by Jeffrey B. Dalin, DDS, FACD, FAGD, FICD
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It’s time to update your Favorites folder! I hope that everyone has become avid users of the Internet. The more you find out there on the World Wide Web, the more you will want to explore. Turn on Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Mozilla, or whatever software you are using, and enjoy.
Before I get started, I have to make sure you have been to DentistryIQ.com. This is PennWell’s new dental portal. There is very little that you cannot find there ... from dental articles to bulletin boards to product information. I recommend that you bookmark this Web site and visit it often.
Shopping is always a favorite online activity. For price comparisons and reviews, visit froogle.google.com, shopper.cnet.com, mysimon.com, nextag.com, and pricegrabber.com.
Are you a fan of coupons? Try these sites to download and print coupons: retailmenot.com, dealcoupon.com, couponcabin.com, fatwallet.com/coupons.php. Also, be sure to bookmark pricepinx.com for price drop alerts, and zingsale.com will let you know when store items go on sale.
Amazon.com is one of my favorite places to buy things online. Many sites are appearing with ways to help you shop there. Try junglecrazy.com to find discounted items on Amazon. Visit savvygraph.com to see charts based on ratings found on Amazon.
Readers of my Internet column know of my fondness for tripadvisor.com for travel information. I have a few more sites for you to check out in this category.
For instance, kayak.com is a great price comparison site. I think that bing.com/travel has an interesting feature called a price predictor that tries to forecast whether fares will increase or decrease.
Everyone has probably heard of or used priceline.com for hotel pricing. For last minute bargains, laterooms.com is also a good site in my opinion.
Also, check out hotelvideoreviews.com for videos of potential hotel choices. In addition, homeaway.com offers a big selection of rental lodgings.
For collecting rental car rates from seven different companies, hotwire.com is good. For online updates on flight delays, avoiddelays.com is useful. Packing tips for travel are offered at onebag.com.
Don’t forget to use the Internet for health information and tips. For starters, check out organizedwisdom.com, healthy.net, wellsphere.com, and healthline.com.
This column would not be complete unless I included some game sites. Stay under control and don’t spend too much time at smashingames.com, majman.net/fly_loader.html, addictinggames.com, miniclip.com, popcap.com, and gamesforthebrain.com.
To finish, let me toss in some miscellaneous fun sites. For example, photofunia.com can be used for adding effects to pictures. You will locate 1,000 awesome things at 1000awesomethings.com. You can go to shipgooder.com to calculate shipping rates through a variety of companies.
Research people at cvgadget.com. Stock screening can be done at gstock.com. Find a collection of various rules of thumb at rulesofthumb.org. Finally, go to bloglines.com for a Web–based personal news aggregator.
There you have it. This column includes 45 sites to visit and add to your online library of favorites. I hope you enjoy them all!
Jeffrey B. Dalin, DDS, FACD, FAGD, FICD, practices general dentistry in St. Louis. He is a cofounder of the Give Kids A Smile program. Contact Dr. Dalin at [email protected].
