The editors of Pandia share their favorite sites for practical problem solving, search and information.

As webmasters and journalists we are heavy users of sites that helps us handle large amounts of information or that guides to the right source. And, believe it or not, we also have a life — which means that we use the Web for other purposes as well.

Here are our top 10 favorites right now:

1. Google Web Search
Yahoo! and Live are getting better and Ask.com is a hidden gem, but none of them are able to beat Google in the game of high quality Web search.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for improvement. We hate it when they redirect us to the sub-standard Norwegian version of Google, or seem totally incapable of finding the true home page of a hotel site, but still — most of the time it rocks!

2. IMDB
All right, we admit that this one isn’t work related. But when we sit in front of the TV, wondering what the name of that actor is and what other movies he or she has acted in, the Internet Movie Database comes to the rescue. It is packed with information on movies, TV shows, actors. They should freshen up the design, though. It is so nineties!

3. Amazon
Per believes that the Amazon knows him, as she has this uncanny ability to send him exactly the kind of books, CDs and DVDs he likes.

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk are not necessarily the cheapest online stores around, but their ability to recommend new products based on your previous purchases is amazing.

4. The Wikipedia
Many search engine marketers hate the Wikipedia as it has a tendency of taking over the top position for many search queries. Then there are the academics that claim that it is unprofessional and unreliable.

The fact is, however, that there is not one free online encyclopedia out there that is even coming close to what the Wikipedia has to offer. You should always read with a critical eye. Fair enough! But the Wikipedia provides us with so much to read.

5. Techmeme
If you are into search and Web technologies, like we are, it is extremely helpful to find sites that gather, sort and present the recent news for you. Techmeme is such a site. If you like Techmeme, you should probably also take a look at European Wikio.

6. Tripadvisor
We travel a lot and need reliable information on our destinations, flights and hotels. Tripadvisor provides such info, and the fact that they include user reviews and photos, makes us trust their advice.

7. Google Maps
Here is a service that can be used to identify the nearest baker, find a satellite photo of your holiday destination (in some cases even street view photos), give driving directions and much more.

You may also like to take a look at the alternatives: Live Search Maps and Yahoo! Maps.

8. Online Conversions
Americans are good at posting recipes on the Web, but their strange reluctance to adopt — for instance — the metric system poses a problem for us Europeans. Online

Conversions helps you convert nearly any measure: length, temperature, speed, volume, weight, cooking, area, fuel economy, currency, clothing and shoe sizes and much more.

9. How Stuff Works
As kids we had these books that told us how a car motor works or why bats can fly in the night. How Stuff Works is a modern version for grown ups. It is amazing to see what they have been able to cover.

At the moment of writing the front page answers topics like “Do parallel universes really exist?”, “How Mosquitoes Work”, “How Quantum Suicide Works” (!!!), “How Winemaking Works” and so on.

10. Download.com
If you are looking for some good software (paid, shareware or freeware) CNET has a good service over at Download.com. The main tool is the software search engine and directory, but there are also links to other CNET sub-sites, like blogs, reviews, news, and more.

The Download.com directory includes software for Windows, Mac, mobiles and something they call Webware (software as a online service).

If you are looking for inexpensive shareware, take a look at Shareware.com as well.

See also our list of Top 10 Useful Web Tools.