As we approach the dawn of a new year, here are my picks for the 101 most useful websites of the year 2011.

Useful Websites Worth a Bookmark!

The sites mentioned here, well most of them, solve at least one problem really well and they all have simple web addresses (URLs) that you can easily learn by heart thus saving you a trip to Google.

You can also download this list as a PDF document for printing or offline reading.

01. screenr.com – record movies of your desktop and send them straight to YouTube.
02. bounceapp.com – for capturing full length screenshots of web pages.
03. goo.gl – shorten long URLs and convert URLs into QR codes.
04. untiny.me – find the original URLs that's hiding behind a short URLs.
05. qClock – find the local time of a city using a Google Map.
06. copypastecharacter.com – copy special characters that aren't on your keyboard.
07. postpost.com – a better search engine for twitter.
08. lovelycharts.com – create flowcharts, network diagrams, sitemaps, etc.
09. iconfinder.com – the best place to find icons of all sizes.
10. office.com – download templates, clipart and images for your Office documents.
11. followupthen.com – the easiest way to setup email reminders.
12. jotti.org – scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.
13. wolframalpha.com – gets answers directly without searching  - see more wolfram tips.
14. printwhatyoulike.com – print web pages without the clutter.
15. joliprint.com – reformats news articles and blog content as a newspaper.
16. ctrql.org – a search engine for RSS feeds.
17. e.ggtimer.com – a simple online timer for your daily needs.
18. coralcdn.org – if a site is down due to heavy traffic, try accessing it through coral CDN.
19. random.org – pick random numbers, flip coins, and more.
20. pdfescape.com – lets you can quickly edit PDFs in the browser itself.
21. viewer.zoho.com – Preview PDFs and Presentations directly in the browser.
22. tubemogul.com – simultaneously upload videos to YouTube and other video sites.
23. dabbleboard.com – your virtual whiteboard.
24. scr.im – share you email address online without worrying about spam.
25. spypig.com – now get read receipts for your email.
26. sizeasy.com – visualize and compare the size of any product.
27. myfonts.com/WhatTheFont – quickly determine the font name from an image.
28. google.com/webfonts – a good collection of open source fonts.
29. regex.info – find data hidden in your photographs – see more EXIF tools.
30. livestream.com – broadcast events live over the web, including your desktop screen.
31. iwantmyname.com – helps you search domains across all TLDs.
32. homestyler.com – design from scratch or re-model your home in 3d.
33. join.me – share you screen with anyone over the web.
34. onlineocr.net – recognize text from scanned PDFs - see other OCR tools.
35. flightstats.com - Track flight status at airports worldwide.
36. wetransfer.com – for sharing really big files online.
37. pastebin.com – a temporary online clipboard for your text and code snippets.
38. polishmywriting.com – check your writing for spelling or grammatical errors.
39. marker.to – easily highlight the important parts of a web page for sharing.
40. typewith.me – work on the same document with multiple people.
41. whichdateworks.com – planning an event? find a date that works for all.
42. everytimezone.com – a less confusing view of the world time zones.
43. gtmetrix.com – the perfect tool for measuring your site performance online.
44. noteflight.com – print music sheets, write your own music online (review).
45. imo.im - chat with your buddies on Skype, Facebook, Google Talk, etc. from one place.
46. translate.google.com – translate web pages, PDFs and Office documents.
47. kleki.com – create paintings and sketches with a wide variety of brushes.
48. similarsites.com – discover new sites that are similar to what you like already.
49. wordle.net – quick summarize long pieces of text with tag clouds.
50. bubbl.us – create mind-maps, brainstorm ideas in the browser.
51. kuler.adobe.com – get color ideas, also extract colors from photographs.
52. liveshare.com – share your photos in an album instantly.
53. lmgtfy.com – when your friends are too lazy to use Google on their own.
54. midomi.com – when you need to find the name of a song.
55. bing.com/images – automatically find perfectly-sized wallpapers for mobiles.
56. faxzero.com – send an online fax for free – see more fax services.
57. feedmyinbox.com – get RSS feeds as an email newsletter.
58. ge.tt – quickly send a file to someone, they can even preview it before downloading.
59. pipebytes.com – transfer files of any size without uploading to a third-party server.
60. tinychat.com – setup a private chat room in micro-seconds.
61. privnote.com – create text notes that will self-destruct after being read.
62. boxoh.com – track the status of any shipment on Google Maps – alternative.
63. chipin.com – when you need to raise funds online for an event or a cause.
64. downforeveryoneorjustme.com – find if your favorite website is offline or not?
65. ewhois.com – find the other websites of a person with reverse Analytics lookup.
66. whoishostingthis.com – find the web host of any website.
67. google.com/history – found something on Google but can't remember it now?
68. aviary.com/myna – an online audio editor that lets record, and remix audio clips online.
69. disposablewebpage.com – create a temporary web page that self-destruct.
70. urbandictionary.com – find definitions of slangs and informal words.
71. seatguru.com – consult this site before choosing a seat for your next flight.
72. sxc.hu – download stock images absolutely free.
73. zoom.it – view very high-resolution images in your browser without scrolling.
74. scribblemaps.com – create custom Google Maps easily.
75. alertful.com – quickly setup email reminders for important events.
76. encrypted.google.com – prevent your ISP and boss from reading your search queries.
77. formspring.me – you can ask or answer personal questions here.
78. sumopaint.com – an excellent layer-based online image editor.
79. snopes.com – find if that email offer you received is real or just another scam.
80. typingweb.com – master touch-typing with these practice sessions.
81. mailvu.com – send video emails to anyone using your web cam.
82. timerime.com – create timelines with audio, video and images.
83. stupeflix.com – make a movie out of your images, audio and video clips.
84. safeweb.norton.com – check the trust level of any website.
85. teuxdeux.com – a beautiful to-do app that looks like your paper dairy.
86. deadurl.com – you'll need this when your bookmarked web pages are deleted.
87. minutes.io – quickly capture effective notes during meetings.
88. youtube.com/leanback – Watch YouTube channels in TV mode.
89. youtube.com/disco – quickly create a video playlist of your favorite artist.
90. talltweets.com – Send tweets longer than 140 characters.
91. pancake.io – create a free and simple website using your Dropbox account.
92. builtwith.com – find the technology stack of any website.
93. woorank.com – research a website from the SEO perspective.
94. mixlr.com – broadcast live audio over the web.
95. radbox.me – bookmark online videos and watch them later (review).
96. tagmydoc.com – add QR codes to your documents and presentations (review).
97. notes.io – the easiest way to write short text notes in the browser.
98. ctrlq.org/html-mail – send rich-text mails to anyone, anonymously.
99. fiverr.com – hire people to do little things for $5.
100. otixo.com – easily manage your online files on Dropbox, Google Docs, etc.
101. ifttt.com – create a connection between all your online accounts.

Also see: Best of the Web

Changelog: The following websites were part of the original list that I published in December, 2010. Unfortunately, these sites are no longer available and hence have been removed or replaced with alternatives.

01. virustotal.com – scan any suspicious file or email attachment for viruses.
02. isnsfw.com– when you wish to share a NSFW page but with a warning.
03. truveo.com – the best place for searching web videos.
04. tabbloid.com – your favorite blogs delivered as PDFs.
05. warrick.cs.odu.edu – you'll need this when your bookmarked web pages are deleted.
06. tempalias.com – generate temporary email aliases, better than disposable email.
07. whisperbot.com – send an email without using your own account.
08. errorlevelanalysis.com – find whether a photo is real or a photoshopped one.
09. google.com/dictionary – get word meanings, pronunciations and usage examples.
10. wobzip.org – unzip your compressed files online.
11. namemytune.com – when you need to find the name of a song.
12. snapask.com – use email on your phone to find sports scores, read Wikipedia, etc.

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Some good sites here. Many have only a single purpose - but if you need that purpose then they are the best.

What makes a great website? There's a lot that goes into one these days. Universal appeal, good design, and useful features are just the beginning of the list of essentials. They're also the things we take into account first when we dive into evaluating sites for our yearly list of the Top 100 Websites.

Our list of Classic websites remains much the same as last year, though there are some sites that are making the list for the first time (hello, Quora!). The websites we've deemed our Classics have been chosen because they remain constantly useful while staying relevant to an ever-changing audience.

The Undiscovered portion of the list—new (or newish) sites that have never been on this list—seems to get a little smaller every year. (Yes, we're picky and yes, there are a lot of crappy websites out there.) We narrowed the list for 2011 down to 39 sites. Another reason this list continues to shrink? It seems that, as we noted last year, the rise of mobile apps is cannibalizing the development of stand-alone websites for the desktop. There just aren't as many sites that are as compelling as in past years. Now, we didn't say none. Thankfully, there are still plenty out there. They, along with our picks for the 61 Classics make up our list of the Top 100 Websites of 2011. If you haven't checked them out by now, you really should.

So read, explore, enjoy, and discuss. While you're at it, recommend some more sites in our comments area for our 2012 list. It's never too early.

Some good sites here - flick through the list to find something of interest
Here on the Mullies site we often recommend articles from Lifehacker.com so they would be my top pick for some holiday reading

Can you spot a phish? Take our quiz and find out!

As the holiday season kicks into full gear, and online shopping skyrockets, it's more important than ever to stay ahead of online scams. But as technology improves, it's getting more difficult to detect the difference between real websites and scams. That's why we created the OpenDNS Phishing Quiz. Phishing is when cyber criminals try to lure your personal information, like credit card numbers or login credentials, by masquerading as a trusted entity.

The quiz is designed to help you determine how good you are at identifying online phishing scams. But we know OpenDNS users are top-notch when it comes to spotting a scam. So, while we tried to make the quiz challenging for our security savvy users, we also added features that will make it a helpful tool to share with family and friends who could benefit from an overview on phishing.

Take the quiz now and then compare scores with friends and family. If someone you know didn't do very well, make sure they're protected by helping them set up OpenDNS. As you know, OpenDNS takes the guesswork out of identifying phishing scams by automatically blocking questionable sites, so your loved ones will be safe no matter what.

Good luck!

If you don't ace this test then maybe you should consider using the OpenDNS service to protect you from rogue sites. It's free and easy but will likely slow your internet surfing just slightly

The Internet can be a confusing thing. Not what’s on it, but how you access it. In my travels I continue to encounter folks who don’t understand the basics of Internet connectivity--namely, the differences between Wi-Fi and 3G.

This can cause problems, especially for buyers of devices like the Kindle Fire and Nook Color, which rely heavily on Internet access.

Indeed, I’ll reckon no small number of these devices get returned because users think they’re broken--when what’s really happening is a lack of Wi-Fi.

So let’s talk Internet. If you have broadband (i.e. cable or DSL) service in your home, you probably also have a router--a device that makes that broadband connection wireless. In other words, you’ve got Wi-Fi.

That’s great when you’re using your laptop, tablet, iPod Touch, or other device around the house, but what happens when you’re in the car? Or at the beach? No Wi-Fi. And that means no Internet.

That’s where 3G comes in. 3G is kind of like “Wi-Fi everywhere,” meaning it provides Internet access via the same radio towers that provide voice service to your mobile phone. (FYI, 4G is the same thing, just faster.)

Ah, but not all devices are equipped to access 3G service. The Kindle Fire and Nook Color, for example, are Wi-Fi-only tablets. That means they can connect to the Internet only where there’s a Wi-Fi hotspot (which, in addition to your home, can be a coffee shop, library, airport terminal, etc.)

Of course, some laptops, tablets, and gadgets are equipped for 3G as well as Wi-Fi. The catch is that you have to pay extra for the former, usually to a carrier like AT&T or Verizon. Whether or not it’s worth it depends on how much time you out of range of Wi-Fi hotspots. (For example, if you travel a lot.)

That said, I think there’s a smarter option than paying for 3G for a single device: buy a mobile hotspot instead. These pocket-size gizmos connect to 3G (or 4G) networks, then share that connection via Wi-Fi to as many as five nearby devices--not just one. And the monthly rates are about the same as you’d pay for one gadget with built-in 3G.

(To learn more about mobile hotspots, check out PC World’s reviews of the Sprint 3G/4G MiFi, T-Mobile 4G Hotspot, and Virgin Mobile MiFi 2200.)

There you have it, a high-level overview of Wi-Fi and 3G. I hope that clears things up!

For those considering a tablet or other device this Xmas here is a pointer as to the difference between wifi and 3G mobile phone) connectivity

For those of us using Torrents the uTorrent program is a very good choice. The article linked shows you how to add features to the free version of the program to save you paying for the new premium version. The file conversion and remote downloading can be tricky but the automatic AV scanning is pretty easy to set-up