Webzones that Kick Ass (2015-02-25)

CD5K > FU > DWB > getlinks

Many links to various sites that I respect and enjoy.

Warning: Some of the links on this page could lead to websites which you might find compelling or addictive. Click with caution.

Contents:

• Packed with Amazing
  • Entertainment (8) / Information (8)
  • Classic (8) / Recommended (8)
  • Quickies (10)
• Purchases (16)
• Software (24)
  • Security and Anonymity (8)
  • Source Ports and Emulators (12)
• Top Ten Webcomics (10)
• World Conspiracy Hypotheses (11)

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Packed With Amazing

Quickies

Purchases

Also see Necessary Purchases, my favorite items from online shops, and You Should Play These, which lists my top 32 PC games.

If you're outside the USA, you may need to make use of a parcel forwarding service, such as Free Virtual Mailbox.

Legend: [G]ame downloads; [P]hysical items; [S]ervices.

[P] Amazon.com sells nearly every mass-market thing you could hope to find, new or used. Not sure where to begin? Start at the toppp and work your way down.

[S] Consumer Cellular is a low-cost, no-contract, post-paid cellphone plan provider. It's ideal for those of us who just use our mobiles for calling and texting. You can upgrade or downgrade phones, minutes, and texts/data entirely through their website interface.

[G] Desura is a game store primarily focused on the distribution of quality independent titles. They also manage the Indie Royale, a minimally priced bundle of games with a new offering every 2 weeks.

[S] FastMail is a webmail provider that has been operating since 1999, offering ad-free personal email with a bit of file storage and web hosting for as low as $0.85/month.

[G] GOG.COM (Worldwide!) offers a vast selection of great old and new games, DRM-free and working on modern systems, for low prices. In fact, you can sign up right now to get a 100% discount on twelve select games, including Tyrian 2000 and Ultima IV!

[P] MonoPrice is your new favorite outlet for low-cost, high-quality AV equipment, electronic peripherals, and cables. Paying more than $1.50 per foot of cable is now reserved exclusively for sukkaz.

[S] NearlyFreeSpeech.NET is a webhost that lives up to its name, costing around $12 to $36 per year, with domain registration included. Absolute maximum value for your money with these folks, provided you already know a bit about (or can figure out) how to configure and manage a website.

[P] Nintendo Repair Shop carries cleaning kits, security bits, replacement parts, and other utilities to aid cartridge game enthusiasts in maintaining their old console hardware.

[G] Steam (XP+/OSX/DEB) is the digital game store; an unrivaled library with frequent, deep sales. Don't forget to check The Big List to know which titles are bogged down with extra DRM. Also, check out Enhanced Steam (Cr/Fx/Op), which adds a host of missing features to the storefront.

[P] Vat19.com (Worldwide!) offers an ecclectic inventory of unique items and gummy candies. Head over to their Youtube channel to learn about hundreds of interesting things you didn't know you needed.

Software

Essential free programs for your sorry computer that's lacking them.

Security and Anonymity

* * * PLEASE REMEMBER * * *
Because something can be used for evil, doesn't mean it always will be. Don't let fear blind you to the legitimate uses of these programs; any German will tell you that no one has "nothing to hide".

Source Ports/Emulators

Because original hardware is always preferable, yet seldom practical.

Chocolate is a modern port of id Tech 1 aiming to retain compatibility with the DOS releases of Doom, Hexen, Strife, and other such games. More advanced engines are also available, such as the highly compatible PRBoom+ and the popular Zandronum.

DOSbox is an MS-DOS emulator which runs all the old games and programs from 1981~1996 that are now incompatible with our futuristic space technology. It can handily simulate a variety of hardware, up to and including Pentium CPUs, SVGA graphics, and the Gravis UltraSound. Also, to preserve your CD-ROM games, create CUE/BIN image pairs with ImgBurn (Windows only).

LibRetro, with its Core system, is a convenient way to play a bunch of consoles and arcade platforms with enhancements. Currently available systems include Atari VCS, most Nintendo systems, Sega 8 and 16-bit, the PlayStation 1, and others.

SCUMMVM emulates the engine used in a myriad of point-and-click adventure games, including many created by LucasArts, Sierra, and Humongous.

VICE recreates six Commodore 8-bit computers, including the VIC-20, 64, and 128. For people who only need C64 emulation, the excellent shareware CCS64 (Windows only) with its immersive menu system is also available.

VirtualBox allows for the emulation of entire computer operating systems, such as Windows XP+, varieties of Linux, BSD, OS/2, and DOS. However, hardware accelerated 3D has not yet been fully developed.

NonMESS compares other emulators for consoles, handhelds, and 8-bit computers to the Multi-Emulator Super System.

Top Ten Webcomics

Of the million-and-one stories being told online, I enjoy these the most:

Banished! (Chaptered)

The misadventures and journey of an alien convict and his spirited robot companion in the midst of straining intergalactic tensions.

Curvy (18+) (Continuous)

A tale of dimension-hopping magic wielders and multiversal politics.

Daisy Owl (Discontinued)

The perfectly ordinary life of Daisy, whose dad is an owl.

Gene Catlow (Continuous)

A chronicle of the physical and spiritual affairs and conflicts between human and anthro, stretching through the past, present, and future.

Nedroid (Low Continuity)

A picture diary featuring the zany antics of Reginald the Great and Handsome, his friend Beartato, and sometimes Harrison.

Rice Boy (Completed)

I have no words that would do it justice. Just strap in, and read.

Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal (No Continuity)

Your daily dose of plot twist as the result of science, religion, philosophy, and the nature of humans (and aliens!)

The System (Low Continuity)

A comic about the workplace, cycling, coffee, and life in general, exclusively rendered with International Symbol Signs.

TwoKinds (Chaptered)

Join an amnesiac warlock, an escaped slave, an exiled warrior, and other companions as they roam the lands in search of a better world.

Unicorn Jelly (Completed)

A multi-generational philosophical science fiction epic set in a fully realized and developed universe. This flipped switches in my brain until the Ultraverse was in development.

Honorable Mention: Homestuck (Completed)

World Conspiracy Hypotheses

Some interesting alternative interpretations of reality - which, as far as I'm concerned, is really what we make of it. Even the words we use to describe stuff have arbitrary, self-defined meanings. (OR DO THEY?)

Truthism

The place to go for Reptilian Space Illuminati lore.

Xee-A Twelve

A collection of fascinating stories.

Montalk

An extensive resource for Fringe Knowledge and the Matrix.

MetaTech

A news portal spilling information supressed by the man.

Thrive Movement

A feature film on how to fix all of the world's problems. It also tumbles through literally every CH I have ever heard of except reptilian aliens controlling politics, religion, commerce, and/or the media...

Impossiblator Part II

...which is because that role is actually filled by a secret cabal of omnipotent Commodore computer techno-sorcerers, who can do more with 4K than you can with eight megs.

Harmonic 4-Day Time Cube

Do you have any idea how dumb you are, and how inaccurate your concept of the passage of time is? Follow Dr. Gene Ray, the Wisest Human, on a long-ass journey through the reasons you are a terrible person and he isn't.

The Deoxyribonucleic Hyperdimension

A consciousness-expanding archive established in 1993 that's rife with commentary on science, spirituality, philosophy, and the human condition.

Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division

With the aid of this information resource, you can assist us in spreading the word about the highly dangerous solvent also known as hydric acid.

Aluminum Foil

Everyone's favorite lyrical chef, Weird Al, now reveals the truth that the Food Broadcasting Industry doesn't want you to know!

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