CONFERENCE OF ART, SPACE, AND MIR
On April 13, a group of artists and scientists from around the world will
gather in Paris to discuss the social and cultural aspects of exploring
space as part of Space Arts Workshop '97. Normally, this would be no big
deal unless you have an apartment on the Left Bank, however, dear Net geek,
this event will also be broadcast over the Internet. Not only that, but
during the event, amateur radio operators will be relaying questions to
cosmonauts aboard the Mir Space Station. Wanna ask how it feels to pee in
space? Get this or any question in before April 13 to Mark Curtiss at
mcurtiss@excite.com or post them at the Web site. Workshop members plan to
be online from 4 pm to 9 pm GMT, April 13.
<http://www.maximov.com/Mir/mirspacearts.html>
NEW BETAS OF EXPLORER, COMMUNICATOR
It's time for another quarterly battle of the beta browsers. Within the
last week, both Netscape and Microsoft spewed out yet another set of beta
releases for their respective browsers. If you absolutely must be bleeding
edge, go cut yourself on these.
Netscape: <http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/communicator/index.html>
Microsoft: <http://www.microsoft.com/ie/default.asp>
SUN DRAMATICALLY DEMOS ACTIVEX SECURITY FLAWS
What's an industry get-together without sarcastic demonstrations? At the
recent JavaOne conference, Sun hired an expert technical hit man to give a
public demo of ActiveX security bugs during Scott McNealy's keynote
presentations. The custom control ran amok on cue, reformatting floppy
drives, searching the disk for financial information, and popping open the
CD-ROM drive with an amusing note reading "Here's your cupholder!" No, Sun
will not make the code publically available. Any bets on how long it will
take to find clones, or even the real thing, on the Net? Read all about it
at the JavaOne daily update site.
<http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/javaone97/java1-97-mcnealykeynote.html>
MOTLEY FOOL UNVEILS NEW WEB LOOK
The intensely serious world of stock investment has long needed a
metaphorical goose up the wazoo, and the Motley Fool gang has gained
success over the last few years precisely because they aren't afraid to
tell the occasional market bull he's full of you-know-what. The Motley
Fools got their start as part of the mildly successful America Online
Greenhouse project but in recent months, having seen the light, they've
migrated from the proprietary AOL service to the Web. Their Web site
recently underwent a serious renovation with the most interesting, if
somewhat awkward to use, addition being the message boards. Given that
postings on Fool forums have the power to move stock prices this site is a
must bookmark for anyone attracted to investment chaos. <http://www.fool.com/>
CASH BY THE CUP: THE CLINTON COFFEE LIST
A tip of the civic hat to Mother Jones for this delightful bit of topical
data-mining. One of the pungent odors recently wafting from the White House
is the scent of coffee flavored with just a hint of possible impropriety.
It seems that the the President, the Vice-President, and their spouses
hosted some informal coffee clatches attended by an assortment of business,
social, and possibly undesirable high society. Lo and behold, in the wake
of the soirees, the heavily caffeinated guests managed to part with about
$27 million in cold hard green for the benefit of the Democratic party.
MoJo brilliantly put together a list of guests and their donations for an
entertaining romp down America's deep and murky political backwaters. Leave
the fields blank and click on the search button for the whole list.
<http://www.motherjones.com/news_wire/WHcoffee.html>
MICROSOFT OVERTAKES NETSCAPE IN WEB SERVER SURVEY
The April survey of just over a million servers reveals the following stats
of server software in use (increase from March): Apache 42.79 (+0%),
Microsoft 15.43% (+3.78%), Netscape 12.16% (-0.91%) NCSA 7.37% (-1.57%).
For the first time, Microsoft has overtaken Netscape, climbing from 11.65%
of servers in March. <http://www.netcraft.com/survey/>
FAKE "PGP CRACKED" MESSAGE LURES USERS INTO TRAP
A particularly elegant bit of trickery is winding its way through a favorite newsgroup near you. It appears in the form of a provocative HTML message excitedly proclaiming that "PGP Has Been Cracked!" and gives you a link to click for more information. In reality, the link leads to the Telnet (25) or NNTP (119) ports of a certain ISP, where the really elegant part comes in. It appears that this provider regards your attempt to access these ports as an attempted hack. Furthermore, it is quite anal about complaining to your own ISP that you tried to break into their machines. A clueless netsurfer (that would be you) could lose his account if his own ISP is of the "kick off first, ask questions later" school of customer service. How this great mind hack plays on the paranoia of all involved is what so enthralls us. Read about it in the <news.admin.censorship> group.
TATTOOS OF THE DARK AND SOMBER
Tattoo artist Paul Booth won't draw a discreet rose on your ankle or a
Harley on your pecs. Thirty photos confirm that his body of work is
beautiful, flowing, complex, and unapologetically dark; he's a latter-day
Bosch. Besides tattoos, Booth has another passion - he's vociferously
anti-Christian. Not for the faint of faith, his pages include an
anti-Christian, anti-religion rant and Jesus jokes. Booth has a crude,
rude, single-mindedly profane appreciation of how art should challenge and
he'll disturb most decent folk somewhere along the offensiveness scale.
Only one page produced a true gasp, but the fetal skull candy dish seems
more generally misanthropic than specifically anti-Christian.
<http://darkimages.com/>
OLD TESTAMENT PRINTS BY REMBRANDT AND OTHERS
Rembrandthuis Museum, once home and studio to Rembrandt van Rijn, houses
many of his etchings. This winter, the gallery exhibited Patriarchs,
Prophets and Angels, an exhibition of biblically inspired prints and
etchings by the artist and several contemporaries. The Old Testament scenes
feature men like Abraham and Adam, Solomon and Samson. The women include
Lot's daughters, Eve, and Potiphar's ever anonymous wife. Reproduction is
surprisingly good, given so few tones and such dense detail. The blacks and
grays are about as lean as baroque art gets, but you'll still find lush
bodies, high drama, and ornate backdrops. Comparisons of works by Rembrandt
and another painter based upon the same subject point up the master's
artistry. <http://www.rembrandthuis.nl/>
ANYTHING BUT CREATIVELY CHALLENGED
Creativity Explored is a non-profit San Francisco studio and gallery
devoted to works by developmentally challenged artists. The heart of its
Web site is an online gallery/catalogue whose clean design spotlights the
powerful work of five artists. This art is no gimmick. The style is mostly
naive, but there's real sophistication in the harmonizing background of Cat
and Mouse and the potently unified Pink People. Nat King Cole evokes a jazz
stage. Frida Kahlo's influence makes a bold appearance. The center provides
daily art and education programs and exhibitions for more than 80 adults
with disabilities. We hope the writing becomes less opaque, though, to make
it clearer for other aspiring artists.
<http://www.digitalfutures.com/Creativity/>
The Nexus 3-D Web site, from the award-winning computer graphics company
Nexus Interactions, has the distinction of being one of the most
aesthetically pleasing pages our reviewer has ever seen. The company's line
of gaming, entertainment, and education software is spotlighted, as well as
a gallery of some of the stunning 3-D art Nexus has created. Even apart
from the content, which is impressive, the beauty of the site makes it well
worth visiting. <http://www.nexus3d.com/>
How many former American presidents can say they were the sole subject
matter of all the art at a Web site? Not many, and not only because most of
them are dead and can't talk. The artful George Washington Art Page relies
solely on - surprise! - George Washington for inspiration. Why? "George was
a good man, a tall man, and a leader who could easily have become a
monster... but didn't." Don't skip the public commentary, which displays
quite a range of human variety. <http://www.columbia.edu/~gmr3/George.html>
This issue comes with reviews for "Using HTML 3.2" and "The Web Programming
Desktop Reference: 6 in 1". Enjoy.
<http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/books/book.03.12.html>
The First Lines Web site lets you read a sentence then figure out which
book begins with that line, but it isn't only for English literature
graduates. The categories include "Books I Read at Recess", "I Saw the
Movie", and "Cheer Up!" Plus, you get a list of included titles and
authors. A sample from your childhood memories: "'Christmas won't be
Christmas without any presents,' grumbled Jo, lying on the rug." After
guessing, click the Answer button to see the title and author. Cute, huh?
<http://pc159.lns.cornell.edu/firsts/>
Personal Web sites can seem strange, for many convey a different sense of
time with turns you don't expect. Here's one such refreshing oddity.
Science fiction writer Eileen Gunn, who has been nominated for the
prestigious Hugo Award, has created a pleasantly quirky, easily browsable
site called Eileen Gunn: Imaginary Friends. It's part personal history,
part resume, part dictionary, and thoroughly individual. You'll find her
snippets of fiction or speculative reminiscence easily enough, but the main
feature (linked to her home page through one of her ambiguous graphics) is
"The Difference Dictionary", an "organic history supplement" to "The
Difference Engine", by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling. Personal
publishing may be vanity, but a charming sense of modesty and curiosity
will keep you clicking and reading while you're here.
<http://www.sff.net/people/gunn/>
Feel overwhelmed by huge news sites on the Web? Check out Internet Daily
News, a large framed site that won't make you miss anything vital. Reviews
of current movies, Java news, "Microsoft World" (really too small to be a
"world" but what's the Web without hyperbole?), "Netscape Insider",
"Writer's Gallery" (scroll the top frame for the many linked goodies), job
banks and other employment resources, and an Internet publishing center
with marketing resources, reviews of products and Web sites, and a contest
all make this a timely collection to visit and revisit.
<http://www.tvpress.com/idn/>
If you're a sports fan, you already know about The Sporting News (TSN) and
if you're not - well, you don't really give a crap, do you? For the former
group, here's the Web version. Of course, all fanatic sports webheads have
already seen ESPN's SportsZone Web site. TSN's site is essentially the same
thing. Like apples and onions, if you're blindfolded and have a clothespin
on your nose, you can't tell the difference between them. Then again, if
you're blindfolded and have a clothespin on your nose you might just be one
of those in the latter group who's merely more interested in bondage than
baseball.
TSN: <http://www.sportingnews.com/>
ESPN: <http://espnet.sportszone.com/>
There's plenty of ice, but you wouldn't want to play hockey in the buff
there. Not only would the cold shatter your bare behind like a cheap vase
in a stampede, but at any moment you might break through the ice and wind
up swimming in what may be a giant underground ocean crawling with real
alien lifeforms. One can only hope. The Galileo spacecraft is at it again,
this time with some great snapshots of Europa, fueling speculation that
liquid water, submerged volcanoes, and a brew of organic chemicals spell
L-I-F-E. The photos have explanatory text for your edification.
<http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/>
BETTER THAN LEARNING ABOUT IT ON THE STREET...
The future of anatomy is interactive. A visit to Human Anatomy Online will
quickly confirm this, and that your browser handles frames and Java. This
educational site doesn't have the complexity of the classic "Gray's
Anatomy", but it's a heck of a lot more fun. Point, click, and learn.
Tutorials focus on skeletal and nonskeletal structures. Teenagers wondering
whether to pursue a career in medicine should hang here a while (and it
will be a while if your connection is slow and you're patient). Best of
all, this stuff is free. In fact, it's an ad. Informative Graphics, which
makes commercial viewing software, has done a nice job - this is worlds
better than a standard brochure would have been. Science teachers will want
to add this site to their hotlists. <http://www.innerbody.com/>
Living Things, a collaboration between the Science Learning Network and the
Franklin Institute, is a collection of Web resources for teachers of life
science. It has four themes: Individuals (anatomy and physiology), Families
(classification of plants and animals), Neighborhoods (ecosystems, biomes,
and habitats), and the Circle of Life (life cycles and habits of sundry
creatures). This site has a fine mixture of graphics, sounds, text, and
well chosen links. Teachers can use it to communicate and collaborate with
others in their field, and should have no qualms about letting kids explore
it on their own. The Creativity section invites student submission of
various media for eventual publication onsite.
<http://www.fi.edu/tfi/units/life/>
THE ULTIMATE BIOSCIENCE RESEARCH RESOURCE
BioMedNet's magazine, HMS Beagle, bursts with content of general and
specialized interest in the biological and medical fields. It ranges from
Arabian wildlife to chemotherapy cure rates to lab rat taxonomy to
combinatorial chemistry. There's even a featured cartoon. Even by issue
five, it looks professional and complete. Remember us at that age?
Sheesh.... <http://biomednet.com/hmsbeagle/>
ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY DAILY NEWS
News and commentary on all types of environmental issues from a variety of
sources appear here in calendar format with a single item featured on each
day. Some of us had difficulty deciphering the scrolling banner, but it
isn't that important, anyway. The rest of the site offers a mixed bag of
opinion and press releases. The interesting but hard-to-read air pollution
map of the United States shows eight of the things we breathe that we wish
we did not. <http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/2958/news.html>
If you develop glitzy Web pages for a living, you may be interested in the
latest and greatest development tool from Netscape. It slices, it dices, it
assembles HTML, JavaScript, and JavaBeans components without writing
scripts. From the marketing hype, it seems just thinking good thoughts
about your application makes it spring into existence. You've heard it all
before. Nevertheless, registered Netscape developers (it costs money to be
one) can download this beta and give it a test drive before shelling out
$495. Have fun. <http://www.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease377.html>
NETSCAPE, SUN, AND IBM MERGE JAVA WINDOWING CLASSES
The new Java Foundation Classes will be part of the core Java standard and
give developers a single application framework. Think of it as the studio
library in C, shipped with just about every compiler and providing an
interface to the outside world. If you program Java, you should keep an eye
on this initiative. In the meantime, to wallow in the the flavor of the
future you can download Netscape's own Internet Foundation Classes to
incorporate into current Java applets.
Support: <http://developer.netscape.com/library/ifc/index.html>
Press: <http://www.netscape.com/newsref/pr/newsrelease378.html>
Netsurfer Digest Home Page: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/index.html
Netsurfer Digest FTP Site: ftp://ftp.netsurf.com/pub/nsd/
Subscribe WWW form: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/subscribe.html
Subscribe E-mail: nsdigest-request@netsurf.com
Include one of the following commands in the BODY of the
message:
HTML Format version: subscribe nsdigest-html
Plain ASCII version: subscribe nsdigest-text
Unsubscribe and other FAQ info: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/ndfaq.html
Submission of Newsworthy Items: pressrm@netsurf.com
Letters to the Editor: editor@netsurf.com
Advertiser and Sponsor inquiries to: sales@netsurf.com
Netsurfer Communications: http://www.netsurf.com/
General Information: info@netsurf.com
Letters to the editor may be printed unless you explicitly tell us not to.
Writers and Netsurfers
NETSURFER DIGEST © 1997 Netsurfer Communications, Inc.
All rights reserved.
NETSURFER DIGEST is a trademark of Netsurfer Communications, Inc.