Issue 17 January 1997
This is a very special Bulletin. It contains no 'tip', no new 'Jewel' of a program. Rather, it is a plea for help. I would like to ask you to help me help someone who is very dear to anyone who has ever had the chance to know her. The Internet has received much negative press lately from alleged pundits who are prone to teach that the Net is the refuge of those who wish to 'drop out' and live in a virtual world where personal responsibility can be forgotten. I beg to differ on that appreciation. I am certain your response to this message will prove the pundits wrong.
Whereas in the 'real' world, people are too often quick to drop dear friends of long standing, at the first sign of sickness on their part, I have found the 'virtual' friends to stand by and offer all sorts of comfort and support.
The purpose of this Bulletin is to ask that you take a moment and visit the following URL:
http://www.oakchase.com/lady/missy.html
Once there, all will become very clear, I assure you. There is no need to reply to me regarding this Bulletin. However, nothing will make me happier than seeing your name on the list.
Issue 11 January 1997
This is one issue packed with utilities you all will be wondering how you ever managed to operate without them.... once you try them out. For example, I spent the last few weeks reviewing a multitude of `Post-It' programs, looking for the 'ultimate' and folks, I think I found it. I also discovered a few Net applications that will just make your day. There is even a Scavenger Hunt! Enjoy this issue.
POST-IT APPS
How often do we come across nice tidbits of information we'd like to temporarily store away and use later on? Hundreds of time every day! The problem is finding those nuggets later on. The following app will answer all your problems. It is called PostPad 32 bit, and since I installed it, I have removed all the other various apps I was using to date. It includes tabs and is fully customisable. A joy to use. I recommend you visit the supplier's homepage before downloading for further information on this great app.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/serpentsoft/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/serpentsoft/ppd100b3.exe
Other Post-it apps you may want to check:
WILDNOTE
Allows almost unlimited number of notes and includes alarms. More info at:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3519/page4.html
YELLOW STICKIES
Launch from icon in the system tray. Customisable.
http://www.softwiz.com/yellow.exe
INTERMIND COMMUNICATOR
This nifty little application is somewhat similar to PSN in that you can tailor it to bring you exactly the information you want, be it news, sports, Internet etc. Although you must register this app before using it, it is free. The real value of this new offering is that you can publish info on the Web which will be delivered to all who also use this service. Get more information (recommended) at: http://www.intermind.com/ or download at URL:
ftp://ftp.intermind.com/pub/win32/imc32.exe
INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY
The Internet Public Library is one site you will want to bookmark if you do any sort of research at all. Quite comprehensive and a joy to use. It has a great Reference Section.
http://www.ipl.org
CNN'S YEAR IN REVIEW
If you were too busy in `96 to keep up with world events, check this site for a recap. Amazing how many events occured in `96!
http://www.cnn.com/EVENTS/1996/year.in.review/
STARFISH INTERNET UTILITIES (Lite)
Here is another pretty nifty set of utilities you can use daily while surfing the Net. Includes an InternetMeter to help you keep track of your online time. Also boosts a superb Bookmark facility and a QuickZip app which will help you file transfers while saving disk space.
http://starfishsoftware.www.conxion.com/siu/lite/siu_lite.exe
FONT LISTER Ver 1.45
Looking for a good little app to keep track and show all those fonts you have been collecting lately (willingly or unwillingly!) Look no further.... This utility will allow you to write a sample text and print it for viewing.
http://home1.inet.tele.dk/theill/fl.zip
HELP Pa FIND HIS STUFF
Looks like Pa went surfing and lost a bagful of stuff: his pipe, his toothbrush, spittoon, Visa Card, even his car! Pa said he is willing to pay $100 to the first person who can find all his lost items, and let him know where they're at. Yes, this is a *real* scavenger hunt, with a real $100 reward. The hints alone are worth a visit.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/1306/ss8yu606.htm
NEW FEATURE IN OMEGA
A new feature has been added to the Omega site. Try the `Time for Exercise' button on the main page. And, enjoy!
This is it for this issue. Remember.... if you like Compuflash, pass it on to some friends..
Issue 5 Jan 1997
INTRO
1997! It ought to be a good year. At the very least, we at The Omega Connection will do our very best to ensure it is. Many changes have taken place during the past year and more are on the way for `97. While the emphasis is now on `music', I will keep updating all current features, such as Latest Jewels, Latest Nuggets, Astronomy, Software etc etc...
Special efforts have been made and will continue to be made to improve the loading time of pages and the navigating. Indeed, the site is getting so filled with various features that a way had to be sound to easily navigate from one to the other. For example, the site now contains over 350 Midi files!! You might wish to listen again to a certain number you liked but, where was it?? Was it in Concert No 4 or was it in Singalong No 3??? Now, you can quickly find it by using the Midi Menu. Also, a new, revamped Master Main Menu has been added. Both these menus will be listed on most major pages, at the bottom of the page, for easy access.
WHICH BROWSER TO USE???
According to statistical data provided by the WebTracker (at top of main Omega opening page), 80% of visitors use Netscape and 17% use MSI Explorer. Because it is becoming more and more difficult to program our pages for 'both' browsers, I, like most HTML programmers have opted to code my pages with Netscape in mind. I can no longer `proof-run' every page in both as I used to do. If you do use Explorer, I would be interested to hear about any problem you might encounter while surfing Omega. If you don't have any problem, well, I'd like to hear about it too
NEW FEATURES
Please remember.... I like hearing from you. If you have suggestions, questions, or just want to say hello... let me know. I'm only a click away! Now,... on with the goodies and, there are some great ones in this bulletin!
NEW APPS
LIVE IMAGE
This is a `live' one. Have you noticed the 'new look' of the opening page. If you like the new mapped image I used then, you want to get this little nugget!
http://www.mediatec.com/
NEW BROWSER: OMEGA
We all can use a browser which loads fast and has all of today's bells & whistles, especially when we do a great amount of page editing etc. This new browser has too many features to list here but suffice to say it is user-friendly, and.... can be used in Windows 3.x without requiring Win32s!
http://opera.nta.no/
SHAREWARE GALORE
Want shareware, freeware, software? I just discovered a site, aptly called Shareware Side, which will answer all your questions. Incredibly well structured and easy to navigate, this is one site you will bookmark and return to whenever you are looking for software. This was an easy choice for
the Omega's Jewel Award!
http://www.gel.ariadne-t.gr/ftpside/
PHOTO ALBUM
The PhotoImpact Album, is a program which should take care of all your photo cataloguing needs. The trial version is fully functional but limited to 30 days after which you must download a newer version. Quite powerful yet easy and pleasant to use. Over 3 meg is size, the filename is piabm30t.exe and you can get it at:
http://www.ulead.com/products/al_main.htm <>
A NEW TWIST ON ZIP's
How would you like to run programs from within a ZIP file without having to unzip it? Sounds great? Believe me, it is. The program is called Zif95-20.exe . Check it out at:
http://www.mijenix.com/
DOCUMENT FILE VIEWER
Now, here's a winner if I ever saw one. Once you start using it you'll wonder how you ever manged your file viewing before. For example, no matter which program I used before to 'preview' midi files, it took ages just to load them in and hear the first few notes. With this little nugget... it's almost instantaneous! You just have to try it! The program is PEEPER32.ZIP
http://www.fineware.com/peep32a.shtml
TURBO BROWSER
The following pearls was suggested to me for inclusion by a good cyberpal, Doug Brown.... Here's what he had to say about it and, I fully agree with him:
TurboBrowser.. Most Excellent!!.. I call it a windows explorer clone with one major difference. You get to see the files.. Highlight a GIF, JPG, TIF, BMP or whatever and it is displays the image in the browser window. Highlight a ZIP file and it shows what is in it without running WinZip or other Zipware. The newest version will preview web pages as text or as a web page. Yes.. Cruise an entire site from one window. I love it!!.. Get it at:
http://www.turbobrowser.com
EDIT PAD 32-bit
Here's the perfect replacement for the notorious notepad.exe! Runs on Windows 95 and does not require any additional DLL etc.. Loaded with features. Highly recommended. FileName: EditPad.zip
http://www.tornado.be/~johnfg/jgsoft.html
LATEST NETSCAPE
If you'd like to be the first on the block to use the very latest, humongous, non-activated features version of Netscape then, this one is for you. After reading the listing of not-as-yet-operational features and possible-bug-list and, given it's zize (9 Meg) I decided to pass for now. But, you may want to read all about it. It sure provides a good window into things to come! If you do download and use it, I'd be interested to hear your comments on it. Heck... I'll even publish them! Info at:
http://home.netscape.com/eng/mozilla/4.0/relnotes/windows-4.0b1.html
The program is at:
ftp://ftp10.netscape.com/pub/communicator/4.0/4.0b1/windows/c32e40b1.exe
WEB PAGE STYLIST
You wish to change 'every homepage' on your site and include a new footer block. You can either edit each page individually or you can use this nifty little app! Loaded with features.... Filename: websty10.zip Check it out at:
http://www.netrunner.net/~daneng/webstyle.htm
http://www.cnw.com/~drclue/F1.cgi/HTML/HTML.html?HOME_PATH=http://www.cnw.co
m/~drclue/F1.cgi/nindex.html
As always, I would like to hear your comments on this issue's choices. Feel free to write... and,
John
Issue 25 December 1997
1996 has been quite a year for all Net surfers.... and for The Omega Connection. Now entering it's third year on the Net, the Omega site has witnessed an exponential growth in 1996 and all because of you, who so often visited us.
Christmas being the season to 'give' rather than 'receive'..... what a better time for me to give You my sincere thanks for your support during this last year. To all of you who entered those encouraging remarks in the guestbook and, especially to those fantastic cyberpals who expressed their views via 'personal' e-mail messages, I offer my deepest thanks.
Regular visitors have no doubt noticed the major change.... Music! Indeed, the Concerts in the Park series has proven extremely popular and I can assure you there will be more.... beginning in January.
Our latest feature, the Midi FunShop also has the makings of a popular feature and it will be greatly enhanced in the months to come. This success is due in great part to all those fantastic people who have contributed to the Omega Connection during the past year such as .... the Midi musicians who have given me access to their work.... the individuals who have sent me their personal 'gifts' to be included within these pages (such as that wonderful poem at the opening screen and that 'dancing note tuba', to name but two.
And my special thanks to Tommy and Judy Williams who have joined with me in creating the new Midi Funshop feature.
To all of you, contributors and visitors alike, I wish you the Merriest of Christmasses.
I now invite you to visit the 'Special' Omega opening page for Christmas 96 at:
http://www.compunews.com/~jsav/25dec.htm
If you have received a new soundboard this Christmas, you will want to check this new opening page. It contains a musical number which will bring out all the best from that soundcard! You can also access this new page via the regular Omega URL you have bookmarked (?) Yes?
See you all Next year!
Issue14 December 1997
What a busy time this is. If you are, as most of us, trying to stretch a 24 hour day into 48 just so as to cope with all the things to do, and are short for time, please do make sure to read the entry on our new feature:The Midi Funshop.
I wish to thank all of you who have sent Omega their best wishes of the Season either via e-mail. the guestbook, and even snail mail. I did attempt to reply to all and if I should have missed you, please accept my apologies.
New Latest Jewels Entries
Several award-winning sites have been posted to the Latest Jewels page in the last few days and rather than re-listing them here, I encourage you to visit the page for some of the best sites on the Net. They all are winners!
THE OMEGA MIDI FUNSHOP
A new feature, which was not to be unveiled until mid-January is now available. I am referring to the new Omega Midi Funshop. What this new feature is all about is fully described at the URL below.
http://www.compunews.com/~jsav/funshop.htm
or you may directly access it from the main Page of Omega, between the `Sing Along With me' and the `Sign Guestbook' buttons! If you are thinking of getting or giving an audio soundcard for Christmas, the first featured article will surely be helpful, whic explains the 'early' unveiling of the FunShop. Drop in at the Midi FunShop and, Enjoy!
JOHN GOES HERETIC!
he resy,n. opinion contrary to the accepted doctrine on any subject. ( The Concise Oxford Dictionary)
Based on the description of `heresy' above, I must publicly confess that I have become heretic! For as long as I can remember, I have held the view that embedded music files were not the best way to go with one's homepage and publicly stated so.
As of yesterday, regular visitors to the Omega Connection were probably shocked to hear some music automatically playing upond loading! "What?" I can hear them exclaim. "Do I hear some embedded music here? Has John fallen into the egg nog tank???" To this, I must reply "Positive on the first and negative on the second:I don't drink and I can't afford a tank filled with eggnog".
What happened is this: First of all, it's Christmas and I thought greeting visitors with `So, This Is Christmas' was most appropriate. I also have come to admit that, given the latest browsers available, embedded music (done the proper way) did make a visit to a page so endowed more enjoyable. So there you have it. Embedded music?? I never thought 'I' would ever stoop that low
SEASON'S WISHES PAGE
Please consider my Omega Xmas Album as my 'official' Merry Christmas Page. Oh... and enjoy!
http://www.compunews.com/xmas1.htm\
Psssst! It's a Secret!
Tomorrow (Sunday) is Rhymester's Birthday (rhymster@bright.net) - but - you didn't hear it from me!
Christmas... 'Tis the time to be jolly! 'Tis the time to spread joy....
PARTING SHOTS
Tis' a season to be jolly.... Tis' also a very busy time. So I'll keep this one Bulletin short so as to allow you time to go on with all this Christmas shopping and whatever else keeps one so active this time of the year.
As this is the last Bulletin of the year, I wish to thank all of you for your splendid support this past year. I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas. May the New Year bring you, and all your loved ones, Health, Happiness and Prosperity.
Merci à tous pour votre support durant cette année passée. Je souhaite à vous et à tous ceux qui vous sont chers, un Joyeux Noel et une Bonne et Heureuse Année. Que l'An Nouveau qui vient vous apporte Santé, Bonheur et Prospérité.
John
Special Issue 7 December 1997
Hello everyone,
To better understand the main part of this Bulletin, I recommend you first check out the following URL:
http://www.ranger.org/~ranger/pergat.htm
As you may well imagine, the publication of my last bulletin regarding the uproar caused by the sudden demise of Pergatory and its subsequent 'quick' recovery engendered a flood of e-mail from subscribers.
Most of the correspondents mentioned their sense of loss and mistrust they had felt as a result of that sudden demise. Several pointed out they too had written Pergatory, asking for some explanation as to what had happened and requesting some help about recovering their old guest book only to receive a reply very similar to those my friend Don had received.
It is one thing to receive one bad, obnoxious and impolite reply but, when the sender goes to the trouble of using a supposedly anonymous re-mailer address (and to send repeat copies of same insulting reply, one is led to wonder "am I dealing with a responsible commercial enterprise here?"
The reply messages were sent from the following address:
admin@nowhere.com"
Several correspondents also asked me about how I had managed to do all this 'address tracing'. Here then is some more background on how it all came about.
Given the abruptness of the demise of Pergatory and the nonchalant and insulting way queries were handled by its author, I began looking into IP Addresses. I simply could not imagine now anyone could setup a new service so fast. Was I witnessing some supernatural event here? It does take weeks to even simply register a domain name, and still more time to set up a server. yet, the whole thing took place in less than one week!
When the 'new, revised and improved' service came back online with pergatory.com as the server, I used WhoIs to do a quick check.
The IP Address of Pergatory, when the service was free, was:
http://207.113.18.2/webdesign/guestbook.htm
Using the WhoIs search engine, located at:
http://www.inf.uaem.mx/cgi-bin/whois
The "207.113.18.2' portion of the address is the same as "CHEYENNE.INTERPOW.NET" or, put another way.... same as: http://www.interpow.net/
"webdesign" was the designated sub-directory of Pergatory.
When you now go to this address, you are directed to:
http://www.pergatory.com/ a 'service' provided by... Interpow!
I further discovered, that the INTERPOW.NET was created on 02-Jul-96. and the Record was last updated on 25-Nov-96 on about the date Pergatory guest book service was discontinued. The reason then given by the operator of Pergatory was that he had been 'locked out' by 'his' provider (Interpow) and had 'lost' all customers' records.
Now, things get interesting.
The PERGATORY.COM domain was granted on 17 Oct 96, five weeks prior to the reputed 'lock-out' by the INTERPOW.NET. Application for the Domain name must logically have been done some four to six weeks prior to the granting date.
Another interesting fact: INTERPOW, who were the ISP (Internet Services Provider) for Pergatory prior to 'locking them out' now have a guest book which was implemented on 04 Dec 96. The guest book services are provided by....... Pergatory!!!! It contained only two entries at the time I checked,
on 07 Dec, but it should be interesting to see entries to come.
View the Interpow guest book as it grows... at:
http://www.pergatory.com/cgi/book.cgi?who=interpow
One of the most entertaining URL at present is the following:
http://www.pergatory.com/cgi/book.cgi?who=pergatoryii&swearcheck=TRUE
Entries made to the present Pergatory guest book are edited practically every few minutes and all non-flattering entries are purged. On my most recent log-in to view the guest book this morning, some unhappy ex-customer had inserted some code in his reply which crashed my browser! A word to the wise!
I have information from a very reliable source that prompts me to warn all present users of the new, free or paid for, Pergatory service to make frequent backups of their guest book entries. Losing one's cherished entries once is bad. Losing them a second time, and for good, in less than a week
or two is almost unbearable!
I welcome any comment, question you may have. Given the current amount of e-mail coming my way, I ask writers be a little patient... it may take me a while to respond but I will respond to all queries, either personally or via a Bulletin.
If you agree no responsible surfer should be called a moron, a weenie or worse by commercial services in reply to a ligitimate query, I would take it as a personal favor if you were to insert either or both of the following links into your pages under a heading of your choice. If you do, please send me the URL of the modified page and I will add it to a forthcoming page listing surfers who have had enough and won't take it anymore.
http://www.compunews.com/~jsav/flash.htm and/or
Best regards,
Issue 5 Nov 1996
Hello,
Frequent visitors to the Omega site will have noticed quite a few changes. Most of them have to do with speeding up the loading of various pages. Some graphics were reduced in size using the GIF Wisard menu you'll find on the main page (more on this later). One major addition is located in the Music page. I have begun filling a menu with all the Midi files currently available which should be a great help if you are looking for a particular title and don't remember just where you first heard it. It will take a while
before 'all' titles are listed but give it a try.... I also try to include the 'running time' in the listing.
Re:New Pergatory Guestbook
I am very pleased with this new guestbook. Not only can you 'customize' it to do pretty well whatever you want it to do but it has proved very reliable. It loads fast and has never been 'down' since I began using it. If you are on the lookout for a good guestbook I highly recommend it. Check it out by signing it on your next visit! Pergatory also offers a whole bag of other nice apps, such as the query form I used for the survey. Definitely worth a try.
Re: Compuflash Mailing List
The survey responses keep coming in and they have been very, very encouraging. I have found a way to keep the mailing list active (without the use of 'sponsors ads') and although the list is growing by leaps and bounds, I can safely state the Bulletins will keep coming...
WINNERS OF 'LATEST JEWELS AWARD'
Lynn Smith's Homepage
Whenever I find a page like this, my first reaction is to put out a special Bulletin to let the world know about it. Lynn's page has very few links (by today's standards, anyway) but boy.... are those links of high quality. And it has more to offer too. I already spent over an hour exploring some of her suggested links and will surely spend many more. You definitely want to make this page one of your bookmarks! Needles to say, Lynn has won the Latest Jewels Award.
http://fly.hiwaay.net/~nlf/
Stevie: The Webmaster's Ultimate Resource
And, he is not kidding, folks! To give credit where due, Stevie's page was one of Lynn's suggested links. When I saw she had written that Stevie's site contained 14,338 images I just had to check it out. She was right too! But images is not all that Stevie's has to offer. If you are into HTML authoring, this site is a must! If you are a beginner at homepage authoring.... you're in for a treat. Besides the fantastic links Stevie offers he has one of the best HTML Authoring Tutorial I have ever seen. When you go there, be prepared to stay for a while. Another Latest Jewels Award winner!
http://www.steview.com/
Christmas comes early... Free Listing Offer Broadcaster
How would you like to painlessly and economically have your site listed to nearly 70 search engines and databases? Economically because it's entire free and painlessly because, well,... it is painless! I logged in, filled a short 9-page form (most pages only have a one-click choice) and, magic! Within thirty minutes, I received an e-mail message listing nearly 70 sites which had accepted my URL submission!!!! That easy, no kiddin! No muss, no fuss. One hint to save you some possible delay in filling the forms: answer 'all' required fields, Otherwise, you will need to backtrack and fill them out. This is one of the best URL Submission sites I have yet seen.
http://www.broadcaster.co.uk
Strands of Tangled Web
If only to read the opening paragraph, you should visit this site. Once there, feel free to wander around and visit most pages which are of high quality. The site has something for every taste and is professionally done. A winner.
http://www.netwrx.net/users/margaret
Lady of Passion and Mystery
Home of the Lady's Eclectic Award of Excellence Award. Q-tips hey! Wish I had thought of it first. A most interesting page. Be sure to check all her pages as there is more than just Q-tips to this site, much more!
http://www.netcom.com/~dianadru/index.html
Web Ferrets
Note: This site was featured a while back and is brought back to the front because the authors have since added other similar 'ferrets', all of them worth using. WebFerret has to be the neatest and fastest way ever to search the Net. Fast to download, easy to install and even easier to use. A check of 'Compunews' produced 64 hits, all relevant, in less than a minute! Running your mouse over each 'hit' gives you a summary of what you can expect to find at that URL. Double-click on the URL and you're there. You call Ferret from the Start Menu, enter your search term and off you go. A 'must' for every serious surfer.
http://www.vironix.co.za/netferret/netferret.htm
GIF Wizard Direct
If you find your graphics files are too big and it slows down the loading of your pages, this is the answer. You submit your GIF files, one at a time, and the wizard goes to work. I have 'downsized' some of my largest graphics by as much as 60% without losing the looks of them.
However, one word of caution is in order.... You should keep in mind that it is not 'ethical' (nor legal in most areas) to play with other people's graphics. While it would be possible to downsize a graphic by 60%/70% the final results could change the original so much as to make the author of that graphic unhappy (with reason). Check it out at:
http://www.raspberryhill.com/gifwiz/direct.html
New Pages Added to Omega
- A new concert (No 5) dedicated to one of the most prolific composers/arrangers on the Net: Don Carroll has been uploaded and is awaiting your visit.
- Musical selections for November. Don't miss this new feature.... Over 30 of the best numbers. These will be deleted from the server on Dec 1 and replaced with the December selections. And thanks to Windy for the beautiful background graphic she made, just for this page! See her site on the Latest
Jewels!
Well folks, that's it for now.
Issue 21October 1996
New feature...
I have begun a new feature which you can find on the music page. It is a 'newsgroup' type of feature where you can voice your opinion on a given subject. People add to your entry and so on and so on.... The present topic is "Should Midi files be embedded in homepages?". Please give it a try...
Survey Results
Thanks to all of you who replied to the recent survey re:Compuflash Bulletins. The answers were extremely encouraging. If the aim was to trim down the mailing list, it was an unqualified failure
The majority (in the 90%) had nothing but positive comments about the Bulletins, including the right frequency of transmission, the length, the contents.... thanks to all who replied.
Photo Bubbles
I had the most pleasant experience recently. Curious by nature, I downloaded a plug-in which promised to place me as a spectator at the bottom of thegrand staircase of the Titanic from where I could look all around me and view the scene as it was back in 1912 before the fateful event. Well, being very interested in whatever touches the Titanic, it was enough to convince me I had to have this new gismo. And the promo was right! It works and, it's fabulous.
The download was fast, the installation was easy and the view is fantastic. What is photo bubble? Developed by Knoxville-based Omniview, Inc., from software first created for NASA, PhotoBubbles put the equivalent of an Omnimax theater inside your computer. A PhotoBubble gives you the feeling of being surrounded by a place, which, in fact, you are. Find out more about it at:
http://www.omniview.com/viewers/win/win95plug.html
The World Kids Networktm
The World Kids Networktm site is very large, and grows each and every day. Something new is being added or updated almost hourly. This is not just another web site, but rather, an ongoing project created by kids and adults from around the world.
http://worldkids.net/overview.htm
Freebies on the Net
Everyone loves a freebie and there are several pages listing oodles of them. What differentiates this 'freebie' page from others is that it is updated almost daily and lists only those sites visited by the page's author. Worth a look...
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/8171/ (Donna...)
All singing, All dancing Media Tool
Here's a multimedia tool with appeal.... it does just about everything you can do woth multimedia. Most video, music and graphics file types are supported. Fast download, easy to install and, should you wish not to use it, can be easily uninstalled. Has too many features to list here. get more info and download at:
http://members.aol.com/lgozum2/index.html
Cool Edit 96
Work on your sound files as you would on a painting with this 'cool' app. An old-time favorite. There is not much you cannot do with CoolEdit. Get all details and download at:
http://www.syntrillium.com/cool.htm
ftp://ftp.syntrillium.com/pub/dist/c96setup.exe
That's it for now, folks.
Issue 11 October 1996
Hello everyone,
You can tell summer is over, at least in this part of the world, by the obvious renewed activity on the Net. The Omega page was hit 250 times over a twelve hour period last week and that was a record! Truth be told, I don't think the ending of summer had anything to do with this encouraging trend...
Remember I mentioned a while back how you could enter a contest to have your site selected for free registration to over 400 databases, search engines etc? Well, Omegawas selected and the hits have gone through the roof! Quite an experience and there appears to be no end in sight. Oh well.....
You no doubt have noticed marked changes to the entire Omega site.... and changes there were. Judging from the entries in the guestbook, it seems the new feature "Sing along with me" is proving to be quite popular, along with the Concerts in the Park series so you can expect more of them in the
future. This is not to say I will neglect the other pages for all that so, keep checking them out.
I also am implementing a new menu/index feature which will be located at the bottom of all major pages ie:search, applications, concerts etc... This should greatly ease your navigating through the site. I am trimming the number of graphics and their sizes on those pages which were becoming a little slow to load at peak times. I now have a 'fast loading' main page available for those who are in a hurry
I will also be sprinkling little icons here in there labeled 'For the Inquiring Mind'. These will lead you to pages explaining certain facts and things on the subject at hand. For example, while listening to a certain composition from a composer, the icon will lead you to an anecdote or something about the man (or woman), or whatever.... Should be fun (and, hopefully interesting too).
ABOUT INFOSEEK...
Everybody knows about Infoseek, the search engine but, did you know Infoseek offered two software applications that can make your surfing life a lot easier, and, a lot more interesting? One of them installs itself on the directory bar of Netscape (and other browsers) and is used while online while the other can be used offline (to setup new searches etc) as well as online. I downloaded and installed both a few days ago and am very impressed with their capabilities.
Get all the required info here:
http://guide.infoseek.com/iseek?pg=menu.html&sv=IS&lk=noframes
Looking for Animated Graphics?
http://www.vr-mall.com/agag/agag.html
Xmas is coming....
Given the number of Christmas-related homepages now making their appearance is a sure sign Xmas is coming. I, for one, am already hard at work on a special Christmas Concert which should be uploaded 15 Nov. It will include lyrics et all and all done on a Christmassy background for all pages. If you plan to do a special Xmas page, I highly recommend you visit Sharon's World again. She has terrific new background graphics and new pages for kids. Just beautiful.... you should pay her a visit at:
http://users.uniserve.com/~squinn/welcome.htm
A Restful Oasis
Maeve's Midnight Mecca. It is nice once in a while to gear down from our active daily life and take the time to smell the flowers, so to speak. This site is a bazaar of fantasy. Within, you will travel beyond time, beyond space.... to a healing oasis for the mind and soul. A 'Latest jewels Award' winner.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/1872/
GUESTBOOK SERVER
Note This was the orginal entry about Pergatory. Left here for record purposes.
At last... a Guestbook sporting the two most highly sought qualities: it works and it's free! I have been hunting for months for a guestbook which would allow customized entries and other bells & whistles. I have found it: "The Pergatory GuestBook". The customization options are almost limitless. They include, among others: Multi-Language Support! Swear Word Protection; Image Rejection if you choose. (No one can post pics!); Deletion of Guestbook Entries by way of Pick-List; Color, Background, Img, Sound Customization to your view/sign pages; Mass-Email all guests who signed your guestbook with one letter!; and much more....
I have just implemented this new guestbook and it is ready for use. It's use cannot be easier. I downloaded the required code and had it posted, ready to use, within twenty minutes. Last but not least, they even keep a monthly backup of your guestbook. And they notify you, if you so desire, everytime a new entry has been made.
On top of all that, they...... oh well, better check it out for yourself at:
http://207.113.18.2/webdesign/guestbook.htm
Net Monitor
Here is a neat little app that should enhance your online sessions. Always wanted to know the throughput of your Net connection? This little beauty will oblige. Even gives you a real-time display of the rate at which your data arrives and goes out. Not an absolute necessity but it sure keeps you
current about what's happening with your connection.
ftp://ftp.hkstar.com/pub/simtelnet/win95/telecomm/netmon.zip
Issue 18 September 1996
Last eclipse before year 2000
The last total lunar eclipse for North Americans until the year 2000 takes place on Thursday night, September 26th. For a complete dossier on the subject, aim your browser to the following URL:
http://www.skypub.com/
This is the Sky Online Magazine, your Astronomy source on the World Wide Web. The current issue is loaded with interesting articles including Tips for Backyard Astronomers, a good article on the Russian Space Station Mir, and tons of good astronomy-related links.
The latest space shuttle mission (STS-79) is now underway and following are some of the hottest links on the topic:
The Nasa Shuttle Web at: http://shuttle.nasa.gov/index.html/
Space Station Mir at: http://www.osf.hq.nasa.gov/mir/
StarChild: A learning center for young astronomers at:
http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html
Astronomy Site of the Day at: http://web.mit.edu/asante/www/siteday.html (see Note)
Note: Because this site is a daily event, here is a good opportunity to use your FreeLoader. First load the Astronomy Site of the Day page then simply click on the 'Freeload' button. Every day, your new site will load in automatically!
For the Inquiring Mind
Don't have enough time to read the headlines while waiting at the cash register lineup? Read your own copy of the National Enquirer here:
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/
Need to Thumbnail a lot of graphics?
You have tons of icons, bars, buttons etc and you'd like to list them in a home page but don't have the time nor the energy? Fear not... let TC-Director help out! Besides having a nice wizard to help you build those pages of graphics, this editor also sports a split-screen preview, an internal browser (and choice of external browser). It includes a good un install utility which comes in handy if you should decide not to use it!
http://www.linkstar.com/page/tashcom-software/new32.html
Elly's Slice of Cyberpie
Looking for a home page of high quality, filled with interesting subjects? You have found it! Elly's page received several coveted awards. You can even apply for Elly's own award (if you really, really want it) but I will let you find out about that one by yourself! A fun to visit and easy to navigate site....
http://www.fishnet.net/~emjord/elly.htm
The HTML Goodies Domain Home Page
Although I featured that page some months ago, I thought it appropriate to feature it again, if only for the benefit of those new subscribers who might not otherwise find out about it. It is a gem! If you are into HTML authoring at all, you should visit it. Loaded with good tips!
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
Keepers of the Light
There has been a movement afoot as of late to automate most lighthouses dotting the coast of BC. This site features a number of Lighthouses of BC, Washington, Oregon and more. A delight to visit!
http://www.aracnet.com/~jkandik/
Issue 13 September 1996
After reading this Special Bulletin you will think Christmas came early! The recommendation made in this bulletin will forever change the way you surf the Net (for the better). The featured program will deliver, to your hard drive, a multitude of sites, all of your own choosing and at predetermined times. Read on as it gets better and better....
My definition of a super program, the type of program that makes me send a second Bulletin in as many days, is simple: it has to serve a need; it has to be bug-free; it has to be at the pointed end of technology; and, last but not least, it has to be affordable. Today's suggested app meets all of the
above and in spades... The stated cost is $39.95 but, hold on to your coin box: it is available for FREE! And what a program it is.
Not long ago, I featured some dandies, program-wise. Remember PSN? It was great. You could get the news customized to your requirements and delivered to you whenever you activated it. Same with Yahoo and myriad others. but this one is different. Oh, is it ever. Enough tension: the name of this
superstar is aptly name "FreeLoader".
What it does:
FreeLoader is a new offline Internet service that enables you to download your favorite Web sites to your hard drive. You can download these sites whenever you want, as often as you want. You might want to think of it as your Web VCR: you set the channel and time, and they do the rest. And even
better than a VCR, FreeLoader provides you with suggestions for Internet content that you might want to visit online immediately or FreeLoad for later delivery.
Where's the Catch
Both the software and the service provided are free and guaranteed to remain free. So you might ask, 'Where's the catch'. Ther eis none that I can see, really. True, FreeLoader is an advertising-supported product but you will see advertising on FreeLoader that varies depending on your categories of
interest. Although it is true that tere is no such thing as a free lunch, this FreeLoader gets as close to it as one can get.
How it does it
After you install the software and choose the Web sites you would like downloaded to your machine, FreeLoader, via Netscape or Internet Explorer, retrieves those sites for you at default times (times the program chooses)or at times you specify. you can "subscribe" to Web sites and have them downloaded to you at a later time. Remember, "subscribe" does not mean that you pay for anything. It's more like setting your VCR to tape something when you're away from the set. When you're asleep or at work, FreeLoader will dial into the Internet, download the pages you indicated, and log off. When
you return to your computer, your Web pages, software, multimedia files - you name it - are waiting for you.
The best Part
One of the best uses of this program is as follows. let us say you are surfing the Net and you come across a site you really like. Let us say it is the Omega Connection site (yes I knoiw, I am blkowing my own horn). You want to revisit that site once a week. All you do is click the
How to Install it
As recommended by the install program, it is suggested you be online when you setup the program. Netscape (or Explorer) should 'not' be loaded when you first start setup. You answer a few questions and tell the install program to load FreeLoader. From there on, it's easy. you are taken by the hand throughout and the process is painless and fast. By the way, the file is over 2.6 Meg but it loaded fairly quickly.
How to use it
The question is not so much 'how to use it' as 'how not to use it' because it is so interesting, you may not find the time to do any other type of surfing! Just remember to come back to omega once in a while....
A Word of Caution
It is easy to go overboard when you first use this little wonder! As I was snooping around, trying out the program, I instructed it to 'freeload' a total of 21 sites I was keenly interested in. Sites such as The Louvre, three different newspapers, five various computer magazines etc etc. Then I pushed the update button and wow!!! in they came (the bytes and Megabytes). The good news: it loaded very fast as the program was simultaneously using 5 connects at a time. All of these megabytes were nicely saved to appropriately named channels (directoires to you and me) for perusal offline at a later time (no connect charges, right?).
So, unless you can afford 100 Megabytes or more on your hard drive to store this cornucopia of bytes, I would suggest you go easy on the 'FreeLoad It' button. You can customize the program to use as much space on your hard drive as it can take. It is set at 10 meg by default but I have instructed
it to take 200 megs (hey, we got big drives these days
The Bad Side of all This
The 'only' bad side I can fear with this program is that you will be so busy reading offline the mass of material you just downloaded that you might not have time to come back to The Omega Page. But then, you wouldn't do that, would you?
How to get it
Oh yes.... the main question. How to get it? Right here:
http://www.freeloader.net/adlinks/excite.htm
Issue 11 September 1996
Teleport Pro
The pro-surfers will love this application! A web spider that does it all and, in style. Put simply.... you can retrieve an entire site (or just specific files) or create an exact mirror of any web site, anywhere on the Internet. You can even download just the filenames of a web site if you so wish. I use this latter function to 'check' the currency of all the hundreds of URL's contained in Omega.
The unregistered version, although limited to forty uses and 100 downloaded files per use is amply sufficient to give this app a good try-out. The big advantage of this program? As an example, I downloaded the entire Omega site, complete with all files (graphics, Midi, HTMs etc) in forty minutes.
To read 'all' the files downloaded, without going to any external link from within and to play all the Midi files would take over 30 hours! Bottom line: save much online time. Definitely worth a look. PS: I liked it so much I registered it after two days of use! And, this was the first ever time I registered a product online using the credit card and it was painless. The whole transaction, using Netscape Ver 3, took less than 90 secs and the program was registered during that process! And to the best of my knowledge,
the transaction was as secured as could be hoped for.
http://www.tenmax.com/pro.html
Text Transmogrifier
Here is a program that will help jazz up your home page. With it, you can create colored text and implement other jazzy effects as well.
http://www.anthrox.com/txtrans.zip
About Your health
Any question you may have about your health is bound to find an answer here. Covers an enormous amount of related subjects with over 3000 sites listed via the many categories. I found it a hard site to leave once I logged in. Check it out at:
http://www.healthexplorer.com
Best viewed with Netscape Ver 2+
This site is designed with Netscape Ver 2+ in mind. Given the proliferation of browsers now available, a choice had to be made and Netscape won.
Issue 5 September 1996
Summer may not officially be over but, judging from the number of hits on the Omega page, it would appear more and more people are leaving the outdoors activities and rejoining the Net. Welcome back to all....
New Paint Shop Pro 32-bit 4.10 is out
The latest version of this fantastic image editor is out. It includes too many enhancements to list here. Given its popularity, you may have to wait in line to download it but it is worth the wait.
ftp://ftp.jasc.com/pub/PSP41.ZIP
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA FROM CYBERSPACE!!!
http://www.encyberpedia.com/ency.htm
What's in the works...
Frequent visitors to Omega have discovered by now that I am getting more and more involved with music. If you are not a music lover, do not despair because I am not 'dropping' the other areas of Omega. I will still bring you the latest in what's hottest on the Net. What sparked this new interest in
music was the purchase of a 'good' sound card. The difference this made was simply incredible. I, like most everybody, had my doubts about getting CD quality sound out of a Midi file. Was I ever wrong!
If you listen to more than ten minutes of music every day on the Net, my humble advice would be to invest in a good sound card (with wavetable). And it is not necessary to mortgage the homestead to do so as some very good cards are availablein in the $200 range (Cdn$).
Worried about virus' on the Net?
If you are worried about picking up a virus on the Net this little app might help. Called ViruSafe WEB, it becomes part of your browser and will first scan any file you select for downloading. It works on executables, ZIP files and other types of files. Only when the scan is completed will you be prompted to save the desired file. This could slow down your downloads a little but then, if you are concerned about virus'....
ftp://ftp.eliashim.com/pub/products/vsweb21.exe
New Concert Uploaded
A new Concert in the Park, the third in the series, has been uploaded. I was planning to produce one concert per month when I began this new series but, given the enthusiastic response, I have been encouraged to hasten the process a little..... You can look forward to more of them in the coming months.
Interested in making animated graphics?
Kitty's graphics page always has been one of my favorite sources for graphics and animations and with good reason. Her work is of the highest quality and, she not only shares her graphics but also her expertise. She recently uploaded a page dedicated at showing us, beginning web animators, how she goes about producing those marvellous animated jewels.... Take a look at:
http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/demo.html
Opening page background Graphic by: Thomas Homepage
