These are the web sites that I visit most frequently.

favorite links

National Aeronautical and Space Administration

Daily news from the space industry

Great reviews of products from average people

See where my spare CPU cycles are going

Great weather maps

My favorite road map site for big and detailed maps

Essential system enhancements for Windows NT

Makes a muddy music stream clear

more links

News

News Photos

Stocks

Event Calendars

Science News

Technology News

Developer News

Security News

Internet Activity

Weather

Space Imagery

Space News

NASA Webcams

Webcams

Comics

web slideshow

I have a slideshow application running on a second monitor that cycles through many of these. This allows me to keep working while keeping up to date on the latest events. You can download the current version of this below (Internet Explorer 5.5 and above, only). Be aware that it is a work in progress, so there are some minor bugs to be worked out.

Web Slide Show Application

This is an "HTML Application", or HTA file. Internet Explorer will treat it as an executable file, and might give you a warning message. Once you run it, it will open a little window with VCR-type controls and a drop-down menu. You can move this window by clicking on a blank area and dragging. You can also resize the window to arrange the controls to your liking. The application sets a few cookies to remember the window location and the last slide viewed.

Be aware that IE's security restrictions don't allow a browser window to track the mouse if it leaves the window, so you have to move the window slowly. These restrictions also introduce a few other quirks for which I am looking for work-arounds. The application does take advantage of one of these security restrictions to prohibit pop-up windows.

Upon opening, it will also launch a separate browser window to start the sequence. You can hit F11 to make this window fullscreen. This is what I do on my second monitor. Click the forward and back buttons to advance through the web pages. Click the stop button to halt playback, and the play button to start it up again. The play button doubles-up when the slideshow is running. Clicking it in this state won't do anything.

You can also select a page from the drop-down menu to send it directly to that page. It will start playing the sequence from that page. The reload button forces the current page to reload everything, bypassing the browser's cache. This ensures that you are looking at the latest information. Finally, there is a small close button in the upper right corner. This will close the control window, but not the external browser.

I recommend AlwaysOnTopMaker to make the control window topmost, so that it floats above your other windows. The control is small enough so that you should be able to tuck it out of your way, yet is always accessable to control the sequence. For instance, If an article catches your eye, you can hit the stop button to give yourself time to read it. (If I can figure out how to do this from the HTA file, then this extra utility won't be necessary.) For more information on how to set up you own slides, there is documentation within the HTA file.