Question: What websites, portals, blogs etc do you go to for music and music gear news?
The web is so wide, so many things, I don’t know if there is one place in particular better than others (well maybe one). Blogs are not all that useful. They are nice but once you have visited, added a comment and registered as a friend, the action pretty much stops there. Do the same on next blog, and then some more after that? Not too much, it gets exhausting and cuts down on your music playing time. But they are a good window for musicians looking to get a bit of exposure.
This forum here is quite active by comparison to many others, and a good source for news, links and interesting stuff from other users.
Overall, I find the most interesting place to visit and search is YouTube. Real people (not pros) showing what they got, good or bad. Garage band videos. Hardware reviews. Guitar covers and lessons. The rest of the web pales in comparison.
In no particular order :
a) Looking for something : google search and wherever it leads you…
b) Reviews, lessons and performing videos : YouTube.
c) Share with others : Here.
d) Personal blogs when one captures your interest (for a couple of visits).
That’s it for me in a nutshell.
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/
Then I surf his links wherever they lead me.
+1 on matrixsynth
http://stretta.blogspot.com/ has cool content as well
Portamental - the nice thing about blogs is that I can subscribe to as many as I want, and new content is delivered to me as it’s generated - no need to keep revisiting.
http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/index.php
This one has heavy foot traffic by artists and manufacturers. Shit, some businesses have started from and ended there (read the PlanB and Synthcase threads). It’s mostly modular related stuff but there are large number of Fooger owners there.
keithb - I agree totally. My own use of computers is not all that different from most people, but after 50 strong hours of brain cells killing programming (mechanical engineering and DSP) a week, i don’t find them amusing as most people do. Yet it seems, even in my hobbies, there’s no escape.
Precisely the reason why I prefer a laptop when I’m computing at home. Their aerodynamics are so exquisite… They fly so far when I throw them! And, they look so very pretty when they smash on the pavement. So much plastic glittering in the sunlight…
harmonycentral.com might be a good place because thats where everyone goes to read user reviews before buying products.
Eric
A familiar feeling to me as well 
For music (as opposed to gear), I have found this site really useful for keeping up with both new stuff, and also reissues of old stuff: