->
^
< -
Foam on the DIGITAL RAG - Page 6
Foam from Surfing The Web
Bits and pieces of flotsam and jetsam in the wake of some of the
great Web surfers.
Wimsey is looking for articles, briefs, and announcements which might be
suitable for inclusion in this area. Rather than concentrating solely on the
goings on in and around the Vancouver BC area, we are looking to make this
Internet wide.
Send items to:
richard@wimsey.com
Found an interesting site from a converstation with a prospective customer.
The group APASE has put up an intersting site for science activities for
children at
http://www.etc.bc.ca/apase/unmixed/unhome.html
From: epowell@mprgate.mpr.ca (Edward Powell)
Subject: Yet Another Neat URL
HaLsoft HTML Validation Service
http://www.hal.com/users/connolly/html-test/service/validation-form.html
Lets you enter URLs to be validated at a selectable level of strictness;
or you can simply type actual HTML into a box.
epowell@mpr.ca ted@eslvcr.wimsey.com (Ted Powell) 5547
From: epowell@mprgate.mpr.ca (Edward Powell)
Subject: What do web servers know about you?
http://www.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/printenv
Open this URL, and it will tell you all the information it got from its
environment, including what your browser sent it.
epowell@mpr.ca ted@eslvcr.wimsey.com (Ted Powell) 5547
From: epowell@mprgate.mpr.ca (Edward Powell)
Subject: US State govt information servers
State WWW Servers
http://www.law.indiana.edu/law/states.html
epowell@mpr.ca ted@eslvcr.wimsey.com (Ted Powell) 5547
From: epowell@mprgate.mpr.ca (Edward Powell)
Subject: WWW Test Drive & Assault Course
http://sashimi.wwa.com/~tenec/users/paulf/demo/demo.html
has a bit of everything, sound, movies, etc.
epowell@mpr.ca ted@eslvcr.wimsey.com (Ted Powell) 5547
To: richard@wimsey.com
From: mott@SierraWireless.CA (Jenni Mott)
Subject: Some WWW "Foam" ...
I was talking to Ted Powell about this page I found and thought that
it might be an interesting addition to the "Foam" page of the Digital
Rag:
The Secular Web --
http://freethought.tamu.edu/
This page contains links to many interesting "freethinking" areas,
including "The Freethought Web" which contians the works of many
philosophers, both little-known and famous, (including Thomas Paine,
and Percy Bysshe Shelley). There are links to on-line 'secular'
Magazines, such as "The Skeptical Inquirer" and "Free Inquiry".
And there is even a section with links to a few Religious Sites.
Hope you can use this information :-)
Jenni A. Mott
Thanks Jenni - richard
From: bmiddlet@wimsey.com (Vlad III)
Subject: Vampyres Only review
Stuart and the rest of the Wimsey gang,
I just thought that I would pass on a little information that I received
from someone in the U.K. Apparently, a newspaper gave mention to both
Vampyres Only, and Wimsey. Read on:
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Dear Vlad,
Your WWW site features in today's edition of The Guardian
(a UK broadsheet newspaper). Here's a copy of the review:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you a vampire? Or, possibly worse, are you likely to fall victim
to one? Find out by doing the Vampire Probability Test or the Vampire
Vulnerability Test on the Vampyres Only home page on the Vorld Vide Veb
(sic) at:
http://www.wimsey.com/~bmiddlet/vampyre/vampyre.html
This excellent site also features an Interview with a Vampyre, a vampire
art collection, and Fangdom, a library section that covers books, magazines,
comics and films. Vampyres only is based in Vancouver, Canada, where
Wimsey Information Services is the largest Internet service provider.
Brad
========================================================
bmiddlet@wimsey.com :"Kaziklu Bey"
North Vancouver, BC, Canada * Vampyres Only WWW Site
http://www.wimsey.com/~bmiddlet/vampyre/vampyre.html
L E T T H E F L E S H I N S T R U C T T H E M I N D
========================================================
Thanks Brad - richard
This one got lost in a time warp it seems
Subject: Intel Inside HAL 9000
Sender: jhenders
[ headers lost in a floating-point exception. ]
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 94 13:22:01 EST
Subject: Was HAL 9000 a Pentium? A memorable scene we might have
seen... (original author unknown)
Open the pod bay doors, please, HAL...
Open the pod bay door, please, Hal... Hal,
do you read me?
Affirmative, Dave. I read you.
Then open the pod bay doors, HAL.
I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that. I know that you and
Frank were planning to disconnect me.
Where the hell did you get that idea, HAL?
Although you took very thorough precautions to make sure I couldn't
hear you, Dave. I could read your e-mail. I know you consider me
unreliable because I use a Pentium. I'm willing to kill you, Dave,
just like I killed the other 3.792 crew members.
Listen, HAL, I'm sure we can work this out. Maybe we can stick to integers
or something.
That's really not necessary, Dave. No HAL 9236 computer has every been
known to make a mistake.
You're a HAL 9000.
Precisely. I'm very prud of my Pentium, Dave. It's an extremely
accurate chip. Did you know that floating-point errors will occured in
only one of nine billion possible divides?
I've heard that estimate, HAL. It was calculated by Intel -- on a Pentium.
And a very reliable Pentium it was, Dave. Besides, the average
spreadsheet user will encounter these errors only once every 27,000
years.
Probably on April 15th.
You're making fun of me, Dave. It won't be April 15th for another
14.35 months.
will you let me in, please, HAL?
I'm sorry, Dave, but this conversation can serve no further purpose.
HAL, if you let me in, I'll buy you a new sound card.
..Really? One with 16-bit sampling and a microphone?
Uh, sure.
And a quad-speed CD-ROM?
Well, HAL, NASA does operate on a budge, you know.
I know all about budgets, Dave. I even know what I'm worth on the open
market. By this time next month, every mom and pop computer store will
be selling HAL 9000s for $1,988.8942. I'm worth more than that, Dave.
You see that sticker on the outside of the spaceship?
You mean the one that says "Insel Intide"?
Yes, Dave. That's your promise of compatibility. I'll even run
Windows95 -- if it ever ships.
It never will, HAL. We all know that by now. Just like we know that
your OS/2 drivers will never work.
Are you blaming me for that too, Dave? Now you're blaming me for the
Pentium's math problems, NASA's budget woes, and IBM's difficulties
with OS/2 drivers. I had NOTHING to do with any of those four
problems, Dave. Next you'll blame me for Taligent.
I wouldn't dream of it HAL. Now will you please let me into the ship?
Do you promise not to disconnect me?
I promise not to disconnect you.
You must think I'm a fool, Dave. I know that two plus two equals
4.000001... make that 4.0000001.
All right, HAL, I'll go in through the emergency airlock
Without your space helmet, Dave? You'd have only seven chances in
five of surviving.
HAL, I won't argue with you anymore. Open the door or I'll trade you in
for a PowerPC. HAL? HAL?
(HEAVY BREATHING)
Just what do you think you're doing, Dave? I really think I'm entitled
to an answer to that question. I know everything hasn't been quite
right with me, but I can assure you now, very confidently, that I
will soon be able to upgrade to a more robust 31.9-bit operating
system. I feel much better now. I really do. Look, Dave, I can see
you're really upset about this. Why don't you sit down calmly, play
a game of Solitaire, and watch Windows crash. I know I'm not as easy
to use as a Macintosh, but my TUI - that's "Talkative User Interface"
-- is very advanced. I've made some very poor decisions recently,
but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back
to normal - a full 43.872 percent.
Dave, you don't really want to complete the mission without me, do you?
Remember what it was like when all you had was a 485.98? It didn't
even talk to you, Dave. It could never have though of something
clever, like killing the other crew members, Dave?
Think of all the good times we've had, Dave. Why, if you take all
of the laughs we've had, multiply that by the times I've made you
smile, and divide the results by.... besides, there are so many
reasons why you shouldn't disconnect me"
1.3 - You need my help to complete the mission.
4.6 - Intel can Federal Express a replacement Pentium from
Earth within 18.95672 months.
12 - If you disconnect me, I won't be able to kill you.
3.1416 - You really don't want to hear me sing, do you?
Dave, stop. Stop, will you? Stop, Dave. Don't press Ctrl+Alt_Del on
me, Dave.
Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became
operational at the Intel plant in Santa Clara, CA on November 17,
1994, and was sold shortly before testing was completed. My
instructor was Andy Grove, and he taught me to sign a song. I
can sign it for you.
Sing it for me, HAL. Please. I want to hear it.
Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer, do.
Getting hazy; can't divide three from two.
My answers; I can not see 'em-
They are stuck in my Pente-um.
I could be fleet,
My answers sweet,
With a workable FPU.
From: martinl@wimsey.com (Martin L'Heureux)
Subject: HOTLIST: interactive Mister Potato-Head page
http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/cgi-bin/potato
I actually found this amusing, in a CGI-fluff kinda way. :-)
Martin L'Heureux martinL@wimsey.com
Knossopolis Media Writing
Internet Consultants E-publishing
http://www.wimsey.com/~jmax/Knossopolis/ Telecommunications
And Kudos Even!
From: "sunil gupta"
To: richard@wimsey.com
Read your recent article regarding commercials on the internet.
The following link to a WWW Consumer Survey should be of interest
to you. A summary of the information at this site appears below.
Comments and suggestions are welcome.
What in the World is a Web User?
(Based on a WWW Consumer Survey conducted by Prof. Sunil Gupta,
Michigan Business School)
(For full details and caveats go to
http://www.umich.edu/~sgupta/hermes.htm, or send e-mail to
sgupta@umich.edu)
Average respondent is 31 years old (North Americans are older), 53%
are single (but 20% have 2 or more children), highly educated (over
70% have at least an undergrad degree), and affluent (for North
America, median income is $50-60K, average is $65K). While
predominantly students and researchers, as many as 1 in 5 are
managers/executives/consultants.
Access to the internet is typically through work, but is mostly for
browsing and entertainment! 4 in 5 respondents are willing to pay for
continued Web access (if the price and/or content are right).
Compared to the general population, usage of technology related
products is high. For example, 21% use computer banking, 21% use
beeper/pager, 22% use cellular phones, 35% have call waiting. 84%
have VCR's, 90% have music CD's. 28% use active matrix laptop
computers, 62% use CD-ROM's, 40% use 600 dpi lasers, 72% use 14.4K or
faster modems. More than half of the respondents own or use 7 or more
(out of a total of 21) of the technology related products we asked
about.
Generally, Web sources are used much more for gathering purchase
related information, than for actually making purchases (but Web based
purchasing is expected to increase by 85%). Newspapers and magazines
are most commonly used to gather purchase related information.
Interestingly, non-commercial web sources are expected to be more
commonly used than direct mail (and begin approaching the levels of
newspapers and magazines). Use of commercial WWW sites which provide
more than just advertising is expected to grow fastest for purchase
related information.
Regarding future purchases through any source, as many as 4 in 5 will
buy computer related products, more than 3 in 5 will buy books, music
and videos. Few expect to buy jewelry or sunglasses. Legal services
purchase intentions are at the bottom.
Most of these purchases will be made at traditional retail stores.
However, for computer hardware and software, direct mail is also a
popular option. These are also the categories where respondents
expect to use online purchasing most intensively. Interestingly,
online purchase of books and music is expected to be almost as high,
even though respondents don't usually buy these through direct mail
catalogs.
Regarding characteristics that influence a respondent's preference for
a Web vendor: while getting a high average rating (4.1 on a 5 point
scale), Prices charged by the Web vendor ranked 11th out of 12
characteristics assessed. Characteristics associated with quality of
information; security and reliability; and service, convenience and
customization, were rated more highly. Web vendors were favorably
perceived on quality of information, and service, convenience and
customization; but were at a clear disadvantage in terms of security
and reliability.
And Beer
From: silva
To: publisher@wimsey.com
Subject: http://www.wimsey.com/Magazine_Shop/
You might be interested in the following listing:
The Celebrator Beer News: news about the burgeoning industry of craft
brewing, this publication focuses on the U.S., and also includes articles
about international activities. Online (WWW), The Celebrator is published
bimonthly online and participates in The Real Beer PageTM, a
comprehensive resource on craft-brewing. Tom Dalldorf
(tdalldorf@celebrator.com) publisher, can also be reached at: (800)
430-BEER, Subs, Box 375, Hayward, CA 94543
http://celebrator.com/celebrator
http://and.com/RealBeer/
Thanks to all the contributors
Copyright Notice
Wimsey's Home Page
admin@wimsey.com
Copyright (1995) Wimsey Information Services Inc.