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BREAKING SURF
Microsoft and AOL - Messaging in a Battle
Are lights burning all night, are parking lots full, are empty pizza boxes piling up at Microsoft and AOL? Is it just healthy competition, or something else? Microsoft wants to extend its new instant messaging service to AOL subscribers but AOL, citing security concerns, rejects the Microsoft embrace, and its gearheads keep writing code to block the Microsoft work-arounds. AOL blocks and Microsoft fixes in a mad Red Queen cycle of corporate one-upmanship. Microsoft has spurned AOL's offer to talk. We say give civility a chance, but the two companies seem bent on proving that competition is just war by another name. Where's the United Nations when you need it?Story: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-39779,00.html
Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com/
AIM: http://www.aol.com/aim/home.html
Interview with South Park Sysadmins
Ars Technica has a funny interview with the system administrators who run the networks and computer resources for South Park. For the unenlightened, South Park is a vulgar and funny cable show produced in the US, and recently expanded into an even more vulgar and funnier feature film "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut". The South Park geek boys talk about their hardware, their software, their prototypical geek lifestyles, and the rigidly regimented and professionally managed production process - NOT! A funny interview with three guys who love their work. Also note that the movie site has a transcript of a Yahoo chat with Trey Parker. By the way, do yourself a favor and purchase the sound track from the movie (see our Netsurfer Recommendations section below) and for pity's sake, please, please tell us how to get that catchy ditty "Kyle's Mom's a Bitch" out of our heads!Interview: http://www.ars-technica.com/etc/3q99/southpark/sp-interview-1.html
Show: http://www.comedycentral.com/southpark/
Movie: http://www.southparkmovie.com/
A Year Later, Major Sites Still Vulnerable to Security Problem
About a year ago, Microsoft admitted that its Internet Information Server, the Windows NT Web server used by some of the largest online commercial sites, held a serious security hole and released a patch. Recent reports indicate that many of sites never bothered to apply the recommended fix, and so remain vulnerable to a simple and devastating hack. MSNBC summarized the situation, and underscores the seriousness of the problem. Meanwhile, the folks on Bugtraq are talking about the mess, with the most notable contribution coming from a good guy hacker called Rain Forest Puppy (RFP), who gives many technical details embedded within a wonderful essay about the media's avoidance of hacker names. Don't be scared by the hacker jargon; it's a joy to read. Microsoft, of course, has the security bulletin.MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.com/news/290621.asp
RFP: http://www.technotronic.com/rfp/mdac.pl
Bulletin: http://www.microsoft.com/security/bulletins/ms99-025.asp
Red Hat Generous with IPO for Linux Hackers, ETrade Spoils Party
In a profoundly generous gesture, Linux heavyweight Red Hat Software has invited a select list of Linux hackers to buy their stock at its imminent IPO price through ETrade. Apparently, the rules on going public let you do this, which would probably prove to be a bonanza for the hardworking Linux developers, if the IPO stock takes off like a rocket - as most do. However, ETrade has some pretty stringent requirements for qualifying IPO buyers, and it seems that as many as 20% of hardworking, young, poor hackers don't make the cut. After a bit of last minute back and forth between Red Hat, ETrade, and the Linux community, ETrade pretty much said "Fill out the application again and we won't look at it too hard." Wired has the story, Slashdot has the discussions.Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/20988.html
Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/articles/99/07/28/1541252.shtml
The Fourth Annual Obfuscated Perl Contest
Clever hackers, hallucination-inducing code, judges driven to gibbering Lovecraftian madness, and a bewildered public. Yep, it's the annual Obfuscated Perl contest sponsored by the Perl Journal, where hacker daredevils fight for the right to be called a profoundly twisted danger to society. Avert your eyes, and never, ever look at the code lest ye too become like unto Jello.http://www.itknowledge.com/tpj/obfusc-4.html
Dungeons and Dragons with Veggie Boy
Everybody's favorite bald vegetarian dungeon master, Wizard of the Coast's Sean Reynolds, will be running an online Dungeons and Dragons game for a select few lucky participants and an audience. But, he promises, "mortality will be fairly high, and as characters die, other characters will be brought in from those players waiting in the audience." The session, called Malak Must Die, will occur on August 28. Visit the log-in page to get familiar with the interface and the info page to read the rules.Log-In: http://tsronline.wizards.com:80/chat/world/html/login.html
Info: http://home.earthlink.net/~skreyn/malak/
SURFING SITES
Racist or the first best opportunity for African American actors of the 1950s to reach a large audience? Whatever your feelings about Amos 'n' Andy, the radio and television program reflected its time; the bulk of the current sitcom crop should be far more embarrassed by their product. Still, the fact remains that only Amos 'n' Andy featured the African American actors of the time. Some report that the cast was as perplexed as anyone by the NAACP's objections to the buffoonery; no less a personage than Redd Foxx claimed to have learned his craft from the show, which he says paved the way for him, allowing him to pave the way for the next generation. Read about the show's history, its cast, and the attendant controversy at this affectionate site.http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2587/
Bombshells of a certain age spark our imagination decades after their fame peaked and flamed out. Some, arguably, are more genuinely appreciated now than they were at the height of their careers. This good-humored little morsel is a gateway site of sorts, an appreciation of Hollywood's most enduring bombshells: Monroe, Harlow, Mansfield, Carmen Miranda, Russell, and the two Bettys - Grable and Boop - among others. There are several noirish photos and a nice selection of worshipful links; run your cursor over the bodacious bods to hear some of the ladies' repertoire.
http://www.bombshells.com/
In 1935, 20 years before African Americans were re-admitted to the majors and six decades before Nomo joined the Dodgers, a Japanese pitcher was asked to join the American pros. Eiji Sawamura declined because he wasn't crazy about American culture. The Japanese first began playing in 1878, but the frenzy that launched their modern era began in 1934 with a visit to Japan by a team of American all-stars. In Tokyo, Sawamura pitched 5 innings of no-hit ball during which he struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, and Charlie Gehringer, all in a row. If you're looking for new frontiers in baseball trivia, Jeff's Japanese Baseball Museum, sponsored by an American fan in Japan, is full of great stories, stats, and memorabilia.
http://bmb.neuromagic.co.jp/eng/museum/index.html
Admit it - you admire the TV reporters who bring you the latest news from war-ravaged parts of the world. But the heads are not alone. There's someone behind the cameras: the photojournalists - or photogs, as they appear to be known. Tim Rutherford, of WMAR-TV in Baltimore, has set up a forum for fellow photogs to discuss - well, whatever they want, really. Mostly they just complain about their lot, but this is entertaining enough. There are discussions, job ads, and a news section, but sadly for the visitor, there are few photos. Visit for a comprehensive insight into the photog's cynical world and you'll never yell "Hey, cameraman!" again.
http://members.aol.com/Photogslou/index.html
It's difficult to imagine anyone other than media bad-boy Michael Moore using a hard-nosed, pushy, and opinionated chicken to make a point. As viewers of his television program "The Awful Truth" may already know, Crackers is a Corporate Crime-Fighting Chicken. He is also a perfect foil for Moore's antics as they roam the US, sticking it to Corporate America. In the eight episodes so far (more are on the way), Moore picks his targets carefully and his aim is generally true. This site features not only information on the original episodes, but a play-by-play of the top features: Montana Shacks; A Cheaper Way to Conduct a Witch Hunt; How to Beat the Rich; and, of course, the Sodomobile. A mailing list, although sporadic, does feature wonderfully insightful ruminations by Mr. Moore.
http://www.theawfultruth.com/
News used to be so simple. You could pick up the evening paper or tune into the network news and sit back and wait for the headlines. One was left with the impression - justified or not - that all the news fit to print was all the news one needed to know. That changed with the advent of 24-hour news networks. Now instead of receiving more news on more subjects, we receive even shallower news than before, but more often. To get anything but the main story, you either need to hunt for your headlines or enlist someone else to do the hunting for you - which is what NewsWatch is all about. Not only does it search for the news you need, it also pre-digests it, by telling you "when it's accurate, when it's wrong, and why." Call it news as instant cereal. Recent articles have included "Will Hillary Hype Fade?", "The Mumia Media Phenomenon" and "The Kennedy Catastrophe and the Media Reaction".
http://www.newswatch.org/
VaguePolitix is vague - not in an evasive sense, but in the sense of allowing for fine shades of gray in complicated issues. It attempts to get beyond the simpleminded sloganeering and hype typical of most public dialogue on important issues such as crime, healthcare, and human conflict. Crawl into strange little political cul-de-sacs, like why there's a morning-after drug for use after exposure to HIV that you don't know about. The site fights the cult of celebrity and the CNN-know-it-all complex, while encouraging critical thinking about issues important to your life.
http://www.pbs.org/vaguepolitix/
WebWise is the BBC's answer to the quandary of how to create Net-savvy consumers. Divided into four sections, WebWise caters to surfers with varying levels of Net knowledge. Net_basics offers courses for relative newbies in fundamentals like what links are or how meta tags are used. Information such as how to get your e-mail while on vacation is available in Net_know_how. Net_query is basically a collection of frequently asked questions, and Net_cetera delves into digital culture, with features on topics such as stratification by class on the Internet. The red background is a bit garish and Bruce, the WebWise spider mascot, accompanies visitors throughout the experience, so arachnophobic technophobes are right out of luck.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/webwise/index.shtml
The National Security Archives
Oh, say can you see... just how secure this nation is? Sure ya can. Just dive into the National Security Archive (NSA) and take a gander at the titles. For your eyes only, the documents include "Death Squad Dossier" and a variety of electronic books on the Cold War. The NSA describes itself as "an independent non-governmental research institute and library" at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.http://www.seas.gwu.edu/nsarchive/
If you have trouble programming your VCR, the complex digitized house of the future could prove a nightmare. Hence, the Adaptive House, a prototype of the smart house, a domestic neural network that learns your habits and preferences in order to customize your living quarters with minimal interaction on your part. In effect, the house observes you and programs itself, so that it can adjust temperature and lighting for your arrival, keep statistics on water and electrical usage in order to conserve energy, and so forth. The prototype is a former schoolhouse in Boulder, Colo., renovated and retrofitted with 75 sensors and almost five miles of wiring by Associate Professor Michael Mozer and students from the University of Colorado. Photos and a Java demo document the project. We wonder whether Bill Gates has visited, what the house could learn from burglars, and what would happen in a blackout.
http://www.cs.colorado.edu/~mozer/house/
At last, a genuinely cool site. This fridgecam comes courtesy of home appliance manufacturer Electrolux and the Essen family, who have allowed somebody to install a webcam in their fridge. Follow the life cycle of their perishables and marvel at how a camera fails to glamorize daily groceries. When someone opens the fridge you can see them, what they eat, and the faces they choose to pull at camera. Maria and Annika Essen, in particular, seem destined for stardom. The links lead you off into the history of the fridge (did you know the first Electrolux built-in fridge was sold in 1930?) and all things Electrolux. Or you can just mail the Essens and ask whether they've forgotten about that cheese in the corner.
http://www.electrolux.com/node230.asp
Getting a bit tubby around the middle? Have strained yourself so hard reaching over you belly for the keyboard that you're now confined to bed? The Hacker's Diet ("how to lose weight and hair through stress and poor nutrition") will get you back on your ass in no time. Actually, The Hacker's Diet is a serious online book, not as joke-y as it sounds. It looks at weight control from an engineering and management perspective and teaches metabolism fundamentals. You can even use computer tools/toys to help monitor and control your weight loss. With 250 pages of well researched advice, this might be just the thing for you.
http://www.fourmilab.to/hackdiet/
QuickTime Player Enters Interface Hall of Shame
When the programmers finish new software, it often gets handed over to an interface design team. Apple's QuickTime 4.0 Player, in its 3.0 incarnation a recognizable application with intuitive, obvious functionality, went through such a process. Isys Information Architects took a long look at the new interface and proceeded to tear it apart with expert ease. Their page analyzes the total victory of form over function in this product, and all of us who have been frustrated by buttons disguised as something else applaud from the sidelines.http://www.iarchitect.com/qtimeno.htm
Try Cookin' with Karen and learn how to do a really spectacular beach party ice cream island spread: you need ice, a glass, Chardonnay, and an ice cream vendor. Zamgwar's Cyber Stop offers great fun in every section, with Sleazy Eddie's Pick-up Lines, a Chuckle of the Week, monthly critiques of loo literature, Fly Fishin' with Frank (with tips for that sporting life), and John's House o' Poems.
http://members.aol.com/zamgwar/index.html
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South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut - Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture
MySQL and mSQL
Buena Vista Social Club
Nudist on the Late Shift: And Other True Tales of Silicon Valley
Dungeon Keeper 2ONLINE TRAVEL
Gambia is unusual in that, apart from its coastline, it is completely surrounded by another country, Senegal. Senegalese culture deeply influences Gambian culture. Since gaining independence from Britain in 1965, Gambia has suffered through its share of military dictatorships and coups, although it returned to democracy in 1996. This site is terrifically comprehensive with a particular focus on national culture and music - don't miss the RealPlayer Gambian drumming. Whether you will be traveling there, have personal connections to the country, or just want to understand better a fascinating west African state, it's all here.http://home3.inet.tele.dk/mcamara/
A non-political, non-commercial portal, One World - Nations Online (OWNO) calls itself "a holistic and philanthropic project, dedicated to the art, culture, history, and the uniqueness of a nation and its people." We like its take-off on browser compatibility - "Best viewed with an open mind" - and its explanation of its icon for a cultural spot as "possibly not verry [sic] interesting for kids." Our favorite resource here is the collection of links to official and unofficial sites alphabetized by country. Many will be surprised to find a large number of sites in Third World countries. (Patience may be required to receive a response from some of them.) Other resources include links to "Fascinating Sites", global information, official and tourist sites for each of the United States, regional search engines, maps, clocks, a photo gallery, a message board, and a newsletter. All in all, OWNO is an excellent index with a huge scope.
http://www.netscout.net/oneworld/
CARE's Virtual Field Trip to Bolivia takes visitors on a journey with three guides as they view firsthand the beneficiaries of CARE Bolivia's contributions. Experience the atmosphere through a week's worth of journal entries or through the photo album. Both introduce the visitor to a series of unique individuals who make up the most compelling aspect of this site. If you find yourself so moved, CARE's virtual collection plate is accessible from the nav bar.
http://www.care.org/virtual_trip/bolivia/index.html
FLOTSAM & JETSAM
Fans of the Dungeons and Dragons comic strip that appears in Dragon will squeal with joy. Flash animated with stylish drawings and lots of choices, these strips could put a smile back on your face while you roll up another character.http://www.hoodyhoo.com/
The World Right Now is a collection of real-time outdoor images organized by continent, though most of the linked sites are in the northern hemisphere. Image maps make it a breeze to go from, say, Fort Lauderdale to Surfer's Paradise, Australia, or from Rio de Janeiro to Palma de Mallorca. Bookmark this for a rainy day.
http://www.cam-orl.co.uk/world.html
The Messiah Cam is for three types of people: true believers who don't want to miss Jesus descending from heaven at the exact point he ascended (on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem); people ready to risk burning in Hell for a good laugh; and scholars who write books about the first two kinds of people.
http://www.olivetree.org/registra.htm
Ever wondered what happened to the present your cousin sent you from Yemen last year? PackTrack will try to chase it down. As long as you have the company (FedEx, Express Mail, etc) and the package number, they'll do their damnedest to pluck it from some obscure lost and found.
http://www.packtrack.com/
Want some software? Not sure where to hunt? The Software Sleuth claims it can find it for you better than the average search engine. In addition to a search form and feature, the site has a variety of links, including ratings for various freebie Web sites.
http://www.software-sleuth.com/
SOFTWARE
AntiSniff Detects Network Sniffers at Work
Detecting somebody illicitly sniffing traffic on your network is notoriously difficult. In what may be the first tool of its kind, L0pht Heavy Industries has created an application which does some sophisticated network traffic analysis aimed at detecting hackers running sniffer programs. The tool runs on both Windows NT and Unix, and is currently available as a free beta, with a commercial release weeks away. Extensive information about the tool is available at this site.http://www.l0pht.com/antisniff/
Red Hat Releases Linux Commerce Server Bundle
Red Hat has released a bundle of software it calls the Commerce Server. For $150, you can buy a CD containing the latest version of Red Hat Linux 6.0, Apache Web server, and various modules and commerce programs helpful in setting up an online shop. The CD also contains a variety of commercial application demos, and a $25 discount for a site digital certification from Thawte Consulting.http://www.redhat.com/about/1999/press_ecommerce.html