Star Trek: The Next Generation

Site:
http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~werdna/sttng/

Category:
TV and Radio

Review (in 1996):

As with most Star Trek fan pages, this one works much better as a hot spot for insiders than as an intro for beginners. As such, though, the detail is magnificent.

Review every Emmy award! Check the precise episodes in which Captain Picard quotes Shakespeare! The trivia notes are great fun, with directions on how to create the "transporter effect" on video, a discussion of money in the future (what are the officers betting for in those poker games?), and the information that everyone's least favorite TNG character shares a name with the show's creator (whose full name is Eugene Wesley Roddenberry).

A catalog of in-jokes records various cute stunts the art department pulled over the years, like recreating Oliver North's uniform on an evil-nemesis type character in the show's first episode (filmed just after the Iran-Contra hearings).

A very entertaining site.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Jihad to Destroy Barney on the Worldwide Web

Site:
http://www.armory.com/~deadslug/Jihad/index.html

Category:
TV and Radio

Review (in 1996):

Billed as "The Internet's Leading Anti-Barney the Dinosaur Web Page", this large and mostly hilarious site leads the mentally unbalanced in their holy war against the excessively cute public-TV dinosaur.

There's a load of single-minded rant from "The Jihaddi, Who Have Functioning Cerebrums (tm)" - based on the premise that Barney "isn't just bad, or even merely evil, but is downright UNHOLY", and that he and his "sponge-minions" can be warded off with such talismans as McDonald's shakes and Pez Candy. There are lame but fun interactive Barney-destroying games, drawings of the "purple felt demon" in world-destruction mode, and links to the alt.barney, dinosaur.die.die.die newsgroup.

Don't miss the lengthy FAQ, with questions like "Are Rush Limbaugh and Barney the same persona?"

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Unofficial Brady Bunch Home Page

Site:
http://www.teleport.com/~btucker/bradys.htm

Category:
TV and Radio

Review (in 1996):
As if the stage play and movie weren't enough, you can now revisit the sunshine days of The Brady Bunch on the Web. The site features pictures (including, of course, the famous 9-cell Brady grid), song clips, and semi-cynical episode guides. (Episode 56: "Marcia lands the part of Juliet in a school play and becomes possessed by Shannen Doherty.")

The list of Brady Bunch articles and interview doesn't always differentiate clearly between the '70s sitcom and the 1995 movie, but includes some fun stuff: a quick psycho-analysis of the show's characters portrays Alice, the housekeeper, as "trapped within the expressionless blue uniform she was always forced to wear." (At last, a dark side to Brady life!)

The Brady's staying power in the public consciousness is amazing - and a little frightening.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Site:
http://www.cs.wvu.edu/~paulr/rhps/rhps.html

Category:
Movies

Review (in 1996):

Thanks to this site, you won't make the faux pas of arriving for the midnight showing of that granddaddy of cult movies, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, without rice, toilet paper, or toast.

Most people know that the Rocky Horror experience involves more audience participation than viewing; in fact, if you've ever seen the spectacle, you know better than to try to understand the movie or listen to the soundtrack. Here novices (are there any left?) are guided through the dialogue and songs like "The Time Warp", and offered parenthetical audience cues (most use adult language) along with "traditional" responses.

It's no substitute for the real thing, but conscientious students who carefully study the script won't be embarassed by tossing their cold weiners prematurely screenward.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Internet Movie Database

Site:
http://www.msstate.edu/Movies/welcome.html

Category:
Movies

Review (in 1996):

This tremendous movie guide is compiled by Internet users for Internet users. Visitors will find crew lists, running times, actor bios, gaffes and goofs, and much more, all shot through with hyperlinks for easy reference. The site claims to cover more than 50,000 films, plus thousands of TV series. Since the information comes from Web users, the quality is sometimes fabulous and occasionally lame. Still, what do you want for free: Shakespeare?

Look up a great thespian like Martin Balsam, for instance, and you'll learn that he recently starred in an Italian parody called Silence of the Hams along with Mel Brooks, Phyllis Diller, Rip Taylor, and Larry Storch. (No kidding!)

Then you can learn that Rip Taylor has since appeared in Private Obsession with Peetie the Dog. Then you can see Peetie's filmography. (Just the one film, sadly.) Then you can ...

Well, this is just scratching the surface. A delightful, unique-to-the-Web resource.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

MTV

Site:
http://mtvoddities.viacom.com

Category:
Music

Review (in 1996):

The majestic purveyor of Beavis & Butt-Head and The Real World (and sometimes even music videos) now has a place on the Net. Not surprisingly, the MTV site is graphics-heavy (though super-slow), more promotional than substantial (a virtual plug-fest for shows like Most Wanted Jams), and often disappointing. Just like MTV itself!

Still, also like the channel, there's somehow enough eye candy here to keep you dropping by. Cool animated QuickTime movies are provided - strange and colorful all, though up to 10 megabytes in size. (You can always turn on the TV while you wait for the download.)

On our last visit, a "Beach Cam" projected images every few minutes from Malibu. Big bonus: full transcriptions of The Week in Rock make viewing MTV News anchors Kurt Loder and Tabitha Soren unnecessary.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Palindrome Page

Site:
http://www2.ecst.csuchico.edu/~beej/palindromes.html

Category:
Humor

Review (in 1996):

Aha! Oho! (Well, they're a start.) This is, quite simply, a gigantic list of phrases that read the same forward as backwards, listed in length order from "Kayak" to a 543-word variation on the well-known "A man, a plan, a canal - Panama" palindrome.

Author Brian Hall has added some contemporary examples - like "Age, irony, Noriega" and "Lisa Bonet ate no basil" - to punch up the well-worn classics like "Madam in Eden, I'm Adam".

There's also a few bonuses, like palindromes in languages other than English, and "acoustic palindromes" (phrases that sound like themselves, if you were to record them and play them backgrounds). This is a treat for fanatics, an amusing diversion for the rest of us.

But then again, "We panic in a pew".

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Guess the Evil Dictator and/or Television Sitcom Character

Site:
http://sp1.berkeley.edu/dict.html

Category:
Humor

Review (in 1996):

"Pretend to be your favorite evil dictator or television sitcom character and I'll try to guess who you're supposed to be", invites this page (the creation of a cleverly twisted Berkeley student).

It's like Twenty Questions: you just answer yes or no to queries like "Do you work in a news room?" and "Are you a landlord who favors leisure suits?" Believe it or not, the server swiftly and correctly identified our chosen characters, first Jack Tripper from Three's Company, and then Benito Mussolini. (And aren't they related?)

Conclude what you like about the predictability of dictatorship or TV stardom, but there's no arguing this is just the kind of delightful waste of time the Web accomplishes best.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Annals of Improbable Research

Site:
http://improb.com/

Category:
Humor

Review (in 1996):

This may be science at its funniest, as students at MIT collect and distribute some of the best science stories ever.

AIR hands out the IgNoble awards (which "should not be confused with those other prizes") to such dignitaries as the co-authors of "The Constipated Serviceman; Prevalence Among Deployed U.S. Troops", which kept numerical statistics of bowel movement frequency. They even have some fun of their own; burying a "time caplet" containing, among other things, McDonalds fries, Internet Barbie (a half-naked doll with fiber-optic cables for hair), and a running shoe. Of course, they placed all these items in a trash compactor before putting them into the caplet.

AIR is a great reason to go into science (or perhaps to avoid it at all costs).

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The FBI's Current "Ten Most Wanted Fugitives"

Site:
http://www.fbi.gov/toplist.htm

Category:
American Government

Review (in 1996):

Eat your heart out, David Letterman - the FBI's been doing the Top Ten gig for years. And now you don't have to go to the post office to see photos and bios of these dangerous crooks.

When we visited, Arthur Lee Washington topped the list (though the FBI insists that members of the list "are not ranked"), with scars on his neck, arms, wrists, and left thigh, and the classic label of "armed and dangerous".

These creepy bios are backed by an excellent FAQ about the list, which was launched in 1950 and has had more than 400 members.

"DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPREHEND THESE FUGITIVES YOURSELF" says the page, advice that probably doesn't need to be repeated.

On our last visit, however, the list had only nine members. What, there was nobody nasty enough to bump up from number 11?

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Warhol's Famous for Fifteen Minutes

Site:
http://www.grapevine.com/warhol/warhol.htm

Category:
Web Gadgets

Review (in 1996):

It seems as if every 15 minutes we're reminded that Andy Warhol predicted that someday everyone would be famous for 15 minutes. This site chips away at the pile of billions who have yet to have their moment of fame, by offering up a new personal home page every - you guessed it - 15 minutes.

The site couldn't be simpler; just a few lines and a head shot of Andy, looking (as always) as if he's answering the door after being awakened from a late-afternoon nap. Click on Andy's face and you're automatically zapped off to the page of the moment.

Naturally, not all these pages are winners, a fact of which Warhol would no doubt be proud.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Safari Touch Tank

Site:
http://oberon.educ.sfu.ca/splash/tank.htm

Category:
Kids

Review (in 1996):

If you can't make it to your local tide pool (or if you live in Nebraska), try the Safari Touch Tank. It's a colorful sort of cyber-saltwater fishbowl; use your mouse to "touch" the Purple Sea Star, and you'll learn the disgusting facts of how it extrudes its own stomach to slowly devour an oyster. (This is why we lock the car doors whenever we drive near the beach.)

Even the plants have stories to tell - the eelgrass may be hiding a school of young fish. Many interesting photos and even movie clips here. This undersea world provides just a sample of the sort of things a team of scientists, divers, archaeologists, and kids got to see during Safari '94, a project sponsored by the Royal B.C. Museum.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Plastic Princess Collector's Page

Site:
http://deepthought.armory.com/~zenugirl/barbie.html

Category:
Hobbies

Review (in 1996):

You can't help but love this monument to Barbie, Ken, and the rainbow of other plastic fashion dolls. Here, you learn that a couple of Santa Cruz lifeguards once fitted Ken with a pair of cement boots and soved him from the city's wharf. (There's photographic proof.) Or, if your Barbie feels like being politically incorrect, you can contact a woman who makes miniature mink stoles.

The smattering of photos on the home page includes Barbie in a fantastic Bob Mackie gown; keep exploring and you'll find more photos and more dolls, including Francies, Caseys, Staceys, and Julias. (We also met "Billy, The World's First Out and Proud Gay Doll", manufactured by a company in England.)

Site-mistress Zoli Nazaari-Uebele, an engineer in real life, even reveals her dream item: a DKNY Barbie (brunette, please).

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Elle

Site:
http://www.ELLEMag.com

Category:
Magazines

Review (in 1996):

The latest fashions, runway images, and "a touch of spiritual direction" are featured in Elle magazine's elegant online entry. If you can get past the incredible hype ("Vibrant and visceral, passionate and provocative, diverse and distinctly innovative..."), you'll find the likes of Christy Turlington wearing industrial-strength latex, or Isabella Rossellini in a "menagerie of animal prints just tame enough for city life".

Many photos come with shopping links for those who dare to try such apparel themselves. The interface is stylish, the photos are slick, and rather than endless subscription appeals, this site concentrates on delivering the goods.

Because of the many photos, you'll enjoy this most if your modem is as powerful as your fashion sense.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

NCSA Mosaic

Site:
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Software/Mosaic/NCSAMosaicHome.html

Category:
The Internet

Review (in 1996):

There's a chance you've checked into the Mosaic for Windows home page to get software or find help, but have you really explored it? A more thorough browse will find useful FAQs on nagging messages like "Failed DNS Lookup" and "Socket Connection Refused".

The most hidden nuggets are the links to other software, which enable you to view formats like Quicktime, PostScript and MPEG. If you've ever spent 15 minutes downloading an audio or video file only to have it crash, you'll probably find relief here.Another hidden gold mine is the "What's New" page, a great way of finding out about brand new sites.

Mosaic may have faded a bit now that Netscape and company have come along to take the browser market by storm, but don't forget that the whole Web revolution started here.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Netscape Communications

Site:
http://www.netscape.com/

Category:
The Internet

Review (in 1996):
Netscape Communications may be the future 800-pound gorilla of Internet browsing software. This fast-changing page tells you about the latest improvements to the software, lets you download a free version, and offers help on how to use it.

Netscape's developers are also leading the charge toward secure credit card transactions on the Net, so expect to find out the latest on Web-based buying and selling.

Even if you don't use Netscape, you'll discover useful resorces like the terse What's New page (not to be confused with competitor NCSA Mosaic's page of the same name) and the popular What's Cool list of sites favored by Netscape staffers. Also useful is the Internet White Pages listing, which offers help in tracking down the e-mail address of "that special someone".

Well worth the visit.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Trojan Room Coffee Machine

Site:
http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/coffee.html

Category:
The Internet

Review (in 1996):

This is simply 24-hour, 365-day-per-year video coverage of the coffee pot in the University of Cambridge Computer Lab in England. The shot is updated once per second for instant transmission around the world. If you have to ask why, you're just not getting into the spirit of the Web.

To be honest, the original intent was to let the building's denizens check the pot before climbing two flights of stairs to the coffee room. Once the local computers were hooked up, the site leaked onto the Net, and the coffee pot became a celebrity in its own right. (No movie deals so far, however.)

This was one of the earliest of the silly Web cams, and somehow it's still compelling.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Apple Computer

Site:
http://www.apple.com

Category:
Computing

Review (in 1996):

Apple, Inc: mild-mannered computer maker or dangerous cult? You decide at this mega-site, where the compnay with the intensely loyal following has set an admirable standard for Web quality.

Discover the quirks of Apple's confusing array of models named with P (Performa, PowerBook, PowerMac, Pippin) and take a journey into the amazingly detailed product support area. Or, check the What's New list to get the latest hyperlinks to Apple's myriad software libraries and Quicktime files.

Computer industry insiders might be amused at Apple's extensive dissertation on why Macintosh is better than a PC running Windows 95: it's eaither paranoia bordering on fear, or sign of Apple's complete assurance in the quality of their product.

A must for Apple-philes; a temptation for frustrated PC users.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

IBM

Site:
http://www.ibm.com

Category:
Computing

Review (in 1996):

Chances are that nearly any computer user can find something of interest at IBM's Web site, since these people have their fingers (sometimes up to their wrists) in every pie. Clicking around here is one the best ways to get support on IBM software or hardware, and Big Blue will tell you what's new in the computer industry while you're looking.

The company news here is conspicuously global - you can access an IBM server in the country of your choice by clicking on a list at the bottom of the home page. The IBM ad campaigns get a workout here, too; on our last visit the question was, "Would three Greek divers really need IBM's Global Net?"

Make sure to check out IBM's Digital Library, a sweet new info search technology. No zany fun here, but at least you can skip the blue suit.

First Amendment Cyber-Tribune (FACT)

Site:
http://w3.trib.com/FACT/

Category:
Law

Review (in 1996):

The First Amendment is perhaps the most-discussed part of the United States Constitution, and Charles Levendosky has created this fantastic guide to it.

Most useful here is First Amendment Alert!, which includes weekly updates on the topic as it appears in state legislatures, courts, and Congress. If your timing is right, you can catch the page on Banned Books Week (generally the last week of September), which lists all books challenged in or banned from libraries around the U.S. (Some will leave you guessing - like the removal of the American Heritage Dictionary from classrooms in Washoe County, Nevada.)

You'll also find Supreme Court decisions and a Q&A section where Mr. Levendosky or another scholar answers visitors questions. An amazing site.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Tito

Site:
http://www.fer.uni.lj.si/tito/tito-eng.html

Category:
History

Review (in 1996):

Josip Broz Tito ruled Yugoslavia as President from 1953-80, an independent dictator who did for the eastern bloc what Heather Locklear did for "Melrose Place".

Tito is dead, but the cult of personality lives on. Audio samples enable him to speak from beyond the grrave, and the host of photos would make a supermodel blush. This is a real rogues' gallery, too, with pictures of Tito and Idi Amin, Yasser Arafat, Nicolau Ceausescu, Kurt Waldheim, Richard Nixon, and Henry Kissenger.

More relaxing moments show Tito with his pooch, or working with a router (no foolin'!). Finally, visit his casket with Margaret Thatcher or Saddam Hussein!

An inspired fan page for a dead dictator of a country that no longer exists.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Crash Site

Site:
http://www.crashsite.com/Crash

Category:
Politics

Review (in 1996):

Just like a real crash site, this site isn't always pleasant, but it is a spectacle for gawkers. It's cover page is set up like a splashy tabloid, and you're given low- and high-resolution paths (to save and burn bandwidth, respectively). Underground poster art, movies, and morphs are scattered across these pages like shattered glass on the avenue, highlighting alternative music, fiction, and politics.

The bands highlighted are given extraordinary personal treatment (the Royal Trux pages are set up like an FBI surveillance report, complete with blocked-out agent names). The look of this page is great, yet some of the political humor is beyond Swiftian and it is hard to tell when the kidding stops, if ever; "War as Entertainment" features a Top Ten list that's bitingly funny, but the movies here are certainly not. Because, you know, war is hell. Isn't it?

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Preview the Heart

Site:
http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/preview/heartpreview.html

Category:
Health and Medicine

Review (in 1996):

The human heart beats two and a half million times in an average lifetime (more than that for you coffee drinkers). The Franklin Institute's "virtual heart" presentation is a good way to spend a few dozen of those heart beats.

This is real scientific stuff, not a kiddie trip, though it is presented as a tour. Learn about blood types - a person with Type AB blood can receive a blood transfusion from any type donor, for instance - or compare x-rays of a normal-sized and enlarged heart.

The whole interactive enchilada is here: movies, audio segments (they call the two heart sounds "lub" and "dub"), and pictures decorated with lavish descriptions and explanations. You can actually watch a move of the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the capillaries and arteries.

Your fascination here "will lead to understanding and respect".

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Civil War Letters of Capt. Richard W. Burt

Site:
http://www.infinet.com/~lstevens/burt/index.html

Category:
History

Review (in 1996):

Poems and war songs make up nearly half of this fine collection of letters from Burt, a newspaperman from Peoria who fought in the 76th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. A detailed account of the movements of the 76th is good background for Burt's letters, which display his journalistic skills and a knack for wry understatement. His casual remarks reveal the intimacy of a civil war, yet mask the obvious horrors of the battlefield: "When Gen. Sherman learned that the rebels killed all the foragers whom they captured, he informed the rebel Generals that he would have as many rebel prisoners in our hands shot as they killed foragers, and that had the desired effect".

We particularly enjoyed the lighter verse, however, including "Jeff Davis in Petticoats" and "Phil on Picket in Dixie" about a pig "that dared to cross the picket line/And never (gave) a countersign".

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Nixon Audio Archives

Site:
http://www.webcorp.com/sounds/nixon.htm

Category:
History

Review (in 1996):

Ironic, isn't it? Richard Nixon preserved on tape (or at least on the Net) for future generations. Tricky Dick's Greatest Hits are all here, from the days before he went commercial (the "Checkers" speech) to his later work (the "Resignation" speech). Sadly, there's no evidence of his studio sessions ("Watergate").

Be forewarned: some of these files are downright huge (just as in real life, he takes forever to resign), but they are still worth it. This isn't an educational site, mind you; it's more like a satirical swipe at a Commander in Chief who insisted "I am not a crook!" and "You won't have Nixon to kick around anymore!"

Includes very brief commentary from the Webmasters at Webcorp, the Net service provider who backs this page.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Jim Brain's Commodore Home Page

Site:
http://garnet.msen.com/~brain/cbmhome.html

Category:
Computing

Review (in 1996):

Some people (and computers) don't know when to quit. Long before the 32-bit computers of today, clunky boxes of the '80s like the Commodore Pet talked in abrupt 8-bit sentences.

So host Jim Brain (NOT a stage name) is committed to keeping these relics alive, explaining how they can still do a passable job at stuff like email and simple word processing. And this free-will love offering provides loads of documentation (from operating system instructions to ROM maps and Hidden Secrets), plus instructions on where to get software (FTP sites, Usenet), and even a useless load of monthly Commodore trivia questions that would stump a Jeopardy champion.

Still, it's reassuring to know that someday when your Pentium system is worth $20, somebody like Jim Brain will be saying "Don't give up! Your computer's still useful!"

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Compaq Computer Corp.

Site:
http://www.compaq.com/homepage.graphic.html

Category:
Computing

Review (in 1996):

Computer shoppers and support pros will appreciate this no-nonsense archive from one of the world's top PC makers. Compaq promotes its latest line of fast PCs while also delivering one of the best online computer support services we've seen. And thanks to a cuddly relationship with Microsoft, you'll find plenty of information on Windows 95 and it's heralded "Plug and Play" technology. (Contrary to popular opinion, "Plug and Play" has nothing to do with taking a bath.) And if it plugs but doesn't play, you download diagnostic software or check a list of common questions to ease your computer headache.

We'd like to see more zany activities here, since great customer support only goes so far.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Browser Watch

Site:
http://www.ski.mskcc.org/browserwatch/

Category:
The Internet

Review (in 1996):

If you think Netscape and Mosaic are the only two flavors of Web browsing software, you'll get a shock when you visit this info clearing house. Sort of a fan page for browsers, BrowserWatch lovingly describes all the details, and encourages users to report new browsing software when they find it. (People who work for the browser-producing companies are invited to spill secrets, too, but somehow they don't seem too eager.)

If you enter a new tidbit that hasn't been given by anyone else, the author gives you "net.fame" in return - your name and e-mail posted for everyone to see. (Not much, but it's cool anyway.)

Check the browser stats and you'll discover surprising diversity among Web users.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

The Info-Mac HyperArchive

Site:
http://hyperarchive.lcs.mit.edu/HyperArchive.html

Category:
Computing

Review (in 1996):

This is a Web interface to the Mac software archives at Stanford University, probably the biggest single collection of Machintosh freeware and shareware in the world. (The archive is mirrored in many machines across the Internet.)

The HyperArchive isn't the first to provide a Web interface, but it's the most advanced: in addition to downloading files directly through your Web browser, you're able to sort in different ways, check for recent changes, and view the abstracts of specific files (as opposed to the old way, which was to load the abstract for all all the files in a given directory).

It still takes some study to use it well, and beginning users may have trouble with it, but the alternative is to get involved in FTP transfer arcana. Trust us, this is easier.

A great concept that can only get better.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.

Dan Kegel's ISDN Page

Site:
http://alumni.caltech.edu/~dank/isdn/

Category:
The Internet

Review (in 1996):

ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is an all-digital telecommunications service that allows (among other things) voice and data calls on the same phone line. And Dan Kegel is wild about ISDN, faithfully gathering every scrap of information he can find to promote its development as a worldwide standard. Judging by the volumes of material Kegel has gathered, it's safe to say ISDN has reached prime time.

As if the FAQ provided weren't already a wealth of information, the site also provides specifics, such as how to get an ISDN connection in your area, and what software/hardware you need (an ISDN "terminal adapter", for one). Still, we recommend a modicum of computer expertise to understand all of that phone company gibberish.

As reviewed in the 1996 "World Wide Web Top 1000" - a review of the Top 5% of all Web Sites in 1996.


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