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>>> October 9, 1997 mIRClE on Berri St. Vidéotron has re-launched InfiniT (www.infinit.net) with a new look, new content and a lot of pomp. InfiniT is a "communauté virtuelle" or, more accurately, a big honkin' site. Mainly in French, it has up-to-the-minute news, weather and sports, as well as lifestyle content ranging from Coup de pouce and Elle Québec articles to personal financial tips. But the best aspect of InfiniT is its chats--they house the most popular francophone chat site on earth. Offering 23 different chat rooms, you're bound to find at least one animated conversation any time of day. Java-capable browser or IRC software (mIRC for Windows or IRCLE for Mac) not included. For those already versed in IRC, the address is chat.infinit.net and the port is 6667. Not the hippest site, InfiniT's chats are worthwhile and, patriotic or not, supporting a massive local web effort will mean more content for us in the long run. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> October 1, 1997 Return of the BBS Montrealers who have been using modems since 1200-baud days are wont to muse about the legendary popularity of our city's long-gone Bulletin Board community, a virtual city teeming with activity. They blame its demise on the advent of graphical-interface browsers and Java eye candy, which led people astray from local BBSes and on to far-away, corporate-run sites. If you share the nostalgia, point your loathed browser to http://www.hotlinesw.com and download Hotline in a hurry. It's client software with file-transfer and chat capabilities that allows people to set up a BBS server on the Net, track other active servers and chat with other Hotline users. Post and download cool warez! Make virtual friends! Just like the good ole days. Mac users only--for now. --Philip Preville |
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>>> September 25, 1997 Do you know the dope? Do you have a job? Do your parents like you? Have you done right by them? If your answer is "yes," read on. Have you ever inhaled? When someone uses the word "blow," do you know not to reach for a tissue? If you also answered "yes" to these questions, then Drugnet (http://wkuweb1.wku.edu/~drugnet/Home.html) needs you. Western Kentucky University is using the Internet (due to its relative user anonymity and demographic reach) to survey educated, affluent adults about their drug use. This vast, candid survey aims to debunk the media-driven stereotypes that paint drug and alcohol users as Crimestopper poster children and witless prostitutes. Here's your chance to prove that you're not the person your parents told you to be afraid of. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> September 18, 1997 Pure-laine internauts RISQ (Réseau interordinateur scientifique québécois) is a division of the Centre de recherche informatique de Montréal, which is dedicated to promoting the Internet in Quebec. Aside from the use of French on the net, they also encourage the widespread use of new technologies throughout the province. Granted, RISQ is not a where you'll find wowey-zowey, Java-enhanced, Shockwave-laden KEWL!!! stuff but, hey, it's for us (the distinct ones). This month they are conducting the 4th RISQ Survey of Quebec Internauts (www.risq.qc.ca/survey/4/). Since March 1996, they have surveyed thousands of surfing Quebecers every six months in order to examine how many of us pretend we're hard at work while we check out the cool site of the day, if we ever stumble into Quebec-made sites and how fast our modems help us waste all this time. Be the statistic you always wanted to be. Results will be posted on December 1, 1997. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> September 11, 1997 Down with kitty porn Humour is rampant on the web. Good humour, however, is a little harder to find. Enter The Corporation (www.thecorporation.com). Claiming they own the Internet, they use their "proprietary worldwide network of large computing devices and cables" to disseminate their comedy product. Their Product Archive is chock-full of goodies. You'll find an essay condemning the shocking kitty porn industry, Dr. I.N. Flict's Carpal Tunnel Workshop using punchcard-style input (checkboxes aplenty!), the Internet's first map of the U.S. rendered in actual size, and BARBIE: Discontinued Dolls and Accessories (a gem of simple HTML and design). Don't leave this site without glancing at the Icon Gallery for downloadable graphics. Remember: Choosey Web sites Choose GIF! --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> September 4, 1997 Chunk is it! What are the kids into these days? Tamagotchis? Nintendo 64? Nope--they're into a cartoonish concoction of biker-gang dynamics and hip hop aesthetics. Perhaps this description makes the kids sound smarter than they are, but judge for yourself: check out the souped-up bicycles at Chunk 666 (www.reed.edu/~karl/chunk), the official home page of the "chopper bicycle gang and temperance league" of the same name. Chunk 666 members spend their days "foraging" for spare parts, "chunkifying" their bikes, clogging up traffic and passing out. Extended front forks, mismatched tire sizes, high handlebars and banana seats are all the rage. The site is also very cleverly written as a sort of autobiographical ethnography (they describe themselves as a cross between "a grade-school playground and a clan of monkeys"). Just how big is the chunk movement? Bible of hipness Vice Magazine put the most massively chunkified chopper bike, driven by a pasty-white Cosby kid, on the cover of their September issue. --Philip Preville |