|
Home Subscriptions Netsurfer Science E-Zine Netsurfer Books E-Zine |
| Donnie and Marie Want You to Be a CyberStar! |
| See A Tree, See Yourself |
| Have Contouring Spoon, Will Travel |
| SEM Antics |
| Netsurfer Focus Book Reviews Looks at DHTML Technologies |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| Somebody Pass a Hammer |
| Netscape Releases Communicator 4.51 Update |
| Debian 2.1 Linux Released |
| BOOK REVIEWS |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Contact and Subscription Information |
| Credits |
BREAKING SURF
Stanley Kubrick's Last Trailer
Few people have a Usenet newsgroup devoted to them; even fewer can claim to be regularly parodied on the Simpsons. Fewer still can claim a body of work which so effectively and masterfully defined milestones of American culture. Consider this list of cultural phenomena and the movies that explore them: the Cold War - "Dr. Strangelove"; the Space Age "2001: A Space Odyssey"; Vietnam - "Full Metal Jacket"; dystopian society - "A Clockwork Orange", sexual obsession - "Lolita"; sweaty men - "Spartacus". Each film burned indelible images into the psyche of our culture. Stanley Kubrick was not prolific, but he was an artistic giant. Check the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) for his professional credits. You can find a brief and explicit trailer of his last completed movie, "Eyes Wide Shut" (slated for summer release) online.Newsgroup: alt.movies.kubrick IMDb: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Kubrick,+Stanley
Simpsons: http://www.physics.ucla.edu/~utam/kub-simp.html
Eyes Wide Shut: http://countingdown.com/eyeswideshut/
Media Pentagon Hacker Scare in Saner Perspective
Last week, the media, in a flurry of stories, covered ominous foreign intelligence/cyberterrorist hacker attacks on the Pentagon. Unfortunately, the stories missed the last six months of hacking tool evolution. New network probing tools recently set loose on the Net - such as Nmap, ICMP, and Hping - can perform sophisticated, stealthy scans of Net sites and create the illusion of probes from widely dispersed locations. Any idiot can run the tools and look like an international hacker conspiracy. We covered stealthy scans in NSD 5.03, and indeed the original Navy Shadow Team document has now been updated. Technical analysis is available in a SANS Institute audio briefing (name: sansinst, passoword: secur3). Incidentally, the stories followed alarmist Department of Defense testimony before Congress - a time-tested tactic to grease the skids for funding a War on Cyberterrorism. Moral: always ask where the headlines come from.Shadow: http://www.nswc.navy.mil/ISSEC/CID/co-ordinated_analysis.txt
SANS: http://webevents.broadcast.com/edu/sans/hackers1999c/
GeoCities to Pay Affiliate Fees to Users
The headline reads "Make Money From Your Home Page!". As most of you know, GeoCities provides free Web space to millions of users. With GeoCities' new program, not only are the Web pages free, but the company will pay you a cut of anything you sell through your site. Users can put links to companies affiliated with GeoCities on their pages - companies such as Staples, Reel.com, Egghead, and the perennial favorites Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. Whenever a purchase is made through a link, the user gets a cut of up to 15%. Watch for a tsunami of like deals on the other major portals.http://www.geocities.com/pagesthatpay/ptp_market.html
New Privacy Flaws for Microsoft and Intel, and Now Also Macromedia
Where to even begin? All three companies are awash in bad news on the privacy front. Microsoft has been hit by a string of revelations about Windows features which reveal user identity information. The Intel Pentium III hardware ID quagmire has deepened with news that not only will several hacks enable it against your will, but that some of Intel's notebook chips also have this dubious feature. Now it seems Macromedia Shockwave is stealthily sending information about recently visited URLs - and any user IDs and passwords embedded in the URL - to the company. Think about that for a second. The best overview of this whole mess is a CNet page of articles on the topic.http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,33598,00.html
Microsoft Studied Annual Registration Fee
This article from Junkbusters comes across as rather alarmist and certainly biased, but it discusses soberly the possible repercussions of an annual Windows registration fee studied by Microsoft. Note the interesting tidbit about research into causing PCs to emit a unique radio wave ID signal. More matches on the bonfire ignited by recent Microsoft and Intel privacy problems. Fun reading.http://www.junkbusters.com/bill.html
That slow, slimy muck that used to be the Internet ground to a halt this week as the latest Star Wars trailer hit the wires. Not everyone is taking the sludge sitting down, however. Weighing in at a mere half the size of the recent 25 MB Star Wars QuickTime trailer is an AVI parody of the first - based in South Park. Hiding from copyright law under the merest gauze of a claim of parody, the producers of "Episode 1 Trailer 'A' Special Edition" have crafted a hilarious piece of work, if you like that sort of thing. If not - well, it might be a long summer for you.... Oh - judging by the real trailer, this is going to be one spectacular joyride of a movie. Try the Countdown to the Phantom Menace site for the latest gossip and many mirrors of the two Star Wars clips.
Trailer: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/trailers/fox/episode-i/
Parody: http://sabbeth.com/%7Emenace/specialedition.htm
Countdown: http://sabbeth.com/~menace/
We just discovered that monitor manufacturer KDS's American Web site is making public online a list of individuals who have registered their KDS monitors via this registration form. The list has full names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and product serial number. But what the heck is this list doing on the Web? While no more a security risk than a phone book, really, the list contains information that KDS probably gathered in confidence and which should remain private. We can't find a clause on the registration page that says, "by the way, we reserve the right to post your registration info for all to see." Being privacy conscious citizens, we refrain from publishing the URL to the actual list. Furthermore, risking accusations of spamming, we also sent off an e-mail noting the possible confidentiality risk to the KDS webmaster and CCed the 77 affected individuals.
Registration: http://www.kdsusa.com/ALL/KDS%20Product%20Registration.htm
Vote for the Best in Your (US) City
A company called QCN has posted an online poll that surveys the tastes of residents of any of 500 American towns. The poll asks your choice of the best in a number of categories and takes about ten minutes to complete. The survey shuts down March 31, and QCN promises to release the results online in April and in a book later in the year. If you've got a few minutes and this sort of thing interests you, check it out.http://qcn.com/index.asp
ONLINE CULTURE
Donnie and Marie Want You to Be a CyberStar!
We couldn't resist this. That's right, just send them a five-minute VHS tape of yourself and possibly a friend performing and you could win a gig on their show. They're looking for Singing, Dancing, Musical Instruments, Pet tricks, and Stupid Human Tricks. The loot for the winner? A chance to perform on Donny and Marie, tickets to a taping of Donny and Marie, a Donny and Marie nylon jacket, and a Donny and Marie Fun Pack consisting of an autographed photo of Donny and Marie, a T-shirt, and a mug. If there's any justice in the world, the Osmond Fan 4-Ever will win.... Why is this in Online Culture? Why not?Contest: http://www.spe.sony.com/tv/shows/donnyandmarie/cyberstar/
Osmond Fan 4-Ever: http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/9046/
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
A World Community of Old Trees showcases large and ancient (in human terms) trees but the site offers much more than just an encyclopedia. The site pays homage to the biocentric ecology of Aldo Leopold and the environmental aesthetics of Arnold Berleant. Briefly, Leopold argued that humans are part of nature rather than separate from it and Berleant suggested that the aesthetic value of nature can really be found only within the viewer - the tree is in the eye of the beholder. The site is packed with renditions of trees in oil paintings, photos, and digital artwork. June Julian, who runs the site, has opened it up to anyone who wishes to contribute a tree image. This may be one of the first collections of tree images constructed without having to cut them down.http://www.nyu.edu/projects/julian/
Have Contouring Spoon, Will Travel
Everyone needs a portfolio, and if you want a job in the sculpting industry's megacorporations, you try to make a reasonably cool Web site about yourself. OK, maybe that logic doesn't completely work, but Kristin Wynholds does have an impressively hip site and does want a job as a sculptor. She has posted pictures of her work, so it's not all shameless, empty self-promotion - although it is mostly shameless. Someone give this woman a job, but we want a finder's fee.http://www.venusart.com/
Hitachi's Nano World showcases works of scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) and contains images such as the winners of a micrograph contest held by the Japanese Electron Microscope Society. Of course, you'll find the inevitable shot of a threaded needle at 44x magnification but you'll also appreciate subjects like the silicon particles heated on a tungsten heater in an environmental chamber. Beyond the beautiful results, you get all the stats on the equipment involved, from the crystal structure to the make of SEM (there are even pictures of the scope). If you have some cash handy, pick a SEM up, hook it up to your computer, and post pictures of your hang-nail at 1,000,000x magnification.
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/Div/keisokuki/english/nano/arte.html
BOOKS & E-ZINES
Netsurfer Focus Book Reviews Looks at DHTML Technologies
Two book reviews at our Netsurfer Focus site appeal to Web designers who need to brush up on modern Web technology. "Using HTML 4.0" tosses you gently into the arms of Dynamic HTML (DHTML), while "More Jumping Javascript" will catapult you beyond what DHTML can do.http://www.netsurf.com/nsf/lib/stacks/ret_sam/index.htm
|
Items our staff likes and you might too. Click on the image or title to order at a hefty discount from our affiliates Amazon.com and Beyond.com, and send a few pennies our way as well.
I Am My Brother's Keeper: American Volunteers in Israel's War for Independence 1947-1949 
|
Game: Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
Windows 98 Annoyances with Software Utilities
Rescuing Prometheushttp://www.renovationsworld.com/
SURFING SCIENCE
I'm Ready for My Close-Up, Mr. Spielberg
The creators of Celluloid Dinosaurs don't take themselves too seriously. Which is why we're going to give you their own description of their timeline: "A chronological list of every dramatic dinosaur movie ever made with amazing and unique anotations [sic] and insights that only the addled brains of The Dinosaur Interplanetary Gazette's cadre of astonishing (and astonished) scribes could concoct." Basically, the site catalogues the history of dinosaurs on film from Gertie to Godzilla and all the critters in between. This is no small undertaking, considering they've tracked down some movies you won't find in your local rental store, like a 1916 stop-motion animation flick entitled "Prehistoric Poultry", the subject of which, we are forced to assume, is delicious, nutritious, and tastes just like chicken.http://www.dinosaur.org/MovieHistory.htm
Some would argue that SciTech Daily Review's page is cluttered and uninviting - much like a well-known newspaper or three in the days before USA Today. We find it intriguing. Recently, we enjoyed skimming some of the topics highlighted by this eclectic potpourri for those with an interest in science and technology: Australian wildlife; the origins of language; "unmentionable astronaut byproducts"; "Microsoft and development psychologists"; Howard Hughes; placebo surgery; and UFOs. SciTech Daily Review's gateway tempts you with teasers to explore source sites such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, Discover, and - surprise! - USA Today. Frequent updates will draw you back. Think trends. Think breakthroughs. Think background and information. Or not. We bet you'll like this meta-media site if you miss Omni magazine.
http://scitechdaily.com/
>From lengthy and highly objective discussions on the "shared delusion" of the harmful effects of smoking to the photos of UFOs that turned out to be light-emitting microscopic organisms, Project Amigo provides humorous and curiously diverting answers to many scientific questions. Ever wonder where the shape of cartoon hearts comes from? According to Project Amigo, it's actually an upside-down drawing of a woman's bottom, an explanation by French Cavaliers as to why their hearts beat so rapidly about a certain girl. Diverse and entertaining.
http://www.projectamigo.com/
The Pacific Northwest, with its rich sea life, complex coastline, and equable climate, was home to some of the most materially sophisticated Native American cultures. The Canadian Museum of Civilization has provided a range of information about the Haida and Tsimshian cultures, from native stories to brilliant artifacts. The Haida, on the Queen Charlotte Islands, seem to have turned every daily artifact into a work of art. Some of their oldest stories seem to go all the way back to the last glaciation, when the sea was dry and the islands still connected to the mainland. See and read for yourself.
http://www.civilization.ca/membrs/fph/tsimsian/intro00e.html
Teaching Kids to Eat Well for Life
If you want to give your children a lifelong gift, teach them to enjoy reasonable, constructive eating habits. La Casa de Comida does just that by introducing children to food on many levels: scientifically as nutrition; mentally, as a reflection of a person's attitude toward care of her self and her body; and socially, as a means of creative expression and sharing with others. Grade school kids may like the cartoon characters and the simple kitchen experiments, such as turning a lemon into a battery to illuminate a light bulb. Older kids can learn about the psychological problems which lead to eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. In promoting scientific understanding and simple, easy to follow guidelines kids can adopt early in life, this site hits the spot.http://library.advanced.org/15873/
The Museum of Jurassic Technology - No Jurassic, No Technology
The Museum of Jurassic Technology was once one man's private kunstkammer, but now is a wandering meme that calls into question our attitudes towards museums and the truth that they implicitly present. The absence of the actual physical exhibits is, in this case, a loss (virtual heresy, as NSD is well aware), since there are plenty of virtual museums of impossible objects, but very few real ones. Examine the documents, the biological oddities, the impossible events with the understanding that some of the more dubious are real (like ants with fungus growing out of their heads) and some of the more impossible are - well, impossible.http://www.mjt.org/index.html
Does Hot Water Freeze Faster than Cold?
Where would pseudoscientific trivia and urban legend be without this little puzzler? But you know what? It ain't no legend. In an ideal, closed system, cold water will freeze faster as you might expect. But in a real-life situation, in which very hot water can lose mass and heat through evaporation and the cold water isn't all that cold - say 25 degrees C - the container with the hotter water initially will freeze solid first. No lie. Read the documentation.http://www.public.iastate.edu/~physics/sci.physics/faq/hot_water.html
SOFTWARE
Netscape Releases Communicator 4.51 Update
This important bug fix update implements security fixes for frame and window security problems and closes a loophole which could reveal private information due to the browser's handling of cache metatags. New features include the ability to get stock quotes from the Netscape Netcenter by simply typing "quote" and the ticker symbol in the address bar. This release also comes bundled with an update to the popular AOL Instant Messenger chat software. All in all a very worthwile update, though as usual expect long download times and busy servers - grab it late at night US time.http://home.netscape.com/download/
Debian, one of several popular Linux release packages, competes with the likes of Red Hat and Slackware. The new version 2.1 contains many incremental fixes, including Linux ports to SPARC and Alpha architecture and the latest glibc version. All told, it includes about 2250 software packages. Statistical trivia: the number of Debian packages is growing at 50% per release. You can get the release on two CD-ROMs or via download.
http://www.debian.org/