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>>> November 20, 1997 DIY FYI The Internet is a huge glut of information or crap, depending on how you look at it. If you surf, you must search. But how do you avoid sifting through 8,564,890 results when you're just trying find out how to make pasta? A few tips: first, try Infoseek. It's the only major search engine that allows you to subsequently search the results of a query. Second, use symbols and punctuation. Commas are useful to separate names, as in "Dolly Parton, Big Bird". A plus sign (+) before a word (with no space in between) states that the word must appear in the results and a minus sign (-) will omit a word, as in "Quebec-separation" (yeah, right!). The most useful tip by far is double quotes (""). Use them around words that must appear together. The difference between stuffed animals and "stuffed animals" will save you about six hours. All of these tips are fairly basic, but if you're not in the mood to cyberdoddle, they're absolutely invaluable. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> November 13, 1997 Is that a virus on your computer? Personalizing one's computer desktop is an all-consuming passion for many people. For Luddites it's a way to make the machine seem friendlier; for the geeks it has become a race to find the most original and rare decorative gems. The Simpsons do it, South Park does it, The Far Side even does it. But Dr. Ruth? That's right! Her site (www.drruth.com) is filled with the expected sex tips and even a sex FAQ, but the "Desktop Goodies" is where the fun stuff is. The background patterns and icons are downright bizarre. One really wonders what you'd keep in a folder with a cervix on it and, surprisingly, herpes makes a very nifty background (almost rave-y). The sound bites, as you can imagine, are pretty funny... for a little while. Then there's the cursor: nothing like a sperm to complement your newly installed female condom background. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> November 6, 1997 Clean filth? We've all read about it a dozen times: the Internet is full of smut. Women and children with modems are in constant peril. The risk of happening upon an all-too-yucky crotch shot is constantly looming behind every click of the mouse. But what about those of us with sex drives who don't need to see pink? We've got Nerve (www.nervemag.com)! It's a site dedicated to "literate smut" with fiction, essays and pictures. The stories are explicit but not gross and the essays deal with contemporary sexual issues, including "The Art of Celibacy" by Quentin Crisp. There are reviews, live chats and erotic excerpts from famous books. The picture gallery is enticing but verges on the artsy-fartsy. If pornography offends you, don't go there. If a good dose of kinder, gentler smut is what you're looking for (and that means ladies, too), check it out. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> October 30, 1997 Frankly, they don't give a damn Canadians have always been somewhat irreverent when it comes to politicians and the media (think This Hour Has 22 Minutes). But there's one particular word that makes politicians run screaming from the room: Frank. The magazine's Web site (www.achilles.net/frankmag/index.html) will make you howl at its shameless mockery of our nation's personalities. No one is spared in Frank; disrespect is their specialty. There's the Frank Dead Pool, where you get to guess which prominent Canadians will be six feet under by year's end, and the "Name (CTV's) Craig Oliver's Hair Dye Contest." Some of the content is hopelessly out of date but the humour is timeless. If you really must stay on top of Canadian celebrity shenanigans, there's subscription info on the site. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> October 23, 1997 Smile! You're on Montréal Cam Just when you thought there were enough reasons not to pick your nose in public, the Greater Montreal Convention and Tourism Bureau officially launched Montréal Cam (www.montrealcam.com). Every 20 seconds, 24 hours a day, you can check out what the penguins are doing at the Biôdome or how many cars are stuck in traffic on the 20--all with a click of the mouse. Best of all, you can tell your overseas' buddies to log in at a specified time and moon them while standing in front of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Ain't technology a hoot? Montréal Cam's makers claim that "this action demonstrates our dynamism and leadership in the sectors of both tourism and technology." Well, whether you believe that or not, when you next pass the Museum of Fine Arts, aim for the target on the north side of Sherbrooke. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> October 16, 1997 ICQ, you seek me, we all seek ICQ Gone are the days of the quaint BBS, when you could see if your pals were mucking around on the same server and engage them in one-on-one chat. IRC software can be fun, but your novice user isn't likely to configure it without at least 12 hours of swearing and cursed manual reading. Enter ICQ, software so cool you'll wonder what the hell you've been doing on the Net all this time. Available free (www.icq.com), ICQ allows you to know when your friends are connected, have private or group chats with them or simply send them a message. Other features, like transferring files directly, will have you squealing with delight. Plus, it's easier than making Jell-O. Although the Mac version is still at the beta stage and lacks the live chats and file transfers, any new user will be tickled by the new functionality of their Internet connection. --Catherine Leconte |