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| The Libel Lawsuit That Bounced around the Net |
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| Vintage Travel |
| Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest |
| Tux the Linux Penguin in Full Lego Glory |
| Perfect Gift for the Net IPO Millionaire in Your Life |
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| A Stroll in the Park |
| Online Yack |
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Want quick access to breaking news stories? Need some in-depth coverage and analysis about an event? Or just looking for a fast summary? Search no further than the latimes.com. A recently redesigned latimes.com Web site features a split-screen format for simpler navigation, quicker access to breaking news coverage, and one of the Web's richest sources of news and information -- updated every two minutes, 24 hours a day. With more than 50,000 pages of content, latimes.com is one of the leading sources for national and international news on the Internet. |
BREAKING SURF
If you don't know that NASA has apparently lost another Mars mission, be grateful you subscribe to NSD, that's all we can say. Sure, flight controllers haven't completely given up hope, but it's sad looking at a site that might have been bursting with information and pictures from the Mars Polar Lander if only something hadn't gone wrong. Did the spacecraft suffer a fiery death entering the Martian atmosphere, tip over a boulder on the surface, or is it sitting intact but mute? Coming on the heels of the embarrassing Mars Climate Orbiter snafu, and the possibly related failure of the Lander's two microprobes, we can't help wondering if there's something wrong in how we do these things now. Meanwhile, Network Appliance has a paper about how they set up the Polar Lander website to cope with the expected massive traffic. Read it if you want to know how large volume sites are designed.Lander: http://www.marspolarlander.com/
Network Appliance: http://www.netapp.com/tech_library/3071.html
White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/New/html/19991206.html
AOL News: http://askgov.aol.com/
Company Streams TV over Net, Broadcasters Not Amused
Canadian company iCraveTV reportedly spent $13 million to put together a system that plucks from the airwaves broadcasts from 17 American and Canadian TV stations and streams them on the Web. Not surprisingly, TV industry interests, including the National Football League, have accused iCraveTV of illegally pirating their broadcast signals and programs. Unfortunately for them, Canadian law allows the retransmission of TV signals at the same time as the source signal as long as there are no alterations to the original. iCraveTV says it's following the law to the letter and seems quite willing to put up a spirited legal fight. Meanwhile, you can watch their shows with RealPlayer after affirming that you're in Canada. CNet and Wired have more details.iCraveTV: http://www.icravetv.com/
CNet: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-1484602.html
Wired: http://wired.lycos.com/news/business/0,1367,32914,00.html
GSM Phone Encryption Algorithm Broken
Anybody with a decent PC can break your GSM phone's encryption in less than a second, assuming they can intercept your phone conversation - no mean feat, but not out of the question for somebody with a bit of money and technical know-how. Researchers from Israel uraveled the complex encryption algorithm used in GSM phones made by the likes of Motorola, Ericsson, and Siemens - you might as well be talking on a walkie-talkie. The GSM Alliance downplays the privacy danger but does note that the next phone crypto algorithm will probably be released for open-source review before adoption. Details in the Wired article.http://wired.lycos.com/news/politics/0,1283,32900,00.html
Cyberterrorism in Jane's/Slashdot Intelligence Review
Jane's Intelligence Review (JIR) asked the Slashdot online community to collaborate in writing an intelligent article about cyberterrorism last fall (NSD 5.32). The review, unhappy with what their reporter produced, decided to tap the collective wisdom of the technogeeks. The final result, now available, expresses the general consensus that "careful examination of the issue reveals much of the threat to be unsubstantiated rumor and media exaggeration." The article covers system crackers and cracking activities and gauges the skills and sophistication needed to breach security at "hard target" sites. The bulk of the article reviews the various methods used to breach security. The overview effectively summarizes what's possible on the wild and wooly security frontier but also notes that "in theory, cyberterrorism is very plausible, yet in reality it is difficult to conduct."http://jir.janes.com/sample/jir0525.html
Computer Security Analysis Using Attack Trees
Bruce Schneier, best known as the author of "Applied Cryptography", outlines a method of assessing the costs and benefits of possible attack methods against various security systems. He strikingly illustrates the value of the attack tree method by using one to analyze the popular PGP encryption program. By analyzing all possible ways in which messages encrypted with PGP can be compromised, it's easy to see that key length and the robustness of the encryption algorithm are not effective indicators of security. No matter how complex the encryption, anyone can simply bypass it by stealing the password with, for example, a keystroke monitoring program. This reasonably simple system analysis is probably of great interest to anybody who has to safeguard computers and online networks.http://www.ddj.com/articles/1999/9912/9912a/9912a.htm
Just What Are Certificates of Authority Good for Anyway?
That, in a nutshell, is asked by Carl Ellison and Bruce Schneier (again) in an essay that throws some embarrassing questions at Certificates of Authority (CA). E-Commerce sites buy these certificates from companies known as "Authorities" to ostensibly prove to consumers that the site is legit and can be trusted with credit card numbers. Ellison and Schneier point out that such certificates are meaningless due to numerous security holes in the whole CA infrastructure. They also note that you demonstrably don't need a robust CA infrastructure for e-commerce - after all, many of us already madly shop online without being defrauded and, frankly, when's the last time you searched a site for a CA? Add the awkwardness in administering CAs and you can make a case that they are good for nothing more than making money for CA Authorities. The article raises many provocative questions.http://www.counterpane.com/pki-risks.html
Netscape Home Page Gets a Face Lift
In another redesign of the massively popular Netscape home page, the site adopts a distinctly different look from most of the other portal sites. It emphasizes news over the search engine. The last vestiges of the Netscape software business are hard to find, tucked into the corner with an offer to sell you Navigator 4.7 on CD. AOL, the boss, gets a colorful button urging you to get "250 Hours Free". The design reveals some clear clues about the direction in which AOL wants to take one of the most popular sites on the Web.http://home.netscape.com/
Cell Phones and Long-Term Memory
If you're a rat, you'd better not use a cell phone, at least not while swimming, judging by recent research results. Dr. Henry Lai of the University of Washington irradiated rats with microwaves similar to those emitted by cell phones. Irradiated rats had more trouble learning how to reach a platform submerged in a pool of water and retaining that knowledge than a control group. What's it mean for humans? Stay tuned - a single study does not a final answer make and there's lots for skeptics to pick at. To immerse yourself fully in this subject (no platform navigation prowess needed), consult the Cellular Phone Antennas and Human Health FAQ by Dr. John Moulder of the Medical College of Wisconsin, which has enough info to drown in.Lai: http://www.washington.edu/newsroom/news/1999archive/11-99archive/k113099a.html
FAQ: http://www.mcw.edu/gcrc/cop/cell-phone-health-FAQ/toc.html
Netsurfer Books Holiday Issue Part II
Our second Netsurfer Books holiday issue continues our focus on nonfiction with Lincoln, Rembrandt, Wendy, Frida, the ever-popular Anonymous, and, of course, a dash of sex. The third one will bring you fiction works, including books from the usual holiday suspects and the just plain intriguing. Check it out, and as usual, fell free to subscribe at the link below.NSB: http://www.netsurf.com/nsb/nsb.01.13.html
Subscribe: http://www.netsurf.com/nsb/subscribe.html
SURFING SITES
It may be difficult to believe in the age of cross-marketing, but in the '60s, toys were actually just toys. If you find yourself pining for the days when a rose was just a rose and a toy was just a plaything, you can use this site to fabricate your own '60s memories. Gobler Toys features a hilarious collection of the best toys that never were. Highlights include Gobler's Wobbler, a bubble boy (not the computer virus) toy, the tongue-twisting fun of Marblemouth, and Kiki the Fashion Tiki. Please read the FAQ if you feel the desire to actually order any of these items.http://www.goblertoys.com/
If the Marquis de Sade were a stock, one would be advised to short it immediately. The guy's recent trendoid reputation bubble is completely unsupported by any real fundamentals, and he's doomed to be a dot-com also-ran. Which doesn't mean his value might not triple in the next six months. So we're not too surprised to find a Japanese site further trying to inflate the bubble, linking the obsessive Marquis with similarly tightly wound figures like Mishima, and the much misused and misunderstood Nietzche, whom no one reads but everyone seems to think they instinctively know because they were once adolescents. This is a big, pulsing forehead site.
http://www.realsade.com/
Listen to Bill Learn the Accordion
If we were wearing a hat at the moment - and of course we are not; mother would never allow us to wears hats indoors - but if we were, we would certainly tip it to Bill, a 65-year-old retiree who is learning how to play the accordion. Bill lives in a region (Amarillo, Tex.) said to contain few fellow players, which is why he decided to teach himself. Bill learns a song a week, just like he would were he playing for a teacher, and then he uploads the sound files to the site for our listening "pleasure". He calls the files poor recordings of good music played badly. Bill is also his own worst critic.http://www.cybergeezer.com/incompleat.html
One day in 1989, history was made at Nielson's Lumber in Point Robert, Wash.: the first ever belt sander race was run, and the IBDA (sic), the International Belt Sander Drag Race Association, was born. The IBDA's site has advice on where to find races, advice on how to prep your sander for the two divisions, Stock (shop-legal sanders only) and Modified (modified macho machines), and movies of races.
http://www.beltsander-races.com/
In the old tradition of crank letters, Michael Page has sent missives to the public affairs divisions of name brands like Elmer's Glue and Ivory Soap, telling improbable stories (e.g. he wants to donate his beloved horse's carcass to Elmer's) and ending with a plaintive query about Y2K compliance. Few of those consumer-battle-scarred flacks seem to rise to the bait but the attempts are worthy.
http://www.fadetoblack.com/y2k/
Imagine seeing your face plastered on a display during New Year's Eve in Times Square or at the Millennium Dome in England. The Kodak PhotoQuilt of the Millennium can make it happen. Add your photo and the story behind it to this growing amalgam of life before the big 2-0-0-0. If you're more the introvert, you'll be happy that the front page loads different photos and stories each time you hit reload. You can also browse the whole quilt or look for your friends or hometown with the search engine.
http://www.kodak.com/go/photoquilt/
Woody Allen once said, "There is nothing to fear except fear itself. And of course the Boogy-Man." And even if he didn't say it, it's still a good quote, and perhaps the same could be said of the Y2K Bug. There is nothing to fear except that something may or may not happen at the end of this year and it may or may not happen at some point into the next year. We're not holding our breath. In the meantime, we draw your attention to this self-professed humorous ratings of the top Y2K sites, news, commentary and links. And it is all of those things. And they sell Y2K T-shirts and sweatshirts, too, in case you feel the need to keep warm.
http://www.y2kdenial.com/
Testing your Computer for Hacker Access
If you're like us, you ask, "What could they possibly want with the dreary little treasures cluttering my humble hard drive?" Still, especially since crackers value the conquest more than the spoils, software programmer Steve Gibson's site lets you test your ports for vulnerability to online invasion (it assumes you use Windows, but works fine on Macs, too). Should you walk away feeling as if the back of your britches has been torn away, Gibson has good advice about how to stitch those breaches. He kindly offers to sell you a firewall product of his very own. No matter what, consider storing erotic love letters in the folder sedately marked "Conjugating Irregular Latin Verbs".http://grc.com/x/ne.htm?bh0bkyd2
TV Industry.Com, a child of the post-1995 media deregulation juggernaut, picks up where Daily Variety leaves off. If Variety is the old Hollywood insider with its deep-dish veteran columnists and charming vernacular (Prexy Ankles Alphabet Web), the new kid plays up the fact that more and more stuff is happening outside the Map of the Star's Homes. You get both breaking news and a broader perspective on the drastic reconfiguration of media production and distribution in the time of the vertically integrated international giants (whoooo, we're buzzword-dizzy). You also get calendar listings and job postings, although we found a glaring error in the calendar listings - and we're not telling what. Look sharp, kids.
http://www.tvindustry.com/
For centuries, the "@" was nothing more than a short form for people too lazy to write a simple two-letter word. They are probably the same people who write "thanx" instead of "thanks". We all know how much time you can save by writing five letters instead of six. Anyway, now that "@" has become an integral part of our day-to-day lives, it has occurred to some folks that maybe we should come up with a name for it. And what better way to name something in the public domain than to have a contest. A name the "@" contest, to be precise. Sneer if you wish, but there is a cash prize being offered. Thanx in advance for taking part. Only USicans need apply.
http://www.atventures.org/sans/introduction.htm
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Quake 3: Arena
Leatherman Tool: The Wave
Philips TiVo HDR112 Personal TV Server
Linux Core Kernel CommentaryONLINE CULTURE
In this sad little tale, $6 billion online toy retailer eToys has a tiny European art site called etoy shut down for having a similar domain name. The story and the conduct of eToys may make you rethink where you shop this holiday season, and with any luck will prove to be a public relations debacle for the company. A judge issued an injunction against etoy based on a statement from eToys lawyers accusing etoy of "hijacking" the domain name, odd given that etoy has been online with its domain name two years longer than the upstart eToys. It's likely that the injunction will be overturned at the next hearing, which is conveniently scheduled to be held just after the holiday shopping season. Meanwhile, etoy lives on at its numeric IP address. Read the tale and ensuing discussion on Slashdot.Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/yro/99/12/01/2156208.shtml
Etoy: http://146.228.204.72:8080/
eToys: http://www.etoys.com/
The Libel Lawsuit That Bounced around the Net
Off the Runway (OTR), a small retailer of designer label products, has launched a libel lawsuit against a number of major online media outlets such as Ziff-Davis and CMP Media. Why? Pay attention now. Over a year ago, a company called Cyveillance sent out a press release that claimed to reveal online retailers who sell counterfeit designer goods. OTR was on the list. OTR protested that it did not sell counterfeit goods, and Cyveillance later retracted its inclusion on the list. Meanwhile, the original press release entered the media current. Ziff-Davis referred to the release, which prompted other media sites to do the same, and eventually the whole world knew that Off the Runway sold counterfeit goods - except that it doesn't. The $10 million lawsuit rails against the common publisher practice of simply reprinting press releases. CNet has more.Lawsuit: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1485052.html
OTR: http://www.offtherunway.com/
ONLINE TRAVEL
Not Your Everyday Viet Nam Travel Journal
This is not another Viet-Nam-vet-returns-to-make-peace-with-his-past sojourn, but a travel journal written by a young Canadian man who was in kindergarten during the 1975 Saigon airlift. For Americans, this nation - so wrought with collective unresolved conflicts and with ideologies and superpower agendas - shines in a new light when seen through the eyes of a perceptive, compassionate western Gen-Xer with misconceptions to dispel, but no personal demons to exorcise. It's well written and illustrated with lively paintings and sketches.http://www.911media.org/peter/vietnam
Travel Envoy's Wine Guide has put together a guide for the peripatetic oenophile, a.k.a. the traveling wine connoisseur. Their winery directory lists all the vineyards in California, Australia, New Zealand, plus many other regions. In all, the site lists more than 4,000 wineries, many with hours of operation and tour details. Separate listings focus on so-called organic and kosher wineries, for travelers of those inclinations. The site includes a few other features. For instance, if you thought Methuselah, Salmanazar, and Balthazar were the Three Wise Men, the Wine Glossary can point you in the right direction. Although it offers some frameless options, for the most part the site is best experienced with a browser that can handle frames.
http://www.travelenvoy.com/wine.htm
Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest
Site-creator Paul Brainard is the first to admit that should you not be a fan of falling water you might find his site a tad on the boring side. On the other hand, if you have even the most remote capacity for admiring the wondrous splendor of nature, you'll surely find yourself captivated by this wonderful collection of waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest. There are 120 such waterfalls featured on these pages, with photographs, details on its location, size, directions, and much more.http://web3.foxinternet.net/xplatypusx/
FLOTSAM & JETSAM
Tux the Linux Penguin in Full Lego Glory
Somebody with way too much time on their hands has created this fairly cool statue of Tux, the official Linux penguin mascot, out of Lego blocks. For whatever it's worth as far as we know nobody has ever done a Lego statue of Bill Gates.http://www.ericharshbarger.org/lego/penguin.html
Perfect Gift for the Net IPO Millionaire in Your Life
While you're busy sniffing the fresh ink from the bills you landed on your most recent stock killing, you might think about purchasing a lovely reproduction of the Edison Universal Stock Ticker for a cool $35,000. For that price, you better believe it works.http://www.edisonstockticker.com/
The police in Seattle are now claiming that they had no idea that the protests against the World Trade Organization would be quite so massive. If they had checked Protest.Net, they woulda known. This is the place to start if you are looking for choice causes in various regions.
http://www.protest.net/
The park, a global Net community, came on the scene in 1994 - it's nearly as old as NSD. The community has since attracted over 40 million visitors. At any given moment, the Park is said to be home to a few thousand people taking part in the 133 chat rooms, window shopping in the Mall, or reading their encrypted e-mail.
http://www.thepark.com/
The Yack! Guide to Online Radio provides an independent listing of Internet radio events. Users can search the online guide by geographic location, by radio format, and by language. On the front page, you'll find a listing of today's top events and a "What's on Now" button that tells you what you're missing.
http://www.yack.com/