Sightings: One excellent site each day.

Previous Sightings
October, 2002

World Health Organization
Although humans often act as though they are the epitome of evolutionary development, the fallacy of that centrist attitude is apparent when you look at a site such as the World Health Organization. The site contains news, reports, calls for action and other health information from countries all over the world. (sighted by Russell Jones)

Xul Planet
XUL, pronounced "Zool", is a new way to describe interfaces using an XML-compliant language. Although Mozilla/Netscape browsers are currently the primary XUL consumers, that may change in the future as device-independent UI designs become more important. The site contains a comprehensive XUL tutorial, references, and downloads. (sighted by Russell Jones)

Parasites and Parasitological Resources
Not all Web sites have to be "cool" in a visual sense. Although the design of this site could be improved, the information it contains--"over 550 images of more than 180 species of parasites, as well as information about the "biology" of many of these parasitic species" is, if not terribly appetizing, certainly important. Pet owners in particular should explore a little. (sighted by Russell Jones)

37signal's Design Not Found
This part of the site by a group of usability and design experts focuses on pointing out very specific things that other sites do well--and do poorly. What they call "the best and the worst of contingency design"--designs for when things go wrong in sign-up processes and such. I thought it was fascinating...but maybe that's just me. (Sighted by Carrie Sherrill)

Big Idea Fun
Big Idea Fun is the activity-based companion site for Big Idea, Inc., the company behind the "VeggieTales" computer animated video series. What's striking about this site is that there at least three different ways of navigating to the same content. By Quick Link (drop down), by tab, or by character. And it's lightweight despite being graphically intense. (Sighted by Lori Piquet)

MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT is nothing if not forward-thinking and ambitious. They are putting vast amounts of course information online for free, in the hopes that "the idea of openly sharing course materials will propagate throughout many institutions and create a global web of knowledge that will enhance the quality of learning and, therefore, the quality of life worldwide." Although it's now in a pilot stage, you can take classes in everything from Aeronautics and Astronautics to Urban Studies and Planning. They include the syllabus, assignments, required reading, and study materials. The Web lends itself especially well to such things as animated visualizations of electromagnetic phenomena taught in physics. As for the site itself, it's easy to navigate and loads fast at dial-up speeds. You don't need DSL to learn great things. (Sighted by Stefan Gruenwedel)

Pirated-Sites.com
Pirated-Sites.com showcases side-by-side comparisons of Web sites that are suspected of borrowing, copying, or stealing copyright-protected content, design, or code without permission. (Sighted by JP Fortier)

Whatismoving.com
This site by amateur filmmakers Jonathan and Matthew Friedman, offers an interesting peek at the often grueling process of making a feature-length independent film. (Sighted by Carrie Sherrill)