Welcome to JumpCity!

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Using JumpCity
Using the Jump Code Feature
Doing a Keyword Search on JumpCity...
Viewing Sites on JumpCity by Subject...
Submitting Your Own Web Site for Review on JumpCity...

A Place of Substance and Sanity Along the Web...

Good content can be tough to find on the Web. We know, because we've spent many months searching for it and (sometimes) finding it.

As a result of our search, we bring you JumpCity, a new kind of Net-based Almanac to the best of the Web, featuring reviews of selected Web sites on almost any subject you could imagine.

Unlike most Web search engines and "portals," We don't claim to be your does-it-all searching point for every Web journey, like Yahoo, Excite, or Lycos.

Rather, we'd like you to think of us as a useful complement to these big Web indexes and search sites. That's because we do the tough editorial heavy lifting you won't see in many other Web-type links pages.

What's Good about JumpCity?

If you've been on the Web for any length of time, you've probably experienced this problem: Click on a Yahoo subject, or do a keyword search on AltaVista on any given subject, and you'll probably get a dump of dozens--or hundreds--of Web site matches making this first cut.

Next, you're left with the unenviable task of being your own editor, sorting through this pile of Web sites, searching them, one by one, 'till you swerve accidentally into a site which actually has any useful content.

And once you've had that initial, fascinating "Gee, I just spent nine hours surfing the Web" first-timer's experience, you start to realize two key facts:

FACT #1: Most of What You See on the Web is Junk...

Like many other things in life, you can really live without 98% of the Web.

That's because many Web site creators think that creating lists of Web hotlinks are a substitute for the much harder job of writing, editing, design, production, and the other tough working skills required for creating CONTENT.

And that's why most Web sites contain just one or two feebly-written pages and a much larger list of links to many other Web sites which, themselves, contain similarly shallow content and endless, roundabout links to other, mostly equally shallow, sites.

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FACT #2: Just Because You Can Link Everywhere on the Web, It Doesn't Mean You'll Necessarily Get Anywhere...

No fancy Web search engine or intelligent software agent will ever replace a competent, discerning human when it comes to separating the one, two, or three truly worthwhile Web sites from the 800 hits that might pop up as a result of your average Web search on any given subject.

That's where we come in: No Web searching robots, no over-hyped software amounting to little more than fancy Web-based front-ends slapped on top of the same Web trash.

Just hard-working people searching the Web -- intelligently selecting, reviewing, and organizing only the best, and most substantial, Web sites to meet the problems and situations you face in your daily life.

JumpCity: Your Web Guide for the Real World

If you're like most people now coming on to the Web, your life extends well beyond the time you spend in front of your computer.

For example, maybe you'd like to use the Web to find Web sites with information on, say, marketing tips for your home-based business. Or, finding someone who's got a Web site that could tell you how to fix the oil leak that just appeared under your car this morning. Or, finding Web sites with suggestions on relieving a migraine headache, tips on restoring antique furniture, or pointers to the best places on the Web to post your resume and get career advice.

If you'd like to know how the Web can be used to solve the real problems in everyday life, how it can be used to safely educate and entertain your children, or expand your business opportunities or social network, you'll find much of what you're looking for here in JumpCity.

If You Like JumpCity, Our Books are Even Better...

Writing, producing, and publishing books is our main business. In this day and age of electronic information, do people still even NEED books?

YES!

While it sure is fun to surf the Web, reading stuff off a computer screen for more than 30 minutes at a time really hurts your eyes. Plus, it's real tough to find places to plug in your PC at the beach.

Fortunately -- and centuries before the Internet was a gleam in anyone's eye -- people have been hard at work designing, building, and selling the cheapest, quickest, yet most powerful, hotlinked, HTML-ized, megabyte-sized, information-accessing devices available -- BOOKS!

Why would someone buy a book on the Web, when it's already been published here???

Books and Web sites are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT media forms. Each is useful in its own way.

Nothing beats a book for convenience and permanence. For example we bet you can find stuff you're looking for in one of our books in a fraction of the time it would take you just to boot up your Web browser.

Also, reading crisp, black text on bright white paper helps you avoid 'Web Burn' -- that sensation where your eyes start to feel like bingo hall ping-pong balls after extended time spent reading text on your monitor.

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Using JumpCity...

JumpCity is your on-the-Web companion to the Internet and to the books we publish, What's on the Web®, and What's on the Internet®...

JumpCity contains the full text of our guidebooks, which cover the best of the Web, and all content on JumpCity is keyword-searchable and listable in a variety of ways. JumpCity also makes it easy for you to access all the sites covered in our guidebooks through the use of Jump Codes we've assigned to each reviewed Web site, so now you won't have to enter those tedious URLs.

Here are a few simple instructions for getting around JumpCity...

Using the Jump Code Feature...

You can Jump to any reviewed Web site featured in JumpCity and our guidebooks by entering the four-digit Jump Code we've assigned to each reviewed Web site, in the frame at the top of your Web browser.

If you already have your own copy of one of our books, Jump Codes are the shortest possible route between you and the Web site you want to reach. Simply enter the four-digit jump Jump Code that's printed by each Web site review in our books, and we'll link you to that site from JumpCity.

Even if you don't yet have a copy of the book, Jump Codes are still a handy way for you to remember and reach sites of interest to you via JumpCity...just make note of their Jump Codes so you can reach them from JumpCity anytime. Of course, you can always bookmark links to Web sites you can find here, but we've covered so many that you'll probably wind up overloading your browser's bookmarks window!

A note about linking to Web sites featured in JumpCity: We do our best to check each Web site review's Web link from time to time to verify that the URL is still current and the site still exists. However, given the ever-changing nature of Web sites, we cannot guarantee that every Web site location will be current, or that you will be able to access every Web site all the time.

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Doing a Keyword Search on JumpCity...

Search lets you do a keyword search on the entire content of JumpCity, to find reviews of Web sites that fit the words or terms you're searching for.

You can use single words or phrases to search, separated by a space -- however, you'll have the most luck if you limit your search phrase to no more than two words.

If you score a hit on your keyword search, you'll then see an abbreviated (mini-review -- see below) listing of Web site reviews whose text contains the keywords you've searched for.

Viewing Site Reviews on JumpCity by Subject...

This is where you'll be spending the most time and have the most fun on JumpCity. To reach listings of our site reviews, organized by subject, go back to our JumpCity main page and click on a subject area displayed on that page.

You can see all of the reviews we offer in JumpCity under that topic, through this mini-review format.

Here, we display a great deal of information on each Web Site we review: A small thumbnail graphic, the first sentence of its review, written by us, and other useful information to let you read the full review of the site, jump directly to that site, or link to the Internet newsgroup that's related to that site's topic. Below each mini-review, you can also hotlink into other topic subcategories for Web site reviews in JumpCity.

Just click on any mini-reviews review hotlink to read the full text of the review we've written for that site.

Submitting Your Own Site for Review...

If you've created your own Web site, and would like to submit it for review by our staff, click this fill-in form which asks you for pertinent information on your Web site. Filling in this information does not guarantee that your Web site will be listed here, but we will check sites whose info is submitted to us, and will feature the best sites on JumpCity.

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