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| Fifteenth Anniversary of the Well: A Salon Tribute |
| The Wonderful World of E-Books |
| E-Mail Gone Astray |
| Jakob Nielsen's Web page Usability |
| Art Cars |
| Independent Variable |
| Cinematic Happenings under Development |
| Reviewing Movie Reviews |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| A Palimpsest of Stories Not to Be Overwritten |
| Cowboy Poetry |
| Settling Down in Kansas, Forever |
| The Official Weather of the US Government |
| Diabetes Portal |
| Controlling the Small Arms Trade |
| The Ice Caps Are Shrinking! The Ice Caps Are Shrinking! |
| BOOK REVIEWS |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Contact and Subscription Information |
| Credits |
BREAKING SURF
Well, there's nothing we can really say that hasn't already been said in the saturating media coverage. US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled that Microsoft is a monopoly and stock markets rode the roller-coaster until the investors puked. All you daytrader wannabes should take notes during this object lesson in investor psychology, which occurred despite the fact that the ruling will have almost no immediate effect whatsoever on Microsoft's business. With the decision made, the judge seems to want to hurry this case along and "conclude the remedy phase on a fast track." Essentially, he wants to be done with the case within two months, then throw any appeal right at the Supreme Court. CNet has good coverage, including a decent FAQ section for those who haven't been following the story closely. It also has the full text of the judicial ruling.CNet: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1003-201-1629021-0.html
Decision: http://news.cnet.com/News/Pages/Special/Microsoft/conclusions_of_law_and_order.html
It's just a "preview release" - the latest marketing jargon for beta software - but the new browser from Netscape is the hottest download of the moment on the Net. Based on the open source Gecko layout engine this browser is quite different from the Netscape Navigator of old. After doing a bunch of usability studies Netscape designers came up with something called "the Sidebar", an area to the left of the main browser window which contains a customizable selection of content. Other major enhancements include very tight integration with instant messaging (based on AOL Instant Messenger) and e-mail. There is also the capability to alter the look of the browser using "skins", as well as enhanced search capabilities, automatic language translation, smaller download speed and a boatload of open standard buzzword compliance. All in all emphatically worth the download.
http://home.netscape.com/browsers/6/index.html
NASDAQ and Stock Market Crashes
The NASDAQ stock market - heavy with the stock of technology companies - had one of those days Tuesday. A drop of 574.57 points (13.6%) followed by a gain of almost 500 points is quite unprecedented for such a broad-based US stock index. Whenever such gyrations happen, the infamous Black Thursday (October 23, 1929) comes to the mind of pundits everywhere. We did a little research and found this cool site which gives you a collection of newspaper headlines before, during, and after that day. Compare and contrast with contemporary headlines.NASDAQ: http://www.nasdaq.com/
Black Thursday: http://sac.uky.edu/~msunde00/hon202/p4/
Imagine acres and acres of dot.com companies. Now add more acres. The show is huge, and the day is not far off when it will rival Comdex in its monstrosity. Meanwhile, we have people on the scene in Los Angeles, deluged with press releases, SWAG, and catered food (often the best part of the experience). The official site has the official information, specifically all the press releases and such. Dry and boring reading. By the time you get this, the usual media outlets will have live coverage, so check out ZDNet, CNet, Yahoo, and Wired. We'll scope out the companies and bring you the most interesting stuff over the next couple of weeks.
http://events.internet.com/spring2000/
US Court Upholds Programming Code as Protected Speech
Way back in 1997, professor Peter Junger sued the US government, claiming that US commerce laws that regulate the export of encryption - specifically the source code of encryption programs - were unconstitutional. He won his case but the government appealed, and now the appellate court has upheld the decision. The crux of the ruling is this: "Because computer source code is an expressive means for the exchange of information and ideas about computer programming, we hold that it is protected by the First Amendment." This important ruling helps build a body of law that gives programs strong constitutional protection in the US. Any further appeal will go to the Supreme Court. Peter's home page features many worthwhile links and info on free speech, encryption, and the law.Ruling: http://samsara.law.cwru.edu/victory.txt
Peter: http://samsara.law.cwru.edu/
Lawrence Lessig masterfully clarifies what's at stake in the continuing cphack saga. Mattel recently bought cphack (see the last NSD), seemingly thinking that would end its use against its CyberPatrol filterware, but failed to take into account that the code is licensed for free distribution. Lawrence, a law professor, looks at the transaction and fallout through the lens of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which prohibits things (such as cphack) that circumvent copyright protection technology. While the copyright law makes allowance for fair use and is limited by the Constitution, the DMCA has no such requirement or limitation. The DMCA is a legal blunderbuss that can wreak havoc, one already deployed against sites that carry software to enable DVD movies on Linux. Censorship always and everywhere reaps unintended, undesirable results and this seems depressingly like just another example. Time spent reading these clear views on the matter won't be wasted.
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,13533,00.html
So you sold the NASDAQ short, made a ton of money, and got out at the bottom. Now you need to stash your cash. E*Trade, possibly the very place you traded your stock, can now cater to all your banking needs. You can open checking/savings accounts and link them to your brokerage account. There's also a free, unlimited bill payment service that will deliver your money electronically or by check. It's all federally insured, and too convenient by half. Look for the other major online brokers to rush out their own banking services any day now.
http://www.etradebank.com/
We don't often feature sports news here at NSD, but athletes aren't often sent to trial for actions performed on the field - or rink - of play. (Off the field is a whole 'nuther story....) The province of British Columbia has decided to charge NHL defenseman Marty McSorley with assault-with-a-weapon for his two-handed hockey stick hack at Donald Brashear's head. You can see the alleged crime in all its glory at ESPN. The act speaks for itself, unlike the NHL, which doesn't even mention the charge on its Web site.
ESPN: http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2000/0404/462918.html
NHL: http://www.nhl.com/
ONLINE CULTURE
Fifteenth Anniversary of the Well: A Salon Tribute
Two years ago, Salon bought out the Well, one of the oldest and certainly the most influential of online communities. Begun in 1985 by Stewart Brand and Larry Brilliant, the community attracted an eclectic and erudite group of participants. They coalesced into a unique online culture which thrives to this day under the stewardship of Salon. Noting the Well's 15th anniversary, Salon has assembled articles by six veteran participants discussing their experience of the community, under the whimsical title "A sense of Well being". The Well as in the early days was a unique online space, unlikely to be replicated in the hyper-networked modern Internet. These snapshots of that time and place bring it vividly to life.Article: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/03/31/well/index.html
Well: http://www.salon.com/well/
The Wonderful World of E-Books
Stephen King's short story "Riding the Bullet" is a best seller by any measure. It sold over 400,000 copies during the first 24 hours, a huge run by print standards, all the more remarkable because the story was released as an e-book. Now, only a couple of weeks after that splendid debut comes news that hackers have broken the encryption used to control the book's distribution. Predictable, no? This focuses attention on the whole e-book business model, which is nicely dissected in an investigative Salon article that peers inside the world of e-book publishing. Potential authors and publishers must read it.Hack: http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-1618243.html
Salon: http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2000/03/29/ebooks/index.html
An e-mail gone astray used to be a rare and rarely significant event in the old days of the Net. But today, with the volume of e-mail so large, so many similar e-mail addresses, and so many serious matters flying about on the wires, stray mail can mean more than just a bounce. The level of risk goes through the roof when somebody registers a look-alike domain specifically to snag mistyped e-mail. Evildoers have designed dangerous phony web pages to deliberately misdirect e-mail, and have used other nefarious tricks to hijack the routing of confidential communications. ZDNet offers a good article discussing the obvious, and not so obvious, risks of misdirected e-mail. Worth reading to understand what can go wrong when e-mail gets misrouted.
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2390370,00.html
Jakob Nielsen's Web page Usability
The Chicago Tribune thinks Nielsen "knows more about what makes Web sites work than anyone else on the planet." Some developers and surfers may disagree, especially those who revel in the latest Net bells and whistles, but no one denies that Jakob has made a name for himself with both sweeping generalizations and sharp dissection of the Web interface. Jakob's Web site presents his thoughts: an archive of his bi-weekly column and a collection of papers and essays. He eschews graphics because "download times rule the Web" and he didn't want to spend money to hire an artist. (He'll probably never work for Disney.) Jakob is much more of a theorist and analyst than a practitioner or pioneer. For a good introduction to his approach, read his famous "Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design". We agree with many of his cogent observations.http://www.useit.com/
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Even if you don't know much about art, you'll still find these works pretty moving. See them live at the Art Car weekend April 14-16 in Houston, or pay the Web site a visit. The live event features judging in 14 categories and the art car ball, which sounds like a shindig not to be missed. The Web site includes a photo gallery of art cars of all kinds, including the cow-de-lac and the Midlife Chrysler, instructions on how to turn that old clunker into a mobile masterpiece, and links to magazine and newspaper articles about the activity. And that '57 you found in the farmer's field? Well, grab some paint, crank up the creative muse, and get to work on your very own traveling art show.http://www.artcars.com/coverPC.html
IFilm lets burgeoning filmmakers showcase their work. Sure, the site offers news of independent film festivals, new releases, and looks at technology's impact on filmmaking, but the reason to visit is its huge repository of cutting-edge short online films. You can watch the films (seems an odd word now, eh?) with RealPlayers G2 or 7, although some films can viewed with Windows Media Player or QuickTime. This site might not be for all ages or situations. Keep in mind that this is independent filmmaking - and all that entails - before you decide whether or not to visit on your lunch hour.
http://www.ifilm.com/
Cinematic Happenings under Development
Full of gossip and news about the movies, this site tells us of suspicions that John Travolta's "Battlefield Earth" is more of a recruitment for Scientology than a good SF thriller, and lets us know whether Ethan Hawke is really going to hand over the Faramir hat to David Wenham of the popular Australian series "SeaChange". Check out the now-archived list of actors who deserve Oscars and bloody won't get them (like the brilliant Elias Koteas). No press release garbage makes it past this site without independent research.http://www.chud.com/
A mosaic of reviews from hundreds of sources, this site serves up the perceptions of movie review sites within the context of other media and critical opinion. With all the latest movies and an archive to delve into, the site offers you pretty much anything. While you have to watch out for synopsistic spoilers, the quick plot rundowns and the broad collection of integrated reviews and opinions give a real sense of each film and, more valuably, teach how opinions differ. On the other hand, maybe you should just see the films for yourself, you lazy sod.
http://www.juxtaposeur.com/
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 affiliate Amazon.com, and send a few pennies our way as well.
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Building Linux and OpenBSD Firewalls
Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho
Bill James Presents Stats Major League Handbook 2000
Everybody's Talkin' 'Bout Miss ThingA Palimpsest of Stories Not to Be Overwritten
Feel like curling up with a really good bookish Web page? Try Palimpsest, an esoteric collection of original short fiction written by some masterly craftsmen of the written word. The site caters to all tastes in fiction from the wry twist in the tail to the deeply meaningful in an attractive but fast-loading setting ideal for an e-zine. Don't miss the Kenneth Pobo short-shorts - a whole world of Middle America sketched in a few well chosen words that let a child simply coloring "Inside the Lines" tell a whole book's worth of meaning.http://www.chuchin.com/palimpsest/
When Rod Nichols was recently recognized as Lariat Laureate for his poem, "Rooster", he said that he writes his poetry in order "to preserve our cowboy traditions." Some of you may be surprised that there's even a tradition to preserve, but in fact the cowboy code of "honor, hard work, and a good bit of humor" is very much alive. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the submissions at CowboyPoetry. Here you'll find poems from both amateur and professional cowboy poets from around the world. You may also discover, as we did, that cowboy poetry really does preserve the romance of the West.
http://www.cowboypoetry.com/
SURFING SCIENCE
Settling Down in Kansas, Forever
Mike Everhart has evidence of settlers in Kansas some 85 million years ago, which sort of puts the whole Manifest Destiny thing into perspective. Of course, his colonists were not exactly of any flavor of the genus Homo, as Oceans of Kansas is quick to point out. In fact, anything in Kansas 85 million years ago had better have been quite fond of saltwater. You'll find mostly marine reptiles at the site, including Everhart's favorite: mosasaurs, huge toothy aquatic monsters related to modern monitor lizards (like the Komodo dragon). Much of this is erudite material not yet available in scholarly publication, but a good way to get kids interested in the site might be to show them how the Western Inland Sea covered much of the US midwest in the late Cretaceous Period.http://www.oceansofkansas.com/
The Official Weather of the US Government
The past three winters have been the three warmest on record. We didn't hear that on TV or at a commercial site. We read it at the US government's weather site, the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), a meteorological portal with federal funding, interagency reach, and extensive holdings. The What's Hot section alone enthralled us with its state, regional, national, and global analyses and monthly reports. We gravitated toward the Climatic Extremes and Weather Events pages, because of their spectacular subjects - megastorms, "Billion $$ Weather Disasters", and global extremes in temperature and precipitation. Nostalgic about, say, Hurricanes Bertha (1996) or Irene (1999)? Browse here. Fans of La Nina and El Nino will find plenty of resources here for a class report, condo meeting, or trivia quiz. NCDC claims to be "the world's largest active archive of weather data." No doubt it is.http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
Almost all medical advice for diabetics is identical - and apart from insulin or insulin replacement drugs, the steps to take are entirely the responsibility of the diabetic. There's no cure, and no miracle pill you can take to make it go away, and it can be very frightening and lonely to realize that diabetes is something you have to deal with by yourself. The dreadful damage diabetes can do makes it a serious illness, and any information or help in controlling the effects is of value. This site presents a wealth of useful, sensible, and easily understood advice in a manner both unalarming and unpatronizing. An interesting range of alternative therapies, designed to help and work with traditional medical methods, is also described on the site and seem worth investigating further.
http://alternativediabetes.com/
COMMUNITY SUPPORT
Controlling the Small Arms Trade
In some regions of the world, the deplorable proliferation of inexpensive small arms has fostered despots, would-be revolutionaries, and old-fashioned thugs. Little wonder, really. When just about anyone can buy an assault rifle for as little as six dollars, just about anyone can build a constituency - by force, of course. The Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers (NISAT) began in 1977 when four Norwegian organizations banded together to try to block the spread of small arms to those areas most likely to produce violence and bloodshed. Besides publishing reports and books online, NISAT is also creating a database detailing small arms trade, regulation, and policy.http://www.nisat.org/
The Ice Caps Are Shrinking! The Ice Caps Are Shrinking!
We all know the end will get here eventually, but some folks think it may happen sooner rather than later. Members of Greenpeace have been camping out in the Arctic in an attempt to persuade you to contribute to the fight to keep the polar ice caps from melting. Meet the activists doing the camping through their diary entries from Ice Camp Sirius and their photo gallery. Updates on the status of the fight are posted frequently, including actions taken against the protesters. If you think the oil industry is responsible for global warming and you like the polar ice caps where they are, the site is worth a visit. You know, there's no doubt the Earth's climate is warming. The problem is, there are dozens of arguments why (but that's another article).http://www.greenpeaceusa.org/arctic/index.htm?e