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"LEAD STORY: Why SOPA Is Dangerous\nThe Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) are landing in the U.S. Senate next week and a whirlpool of online protest has fired up again. The two bills intend to stop online piracy and protect copyright holders, however, critics claim they infringe upon creativity, Internet security and innovation by punishing websites that link to any copyright-infringing sites, even by accident.\nWikipedia and a number of major sites including Reddit, Mozilla and TwitPic will go offline on Wednesday to protest. Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales made the announcement on Twitter, joking that students should \"do [their] homework early.\"\nWikipedia is a massive resource for students and professionals alike. What will a day without the online encyclopedia be like? In case you're worried, we dug up some alternative information resources should you need them on Wednesday.\nHere are some of the best resources in a Wiki-less world. What are your thoughts on the blackout? Are these sites making the right move or is it just an inconvenience to the public? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.\n\n\nWikipedia Blackout: Survive with These 12 Alternatives\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. Google Scholar\n\nGoogle's scholarly search engine is a way to broadly search for literature, articles, abstracts, theses and legal opinions from academic professionals, societies and universities.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Wolfram|Alpha\n\nWolfram|Alpha is a \"computational knowledge engine\" that uses specific algorithms based on specific assumptions to answer questions, rather than just give search results. The results also come back with sources and references that the site used for your computation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. HARO\n\nReporters in need of a source can use this forum to have their queries answered. The site claims to \"deliver the sources that match your exact needs directly to your inbox.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Encyclopedia Britannica\n\nThe Encyclopedia Britannica is written and continuously updated by approximately 100 editors and more than 4,000 contributors. It's regarded as one of the most scholarly encyclopedias and it is available online.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Quora\n\nQuora's information network can connect you with experts and answers from people who share similar interests as you.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Online Libraries\n\nIf you're a student, or still have a student account, you can log in to your university's online library to use research sites, such as LexisNexis or EBSCO. Many local libraries also have similar options.\nImage courtesy of Flickr, Thomas Hawk\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Project Gutenberg\n\nThere are more than 38,000 cultural archives available as ebooks on Project Gutenberg, which you can download to your PC, Kindle, Android or iOS device.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. IMDB\n\nThe Internet Movie Database is a useful resource for cross-checking stats about the entertainment industry such as movies, TV shows, actors, production crew video games and fictional characters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n9. History.com\n\nIf you are looking for historical references, History.com is split into a large number of topics, ranging from U.S. Government, Wars and Military Conflicts and Famous People.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n10. Encyclopedia.com\n\nEncyclopedia.com is another reference site that offers resources on pictures, facts and videos. There are a number of encyclopedia sites that have been cached, such as The Free Dictionary and Encyclopedian\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n11. eHow\n\neHow is an online how-to guide with instructional articles and videos, created by freelancers. Any eHow user can leave comments or responses, but only contracted writers can contribute changes to articles.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n12. Google Translate\n\nIf you simply can't get around a world without Wikipedia, you can always copy, paste and translate the other language versions of the site.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/wikipedia-alternatives/>