~ Early Web Links ~

Ripped is a community-curated guide to trusted sites and tools for ripping and archiving media, covering everything from CD audio ripping with EAC to manga, e-books, games, anime, and movies. It serves as a structured reference directory for private trackers, scene terminology, and platform-specific software across PC, Android, iOS, and consoles.

VE3ZSH's Links is a sprawling personal bookmarks directory maintained by a Canadian ham radio operator, organizing hundreds of curated URLs across categories like search engines, hardware datasheets, InfoSec tools, language resources, forums, and small-web communities. The sheer breadth and curation depth make it a genuinely useful launchpad for anyone interested in technical, indie-web, and utility resources.

Felix's personal web directory collects over a thousand tagged and timestamped bookmarks spanning topics from climate and history to science, technology, and culture. Organized into themed categories like 'The History Hoard' and 'The Sci-Tech Stash,' it functions as a curated link library with highlighted reads on AI, meritocracy, and media criticism.

Edited by Paul Wise and Jed Wing, this unofficial specification documents Microsoft's HTML Help system in exhaustive technical detail, covering the CHM file format, LZX compression, XML structure, and all associated configuration options. Reverse-engineered without NDA restrictions and released under the GNU GPL, it serves as a rare open reference for developers working with or building tools around the proprietary .chm format.

The official NetBSD/macppc FAQ covers everything a user needs to install and run NetBSD on PowerPC-based Apple hardware, from booting and partitioning to Open Firmware, supported hardware models, and peripheral configuration. With dozens of detailed questions and answers spanning networking, ADB keyboards, USB devices, and kernel options, it serves as an indispensable technical reference for running this Unix-like OS on older Power Macs and PowerBooks.

Andy McFadden's comprehensive CD-Recordable FAQ is the definitive reference guide covering everything about CD-R and CD-RW technology, from basic concepts to advanced topics like packet writing, disc formats, and hardware troubleshooting. Originally developed for the comp.publish.cdrom Usenet newsgroups, this meticulously maintained document reached version 2.73 and is available in multiple languages including German, French, Russian, and more.

Tim Bray, one of the co-creators of XML, writes a retrospective essay on the people and personalities who shaped XML's first decade, originally drafted in 1998 and finally published here in 2008. The piece offers rare insider portraits of figures like Ted Nelson, W3C members, and early web pioneers, making it a fascinating primary-source account of web standards history.

A newsletter article from the ODP/DMOZ open directory project's Winter 2006 issue, humorously describing the migration to new servers through the perspective of fictional 'hamsters' powering the editors.dmoz.org infrastructure. Part of a regular newsletter for DMOZ editors, it covers server upgrades, editor initiatives, and community news from the volunteer-run web directory.

Demystified breaks down complex technology topics into accessible explanations, covering artificial intelligence, blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, login security, passkeys, DVD, and UltraViolet. It serves as a plain-language reference for anyone trying to make sense of modern tech jargon and digital systems.

Earth Station Nine is a massive web compendium boasting over 46,000 resources organized across 790 categories and 1,228 pages, drawing from the so-called "invisible web" to surface hard-to-find reference material. Covering everything from genealogy and military history to occult phenomena, health, antiques, and international search engines, it functions as a sprawling research hub for curious minds.