Reactionary

Like my friend who had an I LOVE MY iPOD breakdown moment at the recent AIDS Walk, I’m having one now about the web. Can I just say I love the web? It makes everything possible. The sites below are my list of sites I can’t live without, like how Time Magazine did their list. One of the sites I heard about because of Time Magazine.
1. BlueFly– Designers for less. It doesn’t pay to have something very specific in mind when going in, since BlueFly is not the first stop for many of the clothes and they won’t have all colors or all sizes of a specific item. But when you go in with a general idea, say a new black leather jacket for the fall, they’re bound to have something for you, designer stuff at about half the price. It’s not Kmart. Expect to spend money, but you’ll spend a lot less than if you shopped an Macy’s and if you troll it often enough you’re sure to find a great deal. All clothes are brand new and well-packed. Returns are easy.

2. iTunes– The Daily Show and The Colbert Report without cable. It, along with Netfliks, has allowed me to protest Comcast’s shoddy service and get rid of them forever.

3. New York Times– The news. Nice, clean, easy-to-read website with all the latest articles from the paper edition. I love the Op-Eds. Their RSS feed is also informative and gives you a slug on what to expect unlike CNN’s which just says, “Read full story for latest details.” That’s one of my pet peeves. RSS feeds without even a word of the story. This is why I have an RSS reader, so I won’t have to read every single story. Instead of doing what they want to do and click through, I skip it and move on. The NYT gives you enough to know what’s going on without having to read everything. Their longer stories that focus on two sides of an issue or a subject that can’t be summed up in a headline put it even above the BBC for news.

4. Open Table– The free, online RSVP system for restaurants in the US and Canada. It cuts down on those disappointment phone calls when you’re told they don’t have a table for you. Open Table makes it easy to check numerous places. There’s also a points system for a small reward if you dine out a lot.

5. Sephora– Like Zappos for makeup. Cut down on crowds and stores being out of the right colors. Also, keep up on beauty news with the changing seasons and learn from the online practice sessions.

6. That’s My Monkey– A photography website started by two brothers, one who does weddings and portraits and one who’s into travel and landscape. Entertaining and full of tutorials, it’s hard to think of a better place to get tips.

7. Venere– Going to Europe? Don’t have the will or cash to stay at the big American chains? Look no further. Venere is a reservations portal for many small, European hotels, bed and breakfasts, and apartments. Businesses that don’t always have free toll-free RSVP lines or websites with RSVP interfaces of their own. The map-based search feature is great and user reviews give you an idea of what you’re getting into. When it comes to ironing out details, you’re on your own but thanks to Venere you have an e-mail address with which to contact the owner and it’s easy to cancel the RSVPs from the website itself.

8. Versiontracker– Need a new program? Don’t know which one to get? Versiontracker does just what it says. It’s an online database of software for your computer, free, shareware, and retail. I’ve found things like VCD, Transmit, and SubEthaEdit there which I never would have heard of otherwise. If you sign up for the premium membership, you get a profile that lets you know when software you own has been updated.

9. YouTube– There are some original short films and some drunken wastes of time, but the real reason I visit is once-aired footage of TV shows and videos that can’t be found anywhere else. The downfall is that YouTube, to keep bandwidth costs down, re-encodes submitted video in an inferior format. But it’s like digging through the Great Television Attic in the sky and I love it.

10. Zappos– It’s fully responsible for my recent shoe addiction. I’ve always hated and dreaded buying shoes, not because I hate shoes, but I hated the buying experience at all retailers, no matter how fine. The crowds, the either pushy or distant salepeople, and of course the Not the Right Size, Not the Right Color syndrome. I hated going in, bothering to flag someone down, and then being told they don’t have it in my size, leaving me to find another shoe I liked and doing it over again. Enter Zappos. If they don’t have it, no one will, and don’t feel pressured to keep the shoes if they look terrible on you. They’ll take them back and make it easy to do it, free shipping. 24-hour telephone support and ordering that’s just as fast and friendly as their website keeps me coming back. The user reviews on a particular pair of shoes (they run small) are invaluable and the mailing list on all topics of shoe is a great support system.

September 24th, 2006 | Category: Tech |  Print |  Send it | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL