Nothing like technology
02/03/2001 14:35  - (SA)  

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Never set sail again without a laptop - with an internet connection, of course. That way, if you're marooned on some island in the middle of the ocean, you can visit a site and request that a message in a bottle be thrown into the sea on your behalf. Nothing like technology to get you out of a fix.

But even if you're not stranded - or not even near the sea - you can cast your bottle upon the waters (or rather, have it done for you). You can also throw an imaginary bottle out into the vast internet ocean. But that's only if you want to let virtuality spoil a real-life adventure.

Cool sites

It's Oscar time again and movie-talk dominate conversations more than ever. You know, the conversations that go somewhat like this: "Who was that guy again who played in that movie about the two guys who go on this skiing trip?" You know the kind. They can get quite heated at times, too - often not inversely related to the state of inebriation of the parties involved. To settle the disputes amicably, visit this movie trivia site at Fact City. It's got all the answers you'll ever need - even those you'd never thought of asking. Who starred in ....?; Who directed ....? What was the release date of ...; What is the genre of ...; Who played (character name) in ....; List all movies starring ...; What was so-and-so's birth date? Date of death? Cause of death?

There's also a link to Oscar news coverage.

While we're at the movies - or considering going: Need to see a review to help you decide whether a movie will be worth your while? But maybe one movie critic's opinion isn't enough to help you decide. Then try the ultimate movie review site - Metacritic. Here you can find the most important reviews for each new movie at a glance.

Each movie is assigned what's called a Metascore, which is a weighted average of each of the individual reviews for that film. This number, on a 0-100 scale, lets you know at a glance what the overall rating of the critics is. You can choose from movies, video's, with sections on music and video games in the making.

I thought you had to be stranded on an island in the middle of the ocean to be consumed by a burning desire to cast a bottle with a message in it into the deep blue. I was gravely mistaken. Apparently some folks happily at home, safe and sound, also have the irrepressible urge. Now you can do the same - even if you're not anywhere near the sea. Thanks to a web service, there are kind, helpful people at the ready all over the world to throw that bottle in on your behalf. And it's all for free. All you have to do, is fill out a form, pick where you want your message in a bottle to be thrown out to sea (or river) and sit back and wait for the hundreds of replies to stream in ... Eh, sorry, ignore the last part of that sentence - I got a bit carried away. Surf over to this site for the magic.

There's also an option to throw a virtual bottle out to the virtual internet ocean. Messages sent that way "will float around the internet for up to six months and will (somehow) be found by other people who've sent messages".

Hot software

Firstly, an apology: the link to the clipboard tool I wrote about in the previous column didn't work. Sorry about that, but that's the Internet for you - a veritable sea of flux. Web pages disappear over night, or are simply renamed; whole sites are taken down or carry on business under a new name. It seems the site that offered the programme, changed name or was taken over, and the file is no longer being offered. To make up, I've got a link to a similar (maybe even better) utility. The link worked till shortly before I sent off this column... It's called Yankee Clipper and it's also freeware. You an cut and paste text and graphics to your heart's content. See what you've copied by the click of a button.

If it's all-purpose utilities you're after, try Xteq. It's an amazingly powerful tool and it's absolutely free. A must-have.

Wake up to some music - of your choice. College Alarm Clock (only 133 KB download size and free) was written by a student. The programme can be set to play a CD track at a set time. Wake up the way you want.

Breakout games have been around since the first computers. They remain popular, no matter what form they take. Here's a free one that offers a real challenge: Trixoid. It's billed as "the only high-action block-breaking game worthy of your precious time!" OK, I'm outta here ... Ehhh, maybe not ...

Latest updates

The latest versions of some popular software:

AbsoluteFTP 1.9.1

Tip of the Week

Want to reduce desktop clutter? Create an extra taskbar and place all (or most) of those icons on there. Here's how (only in Win98 and ME):

Create a new folder on your desktop. Drag and Drop shortcuts from your desktop to this folder or create new ones in it. Now drag the folder to the edge of the screen and drop it. A taskbar will be created. If you want to auto-hide it, right-click the title and select Auto-Hide. To get rid of the title and all the unnecessary text, right click the taskbar title again and de-select Show Title and Show Text. While you're there, click on View and select Small if you prefer small icons. Now customise the width of the bar by clicking and dragging it. If really want to, you can also hide the folder containing all the shortcuts by setting its properties to Hidden.

Tap to you next week ;-)

Louis

For more great sites to surf, read my weekly Internet column in Rapport's business section every Sunday.

* Louis is the author of Pretgids tot Rekenaars en die Internet - Afrikaanse vertalings en verklarings. It can be ordered directly from the publisher for R49,95 (P&P included) by E-mail (lapa@atkv.org.za) or phone (012-3252100).

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