Web's Eye View by Neil Pellinacci from Tanzarine Technology Ltd

This month's favourite websites are provided by Neil Pellinacci who runs Tanzarine Technology Ltd, providing Java and web technology consultancy. He is on the committees of the Essex Branch and the Internet Specialist Group of the British Computer Society. Slashdot http://www.slashdot.org Subtitled 'News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters' this website is an excellent way to keep abreast of the latest trends in science, technology, business and their social implications, as well as up to the minute news. Editors submit stories (based on reader's information) about useful articles seen on the web and forum members then discuss them. The opinions of many of the readers are forthright, as is the language used to express them, but even if the ensuing discussions are put to one side, this website is an excellent 'alert' to technology news stories around the world, and frequently allows you to spot interesting technology reports on other news services such as the BBC, New York Times, The Register and silicon.com without monitoring all of them continuously. O'Reilly Network http://www.oreillynet.com Well known for computer books, conferences and online publishing, O'Reilly runs a number of developer websites which are essential reading for professionals in many disciplines. The sites cover .NET, Java, XML, Perl, LAMP (the combination of open source tools which is Linux, Apache, MySQL and your choice of Perl or PHP or Python) and also 'environment specific' centres for Windows, Mac and Linux developers. Joel on Software http://www.joelonsoftware.com Joel Spolsky, a software developer based in New York City, writes on issues in software development, management, business, the Internet, and more. As and when he comes across something significant to professional software developers and users of the web, he writes about it and invites discussion from readers. Mozilla http://www.mozilla.org Home of the standards-based Firefox web browser and it's companion e-mail client, Thunderbird, as well as the full Mozilla suite which also includes a newsgroup reader, IRC client and HTML editor. The Sunbird calendar application is under development, and an alpha release is now available. Satire Wire http://www.satirewire.com It's now over three years since Andrew Marlatt stopped producing new material for his popular satirical website in order to concentrate on publicising his book 'Economy of Errors'. Business, technology, religion and politics all fall under Marlatt's 'dot.com.edy' microscope, and fortunately for those that missed it first time round, he has at least kept the site running. Business 2.0 http://www.business2.com A monthly look at the drivers behind technology, media and business in the United States, looking forwards to what might be coming next, and backwards to what's gone wrong. Don't miss the annual '101 Dumbest Moments in Business'. Dilbert http://www.dilbert.com The official web home of Scott Adams' famous creation, where you can find all manner of Dilbert comic strips, games, wallpapers, screensavers; you name it, there's even a Dilbert blog. And of course, your boss will laugh at the Pointy Hair Boss, and won't get the real joke. The Onion http://www.theonion.com/content/index Subtitled modestly as America's Finest News Source, this is an often hard hitting satirical look at life in the US and global affairs from an American standpoint, available weekly online and in print. (IT Adviser, Issue 41, January/February 2006)