Features

www.shinyshiny.tv
Most self-respecting geeks can reel off a list of half-a-dozen technology blogs, but Shiny's selling point is that it's one of a handful targeted at women. This doesn't just mean pink borders; Shiny Shiny is designed to be accessible to those interested in the latest gadgets - whether that be a vacuum cleaner or 42in LCD screen - without being desperate to know all the tech specs. Shiny's chief attraction is its video reviews, which are full of personality, enthusiasm and a cosy amateurishness.

www.techdirt.com
There are plenty of technology-orientated news aggregators online, but few can hold a candle to Techdirt when it comes to exposing the underbelly of the technology business. As the name suggests, this is one service that isn't afraid to dig the dirt and then put up a big sign so everyone can come and kick at the pile. Neither does it tolerate PR flannel - a report claiming that 77% of people will stop shopping online at stores that suffer data breaches is filed under the "somehow, we doubt it" category. With further categories including "news you should have read elsewhere", "overhyped" and "(mis)uses of technology", you know exactly what you're getting.

www.pocketgpsworld.com
With a million site visits every month, PocketGPSWorld is one of the most popular yet undiscovered secrets in the world of sat-nav. A very British affair, it's home to the pioneering free speed camera database, which can be downloaded as a POI database for many different devices. But more than that, it's also the first place to go for GPS-related problems or the latest device and software reviews. Underpinned by a knowledgeable and friendly community, PocketGPSWorld should be firmly on your web map.

www.guidebookgallery.org
Remember Windows 95? How about Windows 3.1? OS/2? Amiga OS? If you feel like wandering through an online museum of user interfaces, give the Graphical User Interface Gallery a look. There are screenshots from dozens of operating systems and applications, allowing you to chart the progression of famous software from the early 1980s right through to Windows Vista and OS X. Not content with mere applications, there are also plenty of yesteryear's icons to sigh nostalgically over, plus video demonstrations of the software. It's an invaluable resource as well, with essays, reviews and interviews for anyone involved with interface design.

www.mozila.pl/blog/
Here's a rare spectacle: a blog that's actually useful. Add it to your RSS feeds and you'll gain regular hints on ekeing more out of Mozilla Firefox. For example, if you click on the "Firefox add-ons" category, you'll see at-a-glance all the posts about the best Firefox extensions, from weather forecasts to ad blockers. We'd like to see more content, but what's there is well written. And if you need more help, you can always head over to a forum such as http://forums.mozillazine.org.