mossberg's favorite blogs

By WALTER S. MOSSBERG, Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL



Every day, I scan dozens of blogs, on politics, sports, news, and, of
course, personal technology -- the topic I write about. Here are some of my
favorite tech blogs. Like all blogs, these range from mere roundups of items
elsewhere on the Web to outpourings of personal opinion. Some are more like
journals, others lean more toward traditional Web sites. I don't vouch for
their accuracy or thoroughness, but I do find them interesting and useful.

There are lots of blogs and Web sites aimed at general gadget lovers, but I
recommend Engadget, at engadget.com1. It's not deep on analysis or testing,
but it rounds up most of the new stuff and surrounds it with short, snappy
patter.

For serious techies, who are deep in the weeds on all sorts of technical
issues and the social and political trends surrounding them, the must-read
blog is Slashdot, at slashdot.org2. Another excellent blog on tech issues
and also politics is by Dan Gillmor, a former newspaper columnist and
champion of "grass-roots journalism." You can read Dan at
Dan Gillmor's blog | Bayosphere3.

Some blogs focus on specific products. My favorite blog on cellphones is
Phone Scoop, at phonescoop.com4. My favorite blog on digital cameras is the
Digital Camera Resource Page, at dcresource.com5.

The iPod, of course, is a gadget with its own massive cult, so there are
numerous blogs for iPod lovers. In my view, the best of these is iLounge, at
ilounge.com6. It includes beginner's guides and in-depth reviews as well as
news.

Some blogs are excellent resources for following specific tech companies.

For instance, if you care about Google, and the search business in general,
there are two blogs to follow. One is John Battelle's Searchblog, at
battellemedia.com7. The other is the Search Engine Watch blog, by search
guru Danny Sullivan, at blog.searchenginewatch.com/blog/8.

For Microsoft-watchers, a fascinating blog -- by a Microsoft employee named
Robert Scoble -- is Scobleizer, at scobleizer.wordpress.com9. Another
excellent blog on the software giant is Microsoft Monitor, at
microsoftmonitor.com10. It's by Joe Wilcox, an analyst at Jupitermedia and a
former tech journalist.

Then there are the blogs about Apple, the tech company that is so secretive,
yet so closely watched, that it attracts rumors, gossip and commentary like
flies. There are dozens of blogs and Web sites about Apple and its products,
far more than about much larger companies like Microsoft or Dell.

Apple watchers should check out Think Secret, at thinksecret.com11;
MacDailyNews, at macdailynews.com12; AppleInsider, at appleinsider.com13;
and the Unofficial Apple Weblog, at tuaw.com14. And no Apple cultist should
overlook the blog that makes fun of all the other rumor sites, Crazy Apple
Rumors, at crazyapplerumors.com15.



Write to Walter S. Mossberg at walt.mossberg@wsj.com16
November 16, 2005
Copyright 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113210664894198480.html