Specifications

NOVEMBER 6, 2007 PC MAGAZINE 81
Lumosity
www.lumosity.com
It’s not the fi rst “brain-training” site we’ve
ever encountered, but it may be the most
scientifi c. On this site you can play games
that have been lab-tested and shown to
improve memory, attention, processing
speed, and even cognitive control. If you
decide you want the complete brain-train-
ing treatment, you’ll have to spend $9.95 a
month or $79.95 a year.—Carol Mangis
Menupages
www.menupages.com
The days of having to keep a messy stack
of takeout menus or not knowing if a res-
taurant has a vegetarian option before
you make the reservations are over.
Menupages offers menus and reviews for
thousands of restaurants in New York,
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia,
Boston, Chicago, Washington, and South
Florida.—WR
Top Secret Recipes
www.topsecretrecipes.com
Bring the recipes of your favorite restau-
rants into your kitchen with Todd Wilbur’s
Top Secret Recipes. Wilbur clones the
secret recipes of popular restaurants, let-
ting you work up your favorite menu items
in the comfort of your own home. Also,
check out “The Sleuth” for secrets and lore
about food.—VBJ
Who Is Sick?
www.whoissick.org/sickness
We all know that misery loves company.
If you can’t manage to find company to
share your illness, try turning to the Who
Is Sick? database. This fun beta site maps
out illnesses, showing you who’s got what
(runny nose, cough, fever, headache,
muscle ache, stomachache, or whatever
ailment), and where. It’s a good little time-
waster—and when you’re sick, it can be
oddly comforting to know that others
nearby are suffering, too.—Sean Carroll
The World’s Healthiest Foods
www.whfoods.com
This is the site for anyone who’s read a
quick blurb in a magazine or seen a health
segment on the news and thought “cher-
ries fight XYZ disease? Really?” The site
provides info on how foods affect our
health and can boost energy. You also
get daily menus laying out three smart,
nutrient-rich meals.—CI
LUMOSITY Lab-tested games to help im-
prove memory and attention.
Lifestyle & Entertainment
Dethroner
www.dethroner.com
Dethroner is the classy men’s magazine
of the Web world. With themed content
based on topics like beer, meat, and dan-
ger, and features such as “Testosterone
Television,” a guide to the manliest sights
on TV, this site has everything the mod-
ern man needs (or the modern woman,
provided her interests are beer, meat, and
danger).—WR
EXPN
www.expn.com
EXPN is like ESPN but with an X for
eXtreme—you know, for the kids. It cov-
ers the dangerous stuff in sports, such
as skating, surfing, motocross, and the X
Games. EXPN has great photos and videos
of death-defying stunts, along with the
typical (and safer) sports columns, feature
stories, and podcasts.—KM
FirstShowing.net
www.fi rstshowing.net
Many of us have no idea what goes into
making a fi lm and what takes place behind
the scenes. For those interested in peek-
ing behind the curtain, this movie blog
will keep you up to date on the hot gossip.
(It’s also a great place to fi nd new teasers,
trailers, and production stills.)—CI
Going.com
www.going.com
Tired of your lame friends wanting to go
to the same restaurant, watch the same
movies, and play the same video games
night after night? Going.com is just the
ticket. Search hundreds of local events by
location, popularity, and time. Then search
for other Going.com members (currently
over 123,000 active) who are headed to the
same place. Going also hosts monthly par-
ties for its members.—CI
I Can Has Cheezburger?
www.icanhascheezburger.com
Cats are comical. You either get that or
you don’t. If you do, this site will make
you very, very happy. The site collects
and posts pictures of kitties that are cap-
tioned using ungrammatical “lolspeak,”
to (mostly) hilarious effect. Vote on the
captioned pictures, awarding them 1 to 5
cheezburgers; leave comments; and vote
on the comments, too.—CM
iminlikewithyou
www.iminlikewithyou.com
This dating site twists the old formula
of online meet-and-greet. You can’t just
strike up a conversation. Rather, you must
“bid” on a particular user. Users who are
bid on get to choose someone from the top
fi ve bidders to interact with, and that’s how
you collect friends. If you’re miserly, you’ll
make no friends . . . but if you bid too gen-
erously you’ll run out of points to bid with.
Earn more points by answering questions
about yourself.—KM
I Watch Stuff
www.iwatchstuff.com
Staffed by (gasp) trained journalists,
I Watch Stuff has an air of actual credibil-
ity spliced into its snark-fi lled posts about
fi lm news, trailers, and clips. That’s not to
say they’re above sniffi ng out gay subtext
in celebrity interviews or mocking Paula
Abdul’s reality show—but that’s why we
keep going back.—CI
MeeVee
www.meevee.com
MeeVee is more than just your average
TV listings. It also provides personalized
recommendations on shows you might
want to watch, based on shows or stars you
already enjoy. You can also create channels
based on your own interests; type in a key-
word and you’ll get videos, news, gossip,
and sho
w listings based around it.—WR
MyPunchbowl
www.mypunchbowl.com
Planning a party is a hassle, but invitations
needn’t be an additional headache. Just
jaunt over to MyPunchbowl. The simple