HEBRON AND THE MIDDLE EAST: THE DOCUMENTS
This site contains the text of significant documents relating to the Middle
East diplomatic process, including the just-signed Hebron accords, along
with the American "Note for the Record". The documents here start at the
Balfour Declaration of 1917 and continue forth through the September 1996
Palestinian accords and the recent Hebron material. Skip the pre-digested
media coverage and check out how high stakes diplomacy is really
documented. <http://www.israel.org/peace/basicref.html>
Of three balloon crews which recently made an attempt to go around the
world, only Steve Fossett and his balloonmates are left, making good
progress over Saudi Arabia at press time. Due to fuel constraints, he will
probably not make it all the way around, but he is highly likely to set
distance and endurance records. Sad, isn't it, that the biggest obstacle to
completing the flight was not the wrath and fury of nature, but the evil
banality of bureaucratic nationalism. You can get updates and a complete
record of the grand adventure at this site. Send Steve some e-mail and tell
him how much you envy him. <http://www.luc.edu/solo/>
COREL OFFICE FOR JAVA AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD
This product has a lot of buzz associated with it since Corel wants to be
the first to release a serious business application written in Java.
Theoretically, this office suite should run on any platform that supports
Java, breaking the Windows/Intel monopoly on business software. In a fit of
marketspeak fever, Corel calls this release a pre-beta (c'mon guys, it's
buggy alpha code, you're not fooling anybody and just embarrassing
yourselves) so don't expect to run your business with it. However, for Java
pros and interested bystanders this is a must-see download. Lots of
technical and marketing info can be rooted through at the site.
<http://officeforjava.corel.com/>
FBI WIRETAP CAPACITY NEEDS, ROUND TWO
It's no secret that the FBI wants to be able to tap your phone at the drop
of a hat. The Bureau has convinced Congress to pass a bill requiring phone
companies to build in the technical hooks to make this possible. The FBI
has just released an interesting document outlining just how much
wiretapping it wants to do. They surveyed their records from 1/1/93 to
3/1/95 to justify their wiretap needs (gratuitous factoids: 43.16% of 3,146
counties experienced wiretap activity during this period, as did 36.37% of
734 cell phone markets). The full document makes for interesting reading if
only to find out how a wiretap is like a fire hydrant. The canine
implications are obvious. <http://www.fbi.gov/telephon.htm>
NOMINATE A SITE FOR NETGUIDE AWARDS
NetGuide has come up with a new set of awards to recognize Web sites and
innovative Internet products. Yeah, so it's just another set of awards, but
remember that NetGuide has the size and the clout to make them mean
something. You can chip in your nomination at this site until January 31,
and vote for nine People's Choice Awards from February 8 to February 21.
Here at Netsurfer, we're thinking of lobbying hard for "Site with Greatest
Social Impact". Not that we think we are, but it would look good on our
resumes. "Hi, I've had great social impact. You want fries with that?"
<http://www.netguide.com/awards/>
THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT AOL
Eight million subscribers, just 200,000 phone lines, and flat rate pricing
add up to busy signals and a horde of legal scavengers filing lawsuits
against America Online for "services they are not getting". PC Week has a
short blurb, but we couldn't find an online text of the lawsuit at press
time. You can also read AOL's response - promises of more modems, more
customer support, and less marketing.
AOL: <http://www-db.aol.com/corp/news/press/view?release=136>
&
Lawsuit: <http://www.pcweek.com:80/news/0113/17eaol.html>
Give the man some respect, he's 291 years old and still something of a live
wire. We all know about his shocking affair with electricity, and some of
us may even know about his shocking affairs with members of the fair sex,
but let's cut him some slack. After all, he was a scientist, an inventor, a
statesman, a printer, a philosopher, a musician, and an economist, not to
mention a raving revolutionary. Try to do that in the 20th century and
you'll wind up with hernia of the psyche. So visit the Franklin Institute
and wish the old codger a happy birthday. Send him a card, read what glad
tidings were left by others, and tour the online exhibit about his life,
"Ben Franklin: Glimpses of the Man". He'd have liked all this, don't you
think? <http://www.fi.edu/franklin/card.html>
ONLINE AMPHIBIAN SCIENCE CONFERENCE
In our continuing struggle to bring you the latest in amphibian news we
call your attention to this noteworthy event. Instead of a costly full
blown physical meeting, the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program
(AMP) is currently holding what looks like a rousingly succesful virtual
science conference on the Web (is this a first?). The science papers are
organized into a series of virtual rooms (Aquatic Sampling - Neptune Room,
Deformed Frogs - Hephaestus Room, Statistical Issues - Angst Room) and if
you register you can participate in online discussion forums. In view of
the recent plague of deformed frogs around the world this is a timely and
interesting online event. In fact, if you've spotted any deformed
amphibians recently, some of these scientists desperately want to talk to
you. No kidding. <http://www.im.nbs.gov/naamp3/>
You can't possibly miss this adjunct site to the Amphibian Conference (see
above) where lovestruck amphibiophiles pay tribute to their favorite
fetish. This goes far beyond mere poetry ("Ode to a Dead Toad",
"Salamanderfrogilisticexpialidocious"). There are tips on frog fishing,
frog music, frog art, frog employment, even frog beer. Don't forget to
visit the Local Eateries section for, you guessed it, a guide to the best
in frog munchies. The exotic frog dance on display here is most likely
already illegal in several moist habitats. A frog riot of a site.
<http://www.im.nbs.gov/naamp3/naamp3field.html>
THE "NORTHERN HALF OF KOREA" PLUGS IN
North Korea joined the Web this week with a page hosted - sound the
trumpets of irony - in Japan. The site run by the Korean Central News
Agency posts news blurbs and pics for the interested. Recent news includes
a family's defection from South Korea, "a corrupt Colonial society in which
the independence of the nation is trampled down and fascism holds sway."
Why is North Korea taking this bold step? "To pursue a progressive idea,
follow a world-famous great man, and sympathize with a superior social
system is an intrinsic need of a human being." <http://www.kcna.co.jp/>
LETTERS: KUDOS, RANTS, AND PEGASUS
We decided to clean out our mailbag. We found the usual formatting
complaints (really, it's not our fault), praise, and sushi definitions. All
in a day's work. <http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/letters/letter.03.02.html>
As if you didn't have enough to worry about from legitimate computer
viruses, the Department of Energy's CIAC (Computer Incident Advisory
Capability) has established a page to warn all netsurfers of computer virus
hoaxes. While allowing that such hoaxes don't infect computer systems, the
CIA does point out that they do infect users' brains, resulting in paranoia
as well as time and energy lost in battling so much smoke. Among the
baddies described are PKZ300, Irina, Good Times, Deeyenda, Ghost, and a few
other names that should be familiar to Internet users. Throw the
Neiman-Marcus cookie story into this category as well. Read the history and
a short how-to-spot-a-hoax tutorial. Remember, it may be a hoax, but it
ain't no joke. <http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/CIACHoaxes.html>
Regardless of whether or not you can read the text in the magazine, Wired
magazine's copy editors have taken their collective wisdom and downloaded
it into "Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age"
(HardWired, 1996). The Wired Style site is, in essence, a billboard for the
book, or in the site's own words, "a reference tool; a living, growing
organism; a place for informed argument." Whatever. The book, it's not -
that you still have to buy. There are a few desultory threads in a
discussion area, some meager bits and pieces on usage elsewhere. Nowhere
within these snappy, jumpy pages will you find the answer to whether or not
"terminally cool" takes a hyphen.
<http://www.hotwired.com/hardwired/wiredstyle/toc/index.html>
While the Web leads many artists to agonize over copyright and
reimbursement issues, others take advantage of it to showcase their works.
One such craftsman is Jean-Pierre D'Zahr, whose Web portfolio proves he
lives up to his title, "Creative Digital Imaging Expert". D'Zahr displays
cover art that he's created for SpaceLabs Medical, the Golden Globe Awards,
Digital Zone, and a variety of other contractors who are likely delighted
with his snazzy contributions to their corporate images. D'Zahr's
versatility makes him difficult to classify, but it's a good guess that he
will continue to be in demand. Many advertisers and public-relations firms
would no doubt love to have such conceptual and graphic talent and skills.
At times the punctuation of his how-I-did-it explanations in English leaves
room for improvement, but if you're thinking of putting a digital portfolio
on the Web, pay a visit here. <http://www.oz.net/digitalz/dzahr.html>
MIT wants YOU... providing you have an idea for an interactive art project
that utilizes the Internet as the medium and you'll commit to an eight-week
exhibition schedule. You'll also be exhibiting in two places at once: MIT
and their Listserver. Create your own world and see if it's up to snuff.
<http://artnetweb.com/port/>
Ever wonder where the source of all the bombastic gobbledygook that
describes an artist's "intentions" is located? We're betting its
fountainhead is right here. Well sure, they're trying to sell art, and
perhaps it's best they make it sound important and d-e-e-p, but really,
there should be limits to the amount of nonsense a salesman can spew. Oh
yeah, check out the artwork too, while you're there.
<http://www.thru.com/art/>
The growing pile of book reviews teetering on our desktop has been
lightened with the publication of reviews for "The 7 Keys to Effective Web
Sites", "Graphics and Web Page Design", "Special Edition: Using Microsoft
Internet Explorer 3", "Special Edition: Using Netscape 3", and "Dr.
Livingstone's Online Shopping Safari Guidebook". Putting these out is like
playing editorial Jenga. <http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/books/book.03.02.html>
NO BRAINERS, THE E-ZINE FOR TIRED BRAINS
The world is full of no-brainer activities. They keep your mind
occupied/dazed, allowing it to wallow unstimulated in its own juices - in
other words, with no effort required. Such "activities" include crap TV
(Pamela Anderson Lee and ice skating shows come out on top), big-budget
low-plot movies (Judge Dredd, Broken Arrow) and the Net (My God, it's full
of stars!). Try a no-effort party, or bungee jumping as a pastime (all you
have to do is fall). The site acknowledges that no matter how exciting you
really are underneath, now and then a no-brainer is necessary. Cheap,
legal, and no worrisome hangover are the only requirements for inclusion.
<http://www.wmcdata.com/zine/>
This is a fascinating place to visit, a virtual soapbox with five essays
published each Monday. All are well written, by anyone anywhere, and
bursting with feisty opinions. They only need provoke thought (regardless
of offensive material) to be selected for posting. This requirement allowed
one keen fellow to postulate that women are not equal because they allowed
themselves to be kept submissive throughout history. More challenging
articles included "How to Survive being Homeless" (think of it as being
"geographically liberated"), "Why Men have Nipples", and "An End to
Romance?" Drop by and if you want, submit that rant you only reread at the
end of a drunken night. <http://www.the-columns.com/>
At last, Nirvana. Cosmopolitan is finally online with those invaluable
features such as the Bachelor of the Month and those famous Cosmo quizzes!
Let's hear that happy squeal, girls. (And remember, in Cosmo's eyes, we're
all girls, whether we're still teeny-boppin', granny-hoppin', or
penis-packin'.) Don't miss reading your "Weekly Bedside Astrologer". Be
sure to participate in the beauty giveaway, too. Oh, and don't leave out
those weekly tips. Do you know how to discover if he's playing hard-to-get?
That's the raison d'etre for Cosmo, providing all those essential
need-to-know details. So rejoice, gals. <http://www.cosmomag.com/>
Guys who don't feel up to drinking their suds solo ought to sidle on over
to Men's Health Daily, an online cousin of the magazine by the nearly same
name (Men's Health), and a place where guys read about guy health matters,
guy sports, guy work, and other guy stuff. Several interactive quizzes,
polls, and calculators keep things interesting, as do the personal training
tips that are guaranteed to give you abs of titanium. The site's slick,
amusing, and carries a sensitive guy cachet that keeps it well away from
the extreme guyness of, say, a beer-sodden issue of Soldier of Fortune.
<http://www.menshealth.com/>
STORIES OF WORD COUNTS OF POWERS OF TWO
This weird collection contains stories ranging in size from two to 1024
words, each incredibly different and all written by the site author.
Designed to be accessed by e-mail subscription, they can provide an
interesting, short Web read too, on a wide variety of topics. Serials are
the most successful format. Another site highlight is the info on Moof the
Dogcow, which Mac users have no doubt seen, though they may not have
recognized it. <http://thor.he.net/~stories/>
What do you do when your pen is paralyzed, when you're frozen in front of
your computer screen with nothing to say? Next time you suffer from that
debilitating disease known as writer's block (never happens to us, nah,
never), stop by Writer's Block, a creative reference for wordsmiths of all
types. While the site is more inspiration to get you going than an actual
remedy for the problem, Writer's Block does make for a refreshing break.
<http://www.niva.com/writblok/>
WRITERS AND PUBLISHERS, CLICK HERE
The Writer's Marketboard offers a place for writers and publishers to find
each other. (No, we're not implying it's a dating service, although that's
another good idea....) Publishers have an opportunity to post calls for
submission, announce contests, and search through writers' proposals for
potential articles. Writers, in addition to checking out the publishers'
postings, can also find agents. Both postings and browsing are free.
<http://rain-crow-publishing.com/market/>
Admirers of genius will love the Nobel Prize Internet Archive. Its
navigational features alone are brilliant in their simplicity and ease of
use. Everything - or almost everything - you could want to know about Nobel
laureates, their lives and accomplishments, and the prize itself is here.
In the literature section, for example, you can link to poems and prose (a
great way to try to answer for yourself the question that recurs in every
field: "How in blazes did HE/SHE win?"). Among other features of this site
are the Nobel Trivia Quiz, Nobel Gossip Bulletin Board, and a section on
women laureates. You'll have to download clickable ads along with other
colorful graphics, but once your browser takes a breather and you can focus
on the content, you'll know that what you're staring at and clicking on is
a painstakingly wonderful labor of intellectual love.
<http://www.almaz.com/nobel/>
NINETEENTH CENTURY MEDICINE TO DIE FOR
If you think health care is a horror show now, visit the International
Museum of Surgical Science and see if you can survive their "interactive
antique illness". It's the 1800s and you've got abdominal pains plus a few
choices to make. If you end up making the wrong choices (like deciding to
see the wrong doctor), you'll be joining more than 2,500 other cyberstiffs
who made the wrong medical move. In addition to interactive death, the site
features a short bibliography that might be helpful to people about to
undergo surgery and a few links to other medical sites. The real draw here,
though, remains the antique illness, of corpse. <http://www.imss.org/>
Medsite Navigator is a handy collection of pointers to a variety of medical
sites for physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals. Its
ambitious goal is to follow Internet technology in medical labs and clinics
and "stimulate the creation of novel Internet-based applications for the
biomedical fields." Patients and educators, too, will find useful resources
here. "Destinations" takes you to search tools and clinical and research
sites. Every week, "Discoveries" focuses on two important discoveries in
science and medicine. One of the site's New Year's predictions is that it
"will evolve into an advanced Java-based software program capable of
navigating to high quality medical and scientific information."
<http://www.medsitenavigator.com/>
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