The Scout Report - April 12, 1996

April 12, 1996

A Publication of Internet Scout
Computer Science Department, University of Wisconsin

A Project of the InterNIC

The Scout Report is a weekly publication offering a selection of new and newly discovered Internet resources of interest to researchers and educators, the InterNIC's primary audience. However, everyone is welcome to subscribe to one of the mailing lists (plain text or HTML) or visit the Web version of the Scout Report. Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.
http://rs.internic.net/scout/report

Send comments and contributions to: scout@cs.wisc.edu

InterNIC Registration Services (RS) New Services
Highlights from the recently redesigned InterNIC Registration Services (RS) Web pages include: 1) The first issue of the new monthly electronic InterNIC News, which seeks to provide a forum for the examination of events that affect the future Internet, from both technical and non-technical perspectives. Towards this end, it seeks to feature monthly interviews of prominent Internet personalities, addressing issues that currently shape the ways we each use the Internet. Further, the newsletter will be a vehicle for distributing information related to InterNIC activities, providing performance measures useful in metering Internet growth. It hopes to offer some insight into and assistance with navigating the registry function, exploring tools and resources that support that process. Finally, it will continue to highlight resources and activities useful to traditional end-users, and will offer a monthly feature by the Internet Scout, Susan Calcari. 2) Announcement of and information about Patrick Crispen's upcoming 1996 Internet Roadmap, a bi-weekly 27 lesson email based Internet tutorial which InterNIC Support Services is hosting. 3) Announcement of and information about the forthcoming InterNIC Support Services "15 Minute Series," a modular, extensible resource for Internet trainers. 4) Registration Services "Help Desk," which thoroughly explains domain name registration and InterNIC Registration Services policies. 5) Registration Services performance measures, a monthly accounting of network addresses assigned, communications received by RS, and a cumulative accounting of domain registrations.
RS Home Page:http://rs.internic.net/
InterNIC News:
http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/
Text only: http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/txt/text-index.html
ftp://rs.internic.net/NIC-support/newsletter/
ftp to rs.internic.net and cd NIC-support/newsletter/
To subscribe: http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/lwgate/NEWSLETTER/
or send email to: listserv@lists.internic.net
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE NEWSLETTER yourfirstname yourlastname

Internet Roadmap: http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/roadmap96/
15 Minute Series: http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/15min/
Registration Services Help Desk: http://rs.internic.net/help/
Registration Service Performance Measures: http://rs.internic.net/nic-support/nicnews/stats.html
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Internet Medieval Source Book
Paul Halsall, sources editor for the Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies, has recently created the Internet Medieval Source Book, a compendium of extracts and full text documents in Medieval History. Subjects covered include the end of the Classical World, Byzantium, Islam, formation and flowering of Latin Christendom, the Late Middle Ages, the Italian Renaissance, and the Early Reformation. Selected extracts are accompanied by short explanations, which help the reader to understand their context. The Source Book also contains links to a large number of medieval and religious sources, particularly strong with respect to Byzantine links. The purpose, scope and rationale behind the Source Book are explained clearly and concisely. The volume of texts and extracts, as well as the organization of the site, make this one of the premier Internet Medieval Studies sites. Note that all links of the Source Book and its links page are contained on two very large HTML pages, so users should be patient when navigating back and forth.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html
Medieval Links: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/medweb.html
Online Reference Book to Medieval Studies: http://kuhttp.cc.ukans.edu/kansas/orb/mainpage.html
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NIIAC KickStart Initiative Final Reports
The National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIIAC) has produced two final reports with respect to the KickStart Initiative for connecting America's communities to the Information Superhighway. They are: "KickStart Initiative: Connecting America's Communities to the Information Superhighway," and "A Nation of Opportunity: Realizing the Promise of the Information Superhighway." "KickStart Initiative" contains sections on Connecting People and Communities to the Information Superhighway, A Leadership Guide to Getting There, A Resource on Intellectual Property, Privacy, and Security, and Resources for Communities, including print resources, online resources, and examples of acceptable use policies. "A Nation of Opportunity" sets forth the mandate and mission of the NIIAC. It includes sections on America on the Information Superhighway, Impact on Key Areas of American Life and Work, Ensuring Access for All, Rules of the Road, and Key Roles. Both reports are available via ftp, gopher, and the Web. The ftp and gopher sites contain both ASCII and Microsoft Word 6.0 versions of the reports.
http://www.benton.org/Library/KickStart/
gopher://periplum.cdinet.com:70/11/Benton/KickStart
gopher to periplum.cdinet.com
select Benton/KickStart
ftp://cdinet.com/Benton/KickStart/
ftp to cdinet.com and cd Benton/KickStart
For more information about NIIAC:
http://www.niiac-info.org/~niiac/
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Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is one of the best known conservative think tanks in the U.S., and its Web site offers voluminous information on various topics. Its publications library offers full text in twelve subject categories from its "FYI," "Heritage Lecture," "Backgrounder," and "Executive Memorandum" series. Selected stories from "Policy Review: The Journal of American Citizenship," are available, as well as articles from "The Insider Newsletter." Its "Congressional District Ranking Book" gives rankings based on census figures for vital statistics, education, housing, and employment. It also provides an "Index for Economic Freedom" for over 100 countries. Links to conservative public policy organizations are provided, as well as a job bank and internship program. This is a powerhouse site for conservative (and other) internauts.
http://www.heritage.org/
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Australian SunSITE
The Australian National University and Sun Microsystems recently launched Australian SunSITE. The site provides a wealth of pointers to Australian an Oceanian resources of all types, and is particularly strong with respect to Australian government information sites. It also provides Questacon, -- the Australian National Science and Technology Center -- "Australia's premier hands-on science and technology centre," which features a number of children's hands-on science activities, as well as a virtual tour of the Questacon galleries. Australian SunSITE also provides a South Pacific Information Network (SPIN), with further information and links to South Pacific Resources, as well as a developing "Women's Network for the Vocational Education and Training Sector in the Asia Pacific Region (WINVET)." Questacon and WINVET can be found under "Education" on the home page. SPIN can be found under "What's on this SunSITE." Australian SunSITE also provides pointers to 25 other worldwide SunSITEs.
http://sunsite.anu.edu.au/
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Anthropology Links -- University of California at Santa Barbara
The University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) Anthropology Department Web site provides a pointers page to literally hundreds of Anthropology related sites around the world. The pointers are arranged by subject (cultural anthropology, archeology, physical anthropology), geography, departmental and museum, pointer sites, and miscellaneous sites. Sites are annotated, and the annotations are searchable. The volume of links, as well as the care taken in annotating them, makes this one of the first places to visit for anthropology pointers on the Net.
http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/netinfo.html
UCSB Anthropology Department Home Page: http://www.anth.ucsb.edu/
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1996 Pulitzer Prizes
The Pulitzer Prize Board recently presented 1996 Pulitzer Prizes for achievements in American journalism, letters, drama, and music. A list of winners, finalists, and the Prize Board and Juries is available at the Pulitzer Web site. At present, winning exhibits are available for the editorial cartooning and photography categories. Full text exhibits, as well as biographies of winners will be available by June, so interested readers might want to bookmark this site and check back periodically. Complete 1995 awards are available, along with full text exhibits and biographies of winners. A past prizes section is in the works at this time.
http://www.pulitzer.org/navigation/index.html
1995 awards, exhibits, and biographies: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/1995/
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Nephrology Professionals Discussion List
Renalpro is a list for nephrology professionals interested in topics related to Nephrology and Transplantation. It seeks to create a community for an exchange of ideas, concerns, new therapies, and bioethical issues related to nephrology, transplantation, immunosuppression, and renal disease. It will also be an opportunity to meet others working in the field of Nephrology around the world. The list, sponsored by the University of Alberta, is an unmoderated group, open to all nephrology professionals.
Send email to:majordomo@ualberta.ca
In the body of the message type:
subscribe Renalpro
[Note: Site title has changed since the original Scout Report review. Site formerly referred to in the Scout Report as "Nephro-RN."] [Back to Contents]

UNICEF "The State of the World's Children 1996"
UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) has made its "The State of the World's Children 1996" available on the Internet. Included are sections on Children in War, Anti-War Agenda, Fifty Years for Children, and Regional Spotlight. Also included are statistical tables dealing with such variables as nutrition, health, education, basic indicators, demographic indicators, and women, among others. References and a glossary are provided. Note that navigation of the HTML version is page by page and that many pages may be found under a single section (so be sure to click on "next page" at the top of each page). The gopher version may allow for easier navigation and downloading, although it is not as graphically oriented.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/
Text only:http://www.unicef.org/sowc96/contents.htm
gopher://gopher.unicef.org:70/11/.s496sowc
gopher to gopher.unicef.org
select: UNICEF Public Information/1996 Publications and Information Items/1996 The State of the World's Children
Full text for 1993-1995 "The State of the World's Children" is also available:
gopher://hqfaus01.unicef.org:70/11/.s2pubdocs
gopher to hqfaus01.unicef.org
select: UNICEF Public Information
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"Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996," and " Line Item Veto Act" -- Full Text
Full text of two major pieces of legislation recently signed into law by the President are available via the Internet. "Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996," (PL 104-127) also known as "The Farm Bill," and "Freedom to Farm Act," is the most far reaching piece of agricultural legislation in over 60 years. The "Line Item Veto Act" (PL 104-130) gives the President, for the first time in American history, the power to veto parts of bills. The HTML versions can be viewed by section, while the FTP versions are full text in one file.
"Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996" (PL: 104-127):
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:H.R.2854.ENR:
ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/c104/h2854.enr.txt
ftp to ftp.loc.gov and cd pub/thomas/c104/h2854.enr.txt
Note that the full text is a bit over one megabyte. A summary of the provisions of this large document can be found at the United States Department of Agriculture Web site.
http://www.usda.gov/farmbill/index.htm
"Line Item Veto Act" (PL 104-130):
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:S.4.ENR:
Scroll to "Line Item Veto Bill," click on S.4, and then "Law Text."
ftp://ftp.loc.gov/pub/thomas/c104/s4.enr.txt
ftp to ftp.loc.gov and cd pub/thomas/c104/s4.enr.txt
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cartalk.com
Car Talk (Click and Clack), the National Public Radio (NPR) show and syndicated column by Tom and Ray Magliozzi, is now available via the Web. Included are: selected excerpts from the radio show (via RealAudio); a weekly car problem puzzler; a searchable archive of four years of "Click and Clack" newspaper columns; a searchable directory of both radio stations and newspapers that carry "Car Talk" and "Click and Clack"; classified ads; a "Virtually Useful Data" section, with an interactive survey, detailed reports including National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) report citations on recalls, complaints, and crash tests on hundreds of models (with links to previous columns on those models), and test drive notes; and an electronic "post card" rack that allows you to send a personalized email postcard to a friend. (Of course, as Tom and Ray say, "No stamp is required. Please do not try to lick the screen.") Behind the light hearted humor of this site lies a large amount of useful information about cars and car repair.
http://cartalk.cars.com/
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Breast Cancer Answers
Breast Cancer Answers, provided by the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, is a "two year pilot project for the dissemination of Breast Cancer information using the Information Superhighway." It is funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The site features a set of questions you should ask your doctor regarding such topics as biopsy, diagnosis, treatment, and surgery, among others; frequently asked questions about bone marrow transplant, screening, and unconventional cancer treatment, among others; and pointers to resources in more than 15 categories from bone marrow transplants to types of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Answers also offers an opportunity to ask questions of trained NCI information specialists via email. Note that this email feature is available only to residents of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota at this time.
http://www.medsch.wisc.edu/bca/bca.html
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27th NAACP Image Awards
The results of the 27th Annual NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Image Awards are available at the Image Awards Web Site. Motion picture, TV, music, literary, and special awards were given. The site contains a list of nominees, winners, and photos. It also contains a multimedia section, with movie clips and music, along with excerpts of Richard Pryor (Hall of Fame Award Winner) comedy routines.
http://www.naacp.org/image_awards/
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100th Boston Marathon
The 100th running of the Boston Marathon takes place April 15, 1996. For comprehensive coverage of the race and race related information, point your Web browser to the Official Boston Marathon Home Page. You can find news releases, pre- and post-race reports, a database to identify runners by bib number, and a history section that contains both an historical overview and annual highlights of every race since 1897. A detailed race course map is available under "Watching the Race." The site is sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association.
http://www.bostonmarathon.org/
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The East Village
Internauts with time and bandwidth to spare might want to try out the new cyber soap opera from Marinex Multimedia, The East Village. In addition to photographs and audio and video clips, this soap allows you to join the "cyber clique" of a favorite character (after registering, of course). Once in a "clique," you will receive "secret email" from that character that gives you information not in the story line. Chat rooms are also available.
http://www.theeastvillage.com
[Note: When last checked by the Internet Scout team, this site URL was no longer available.]
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Video on Demand -- VDOlive and Vosaic
VDOnet Corp. provides VDOlive, a Windows platform video streaming software product that offers real time "TV" over the Internet. This technology offers immense promise as a tool to evolve the Internet into a true multimedium. It works much like RealAudio does for sound streaming. That is, it plays the audio and video as it is downloading, rather than making the user wait for huge files to be downloaded before playing. This results in significant time savings. Complete configuration instructions for several Web browsers are available in the FAQ for the product. Note that this technology is in its infancy, so do not expect TV quality when you use it. The main problem at this time is frames per second (fps), which varies from 2 to more than 20, depending on your connection (see the FAQ-video quality). However, if you have a fast Internet connection, this product is definitely worth trying, to see what the future of multimedia on the Internet might be. VDOlive is a commercial product, but the 1.0 version is freely available for evaluation. Demo videos are available on the VDOlive page, and you may also want to use VDOlive to view programs from the PBS Life on the Internet series.
http://www.vdo.net/store/
PBS Life on the Internet: http://www2.pbs.org/internet/video/

Vosaic, a video and audio on demand software product for Unix platforms, is available from the System Software Research Group, Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois. Information on Vosaic research, as well as software and demos are available. Make sure to comply with the binary code license agreement before downloading this research software.
http://vosaic.com/
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Navigate!
Netscape Press and Ventana Communications Group offer Navigate!, a monthly online magazine for Netscape Navigator (and other) users. The April 1996 issue contains an article on Mark Pesce, developer of Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), software, plug-in and site reviews, and tips on electronic publishing, including a tutorial on applying transparency to .gifs (for Windows), a review of HVS Color Photoshop plug-in, and an article on CGI programming. The March Issue contained a tutorial on frames and an article on network security. Ventana also offers full text on line access to its "Official Netscape Navigator 2.0 Book," (Windows Edition), by Phil James.
Navigate!:http://www.netscapepress.com/zine/
"Official Netscape Navigator 2.0 Book": http://www.vmedia.com/books/offnet/cover.htm
[Note: Resource(s)/URL(s) mentioned above is no longer available.]
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For example, if your name is Frasier Crane, type
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FTP:
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Copyright Susan Calcari, 1996. Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of the Scout Report provided the copyright notice and this paragraph is preserved on all copies. The InterNIC provides information about the Internet to the US research and education community under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation: NCR-9218742. The Government has certain rights in this material.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Wisconsin - Madison, the National Science Foundation, AT&T, or Network Solutions, Inc.

The Scout Report - April 12, 1996

April 12, 1996

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Scout Report and Scout Report HTML Subscription Instructions