From A to line
Online magazines bring you more
news content
By uenevieve Kobertson
E-zines—online magazines—are a great
source of entertainment for those who
are chained to a computer. Articles are
easy to email to friends if you find some
thing you want to share, and perusing
online pages is a good way to procrasti
nate while doing homework—or while at
work—and still appear to be productive.
Here are some of the e-zines people
are—or should be—talking about.
SaIon.com (salon.com) offers arti
cles and regular columns on everything
from politics and technology to sex and
health. Salon has something for every
one: top business news, celebrity colum
nists like Camille Paglia and Garrison
Keillor, and comics. Another section enti
tled “Table Talk” serves as a discussion
board to give your opinion about issues.
Feed.com (feedmag.com) is also a
general interest magazine. Here you’ll find
essays that are more opinion than report
ing and
articles on
the sci-fi
show
“Farscape”
or the
issue of
Canadian
Pride. A
good
source for intelligent and thought-provok
ing opinions on current events.
iNccp yuui
eye on two
recent launches.
Inside
(inside.com)
was a high-pro
file general inter
est start-up in September. You have to
pay for it (check it out free for a 30-day
trial).
Another recent launch is Failure mag
azine (failuremag.com). This is a one
joke concept that
actually works.
Recent stories
include a profile of
the Buffalo Bills
(four-time Super
Bowl losers) and
the Corvair (the
mother of all loser
automobiles).
Literary maga
zines—from uni
versity journals to a couple of friends
publishing each other—offer a broad
range of interesting writing.
Zoetrope-AH Story (zoetrope
-stories.com) provides the entire issue
in a downloadable PDF format and con
tains a section called “All Story Extra”
that features fiction only available online.
There is also a writing workshop where
you can read pieces by writers of all lev
els and comment, as well as submit your
own writing for comment.
On the smaller side, but with a
great collection of writing and easy-to
read format, is Oyster Boy Review
(levee67.com/obr). It also has a print
counterpart, but you are able to access
the entire issue, as well as back issues,
online. They publish fiction, poetry, and
reviews by writers with a little less notori
, eiy man xnose in
Zoetrope, but who are
still quite talented. The
format is printer friendly if
you don’t have the
patience for staring at the
screen, and Oyster Boy
Review provides links to a number of
other online literary magazines, both aca
demic and independent. •
STUDY RESOURCES
Ancient Sites
ancientsites.com:
Welcome to “the premier online community for
ancient history fans!" This site whisks you back
in time to the days of Spartacus and Socrates.
There are plenty of message boards and chat
rooms on every aspect of history (including
those that want to discuss how Gladiator isn’t
historically accurate). Don't forget to enter your J
historical web site in the "best homes" section,
which is a delightful list of Roman-related links.
J Workman
Content: A Usability: C
National Adas of the US
Hiww-atlas.usgs.gov
Ever wonder what the topographical region
around Kansas City looks like or where the near
est toxic waste dump is? Don’t bother dragging
yourself to the library, just visit the National
Atlas online. Use their simple interactive map to
navigate your way around the US, or look at
their more specific maps on topics like trans
portation, people, environment, geology or biol
ogy. The site serves as an excellent reference
tool and fun curiosity quencher. TMaor
Content: A Usability: B+
MilllHilim
Mac Update
macupdate.com
There are a number of shareware and demo
downloading web sites aimed specifically at Mac
users, but macupdate.com seems to be the most
complete. You’ll find a wide variety of software,
most of which is free or packaged as shareware.
Check out the Most Popular and Hot Picks cate
gories for must-have applications. You can also
choose from a number of MP3 players for Macs
here. DDesmond
Content: A- Usability: B
Windows Registry Guide
regedit.com
PC users who are willing to tinker a bit with their
operating system will find this site full of cool
tweaks to improve both their system and pro
grams such as MS Office. Change the look and
feel of your desktop, improve its performance,
or participate in a discussion board. Keep in
mind that you’ll have to do some editing of your
system's registry file to implement these
changes, so be sure to make a back up first!
Fortunately the site provides clear, if technical,
instructions. DDesmond
Content: B Usability: C+