Why the Microsoft Ruling Is Dangerous: Wired.Com - Here's an interesting take on the Microsoft ruling from Lauren Weinstein, co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility and creator of the Privacy Forum.

The Latest in Computerized Art: Digital Art - Last time I looked, this site had 6,570 pieces of digital art generated by computer. There's lots of science fiction, of course, but also portraits, nature scenes, animals, and much more. It's quite interesting to see what an artist can do with computer art.

Free Word Processor: ABI-Source - Here you can download AbiWord, a free word processor that's being constantly improved. It's at version 1.03 so far, and doesn't have quite everything in it yet that you'll find in MS Word, but it's very useful for simpler writing tasks.

Free Encyclopedia: Wikipedia - Have you ever wanted to write your own encyclopedia? Wikipedia is a very loosely organized project to compile and write a free online encyclopedia— the largest encyclopedia in history, as a matter of fact. Visitors to the site are invited to contribute, or even to edit material already in the encyclopedia.

Monitor Your Resources: PE Soft - I used to have a ton of problems with Windows 98 running out of system resources. This is a free little tool to track various resources on your system, like CPU usage, free RAM, and other items that affect your system's performance. It sits up in the corner of your screen and constantly monitors whichever items you select. It's useful even if you're not using one of the Windows versions that leaks resources like a sieve.

News and Links: Hewie.net - Hewie's is a site that shows all the top news stories in various fields on the front page, with links to the stories. Then he has links, organized by category, to "many of the best links on the Web."

Wireless Security: Wardriving.com - If you've got a wireless network, you owe it to yourself to check out the Wardriving site to see what the hackers know about wireless networking and to discover where the soft spots in your metwork might be. Also check out "Wardriving Is Not a Crime".

Are You a Prude?: Discovery Channel - The prude test is only one highlight of this very entertaining site, the Learning Channel's exploration of America's obsession with sex. Interviews with Hefner, Beaver Cleaver flushing a toilet onscreen— many famous moments are recounted here.

I Used to Believe…: is a site that archives unusual childhood beliefs— the things we believed as children that we now know aren't true. This is much more than Santa or the Easter Bunny. Many of them are very funny, some are curious insights into children's minds, and almost all are surprising and unusual.

Atlanta's 1906 Race Riot: WPBA.ORG - Forty years after the Civil War, Atlanta saw itself as the gateway to a newly-enlightened South. The four-day race riot that tore the city apart in 1906 spoiled that vision, but did the city learn from it? This is Atlanta's public broadcasting station's take on the subject, from a show it broadcast in October.

Stephen Jay Gould: The late Stephen Jay Gould was probably the most visible defender of the traditional theory of evolution. Despite most scientists' certainty on the topic, other theories refuse to go away. This site celebrates his work and serves as a guide to the work of evolutionary and other scientists.

Pet Emergency: PETS-911 - The Animal News Center operates this site with sponsorship from Kodak, PetSmart and others. It's a resource for all who love animals, with sections on pet health, pet-friendly renting, rescue organizations, shelters, adoption centers, and much more.

elgooG esreveR ehT: All Too Flat - You may have heard about the backward Google site when the Chinese were blocking Google. Here's what it looks like. Don't forget to put your search terms in backwards!

Global Warming…or Not: Exploratorium - How human activity affects global weather is a complex subject that can be explored at this site in some detail. Charts, maps, graphs all reflect the available scientific knowledge so you can decide for yourself.

Valley of the Kings: The Ban Mapping Project - This is a huge archeological project to map the monuments of Thebes in Egypt, where the Valley of the Kings is located.