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The best sites you?ve never heard of

On Magazine (www.onmagazine.com), formerly known as Time Digital, has put together an interesting feature on some of the best Web sites that you?ve probably never heard of.

On Magazine (www.onmagazine.com), formerly known as Time Digital, has put together an interesting feature on some of the best Web sites that you?ve probably never heard of.

I spend a little bit of time online looking for sites that are interesting or a little out of the ordinary for this column, and I?ve come across a few of the sites, but for the most part it was an adventure and an education.

It?s particularly interesting to note that all of the sites have an interactive element, making use of the full potential of the Internet.

www.globexplorer.com

No matter where you live, chances are there?s a satellite up there with a camera trained on your neighbourhood. There?s no need to pull down the blinds or put pants on, however ? while they can zoom in on your house, all they?ll see is roof. You might want to cover up the skylight.

This service allows you to view up-to-date satellite photos of the world. Just enter your address, city and postal code into the boxes, and this site will give you a map from MapQuest and an aerial photo.

www.rottentomatoes.com

It seems you can?t trust many movie reviewers these days, which is too bad because it seems like five movies come out every single week. The problem is that media companies and the entertainment industry are becoming increasingly consolidated, with media moguls owning both the movie production houses and the newspapers, magazines and television programs that review movies.

While we don?t have a lot of choice in Whistler compared to the city, it?s still two hours out of your life ? make them count! Rotten Tomatoes is primarily a movie review site that compiles the ratings and comments submitted by actual viewers. The reviews are averaged out to give you an overall rating.

While you may not agree with the mass verdict, you have to consider that everyone went to the movie with the same general expectation as you, and that is to be entertained.

That?s also why you should submit reviews, to help your fellow man save two hours and $8.50 ? to give credit where credit is due, and lob a rotten tomato when your disappointment gets the best of you.

www.chowhound.com

Chowhound is a culinary version of the above Web site, collecting critical opinions of restaurants and recipes on the main page, and the opinions of everyone else on their message boards. It?s a bit awkward to browse through, but the threads of the web will become clearer as the critiques pile up. To find what you?re looking for under the basic thread of "Canada," hit CTRL F (Command F in Apple talk) type the name of the city or town you?re going to be in into the Finder, and read the posted comments.

www.metaspy.com

If you?ve ever wondered what people are searching for on the Web, the online search engine MetaCrawler can tell you using Metaspy. You can find out what people are searching for right this minute from a list that is refreshed every 15 seconds.

There?s also a MetaSpy "Exposed" site, which includes every search term used. There are a lot of sick freaks out there, so you?ll need to read a warning before you can get in.

www.olga.net

If you play guitar, chances are you?ve already been to the Online Guitar Archive for help figuring out songs. If not, you?re either very good or just got a guitar on the Internet. There are literally tens of thousands of song titles in the archives.

www.propertyroom.com

Think of it as an eBay for justice.

Every day the police seize thousands of items from drug dealers and criminals and put them up for auction. Rather than going to the impound yard on auction day, the entire collection of seized goods from around the U.S. is put on this Web site. You can bid on these items at your leisure, raising stakes as the auction?s closing date approaches.

www.sportspages.com

This is a must for any sports fanatic. This site goes through the sports sections of all the leading sports Web sites looking for stories and columns, and provides links to the information from a single interface.

www.wheresgeorge.com

Follow the money ? that was the advice that Deep Throat gave to the Washington Post reporters that busted Nixon at Watergate, and it?s good advice today if you?re bored and curious to see how many hands a dollar bill can go through in its lifetime. The more people who participate, the better this site will get.

All you do is enter the serial numbers of your dollar bills, and see where else those numbers crop up. One dollar has 11 different entries, travelling from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Cleveland, Ohio.

www.halfbakery.com

There are no stupid ideas, just stupid ? all right, so there are stupid ideas, but just because an idea is stupid or half baked doesn?t mean it?s not a good idea. The guy who invented the pet rock is rich. Madame Curie discovered radiation by mistake. The Gatling machine gun was the inspiration for early motion picture cameras.

Thousands of would-be inventors redesign the wheel at Halfbakery, redesigning the wheel and building a better mousetrap in dozens of categories. More than 50 people put their two cents in on an idea to build toilet seats that can be raised and lowered with a pedal mechanism.

This site really has to be seen to be appreciated.

www.quickbrowse.com

This site takes the headlines from major news Web sites and puts them onto a single page for your convenience.