When I look back at the blog items I post linking to interesting developer essays and articles, many of them are originally from osnews.com.  OSNews is a frequently updated blog that posts lots of small items every day.  While nominally about operating systems, they really cover a much broader domain including websites and technology companies.  They do an outstanding job of bringing early attention to interesting technology essays that I don't see mentioned elsewhere.

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the OsNews website, click: here.

No site does as good a job of helping you choose a freeware tool for a specific task than Gizmo's Freeware (otherwise known by us old-timers as Tech Support Alert).

The site is simply unrivaled in terms of recommendations for freeware, and if you ever find yourself asking what the best free windows utility is for a given task, it's *the* site to visit.

In each well-organized category, top alternatives are reviewed, rated, and ranked, and then discussed by all -- and reviews are frequently revisited and updated, which is a rarity.

In addition, Gizmo Richards himself has also long been a friend to freeware authors, helping to shine the light on new freeware tools, and a friend to us from the early days, helping to tell people about DonationCoder and our software -- and I am extremely honored to have had some of my tools recommended on the site.

I can't think of a better site to receive the first entry in our list of our Favorite Websites.

Direct Link: http://www.techsupportalert.com

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the TechSupportAlert website, click: here.

gHacks is one of a handful of wonderful websites that has always been friendly to, and supportive of, independent software authors.

The site has been mentioned hundreds of times on our forum, and they've featured many of the software utilities made by the members here.

Truly one of our favorite sites for discovering software.

Visit Site: http://www.ghacks.net/

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the gHacks website, click: here.

There are a ton of websites competing to offer you a daily helping of new and unusual discoveries on the internet, but few can hold a candle to BoingBoing, which sets the standard for coming up with new interesting items every day that you won't find anywhere else.

BoingBoing is short on business, law, politics, and slapstick humor -- and instead focuses on under-appreciated artists and creators, and on bringing the obscure to the public.

Visit Site: http://boingboing.net

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the BoingBoing website, click: here.

It's impossible not to love Instructables, the website where amateur do-it-yourselfers post visual tutorials on how to make just about anything you could imagine.

Now if you're interests are focused on a narrow domain -- for example if you're interested in knitting, painting, electronics, etc., then you're going to find better websites for tutorials in your chosen area with content created by people with professional-level skills.  That's not what instructables is about.

But if you're tastes are eclectic, and you like meeting fellow amateurs and dabblers, the charm and friendliness and sheer variety of the tutorials at Instructables is a joy to behold.

If you have kids, and they get bored -- get on the computer and go to the Instructables website, and you're bound to find something fun to make.

Visit Site: http://www.instructables.com

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the Instructables website, click: here.

For those who want to keep up with the intersection of technology and law/politics, Techdirt is the perfect website.

The site features original writing, updated multiple times per day, offering perspective on current legal and political issues that involve technology. 

The posts are written by people who know what they are talking about, but the writers don't take themselves too seriously, and write in a way that is accessible to the layperson.

The entire site is a testament to the value of presenting information in a clean, structured, no-nonsense way.

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To see other posts on the DonationCoder forum that mention the Techdirt website, click: here.