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BREAKING SURF
Microsoft a Monopoly? Just Shocking!
It's beginning to look like victory for the US Department of Justice now that Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson has concluded that Microsoft (MS) enjoys monopoly power in its key markets and that it has stifled competition to the detriment of consumers. This thing isn't nearly over, but the judge's harsh, no-doubt-about-it style does not bode well for MS, which may be forced to settle to avoid having a judgment rendered against it, which would open it up to more suits. MS seems arrogantly unrepentant - Bill Gates said he "respectfully disagrees" with the findings - but it looks increasingly as if the company will have to pay a substantial price for past predatory practices. CNet has full coverage, including a link to the judge's 60,000-word, well argued analysis, reaction of competitors, and related news. MS's site has its reaction and audio/video clips of the press conference that followed the release of the Judge's findings. You'll find a good article on the twisted labyrinth of legal ramifications at the New York Law Journal (NYLJ).Gates: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/trial/nov99/11-05billg.htm
CNet: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-1431262-0.html
MS: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/trial/
NYLJ: http://www.nylj.com/links/microsoft/
While we've been happily using RealJukebox, RealNetworks' software for playing CDs on a PC, the software was spying on us, collecting such information as the number and file formats of songs on our hard drive, and reporting back to HQ. Clearly unethical and possibly illegal, this is just the latest example of a too casual attitude towards real privacy, and a tendency to let technical tricks ride roughshod over real respect for customers. Doesn't it seem we keep turning over the same stone and discovering the same ugly creatures? The simple solution is called disclosure: let the consumer know, let the consumer decide. You'll see the story everywhere but the New York Times (NYT) reported it first. Sure, RealNetworks, apologizing now, has issued a patch for RealJukebox, but guess what? Wired reports that at least some versions of RealPlayer also transmit your personal ID, although they don't scan your hard drive.
NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/11/biztech/articles/01real.html
Apology: http://www.realnetworks.com/company/pressroom/pr/99/software_privacy.html
Patch: http://www.realnetworks.com/company/privacy/jukebox/privacyupdate.html
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,32350,00.html
Clever Bubbleboy Worm Hits Microsoft Outlook E-Mail Client Users
As virus technology goes, this is quite cool. Which is not to say that you necessarily want to be infected with this paragon of clever programming. What's clever about it is that you don't even have to open the e-mail to get infected - simply highlighting it in Microsoft Outlook will do the trick. We should note that this only affects Microsoft Outlook users and not any other e-mail clients. The media have the scent, so we'll leave it to Yahoo to tell you the consumer version, while Datafellows has some extra technical details.Bubbleboy: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991109/wr/tech_virus_1.html
Tech Details: http://www.datafellows.com/v-descs/bubb-boy.htm
Seinfeld: http://www.seinfeld.com/
SpaceRef: New Space News Portal
This promising site is currently undergoing beta testing but it already provides a good selection of space news. SpaceRef focuses mainly on news about space related activities culled mostly from NASA and similar sources. A public bulletin board called OpenSpace hosts discussions of space issues and a Yahoo-like directory of Web links. Other sections promise to provide more in-depth features about specific topics, like Mars. As it is still a beta and not fully up to speed just yet, many links remain empty, but the news listing and calendar of events are already reasonably active and useful. Space fans will want to keep an eye on this site to see if it manages to evolve into a truly complete space portal.http://www.spaceref.com/
The Galileo project took some serious risks with its spacecraft recently to capture high resolution pictures of Jupiter's moon Io. The radiation saturating the probe's flight path could have seriously fried some onboard components, and in fact the craft did experience some radiation-induced glitches. Fortunately, the science team managed to work around them and we have yet another batch of spectacular volcano images. Gallileo is headed for one more encounter with Io later this month, an encounter that might spell the end of the spacecraft. Check the Galileo News section on the project home page for the latest informative updates.
Images: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/io/
Project: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/
US Post Office: Online Stamps and E-Commerce Returns
Say what you will, the US Postal Service (USPS) is one of the few branches of the US government which works, especially in view of the monumental nature of its task. While the USPS has successfully reinvented itself over the last few years to work more like a competitive private organization - they actually run a profit, as dubious as that is for a government agency - so far they have not had much luck wading into the stream of cyber commerce. Two initiatives may finally pay off for them. First, the USPS now allows companies to sell online postage, most visibly through Stamps.com. Second, the USPS is trying to make it simple and convenient to return your e-commerce acquired merchandise - you tell the merchant you want to return an item, they provide you with a label on the Web, you print it, slap it on the package and drop it at the post office. Nifty. Altrec, an outdoorsy type retailer, is the first firm to participate in the program.USPS: http://www.usps.gov/
Stamps.com: http://www.stamps.com/
Returns: http://www.usps.gov/news/press/99/99091new.htm
Altrec: http://www.altrec.com/
Slashdot has an in-depth interview with Bruce Schneier, author of the technical best-seller Applied Cryptography. Bruce covers such topics as the best current crypto protocol (in his opinion), his thoughts on the proposed open federal crypto standard, the privacy wars, his physics background, patents, and more. Of interest to all fans of technical crypto matters, and a good informed opinion on the state of crypto for everybody else. Thoughtful, informative, and entertaining.
http://slashdot.org/interviews/99/10/29/0832246.shtml
Red Hat Center for Open Sources
While we normally don't bother talking up sites and organizations which don't quite exist online, we're willing to bend a bit and toss you this press release from Red Hat, mostly because it's a nifty idea. Red Hat is creating an organization which will hand out grants to projects which "advance the social principles of open source for the greater good of the general public" and "advance the philosophy of open source, through which collaborative intellectual pursuits produce results to be freely shared and enhanced throughout society." In other, shorter words, the outfit will try to apply the principles which have worked so well in the open source movement to other fields of endeavor such as science, education, business, and government. The text has contact information and details on the people involved and the initial $8 million funding.http://www.redhat.com/about/1999/press_rhcos.html
Better Late Than Never: Model Eggs For Sale
Well, this news item got caught in the cracks of our Halloween publishing schedule, but just for completeness, we bring you the Web site of the guy offering to auction off human eggs harvested from models. The story has been done to death in the media, so we don't have much to add, except to ask, if it's OK to sell your sperm and eggs (no laws against it in the US), why can't you auction off a kidney on eBay? But then, consistency is the hobgoblin of little legislatures, isn't it?Eggs: http://www.ronsangels.com/
Kidneys: http://www.kidney.org/
ONLINE CULTURE
What does it mean that a Web site has some third-party seal of approval with regard to its trustworthiness? That question is particularly germane in view of the recent privacy fiasco involving RealPlayer (q.v.). The most prominent company to provide assurances of trust to consumers is TRUSTe, whose logo graces the Web sites of some of the biggest e-commerce sites on the Net. But a string of past privacy-busting incidents among TRUSTe clients, including RealNetworks, calls into question whether the organization is anything more than a flimsy negligee gracing the corpulent bodies of companies rapacious for ever more detailed consumer data. Slashdot has a scathing analysis of the failure of TRUSTe, providing several examples that show a TRUSTe seal of approval is pretty much meaningless. It's a good issues piece for those interested in staying current with one of the major cultural battles being fought in cyberspace.TRUSTe: http://www.truste.org/
Analysis: http://slashdot.org/yro/99/11/05/1021214.shtml
The UK incorporates one of the largest public space video surveillance networks on the planet, a consequence of Irish terrorism. Police are now using this network to catch people who supposedly incited a recent riot during the a largely peaceful romp called the Carnival Against Capitalism. Some capitalism-averse participants took the message to heart and undertook to liberate the fruits of capitalist oppression from various shops on the way to thrashing the London International Financial Futures Exchange. The bobbies captured video portraits of about 70 suspects and are asking for help in identifying them. Some of the downright artistic portraits would not be out of place on the walls of an art gallery - especially when coupled with the subtext of the protest. For a thoroughly relevant take on this subject, check out David Brin's "The Transparent Society" in our Netsurfer Recommendations section below.
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/citypolice/june18.htm
SURFING SITES
Magdalena Donea, introduced to you in NSD 3.13, invited surfers into one of the most intriguingly personal sites we'd come across. We're pleased to report that nothing's changed - and everything's changed. It still takes no effort at all to imagine a visit to her pages as an all-night conversation between new friends polishing off a bottle of wine, the kind of unhurried sharing in which long silences are part of the evening's rhythm. Maggy continually reinvents her site, engaging us with a changing, graceful style that murmurs her story to visitors. Two years later, she remains the most consistently good company on the Net. When, at the end of the day, you've had your fill of raucous online "communities", stop by Maggy's place for a genuine sense of sharing.http://kia.net/water/home.html
You'd Figure the French Wouldn't Eat Brit Vittles...
But no, it's the other way around. This bloody battle may be over soon, but at the moment, the British government is clashing with its counterpart in France. The French continue to impose a ban on British beef, stemming from the Mad Cow scare of years past. The French remain fearful that dangers linger, even though British beef producers have agreed to abide by the most stringent testing the French care to impose. This page calls for the boycott of French Internet sites and encourages citizens to "support British farmers and make your protest by deliberately not clicking on any of the French shopping links." Zut alors!http://www.richclickings.co.uk/boycott.html
As far as bloodless wars go, Canada and the US have also had their share of late, most recently over the issue of runaway production, in which movie and TV productions save big bucks (and we do mean big bucks) by filming in much-cheaper Canada. Now, we have the Zamboni war, a battle that centers around the machines that clean the ice at hockey games. A contest is now being staged to determine which Zamboni driver will resurface the ice at the prestigious NHL All-Star game to take place February in Toronto. There's a Canadian in first and an American in second. This has all the makings of another Pig War.
Vote: http://www.zamboni.com/newsBallot.html
Pig War: http://www.halcyon.com/rdpayne/sjinhp-pigwar.html
Your Guide to Modern Living and Intersex Relationships
There's so much going on at Disgruntled Housewife, it's difficult to know where to start the praise. Enter the psyche of Nikol Lohr as she tells you her opinions on everything - and we do mean everything. Check the Dick List for guys you've dated (our reviewer did). Read her Secret Confessions. This site is not meant for all ages. Although it's all presented with taste, or distaste, as the case may be, the site has much content best left to adult eyes. Perhaps the most entertaining part is the Post Office, where enraged visitors whose tender sensibilities have been offended by the humor make themselves look like idiots by cursing up a blue streak. Irony is the best revenge.http://www.disgruntledhousewife.com/
Has your cat been horribly injured? Cat Dynamics (CD) can rebuild him. They have the technology. Better than it was before. Better... stronger... faster. Save your injured cat with the latest reconstructive surgery and robotic body parts. If your cat has broken legs, CD will replace them with stainless steel limbs. Pictures show little Skipper, whose eye has been replaced with a sophisticated electronic sensor, complete with tiny video camera, so we can see what Skipper sees. Check the R&D page for a picture of the futuristic plan for the Arachnicat, which has a cat's head mounted on six stainless steel spider legs. Thanks to CD's waterproof parts, a cat named Fluffs will be drinking out of a toilet for many years to come. It's all so touching....
http://newgrounds.com/cat/
A gastronome's delight awaits the visitor to the Sainte Alvere site, resplendent in the luxurious, earthy scent of truffles. The black pearl of the fungus world, this sought-after delicacy can be bought online, starting December 1. The whole site has a distinctly French flavor, and offers everything a truffle-lover needs including recipes and storage advice. The somewhat idiosyncratic English translation adds a deliciously Gallic touch to a tasty site.
http://www.sainte-alvere.com/uk_accueil.asp
Why does a week have seven days? Has it always? In fact, it has. Since Biblical times, at least, no matter which Roman emperor or Greek philosopher messed around with the days of the year, the week remained seven days long in every culture of the world. You can find this information, together with a year's worth of other info on the history behind the calendars we use today, at the WebExhibits Calendars site, an appropriate site to visit in the last year of the millennium. Notice how we cleverly avoid identifying which year that is.
http://www.webexhibits.com/calendars/
If you're stuck for a conversational gambit, try one of the little gems here. Mention that the chocolate chip cookie was invented in 1933, or that a cow has no upper front teeth, and watch interested faces light up around you. Or not. At any rate, Did You Know is a fascinating place to wander, dipping into the trivia as you do. The site also offers a free service to enhance boring corporate sites - link to the site and a new little-known fact will appear on your site every week. How many people know that bees do not have ears? How many people care?
http://www.didyouknow.com/
FactCat is something like one of those day calendars that has a quirky fact on each page, like how far away the sun is, and who the first prime minister of Australia was. Sometimes the nuggets are a bit long, like the one about how digestion works, and the white words disappear against the pale green background. The one innovation is hotlinks from important words in the factoid -- like an Encarta article about Australia, and a brief biography of Sir Edmund on the Monash University site. Thus, a useless info nugget can lead to a vast network of irrelevant knowledge - the Web's amazing power in action.
http://www.factcat.com/
Library cat (n) - a domesticated mammal employed for catching rats, mice, golf pencils, and stray cards from the card catalog. Iron Frog Productions, a film company coming out with a documentary entitled "Puss in Books: Adventures of the Library Cat", has translated their work into a online clickable map, which lists almost 300 cats who make or have made US libraries their homes. The site also gives dates of residence and photos if available. There are an awful lot of cats named Dewey on the list. We're going to guess their favorite snack is microfiche.
http://home.earthlink.net/~ironfrog/catsmap.html
A Customized Web Tour, with Prizes
The raison d'etre of eTour is nothing new: to deliver directed advertising to your desktop and reward you for looking at it. But eTour's modus operandi fascinated us with its ability to pinpoint Web pages we'd like to see. Register your preferences and eTour begins to spit out Web sites at you. We were amazed to see how many of those sites captivated us. Give us a day and a search engine and we could do the same, but we still admire it. You also earn TourPoints for the first two sites you visit on a given day. You can redeem accumulated points for rewards such as gift certificates but it'll take you over four months of daily visits to earn a $10 gift certificate.http://etour.com/
Readers who have anything to do with e-commerce or maintaining or promoting a Web site should read "Build Traffic through Good Site Design". While marketers are obsessed with building traffic through search engines, ads, and other promotions, Morris points out that the key to user happiness and responsiveness is good site design. In most cases, this boils down to sensible navigation with a user-friendly navbar and reliable internal links that are easy to find and use. Morris describes other, often subtle ways to direct and increase traffic by means of keywords, server settings, logfile analysis, and personalization, in general terms the boss can understand. His insights are matter of fact.
http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Design/Build/
Infostry takes the position that information wants to be paid for - with other information. If you join Infostry, you leap into an economy where you pay for Infopieces with Infocredits you have earned by providing your own Infopieces, under the dubious principle that everyone is an expert in something. Such an economy requires a large minimum of participants, which Infostry has not yet achieved. Many sections are sparse, and entries include such Paladin/Loompanics staples as becoming a hitman, how to make tear gas, and how to get huge insurance settlements from car accidents. One would-be info tycoon by the name of Saxamaphone eagerly solicits Infocredits. But if you want to get in on it, ground floor is exactly where you will be.
http://www.infostry.com/
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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.
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eXtreme Programming eXplained
The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary
Official Red Hat Linux V6.1 Deluxe
ONLINE TRAVEL
Although the artist admonishes that "there is no substitute for seeing original photographs in a gallery or museum setting", we suggest that Nathaniel Burkins' black and white photographs fairly glisten on the computer screen. Burkins prides himself on taking unobtrusive photos of the life and times of New York City, reacting instinctively to the world around him. The world he sees is very interesting indeed.http://member.aol.com/nathanealb/private/index.htm
FLOTSAM & JETSAM
Timetable of World Legal History
Back in the days when kings were appointed by gods, justice could be harsh. This one-page timetable of legal systems, documents, and landmark decisions advances through modern times, including the trials at Nuremberg and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).http://wwlia.org/hist.htm
Being Indian in San Francisco just got a whole lot easier with this guide for Asian Indians living or planning to live in the Bay Area. This site includes a comprehensive listing of Asian Indian businesses in the area, including automobiles, apartments, entertainment, culture, and religion.
http://www.thingsindian.com/
Like Clint Eastwood? You'll love the stark, tough-guy splash page of this page and the stuff beyond - work and bio info, a "Dirty Harry" music anthology, and more. Go ahead. Click all day.
http://www.clinteastwood.net/
Need to Find Where to Rent That Video?
Silver screen addict? Avid video watcher? No social life? Then pop along here and track down the video you have always wanted, at any one of hundreds of rental places throughout North America.http://formovies.com/
The Dingbat pages provide just what the title implies, lots and lots of dingbat fonts, organized into intuitive categories like alien, arrows, and holidays. Some fonts have a full character set preview, eliminating time-consuming useless downloads.
http://dingbats.i-us.com/
SOFTWARE
"All mail clients suck. This one just sucks less." So says Michael Elkins, the author of Mutt, a Unix e-mail client. Think of Mutt as the Swiss army knife of e-mail programs. Hackers love it because it's open source and almost infinitely configurable, fast, and highly portable across operating systems. No, it's not a GUI-centric newbie friendly toy, but it does have a blazingly fast, clean text-based interface designed for power users. The program has been in beta for a long time, making this a stable, bug-free first release. If the browsers' built-in e-mail clients hold you back and slow down your daily mail chores, look into Mutt.http://www.mutt.org/
CORRECTIONS
Jerad Walker, host of Jerad's Page of Something That Rhymes with Hits and Giggles, has informed us that his site, which we reviewed 27 issues ago (Unavoidable Profanity and a Few Giggles), has moved to a new URL.http://jerad.cjb.net/
About a year ago, in NSD 4.34, we gave Fitz (not the fat guy on TV) an amazingly nice write-up, mentioning his little collection of brainteasers. Our fine recommendation led almost immediately to thousands of hits, and his Web hosting service shut the site down. Even though they eventually apologized, he moved his stuff to a server where he had more control. All this just to say he's at a new URL.
http://www.fitzweb.com/brainteasers/index.shtml