Web Tips #8



*1.  BE A PART OF HISTORY--AND MAYBE MAKE A BUCK            
            
July 26th, 1999            
            
GIMPS, an acronym for the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search, 
invites you to become part of the worldwide effort to find the 
first million-digit prime number. Finding numbers like this can 
only be accomplished with thousands of computers working 
together in concert. At this site, you can download the 
software that lets you join the 8,000-plus machines currently 
on the job. And, oh yes: If your computer is the one that hits 
the number, you win $50,000. So if you can't do this for the 
love of science, do it for the love of money. To join the 
sweepsta--er, noble experiment--visit 

http://www.mersenne.org/prime.htm


*2. THEMELAND            
            
July 27th, 1999            
            
You may be tempted to say that desktop themes are a dime a dozen.
Well, at FreeThemes they don't even cost a penny per million. 
Here it's just free theme after free theme, including all the 
parts that go into a theme--screen savers, wallpapers, icons, 
cursors, and even fonts. Check out the weekly theme theme (get 
it?) or just search for the topic that interests you, because 
it is almost surely here. And, of course, pay nothing. 

http://www.freethemes.com


*3. A BETTER BROWSER--BY SOMEONE NEW            
            
July 28th, 1999            
            
The BEST thing about the Ultrabrowser is that it's not made by 
incessant bickerers Microsoft or Netscape. The second best thing 
about it is that it doesn't require installation. And the third 
best thing about it is that it transforms your current 
browser--the one made by the bickerers--into something better. 
We think Ultrabrowser's control panel and headquarters page 
together offer a much simpler interface for handling Web 
categories than the home pages of the major Web portals, as 
seen through the leading Web browsers. Visit and see if you 
don't agree. 

http://www.ultrabrowser.com


*4. LIKE THE REAL THING, WITHOUT THE MUGGERS            
            
July 29th, 1999            
            
What is big and green, has a seamy underside, and has appeared 
in more movies than John Wayne? We could only be talking about 
Central Park, the urban recreational wonderland you can visit 
virtually at 

http://www.centralparknyc.org/index.html 

See the flowers, check on tour/event/program schedules, learn 
about the park's carousel, or just memorize the sections of the 
park so you can discuss them later and feign urbaneness. And do 
it all without holding your purse tightly to your chest.


*5. THAT'S GOTTA HURT            
            
July 30th, 1999            
            
Pain.com bills itself as "a world of information on pain" and 
seems to live up to the billing. Use the Pain Expo section to 
find painkillers by brand name, generic name, or specific pain 
relieved; search the Pain Library for articles on pain; or read 
Pain News. Or find a chat room where you can discuss your type 
of pain with others afflicted--because misery does love 
company, after all. 

http://www.pain.com


*6. REACH FOR THE STARS            
            
August 2nd, 1999            
            
"As the flexibility in your body increases, life's possibilities 
will also grow!" So advises Carol Dickman's Stretch Central, at 

http://www.stretch.com 

Ms. Dickman, a yoga instructor, has devoted her life to teaching 
people from all walks of life to stretch. Click through her 
Collection of 21 Stretches, buy her videos, or check her calendar
for her next appearance in a town near you. Or send in a picture 
of your pet stretching--because as Carol says, "Our friends in 
the animal kingdom stretch naturally all the time. Let's learn 
from them . . . "


*7. GEORGE BUSH WON'T LIKE THIS, EITHER            
            
August 3rd, 1999            
            
Yes, broccoli is good for you: It fairly ripples with 
cancer-conquering antioxidants and artery-clearing fiber. But if 
you don't like the way it tastes, what can you do? The folks at 
Mann's Sunny Shores Farms have one answer: Broccolini--sweet 
baby broccoli, a cross between broccoli and kale that's 
slimmer-stemmed, milder, and sweeter than the straight stuff 
(and, of course, costs more). For more on this wonder of 
vegetable husbandry, visit Mann's Broccolini information page at 

http://www.broccoli.com/broclini.htm


*8. WHAT'S RED AND TASTES LIKE DIRT?            
            
August 4th, 1999            
            
We could only be talking about the relatively unsung radish, the
history of which is very well documented at The Long and Short of
Radishes, by John Mertus, at 

http://www.mertus.org/gardening/radish.html 

Learn what the ancient Egyptians thought of radishes, how to 
successfully grow radishes, and the many varieties of radishes. 
Then scroll through three or four radish recipes. Yum.


*9. COMIN' TO YA, ON A DUSTY ROAD            
            
August 5th, 1999            
            
Running a small business? Wish your small business Web site 
looked big-business cool? Spend a few minutes perusing the 
sounds and special effects at Soulman Software, at 

http://www.soulsoft.com 

If you've got a Macromedia Flash-equipped Web browser, you can 
watch the company's on-line commercial, see samples of what it 
has done for clients, and be mildly entertained. We don't know 
how all this will play on a dial-up connection, but over our 
broadband cable, it looked pretty slick indeed.


*10. WASTING YOUR TIME SINCE 1996            
            
August 6th, 1999            
            
No, we're not talking about Kenneth Starr. This is the motto of 
Gamesville, a place on the Web where you can play "massively 
multiplayer interactive games" and, if you're good, win cash 
prizes. Gamesville isn't all games, either: You can also read 
really weird news stories, learn about the famous recently 
deceased, or just watch a counter total up the players, minutes 
wasted, and prize dollars won in real time. The site is probably 
guaranteed to ruin your life, but don't say we didn't warn you. 

http://www.gamesville.com
