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BREAKING SURF
Debate on Amazon Patents Continues
Tim O'Reilly and Amazon's Jeff Bezos have had a vigorous debate - with hundreds of others weighing in with opinions - about Amazon's decision to enforce its "1-Click" shopping patent. In a recent open letter, Jeff proves he's more than the typical CEO who steams ahead without regard to the opinions of his customers and others. He sees patents as important protection for innovators and risk takers, but he's also aware that Internet time has rendered obsolete the traditional patent model. He has proposed a novel tweak of the process: a short-duration business method and software patent meant for Internet innovations. These would last only a few years, providing short-term reward for invention and rapid public availability. Jeff also promotes a public comment period before such patents are issued and he's agreed to fund a prior-art database to help ensure patents won't be issued for obvious inventions. In response, Tim says he's willing to work with Jeff to bring about patent reform - but he's still not entirely happy about Amazon's patents. Richard Stallman likes the idea of short-term patents too, but he wants Amazon to use its patents only defensively, so he's boycotting the company. We wonder why Jeff doesn't just act as if his patents were of short duration.Jeff: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/misc/patents.html/104-5151267-0309256
Tim: http://www.ora.com/ask_tim/patent_reform_0300.html
Richard: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/amazon-rms-tim.html
Online Democracy in the Desert
Can voting electronically overcome voter apathy? Will traditionalists take to newfangled voting? Judging by the Democratic presidential primary in Arizona, it appears so. Election.com set up the system, which appears to be the first attempt at serious online voting in the US. Folks with older versions of Netscape discovered some Y2K bugs, but voting via PC resulted in record numbers of participants. Some 72,000 voters took part - way ahead of the 12,800 who voted in 1996 - and the vast majority of them voted online. Still, that leaves over 750,000 registered Democrats who just didn't bother. Wired and CNet covered the story. Note that the primary results only come as a PowerPoint presentation, unreadable with Netscape browsers.Election.com: http://www.election.com/
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34911,00.html
CNet: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1566788.html
Stephen King's "Riding the Bullet" Released in Electronic Form
Stephen King decided to try out the electronic-only publishing market with this 33-page story. The involvement of a big-name author and a big-time publisher guarantees tons of publicity, which is exactly what the electronic publishing field needs. This may be an important test run for what everyone hopes will become a huge new publishing market. "Riding the Bullet" is available for Windows and for PDAs and hardware book devices like the Rocket eBook - stupidly, there's no Mac version. A download will set you back $2.50, not unreasonable given Stephen King's popularity. The publisher's SimonSays site has all the relevant links, an excerpt, and numerous reader reviews.http://www.simonsays.com/book/book_0743204670.html
Why the Little Cryptographer Wears His Hand in a Sling
Edgar Allan Poe loved cryptograms and openly professed to be able to solve any and all such puzzles. The Challenge cryptograph is one of two submitted by W. B. Tyler that Poe never solved, although he published solutions to all others submitted to him. Some even think that Poe himself created the two stumpers. Although Terence Whalen solved the second in 1992, the first remains unsolved, teasing, taunting, crying out for a solution, waiting just for you! In addition to the daunting cryptogram itself, there are links here to sites about Poe that might just provide clues - who knows? If cryptography's your thing, try this one on for size, and consider the prize: $2,500 and some crypto software. You can get a lot of Amontillado for $2,500....http://www.bokler.com/eapoe.html
The End of John Labovitz's E-Zine List?
Since the early '90s, John Labovitz has been maintaining this great Web resource as a free service to the Net community. John's list is a database of 4,392 e-zines, nicely organized, easily searchable, and one of the great unsung netsurfing resources around. Alas, John's passions are driving him in other directions and he's just announced that he will no longer be maintaining the list. He would like to pass on the mantle "to a person or organization who is interested in not only maintaining the list, but shaping it into a form that is relevant to both our current time and the original spirit of the e-zine-list." Ideally, that person will come from the world of e-zines and independent publishing, and take it on as a non-profit project. Even if you're not that person, stop by and browse a bit through this great diverse library of e-zines. You'll be glad you did.http://www.meer.net/~johnl/e-zine-list/
New Linsider Covers Linux News
This has the makings of a well organized and comprehensive Linux news site, giving places like Linux Today a run for their money. The content is the usual mix of news headlines, company profiles, and press releases. In keeping with the open-source nature of the site, Linsider has "opened its database of news and information for the world to use", making the information available under the terms of the OpenContent license. Our only criticism is with site design, which squeezes the news articles into a skinny right-hand column. Other than that, we find it a nice, useful site.Linsider: http://www.linsider.com/
Linux Today: http://linuxtoday.com/index.html
OpenContent: http://www.opencontent.org/opl.shtml
GNU Free Documentation License
Most of you are already familiar with free software licenses - well, familiar in the sense that you know they exist. The venerable GNU project has released version 1.0 (and shortly thereafter Version 1.1 with minor changes) of the Free Documentation License. The gist of the license is that documents it covers can be freely copied and redistributed as long as the author is credited. It also mandates that any derived document must itself remain free. For a competing open documentation licensing model check out the older OpenContent License, in the previous article.http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html
Nobody likes broken links. Webmasters have a heck of a time avoiding them and surfers get frustrated finding them. A number of proposals for dealing with pages that change servers have seen light, but so far they've all been rather cumbersome. Enter Thomas Phelps and Robert Wilensky, who have came up with an elegant way to deal with the problem. They suggest the webmasters tag Web pages with keywords derived from page content in such a way that no other page has a similar tag. Then, if the page moves, any webmaster with a broken link and the keywords can use a search engine to unambiguously find it without sorting through a zillion matches. The easily implemented idea builds on some sophisticated lexical analysis research. This paper has the details.
http.cs.berkeley.edu/~wilensky/robust-hyperlinks.html
Meeting in Cairo, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) interrupted squabbling about regional and gender representation long enough to agree to open itself to direct voting for five at-large directors. Originally, ICANN had wanted to use a less democratic system involving voting for representatives who would then select the directors. Now, it has agreed to direct voting by the Internet community for candidates selected by a nominating committee chosen by ICANN. The vote will take place in November. Wired has the news and reactions.
ICANN: http://www.icann.org/
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,34891,00.html
Yahoo! FinanceVision Sneak Preview
Yahoo is getting into streaming content, and to start, it's offering this preview version of FinanceVision. You can currently only use the stuff in Windows with a special player (10 MB small). You also need fairly up-to-date software and Yahoo recommends a 100-kbps or faster Net connection. The content, at least in this preview version, struck us as nothing special - just typical financial TV audio and video feeds - and made us wonder whether it's worth the hassle. Wouldn't all this be easier with RealVideo? Nevertheless, bleeding edgers will be interested in checking out this major media broadcast effort.http://financevision1.yahoo.com/952204500/
Eric Idle Exploits Monty Python
That's the name of Eric Idle's latest tour, coming to the US (and Vancouver and Toronto, which almost count, too) from April through June. We're letting you know because - well, because the Web page is pretty funny and you can buy tickets online. Just to whet your appetite: "A rather stupid evening of skits and songs in cities across the United States. Also on stage with Idle will be the Rutland Sympathy Orchestra under the baton of John Du Prez, Sir Dirk McQuickly of the semi-legendary Rutles, The Bruces (an all-Australian Drinking Quartet) and Dolly Taylor, the great transvestite Country and Western singer". Say no more, say no more.http://www.pythonline.com/eric_idle.html
ONLINE CULTURE
Symantec vs. Peacefire: Censorware Crackers Censored
We've reported about the activities of Bennett Haselton's Peacefire.org a few times in the past as they took on various censorware programs. For its latest battle, Peacefire took on giant corporation Symantec, which markets the I-Gear software. Peacefire analyzed the program and posted a list of sites that it censors - many of them on questionable grounds - along with a program IGDecode which can decode the encrypted list. Naturally, Symantec did not like this and asked Peacefire's ISP to remove the offending Web pages while raising the issues of the legality of reverse engineering, usefulness of censorware, and the ability to have an intelligent debate about it. Cryptonome has an e-mail from Bennett which summarizes the situation. Symantec has the I-Gear program. Slashdot has a good overview of the issues in this case along with a discussion.Cryptonome: http://cryptome.org/igear-fire.htm
I-Gear: http://www.symantec.com/sabu/igear/
Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=00/03/09/133243&mode=thread
SURFING SITES
Scott L. Sakansky's photos are quietly revealing and reflective. A gallery of images haunting in their isolation and desolation portrays the stark beauty of some of the buildings with feeling enough to bring the historical tragedy into contrast with the reality of today. A bit of text would have helped explain the position and function of much of what you see in the gallery, but this site is evidently does not aim at historical reference so much as at aesthetic reflection, and what it does, it does well. Scott reveals Auschwitz, Belzec, Treblinka and other places in their surprisingly well maintained horror - the fences are still up and many of the rooms seem horrific in their nakedness.http://www.imagesforreflection.com/
Joseph Carey Merrick became famous as the Elephant Man. Afflicted with a horrible, disfiguring disease, he was nevertheless a gentle, intelligent, and interesting man whose life took him from the slums to a freak show and to total destitution. How he eventually found a home, friends, and happiness is a touching story. You may need patience with the graphics-heavy site, but the images are beautiful when they do load.
http://www.elephant-house.fsnet.co.uk/
Make no mistake, women's hockey is booming, with no checks in site. Sure, boys still win the numbers game, but registration for women's hockey has risen dramatically in both the US and Canada. Webmaster Andria Hunter, who played for Team Canada in the 1994 Women's World Hockey Championships, has provided a portal to things hockey and female. Some of the places she links to seem to lack Web savvy, and others don't often update their sites, but that's not Andria's fault. If it can't compete with the lure of parents cheering on their daughters, the excitement of vigorous on-ice action, or the thrill of shivering on wooden bleachers, the site does provide a useful starting point for exploring a fascinating subject. As for "She Shoots, She Scores!", it's the title of a pretty good book by Barbara Stewart about women's hockey, available from Amazon in large paperback format (just a little blatant commercialism here to earn a little moola).
Women's Hockey: http://www.whockey.com/
Book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1552092887/netsurferdigest
At first glance, the Dixon Report seems an anachronism among job-hunting sites: it doesn't look like a portal or other high-powered competitor. Its plain home page reminds you of a personal site from, say, 1996. But in her series of articles for job seekers, recognized expert Pam Dixon has a lot of practical advice. Her "Real Deal about Online Resume Databases" will interest anyone who has posted a resume online, especially those whose resumes have elicited few responses. Her archives include "Using Web tools to relocate or to find a job in the city where you live", "Recruiters Online", "Super Quick Electronic Resume Tips", and discussion of privacy issues. You'll find depth here, not data. If you use the Web to find a job, her site probably won't be your first stop, but spending time here will save you hours you might otherwise squander in ignorance or frustration. Dixon also has links to her new-media columns in the San Diego Union Tribune and to her music reviews.
http://www.pamdixon.com/
One of About.com's handy theme pages covers the Net (About.com used to be the Mining Company). The Internet/online page has resources for both professionals and consumers. On its Internet Industry directory menu, pros will find plenty of information on ASPs, high-speed access, security, software, venture capital, and the like. (Drill into RackMount Servers, for instance, and you get links to product pages at sites of major manufacturers.) Resources for consumers are even more abundant, with topics such as Family Internet, Internet Games for Kids, Internet for Beginners, and Personal Web Pages. Sure, there's a lot here you'll find at other directories - music downloads, clip art, webcams, peoplefinders, city guides - but even grizzled surfers who may dislike the feeling of predigestion that this page can cause at first might grow to like it. We'll take this directory any day.
http://home.about.com/internet/index.htm
Do not let a complete lack of interest in rock climbing stop you from sampling the delights of this surprising little site. Read the witty article by Lee Bergfeld on the lamp that was scared of the dark, enjoy the breathtaking photography of Bill Hatcher and enjoy the unusual viewpoint provided in the feature by Matt Akers Hudson. Incidentally, there's stuff for rock climbers too.
http://www.rocklist.com/
For all the hype and circumstance, there really are relatively few sites that really succeed in entertaining young surfers. SwineOnline is definitely an exception to this rule. Once the young would-be farmers register at this site, they receive enough pig dollars to feed and care for their adopted pig for one week. The object of the game is to combine hog-raising knowledge, financial expertise, and a bit of luck to raise the "best" pig. The winner at the end of the week is the one with the best-fed and cared for pig. It really is great fun, but be prepared to remind your precious one that it is "just a game" should their pretty porker not survive the first few days! Don't forget to promise spare ribs as a reward for winning.
http://www.swineonline.com/
Listening to police scanners strikes us as being one of the Internet's best guilty pleasures. You might not admit to partaking, but once you try it, there's no turning back. APBNews is home to police scanners from 27 US cities, providing instant access to police scanners in Chicago, LA, Detroit, Boston, Atlanta, and plenty more. Listeners can also register for Scanner Patrol, allowing them to receive instant e-mail notification of "activity of potential interest" on any of the 27 scanners. Wouldn't it be funny if some day when Net consoles are in cars, drivers in Dallas, slowing down to listen to a report of a grisly accident in LA, caused a traffic jam?
http://www.apbnews.com/scanner/
The so-called convergence of TV and the Internet is all the rage these days, of course. Some would have us believe that one will soon replace or consume the other. Back in realityland, television is only slowly seeping onto the Internet, sometimes in the most unexpected of places. RecordTV serves as an Internet-only VCR that allows you to "tape" a host of TV shows for later viewing. The viewing, of course, is handled through RealPlayer. There is every possibility that the Powers That Be may soon express supreme displeasure with such sites, so better get while the getting is good.
http://www.recordtv.com/
Chuck Lorre's Post-Show Witticisms
They say that power corrupts. In the case of TV show creator Chuck Lorre, it had quite the reverse effect. Lorre is the brains behind "Dharma and Greg" and since its inception, fans have been in the habit of taping the show's end credits in order to read the so-called vanity cards that appear on-screen. The cards only appear for a few seconds - not long enough to read but perfect for VCR freeze frames - and contain messages written by Lorre. His notes have become so popular that he has now collected them online so that everyone can read his witty observations on life.http://www.chucklorre.com/
Before you compete on a million-dollar TV quiz show, warm up at Cool Quiz. There are so many categories of trivia quizzes - music, sports, arcade, map, quote, TV, geek, and others - that your boss may berate you for wasting so much time here, just before he sneaks off to beat you at your own game. We especially like the movie quiz with sound clips ("Want to blow up a bullfrog?"). Find out who else is having fun the day you are on the Hall of Fame pages. This is the easygoing kind of site that may soon be popular with kids in the back seat of that Web-enabled car.
http://www.coolquiz.com/
Easy $$MONEY$$ in EPIC POETRY!!
Writing is easy (look at us). YOU can write. Writing pays (don't look at us). YOU can make money. All YOU need is an idea. And this fantastic guide. "How I earned $500,000 (a month!) as an epic poet!!" is the antidote to self-help books. In seeking to destroy all who have gone before it, it explains "how to avoid common spellinng mistakes, while, at the same time, learning how to approach and send letters to Famous-New-York-City-Editors." Wonderful. And in the final beautiful piece of satiric irony - you can download the book for free. Now, must dash - we have a great idea for a novel...http://www.usit.com/epicpoet/hoohah.html
The entertainment life of the average video game is shorter than even a Reform Party presidential campaign. Therefore, Xchangecity.com allows members to recycle DVDs and games they've become bored with. One page posts offerings, another page posts wish lists. When two parties want to negotiate a swap, Xchangecity.com gets them together, but the actual shipping is up to the members. To promote honesty and reliability, each member rates his partner's follow-through on the site for all future traders to see. Membership is free for the first three months, and after that, each swap cost one dollar.
http://xchangecity.com/
Learn How to Do Neat Stuff Online
The LearnFree site is actually a good sales come-on for video tapes in the how-to and continuing education vein. Online, information and streamed video is free. Offline, videos are $19.95. Choose from topics such as: making the most of a small kitchen, energy conservation fixes for your home, learning CPR, and how to trace your native American roots. We have serious doubts that "How to be a Dad" taught online will contribute to the next generation of educated, psychologically mature adults, but, hey, it's a living.http://www.learnfree.com/default.html
At Free Sheet Music Net, several pages of links connect sites with downloadable music notation arranged for voice and instruments from the accordion to the zither. A quick browse turns up some surprise bonuses, too, such as a Gilbert and Sullivan archive and a site designed by a Julliard music school librarian called "A Guide to Western Composers and their Music from the Middle Ages to the Present".
http://www.freesheetmusic.net/
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Database Nation: The Death of Privacy in the 21st Century
Wild Minds
Ashes of Victory
Unreal TournamentONLINE TRAVEL
If you've ever traveled any appreciable distance by motorcycle, you may have experienced the odd sensation of not only being at one with the elements, but of being alone on the road. It is not the same as being lonely, although there is often a desire, not always accomplished, to meet up with strangers who might be able to empathize at the end of a long day's haul. Grant and Susan Johnson's Horizons Unlimited site and accompanying newsletter were created for just that purpose, as a place where people can meet and greet other like-minded souls. An e-zine also provides extensive information on the Johnsons' more specific passion, that of international motorcycle trekking.http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/
Those monk-chroniclers of medieval Russia kept busy - when they weren't cultivating, studying, or cooking, they were collecting written recipes which in turn became the first Russian cookbooks. Modern day Russian recipe chroniclers can turn to the Web as a medium, and more specifically to Russian Cuisine. Some of the recipes are, one has to say, dubious in their Russian-ness. We weren't aware that bananas and kiwi fruit were native fruits, but apparently they are a major component part of a Russian fruit salad. Niggling doubts aside, you'll find more traditional Russian (and neighboring countries') recipes here, like Russian stuffed pumpkin, and babka. These can be e-mailed to your inbox together with some great historical notes if you register. And, of course, there's a link to an online purveyor of Russian foods.
http://thunder.prohosting.com/~cuisine/
If you are in the mood for trying something new in the wine department but don't know where to begin, South African wine will certainly do the trick. This site is perfect for either the novice or the pro, and contains detailed information on various wines, wineries, and regions. Use the search engine if you know what you are looking for, or simply browse through the various options. Some of the wines are also available for sale.
http://www.wine.co.za/
FLOTSAM & JETSAM
Sites offering bookmark exchanges abound, but this one goes one better. Or two better, actually. First, bookmark files can be stored here, accessible away from your main computer; second, a pop-up window displaying the bookmarks floats on your desktop so you can continue referring to the URLs while surfing.http://www.favoritesanywhere.com/
Scaled Composites designs, tests, and builds aircraft. There are details of some of the projects Scaled has worked on - and some lovely photos of futuristic-looking aircraft. Odd what some people do for a living - Like Burt Rutan, the company's founder, whose name might be more familiar to you than his company.
http://www.scaled.com/
A tasty and generous helping of recipes awaits the visitor to the All Recipes site, including unusual collections such as diabetic menus, St. Patrick's Day treats and even National Noodle Month
http://allrecipes.com/
No matter what anyone says. And here are some good examples, including some neat images of Mars produced under contract from the Jet Propulsion Lab.
http://www.animalu.com/
Thinking of going to Paris? Check out the A to Z of Paris hotels, which offers a wealth of extra information to make your journey easier to organize, as well as some good hotel bargains.
http://www.a-zparishotels.com/
Cemetary Records for Ghouls and Genealogists
It's not just vampires and genealogists who will appreciate the fact that two of the largest burial records data bases have now been combined into one searchable web site; anyone who enjoys a pithy epitaph can now scroll centuries, continents, and generations.http://www.interment.net/
To view a massive collection of high-quality and dramatic skating photos, try the site of the talented Tracey Marks. There. As succinct as a triple salchow.
http://www.geocities.com/~webwinds/skating/skating.htm
SOFTWARE
Major Release of Sendmail 8.10.0
As some of you know, Sendmail is the most widely used mail transport agent on the Net. This new release of Sendmail 8.10.0 is a major update, with a load of new features that up utility, security, and performance. Sysadmins will find support for virtual hosting, multiple mail queues, spam control, integration with LDAP servers, SNMP authentication, and a bunch of security features. This "About" Web page has some readable and well organized release notes describing what's new in some detail. The software can be found at Sendmail.org.About: http://sendmail.net/?feed=allabout810
Sendmail: http://www.sendmail.org/
The makers of the ubiquitous ZIP compression utilities have just announced this new product which "is seamlessly integrated inside of Microsoft Windows Explorer, allowing users to manage, manipulate, and digitally sign (using X.509-based certificates) their .ZIP archives... without leaving the Windows Explorer shell environment." Useful for anybody who deals with ZIP files, which is probably just about anybody using Windows. The press release has more details. Best of all, you can get PKZIP Explorer for only $10 through the promotional offer.
Details: http://www.pkware.com/news/pr_000309.html
Promo: http://www.pkware.com/Merchant/explorer/promo.html