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What's New - US Picks - Yahoo! Aust./NZ Picks - Yahoo! Canada Picks - Yahoo! France Picks - Yahoo! Germany Picks
Irish Picks - Scottish Picks - Picks of the Week
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What's New - US Picks - Yahoo! Aust./NZ Picks - Yahoo! Canada Picks - Yahoo! France Picks - Yahoo! Germany Picks
Irish Picks - Scottish Picks - Picks of the Week
We've had fun finding the sites that make Yahoo! UK & Ireland one of the best places to find UK or Irish sites, so we thought we'd share a few with you. If you have any suggestions, please send us a note about them. Also send any general thoughts or comments about Picks of the Week or even suggest sites you'd like us to consider for the next issue. Click here if you only want to view the list of sites.
Sometimes, on those rare occasions when you’ve nothing much to do, and too much time to do it in, it is possible for web-surfing to take on a Zen-like quality. Something particular strikes you about a certain web site which then pulls you on towards something else which, in turn, merges into another thought. Suddenly, like Douglas Adams’ detective Dirk Gently, you are where you needed to be, rather than where you hoped to end up when you started out.
For example, while having a quick paddle in the shallows of on-line enterprise, we changed upon the excellent Super Delux, a site which is almost as interesting for what is absent as it is for what is present. It purports to be a rather breathy account of all that is best in London according to one Sarah McAlpine. It’s best described as a webbed-up version of the kind of conversation you might have if you were a fairly affluent mother chatting idly to a friend over a coffee. Favourite shops, caterers, and home improvement stores are name-checked, as are places where you can treat yourself to something a little-bit special.
Whether Sarah McAlpine actually exists, however, has been a matter of much debate in Picks Central. Because this site is just a little too perfect. The pages bear the unmistakable mark of a professional designer, and the whole thing is underpinned by some simple yet nifty CGI and Javascript. There are other things too: This is undeniably a nice site -- yet no-one seems to want to take credit for it (a single generic e-mail address was all we could find). And, because the whole thing is a cleverly constructed series of adverts, there isn’t a single advertising banner to be found anywhere. Hey kids, we thought at first, this is how the Internet used to be, before the web-sites were overwhelmed by flashing oblongs 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels high.. It gives a neat effect too -- like walking from a cheap clothing shop, where loud music pumps from the walls, into a rather up-market fashion house, humming with chic. It this is the future of online advertising, let it come sooner rather than later.
Still intrigued by who is responsible for Super Deluxe we began flicking through some of the source code (when you spend most of your working life on the web, a certain amount of nerdiness is unavoidable). It didn’t take us long to uncover a single credit -- an outfit called Oyster Partners. A quick search revealed 523 web pages containing with the words Oyster or Partners. Not interested enough to investigate them all, we randomly clicked on a couple. And found ourselves at a site called Digital Thread, which has collected a list of what it regards to be among the most innovative web production houses in the world. One of them was called Oyster Systems, an English company, which, though it might be completely unconnected to Oyster Partners, definitely hews at the same cutting edge.
Check out the client list and take a spin though some of the most interesting web sites you will have seen in a long time, or see what jobs they currently have on offer.
Oyster Systems also developed the official web site for Number 10 Downing St, a slightly breathy account of all that is best in Parliament according to one Tony Blair. The non-actuality of Mr Blair’s existence has also been a matter of hot debate here at Picks, though here we have a site that is definitely on-message. The news section is updated with Prime Ministerial pronouncements every day, you can send e-mail, participate in online discussions and, should the spirit take you, meander through the history of the house that became the PM’s London residence in 1721. Interesting fact from the tour: The distinctive black house was originally yellow. But the brickwork quickly became blackened by London’s smoggy atmosphere, and when it was renovated in the 1960’s paint was used to retain a look which had by then become traditional.
We wondered momentarily if Mr Blair ever uses the web like everyone else. Does he lurk on the side-lines of the alt.arts.balloon-sculpting Usenet group? Is he constantly whacking off orders to QVC? Has he ever bought a crate of ale from Beers Direct and had it delivered to his door? If so they're not boasting about it. This is another brilliant use of the web. A couple of clicks and beer arrives in front of you. The store has a range of beers, ales and lagers, as well as a selection of specialty brews that includes one which was banned in the US. An instant addition to the "essential services" sub-directory of our favourites folder.
Carlton’s Wigs doesn’t yet occupy such a high spot in our estimation, but is our final Pick simply because we reckon that few men of a certain age will be able to resist. Check out the Ebony Collection, compare your hair colour against their colour chart and admire such male hairpieces as the Hercules whose mono-filament base and single hair per knot is said to have the appearance of natural hair growth from the scalp.
If, like us, you are reaching a certain age and find that you're currently losing hair faster than a dog moults, you may agree that Carlton’s Wigs is where you need to be, rather than where you hoped to end up when you started out. A bit like life, really. See you ...