Bob J.

I ran across Professor Messer's videos on youtube and had to check out his site. His videos are incredibly simple to follow and he doesn't bog them down with a lot of extra nonsense.

If you want to study for the A+ exam or just want to get involved in a great IT community - check it out.

There is a lot of free content - but paid content is also available on some of the beefier IT subjects.

I considered putting 4 stars here just because I haven't personally purchased anything from the site - but I simply can't find a reason to. Professor Messer seems like a very nice guy who just wants to help educate the community and why shouldn't he offer paid lessons?

You can try to pull the "but it could have been written by a 3 year old" card out for this site but it wouldn't be realistic. Wikipedia is well moderated and there's something to be said for the fact that it appears in the top ten of nearly every internet search.

In fact, I think wikipedia is probably MORE accurate than other "encyclopedias" because of HOW it is moderated.

Either way, if you've been browsing the internet for more than 10 minutes you probably already know (and have used) wikipedia. You don't need yet another review telling you that it's a good thing. You already know.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Well moderated
[2] Amazingly diverse information library
[3] Relevant to almost every search for information

REASON TO LOSE:
[1] None.

Great forum site for troubleshooting computer problems, helping others troubleshoot theirs, or just learning more about how computers work. There are a few tutorials on various subjects including how to speed up your computer, how to trace a hacker, and many other advanced topics.

Minimal ads and a great userbase make this site worth making a favorite.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Get help fixing your computer
[2] Minimal ads
[3] Tutorials on various subjects
[4] Site has been around for years

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] You prefer to figure out computer problems on your own

Rivals many other wallpaper sites for quality and diversity of content. This site contains a flagging system to let the administrators know if there is a "sketchy" image or not. It also contains an active forum and the ability to search for images based on keyword, popularity and specific resolutions. The ability to search for images matching a specific resolution means that you can find images that perfectly match your desktop resolution. If you're so inclined, you can even search the images by aspect ratio.

Very sleek design, intuitive interface and best of all... Ad-Free!

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Find wallpapers by resolution
[2] Flagging system to remove sketchy images
[3] Active forum
[4] Ad-Free

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] You're not into wallpapers or high resolution images

Very rare to find a site with this much content and so few advertisements. There is so much content here that I can't imagine ever tiring of it. It is almost overwhelming.

For the most part, the games are decent. Granted they are flash games. But some of them manage to work in some complexity. Great site.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Outstanding variety
[2] Virtually ad-free

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] You don't like flash games

This handy little tool will find music videos from various sources based on what you type into the engine. When you arrive at the site you are presented with a sleek logo and a search box. Type in the musician/band of your choice and you will be instantly transported to a video and a list of other videos. You could even type in a random subject. You might be surprised at what kind of music video exists for those subjects.

There is minimal advertisement at the site but it can't compete with the simple interface and pleasant design.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] You are a music fan
[2] You need to find a music video about a certain subject

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] Minimal advertising, but it exists

Anyone who reads can benefit from this site. After reviewing a few titles you are given personalized recommendations for books to read. It is a social atmosphere where you can add friends from Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter and Friends of friends.

There are a couple of ads here and there, but none so bad as to take away from the quality of the site. Great place to explore literature!

REASONS TO USE:
[1] You enjoy reading
[2] You would like recommendations on good books to read
[3] Minimal ads

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] You don't know how to read

I have no reason to dislike this site. I recently switched my default search engine to duckduckgo.

When searching for something you get a little snippit of information about it at the top (whether it is a definition, or just an interesting fact). Below you are shown one page of results (quite honestly you don't want to have to look through 14 pages to find what you're looking for anyway). By clicking on "more links" at the bottom you see all the other things the engine found not displayed on the top of the list.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Tired of google
[2] ad-free
[3] "DuckDuckGo does not collect or share personal information."

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] Doesn't have "image search" capability yet

Again, a very clean site with negligible ad presence. If you are in the mood to enlighten yourself and learn, or fill in the gaps on a college course you are taking, this is a free site that can help you.

Open Yale Courses are offered, not for college credit, but simply to learn. I took a 1 hour class on classical music that was very interesting and informational.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] You enjoy learning
[2] Negligible ads

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] You don't like to learn.

If I could, I would give this site 4.5 stars. The half star would only be removed because there isn't a great deal of content. The catch is that there isn't a great deal of content YET.

This site is very clean, smooth and entertaining if you would like to pick up a new coding/programming skill or refine an old one. It is very interactive and ad-free. I will be bookmarking and visiting frequently, anxious for new classes!

REASONS TO USE:
[1] You would like to learn how to program
[2] You would like to brush up on skills you used to have
[3] Clean, ad-free

REASONS TO LOSE:
None.

Amazing that this hasn't been rated yet. Great idea for a site and if you like music, it's the spot to be.

The basic premise is that you get to choose songs (whether uploaded from your computer or from turntable's library) and other people in the chat room will "vote" awesome or lame. If it is voted lame too many times the song is skipped.

Find a room with the style of music you want to hear and its a great way to discover new artists (or rediscover old ones) of a genre you are interested in.

You are given an avatar and when people like your music you can eventually get cooler avatars.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] You are a music lover
[2] Clean ad-free site
[3] Connection to all sorts of social networking sites

REASONS TO LOSE:
[1] You don't like music.

Lifehacker.com is a very diverse site. You will find a variety of subjects, tutorials, videos, and other stuff that you may find in other places, but not in such a collection as this. You can find news and technology also mixed in with walk-throughs and great photos.

There is almost too much to look at. For this reason I don't spend a lot of time on lifehacker, but that doesn't warrant taking away from the rating of the site because of my personal preference of simplicity. Great site all said and done.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Great variety of material
[2] Constantly updated

REASONS TO LOSE:
None.

Great resource for images of all types. At this site there is: Digital Art, Traditional Art, Photography, Artisan Crafts, Literature, Film & Animation, Flash, Designs & Interfaces, Customization, Cartoons & Comics, Manga & Anime, Anthro, Fan Art, Resources & Stock Images, Community Projects, Contests, deviantWEAR Design Battles, Journals, and a few other odds and ends. It is a vast collection of digital material and a useful resource for any project you might have going on.

I have not even begun to scratch the surface of what this site has to offer.

Advertisements are unobtrusive and navigation is simple. Great site!

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Vast collection of digital material
[2] Simple site navigation and free membership
[3] Unobtrusive ads

REASON TO LOSE:
None.

Not sure why or how this exists but it is awesome. If you want to listen to music and you have an internet connection you're good to go. Giant assortment of music!

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Giant music library
[2] Free
[3] Did you really need a third reason?

REASONS TO LOSE:
None.

Hands down, greatest source for wallpapers and photo images on the web. Combine a user-friendly atmosphere with tons of user uploaded content and minimal ads and you've got a winner.

The site detects your resolution and displays the appropriate size image and allows you to browse content by category or popularity.

REASONS TO USE:
[1] Tons of content
[2] Free and very minimal advertisements
[3] Easy to navigate / Very user friendly

REASONS TO LOSE:
None.

Obviously this site is very professional. It is a networking and quasi-social site revolving around your professional persona. The only reason it gets 4 stars instead of 5 for me is that I don't know that it actually does anything for me.

Sure, I can network to my heart's content - but I'm not finding job listings there. Sure, I can read lots of industry related articles but I can read those at a number of sites. Sure, employers can read my profile information and send me messages if it fits their bill but they can do that at most job sites.

It's a very solid site with a pretty sleek and easy-to-use interface. I would bump this to a 5 if the actual job listing functions were a bit more robust.

REASONS TO USE
[1] Interface is simple and easy to use
[2] Professional substitute/equivalent to facebook - you can avoid all the facebook drama
[3] It can, potentially, teach you a lot about your own personal, professional persona

REASONS TO LOSE
[1] Not a very robust job search utility
[2] Pesters you to add more to your profile even if it's finished and requests to get into your email to find contacts to add (repeatedly)

Etsy is a solid site that has been around since about 2005. The site itself is clean, navigable, and easy to use. Several of the reviews here on SJ have been about specific sellers - that's not what this review is about.

Like several other online sales sites - each vendor/store is a separate transaction. You are dealing with a different person each time. Look at the star ratings of each store before you buy and leave feedback. Most sellers will want to protect their reviews and ratings and provide you with great service.

This site is heavily craft specific and has a niche following. If you make handmade items you probably already know about it and/or use it.

REASONS TO USE
[1] You like to make/buy handmade items
[2] Clean, sophisticated, easy-to-use
[3] Lots of great person-to-person stores/vendors

REASONS TO LOSE
[1] You are unable to understand star rating systems
[2] You are a compulsive buyer who does no research before you purchase

This review is specifically for the opera browser - not the other portions of the site.

I use opera. It has built in ad-blocking which seems to frustrate some sites (which I love). Some sites even beg me to allow their ads through. No. I hate ads.

Opera does everything I need it to as a web browser. For me it is better than Chrome or Firefox.

I'm not sure what's going on with the other reviews. It's starting to make me doubt SJ's legitimacy. Why are they all the exact same review?

REASONS TO USE
[1] Ad blocking
[2] Provides features you've come to expect in a browser
[3] Free

REASONS TO LOSE
[1] You like lots and lots of extensions and extra things added in. Lots of quirky little extensions aren't currently made for Opera to include SiteJabber's extension. That's unfortunate.

I'm not sure how this site became so popular because the concept seems ludicrously simple; but maybe that's just what people want. It has an incredibly sleek interface that couldn't be easier to use and everyone seems to be on it. The only reason this site loses a star for me is because I don't know why I would ever use it personally.

You should probably use Twitter if you're an aspiring youtuber or you do something where you're trying to build a fan base for some reason.

REASONS TO USE
[1] Sleek. Easy. Simple.
[2] You want to build a following or a fan base
[3] You care what celebrities have to say

REASONS TO LOSE
[1] Personal preference

This site won't "wow" you. It doesn't have a very sleek interface and it's a bit hard to navigate sometimes. It's been around for quite a long time and not much has changed since it started. That said, there is a LOT of music to listen to. It's original music. You can buy music if you like. It is functionally sound.

If they updated the site with a sleeker, more modern interface, it would go up to 5 stars for me.

REASONS TO USE
[1] Lots of content
[2] Original content

REASONS TO LOSE
[1] Interface is a bit clunky