Using a saved Internet location on your desktop, you can quickly check a web page without opening a browser window.
This is a handy way to keep an eye on websites without having to manage browser windows or tabs. Simply drag the URL address from the the top of your browser window (I use Safari) onto your desktop. A 'web internet location' file is created. Now just use Quick Look (hit spacebar) to see a live view of the web page. You can even click a link, which then opens in your default browser.
Take it to the next level: Create a folder with all your favorite internet location files. Put the folder in your dock. Now when you hover over the file in grid or fan view, you can tap space bar to see the web page, and use the arrow keys to navigate around (list view doesn't Quick Look, for some reason, and only opens into a browser). I don't have Flash installed on my system, but I'm curious to know if YouTube and other Flash sites will run within Quick Look. Hope some people find this handy.
[crarko adds: 10.7 only. It looks like Quick Look uses Webkit to render the page, so you in effect are using a browser, just not a separate application. Flash did load when I tried this, in fact it seems to have bypassed ClickToPlugin (a Safari extension) in order to do so.]
Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20111112084634189