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>>> July 16, 1998 Blowing bubbles for Jesus Christ The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the various missionaries who travelled Africa, Asia and the Americas to convert heathens to the Word of God--they were all a waste of time. All the slaughter, torture and condemnation from fiery pulpits could have been avoided if they'd just called up Life Line Inc., or checked their Web site (http://www.xyz.net/~biblegum). Life Line appears to be a company which specializes in what might be termed "evangelical confectionery." Life Line, you see, understands that the way to make someone a believer is to appeal to their sweet tooth. Their flagship product is Bible Gum, ordinary chewing gum contained in a small carton. Inside the carton is a "complete, referenced verse from the King James version of the Bible." According to them, "when the carton is unfolded, the verse is revealed, for the privilege of the holder." Individual servings, tins and even vending machines are available. It's not a bad concept, but it could use a little finessing: there should be Bible trading cards or, at the very least, Bazooka Jesus comic strips. --Emru Townsend |
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>>> July 9, 1998 Quelle bummer! Has your company reached the magic number? According to the Office de la langue française, once you hit the 50-employee mark, you've got too many employees for mere English. Overnight, for the sake of either protocol or politesse, people suddenly find themselves writing memos and other correspondence in French. Or at least they're supposed to. Beyond the legalistic thorns in your side, the more basic problem is that many people discover a newfound talent for illiteracy. Does your French grammar have a certain pathetic "je ne CKOI"? Enter "Sans-Faute/Grammaire," a brilliant little program that checks your French spelling and grammar. A limited version is available for free at www.bcdl.com (a souped up version costs about $75). By either cutting and pasting or using the program-specific macros, you'll be writing like Molière in no time. The only downside is that they have yet to release a promised Windows version. Qué sera sera... --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> July 2, 1998 Boarding Gates It seems everyone has at least one reason to hate Microsoft. Lord knows there's no shortage. The company struts around buying almost everything and decimating everything else. It really makes you feel for the "little guy." Hell, it makes you feel like the little guy! Tyranny aside, Microsoft does, occasionally, give the public something pretty cool. Expedia (http://expedia.msn.com/) is the Microsoft Network's travel centre. While it offers gobs of destination information, the truly great thing is that you can shop for plane tickets. By simply entering a rough itinerary the search engine will find you a handful of the cheapest fares available. You can then book your ticket online. It also regularly features seat sales to various locations. If only this didn't imply that Microsoft knows your whereabouts... --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> June 25, 1998 Inc-ROY-able! Québécois exports are taking off when it comes to entertainers. Since Céline Dion infiltrated the "world stage" it seems a whole whack of local celebs are ready to follow. If Web content is any indication, the next lucky habitant to make it big will be Roy Dupuis. With the La femme Nikita webring boasting 83 sites (www.webring.org) and Wired's HotBot search engine grinding out 592 links with his name, he's become a virtual phenomenon (pardon the pun). Sure, David Duchovny's got him beat hands down, but there's certainly no lack of hunk-o-burnin' love photos, articles, personal essays, biographies, sound clips... (you get the picture) of this hometown boy. After several years of mere local lust, Dupuis has finally earned his official drool status south of the border. Who knew that a Québécois accent is so sexy? --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> June 18, 1998 Hey kids, it's font-astic! The accessibility of word processors and desktop publishing software has forever changed the world of graphic design. In some ways it has made it worse (just because you have a kitchen doesn't mean you're a blue ribbon chef), in some ways better (the more people try their hand at it, the more experimental and dynamic it becomes). Over time, a major component of design has become an equally major component of overall computer usage: the font. Fonts are everywhere--from spreadsheets to photo manipulation software. Everyone's "inner designer" loves fonts, and OS makers now include more fonts in their basic systems. Alas, we never seem to have enough variations on the curly 'S' or the blocky 'A'. Well, want no more 'cause here comes the Font Fairy (www.computermom.com/fontfairy)! The Font Fairy's site is crammed with links to hundreds of fonts that you can obtain for free on the Web. You'd be amazed how many talented font designers are willing to license their work for free. But before you go berserk with your newfound typefaces, remember the golden rule of font usage: less is more (especially on your résumé, for God's sake!). --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> June 11, 1998 Sultans of style The struggle to differentiate print design from Web design has heated up in the past year. While the written word continues to dominate content, the challenge is to present it in novel ways. Innovative designers are trying to redefine the medium in order to distance it from print, to give it a raison d'être. Chances are that more than a few groundbreakers will come from the Swankarmy. This "army," based at www.swanky.org, is made up of over 100 designers who are all trying to push the envelope of Web design using everything from elegant graphics and new Dynamic HTML to Shockwave files (small interactive animations). Each designer has his/her own site to showcase their talent, and there are too many great ones to mention in this small space. You'll need a couple of hours to get through a reasonable number of the sites but it's well worth it. While you're there make sure to check out the "flash" (Shockwave) section to really see what Web content can do. --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> May 28, 1998 French toast The Office de la langue française has had a difficult time deciding what to do about the cultural equalizer known as the Internet. Their present rule is: "A French version must be provided only in the case of advertisements posted on the Web site of a company located in Quebec for products available in Quebec." In addition, the OLF says it will not police the Net except to investigate complaints. That said, they have published an online dictionary of acceptable (franco-sized) Internet terms. The hilarity begins at www.olf.gouv.qc.ca/service/pages/internet2.html. The "Vocabulaire d'Internet Plus" gives an approved French Canadian equivalent for just about every Web-related term. In the case of the "Web cookie," the OLF has dropped the terms "espion" and "jeton" for the kinder and gentler "témoin," and states that the term "cookie" (presumably said with a French accent) is to be avoided. Some of the cuter terms are "pourriel" (junk e-mail), "escargotique" (snail mail) and "bavardoir" (chatroom). As a final note (to Raymond Villeneuve): the OLF requires (according to item 577A of the dictionary) that the term "mail bomb" be referred to as "le bombard". Surfez bien! --Catherine Leconte |
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>>> May 21, 1998 WWW RIP The Web is just chock-full of proof that way too many people have way too much time on their hands. But often we find ourselves fascinated by crappy Web content, much like we slow our cars down at accident sites; there's nothing quite as indulgent (and harmless) as rubbernecking on the information highway. So on one of those slow work days, give Find a Grave (www.findagrave.com) a glance. It's pretty much what it sounds like, although it's limited to celebrities only. With indexes arranged by name, location and claim to fame, you'll be amazed by how many noteworthy people are dead and buried and how pretty their graves are! You'll find 246 actors, 46 social reformers, 19 philanthropists plus much, much more. And with the handy little "new!" graphics, you'll always be up-to-date. This site truly is unnecessary. But, after having looked at a few dozen graves you're bound to sit back and ask yourself, ever-so-pensively, "What really is necessary?" Surely it's crucial to know that Jim Morrison's grave was cleaned up in 1997. --Catherine Leconte |