In previous years, I’ve noted how much we need a distraction from our ongoing dumpster fires, and thus the need for this annual list. That statement still applies. Look away from the flames for just a few minutes and possibly be reminded that there are still some good corners of the interwebs. Happy holidays.
- If you’ve been telling the young’uns to get off of your virtual lawn, it’s time to visit Internet Artifacts. This includes a year-by-year examination of the evolution of the internet, including a map of the original ARPANET network.
- I have tried a pretty good number of AI-related tools. This is the first one that has genuinely made me happy with a result. I actually enjoyed listening to this one. The prompt I gave it was “A bopping pop song about how great public libraries are.” Create an account to start getting Suno to create songs for you.
- Want to go down a vintage rabbit hole? Try Weird Old Book Finder, which allows you to search on public domain books published prior to 1924.
- Do you enjoy quotes? Would you like a quote to match your mood? I told APLIFT I was feeling anxious, and it returned “No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen. Alan Watts” If only I could internalize that.
- Miss the web before algorithms took over? Project Random lets you explore popular sites with links to very obscure content that the algorithms won’t give you.
- When you want to get good at something, you have to practice, right? What if you want to get good at click-intensive games? CPS Tests allows you to take a CPS (clicks per second) test and try to beat your own record. No surprise: I ranked as a turtle.
- There are a lot of sound generators online. I’ve seen multiple that involve rain sounds, but this is the first I’ve encountered that specializes in ocean sounds. Dolphins, anyone?
- There’s just one button. Click it. You’ll get something interesting and random every time. For example, my first experiment brought me to “The frantic run of the valorous rabbit,” while one of my next gave me an immersive museum experience from Amsterdam.
Want to see lists from previous years?
