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BREAKING SURF
More on AOL Buying Netscape, and Some Reaction
By now, you've already read about America Online's headline-making purchase of Netscape for an estimated $4.2 billion. A less publicized part of the deal involves Sun Microsystems, which threw a reported $350 million into the pot to license all of Netscape's software products. In addition, AOL will reportedly buy about $500 million worth of Sun machines and sign a three-year product development deal with Sun. For some interesting reactions from the sidelines check out the flak at Mozilla.org and AOL CEO Steve Case's response. Wired's Steve Silberman also wrote a nice piece about Netscape nostalgia, while CNet has some inside info on how the deal came together.Netscape: http://www.netscape.com/
AOL: http://www.aol.com/
Sun: http://www.sun.com/
Mozilla: http://www.mozilla.org/stevecase.html
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/news/culture/story/16434.html
CNet: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,29146,00.html
Web Sites Using Frames Vulnerable to New Spoofing Attack
This very serious problem affects even the biggest and best known Web sites. A simple hack can apparently cause any Web site that uses frames to display anything the hacker chooses or cause a site to display a form which, if filled in, would send information back to the attacker. SecureXpert Labs found the problem, dubbed the "Frame Spoofing" vulnerability (FSV), and demonstrated it by hacking the New York Stock Exchange Web site. Due to the way Web browsers handle frame content, attackers who know the URL of a frame on your Web page can insert false information into that frame when it is presented to a user. Tasty Bits from the Technology Front (TBTF) offers a workaround but it's not pretty (don't use static frame names). You'll find a threaded discussion of the issue on Bugtraq. Webmasters at high profile Web sites can bet that somebody will try to use this against them.FSV: http://www.securexpert.com/framespoof/index.html
TBTF: http://tbtf.com/archive/11-17-98.html#s02
Bugtraq: http://geek-girl.com/bugtraq/1998_4/0475.html
The third and grandest of human space habitats has begun to fly. Russia launched the first module last month, and the US Space Shuttle is set to take off with the next component this week. The official NASA Human Spaceflight Web site is a tribute to the growing Web-savvy of the agency. The good design encapsulates just about everything you could possibly want to know about the project. And if something isn't covered, you can always Ask the Expert. Try the site map button for an exceptionally clear overview of the content. Teachers and students should take note of the extensive outreach resources.
http://station.nasa.gov/index-n.html
Levi's Opens Online Jeans (and Stuff) Store
Rumor has it that in certain countries Levi's jeans are becoming a popular substitute for stable currency. Imagine banks stacked to the rafters with denim currency in denominations of 575, 570, and 550. Going to the bank would be like visiting the Gap. As it happens, Levi's new online store is filled to the rafters with merchandise far more complex than any one kind of dungarees - or any 18 kinds, at last count. Browse through jackets, shoes, and accessories ranging from pocket watches to the coveted Levi's (bike?) Messenger Bag. The decor nostalgically recalls mid-90s hip-hop, and the pages feature too many clean-cut post-GenX kids looking like Mom couldn't afford clothes that fit and instead dressed them in baggy hand-me-downs. But hey, Levi's is an institution, and their online store makes a dandy holiday bookmark.http://www.levis.com/
ICANN Takes over Net Domain Name Administration
Late last month, the US Government handed over responsibility for the domain name system (DNS) to a new organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). ICANN was born of a lengthy negotiation between concerned parties about the future of DNS administration. The Web site contains the text of the agreement, spells out ICANN's responsibilities, and calls for participation in an advisory body that will advise ICANN on membership matters. A lot of material here only a professional bureaucrat could love, but it's an important responsibility and, as we all know, the devil's in the details.ICANN: http://www.icann.org/
Press release: http://www.icann.org/contents-pr25nov98.html
The Privacy Dangers of Netscape's "What's Related"
Advanced technology often reduces security for the unwary. Nothing illustrates this better than the "What's Related" button on the Netscape Navigator toolbar. This mildly useful feature recommends sites related to the one you are currently browsing, but the implementation has ominous privacy implications. Every time you press this button, and for a number of pages afterward, a copy of the currently viewed URL is sent with a cookie to Netscape. This information compromises your privacy, leaking your browsing habits and, in extreme cases, confidential material on your internal network. Note that there's no indication Netscape actually records or uses this data in any way, but the potential exists. The biggest threat to your privacy is ignorance of the underlying technology. If you know what's going on, you can turn off "What's Related" under Preferences->Navigator- >Smart Browsing. A paper at Interhack details the privacy problems, while Netscape has a forthright FAQ.Interhack: http://www.interhack.net/pubs/whatsrelated/
FAQ: http://home.netscape.com/escapes/related/faq.html
ONLINE CULTURE
Secret Netsurfing... for a Fee
You meet such nice people in this job. People like Cyber Promotions, who believe the way to a great Web site is not content, originality, or design, but an "aggressive marketing campaign every week" - it sells spam. For a fee, Cyber Promotions will send out up to 50,000 messages at a time through untraceable remailers and silent servers. This delightful organization also bring us - as expected, for a fee - Ultimate Anonymity, under the guise of the old-style anonymity sites which campaigned to the death against censorship and government interference (remember Penet?). Anyone with $14 can use this site to post anonymously in newsgroups, send unlimited quantities of untraceable e-mail (with attachments), and generally pollute the bandwidth. There may be genuine privacy campaigners using the site, if they can squeeze in between all the amateur porn merchants....http://www.ultimate-anonymity.com/
Porn Wars: Whitehouse Unleashes Lawyers on Netscape
The headline is a bit misleading (Us, write misleading headlines? Naaaahh...), but the situation is even funnier then it implies. Whitehouse.com, a porn site, capitalizes on the unwary netsurfer who seeks the official pleasure center of the US government, whitehouse.gov. Early last month, lawyers for Whitehouse.com - owned by Dan Parisi - sent a letter to Netscape contending that Navigator's new Smart Browsing feature infringes on their rights by redirecting users who type in the keyword "whitehouse" to the politically exciting Web home of the Clintons. Parisi posted the letter and some related rantings on a site called NetscapeSucks.com. Netscape's lawyers fired back a cheeky letter contending that Parisi was infringing on the Netscape trademark and informing him in the most graphic legal terms where he could put his complaint. The amusing exchange can be found at - where else - NetscapeSucks.com.http://netscapesucks.com/
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
It's Not Easy Being Green... or Black... or White
The Web site for the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City visually echoes the building itself, although ironically its coloring seems to go against its philosophical bent, as everything seems to be either black or white or, well, green. Like all museum sites, it has brief backgrounds on current exhibitions, but the New Museum's lack of permanent displays appropriately links it to the impermanent nature of the Web. The list of upcoming panel discussions fascinate from a cultural studies perspective, putting hand-in-hand the praxis of the museum's exhibition choices with the academic philosophical theory behind those choices (no, I didn't understand that either - LN). Surprisingly, the Curator's Picks unselfishly point you to exhibits of up-and-coming artists elsewhere in the city.http://www.newmuseum.org/
Those Europeans have everything: Spice Girls, royalty, and broadcast digital television. They also have EuroTV, for people so really, really into television that they need to know what's being broadcast in Turkey or Switzerland. Need to catch NYPD Blue on your next trip to Italy? Saturday at midnight, Canale 5. Check out France's digital TV offerings; it has quite a few. This site covers all the basics, with the option to personalize TV listings, a keyword search function, addresses for all listed stations, and a chat forum, so you can discuss TV when you're not watching it.
http://www.eurotv.com/
Cold churches, empty coffers, conflicts with professional theater, clumsy blocking, wacko carpenters, and starving prima donnas all conspire against community theater, but the Community Theater Green Room helps overcome obstacles. This resource supports those dedicated volunteers who seek to overcome all in their quest for the ultimate amateur (or, as some would prefer, nonprofessional) experiences onstage and behind the scenes. We especially like the humor section (You Know You Work in Community Theater if...). The Community Theater Dictionary is so cutting it has to have been written in blood by insiders. You can post questions on a friendly discussion board. Above all, the site adopts the genre's love of craft and wit.
http://www.ezol.com/~mikepolo/index.htm
BOOKS & E-ZINES
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Netsurfer Book Recommendations Books our staff likes and you might too. Click on the cover or title to order the books at a hefty discount from Amazon.com and send a few pennies our way as well.
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D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II
The C++ Programming Language
Vincent LaGuardia Gambini Sings Just For Youhttp://www.sportsjones.com/
Yet another venerable publication has joined - a tad late - the rush to the Internet. Newsweek has succumbed to the inevitable - and the results are a boon for those who appreciate that magazine's chatty style. Nicely designed, the Internet edition includes a link to the online version of the print edition. Here's the plus: click one of the hyperlinks in a story and a pop-up window appears with information from Encyclopedia Britannica. Very cool, very classy.
http://newsweek.com/
Look That up in Your Funk and Wagnalls
Funk and Wagnalls combines a dictionary, an encyclopedia, an hourly newsfeed, and the latest technology to create a virtual reference desk. All information on the site is free with registration, although it appears that they send you e-mail occasionally if you've registered. The convenient Media Index pulls all the hip and whizzy Flash animations and a choice of RealAudio or Shockwave audio clips into one place, presumably for those without enough sensory stimulation in their lives. It's an interesting choice that the dictionary's pronunciation guide does not come with the same audio options offered in the Media Index.http://www.funkandwagnalls.com/
In an age when an American president is more likely to inspire a cuddly new blow-up doll than a cuddly new child's toy, it's culture shock to learn that Theodore Roosevelt was the namesake of one of the most wholesome icons of this century, the Teddy bear. At the Whole Pop Catalog, read how Teddy's bear got stuffed, or find out why motorcycles are sexy. The Catalog (must... add... ue...) tells tales of everyday stuff that bobs to the surface of mainstream culture. Take the pop quiz to find out how much you really know about Pop Tarts and other tours de force of the corporate imagination. Write poetry with words mounted on refrigerator magnets. Play.
http://www.wholepop.com/
SURFING SCIENCE
Heart disease affects so many people in so many ways, it's often hard to tell hype from help. The Mining Co. Guide to Heart Disease can give patients and their families a better feel for the truth and help them understand clinical terms their doctors use or ponder their next medical move. The site explores in depth topics such as minimally invasive heart surgery, women and stroke, and controversy in fetal heart surgery, although we found a crying need for graphics. Among the Net Links points is a fine section on congenital heart disease. You can freely visit the bulletin boards and chat, and the Mining Co. provides plenty of links to other diseases it covers.http://heartdisease.miningco.com/
An Apple a Day Sure Beats French Fries
The Daily Apple bills itself "your expert guide to total health" and supplies a colorful, lively site with lots of useful information. Topics range from healthy pizzas to Substance P antagonist antidepressants. Of course, you'll find discussion forums and a search engine.http://thedailyapple.com/index.htm
If you enjoy reading articles about food choices, vitamins, and the virtues of a good breakfast, check out the Nutrition News Web site, and click on Archive. This link takes you to previously published Nutrition News Focus newsletters (now there's a healthy mouthful!). Newsletters are added to the archives two weeks after publication. You can subscribe, too. Just imagine the joys of reading articles such as "Cholesterol Primer - There Will Be a Test" as you're noshing on some magical KFC. Why magical? It's the only food on Earth that can turn cardboard instantly translucent.
http://www.nutritionnewsfocus.com/
Run, if tree-huggers get on your nerves. But if you look for a spiritual connection with nature to provide ultimate meaning, try psycho-ecology. This site, sponsored by Project NatureConnect and the Institute of Global Education in association with the United Nations Office of Public Information, is conducting a one-year research project. Read the posted course of study, do the activities, and report your experiences.
http://www.ecopsych.com/millecopsy3.html
SOFTWARE
RealNetworks Ships Final Version of New RealAudio/RealVideo Media Player
The beta period of the most popular audio and video player on the Net has ended. RealNetworks shipped the final Windows release of its next generation RealPlayer last week. There's better playback quality, of course, but also many enhancements aimed at developers. RealNetworks also announced a deal with Excite, which includes new search technology for finding audio and video content. More details in the press releases, but you can skip all that and just download the latest software from the main site.RealPlayer: http://www.real.com/
Player press: http://www.real.com/company/pressroom/pr/98/g2final.html
Search press: http://www.real.com/company/pressroom/pr/98/excite.html
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
As the Internet becomes increasingly dominated by prurient interests, reassure yourself that at least some modern technology is employed toward slightly more progressive ends. Robin Garr, a journalist-turned-crusader, began his work with the 1995 book "Reinvesting in America". Garr now uses his online presence to catalogue (ahhhhh...) efforts of hometown hero-types who take the incremental approach to healing the world. The stories range from serious, such as the hunger prevention program Project Bread in Boston, Mass., to silly, in the case of Erik Bendl and the six-foot globe he pushes through the streets of Louisville, Ky. Garr also provides an exhaustive list of local grassroots organizations, categorized by program type, state, and region, which serves as an invaluable resource for local innovators. But it's the positive role models that constitute a refreshing sojourn into what's right with humankind.http://www.grass-roots.org/
CORRECTIONS
In last issue's House of Hypocrites, we published a URL based on an IP address. The address has been hard to reach, so here's the domain-based URL. Have fun.http://tbtf.com/resource/hypocrites.html