The Scout Report - July 19, 1996

July 19, 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). Subscription instructions are included at the end of each report.
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Send comments and contributions to: scout@cs.wisc.edu
In This Issue:

Research and Education

General Interest

Network Tools

Research & EducationNSF Science and Engineering Indicators 1996
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/seind96/start.htm
The National Science Board of the National Science Foundation has recently made _Science and Engineering Indicators 1996_ available via the web. This is the twelfth in a series of biennial reports that NSF has produced. "In an era of increased emphasis on assessment of government and university performance and industrial benchmarking, _Science and Engineering Indicators_ provides decisionmakers and analysts in both the public and private sectors with a broad base of quantitative information and analysis regarding science, engineering, research, and education in the United States. Additionally, the Indicators report offers valuable comparative information on science and technology in other countries." The report contains chapters on elementary and secondary science and mathematics education, higher education in science and engineering, the science and engineering workforce, research and development, technology development and diffusion, and public attitudes and understanding. The final chapter, "The Economic and Social Significance of Scientific and Engineering Research," is a new development in the report. The report is available only in Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) format. A pointer to the free Acrobat Reader is provided.
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The Merck Manual--Medical reference
http://www.merck.com/pubs/mmanual/
Long one of the standard medical reference texts, _The Merck Manual_ is now available on the web. Access to the manual is free of charge, but registration is required for first-time users. A toolbar, at the top and bottom of each screen, provides easy access to the table of contents, lists of tables and figures, and ordering information for the print and CD-ROM versions. There is no search engine, but the multilevel index provides precise content information. The text is presented exactly as it appears in the printed version, complete with tables and figures, with the addition of a few hypertext cross-references to related material in the manual.
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National Security--From the Heritage Foundation
http://www.nationalsecurity.org/
Created by the Foreign Policy and Defense Studies Department of the Heritage Foundation, this web site is billed as "a clearinghouse for reporters, researchers, and concerned Americans interested in gaining access to publications, policy experts, and weblinks on a wide spectrum of national security issues." The site provides access to foundation publications and policy papers on national security issues, as well links to other defense and international issues. Policy papers range in topic from the appropriate use of American military forces to relations with Iran and China. Included is the full text of _Issues '96: The Candidate's Briefing Book,_ intended as a handbook for conservative candidates. Interested readers of all political bents should find the information here useful. A search engine will examine all of the foundation's areas or only those specified by the user.
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Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/
The Library of Congress observed Independence Day by redesigning its web site. Users will find easy access to Thomas (legislative information), the LC catalog, US Copyright Office information and publications, library exhibitions, and all library services. Featured on the site is "American Memory: Historical Collections for the National Digital Library." The collections can be searched, or the user may access them by type: prints and photos, documents, motion pictures, and sound recordings. Educators should visit the "Learning Page," which provides information on using the materials in the American Memory collections; lesson plans, a tutorial, and links to related web pages are provided. Librarians and archivists should also take note of the National Digital Library Competition, a $2,000,000 grant program to help libraries, museums, and archival institutions add their collections of primary resource materials to the National Digital Library. Application forms will be available August 19.
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GPO Pathway Services and UN Web Site Locator
GPO: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces760.html
UN: http://www.unsystem.org/index.html
Two new sites, one by the U.S. Government Printing Office and the other by the United Nations Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), will make locating important information easier for interested Internauts. GPO Pathway Services allows users to browse U.S. government Internet sites by topic, Government Information Locator Service (GILS) records by agency, and selected government information products by agency. Keyword searches of selected federal web sites, and the U.S. Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications can also be initiated from the site (though users should be prepared to spend some time with the search help pages to exploit the searching systems). The site is still under development and should grow and improve with time. The UN web locator site helps users find specific UN information by providing an alphabetic, subject, and official UN classification list of agencies. It also provides links to frequently requested information about conference schedules, library and documentation services, press releases, publication sales and catalogs, and vacancy notices, all by agency. There are also connections to other web sites that contain information related to but not produced by the UN. This site should be bookmarked as a starting point for browsing UN information.
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CARNIVORE-L Discussion List
This list is intended for the professional discussion of all aspects of the evolution, systematics, behavior, ecology and conservation of mammalian carnivores, living and fossil. Meeting announcements and the like are acceptable when relevant to the study of carnivores. CARNIVORE-L is intended as a forum for professional discussion of the topics above. Hopefully, it may serve as a useful means of interaction between systematists, paleontologists, ecologists and conservationists who are united by a common interest in carnivores. It is not intended as a forum for discussion of domestic animals unless they are viewed in a broader context of carnivore biology.
To subscribe send email to:
listserv@nrm.se
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE CARNIVORE-L Yourfirstname Yourlastname
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General Interest

Oriental Institute Virtual Museum
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/QTVR96/QTVR96.html
The University of Chicago Oriental Institute Virtual Museum has recently opened its doors. The unique aspect of this museum of "history, art and archaeology of the ancient Near East" is that it uses Apple Quicktime VR (available for both Windows and Macintosh platforms from a pointer to the Apple Computer site) to take the visitor on a moving tour through selected parts of the museum. Viewers can move about museum exhibits by simply dragging their mouse to the right or left. At this time only the Egyptian and Assyrian galleries are "open," but soon the Mesopotamian, Persian, Palestinian, and Temporary Exhibits galleries will be open as well. Each exhibit is accompanied by a complete list of artifacts on exhibit, as well as connections to other Oriental Institute sites of interest, including selected photographic archives. At present, the main drawback to the site is that the artifacts are not virtually "labeled"; that is, it is very difficult for the lay user to link the artifacts being viewed to their descriptions. However, this site is a work in progress, and planned enhancements include the embedding of URLs in the QTVR panoramic movie files, and linking text and photographs of individual objects to their images in the panoramic movie. Note that each exhibit is very large (around 900 kilobytes), and that familiarity with QTVR will help in the navigation of the site.
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Galileo images of Jupiter moons Io and Ganymede
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/
http://galileo.ivv.nasa.gov/
Recent photos of Jupiter moons Io and Ganymede from the Galileo spacecraft are available from NASA's (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) web site. The Ganymede black and white images were taken on June 27, 1996 from a distance of 4,628 miles. One of the most interesting is a side-by-side comparison of a photo taken by Voyager 2 in 1979 and the Galileo image. At present there is one color image of Io, taken June 26 from a distance of 1.4 million miles.
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Southam @Canada--Canadian news
http://www.southam.com/nmc/index.html
This news and information web site draws on the reporting resources of eleven Canadian daily newspapers, providing headlines and in-depth coverage of current events. The major news features contain ample links to background and related information. Local news, from Victoria to St. John's, is supplied by Southam-owned daily newspapers. In addition to the expected news, weather, and sports, users will also find television reviews and even online dating. "Depthfinder," the site's keyword search engine, searches current news and the news archive on the national site. The "Speak Out" section offers live chat events, an "Opinion Barometer," and an invitation for "energetic and cyberspace savvy Canadians" to moderate and promote bulletin board areas. Users may also view continuously updated opinion polls on a range of current topics, entertainment reviews and features, and "PrimalBeat," a Canadian music library. There is a great deal of information collected here, although it's not always clear when the user is leaving the @Canada site and receiving pages from another source.
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Fodor's--Travel resources
http://www.fodors.com/
If you're planning some time away from the computer in the near future, Fodor's new site can help you make your getaway. The Trip Planner allows the user to search for recommended hotels and restaurants by location, price range, and facilities/cuisine, and to get "inside info" and "top picks" for planning activities. The restaurant and hotel index provides listings for over 40 cities and regions; each establishment is reviewed and rated. The "Smart Travel Tips" page provides general advice on such topics as packing, trip insurance, and saving money on airfare. Through a pull-down menu, this page can be tailored to a specific destination, offering local telephone numbers and resources. "Know Before You Go" provides links to other web sites covering such topics as weather, currency exchange, and government travel and health advisories. There is also a catalog of current Fodor's publications.
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Tour de France
http://www.worldmedia.fr/tour/
As the Tour de France bicycle race winds down, you can follow its results at the Tour '96 Live web page. The site includes stories on the results of each stage (with a map of that stage), a list of racers by team, a searchable racer's scorecard with past results for that racer, and four different sets of race standings. A history of the race since 1903, comprehensive coverage of last year's race, and a large page of links to other cycling sites round out World Media Live's comprehensive coverage.
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MELODIC-ROCK-DIGEST
Melodic-Rock-Digest is a moderated discussion list that focuses on music that is electric- or acoustic-based, intelligent, and melodic. It doesn't discuss thrash, rap, industrial, punk, metal, goth, or pure folk. In general, it doesn't discuss music that is image-conscious. It may be edgy, it may be heavy, it may even be folky, or it may simply be rock and roll. This list likes to hear from both musicians and listeners. It encourages posts about the business of music, reviews of live shows and recordings, personal experiences in the music industry, or announcements about people and places that may be of interest to the rest of us. This is not a place to bash musical styles or tastes, nor is this the place for shameless self-promotion. Welcome, and feel free to introduce yourself. Note: this discussion list is available only in digest form. To subscribe send email to:
majordomo@automatrix.com
In the body of the message type:
SUBSCRIBE MELODIC-ROCK-DIGEST Your E-mail Address
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Net Tools

Webtaxi--Metasearch engine
http://www.webtaxi.com/
If searching the Internet for useful information is beginning to look like a full-time job, try catching the Webtaxi. The "database dispatcher" gathers search engines by category, while the "supersearch" allows users to use several search engines simultaneously, chosen from the sites listed in these categories: crawlers, indices, Usenet, people, metasearches, articles, software, non-US sites, and miscellaneous unsorted sites. Webtaxi opens a new frame for each search engine's results, allowing the user to continue searching directly from that site. Users can open a remote window with search controls, keeping the main window free for surfing. Webtaxi's navigation frame, at the top of the browser window, can keep search tools at hand while the user browses sites. This site can be overwhelming at first, but the tips pages will help those familiar with other search engines get accustomed to its operation. Webtaxi depends on the latest in browser capabilities: frames, magic cookies, and Java support are necessities, and a sizable bandwidth is strongly recommended.
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Web Style Guide
http://www.sun.com/styleguide/
Web Style Guide, provided by Sun Microsystems, is a "is a cookbook for helping people create better web pages." Created by a small group of web designers at Sun, it provides common sense advice and examples (of both good and bad style) in the areas of purpose, audience, links, page length, graphics, image maps, navigation, security, quality, netiquette, content, selling, and language. A quick-reference page (which is really a site index), along with pointers to other web style sites, is provided. This site concentrates on helping you provide users with the optimal experience viewing your site, rather than teaching the nuts and bolts of site creation.
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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.

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