U.S. ROBOTICS ANNOUNCES MODEM SPEED UPGRADE TO 33.6 KBPS
U.S. Robotics Courier modems are known as the modems of choice in the BBS community both for their rock-solid reliability and excellent performance. The company has just announced a flash ROM upgrade which boosts the speed of its Courier modems beyond the 28.8 kbps V.34 standard. USR says this is not a proprietary standard, but an enhancement of the existing V.34 specifications, much like proposals for extending V.34 being considered by the ITU (International Telecommunications Union). Users of two enhanced Couriers should expect to see a 2.4 kbps to 4.8 kbps speed increase. At press time the software was not yet available at their site. "http://www.usr.com/"
JUICY FOLLOW-UP TO TIME MAGAZINE PORN ARTICLE CONTROVERSY
Last week, we reported on the controversy surrounding Time Magazine's online pornography cover story. Well, the fallout is getting more and more interesting. This week, Time ran a follow-up reporting the firestorm of criticism and revealing some juicy bits about the pornography study's author, Martin Rimm. We won't burden you with the sordid details (and trust us - they are pretty sordid) but we'll point you instead to "Fire Storm on the Computer Nets: A new study of cyberporn, reported in a Time cover story, sparks controversy" (Time, July 24, 1995), available at the Time site or at the indispensable Project 2000 page devoted to the whole mess (under Media Coverage). Also check out the pull-no-punches coverage by Brock Meeks while you're there. Project 2000: "http://www2000.ogsm.vanderbilt.edu/cyberporn.debate.cgi" Time: "http://www.pathfinder.com/"
MICROSOFT NETWORK: SOME INTERESTING ADVERTISING NUMBERS
Bill Gates has stated that Microsoft Network (MSN) will launch at the end of August, rather than at the widely expected end of year date. In remarks at the recent Interactive Media Conference, he also provided some interesting advertising rates. MSN plans to charge $7,500 a month and up, with a minimum 12-month commitment for an icon link to an advertiser's page. Heck, we here at the Digest only charge you $1,000 for 24 lines of text plus an icon, with no minimum. Then again, Gates did say advertisers won't have to pay until MSN has at least 500,000 subscribers. But hey, give us time. Independent MSN content providers will, as a whole, receive between 70 and 95 percent of revenue generated on the network, and each will be offered a deal: only $5,000 per month for an icon link. Whoo-hooo. "http://www.microsoft.com/MSN/"
Unless you've been buried head first in a wolverine burrow for the past year or so, you probably know about the rapidly looming unveiling of Windows 95 (which went golden on July 14). The media is full of glitz and hype, but here at Netsurfer, we'll just point you to a couple of truly useful links. Mike Dixon's (Unofficial) Windows 95 page has the lowdown on every aspect of the new operating system: bugs, rumors, installation instructions, Microsoft Network, Windows 95 myths, and even some modest humor. Real beta testers with real comments. Those interested in Windows 95 Net connectivity will probably want to check out Stroud's Windows 95 Winsock page. It tells you all you need to know about setting up your Net feed on that platform. Dixon: "http://www.whidbey.net/~mdixon/win40001.htm" Win 95 Winsock: "http://www.netppl.fi/consummate/win95.html"
The Tour de France, possibly the world's most famous bike race, is entering its final legs and the question on interested parties' minds is whether Miguel Indurain can win a fifth consecutive Tour. Stay on track (well, off-track, really) with the World Media Network, a collaboration of 27 newspapers around the world. Short race updates are posted as often as every two or three minutes when the race is on. The page also offers pictures and commentary by a former Tour champion. Some pre-existing knowledge of the Tour will clarify the terminology, but even for the neophyte this site vivifies the race. "http://www.worldmedia.fr/tour/"
GOLF DIGEST TEAMS UP WITH GOLFWEB
NYT Sports/Leisure Magazines, the parent company of Golf Digest, is making a move which we predict will be copied by other niche publishers in the very near future. They've teamed up with the GolfWeb site to gain a quick entry to the Net. GolfWeb is a Silicon Valley venture of former Sun Microsystems folks and golf enthusiasts who know how to putter around the Net (sorry, couldn't resist). Golf Digest gets technical savvy, while GolfWeb gets editorial material, and probably tickets to the British Open. The Open, not coincidentally, is being covered live on GolfWeb. Look for other niche publishers to start hunting around for existing Web sites to gain quick entry into cyberspace. "http://www.golfweb.com/"
July 16 marked the 50th anniversary of the first man-made atomic explosion. Trinity Site, where the bomb went boom, is located on the White Sands Missile Range in central New Mexico and is open to the public only twice a year, so if you want to celebrate, mourn, laugh, or cry there, you'll probably have to visit the Web site instead. There you'll find a snappy history, historic pics, and - for all you megapyrophiles - a high-energy weapons graphics archive. "http://www.webcom.com/~gwalker/HEW/"
WEB USERS BECOMING MORE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE... MAYBE
Data collected by Georgia Tech this spring suggests commercial online services are significantly changing the average age, gender, income, and other demographics of Web users. "The respondents we are seeing now are less technically oriented and more likely to be female," says James Pitkow, a Georgia Tech researcher. "People browsing the Web are becoming more like the general population." The report may be skewed, however, as 20% of the respondents answering the questions came from Prodigy. Results and more detail are available here: "http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/survey-04-1995/"
IS THE NET A VEHICLE FOR CULTURAL IMPERIALISM?
That's the name of one of the few non-Time/Porn threads on the alt.culture.internet newsgroup. The debate centers around the undeniable fact that the Net population is so heavily populated by people from the United States. Some of the interesting topics being bandied about include the use (and abuse) of English, assumptions about laws and events in the U.S. which are not relevant elsewhere, and the possibility of Internet content quotas (for example, analogous to French movie content quotas). The latter is suggested in jest, but keep an eye on your legislators. Read it, contribute, keep it from degenerating into "my language is better then yours" drivel.
DRAGONLANCE: KEEPING TABS ON WEIS AND HICKMAN
It's always nice to have someone answer your questions. It's even nicer when your question involves a book, and that someone is the author. Over the past decade, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have co-authored a number of fantasy series, the best known being the Dragonlance Chronicles. That a Dragonlance newsgroup exists is not special; what is, is the frequency with which Margaret appears and interacts with her fans. Even Tracy's been known to stick his head in on occasion. If you have questions about Raistlin, Tas, or any other character, pop on by, and applaud Margaret's generosity. alt.fan.dragonlance
Making the most of both the strengths and limitations of electronic communication, the Computer Graphics program at Syracuse University has come up with an interesting collaborative art project on the Web. Diversive Paths is an award-winning experimental project in which images can be downloaded, manipulated, and returned - via FTP - to the page. There are 30 image groups, each a collection of images derived from a single parent image, sort of like evolutionary descent. This is a simple but elegant bleeding edge site on the Internet. Check it out and add your part. "http://ziris.syr.edu/path/public_html/pathinfo.html"
Belgium is noted for Hercule Poirot, Tintin, endive, and for being the birthplace of noted surrealist Rene Magritte. Containing 34 reproductions of Magritte's works, Luc Girardin's Art Gallery is a treasure trove of desktop wallpaper. The site's in French and the files are large (200 kB on average), but there are enough of Magritte's lesser known pieces stored here to make it worth a browse. A second source of Magritte paintings can be found within the WebMuseum, a collection of amazing variety and depth. The Magritte section contains 26 reproductions, organized chronologically. Girardin: "http://heiwww.unige.ch/art/magritte/" WebMuseum: "http://mistral.enst.fr/wm/paint/auth/magritte/"
Exactly what the heck is a fractal? It's a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole. Maybe you just have to see one to get the full effect. For a peek at over 100 examples of original fractal art, with a new fractal each day, stop by Sprott's Fractal Gallery. Also on hand are software and code for generating your own fractals. "http://sprott.physics.wisc.edu/fractals.htm"
KOREAN GALLERY VARIED AND APPEALING
The Virtual Gallery, in Seoul, Korea, is now exhibiting the works of four artists. The samples we viewed ranged from beautiful abstract, color images to starkly real black-and-white photos. This site offers a lot of images, well presented, and information in English, Korean, and some French. Recommended for patient browsers who appreciate varied art styles. "http://cezanne.daum.co.kr/gallery"
"The Web Wide World of Film Music" is a complete and up-to-date resource for lovers of movie soundtracks. It features links to composers' pages, film score magazines, and music clips. You'll even find tunes from recent releases like "Die Hard with a Vengeance" and "Casper" (remember it?) and newies-but-goodies like "Forrest Gump" and "Jurassic Park". "http://web.syr.edu:80/~ebedgert/film_music_www.html"
NETSURFER T-SHIRT CONTEST REMINDER
Just a reminder to artists everywhere that you can win $100 and tons of worldwide exposure, while providing us and our readers with a reason to get dressed in the morning. Visit our announcement and entry rules sites for more info. Announcement: "http://www.netsurf.com/tshirt/tannounce.html" Entry Rules: "http://www.netsurf.com/tshirt/trules.html"
The Realist Wonder Society describes itself as "a whistle stop of imagination between the way stations of reality." We'd say that's a fair assessment. It's a gathering place of original screenplays, fables, fairy tales, journal entries, art, and poetry. Despite the whimsical feeling of the place and its lovely visuals and children's stories, some of the items are most likely intended for a more mature audience. Be sure to peruse the wordless books, which translate well in this medium. The original fairy tales are also worth a browse. "http://www.rrnet.com/~nakamura/"
The popular science journal Discover Magazine has a Web page that supplements the print version yet manages to stand on its own quite nicely. The site archives ASCII versions of articles dating back to January 1995, covers, and Discover Award winners. We liked the insightful interview with the humorous Jeffrey Kluger, co-author of the book on which the movie "Apollo 13" is based. Also fun is the section on the annual April Fool's joke article and the mail it generates. And don't miss Further Resources, a handy collection of WWW links related to each article. "http://www.enews.com/magazines/discover/index.html"
The Gigaplex is a big ol' site, ripping at the seams with about 100 MB of stuffing. The home page is graphic intensive, and takes a while to load, but once that's done, you can flip through pages devoted to film, TV, music, and books, and browse the celebrity interviews. The photography link ranges from photojournalistic criticism to artistic photo essays. Eclectic links devoted to food reviews, golf, top 10 lists, and yoga (yoga?) round out the self-titled Web magazine, which should properly be called an archive, or a monster. "http://www.gigaplex.com/wow/homepage.htm"
ECLECTIC BASILISK FEATURES ART, PROSE, AND REVIEWS
Basilisk, a free-form, eclectic Web site featuring artwork and literary pages, calls itself "a quarterly journal of film, architecture, philosophy, literature, music, neuroscience and perception." To use the term "Netscaped" is to understate, however the content by far makes up for the layout. Web surfers will find music and film reviews, as well as collections of poetry, literature, and architectural designs created by Basilisk's contributors. The highlight of the issue we saw was a review of the highly good but completely overlooked film, "The Last Seduction". "http://swerve.basilisk.com/"
CONTENT OVERCOMES DESIGN AT TECH NEWS PAGES
In an unfortunate trend, two more ugly sites are saved by content. Interactive Publishing Alert (IPA) has one of the hardest sites to read on the Net, yet posts some of the most interesting information. IPA is a twice-monthly newsletter tracking trends in the electronic newspaper and magazine field. From what we could make of the yellow and red type, it has great content. You'd think BRP Publications, publisher of multimedia, technology, and human resource newsletters, would know better, but their site's so full of repetitive and meaningless icons, it's a visual mess. Despite that, we recommend their selection of leading stories from over 20 publications. Visit these pages for the info, but wear your protective goggles. IPA: "http://www.netcreations.com/ipa/" BRP: "http://brpinc.com"
You guessed it - the Internet ESP Experiment was designed to measure extrasensory perception capabilities over the wires. Participants were asked to perceive which of several shapes were being "presented" before them. Although the official experiment has concluded (sorry; were we telepathic, we could have brought this to you sooner), you can still check out the not-entirely-conclusive results, including chi-squared distribution charts. Oooh, statistics! "http://crab.sp.ph.ic.ac.uk/esp.html"
The people who maintain Turtle Trax are dedicated to researching and recording the activities and health of the sea turtles of Honokowai, Hawaii, just off the west coast of Maui. You'll find cartoons, photos, and biographies of the turtles being monitored, an instructive glossary of terms, and some scary legislative changes that have recently been proposed for the Endangered Species Act. We guess that's why we couldn't find any recipes. "http://www.io.org/~bunrab"
MEDSCAPE - FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND CONSUMERS
The Medscape page begins with a clean and interesting Web page and goes on to provide information on infectious diseases, AIDS, urology, and surgery. A quiz called "Brainscape" will even to test your knowledge of medical facts. The page is reminiscent of the New England Journal of Medicine, or Lancet, but with nicer color pictures. All medical practice-oriented information is peer-reviewed and edited. Access is free, but you must register as a user. "http://www.scp.com"
A BROAD VIEW OF AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
The U.K. Amateur Astronomy pages contain sections for every major amateur astronomy organization in the U.K., all U.K. astronomy bulletin boards, Popular Astronomy magazine, Practical Astronomy magazine, and links to local U.K. astronomy society pages. Dig out your telescope or binoculars and look at this site, with its many pointers and links as well as information to explore. Clean and uncluttered. "http://www.emoticon.com/emoticon/astro/"
NOTHING TO SNEEZE AT - THE ALLERGY DISCUSSION LIST
Your first reaction might be relief - at knowing there are others out there sniffling, sneezing, and suffering just like you. This matter-of-fact site is an archive of files from the "Allergy" listserv. Covered are the effect of allergies on health and lifestyles, treatments, self-help, and allergy support systems. Send an e-mail with a message of "Subscribe Allergy Firstname Lastname" (i.e. your names, not those phrases) to listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu to subscribe to "Allergy" or cruise the posts at the URL. "http://tamvm1.tamu.edu/~allergy/"
AIN'T NOTHING LIKE PSYCHOLOGICAL SELF-DIAGNOSIS
The Psychology Self-Help Resources on the Internet page contains links categorized by psychological disorder, ranging from aging and autism to dyslexia to relationships to substance abuse. Other links include collections of self-help brochures and additional online self-help and mental health resources. You can also link to the Psych Web Home Page, which features a variety of information for students and teachers for psychology. "http://www.gasou.edu/psychweb/resource/selfhelp.htm"
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