Linkjockey - Cool Links: December 2007

Saturday, December 29, 2007

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
A New York Times feature, with photos and an eye-witness account by the photographer, Getty Images' John Moore, of the last few moments of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto's life.

Friday, December 28, 2007

How Starbucks boosts sales at mom and pop cafes

Why Starbucks actually helps mom and pop coffee shops
This article from Slate is explains how independent cafes and retail shops can piggyback on the research and marketing of the coffee giant to succeed, despite Starbucks' best attempts. This sounds like great strategy for small businesses.

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Getting personal service by phone

Get Human

Especially after Christmas, many people have questions about different products or services, and need to call a company's Customer Service phone number. In times like these, automated telephone systems can be helpful or really frustrating. You can get bounced from menu to menu, and your question may never be addressed.

Get Human lists numbers for a wide range of companies. It also tells you how to bypass the automated voice mail and get support from a real, live person!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Because of advances in technology, sound quality is getting increasingly worse

The Death of High Fidelity
In the age of MP3s, sound quality is worse than ever

Rolling Stone magazine's online article about music, and how the sound quality of music is getting increasingly worse because of advances in technology. Music producers are continuing to use audio compress to reduce subtleties in volume in music and make it LOUDER more exaggerated for radio and mp3.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Roger Ebert's Top 10 Films of 2007

rogerebert.com The year's ten best films
Esteemed film critic, Roger Ebert, checks in with his list of the best movies of 2007. The list contains his top 20 favorite movies, along with his favourite documentaries, animated movies and foreign films.

Friday, December 21, 2007

The Best ‘Best of’ Lists of 2007

Culturite : The Best ‘Best of’ Lists of 2007

Here are 25 different lists with the "Best Of 2007":

Best of 2007 Lists (the definitive meta-list by Fimoculous)
Master List of Online “Best of 2007″ Music Lists (a meta-music list by LargeheartedBoy)
Updates to the Master List of Online “Best of 2007″ Music Lists (updates to #2 by LargeheartedBoy)
40 Best Raps of 2007 (top hip-hop tracks by CocaineBlunts)
15 Best Candies of 2007 (delish sugar treats by CandyAddict)
50 Best Websites of 2007 (multiple categories list by Time & - oh look - who’s a top news site?)
30 Best Albums of 2007 (top rated by the critics and aggregated by Metacritic)
25 Best Careers of 2007 (so choose wisely, my friends, by BizTech)
Most Hated Companies of 2007 (the most widely & heavily criticized, by BloggingStocks)
100 Best Products of 2007 (because there can never be enough products, a list by PC World)
22 Best Music Videos (some silly choices by MusicForKidsWhoCan’tReadGood)
25 Best Books of the Year (fiction, non-fiction and more by Publishers Weekly)
100 Best Films of 2007 (a mix of new and re-releases by TimesOnline)
18 Best American Hospitals of 2007 (a incredibly paradoxical list by USNews)
Best Global Brands of 2007 (aka the biggest brands in the world, by Interbrand)
Best of NYC 2007 (best of the Big Apple, by the VillageVoice)
Best Biblical Books of 2007 (a “completely objective” book list by BiblicalFoundations)
America’s Best Restroom of 2007 (congrats to Jungle Jim’s, by ABR)
Best Parks of 2007 (for the adventure seekers, by National Geographic)
Best Industrial Design Products of 2007 (with slick imagery by RedDot)
Top 10 Depression Blogs of 2007 (a useful, if sombre, list by PsychCentral)
2007 China Best Call Centre (the best operators ‘who will be with you shortly’ by CallCentres)
Top 100 Luxury Blogs of 2007 (an elite assortment by International Listings)
Best of What’s New in 2007 (products, inventions, and gadgetry compiled by PopularScience)
Top 60 Japanese Buzzwords of 2007 (vernacular awesomeness by PinkTentacle)

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

101 Simple Appetizers

101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less :New York Times
From the NY Times, "Minimalist" Mark Bittman has a list of simple, but gourmet appetizers to prepare, just in time for the Christmas season.

Instructions/ recipes are short, but to the point.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Geothermal Heating and Cooling

Geothermal: The Holy Grail of Heating and Cooling
Described as "the lowest hanging fruit" of carbon emission reduction, this article explains the concepts behind geothermal energy.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Where to find video tutorials

A Big List of Sites That Teach You How To Do Stuff

ReadWriteWeb has a list of websites with video tutorials to help you learn how to do all manner of things. Here is the short version of the tutorial list, but check out ReadWriteWeb for the full descriptions.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Where to watch MLB, NFL, NHL, NCAA and NBA online

Where to watch NFL, MLB, NHL & NBA online
From Last100, there is a list of all the official sites to watch pro and amateur team sports, like football, basketball, hockey and baseball, on the internet.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

50 Top 10 Lists of 2007 from Time Magazine

50 Top 10 Lists of 2007

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/0,30576,1686204,00.html

List-a-mania!!! Time Magazine has top 10 lists in the following categories:

News

Arts & Entertainment

Science

Pop Culture

Business, Tech & Sports

Monday, December 10, 2007

The Top 53 Places to Go in 2008

The 53 Places to Go in 2008 : New York Times

Because I know that many Linkjockey readers are looking for a new global tourist destination for each week of 2007, why not check out what the New York Times is predicting.

Which travel destinations and resorts are "hot" for 2008? Combining countries, regions, cities and neighbourhoods in their Top 53, the results are definitely diverse, but there is an emphasis on destinations with brand new high end resorts.
The Top 10 are:
1 LAOS
2 LISBON
3 TUNISIA
4. MAURITIUS
5. MID-BEACH, MIAMI
6. SOUTH BEACH, MIAMI
7. MALDIVES
8. DEATH VALLEY
9. COURCHEVEL
10. LIBYA

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Free Indie Christmas CD

Free Holidaze Mix Album
ReadyMade Magazine is offering an album of Christmas music by indie artists as free mp3 download. The most famous artist on the album is Death Cab for Cutie.
Thanks to Hype Machine and Hypeful for the links.