The Best Things On-Line

In 1975, the number of people going on-line was smaller than the membership of the Young Republicans for Captain Beefheart Fan Club. Now, those massive networks of computers and databases known as the on-line world have become an electronic extension of the traditional, off-line world.

Text Search Tools

Information is buried on the Internet. Tunneling its way to fame is gopher. If your site is gopherless, you can Telnet to consultant.micro.umn.edu and type gopher at the log-in prompt. Even better are WAISes (Wide Area Information Servers). If your system doesn't have a WAIS client, Telnet to bbs.oit.unc.edu and type bbs at the log-in prompt. Follow the directions.

Code Talk

Tools, languages, source code , tips and tricks, advice, and folks who've gone through hell. Sound good?

Here are some of the best sites. For programming languages, anonymous ftp to quartz.rutgers.edu and take the path /pub/computer/languages/* . For a discussion of the 32-bit Windows API, see the Usenet newsgroup comp.os.ms-windows.programmer.win32 . For Unix, post your problem in the Usenet newsgroup comp.unix.questions .

Internet Directories

If Hercules were around today, one of his labors would be indexing the Internet. Luckily, someone has already done the work. Go to Yahoo at http://www.yahoo.com . Or, you can try the WWW (World Wide Web) Virtual Library. It's at http://www.w3.org/hypertext/ DataSources/bySubject/overview.html.

Fun & Games

If you want to play in the MUD, see alt.mud , a good introduction to multiuser dimension games. Game Server at the University of Stuttgart provides a huge list. Telnet to castor.tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de and type games at the log-in.

Technical Support

A Web page that you can visit to get technical assistance sure beats listening to cheesy music when you're on hold. Novell's home page is one of the best examples of how useful a Web site can be. Point your browser at http://www.novell.com .

Web Spelunkers

What if you need to find something on the Web fast? Lycos is from Carnegie Mellon University, and it's hot. Start at http://lycos . cs.cmu.edu. WebCrawler is good, too, at http://webcrawler.cs.washington.edu/WebCrawler/WebQuery.html . For its part, InfoSeek can pull information from anywhere. But it costs $9.95 a month. Send E-mail to info@infoseek.com .

Finder of Missing E-Mail Addresses

What if you don't have your recipient's address? Four11 is like an ace detective. To step into its office, E-mail info@four11.com , or point your browser at http://www.Four11.com .

Home pages

We like Netscape Communications' page: http://www.netscape.com . It's diverse and fun. But for serious computer talk, try the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu /General/Internet/WWW/HTML Primer.html.

Mailing Lists

Mailing lists are the most efficient way to get targeted information. An electronic version of Prentice Hall's Internet: Mailing Lists book is available via anonymous ftp to ftp.nisc.sri.com and follow the path /netinfo/interest-groups .

News

Online Today on CompuServe is the most timely source of daily computer news. But Clarinet distributes the Dilbert comic strip. Look for newsgroups that start with clari .

Travel Arrangements

With CompuServe, you can make air, hotel, and rental car reservations. Type GO TRAVEL and be on your way. On America Online, click on the Travel block.

Music

If you want to talk about music or keep up with what's new, the Internet's the place. For alternative bands, go to http://www.iuma.com . Or try out the Music Server: Anonymous ftp to ftp.uwp.edu ; path is /pub/music .

Financial Information

If you haven't spent all your money on connect time, invest some of it. Clarinet provides the broadest range of financial and business information. clari.biz.market gives you the latest on the stock market and clari.biz.invest discusses IRAs, mutual funds, and other investment arcana.

Weather

If you want to know what's going on outside without having to look up from your computer, try the National Climatic Data Center's http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/interesting/us-se-wxmap.html .

Education Resources

AskERIC, run by the Educational Resource and Information Center, is like a giant help desk for K-12 teachers. The address is askeric@ericir.syr.edu , or point your browser at http://eryx.syr.edu/COWSHome.html .

Sounds

If it's been recorded, it's on-line somewhere. Try the Usenet group alt.binaries.sounds.misc . And DSP Group's TsPlayer lets you play a WAV sound file before you download it. Anonymous ftp to ftp://oak.oakland.edu/SimTel/win3/sound/tsplay100.zip .

Free Software

All you have to provide is the shrink-wrap. For PC software, gopher to merlot.welch.jhu.edu . For Mac software, anonymous ftp to oak.oakland.edu ; the path is /pub2/macintosh . You Unix mavens will find a C archive if you anonymous ftp to wuarchive.wustl.edu ; use the path /systems/unix/unix-c/* . Finally, you'll get OS/2 software at anonymous ftp to ftp-os2.nmsu.edu ; the path is /os2/* .

Art

From Mona Lisa to Beavis and Butt-Head, you can get a look at the digitized works of some of the world's greatest artists. Start with ArtMap at http://wimsey.com/anima/ARTWORLDonline.html . Then try ArtServe at http://rubens.anu.edu.au/ .

Shopping

There's no re-creating the mall experience. Thank God. Start at the Branch Mall at http://branch.com . AutoPages is the place to shop for that new Lamborghini. Speed on over to http://www.clark.net/pub/ networx/autopage/autopage.html.

Talk to Computer Companies

CompuServe's company forums are still the best places to tell vendors what you think, to talk with company officials. Join the Hardware and Software Forums for starters--most major companies have support forums on CIS.

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Lycos Makes Searching the Internet Virtually Painless

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Lost? Gone forever? Oh, my! Darling, don't you worry-services like Lycos will index and find Clementine in a matter of seconds.

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Shop the Internet for the Rare and Unusual

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A burp gun? Excuse me? Only on the Internet will you find loving restorations of such oddities as the Burp Gun. Specifically, you'll find it (and nearly everything else) at your local branch mall.

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You Don't Have to Go Out for Great Art Anymore

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The Metropolitan Museum And The MOMA can e at their hearts out: The Internet is home to electronic versions of some of the greatest art ever created. You can check out Yoshiaki Araki's Home Page at http://www.sfc.keio.ac.jp/~t93827ya/ .

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Computerized Weather Forecasts

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No need for the weather channel. Just tune your browser to the National Climatic Data Center.