NETSURFER FOCUS SURFS SPRING INTERNETWORLD
If you're not on our mailing list, stop by our Web site to check out the next Netsurfer Focus, our report on the Spring InternetWorld conference held recently here in Silicon Valley. You won't want to miss this fast and furious guide to all the cool new tools, sites, and buzz. All in our inimitable irreverent style, of course. Our regular subscribers will get it in the mail over the next few days. "http://www.netsurf.com/nsf/v02/01/nsf.02.01.html"
Apparently, a Princeton research team has found yet another way to get around Java security features and destroy or steal data. The nature of the problem is unspecified but Netscape says there's a fix, though not yet a released one. CNN has a good summary of the story, which was still developing at press time. "http://cnn.com/TECH/9605/20/netscape.bug.wir/index.html"
FREE TRIAL OF INTERACTIVE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The Wall Street Journal is a unique American institution, reporting on and sometimes moving the stock markets of the world. The Journal is now offering free trial subscriptions to its brand new online sibling. The home page is a good approximation of the paper's front page, with links to various regular columns and features. A personal news profile section lets you customize your news display. Stories about companies come with hyperlinks to more info, such as the latest stock quote, recent related stories, and a briefing page. Sign up before May 31, and it's free until July 31. After that, it costs $49/year, $29/year for Journal subscribers. All in all, it's a well designed site, indispensible for business news junkies. "http://wsj.com/"
MARILYN MONROE MEMORABILIA AUCTION ONLINE 5/27-6/1
Right on the heels of the blockbuster Jackie Onassis event comes this more modest but equally tantalizing auction. Here's a sampler of the 183 items up for grabs: Marilyn's baby-doll, high-heeled shoes; a sheer black nightgown; silver cigarette case (ambiguously inscribed "Marilyn Love Elaine"); her first Playboy, the rare volume 1, number 1; 3-D color photos of Marilyn taken by Harold Lloyd; and even nude Marilyn coasters. Even if you skip the auction, visit the site for the set of Marilyn links from all over the Web. As the button up for auction says, "Gentlemen Prefer Marilyn". "http://www.abac.com/home/jshandor/gdhome.htm"
NETSCAPE SHIPS POWER PACK 2.0 FOR WINDOWS
Netscape's just released the second version of a collection of utilities and plug-ins for its browser. You can dowload the online version, which includes four core utilities, or you can purchase a CD-ROM with an additional set of plug-ins. The tools are Netscape SmartMarks 2.0, INSO CyberSpell for Netscape Mail, Norton AntiVirus Internet Scanner, Netscape Chat 2.0, and 15 plug-ins (Shockwave, RealAudio, VRML browsers, and various file viewers). "http://search.netscape.com/comprod/power_pack.html"
THE W3 CONSORTIUM ANNOUNCES HTML 3.2 STANDARD
This release of this latest HTML standard is somewhat a catch up to reality. It legitimizes features already widely deployed in existing Web browsers, such as tables, applets, and text flow around images. Lots of big name companies - such as IBM, Netscape, Sun, and Microsoft - have had a hand in the development of the standard, and if you're the technical type the press release will be of interest. The other site is the official W3 Consortium HTML page with in-depth information about every aspect of the language, including the new HTML 3.2 standard. A definite bookmark site for HTML tool developers. PR: "http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/Wilbur/pr7may96.html" W3: "http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/MarkUp/"
INDIANAPOLIS 500: THE DRAMA OF CAR RACING
You'd think a bunch of cars going around and around an oval race track would be pretty boring. Not so. The drama of the race comes complete with the vast power and techno-fetishism of the machines, the sex appeal of the men and occasional women who drive them, the precision training of the pit crews, the seething mob of spectators, big name sponsors, loads of money, and the ever present spectre of death at high speed, the latter pointedly illustrated by the death of pole-position leader Scott Brayton last week. To follow the action, try the official site at the Brickyard, or go nuts with multimedia at the over-the-top Autochannel, complete with Shockwave, QuickTime, and RealAudio bandwidth overkill. Brickyard: "http://www.brickyard.com/500/index.html" Autochannel: "http://www.theautochannel.com/news/events/indy500/indynews.html"
And they've put it online for you to look at and critique. Ostensibly, this is the blueprint for Apple to climb out of its financial pit. The plan, as CEO Gil Amelio puts it, is to "be a leader in providing simple, powerful, quality information products and services". Sounds like a mission statement for a library. Larry Testler, or at least the text under his picture, outlines Apple's Internet strategy. There's an open discussion area where you can post your thoughts and a Soap Box page invites Mac fanatics to write a 250-word essay about the glory of the One True Computing MacGod. Many generalities, few specifics, but contrarian stock investors and the morbidly curious about where Apple is going may want to spend a few minutes here. "http://theplan.apple.com/"
PRODIGY SOLD TO INVESTOR GROUP
After spending an estimated $1 billion and change on the proprietary online service, IBM and Sears have finally unloaded Prodigy for about $250 million in cash and stock. The buyer, an investment group called International Wireless, includes Grupo Carso, a Mexican concern that owns a major stakes in Telefonos de Mexico. The group is a closely held bunch which invests in communications businesses in Mexico, Asia, and Africa. Current Prodigy management helped out with the buy, and will stay to run the service. Oddly, we couldn't find any online press releases from any of the principles, which probably says something about Prodigy's future. "http://www.cnn.com/TECH/9605/13/prodigy.wir/index.html"
BIG NAME COMPANIES ANNOUNCE NETWORK COMPUTER STANDARD
That would be Apple, IBM, Netscape, Oracle, and Sun. They've agreed on a set of common standards for developing low-cost, easy-to-use network computing devices, aka the $500 Network Computer (NC). NC Reference Profile 1 covers general hardware guidelines, Internet protocols, WWW standards, e-mail protocols, common multimedia formats, boot protocols, and security features. You can read all about it at this as yet unnamed site, or browse around the Oracle Network Computing page. NC: "http://192.86.154.91/" Oracle: "http://www.nc.ihost.com/"
Just when you thought you'd seen the final summary of WWW user statistics, we're gonna give you another. After all, who can resist the temptation to see what the heck the "typical" user is? PCS's WWW stats page compiled the results of numerous surveys and produced the following results. Seventy-three percent of us are men, with the majority of users between 21 and 59 years old. The number of Internet users doubles every nine months. Forty-seven percent use Windows and 44% use Macs. Despite all the publicity you read, not everyone uses Netscape as the Web browser of choice. Just 84%. "http://www.why-not.com/company/stats.htm"
Mark Wilczenski, a digital artist with an impressive list of clients, has crafted a Web site to properly exhibit his works. The Markarts Artist Gallery is a Web portfolio of the artist's computer art, with thumbnail JPEG images of some of his more impressive graphics available for downloading. The site hopes to eventually contain both static and animated graphics in QuickTime, VRML, and other computer animation formats. If the moving images to come are even half as beautiful as the still images that currently adorn the pages, waiting to download them will be well worth your Net dollars. "http://homepage.interaccess.com/~markarts/"
More of an art gallery than Web art resource, the Art Machine exhibits 64 new computer-generated images each week. Navigate through quarter-screen size images and select any graphic for enlargement. You can download the featured Windows wallpaper of the week in variety of screen sizes and resolutions. Free wallpaper art (BMP format) can be e-mailed to you if you opt for a subscription. High-quality images are also available by e-mail, but for that the site demands a fee. There are plenty of sites providing background images, but this site guarantees the novelty of new images every week. A bonus link collection contains an extensive list of art and magazine sites. "http://www.voicenet.com/~imarco/"
As a participant in the US Army's Vietnam Combat Art project, Jim Pollack of South Dakota was sent into the field with the mission of capturing the war for the Army's War Art Collection. Many of his wartime pieces are displayed here as well as a collection of his post-war work. "http://members.aol.com/jimm844224/vietart1.html"
Bob Derr, the "More Than Awesome Digitographer 2 The Stars" (that is a quote, folks), has put together the Gallery of Galleries to exhibit his still and captured video images. Netsurfers will find color and black-and-white images, Derr's favorite image of the week, and an interesting feature entitled "24 Seconds in Cyberspace", which details a 24-second RV fire and the lone salvaged photograph. The Houston-based artist has also incorporated links to business, art, and an Elvis site (see NSD 1.35) into this well designed series of pages. "http://www.neosoft.com/~kcderr/galleries/"
CARTOON-O-MATIC LETS YOU BE YOUR OWN CARTOONIST
A fun site for a fun concept with active art. The sponsor, nFX, develops tools for creating "living art" on the Web and in multimedia. You can create cartoon art and post it with a funny caption in the Gallerie de la Toon. You can also download free Windows 95 cartoon-maker software. "http://www.nfx.com/"
"Never go into a battle of wits unarmed" will eventually be recognized as a universal truth, coming in a close third to the Grand Unifying Theory and the Expanding Male Gut Theory, which weigh in at second and first, respectively. In any event, Joe Lavin, columnist-at-large, presents an overwhelming arsenal of wit in his humor column, published twice weekly. Lavin has much the same sardonic, twisted point of view that has made Dave Barry: a) loved universally by one and all; b) despised by everyone else; and c) a ton of cash. Lavin's column may not make him c), but one can't be certain and jumping on the bandwagon early couldn't possibly hurt. "http://www.liberty.com/home/joelavin/"
Wage-slaves of the Internet: Unite! You have nothing to lose but your links. That seems to be the theme of Disgruntled (motto: "Work is a four letter word"), a Webzine that revolves around the things we do to afford the things we don't need. Disgruntled is a must for anyone not at the itty-bitty pinnacle of the corporate ladder. In fact, it's perfect for everyone except Bill Gates. The site will take surfers through articles designed to inform employees about their legally guaranteed rights in the workplace, as well as links to legal resources, should the ugly spectres of job discrimination or sexual harassment appear. Also, message areas supply a spot for the disgruntled/disenchanted to vent their spleens about particularly evil supervisors, crummy co-workers, and shiftless CEOs. Worth a visit. "http://www.disgruntled.com/"
Fans of the Cat in the Hat and Sam-I-Am will be happy to add the official Random House "Seussville" site to their bookmarks. A listing of Dr. Seuss's works, a Cat in the Hat events calendar, and a contest which will allow you to create your own character are included. The chat with the Cat portion of the page is temporarily out of order but should be back up soon, so they say. "http://www.seussville.com/"
So you have your degree in one hand and a mortarboard in the other. What now? Maybe get a close friend to stick Enter Magazine into your pants (You can use that quote on your Thank You page, guys). This e-monthly focuses on the transition between college days and the real world. They cover basics - auto leasing, real-life rental agreements, and building resumes - but there's more esoteric stuff, too: articles on female boxers and beer-tasting; trivia; and multimedia tidbits scattered through the site. The layout is pleasant. At least someone remembers the art of whitespace - umm, blackspace. "http://www.entermag.com/"
Forget the shamrocks and leprechauns. The artists at Nua Dan (New Art) are more concerned with the real life than the Celtic Disneyland some Ireland boosters would have you believe in. "Hunger", a series of poems by Maighread Medbh, follows a poor farming Irish family through the Great Irish Famine of 1845-49. "Crippletown", a collection of short stories by Mick Doyle, focuses on seven unemployed teenagers who have become involved in petty crime. Both authors use extensive hyperlinks to expand and explain their texts, and Real Audio files of Medbh reading some of her poems are available. An visit to Nua Dan is a bit like knocking back a Guinness - it's rich, and it'll leave you a bit dizzy at the end. "http://www.nua.ie:80/nua-dan/"
InterNIC News is a new Web newsletter put out by the folks who register domain names, among other things. Each issue looks at specific Internet topics: the May issue delves into the Government Information Location Service and the use of multi-user interactive games as teaching aids. A column, End User's Corner, is written to specifically help educators and researchers. You can find InterNIC statistics and performance measures, and, of course, the well known Scout Report, an edited list of new Net developments. "http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/"
Since May 6, the intrepid Vince Rause has isolated himself from the outside. For three weeks, he will remain inside his shelter. Yet he'll still be able to go to the beach, frolic with dolphins, and buy a Big Mac. How? Vince is spending three weeks in the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta - the biggest damned mall in the world. With trusty digital camera and portable computer in hand, Vince is proving his mettle as he takes us along on his search for food, fun, and friends. He's undergoing psychological evaluation and cholesterol checks to track how mall life treats him. During his stay, grad students from the University of Alberta at Edmonton are experimenting on him; you can suggest experiments. It all comes courtesy of Discovery Channel Online. Man, we love science. "http://www.discovery.com/"
They're big. They're bad. They're dinosaurs. And whether you like them for their scary monster demeanor or their scientific relevance, you can't help but want to stop by a cool dino site like this. In addition to renderings of the big beasts, you'll discover related links, a museum-like gallery, a Dino Store, and mailing list information. "http://www.dinosauria.com/"
While there's some question whether or not the universe is expanding, there's no doubt it's expanding on the Web. The Franklin Institute Science Museum's "An Inquirer's Guide to the Universe" serves up the universe both as we know it and as it might be. Space Science Fact and Space Science Fiction link to appropriate sites across the Web, and an Imaginary Planet gallery allows for some imaginative explorations. Visits to these imaginary worlds have prompted a few explorers to jot down their own observations, and, for the most part, they are hilarious, ranging from "Mercury, a Honeymooners' Delight" to "Meat Eating Martians from HELL." It's a rare site wherein serious education and high entertainment co-exist, but you can find it in this corner of the universe. "http://www.fi.edu/planets/planets.html/"
Interested in the latest significant earthquake? Maybe you'd like some pointers on earthquake safety and preparedness, or to learn more about the study of earthquakes. You can get information on quakes by region of the world, or US areas and regions. There is also a fascinating story about the Great San Francisco Quake of 1906, with a couple of historical pictures. If the big one strikes, though, maybe you ought not to be sitting at your console. "http://quake.usgs.gov/"
HEALTHWORLD REVOLVES AROUND YOUR NEEDS
If you want to stay healthy, and few are into the invalid look these days, learn how in HealthWorld. You can stop by the Wellness Center and the Nutrition Center, study at Health University, and purchase some healthful products in the Marketplace. The comprehensive links range from a self-care online journal to directories of self-help groups, self-help Usenet groups, consumer health organizations, and a "library" packed with health and medical references. Some of the info is of dubious merit, but on the whole it works. "http://www.healthy.net/"
PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS AND KIDS' SHAREWARE
The domain name peta.org has been placed on "hold" as a result of the ongoing legal dispute over its control. Some people have no sense of humor. The Children's Shareware Pages, covered way back in NSD 1.35 (Wow, another reason to go look at that one!), has moved, too. Animals: "http://mtd.com/tasty/" Kids: "http://www.sylvan.com/"
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