This page was last modified on: 08/12/01

Back to the Tower

From this page you can go to the most interesting places in the web with just a click.

This page is a sort of portal, where I have classified and commented on the web sites that I find most interesting. Instead of being comprehensive (including as many sites as possible), I'm trying to list the sites that I find most useful.

This is a work in progress. I will add more web sites as I come across them. Suggestions and comments welcome at: webmaster@thewizardstower.org

Categories:

 

Computer Utilities back to top This section provides links and descriptions on my favorite computing utilities. I use these in Windows 98 SE.
Antivirus
InoculateIT	A free antivirus.
SARC	Norton's Antivirus Research Center, provides updated information on new viruses, hoaxes, and computer threats.
Text Editors	As opposed to word processors, text editors are less focused on formatting and more on advanced and powerful text manipulation.
XEmacs	Available for Unix and Windows, the best text editor available.
Graphics Viewers and Editor	These are programs used primarily not to create, but to view and manipulate images.
Paint Shop Pro	Trial version. Very good program, not as powerful as PhotoShop but not as expensive either.
IrfanView	Excellent free program. Includes some very useful features, like slideshow and thumbnail generation. It's also very fast.
Programming	If you like to (or have to) create your own programs.
Developer.com	This site is loaded with info and resources for programmers.
Borland C++ Compiler 5.5	Incredible - download Borland's latest compiler for free!!! You have to fill out a survey form and get a password.
Miscellaneous	Do stuff.
RegEdit : Windows Registry Guide	All you always wanted to know about the Windows registry.
The Online Memory Tester	These guys say they can test your computer's memory online.
VisualRoute	This page produces a graphical map of the route between any two computers connected to the internet.
ICQ	Instant messaging.
We Got Cards	Send someone a card by email.
sodaplay	Build and tweak moving structures in your browser. Requires Java.
Membooster	An utility to free unused memory in windows.
Tweaking	Take control of your computer.
Tweak3D	Tinkertown	Guides and files for tweaking your PC.
Tweakit Hardware Reference Site	Hot Fixes: Secret Microsoft Fixes
Tweakbase	Tweak Files
TweakAll Product Information	This program lets you tweak any conceivable Windows parameter.
Hardware & BIOS	How to deal with those.
Project 504 home	A BIOS page.
The BIOS Survival Guide
Drivers Driver	All drivers listed and available.
Tom's Hardware Guide	A guide to all things hardware.
Price Watch	Learn the street price of hardware.
Anandtech.com	Another hardware review and guides page.
Shareware	Where to find that utility you're looking for. Most sites include reviews.
WinAppz	MicroPlanet	You'll probably find what you're looking for in one of these sites. All are good.
SOFTSEEK.COM	/ftp/mirrors/ cdrom_win95/util
WinFiles.com	Rocket Download
SHAREWARE.COM
ZDNet Software Library	Besides their shareware collection, I've found their reviews to be fair and useful.
Walnut Creek CDROM	Home to the largest FTP site on the internet.
Unix	Unix tools for a windows world. Usually Unix tools are much more powerful than those available to Windows users. The good news is that many of these tools have been ported and can be used in Windows.
The Cygwin Project	Cygwin allows a Windows PC to run any Unix program.
SOME PORTS FOR GNU-WIN32 PROJECT
Unix tools on Windows NT? It's so easy!
Magazines	To learn more, read!
Byte Online Home Page	Byte was one of the most respected paper magazines. Their online version, updated once a week, still is worth a read. Home to Jerry Pournelle's Chaos Manor column.
Alternative Shells	When running windows, it's not necessary to use its included look-and-feel. It's possible to change the way windows and buttons look, the menus, the mouse functionality, etc. All this is accomplished by an alternative windows manager. As you can see below, there are loads of them!
MacVision	Enlightenment	Take control of how your windows look with these sites.
graphite.sh - The graphite shell	reveal the possibilities
BetaNews.Com	sharpos.tsx.org
floach.pimpin.net	t h e m e s
LiteStep.net - Welcome	thirty4 interactive
geoShell	Outsider99
GNOME Project

 

Useful Sites back to top Web sites that provide a variety of information.
Maps	Find your way in the world.
USA MAP
World City Maps
TerraServer	One of the few good things Microsoft has unleashed onto the world (they bought it, they didn't invent it): Satellite pictures of the world, down to about 3 meters of resolution. Try to find your house!
Maps and References
Weather	Is it gonna rain?
CNN - Weather Main Page
www.ncstormtrack.com	This site tracks storms around the world.
Flowers	Send virtual flowers by email.
Norton's Flowers
Virtual Flowers
Miscellaneous	Things you probably didn't know existed.
Evaluations of Mail-Order/Internet Computer Products Sales Companies	Check these before you buy through the internet, then share your experience.
Molecular Expressions: The Silicon Zoo	Engineers, being weird fellows, like to sketch stuff inside their circuits.
Octavo: Digital Rare Books	Get high-quality scanned versions of ancient books.
Modelado de Plumas Volcánicas	Volcano research by a Mexican university.
The New York Times: CyberTimes Navigator	What the NYT recommends as good surfing.
Shakespearean Insulter	Generate insults with style!
Ask Dr. Math	A math question? Ask the experts.
Exploring the Solar System
Hot Sauce, Chile Peppers, Absolutely Everything About Hot Chiles
Other people	Regular people web sites that are usually worth a read.
The Grey Havens - The Ultimate J.R.R. Tolkien Resource Web Page	A J.R.R. Tolkien page.
TheOneRing.net	Another Tolkien page.
Silicon Patch
Kasey's Korner
GRRL

 

Cinema back to top Reviews and trailers.
Movie Reviews	Check these out before venturing into the bad-movie wilderness.
The Internet Movie Database	All movies (well, almost).
Dark Horizons	Reviews, trailers, gossip, rumors... One interesting thing is that it presents comments by readers of the site, who are not professional critics.
Movie Trailers	These usually are in .mov format, playable only in Apple's QuickTime movie player. Check out the link below.
Movie Trailers	This is in Apple's site. Normally not worth the trouble because it doesn't let you (easily) store the trailer in your hard drive. Check Dark Horizons above for better accessibility to the trailer files.
Video Codecs	These are needed to view different video formats in Windows.
The Codec Zone	Codecs for MPEG4, DivX, Indeo...
Codec Warehouse	Another coded repository.
Video Editing and Utilities	Video editing, effects, re-coding, etc.
Gromada.com	Movie editors and a free Windows movie player.
Movie Players	The program that actually plays the movie.
QuickTime Movie Player	It is needed to view most trailers.

 

Web Utilities back to top Help related to reading, finding, and publishing stuff on the Web.
Search Engines	Search engines are fundamental to finding something in the internet. If one doesn't find what you're looking for, try another one or, better yet, try a metasearch engine.
Google	My personal favorite.
Yahoo	A directory done mostly by hand, by human categorizers.
Free Search Engine	Add a search engine to your website, free!
Dogpile	Metasearch. Search many engines at the same time.
Locate.com	Lycos	Other good engines.
Northern Light	HotBot
Altavista
Knowledge Bases	A variant on search engines that are supposed to have knowledge, not links.
Helpanswers.com
Web Hosting	A host is someone that puts your work in place accessible through the internet. It's very important to choose a good host; check these resources to learn more.
Web Host Directory	A directory of free hosts. Free host have the advantage of, well, being free, but they usually put restrictions on the way you can publish your work or access your files in their servers. Pay hosts are more flexible and reliable.
Pair Networks	Pay host - I believe they are the best hosting company there is.
Network Solutions	NS has a monopoly on domain registration. I don't recommend you register with them because they can be up to three times more expensive than other registrars. They have the complete whois database, though.
Gandi	I think they are the best name registration company.
Web Site Design Tools	Tools to make your web site better, more attractive, or just easier to design.
ScreamDesign Freebies	Free animated gifs, backgrounds, images and more.
WebTools	Tool reviews, design tips, guide styles, etc.
Yahoo Links	Clip art, backgrounds, gif images for web page design.
Absolutely Free Backgrounds	Barry's Clipart Server	Other sites.
The Clipart Castle	ClipArtConnection.com

 

Email back to top Keep in touch.
Spam Control	Are you being spammed? These links can help.
Spamhunter's Resource.	Resources to track down and avoid spammers.
SpamCop	Report spammers. With luck somebody will do something about it.
DMA to Internet: SHUT UP AND EAT YOUR SPAM	mail-abuse.org documents and fights spam.
Email Clients	To read your email.
Eudora	Eudora is a good client, but the better version is adware.
Email Servers	Send your own email - you don't have to depend on your ISP for that.
PostCast Server mail server	Free, and it works.
Mailing Lists	Subscribe to a special-interest mailing list and share your knowledge with others. These links are lists of mailing lists and resources.
The Mailing List Resource Guide
Liszt, the mailing list directory
Mailing Lists
Remailers	Send email anonymously.
Replay Associates

 

Humor back to top Essential to life.
Dumb Laws	Dumb and just plain funny laws from all the world (that is, funny until they're applied to you!)
Temple ov thee Lemur	A lot of funkiness.
Segfault.org	Computer-related humor.
Calvin and Hobbes	The best comic strip ever.
Trino	The best Mexican comic strips ever.
The Comic Strip	Lots and lots of comic strips.
The Dilbert Zone	Essential to the life of every engineer.
Mother Goose and Grimm	The best dog comic strip.

 

Computer Graphics back to top Fractals, ray-tracing... they can be beautiful.
Ray-tracing	Basically POV-ray stuff. The Persistence Of Vision ray-tracer is one of the best around, it's free, it's open source, and it's available for a number of platforms.
Persistence of Vision Ray Tracer	POV-ray home page.
Ray Tracing News
3DS_OBJECTS	A collection of 3D objects.
Belinda's Home Page	Utilities, link, and stuff.
Robert's Page	More utilities.
AC3D - 3D Graphics Modeler - HOME PAGE	A modeler for POV-Ray. It lets you graphically construct 3D objects.
The Moray Homepage	Another modeler. I think this one is the best, but it's not free.
The Dome Generator	A modeler specifically designed to create domes.
TreeDesigner	Another specific-purpose modeler, this one for trees.
Fractals	Basically fractint stuff. Fractint is the best tools for creating fractals, it's fast, powerful and flexible, plus it's free and open source. The latest version has a really nice GUI.
Fractint
Processing Algorithms	How to process images digitally.
GIMP Effects	Plug-ins for The Gimp.

 

Computer Audio back to top .
MP3	CD-quality audio for the computer.
Winamp	The premier audio player for PCs (MP3s, wav, etc.)
Radio	Listen to the radio through the internet.
The MIT List of Radio Stations on the Internet	A list of radio stations that broadcast on the net.

 

Images back to top Drawn, taken, imagined, processed...
Space	Images of the universe.
NASA Multimedia Gallery
ASCII-Art	Art made from ASCII characters. Impressive.
Ascii Pictures by Allen Mullen
Links to Other Ascii Web Pages
Comics	Some of the best illustrators around.
IMAGES CENTRAL.COM
FATHOMcom	All things related to the Fathom comic.
Comic Sites Newspage	A news page.
Danger Girl	The best thing since James Bond.
ToyCop's Comics Page	A fan's page.
Anime	Japanese cartoon drawings. You either love it or hate it. I love it.
The Ultimate Animanga Archive	A mega archive.
Anime Web Turnpike	Anime galleries.
Fantasy	D&D, Tolkien, dragons, damsels in distress...
Fantasy Images
Museums	Museums that post images of their collections.
FAMSF-Imagebase	A database of collections.
Repositories	Sites with lots, lots of images
wuarchive images
The Topmodel Directory	Images of top models.

 

Photography back to top Paint with light.
Companies	Tool makers.
KODAK: Sample Digital Images	Kodak links.
KODAK Black-And-White Films
Photos	Web sites with interesting pictures.
Pictures of the Year	The best published pictures of the year (according to them).
Links	More information.
Nikon WWW Links	Nikon links.
Nikon Inc.
Nikon mailing list	A very good Yahoo-based Nikon mailing list.
Nikon links	A comprehensive list of Nikon links.
Photographers	See other people's work. These sites normally combine photos, reviews, and advice.
Ken Rockwell
Thom Hogan

 

Computer Games back to top Entertainment.
News and commentary	Keep up to date.
Blue's News	The original, the authoritative, the one to visit if you want to visit only one site.
PSX.IGN.COM	Mainly consoles but also PC content.
WomenGamers.Com	A web site by women, not necessarily for women only.
Old Man Murray's Home Page	Warning: contents may shock you. Visit at your own risk. You've been warned.
chUmbaLum sOft	Weird site.
Scorpia's Domain	The web site of the best computer games columnist of all time (IMHO).
Desslock's RPG News	RPG news by a CGW columnist.
MPOG.COM	Game reviews, usually good.
RPG Planet: One Planet. Many Worlds.	Specific to role-playing games.
loonygames	BitchX
OnlyGamers	Games-L Home Page
NiNe's Rendition Quake & Quake2 Workshop
Hardware, Tweaking and Info	Get the most out of your gaming hardware.
Zanshin's GLDojo	GLSetup Home Page	A bunch of useful sites with info about hardware, tweaking, articles, links, etc.
sharky extreme	RIVA 3D - 3D News & Info.
Thresh's FiringSquad.com	Eric's Fast Graphics Site
Planet GeForce	2D / 3D Hardware Guide
Downloads	Game- or 3D-related downloads.
3DFILES.COM 3D Accelerated Downloads
Game A/V samples
Games	Pages of specific games I happen to like.
PlanetQuake	Quake 3 editing page by Derek c Foley	Quake.
nV News - Quake 3 Arena Tune-Up Guide	The Quake Stomping Grounds
Chaotic Dreams Discussion Board	The best mod for Quake and UT: Chaos.
Start a Free Game of chess	The name says it all.
Emulation	Run other platform games on your PC
MAME home page
Kim Lemon's C64 Game Site
E m u m @ n i a
Magazines	More information, online newsletters, reviews.
Computer Gaming World	In my opinion, the very best computer games magazine there is.
Adventure Zine and Adventure OnLine Gaming
The Adrenaline Vault
Games Domain	A very old, very complete, very good sites. One of the first.
Help sites	In case you can't solve your game on your own.
GameFAQs	Frequently Asked Questions for all games.

 

Electronics back to top Hey, you're reading this thanks to it.
News	Keep up to date.
MicroDesign Resources	A microprocessor and digital design news site.
Software	Download it.
Electrical Engineering Circuits Archive
ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY SOFTWARE SITE
Useful sites.	Info, societies, etc.
IEEE Home Page	The premier society for electrical engineers and computer scientists.
IEEE Computer Society
Standards Information Service
VHDL	One of the most common design languages around.
Deep Chip	Home to ESNUG.
Hamburg VHDL Archive	Web Resources on VHDL, FPGA, Circuit Design, etc.	Free models, resources, and code.
FMF Home Page (Free Model Foundation)	VHDLSynth (1076.3)
Pat McCabe's VHDL Page	A comprehensive list of links.
VHDL Technology Group
VHDL International
VLSI	Design resources.
VLSI - PC Webopaedia Definition and Links	W3 servers related to Microelectronics
Links to VLSI related Research Institution's	Links to VLSI WWW Servers

 

Role-Playing and Fantasy back to top Rescue damsels in distress.
The Guide To Adventure: Purity Test	Are you worthy?
Netbooks & Guides	A listing of all netbooks available.
The RPG Times	The Ring of Blood
GNBA Archive Sections	Flying Griffon Inn
Dreadnought's FRP Page	TSR Home Page
Welcome to Dusk: The World of Carthasana	Role-Playing Games

 

Security and Privacy back to top Learn to protect yourself.
Articles	Learn what the threats are and what the parties think.
Privacy	An article in the NYTimes.
Data spills in banner ads	The risks of watching banner ads.
How Web Servers' Cookies Threaten Your Privacy	The risks of cookies.
What's Wrong With Content Protection
Tools	Learn to use the tools available on the internet.
ShieldsUP! FAQ	The FAQ of the ShieldsUp! page. Basic reading on port scanning.
Packet Sniffing Details and Resources	Learn about packet sniffing.
Fortify for Netscape - SSL Encryption Check	Is SSL working correctly on your browser?
Whitehats Free DDOS Testing Service	Are there any DDOS programs running on your computer?
Proxies	Proxies are one of the most powerful privacy tools available. A proxy acts as a barrier between your computer and the internet. You talk to the proxy only, while the proxy talks to the internet for you.
Proxys - 4 - All : Helping Secure Your Privacy &  Anonymity on the Internet	Learn more about proxies.
The Lucent Personalized Web Assistant
Anonymizer	A web site that provides a proxy server.
The Proxomitron - Universal Web Filter	A local proxy. It resides on your machine and filters the information coming in and out of your computer.
webwasher.com - Keep Your Web Clean	Another local proxy.
The Internet Junkbuster Proxy on Windows	Another local proxy. Several proxies can be run in series, one overcoming the limitations of the next.
Sites	Web sites with loads of information.
ASTALAVISTA	The premier search engine specialized in security and privacy.
HNN - H a c k e r N e w s N e t w o r k
Digital Rebel
L0pht Heavy Industries	A white-hat hacker site.
Steve Gibson	Gibson is a well-known and respected security expert.
Electronic Privacy Information Center	A privacy and security advocate site. EPIC does a very important work supporting individual privacy and freedom of speech.
Georgi Guninski	Guninski has found a great deal of Windows vulnerabilities. He has set up web pages that test if you are vulnerable.
SecurityFocus	News.
AntiOnline - Computer Security	A white-hat site.
Censorware	Learn about censorware.
Cryptography	Cryptography is one of the essential tools for achieving true privacy.
The Cypherpunks Home Page	Cryptography.
The International PGP Home Page	PGP is an excellent cryptography program with a fascinating history.

Contact me at: webmaster@thewizardstower.org

Copyright (c) 2001 Miguel Bazdresch