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Best of the Web 2001

We pick the top sites for PC users in 33 categories--from free tech support to essential Web services.

Edited by Kim Zetter

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Advice & Information

Strike Up the Band

DSL Reports

Despite its name, DSL Reports offers information about all types of broadband Net connections, including cable and satellite hookups. Drawing input from an active and opinionated community of users, the site guides you through the often grueling process of going high-speed.

On hand are tools to tell you what types of broadband connections are available in your area; ISP reviews; and reader forums with advice for solving post-installation glitches.

Runner-Up: For information specifically about high-speed cable connections, CableModemHelp has lots of tips on cable connections, but little info on individual providers.

-- Edward N. Albro

Pixel This

Megapixel.net

If your pictures are in pixels but they still look pitiful, check out Megapixel.net. This slick digital-imaging site offers tons of content, including articles that explain such concepts as focal length and such techniques as adjusting a picture's color balance.

The site posts four new digital camera reviews each month, with test images. You'll also find a glossary, reader forums, and free classifieds. The site doesn't assault you with blinking "Buy me now" buttons.

Runner-Up: Steve's DigiCams also offers a glossary, camera reviews, and discussion forums. But the site looks like it was designed in 1997--an odd way to lure those interested in state-of-the-art imaging.

-- Alan Stafford

Game Room

GameSpy

The Web is perfect terrain for the insular world of PC gaming--and the best gaming sites aren't for casual fans. GameSpy is our pick, though it tends toward super-detailed articles, inside jokes, and a bit of juvenile humor.

GameSpy also hosts a network of "planet" sites devoted to individual games ranging from Black & White to Unreal Tournament. Use the site's menu bar to browse other sites like Action Planet (for first-person shooter games) and File Planet (for patches, demos, and downloads).

Runner-Up: IGNPC has up-to-the-minute news, previews, and reviews.

-- Eric Dahl

Tech Time

Tom's Hardware

From motherboards to hard drives and all points between, Tom's Hardware pushes PC parts to their limits and beyond. The staff has helped uncover CPU and chip-set bugs and has been the first to overclock new processors. For in-depth tests of motherboards, graphics cards, or RAM types, start here.

Runner-Up: AnandTech publishes insightful reviews of new CPUs, motherboards, and video cards.

-- Eric Dahl

Software News

BetaNews

Along with our own PCWorld.com, BetaNews is one of the best sites for news and info about software, especially programs that are still in beta. The site scours the market (such as Microsoft Developer Network) for news on upcoming software and offers free downloads of beta programs for unofficial testing.

BetaNews also posts notes from companies searching for official beta testers. The download section includes programs for Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and Palm systems.

Runner-Up: Woody's Watch offers Microsoft-centric newsletters and utilities, plus Woody's Palm Watch. You'll never find more thorough and (sometimes brutally) honest coverage.

-- Emru Townsend

Tech Reference

Webopedia

Technology is an ever-changing field, so you need a good reference guide to follow the latest terminology. Internet.com's Webopedia takes the prize for ease of use, depth of coverage, and comprehensible language. The hard-to-stump search engine offers clear definitions, together with links to terms within a definition that might require further explanation.

Category searches (covering areas such as wireless computing, multimedia, and microprocessors) and a list of related terms and links help with broader searches.

Runner-Up: Though it lacks Webopedia's breadth, technology portal WhatIs.com lists categories and offers helpful article links.

-- Cameron Crouch

PC Rx

ExpertCity

Online technical support is getting harder to find, as sites offering free support disappear or abandon consumers for paying corporate customers. One site that still offers quick, efficient, reasonably priced help is ExpertCity.

The experts set their own fees (ranging from free to $20 per question in our testing) and offer sound advice. The site includes a handy chat tool for interactive help sessions--especially useful for step-by-step instructions. If the steps get too complicated, you can call your expert on the phone.

Runner-Up: Internet.com's cheery-looking VirtualDr maintains a number of tutorials and busy discussion boards.

-- Yardena Arar

Digital Teachers

PC Show and Tell

Don't know how to change a formula in an Excel pivot table? PC Show and Tell has streaming audiovisual tutorials covering thousands of tasks--everything from checking e-mail on AOL to enabling Java applets in FrontPage.

A slightly creepy digital voice reads instructions while animated screen shots guide you through drop-down menus and command fields. A year's subscription costs $30 and buys unlimited Web access. Or try the free 30-day trial membership.

Runner-Up: EHow provides answers for basic hardware questions, though the tutorials are unevenly detailed and the site lacks visuals.

-- Edward N. Albro

Web Designs 'R' Us

EarthwebDeveloper.com

Unless you have time on your hands, you should probably stay away from this site. The wealth of resources for Web developers at EarthwebDeveloper.com is overwhelming--ranging from the seemingly bottomless JavaScript library to the latest on CGI script security breaches.

But what makes this site as sticky as flypaper is its collection of tools and tips for using JavaScript, HTML, CGI, Perl, Java, DHTML, and Active Server Pages.

Runner-Up: WebReview.com is the online version of the respected Web design publication. It features style sheets, tools, and guides to design pages for specific browsers.

-- Dennis O'Reilly

Web Site Tips and Tools

Web Techniques

So you've posted a Web page, but now you've got no idea what to do with it? Web Techniques will help you manage your creation, with articles, programming tutorials, product reviews, and insightful discussions of Web trends and issues.

Runner-Up: The Software QA and Testing Resource Center's Web Tools section has an incredible selection of free testing tools--to measure performance, for example.

-- Dennis O'Reilly

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