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July 1997 Newsbyte | |
EDITOR'S
CORNER
Just think, 1997 is over half gone now!! Or as my overly optimistic
wife would say it still has half a year to go .... depends where
you stand when you look at it. Things are quiet here in the woods.
The computer(s) keep fanning away, and the hard drives keep filling
up. Thought with a 2.5GB hard drive it would NEVER fill up, but think
again! Guess that is the game now days. Make bigger hard drives
so the programmers can make bigger programs to fill them up. Could
this be the planned obsolescence that the car makers led us to?
I wonder?
This issue will be a disappointment to those of you that don't surf
the "Net". There have been several items in the newspaper, and in
magazines that seemed interesting to me, then the contents of this
newsletter was found on the Net. It should be saved for future reference
if you want a lot of addresses. One note: editing the list sometimes
puts spaces where they don't belong. Most addresses start with http://,
and end with an .html, and none have spaces. Beware!! Anyhow,
if you let me know your favorite address, it will appear in a future
newsletter. ----- The bottom of the right hand column contains the
telephone numbers of three local computer suppliers. All are highly
recommended! Call them for addresses and hours.
My main gripe about IBM computers is the fact that you have a blazingly
fast co-processor and have to put up with the same archaic floppy
drives as the old XT had. Add to that the stupid 640K barrier that
without Windows 95 or a good memory manager you can have 100 megs
of RAM and still get "out of memory" messages! Did you know that???
And add to that the bloody IRQ's that drive computer builders up
a wall, I wonder how long it'll be until Microsoft/IBM get on the
ball and make some changes to these archaic systems.
| President | Earl McGaha | 264-7950 |
| Vice Presidents | Jim Pfaff | 262-6805 |
| Tom Zimmerman | 264-5521 | |
| Secretary-Treasurer | Pat Johnston | 264-8726 |
| Librarians | Joe Luster | 682-7815 |
| Phillip Crosby | 264-1444 | |
| Editor | Harry Geiser | 682-7486 |
-- AltaVista (http://www.altavista.digital.com/) It's both the fastest and the most thorough search engine on the Web; it also combs through Usenet newsgroups.
-- The Bare Bones
Guide to HTML
(http://werbach.com/barebones/barebone_html.html)
-- Computer and Network Security Reference Index
(http://www.telstra.com.au/info/security.html)
-- Cryptography, PGP, and Your
Privacy
(http://world.std.com/~franl/crypto.html) Learn the basics of cryptography
and how to scramble your electronic communications so they can't be
read by snoopers or spies.
-- CyberCash
(http://www.cybercash.com)
-- The Electric Library
(http://elibrary.com) This
easy-to-search resource-with hundreds of magazines, newspapers, books,
photos, maps and broadcast transcripts-is well worth the $9.95 a month
it costs for unlimited use.
-- GeoCities
(http://www.geocities.com)
Join
the tens of thousands of people who have a free home (page, that is)
in one of the 24 themed communities-from Athens to Hollywood-in this
virtual on-line world.
-- Homepage Creation Center
(http://the-inter.net/www/future21/html.html) Just fill in the blanks
in the easy-to-use Homepage Creator and-voila!-your home page is ready
to upload to your Internet service provider's Web server.
-- HTML Editors
(http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperN
ews/get/www/
html/editors.html)
-- HTML Goodies
(http://www.htmlgoodies.com)
There's no excuse for having a home page that's as dull as a dishrag
when you can visit this site and download any of the 400-plus icons,
arrows, lines, buttons and such-for free. Also JavaScripts, HTML How-To's, JavaScript
How-To's, and much much more. (Ran by professor at Bowling Green State
University's Computer Sciences Department.)
-- Infoseek
(http://www.infoseek.com) Call
up relevant Web pages by keyword or topic, then click on "Similar
Pages" to see more sites that closely match the ones you found most
useful. The Fast Facts section provides one-click access to handy
reference sites on the Web.
-- Inline Plug-ins
(http://home.netscape.com/comprod/products/navigator/
version
_2.0/plugins/index.html)
Here's the most up-to-date list of free and nearly free plug-ins available
for download to use with Netscape Navigator.
-- The-Inter.Net Free World Wide Web Site
(http://the-
inter.net/www/future21/users/pri.html)
-- Internet Phone Release
(http://www.vocaltec.com/downld.htm) If
you have a sound card, modem, microphone and Internet connection,
you can download the free trial software and make long-distance telephone
calls with no toll charges.
-- The List
(http://thelist.iworld.com) Shopping
for a new Internet service provider? This directory of almost 4,000
companies will help you find one in your area.
-- Lycos
(http://www.lycos.com) This search
engine's
multimedia tool points you to photos, videos, music, noises and everything
else beyond the written word.
-- Macromedia
Shockwave
(http://www.macromedia.com/s
hockwave/)
Download the software, then check out all the sites that use this
multimedia tool to make Web pages come alive with animation.
-- McAfee.com
(http://www.mcafee.com)
-- Microsoft Site Builder Workshop ActiveX
Controls
(http://www.microsoft.com/activex
/controls/)
-- NCSA - A Beginner's Guide to
HTML
(http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/I
nternet/
WWW/HTMLPrimer.html)
-- NetGuide
Live!
(http://www.netguide.com) Want
to know what's doing on the Web today? NetGuide Live, from HomePC's
owner, CMP Media, lets you search dozens of daily live events by time,
service or subject. You'll also find reviews of the best Web sites.
-- Netsurfer Focus:
Computer and Network Security
(http://www.netsurf.com/nsf/v01/01/nsf.01.01.html) If you're worried
about hackers, crackers, phrackers or spies, you can learn a lot about
keeping your data safe by reading the articles on computer
security.
-- QuickTime VR
(http://qtvr.quicktime.apple.com) Most
virtual-reality players can display only cartoonish drawings,
but this utility lets you explore photorealistic 3-D environments,
such as a museum or a vacation rental.
-- RealAudio
(http://www.realaudio.com)
Download this utility, then jump to a host of sites-including ABC and NPR-where
you can listen to live and recorded news, sports, music and radio
programs on the spot.
-- Sherlock Homes - The
Home Page of Home
Pages
(http://www.nitehawk.com/Sherlock
Homes/)
-- Tools For WWW Providers
(http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/Tools/)
-- Using Secure
Communications
(http://www.microsoft.co
m/ie/most/howto/secure.htm)
-- VDOLive
(http://www.vdo.net/products/vdolive/)
This plug-in is a must if you want to see live video broadcasts-news,
music videos, movie premieres and tours of vacation spots-on the Net.
-- The Web Developer's Virtual Library
(http://www.enterprise.net/stars/)
Novice and expert Web authors alike
can learn everything they need to know at this site-and find links
to a wide range of related topics, from animation to getting a home
page noticed.
-- WhoWhere? Personal Home
Pages
(http://homepages.whowhere.com)
-- Yahoo!
(http://www.yahoo.com) The
original
search tool, which lets you locate information by topic or keyword,
is still one of the best. Meanwhile, Yahooligans! (http://www.yahooligans.com) is geared to Web surfers ages 8 to
14.
Teacher: Lynn Evans, media specialist Grades: 1 to 6 School: Clear Creek Elementary School, Silverdale, Wash.
Lessons: Math, communication, responsibility
E-mail address: lynne@cc.cksd.wednet.edu< P> There are few school projects teachers can bank on to raise test scores and increase students' sense of responsibility. But for four years now, the microsociety at Clear Creek Elementary School has paid off. All students get a salary for performing various jobs anything from tutoring to selling homemade jewelry to working at the school's Orca Buck Bank. Last year, a bank-teller friend of teacher Lynn Evans trained 22 students in grades 3 through 6 who signed up to be bank tellers, data entry clerks, customer service representatives and supply department personnel. Lynn acted as the young staff's supervisor.
Students designed the bank's currency dubbed orcas, after the killer whale. The kids could deposit their orcas in bank accounts, and withdraw them to pay for, say, tickets to a school show. Whenever they lacked enough orcas to buy what they wanted, they could apply to the bank for a loan.
The bankers used Access database software, customized by a computer specialist in the school district's technical center, to track and disburse funds. Access helped them record deposits and withdrawals, check balances and print monthly statements. Student IDs, downloaded from the school's computers, served as account numbers. Last year, the bank handled about 4,500 transactions.
Banking hours were from 1:10 to 1:45 p.m. four days a week, in a classroom with desks that were arranged to resemble a bank. There was only one computer in the classroom, but bankers could use the database from any of the school's 26 computers.
The bankers used the Publisher desktop publishing program to create most of their forms, including bank books, deposit and withdrawal slips, loan applications and promissory notes. The orcas were printed by high-school students in the design and graphic arts departments.
Lynn credits the microsociety project for a dramatic change in the kids including standardized test results that have risen 20 percent in the past four years. "Suddenly the students can see the relevance of what they're learning to the real world," she says. "They become much more responsible when they have a voice and a choice in what they do."
Access: $339 (Windows 95, Windows 3.1) from Microsoft, (800) 426-9400, (206) 882-8080, http://www.microsoft.com
Publisher: $79 (Windows 95, Windows 95 CD-ROM, Windows 3.1) from Microsoft
The Children's
Literature Web Guide. A detailed guide to children's
literature sites on the Web. Includes resources for teachers, lists
of bestsellers and award-winning titles.
(http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/index.html)
The Exploratorium. Hundreds of
ideas for classroom projects from San
Francisco's science and technology museum. Features simple ways to
measure the expansion of the universe to testing children's mental
recall of the details on a Lincoln penny. (http://www.exploratorium.edu/)
GOALS. Students join adventurers via
the Internet on expeditions ranging
from circumnavigating the Earth to scaling mountains and exploring
the ocean's depths. (http://www.goals.com)
The Nine Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System. More than
60 Web pages tell the story of the solar system using text, photos
and movies of space objects. (http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/)
The Smithsonian. This year students can
help celebrate the 150th anniversary
of the nation's largest repository of historic, scientific, technological,
natural and artistic mementos, memorabilia, discoveries and innovations.
Features teacher resources and a wealth of ideas for classroom activities.
(http://www.si.edu/)
Bartleby Library. An
on-line library of meticulously prepared guides
and copies of great literature and literary references. Extremely
well indexed, all materials are in the public domain or licensed through
Columbia University and are free. (http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/)
Kid's Window. Japan is the
geography lesson at this site. Students
are introduced to the country with lessons in the Kanji language,
reading folktales written in English as they hear them narrated in
Japanese, and learning about a typical Japanese breakfast (rice, raw
eggs and pickles). Sponsored by the Japan Window Project at Stanford
University. (http://jw.stanford.edu/KIDS/)
International Kids' Space. A place for students to post copies of
their electronic art, writing or musical compositions on-line, swap
stories about school with others and communicate with classrooms around
the world. (http://plaza.interport.net/kids_space/)
The NASA Homepage. Photos, data,
video and up-to-the-minute live reports
from the Space Shuttle are available from the nation's space agency.
(http://www.nasa.gov/)
Global SchoolNet Foundation. One-stop shopping
for teachers seeking
ideas for fascinating on-line projects. This site features a host
of links to other education-rich sites and classroom projects. Students
can visit the chimps at the Jane Goodall Institute in Africa or tour
the world with retired airline pilot Roger Williams in his truck named
Bubba. (http://www.gsn.org/)
Journal of Basketball Studies. A novel site of statistical sports
exercises designed to introduce students to mathematics by tracking
basketball scores and calculating player averages.
(http://cmr.sph.unc.edu/~deano/bball/index.html)
Apple Support and Information Web (http://www.info.apple.com)
Balfer Interactive Free Computer Help Page (http://www.balfer.com) Got a question about your software? Post it here, and you'll receive an answer by e-mail within 24 hours-at no charge.
Computer Hardware and Software Phone Numbers (http://www.mtp.semi.harris.com/comp_ph1.html) It isn't pretty, but this list of industry phone numbers for customer service, tech support and on-line help is awfully useful.
e.support (http://www.esupport.com)
Jesse's Movies (http://www.uslink.net/~edgerton/index.html) Download and view QuickTime, MPEG and AVI movie clips. Now showing: sports, TV shows, cartoons and rock videos.
Microsoft Support Online (http://www.microsoft.com/support/) When a problem with a Microsoft program or your Windows operating system crops up, visit this storehouse of technical information for solutions. You can also download hardware drivers and software fixes.
Oil Change (http://www.cybermedia.com/oil/ochome.htm)
The Ref Drive and Controller Guide (http://theref.c3d.rl.af.mil/) Is your hardware giving you a hard time? This guide uses simple illustrations to explain everything from cables to controllers.
S.O.S. Help Center (http://www.torch-usa.com) If you're willing to pay a monthly fee of $4.95, this virtual help desk provides 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week access to a network of thousands of technicians who promise to answer your query within 10 minutes.
Software.Net Support Directory (http://www.software.net/directory.htm)
Support Central (http://www.gw2k.com/support/framesupport.htm)
TechHelper (http://www.techhelper.com) Created by HomePC's owner, CMP Media, this extensive guide to on-line technical-support resources includes a searchable index of thousands of answers to frequently asked questions.
The WAV Place (http://fairview.galileo.net/~kharr/) Listen up: You can download sound bites from movies, songs, commercials and other sources for use in your favorite Windows applications.