NETSURFER DIGEST

Wednesday, May 07, 1997 - Volume 03, Issue 15


"More Signal, Less Noise"

SURFING SITES

Lego Fans, Unite!
License Plates of the World
More Beans, Please
Giant Frog Seeks Support in Windy City
The Curtain Rises on a New Virtual Theatre
From the Lost Tribes to Alice Lost
Have You Hugged Your Electrolux Today?
Name that Tune - and Win that Prize!
Puzzle on, Dudes
Be It Ever So Cozy, There's Nothing Like a Quilt
Help For Your Sick PC
Fade to Black for a Wacky Experience
Have a Good Laugh
T-Shirt Winners

ONLINE TRAVEL

Arizona's Web Oasis
Explore Antarctica with Rice University
Join the Virtual Road Trip
For Travelers and Geographers
For a New State of Mind, Try Oregon
Scottish Towns

FLOTSAM & JETSAM

Interactive Daylight, Twilight, and Night World Globe
Comics? Yeah, We Got Comics
E-Mail a Cartoon to a Friend
Music Festival Finder
Need Even More Celebrity News?
Restos of the World

SOFTWARE

Headliner Competes with PointCast
What You Key Is What You Hear

CORRECTIONS

Boy, Are We Embarrassed
Mark Twain

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

CONTACT INFORMATION

CREDITS


SURFING SITES


The best places to netsurf this week

LEGO FANS, UNITE!

Now is the time and Legopolis is the place - a virtual world dedicated to the miniature plastic humanoids of Lego building block fame. Come watch how the little people live. See what kind of Internet services they enjoy. And best of all, create your own Lego-ite by using an amazing variety of mix-and-match heads, torsos, and legs. Toy enthusiasts, kids and those who want to design kinky transvestite Lego people will all enjoy this site. <http://www.legopolis.com/>

LICENSE PLATES OF THE WORLD

Ever wonder what the "Je me Souviens" on license plates in Quebec means? Or perhaps what color differentiations mean on license plates in the income tax haven of the Cayman Islands? Well, quite frankly, neither have we. The License Plates of The World site has a staggering array of images and bits of information on the various plates that adorn vehicles throughout this disenchanted little corner of the galaxy. Even we were stunned by the sheer quantity of trivia associated with our planet's license plates, and as readers know, we DO NOT STUN EASILY (except when it comes to nose jobs). The individual responsible for this site should create a board game. It's worked for lesser hobbies. <http://danshiki.oit.gatech.edu/~iadt3mk/index.html>

MORE BEANS, PLEASE

Well, it was completely inevitable. There is now on the Net a Web site wholly and completely dedicated to flatulence. Yes, that's right, the site's name is Farts.Com. Now this is a family publication, so - wait, what's that? Oh, this isn't a family publication after all? great - we can let you in on all the gory details, such as the Fart Mart (Oh yes, fart-inspired merchandise), fart diet tips, and the ominously titled "Squeek of the Week". Now we don't have to tell all of you, this site is, of course, not for everybody. However, if "Dumb and Dumber" figures prominently in your video collection, then we've got a keeper here. <http://www.farts.com/>

GIANT FROG SEEKS SUPPORT IN WINDY CITY

See folks, we're not the only ones who like frogs. So do the people of Chicago, or at least a good number of them. To show their appreciation and concern for real live frogs and their ecologically challenged environment, a coalition of Chicagoans is lobbying to place a giant frog statue in Grant Park, just off the shores of Lake Michigan. Will they succeed? What will the frog look like? Will it be able to leap over the Sears Tower in a single bound? Stop by and take a look. Other frog-o-philes are invited to join in the cause. <http://www.friendsofthefrog.com/>

THE CURTAIN RISES ON A NEW VIRTUAL THEATRE

Pretend you've just found your seat. The lights are dimming. The curtain rises. And suddenly, the play begins. Well, OK, the Upstage Theatre doesn't quite go that far in simulating the real thing, but it does present some interesting images and ways of looking at your favorite plays. Thespians and theatre lovers are cordially invited to stop by for a really big show. <http://www.upstage.com/>

FROM THE LOST TRIBES TO ALICE LOST

This beautiful site draws on surprising sources offered in unexpected juxtaposition. Maxima New Media refashions traditional visual and literary material for presentation in the computer medium, and they use this Web site to proudly display their work. Not the least of the site's pleasures is Maxima's eclectic selection of sources: legends of the lost tribes of Israel; nonsense illustrations and poetry by Edward Lear; whimsy from Lewis Carroll; a history told in Jewish folklore. Colors are rich and warm. Animation is restrained and just right for the image. Line drawings are witty, and even the link icons are minor masterpieces. Contests engage visitors even more and there's free clip art. <http://www.maxnm.com/>

HAVE YOU HUGGED YOUR ELECTROLUX TODAY?

Meet Charlie Lester, connoisseur of the vintage vacuum cleaner, devotee of the preposterously massive pipe organ, UFO fancier, and theremin authority. You'll find his passions infectious. In the tradition of appealing monologuists, his stories are a bit shaggy dog, but few sites convey their author's personality as engagingly as Charlie's. Right or wrong, it's hard not to imagine him with crinkled eyes, a big laugh and unbounded curiosity for all things loosely connected by a relationship to air. <http://www.137.com/>

NAME THAT TUNE - AND WIN THAT PRIZE!

Remember the game show "Name That Tune?" Now, an online daily version entitled TuneMania lets players to test their music knowledge. Simply download the audio clip du jour and try to name the tune. One winner is selected each day from the pool of correct answers given. Real prizes are awarded. <http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/cafe/tune/tune.htm>

PUZZLE ON, DUDES

Sample a variety of puzzles on the Online Crosswords Web page, or, if you prefer, download crossword puzzles for your own Web pages or learn to create them yourself. The page's author provides different versions. There's a "standard" version, a "party" version (you may need sunglasses for this colorful variety), and what's called an "image" version - "a crossword puzzle like a chocolate bar". (Let's hope that Hershey doesn't sue.) There's also a FAQ, online tools for building your own puzzles, and some aged software for serving crosswords using CGI. <http://www.clearlight.com/~vivi/xw/>

BE IT EVER SO COZY, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A QUILT

Cozy Bendesky is a self-described textile artist, and her love of quilting and results of her crafts are beautifully portrayed on this lovely Web site. She creates her quilts from hand-dyed fabrics. You can pay a virtual visit to her Pennsylvania studio. Setting a goal of carrying on the tradition of needlecraft, she also specializes in knitting, making lace, and other handsewing arts. You can follow links to galleries of her quilts and of "wearable art". And don't miss her intriguing discussions of "Perfect Wife: '50s Style" juxtaposed with "Perfect Wife: '90s Style". <http://www.erols.com/cozy/>

HELP FOR YOUR SICK PC

ZDNet and Symantec have launched a new site with advice on fixing your PC and keeping it healthy. The HealthyPC.Com site has a dual personality. On one side, you have the free services like sample software, maintenance and tuning tips, expert advice and a dealer/service finder put up by ZDNet. On the other side of the screen is a paid subscription service called the Health Club where you can get access to a live system check, virus and other software updates, and more for $4.95 per month. <http://www.healthypc.com/>

FADE TO BLACK FOR A WACKY EXPERIENCE

Far too many Web browser screens go black, but this one is nicely done for a change. It's strange and proud of it. In the online bookstore, just reading the titles can be entertaining - e.g. "The Happy Mutant Handbook" or "277 Secrets Your Dog Wants You to Know". You can vote in a popularity contest between Bill Gates and the founder of Wacky.com, Howie Swaim. When we last checked Howie was ahead, but of course he controls the results - watch for Bill to make a play for control shortly. You'll find some cool art, sounds, and written words. <http://www.wacky.com/>

HAVE A GOOD LAUGH

Cartoonist Daryl Cagle's site highlights his newspaper cartoon, TRUE!, and many other cool cartoon sites as well. True TRUE! fans may browse an index arranged by category like business, Star Trek, government, and Rush Limbaugh to name a few. The links take you to other syndicated strips, "professional, but not syndicated" sites, editorial 'toons, and even cartoonist organizations. We counted over 70 links to comic strips that you know and love. If you like comics, there is something here for you. <http://www.inet1.com/Toons/true/art/>

T-SHIRT WINNERS

In NSD 3.13, we asked you to match the writers to the articles they wrote. Our creative staff of 10 wrote 35 articles. Simple random assignment would result in entrants getting 3.5 correct matches on average. Jason Adams of Columbus, Ohio, guessed best but, oddly, won with only four correct answers. On the whole, people guessed worse than would be expected randomly. Jason used a guided missile strategy: "On the assumption that she wrote at least one, and that other people will try too hard, my entry is that Joanne Eglash wrote every article." Second place goes to Glenn Roenigk of New Freedom, Pa., who tried the dartboard approach and was the first to reply with three right matches. Their T-shirts are on the way. We hope none of you tried the lottery that week....

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ONLINE TRAVEL


Click your mouse and see the world

ARIZONA'S WEB OASIS

Azfamily.com - Awkward name, superb site. Yahoo, Microsoft, and other providers of local content will surely take a long, hard look at it, not only because it's the Web child of a local broadcast media company out to tout a toasty touristy town or two. It's comprehensive, attractive, easy to navigate, and for locals probably the most useful general Web site in Arizona, if not all of the Southwest. You'd expect a city or regional guide to have news and features on local life, weather, entertainment, dining, discussion boards, etc. Azfamily.com has those but take the site tour and you'll find a lot of hidden goodies, too. For example, check out the list of license plates rejected by the Motor Vehicle Department (it takes all kinds, doesn't it?). And when's the last time you found crime prevention tips from a city police department, or background on public schools, or consumer advocacy on a metropolitan Web site? Someone in the desert has brought a dream of bright, tasteful, straightforward pages to life. <http://www.azfamily.com/>

EXPLORE ANTARCTICA WITH RICE UNIVERSITY

Rice University in Houston lies a long way from the cold of the Antarctic. However, the university has put together a great site about the bottom of the world, a comprehensive look at the land, weather, oceans, and ice of our most southern continent. You can get a good feel for the place by clicking on the expedition link. The pages detail what it's like to plan, pack, travel onboard ship, and work in one of the Antarctic camps. <http://www.glacier.rice.edu/>

JOIN THE VIRTUAL ROAD TRIP

Detroit photographer Bill Schwab has embarked on another virtual journey across the wilds of the United States, and he's making use of the latest technology to take along the Net community. The Virtual Tour Web site will track Schwab's progress to pre-set milestones and will offer images and reports of the team's adventures as they cross the country, visiting as many National Parks as possible. Any netsurfers who wish to be kept apprised of the journey can register at the site and receive e-mailed descriptions of life on the road. <http://virtualroadtrip.com/>

FOR TRAVELERS AND GEOGRAPHERS

IBM offers an eminently useful site for anyone needing quick and dirty data on neighbors in the international community. Travelers will appreciate information on languages, currency, economics and politics, population, international treaty participation, and more. Students and researchers can make use of details on literacy rates, life expectancy, arable land, boundary disputes, and resources. It's not a complete source, certainly, but it is an efficient first stop. IBM's penetration into the world market and the extent to which it can do business internationally influence the selections. The 133 entries, for instance, do not include North Korea, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, or Cuba. <http://global.hosting.ibm.com/>

FOR A NEW STATE OF MIND, TRY OREGON

From its wind-swept coastline to its rugged mountains, from the city of Portland to the amazing Crater Lake, Oregon has it all. So does this site. Whether you're actually planning a trip to Oregon, or just want to whet your appetite, this is a great place to start. Super-informative, nicely organized, a pleasure to visit. <http://www.traveloregon.com/>

SCOTTISH TOWNS

If your dream vacation is Scotland, this Web site can give you some pre-visit information. Scottish towns and villages are highlighted on these Web pages, including their locations, events, accomodations, and so forth. The towns featured range from large to small, from noteworthy to where's-that? We should tell you that when we visited the site, some of the graphics took an exceptionally long time to load. Of course, you could always practice your bagpipe or iron your kilts while you're waiting. <http://www.towns.co.uk/scotland/>

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FLOTSAM & JETSAM


Random acts of online reality

INTERACTIVE DAYLIGHT, TWILIGHT, AND NIGHT WORLD GLOBE

This site presents a graphical view of the sunlit and dark areas at the time that you click on their link. They also show local time, and sunrise and sunset times for over 500 cities. The sun never sets on the WWW empire. <http://www.worldtime.com/>

COMICS? YEAH, WE GOT COMICS

The Comic Sites Alliance is a one-stop clearing house for those seeking information on online and paper comic books. Unlike sites that might appear in a Net search, all these sites have specifically asked to be posted on the Alliance page, which means few outdated or non-existent links. <http://www.mcn.org/b/poisonfrog/csa/>

E-MAIL A CARTOON TO A FRIEND

You could also always send a cartoon to an enemy, but why bother? A free service, you simply pick out an appropriate cartoon and add your own message, address it, sign it, and it's on its way. <http://www.toonogram.com/>

MUSIC FESTIVAL FINDER

Here's a useful site for music lovers of any stripe. It catalogues North American music festivals of every genre (polka lovers, look under "miscellaneous"). A search engine, contests, and links, where available, hit the right notes. <http://www.festivalfinder.com/>

NEED EVEN MORE CELEBRITY NEWS?

This slick site caters to watchers of celebrities with an athletic bent. Reports are appropriately shallow, undated, and sometimes outdated. Sports pool enthusiasts will do better to read regular injury reports. Instructive, though, is a real-time tabulation comparing second-to-second earnings of athletes against Bill Clinton's cumulative salary. <http://www.sportspin.com/>

RESTOS OF THE WORLD

The Restaurant Row Web site provides information on hotels, cars, and air travel as well as reviews of a variety of restaurants. You can conduct a search for restaurants by city, as well as search for accomodations. <http://www.restaurantrow.com/>

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SOFTWARE


Online related software notices and mini-reviews

HEADLINER COMPETES WITH POINTCAST

Psst! Here comes another push client: Headliner. It's a doozy. Headliner lets you choose from over 600 channels which provide news on the Web. A Headline news ticker can sit on your Windows 95/NT desktop, minimized on your Taskbar, or in the active window of any running application, ready for the click that will whisk you at network speed to breaking developments in distant lands. If the PointCast client sucks up too much bandwidth, try a thrifty Headliner screensaver. Among many nice touches, the story summaries behind the headline let you preview news you may not want. Alerts can be programmed with the nifty Headliner Manager component of the download (useful for investors). Headliner Professional will let you add your own channels. All the more reason to invite your boss to look over your shoulder. You do work now and then, don't you? <http://www.headliner.com/>

WHAT YOU KEY IS WHAT YOU HEAR

Macolytes may yawn, but PC enthusiasts with sound cards will get a kick out of this interactive text-to-speech synthesis, even if the male and female voices you can generate on the fly with your keyboard sound disappointingly computer-generated. Imagine a computer voice in a movie from the 1950s, and you'll have a fair idea of the quality of sound here. In "English Advanced Interface", you key in text to generate audio in .aiff, .au, or .wav format in any of eight voices. You can also listen to files presynthesized in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, and Russian. The pig Latin translator has no practical use that we can think of, but this is an early (we hope) showcase of research for applications that exploit Web technology. It's all pretty much tongue in cheek. <http://www.bell-labs.com/project/tts/voices.html>

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CORRECTIONS


What can we say? We goofed...

BOY, ARE WE EMBARRASSED

Of course the recent election in England (NSD 3.14) also took place in Wales, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and other parts of the United Kingdom, since it was an election of the UK, and not just England. Also, the computer which is now tied 1-1 in chess games with Gary Kasparov is called Deep Blue, not Big Blue, which is its sponsor, IBM. We gotta stop doing these Digests at 2 a.m....

MARK TWAIN

In NSD 1.18, we looked at a site devoted to Twain, from his literary influence to his presence in contemporary culture. The site has moved and upgraded to include weekly features, an events calendar, and Twain-specific bulletin boards and live chat. <http://marktwain.miningco.com/>

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COMMUNITY SUPPORT


Help your fellow netsurfers

Neuropsychology Central's Online Project A year ago, we called the Neuropsychology Central (NP) Web design a "cognitive perseverance test". The designers have listened, and made it much nicer. It even has elevator music now. Anyway, The same guy who put up the Web page is running an online survey on "Brain Injury and Safety: Attitudes and Biases". It takes about five minutes, and won't make your head hurt. Plus, you get some nifty images as a gift. NP: <http://www.premier.net/~cogito/neuropsy.html>
Survey: <http://www.premier.net/~cogito/project/onp.html>

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CREDITS


Publisher: Arthur Bebak
Editor: Lawrence Nyveen
Production Manager: Bill Woodcock
Copy Editor: Elvi Dalgaard

Writers and Netsurfers

Netsurfer Communications, Inc.

NETSURFER DIGEST © 1997 Netsurfer Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
NETSURFER DIGEST is a trademark of Netsurfer Communications, Inc.