Awesome Websites

Take 333 of the most important websites and the 111 most influential people and you have Web Trend Map 4; it’s mapped in the style of the Tokyo Metro and is limited to 1,000 pieces.

We’ve long since given up keeping track of all the various social sites out there, but we love what Namechk.com does: it checks 76 sites to see if your username is already taken.

ShirtsMyWay is a startup that lets guys customize their own dress shirts; you’ll be able to choose fabrics, buttons and more, with a staggering 7 trillion possible combinations in all.

Google Earth 5.0 also comes with enhancements for the other (red) planet: Mars will get nearly-live imagery from the Odyssey and Reconnaisance Orbiter as well as 3D viewing.

Phone consolidator GrandCentral is back, this time as Google Voice; it’s still not available to the public, but has been retooled to be an email inbox for voicemail messages.

Be still, our 8- and 16-bit hearts: DesktopGaming is a great collection of desktop wallpapers from classics such as Super Mario Bros, Mega Man and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Holy crap, there goes our morning: keyboard-operated iDaft takes samples from “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and turns you into a virtual Daft Punk; too bad there’s no record.

Cisco Security’s The Realm is a goofy but commendable effort to make internet security look cool; it features superheroes with abilities like “extrasensory authentication.”

Artist Chris Grine is working on an ambitious but very cool project: three new robots each week for an entire year. He’s on #13 but already has several winners, including Warm Tender Heart.

In your face, Facebook: Microblogging predates the stone age in Twitter Throughout History, a short romp through time; you’ll meet such luminaries as Apeman and Futurama’s Professor.

Packed with 50+ classic Atari games, 2600 Online is proof that good gameplay always trumps graphics; Missile Command and Pac-Man still get our blood pumping, pixels and all.

We at first thought F*** Yeah Neil Patrick Harris might be taking the whole NPH thing a bit too far, but we’ll take the fans of NPH over the legions of LOLcats lovers any day. Thanks, Dearn!

Although Mario and Luigi are no strangers to flab, Tom Rhodes’ Old Game Characters introduce the joys of droopy skin and love handles to everyone from Lara Croft to Ken & Ryu.

Meet Captain Awesomer, above: we built him in The Hero Factory, a comic book-styled website that lets you customize apparel, abilities and more, all while listening to 80s music.

Just because you’re undead doesn’t mean you have to stop dabbling in astrology; The Zombie Zodiac offers twice monthly “Necroscopes” as well as Sign traits for Zombies and Survivors.

Windows Mobile 6.5 gets an improved touchscreen interface, user customizable widgets and My Phone web-based sync; Marketplace for Mobile will feature 20k+ apps.

The Passively Multiplayer Online Game uses the entire web as its playground, hiding traps, treasures and missions on various websites; you can find them with a browser extension.

There’s nothing like monkey business to celebrate Darwin’s 200th: Devolve Me takes your picture and “devolves” you into one of four ancient ancestors (up to 3.7 million years ago).

Go where no Trekkie has gone before and create your own Star Trek cartoon, thanks to a partnership between CBS and GoAnimate.com; create your own adventures with Kirk & the crew here.

Think “Attack of the Clones” with Exactitudes; it’s an ongoing series of photos that shows the more we try to look unique, the more we conform to certain dress codes. Thanks, Vitor!

Joe Mackenzie’s HAL Project website is a shrine to everyone’s favorite neurotic AI and includes a creepy HAL 9000 simulator–just be sure to turn on Lux Aeterna while you’re browsing.

If superpowers are mutations a-la X-Men, most should be dead ends; Superuseless Superpowers explores pointless abilities including 13th Bullet Bulletproof and Slumberjack.

It may seem like a dumb idea, but Jason’s I Wear Your Shirt is making money with 249 out of 365 days sold; each day, he acts as a human billboard and wears your shirt for a price.