platform is starting to turn its back on original creators in favor of corporate content. My favorite items here include the wide selection of independent music creators and online series like Freddie Wong's old videos and the WongFu selections.
Great entertainment center for free content. I use it specifically for South Park and the Simpsons (during the golden years).
news-services
Missing items include good tech blogs like Make Tech Easier, and Hacker News. Coming up soon so stay tuned!
A great resource for technology and business news.
Lots of cool websites, computer tips, and how-tos are featured here!
A good departure from clickbait news - Reuters generally tends to give you just the facts compared to hype machines like FOX, CNN, and MSNBC as well as the less reputable blogs like Vox, Vice, Slate, and Buzzfeed, which really only masquerade as legitimate news.
Ars Technica was founded in 1998 when Founder & Editor-in-Chief Ken Fisher announced his plans for starting a publication devoted to technology that would cater to what he called "alpha geeks": technologists and IT professionals. Ken's vision was to build a publication with a simple editorial mission: be "technically savvy, up-to-date, and more fun" than what was currently popular in the space. In the ensuing years, with formidable contributions by a unique editorial staff, Ars Technica became a trusted source for technology news, tech policy analysis, breakdowns of the latest scientific advancements, gadget reviews, software, hardware, and nearly everything else found in between layers of silicon.
online-games
Sorcery! is an epic four-part adventure through a land of monsters, traps, and magic an interactive story with the appeal of a classic, tabletop gamebook. With tens of thousands of choices, the story rewrites itself around your actions. Battle weird and deadly creatures, cast powerful spells, play with honour, or lie, cheat and steal.
2048 is a popular sliding puzzle game written by 19 year old Italian designer Gabriele Chirulli based on 1024 which in turn was based on Threes! .
The objective of 2048 is to slide numbered tiles on a grid to combine them to create a tile with the number 2048.
HOW TO PLAY:
- Use arrow keys to move the tiles (drag to move on mobile).
- When two tiles with the same number touch, they merge into one!
- Join the numbers and get to the 2048 tile!
Plants vs. Zombies is a tower defense video game by PopCap. A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home, and your only defense is an arsenal of zombie-zapping plants. Use peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more to mulchify zombies before they reach your front door.
The main series includes Plants vs. Zombies (2009) and Plants vs. Zombies 2 (2013). In April 2022 Plants vs. Zombies 3 started its Open Beta phase.
The series also includes several spin-offs with different gameplay:
- Plants vs. Zombies Adventures (2013), a different tower defense with farming features
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare (2014), a multiplayer third-person shooter
- Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 (2016)
- Plants vs. Zombies Heroes (2016), a digital collectible card game in the style of tower defense
- Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville (2019), third installment in the Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare spin-off series
In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world.
Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People.
Bejeweled: match sparkling gems three at a time to make them burst in showers of color and points. Match four or more to create flashy power gems that boost your score and your mood with brilliant cascades and combos.
Soar to gem-matching heights in Classic mode, or speed through matches against the clock in Action. For even more dazzling fun, bump up your brainwaves with multi-faceted Puzzles, or enter the Zen state of Endless play. Every match is high-carat fun!
Bejeweled is available on Windows and Mac, online ( http://www.popcap.com/games/free/bejeweled2 ), on Nokia phones ( http://store.ovi.com/content/306986 ), on Windows Phone 7 ( http://www.popcap.com/games/windowsphone7/bejeweledlive ), on iPhone ( http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bejeweled-2/id284832142?mt=8 ), on Blackberry ( http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/129575/?lang=en ), Playbook ( http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/60760/?lang=en ) and on Android ( http://www.popcap.com/games/bejeweled2/android ).
It's also available on various consoles: on PS2, Xbox 360, Xbox LIVE and WiiWare
Download & play Dynomite Deluxe. Blast eggs of the same color for prehistoric fun!
messengers
I use this almost exclusively in place of my messenger service. It's a fantastic app that everyone should use!
Useful for my people in Taiwan, The Philippines, Japan, Korea, and Thailand.
webservices
If you want to look up a domain name you are thinking of buying up, you can't beat DomainR! It will autopopulate similar names, possible domain hacks, and show you if they are available or not.
DuckDuckGo is the best search engine I've ever used. I proudly say I've only used Google a handful of times on purpose - DDG has always been good and is getting better and they don't track or bubble your search results!
Useful for sharing text notes between computers. Uses javascript based encryption to protect your stuff.
I use this as often as I can for getting around town. There are also mobile clients for this service, like OSMand.
software management
Do you really have to ask? :D
A good catalog for relatively safe software and a good place to start for people looking for a way to host their own webservices.
Similar to above, but also includes basic tutorials about VPNs, E-Mail service providers, and gives information about how to configure Firefox to make it safer to use.
