Online Research, netsurfing and Sources - info please?

This is just to ask for tips to become smarter at using the internet. I am a rookie so anything you share will be most helpful n i will be most grateful. Please pool in and share any websites and sources which you find useful for research online regarding anything that interests you - free ebook sites, search engines, whistleblowers' info, research bases for info that in not there in the mainstream, news websites, softwares, freewares, googling tips or academic research for scholarly work, IRC forum, etc... anything that strikes you as helpful and which you discovered and have found to be useful .... i am sure you too will find something useful from others' answers to this question. so please chip in.... thank you in advance....