Technology

• Channel 9 - Channel 9 is a Microsoft website aimed at developers. The major goal of Channel 9 is to embrace and extend some of the ideas in the Cluetrain Manifesto; "market are conversations", not a one-way road paved by advertisers. Channel 9 features interviews with Microsoft developers about their products, a forum to discuss the videos and other topics, and a wiki ), which has been adopted by various Microsoft teams as a way to aggregate feedback and respond to issues.

• HanselMinutes - Hanselminutes is a podcast with the extremely talented and intelligent Scott Hanselman. Scott talks about various technolgoy subjects like utilities, tools and more. His blog is also worth reading as well.

• MSDN Forums - if you have a question (or maybe an answer), the MSDN forums are there for you. There is a forum for all of Microsoft's technologies and answers are either given by community members or even Microsoft's own employees. These are great place to not only find answers, but also to give back to the community in answering questions yourself.

• Worse Than Failure - formerly theDailyWTF, this site is a humourous yet, poignant must read for all developers. On display are coding atrocities that people have stumbled across in their every day coding jobs. We have all seen them, heck we have all written something that deserves to be on Worse Than Failure. This is a great site ustto relieve a little stress and laugh at other people's mistakes and maybe learn a little something you did not know yourself.

• Portland Code Camp - if you have not attended a local Code Camp you are really missing out on one of the best tech events you can attend in a year. Code Camp is always free and is always about the code. This is a great place to meet localy people in the technology sector and pick up some new technolgoy skills you did not have before. If you're not from the Portland, OR area and still want to attend a Code Camp, you can look for a listing of your own local code camps by visiting this link.

• MSDN Events - these are free events hosted by Microsoft that cover upcoming technologies. These are great place to get exposure to various Microsoft technologies and usually come along with some Microsoft freebies. If you can take an afternoon away from work, the MSDN events are highly recommend for all developers.

• Coding Horror - Jeff Atwood maintains a geek blog and writes some of the most intersting and fascinating articles about important topics for developers. He really takes the time to explain complicated topics in very understandable terms. I'm always impressed at the depth of understanding he has for a topic he writes about. Extremely valuable resource for a developer.

• Rory Blyth - I am not sure that a single figure in the technolgoy sector has influenced me more than Rory Blyth. I first met him when he was a Microsoft Evangelist doing MSDN events in the Portland area. He really re-awakened my passion for technology. His blog does not always focus on technology and he can be a bit nutty at times, but it is good to see the personal side of technology. That is one of the things that I learned from him, geeks can have personality. Thanks Rory, I owe you a lot.

• Geeks With Blogs - Skimming the main feed at GeeksWithBlogs is one of the best ways to catch up on what is happening in the world of technology (as well as get a glimpse into the lives of some of your favorite geeks). Also, if you are looking for a place to blog your geeky thoughts, I have been a member of this blogging community for quite a while and highly recommend it. This is a great home for geeks.

• Channel 10 - another Microsoft channel, dedicating to creting a place for people with both a passion for technology and also a desire to change the world. They conduct interviews and report news of technology coming from Microsoft. Good way to stay current on what is coming from the technology giant.

• Joel on Software - Joel Spolsky is a software developer who has been writing intelligent and thoughtful articles on about software development, management, business since 2000. There are currently two technology books of just the articles he has written for his site in existence and with the quality of articles continuing to be written, I expect more to be coming. Joel's advice and insight are extremely valuable to developers everywhere.

• Gray's Matter - "Justice Gray: a seething cauldron of rampaging masculinity. A fighter! A brother! Your secret lover!" That's his tag and this is his blog. Justice is the industries leading metrosexual and when he's not busy giving out grooming tips he's writing remarkably witty and insightful articles on technology. Justice is one of those "A" list developers that I hope I have the pleasure of meeting someday.

News

• Kotaku - this is a gamer's guide that goes beyond the press release with gossip, cheats and criticism for all that is gaming. This is your one stop news source for all the relevant game news. They cover it all.

• Fark -Interesting, bizarre and amusing news stories, along with regular photo manipulation contests. If you're tired of reading your standard news site, this is a great way to collect news from around the world.

• Boing Boing - is a directory of wonderful things. Boing Boing collects links of all that is wierd and wonderful from around the web. This is great one stop shopping for finding those insteresting sites, products and technologies that you may never have encountered otherwise.

Shopping

• xpBargains - Find the best online computer and consumer electronics deals, coupons, promotions using xpBargains. If you are shopping for a new piece of technology, this is the place to start.

• Craigslist - if you want to buy something used, you probably are going to find it on Craigslist. No fee to post an item for sale and no transaction fee when you purchase. Craigslist is a dream come true for buying and selling used goods.