Links
Internet privacy and safety
If you think this topic is not important to you, at least read
this
...and watch this
video (switch on English subtitles in the video menu).
General safety precautions
Using the internet safely
Securing your computer to maintain your privacy
Prism Break - software recommendations for anyone interested in their privacy
Winhelp hosts file - prevents your browser from loading content from advertisement and tracking sites
Search engines that respect your privacy
MetaGer - meta search engine run by a German non-profit organization
startpage - delivers 1:1 Google search results
ixquick - partner project of startpage that queries different search engines
DuckDuckGo - if you like the Google look and feel
Science and technology
Reference guides and directories
Kaye & Laby - tables of physical and chemical constants
Wolfram Alpha - computational knowledge engine... as long as their servers are not temporarily unavailable.
Wolfram online integrator - calculates symbolic integrals
Patent search
Wer liefert was - find vendors for anything you are looking for (Germany, Austria and Switzerland only)
Space / Astronomy / Aerospace
Heavens-Above - see a real-time map of the night sky, the position of the ISS and other satellites, and much more
MrEclipse - lots of information on solar and moon eclipses
Copenhagen Suborbitals - the only amateur group in the world working towards human spaceflight
Scaled Composites - Burt Rutan's exceptional airplanes
Science at home - distributed computing
SETI@home - one of the earliest projects of this kind; uses the idle time of your computer to help discover alien life
worls community grid - if you would rather help in finding a cure to cancer or other diseases
List of distributed computing projects - if the above link still doesn't give you enough choices
Miscellaneous
Building Prototypes - a well made video tutorial on various manufacturing techniques
Megabots - the creators of a Giant Robot sports league. First robot battle USA/Japan scheduled for September 2017!
Bumper Dumper - indispensable car accessory :-)
Computers
Software and Tools
Unison - file synchronizer to keep consistent data on your PC, laptop, USB-sticks or wherever (hint: as a side-effect, you get a backup without additional hassle).
VirtuaWin - a free Windows tool for everybody with too many open windows and too little free screen space; allows to switch between up to 9 virtual desktops.
Notepad++ - powerful editor with lots of useful features
Diffuse - graphical tool for merging and comparing text files
ac'tivAid - rich tool set that allows you to e.g. deactivate or remap the CapsLock key, to batch rename multiple files, move and resize windows more comfortably, etc., etc.
Linux
Knoppix - boots linux directly from CD without any installation.
Tails - similar, but primarily focused on internet security and privacy. This was Edward Snowden's choice.
Debian - if you are serious about installing Linux, this is my recommendation.
Window Managers for X - an overview of the various graphical Linux desktops with information and configuration files
Linux-Laptop - guides for installing Linux on specific laptops
Useful tips and resources
BugMeNot - usernames and passwords to let Internet users bypass mandatory free registration on websites.
Herberts Männerseiten - lots of helpful information (not only) for single men
Interesting and funny stuff, Science Fiction, Movies,...
What If - the online complement of Randall Munroe's famous book
Darwin Awards - collection of exceptionally tragic stupidity
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition - actually older than Wikipedia
Futuremania - The Captain Future Fan Site
Kung Fury - finally a movie that has *everything* you can possibly think of. :-)
Partner sites
El Paulo, chairman of WP Worldwide Enterprises Inc.
To be continued...
If someone knows of another hidden internet gem that should be listed here, please email me.
this page last updated 2017-08-21
