Each day, millions of people use the Internet for purposes of work and play. Each year, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences—a 550-member body composed of leading Web experts, business figures and others—distributes Webby awards for the best Web sites in a variety of categories. All of the nearly 70 categories include two prizes—the Webby Award and the People’s Choice Award, voted for by the online community. The groupings include one for Consumer Electronics, which features some very creative work.

TomTom Secret Services
This Webby Award winner in the Consumer Electronics category invites site visitors into secrets about the TomTom navigation tool. Users can choose to view the site content in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German or Norwegian. After a language is selected, a manual opens, first instructing readers to keep the information as “our little secret” and then turning the page to reveal nifty tricks for getting the most out of one’s device. Offerings include content about how to obtain information regarding traffic conditions, points of interest, voice recording, iPod control and deletion of recent points of interest or buddies. Also included are instructions for how to use special features such as TomTom Map Share and TomTom HOME, a content-sharing platform. The manual write-ups take a tongue-in-cheek approach to sharing instructions, keeping site viewers amused as well as informed.

Wired.com: Gadget Lab
As the tag line puts it, this winner of the People’s Choice Award features “hardware that rocks your world.” The site—actually a blog section of Wired.com—has an abundance of information regarding electronic devices. Most of the Web page is devoted to write-ups and videos about common and uncommon electronics ranging from items as original as homemade security robots to mass-produced, famous-name products. The blog also posts Do-It-Yourself information such as how to ruggedize and waterproof personal gadgets. The right-hand column includes a list of links to Gadget Lab videos as well as product reviews, recent entries, popular tags and more.

Samsung Music
The nominated Samsung Mobile Music site is an experience for the eyes and the ears as colored bars pulsate in time with music to demonstrate the value of Samsung’s Mobile Music phones. The Soundscapes created on the Web site calm visitors with the pastel shades and silky melody while demonstrating the products Samsung is pitching. Site users can explore different features of the two cell phones featured as well as create their own music. Choosing the “Create your own Soundscape” option takes visitors to a virtual music production studio where they can choose different sounds connected to various shapes. After creating the sound of their choice, amateur composers can save their work and share it through e-mail or by posting directly to a blog page. The site’s music gallery allows users to scroll through Soundscapes created and saved by previous site visitors. Users can even rate the posted compositions.

Virtual Kitchen Tour
This site by Electrolux enables visitors to obtain a close-up look at the appliances in the company’s latest collection without ever leaving their chairs. Television star Kelly Ripa hosts the tour of the nominated Web site, which features a wall oven, refrigerator, dishwasher, induction hybrid cooktop and always-necessary European-style wine tower. Users can watch demonstrations of several features on each device to learn how the appliances will benefit them. When site visitors choose an appliance, the screen zooms in on the chosen tool located in what appears to be a luxury apartment before listing the available demonstrations. Foodies and non-foodies alike should enjoy the tour of the state-of-the-art kitchen. The Virtual Kitchen Tour site also includes links to appliances organized by category and not featured on the tour.

1000 Awesome Things
This Web site actually won the Webby for the best Cultural/Personal blog. The final nominee in the Consumer Electronics category is a site called Epsonality; however, it has been the victim of the economic downturn, according to officials with the company. To fill in the blank, readers should visit 1000 Awesome Things even though it falls outside of the electronics realm. The site is a countdown of 1,000 awesome things updated every weekday. Every item already cited on the homepage can be found listed in countdown order using the “Top 1000” link. The right side of the page offers more resources such as the last five comments posted, top posts, contact information and a blogroll.

When visiting new Web sites, please use proper Internet security procedures.

YouTube may be a household name for people across the world, but other sites offer many of the same benefits with additional advantages. Video hosting sites continue to grow in number, offering YouTube alternatives with special focuses. Some cut through the clutter of dancing cats to cater specifically to business users while others pay their users or offer privacy features. Anyone looking to become a Web video phenomenon can find a site to suit his or her needs.

eCorpTV
This Web site is dedicated exclusively to business videos allowing organizations to target internal, business-to-business and consumer audiences while retaining control of brand identity. Launched in September 2008, the site boasts 21,000 visitors each month and hosts thousands of videos from hundreds of companies. Use of the site is free for video posters and viewers. The eCorpTV platform supports approximately 20 different video formats, offers public and private viewing options and runs no in-stream or pre-roll advertising during videos. The site provides different ways to sort and search posted content including by company, channel, most recent, most viewed and recently featured.

MetaCafe
MetaCafe strays from the beaten path of online video hosting, focusing on original content and entertainment. Not all submitted videos are posted. Instead, a community review panel of more than 80,000 volunteers looks at each of the videos submitted to the site every day. The videos are displayed when they meet specific criteria such as short-form. Short-form original video content is made for the interactive Internet. No full-length television episodes or movies are cut and posted piecemeal. Another feature of posted videos is entertainment, so no hard news, personal videos or Webcam chatter is included. Videos also are audience-driven with the posts being user-generated, user-selected, user-reviewed and user-rewarded. The VideoRank system identifies and exposes the most popular video by automatically gauging viewer interactions with posts. The “Our Producer Rewards” program pays video creators for the best original work as determined by viewers.

Motionbox
Motionbox offers a personal video service for sharing with specific individuals, not the general public. All videos remain private. A basic membership is free and includes storage, uploading and sharing of a limited number of videos; access to the online editing tools; and the ability to create DVDs, flipbooks and e-cards. The premium membership has a fee and offers extras including unlimited video storage, no restrictions on video length, high-definition and full-screen playback, recovery and download of original source video and the ability for friends to download high-quality copies of videos. Motionbox also powers video for Shutterfly Share sites and features a blog that helps keep users up to date with new features and happenings.

Revver
Revver is a video hosting site for people who have created videos and who want to earn money for their time and effort. The platform accepts posts without charge, then matches video content with targeted advertisements and tracks the videos as they move around the Web. No matter where the video ends up online or on mobile phones, the content provider earns a share of the advertising revenue. Revver also offers interactive options such as writing comments, posting video responses and building friend networks. The site includes customizable widgets, an application program interface, or API, for creating individuals’ own Web-sharing sites and a WordPress plug-in for people who want to start their own vlog.

Daily Motion
This France-based Web site has an international flair with a drop-down menu that allows visitors to choose their country and then receive content tailored for their choice as well as read site information in the language of the chosen nation. Daily Motion also features a section called DM Kids, available through a link at the top left of the homepage or at http://kids.dailymotion.com. All the videos are tailored for children and divided into categories for ages 3 to 6 or ages 7 and older. Daily Motion accepts videos on all manner of topics similar and separates them into various categories and channels. Users can share video publicly or privately, discover new videos through channels and tags and receive feedback on clips and creative work.

In this wired and increasingly virtual world, modeling and simulation play a key role in everything from testing new products to developing weapons systems and planning military operations. Although simulations have been important for decades, new technologies enable researchers and engineers to model software and hardware accurately down to the molecular level. Many research organizations also have a presence on the World Wide Web, which serves as both a medium and a means to experience and access research and testing data.

Defense Department Modeling and Simulation Coordination Office (M&SCO)

The M&SCO coordinates and synchronizes modeling and simulation activities across the U.S. Defense Department. The M&SCO’s home page outlines the office’s policy and guidance practices, resource discovery processes and modeling and simulation standards. Visitors can access the Defense Department’s standards vetting tool, which is designed to automate the online submission, storage, tracking, evaluation and distribution of proposed modeling and simulation standards.

U.S. Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation (AFAMS)

As the lead Air Force agency for integrating live, virtual and constructive capabilities to support warfighters, AFAMS’s mission is to ensure the appropriate representation of air, space and cyberspace in modeling and simulation. The agency is responsible for integrating and maintaining the interoperability of Air Force modeling and simulations, for coordinating Air Force modeling and simulation support for joint, interagency and coalition events and for developing and maintaining appropriate skills and knowledge for the service’s personnel.

U.S. Army Modeling and Simulation

Like its Air Force counterpart, the Army’s Modeling and Simulation Directorate coordinates, integrates, guides and synchronizes modeling and simulation efforts across the service. The directorate also is responsible for meeting the Army’s strategic objectives to address modeling and simulation capability gaps; supporting the modeling and simulation enterprise across the service; developing a dedicated data program; conducting joint, interagency and multinational engagement; and developing a trained work force. The home page provides links to training courses, career development tools, acronym lists, and access to modeling and simulation collaboration sites (note that an Army Knowledge Online login is required to access the collaboration pages).

U.S. Navy Modeling and Simulation Office (NMSO)

The role of the NMSO is to coordinate Navy modeling and simulation efforts. Working closely with the U.S. Marine Corps Modeling and Simulation Management Office, the NMSO is the lead organization for Navy policy, standards and initiatives relating to modeling and simulation. The home page provides a variety of information such as resource lists of organizations, data sources, models and simulations, references and documents. Additional material is available through the site’s test and evaluation community workspace and toolset guides.

DIESIS

The goal of the Design of an Interoperable European Federated Simulation Network for Critical Infrastructures (DIESIS) project is to analyze Europe’s interdependent network of critical infrastructures for potential weaknesses. Bringing together experts from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the project is designing a platform to support interoperable simulations and research focused on infrastructure protection. The DIESIS home page provides details about the project, program roadmaps, publications and participating organizations such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems, the Imperial College London, and the Italian National Agency for New Technologies.

NATO Modeling and Simulation Group (NMSG)

A part of NATO’s Research and Technology Organisation, the NMSG mission is to promote cooperation among alliance organizations, NATO member nations and Partnership for Peace nations to use modeling and simulation effectively. The NMSG site links to related information such as a code of ethics for developing simulations, interoperability standards, the NATO simulation resources library and the NATO Modeling and Simulation Standards Subgroup. Visitors can access a list of related documents examining subjects such as integrating modeling and simulation to support training and interoperability, experimentation through simulation and defining frameworks for simulation resources reusability.

The vacation season traditionally begins with the end of spring. Tight economic times are forcing many families and individuals to reassess their travel goals, but the World Wide Web offers a variety of options. Active-duty military personnel enjoy some advantages in being able to access reduced fares and discounts for lodging. But even civilians can take advantage of the Web to find trips off the beaten path.

Military Travel Store
This travel service is designed to provide military personnel with access to travel for vacations, rest and recreation, or emergency and dependent travel. The service provides credit and credit plans for individuals and families either planning trips or who need to travel. Visitors to the site fill out a form detailing their desired travel itinerary or vacation. The service claims that its representatives will work to find the lowest-cost flights and lodging while working out a payment plan to fit the traveler’s budget. The site also offers military discounts on hotels and car rentals. A list of discount vacation packages for destinations such as Las Vegas, Hawaii and Cancun is also available on the Travel Store’s home page.

Military Hops.com
Space Available (Space-A) travel on military flights allows military personnel to travel for free. This site provides a list of resources for locating Space-A travel resources and other travel-related needs such as car rentals and lodging. However, the site warns that Space-A travel can be unpredictable and subject to a variety of factors such as a lack of seats or aircraft being diverted to meet operational needs. The resources include links and descriptions of dedicated Space-A sites and official government sites such as Air Mobility Command, which provides contact information for Air Force flight terminals. Other resources include Space-A flight schedules located on the Joint Operational Support Airlift Center’s home page (note that these schedules can only be viewed from computers at government facilities or .mil computers), and links to bidding travel services such as Priceline.com and Hotwire.com.

Veterans Holidays
Active-duty and retired military personnel can get Space Available discounts for rental condominiums at resorts (this is different from Space-A air travel) through this site. Veterans Holidays is a space-available program offering veterans the opportunity to rent space at resorts worldwide for low rates. To participate, visitors must register online for approval. The site features two search engines for space-A rentals and high-demand rentals (weekly resort condominiums in high-demand locations during peak season) which allow a range of locations and options to be accessed.

Military.com
A part of the larger Military.com site supporting active-duty and retired military personnel and their families, this travel page features a variety of affordable vacation ideas. Visitors can select from an extensive list of discounted hotels, flights, car and condominium rentals, museum visits and resort packages. The site also features links to military lodging and Space-A information, and links to blogs and discussion pages about military travel.

Roadside America.com
Sometimes the best way to travel is just get in the car and drive. This site highlights the quirky side of road trips in the United States and Canada. Travelers interested in finding the offbeat can use Roger, the site’s search tool to find interesting trips and locations. A blog page lists new locations and photographs submitted by travelers and highlights wonders such as the world’s tallest statue of Abraham Lincoln in Ashmore, Illinois, or the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History (formerly the National Atomic Museum) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Adventure Travel Company
Travelers seeking something different may be interested in this site, which provides small tours, custom itineraries and independent adventure opportunities in exotic places. Travel packages include tours of wildlife parks in Africa, hiking in Nepal, and tours of central Europe and Asia. Trips can be customized to range from luxury travel to camping. Another interesting feature of the site: long-term travel packages that allow people to spend a year abroad traveling, volunteering with not-for-profit organizations, working or teaching English.

Earlier this year, Nick O’Neill wrote a very helpful guide to understanding privacy settings on Twitter called 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know. It sums up many of the things that have come up during social media briefings for AFCEA, such as how to prevent people from seeing photographs of yourself that other people posted, how to avoid showing up in search results, and how to make your contact information private. You can also subscribe to the AllFacebook newsletter to receive a free e-book on Facebook privacy.

One of the ironies of Web 2.0 applications is that the number of them increases on a daily basis. Designed to track Web 2.0 applications and services, Listio is a directory and product review site. Visitors can browse and rate a selection of Web 2.0 applications. Each application is profiled with a link to its home page. Like the web itself, the services are varied with tools such as Petfinder, FeedMyTorrents for automatic downloading, and Seemile, an online education site.

Wounded, ill and injured military members and their families are often in need of financial and medical resources as they recover. The National Resource Directory (NRD) home page provides information on and access to a range of medical and non-medical services and resources. The site offers links to affiliated programs such as the Wounded Warrior Resource Center, which offers information about local military facilities, health care services and benefits. Another asset is the Recovery Coordination Program designed to improve the care, management and transition assistance for wounded, sick and injured military personnel. Other services include information about benefits and compensation; education, training and employment; family and caregiver support; housing and transportation; and support resources.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is the chief research center for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. Its home page highlights ongoing projects across a range of disciplines. Visitors can access information about programs in areas such as expeditionary maneuver warfare; command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR); ocean battlespace sensing; sea warfare and weapons; and naval air warfare and weapons. Each of these sections drills down into areas highlighting specific research programs focusing on autonomous systems and sensor fusion.

The home page also features a step-by-step guide for businesses interested in working with the ONR. Researchers and students can find program managers or search for study and internship programs.

Finding the right sales and discounts becomes a priority when budgets are tight. Military Shoppers features discounts on groceries, furniture and jewelry. It also includes tools to locate sales at base commissaries, online coupons and a list of base yard sales. Registration is necessary to access many of the site’s features. Additional links lead to dieting and fitness sites, charities and online contests. Personnel mustering out of the service may wish to check out the site’s JobsForVets.com link, which provides a national list of job openings geared for veterans.

Military4life is designed to provide service personnel and their families with the latest information on military pay, morale and welfare, and lifestyle news. The home page features a list of discounts on items such as cell phones, computers, airline tickets and cruises. Other areas covered by the site include military loans, credit reports, military pay data, TRICARE military supplement insurance and military charities. Besides providing discounts and coupons, the site features sections such as the militaryhomesforsale.com link that allows visitors to browse homes for sale or rent. Another section is the Anysoldier.com page that allows friends and family members to send care packages and correspondence to warfighters deployed overseas.