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| We Don't Know Art, but We Know What We Like |
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| Ask Men |
| Duct Tape Poem Site/Unique Silvery Fetish/Sticks To the Topic |
| PEN/Amazon.com Short Story Award for First-Time Writers |
| When Writers, Agents, and Readers Collide |
| Not Quite 20,000 Leagues, but Under the Sea For Sure |
| And on His Farm, He Had an Ant... |
| Calling DoctorGeorge |
| Curious Chloride Learns about Molecules |
| Latest Issue of Netsurfer Science |
| Eudora 4.3 Released: Full Features with Advertising |
| Crusade vs. Kiddie Porn |
| A Taste of La Divina Cucina |
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BREAKING SURF
For Microsoft, this is the big one - the long-delayed, billion-dollar, 30-million-line code monster that must succeed. The official Microsoft 2000 launch site has all the news about Microsoft's latest proprietary technology assault on the open-source movement, and all without the jostling hordes, without the Bill-Gates-in-the-flesh razzamatazz, even without the free food (too bad). The site strikes a serious pose, with little virtual hoopla but scads of serious stuff about the software. You can also gloss over Bill Gates's opening remarks, product guides, a technical library, and information for several factions (developers, beta users, etc.), as well as a page for downloads of updates. For many companies, using the product is a given. Whether it will extend Microsoft's dominance into the server and e-commerce world remains to be seen.http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/launch/default.asp
STS-99 Shuttle Mission Radar Images of Earth
Despite problems with leaky fuel lines during mission STS-99, the space shuttle Endeavour has returned a lot of spectacular radar mapping images. The craft's occupants obtained the best ever radar altimeter data, with more than 29 million square kilometers of surface surveyed at press time. The latest images and mapping coverage details can be found at the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) page, while broader mission coverage can be found on the STS-99 home page.SRTM: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/
STS-99: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-99/
72nd Academy Award (Oscar) Nominations: Blame Canada
The most newsworthy item about the Oscar nominations is that "Blame Canada", from the brilliantly subversive movie "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut", got nominated for Best Original Song. Everybody and his brother seems to be gleefully pointing out that this means someone will have to sing it onstage during the ceremony. The original lead singer, Mary Kay Bergman, died last November and is presumably unavailable. Canadians Celine Dion and "that bitch Anne Murray" have both retired for now, and we somehow doubt we'll see Joni Mitchell up there. Who's left? The Barenaked Ladies? We also wonder whether the Academy will censor the song. The South Park lyrics site has the words to Blame Canada and all the movie's other light-hearted hits. We don't need to warn you, do we?Nominations: http://www.oscars.org/academyawards/nominees.html
Lyrics: http://www.beef-cake.com/interactive/lyrics/blulyrics.html
You certainly can't accuse Benetton of shying away from controversy. The clothing retailer is dodging considerable flak these days for an advertising campaign featuring death row prisoners pasted on billboards, in magazine advertisements, and on the Web. Some interpret the campaign as a sincerely gutsy political statement against the death penalty by a company that may lose significant revenue if its campaign turns off consumers (Sears already dropped Benetton over this). The cynics note that controversy boosts sales and suspect Benetton is manipulating the media strictly for some useful publicity. Others criticize the campaign for bringing anguish to the families of the victims of the crimes. Whatever your position, anything which contributes to the death penalty debate as eloquently as these ads can't be ignored.
http://www.benetton.com/deathrow/index.html
http://www.luc.edu/orgs/amnesty/dpm/
The Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society conducted a study of Internet users which concluded that, essentially, "the more hours people use the Internet, the less time they spend in contact with real human beings." Furthermore, more experienced netsurfers stay online longer. David Plotnikoff of the San Jose Mercury News, among others, doesn't buy the study's conclusions. Is Net time robbed from TV time wasted? Is the ten percent of respondents who report spending less time in the company of other people a dangerous trend or a blip of a stat? And to top it all off, the survey's methodology seems questionable. As a snapshot of Net life, the survey's worth a look, but don't expect it to be much more. And whatever you do, don't miss the wickedly cutting Wired satire.
Report: http://www.stanford.edu/group/siqss/
Plotnikoff: http://www.sjmercury.com/svtech/columns/modemdriver/docs/dp021600.htm
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,34387,00.html
Wired reports that the American known as Coolio and the Canadian known as mafiaboy currently top the list of folk the FBI would like to have a long talk with (and with mafiaboy, the RCMP as well) about the recent plague of distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks on Web sites. The FBI's not saying much, but it seems electronic forensic experts quickly identified these two and other alleged Internet saboteurs. They also want to talk to the unimplicated German known as Mixter, who expresses nothing but contempt for DDOS hackers. DDOS attackers co-opt other computers to do their dirty work, and indeed the Washington Post reported that several university computers in California relayed attacks to CNN's Web site. The FBI now offers software that alerts the alert when a site is under attack, allowing them to take defensive measures. Trouble is the software is not open source so some folks wonder what else might be written into the code. For now, the hunt continues.
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34344,00.html
Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-02/12/075l-021200-idx.html
FBI software: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-200-1547115.html
Analysis of DDOS Software, Generic DDOS Problem
We've come up with a two more good links for those curious about the technical details of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks. First, check out an excellent dissection of one of the tools used by DDOS attackers, called Tribe Flood Network (TFN). Mixter, the German hacker so frequently quoted in the press over the past week, put together this analysis and overview of the problem. The second link leads to a Slashdot interview with Dave Dittrich, author of several DDOS detection tools. He addresses the technical details of DDOS attacks as well as the more general problem of how to deal with thousands of insufficiently secure computers - such as those sitting at the user end of DSL connections. An illuminating big-picture interview.Mixter: http://packetstorm.securify.com/distributed/tfn3k.txt
Dittrich: http://slashdot.org/interviews/00/02/16/1836215.shtml
DoubleClick has launched a PR blitz to try to smooth over the fuss about its privacy violations (see NSD 6.04). Its plan of attack includes a new five-point corporate privacy policy, a zeal to teach the public how to protect itself, and PrivacyChoices, a Web site to inform consumers about the benefits of directed advertising - which includes a link for opting out along with a solid dose of persuasion not to. The slick ploy might get DoubleClick through the minefield, but the effort leaves privacy advocates underwhelmed, Wired reported. They point out that opting in as a default is akin to negative billing, a practice generally frowned on by consumers. DoubleClick's critics would prefer to see informed consent (opting in), not informed dissent.
PR: http://www.doubleclick.com/company_info/press_kit/pr.00.02.14.htm
PrivacyChoices: http://www.privacychoices.org/
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,34337,00.html
Latest Netcraft Web Server Survey and Analysis
The latest February Netcraft Web Server Survey found more than 11 million Web sites, a million more than January. That's a staggering statistic. Apache continues to dominate the survey, running 58% of Web sites. The survey also found that specific markets tend to use specific servers. For instance, brokerages run iPlanet (the new brand name for Netscape servers), retail operations use Microsoft servers, and hosting companies run Apache. The analysis also notes that RSA, "the most trusted name in e-security", has suffered a couple of break-ins and has changed its servers three times in four days. Finally, Windows 2000 has started showing up in the statistics, with several large sites, notably Dell's Web site, slowly deploying Win2000 machines into their load balancing pools.http://www.netcraft.com/survey/
For 50 years, Charles Schulz drew and wrote Peanuts, the most successful comic strip of all time, with a family of characters many grew to love. On February 12, he left behind a world he made better. We like to think he's gone to a place where Charlie Brown manages to win a few ball games, everyone believes in the Great Pumpkin, and Snoopy always bests the Red Baron. You might want to bookmark the official Peanuts place and wallow in reminiscences of the daily strips and seasonal specials. Yahoo's directory provides links to relevant sites about Peanuts and the alt.comics.peanuts newsgroup has fan comments and chatter.
Peanuts: http://www.peanuts.com/
Yahoo: http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Comics_and_Animation/Comic_Strips/Titles/Peanuts/
Doug Henning's Final Disappearing Act
Our flippant headline notes the passing of one of the great theatrical entertainers of the '70s and '80s. Henning almost singlehandedly transformed the stodgy man-in-tuxedo magic show into the flamboyant stage productions which grace Vegas, Broadway, and other venues around the world today. The master showman used post-'60s sensibilities in art, design, and presentation to free a paralyzed entertainment format. It's fair to say that he was the first hippie magician - but in a good way. He was also, of course, a master illusionist credited with designing some spectacular effects. Henning died last week of liver cancer at age 52. This Web site, a fine tribute to his life and work from his friends and fans, befits the master showman. Magic fans will appreciate the video clips.http://www.theatrics.com/doughenning/
New Revision of the Jargon File
A legendary geek reference work has just received an upgrade. At its most basic, the Jargon File is a canonical dictionary of computer/techie related terms. But don't be fooled into thinking it's just a dictionary. The complete work includes fine essays on such topics as "Jargon Construction", "Hacker Writing Style", "Lamer-speak", and appendices that include hacker folklore, an extensive bibliography, and a portrait of "J. Random Hacker". The work received its last revision about a year ago, so this version 4.2.0 has a lot of Internet time to catch up on. Journalists in particular should keep the bookmark handy. Netmeg.net offers one of the better Jargon File search interfaces.Jargon File: http://www.jargon.org/
Netmeg.net: http://www.netmeg.net/jargon/
ONLINE CULTURE
Clinton Spoofed by Prankster in CNN Online Chat
Amid the hoopla of DDOS attacks this week, a quick-thinking prankster invaded an online chat between President Clinton, CNN commentator Wolf Blitzer, and assorted netizens. Noticing that the woefully inferior IRC server used by CNN crashed repeatedly, the prankster, nicknamed wankel, briefly gained control of President Clinton's online handle and sent out a mildly funny comment in the President's name (followed post-haste by an apology). This sort of spoofing is common in dull-normal IRC chat, but clearly embarrassed the CNN technical team. Later, wankel tried to troubleshoot the CNN chat software with its sysadmins but they expressed little interest in discussing the bug. Subsequent inaccurate media stories only added humor to the story. Wankel tells his tale here.http://www.boredom.org/cnn/
Religious software wars make entertaining spectacles, as long as you're not involved. Even though this article is subtitled "A Perl Hacker in the Land of Python", Jon Udell gives a balanced and civil comparison of the two programming languages and the philosophies behind them. He compares attributes such as each language's power, maturity, appeal to beginners, object orientation, killer applications, and popularity in a good summary of a friendly culture clash.
http://www.byte.com/feature/BYT20000201S0001
This is a great site for anyone who works on or around the Internet - all the quizzes here require profound knowledge of the latest gossip, trivia, hot news, and famous names on the Net. Fast-loading and elegant, this bilingual (French/English) site offers news, commerce, and general knowledge quizzes with a totally Internet bias. The questions are so intriguing you'll often click any answer to gain access to the real one.
http://www.netsurfquiz.com/
If your friends fancy you something of a techno wiz, you're probably constantly barraged by questions like, "Somebody sent me an e-mail with filename.zzz attached to it. How do I open it?" After lecturing the individual about safe downloading and the hazards of opening files from someone you don't know, you still have to figure out what the file is. That's where this list of file name extensions comes in handy. It lists all known file suffixes and provides a brief description of each format. Telling someone that a .dcr is a Shockwave file might not help much, but it will help enough, perhaps, to walk you through the process of opening it. When you're ready to scream, remember that first counting to ten allows you to inhale a lot more air.
http://www.whatis.com/ff.htm
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
We Don't Know Art, but We Know What We Like
Perhaps you recognize the names of Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid. These two artist/scientists applied the principles of market research to tastes in art in 14 countries and came up with some surprising conclusions. Pretty much every culture surveyed values a blue-dominated landscape featuring animals and authority figures. Similarly, most find abstract paintings, particularly angular geometric patterns, most distasteful. Admittedly, the bias of the two artists plays a huge role in depicting each country's most wanted and least wanted paintings, but the survey results themselves offer equally compelling evidence for the central point: that basically, we're all alike. Except for the Dutch, apparently. What's up with that?http://www.diacenter.org/km/index.html
BOOKS & E-ZINES
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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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Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Configuring Windows 2000 Server Security
Squandering Aimlessly: My Adventures in the American Marketplace
That's Disgusting Too: The 200 Most Disgusting Sites on the Internethttp://www.askmen.com/
Duct Tape Poem Site/Unique Silvery Fetish/Sticks To the Topic
Ian Rowe has a passion - a passion for duct tape. He's not afraid to express himself through poetry, either, as in the haiku "Homicidal Duct Tape Lender" or the melancholy "Requiem for a Used up Roll". This tongue-in-cheek site also includes a bit of philosophy, somewhat akin to Jerry Springer's Final Thoughts. After each poem is a message like: "Stability in a dynamic world depends on an adhesive with power enough to hold things still." Feel inspired? Contribute your own duct tape artistic expression and you might get it posted on the site.http://www.ducttapepoetry.com/
PEN/Amazon.com Short Story Award for First-Time Writers
Pretty simple. You write a short story and if they like it, they'll give you $10,000. Entries will be accepted until March 24. There are no subject-matter restrictions or entry fees, but you do have to be an unpublished writer.http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/browse/-/books/283156/netsurferdigest
When Writers, Agents, and Readers Collide
RoseDog offers writers a professional service, a chance to get their work out into the public eye as well as other stuff like free classifieds and a bookstore for new authors. Whether, as the site suggests, this is a site of interest to publishers and agents is unclear, but it does something the swamped publishing industry cannot - reassure the author that their work is at least being seen. Writers may also post FlashBios - modeled on dustjacket bio blurbs - and photos to hopefully attract an agent or publisher with the time to visit the site. Such visitors can choose to browse or search by genre or any other criteria in the search for new writing talent. It's all free, even for those who just mosey in to do a bit of reading.http://www.rosedog.com/
SURFING SCIENCE
Not Quite 20,000 Leagues, but Under the Sea For Sure
From Jules Verne to Jacques Cousteau, from "Titanic" to "Baywatch", fascination with undersea adventure seems part of the human experience. The Web takes it further. Teachers, in particular, will find a lot of discussion material in Extreme 2000: Voyage to the Deep, a multimedia celebration of ongoing research by scientists in submersibles more than a mile below the surface of the Sea of Cortes. The site draws on many disciplines - geology, biology, ecology, photography, journalism, and, of course, oceanography - in a collective offering of mission logs, conference calls between high-school students and scientists in way over their heads, QuickTime Creature Features videos, maps, interviews, and mini-quizzes (natch!) to hold the attention of next-generation explorers. We appreciate the organizational achievement and aesthetic appeal of this site, which may most deeply interest the young.http://www.ocean.udel.edu/deepsea/
And on His Farm, He Had an Ant...
If you had an ant farm when you were a kid, or you have a child now who wants one, you'll probably understand the rationale behind Antcolony.org, "the definitive site for ant enthusiasts." Vertebrate farmers may scoff. Picnickers may snort. Still, ants fascinate many of us. The site solicits eyeballs - and additions - with a Community section (with breeders, news, funds, and volunteers), a Knowledge Base (with a "nuptial calendar" and buyer's guide), and a How To section for ant rearers. The last section links to the Ultimate Guide to Ants, a super ant encyclopedia. In a nod to municipal animal protection programs, Antcolony.org has a fill-out form for those who want to find a home for a colony of ants. Are we to infer that, even for some who have taken the plunge, fascination with ants is fleeting?http://www.antcolony.org/
For many, DoctorGeorge will be the first physician to ever to visit their home. DocG proclaims itself "your family doctor on the Web" and offers many staples of health sites: forums, newsletters (collectively referred to as a "house call"), links to medical associations, articles on personal health, and backgrounders searchable by medical specialty, body system, and disease. The top attraction is the Online Consultation Room, a free service that answers e-mail from patients with e-mail from physicians. We recommend you read the site disclaimer, wherein the good DoctorGeorge washes its hands of liability. We thought we'd leave you with a sample of his/her advice in response to a recent letter from "Single Girl": "Masturbation has no harmful physical effects.... Instead of getting one's natural sex needs met through a healthy, loving relationship which leads to healthy loving sex, the compulsive masturbator resorts to sex with him or herself. Unlike other sex addictions, it can be difficult to determine if masturbation is a form of addiction. Do all things in moderation." Good advice.
http://www.doctorgeorge.com/
Curious Chloride Learns about Molecules
If you don't know your arsole from your dickite, then just fucitol and look at the ridiculous names of molecules on this Bristol University Chemistry site. Some are frankly unbelievable, and must cause smutty giggles galore in Chemistry 101. Others are just silly, like unununium (an atom, actually) and Buckminster Fullerene. But for sheer audacity nothing can top magnesium iron silicate hydroxide: cummingtonite. You ought to hit the link at the bottom of the page to go visit the Molecule of the Month Page, which shows off some nifty science.http://www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Chemistry/MOTM/silly/sillymols.htm
Latest Issue of Netsurfer Science
Just a quick note to let all our new subscribers know that we also publish the roughly twice-monthly Netsurfer Science e-zine. The latest issue just went out and you can get it by subscribing here.http://www.netsurf.com/nss/subscribe.html
SOFTWARE
Eudora 4.3 Released: Full Features with Advertising
One of the Net's (and our) favorite e-mail programs gets an upgrade and an innovative licensing option. As usual, you can buy the full-featured program for $50 or use the light version without all the bells and whistles for free. But if you're willing to put up with some unobtrusive advertising, you can freely use the full-featured version. To its credit, Qualcomm displays the ads in a separate window that doesn't interfere with e-mail reading. It also promises to not show animated or audio ads, and if you want, you can fill in a profile to get better targeted ads. Sounds like a fairly sweet deal all around, particularly with the enhanced filtering and search options available in the new version. Not bad for a company that makes cell phones.Press release: http://www.eudorapresskit.com/pages/2_15_00.htm
Eudora: http://www.eudora.com/
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Frank Christensen's crusading against online child pornography. He supplies a way to directly address the issue, with an add-in to the MSIE browser he wrote that makes it easy to send a report on such activity in a Web site and a list of whatever contacts he can dig up for the 220 or so suspect domains so far. For now, the actual site domain names remain hidden, for obvious reasons. Frank endeavors to allow relevant authorities access to his database, even if merely for verification. It's a worthy cause, but participation - which requires hitting the target sites - may not be for all.http://www.paca.dk/
CORRECTIONS
Way back in NSD 3.36, we reviewed Mangia Firenze (A Taste of Florence), which has just "rebranded" to become La Divina Cucina. If you can swallow buzzwords as easily as tortellini, take a look.http://www.divinacucina.com/