Cruisin Music

Issue 9 May 1996

Hello everyone!

There was a time, not so long ago, when I was dreaming I might have 100 subscribers to the Compunews newsletters. I don't know what is going on but.... welcome to the last 100 surfers who subscribed since 15 April!!! And I thought I could take a cruising holiday this summer . And, I don't know where they find The Omega Connection but they hail from Africa, New Zealand, England, Belgium et all.... just have a look at the guestbook. Awesome!

Coming on the heel of the latest Compunews V2N12 which contained a fair amount of links.... this issue of the Compuflash bulletin may swamp someof you with the quantity (and quality) of links. There is a reason why I chose to send it away immediately rather than waiting.... My computer will be idle for about two weeks as I carry out annual maintenance (the truth: I crashed it again and now, I'm paying for it .) But I'll be back, have no fear. O.K., on with this issues' goodies!

The Classical Midi Collection

This has to be the best source of classical music available on the Net. Extremely complete, covers Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic, and Twentieth Century selections. A pleasure to use too!

http://www.dtx.net:80/~raborn/

Not enough Links?

The Top 100 & Ultimate Sites. If you ever are wanting for more sites to visit and just don't know where to go ( -:) ), try this site.

http://www.planetearthinc.com/mar96.htm

TWIG - The Weekly Internet Guide

Here's is another good one from the newsletter competition side When they're good, they're good and they deserve a mention here,... that's my motto! For example, this weeks issue features a complete guide on Mastering the Internet, an article which should prove very helpful to the beginner, as well as the pro! Inludes some 200 pages of Internet help in plain English, including explanations of Internet "mysteries" and complete setup instructions for Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT. Your total guide to the Internet! Save this html to disk and you have a readily available tutorial at your fingertip. Check it out at:

http://twig.hypercon.com/

Coloring Book

If you have young children, this is a `must visit' site.

http://www.swbi.net/karen_coloring.htm

`The ' Source for Genealogy fans!

Several subscribers asked about a good reference for genealogy fans. Search no more, you have found it.

This page is a HUGE collection (802+) of genealogy and history related links to the web. It is very popular and is included in Pam's Best of the Best - Top 30 genealogy homepages. Some folks have even said that it is the best listing of links on the web for genealogy! You be the judge.

http://www.polaris.net/~legend/

Not just `another' search engine page!

Search for anything at Pippin Central. Also visit their Internet Center for a comprehensive listing of resources on the Internet. A very well done page which could easily become your 'search engine' page of choice.

http://www.pippin.com/English/default.htm

Boy... the competition is getting rough!

Websight Magazine! Hey, this is competition with a big C but, what the heck.... my stated aim is to pass on only the best and this one heck of a newsletter! When you first get there, select the current issue and, happy reading!

http://websight.com/

The Wild Side - Game Links

You must have noticed by now that I am not much into games... but I realize many surfers are. For this reason, here's a pointer to a site that should satisfy any games' lovers.

http://arachnid.colgate.edu/alewis/games.html

PC Magazine InternetUser

This is a special edition of this well known computer mag. Loaded with articles on the latest hi-tech stuff available ...

http://www.pcmag.com/IU/iuser.htm

Superb Reviews of Over 350 Software Titles

Every week, there are hundreds of new titles appearing... if only there was a place we could go and read about them before buying! Search no more. At present, over 350 software titles are reviewed. All are listed as `family-safe' titles. Check it out at:

http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/software/famlist.htm#space

Surfer Central

Some months ago, I featured a special application of interest to any serious surfer... Surfer Central. As I mentioned at the time, `here was a tool that was extremely powerful yet easy to use. The asking price for registration was reasonable' That was the beta version. You should see the current version and it still is very affordable.

Surfer Central is an inexpensive utility for Microsoft Windows 3.1 (and later) that allows the user to manage Internet addresses in a convenient and simple fashion. The address database is broken down into 9 user-definable site types, and each site type contains a number of user-definable categories. In addition, all fields within the database are customizable. For example, E-Mail addresses may contain a person's name, e-mail address, alias, snail mail address, etc.

http://www.ee.umanitoba.ca/~waletz/contents.html

Snowy Outside... Visit the Virtual Golfer Site

Welcome to the Virtual Golfer, a new and exciting way to experience this great sport from the comfort of your computer screen. Well, that intro says it all. This is one website no golfer will want to miss. Stunning graphics. Even includes a practice tee! As stated at the intro oif the promo....

Welcome to the Practice Tee. This is the part of The Virtual Golfer dedicated to improving your game, no matter what level your game is at. As you can see below, the Practice Tee is divided into three different sections. The reason for this is that golfers of different levels have different instruction needs. In each of the three sections, you will find swing and course management tips.

http://www.golfball.com/

The Internet Research Pointer

This page provides a well-organized and annotated set of links to dozens of Internet sites that will help you in any research task. The long list of search engines includes the required forms. A good candidate for your bookmarks!

http://csbh.mhv.net/~rpproctor/IRP.html Although a commercial site, this page should especially appeal to women surfers as it contains a large collection of topics of interest to them.

http://www.wwwomen.com/

Stroud's CWSApps List,

This is another one of those candidates for `bookmarking'. Check it out.

http://www.wlyn.com/stroud/cwsa.html

Another Superb HTML Writing Guide

The fastes way to describe this site is to say: worth a visit. Check it out at:

http://www.interlink-2000.com/guide-to-publishing-html.html

All About Java Scripting

Whether we like it or not, Java seems to be taking over the Web Sites. What is Java? How do you get in with it and how do you use it? So many questions! Well, this site should answer most of them and it contains links to even more high quality sites on the subject. If you like to keep abreast of the latest developments... this is the place!

http://gmccomb.com/javascript/

Welcome aboard the USS Kitty Hawk

It's huge (1065 feet long), it's heavy (86,000 tons) it's the USS Kitty Hawk. You are invited to visit and learn all about this aircraft carrier. When I last visited, the photographs loaded quite fast. Worth a visit.

http://trout.nosc.mil/~cv63pao/

That's it for this issue... Enjoy!

Issue 14 April 1996

The latest issue of Compunews is now available as V2N11. It includes links to some of the best News retrieval applications available. You will also find a superb computer calendar, and one of the best Windows 95 resource page on the Web. And more.

Several changes have taken place (again?) not the least being the addition of a dedicated Travels Page. Each new adventure now includes a number of musical selections to help enhance your pleasure during the journey. As a starter, you are invited to join travellers in a fantastic 18 month journey from The Netherlands to Africa.

One journey you will not want to miss: Antarctica! The educational value alone of this selection is something to behold. And there are more yet...

You will also find on this new Travels page some of your old favorites such as The Russian Chronicles!

Keep the suggestions coming and thanks to all those who have signed the guest book or written personal e-mails...

Issue 12 April 1996

New Search Engine

There are some good search engines out there... so many in fact that it becomes more and more difficult to pick the right one for any given search. Then, there is the problem of 'redundancy'. Some of the more powerful engines will return twenty listings of the same 'hit'. But have faith... help has arrived.

A new search engine called 'MetaCrawler' actually searches the biggest Web's existing search engines, collates the returns, throws out the redundant sites and present them to you in a neat table. The engines used are AltaVista, Excite, Galaxy, InfoSeek, Inktomi, Lycos, WebCrawler and

If you can't find what you're looking for with those eight... it might not be there!

MetaCrawler possesses several other high-value qualities, the chief one among them being that it is free of 'built-in' commercials and is intended to remain free. A search for 'Compunews' tuned up over 80 'hits', none of which were 'duplicate listings'! And the same results for 'The Omega Connection'. Get it at:

http://metacrawler.cs.washington.edu:8080/index.html

Getting the News

In the old days, one would read the daily paper and listen to the late night TV news broadcast and feel well informed. But no more. Given today's overwhelming avalenge of information available on the Net, one feels compelled to subscribe to all the news sites available. Unfortunately, no matter how fast a reader you are, it is near impossible to even begin to absorb what's thrown at us. But there is one service available that will deliver on your desk the past 24 hours' news. And it is free! In order to get this 2-3 page news summary delivered to your e-mail box, send an e-mail messgage to incinc@tiac.net and enter subscribe db as a Subject.

Issue 8 April 1996

Found some nice new shareware apps I'd like to pass along:

Personal Diary... and more.

At last, a diary that works! If you have Windows 95 and are looking for a'been there, done that' app, (commonly called diary or log or...) look no further. This is one of those do-it-all applications that might just make your day. Besides acting as a diary, complete with password protection and all, it also boosts an address book, a to-do function, a powerful search function (both for the address book and the diary entries) and, even has a good speller!

It has several other attributes (such as full configuration) and is easy to install. Most of the apps we discover these days contain a time-limit after which the app either stops functioning or becomes a real piece of 'nagware'! This one seems to be an exception (if it is 'timed' it is made no mention of it) And the asking price for registration is most reasonable. File size: 725K

http://www.shareware.com/code/engine/File?archive=sim-win95&file=pim/mpd55w32.zip

Need a good Personal Information Manager? PIM)

This is one PIM application I normally would not hesitate to recommend as it has just about everything one would want in such a program. If you come across this one somewhere and read all about it can do, you will probably want and download it .... but don't! That is unless you want to spend a long time 'online' only to find out, once installed, that it is virtually useless in its 'unregistered' version as it can save only 5 data pieces in any given function. If you have only 5 friends in your address book, 5 'things to do' in the coming year etc etc, then this is the app of choice. Oh... as a last note: this program is over 4 MegBytes in size and, when installed, it scatters dozens of files all over the map.... If you still want it, you can get it at:

ftp://www.pcworld.com/pub/win95/apps/fastrk95.zip

Another CD Player you ask?

There are possibly dozens of good CD player apps out there. This is one of the best ones. Besides possessing all the normal functions found in any good cd player, this one has the ability of saving a digitized version clip of every track so you can actually browse your libray of CD disks with the CD player 'empty' of disks! A good one:

ftp://www.pcworld.com/pub/win95/mm/cdw400.zip

A good 'Screen Capture' app

With everybody now into HTML authoring, one of the hottest app around is Snappy... a screen capture utility. And, a good one to boot! Get it at:

http://www.shareware.com/code/engine/File?archive=sim-win95&file=sysutil/snappy95.zip

Phone Application: Televox

What differentiates this program from several similar ones is the fact that it is 'free'! Yet, it does a lot: includes half and full-duplex capability, file transfer, chat (text-based), caller ID, and good, real-time audio even at low download rates of 2400 (a rarity these days). Size is 750K

http://www.voxware.com/

Till next time, Issue 31 March 1996

Make your visits count...

One of the many pleasures I derived from this Omega project is knowing who hits the pages and where they are from. For example, thanks to those who have already clicked on the bars, I know some of you were from U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia and of course, from Canada and the U.S.A. I put pins on a world map and watch it grow... So, be a nice fella and click away.... -:)

Issue 29 March

29 March 96 -------------------- Changes/Improvements

Several changes have been made (again?). The most visible change was the addition of a paragraph in the opening page clearly stating the `personal homepage' status of `The Omega Connection' and all associated services such as Compunews and Compuflash. The fact all these services have always been, are, and will remain `free of charge' has also been amply emphasized. This came as a result of a rather nasty incident which Ido not want to see repeated.

On a brighter side, I have begun cross-referencing certain topics to newsletter issues which had previously discussed the topic at hand. I hope to soon have all cross-referencing completed, thus easing your surfing through the many different issues looking for a particular subject's location.

Happy Birthday Everybody!

Thank you to everybody who happened to know I turned #59 yesterday and sent me good wishes. Very few knew because I like to pretend I'm 39 but... that's another story. I was very pleased, as anyone would be, to receive those good wishes and, thanks again.

In recognition of all this, and wishing to help spread the joy around, I have begun a new service. (for free.... of course) [that's an inside joke,... sorry about that]. Here's how it goes.

If you have a friend, relative, loved one or whomever you would like to send a Happy Birthday message to, why not take him/her/it along to a Birthday Party to show him/her/it you really appreciate them. You now can do so as follows:

1. Send them a regular e-mail message wishing them a Happy Birthday in your own words then, include something that looks something like this:

A special party has been thrown in your honor. I and zillions of other cybernauts are waiting for your arrival. Why don't you join us at the following address?

http://www.compunews.com/~jsav/bp1.htm

If you should like to visit the party room before sending the invitation, just to make sure everything is on the up and up and won't offend 'anyone', you should of course drop in for an inspection tour...

As always,..... Enjoy !

Issue 21 March 1996

More good sites to check out...

Search Engines

New Service from c|net

Never has searching the Internet for that particular topic been easier, or at least, as powerful as now. A new service provided by c|net taps into the search power of over 250 search engines! It includes a good tutorial on 'how to search' and includes a substantial menu of potential 'search topics'. For example, you can select a search under education, entertainment, finance, health, references etc etc. A definite candidate for a bookmark!

http://www.search.com/

2ask

2ask.... short name but very powerful! 2ask is not a search engine but a gateway. It does not list links as such but allows us to search what's best on the Net without having to surf to the sites. You select from a long list of general topics your area of interest and a number of search engines are then listed. This is another site which should be bookmarked.

http://www.2ask.com/

Susan's Internet Little Black Book

You can now access all of Susan's Little Internet Black Book via hot links. This little black book contains so many hot links on so many different subjects that you are bound to find links of great personal interest. Search the Little Black Book at:

http://www.cf.ac.uk:80/uwcm/pr/black_book.html

Internet Training Course for Beginners.

If you are new to the Internet and should wish to take a course aimed at beginners, this could be it. The course consists of 40 lessons covering all the basic tools. I understand that the course is free but that you are asked to send a contribution at its conclusion if you feel it has been beneficial to your understanding and use of the Internet. Other options are also offered. You can obtain detailed nformation by sending an e-mail message to rbehrens@kersur.net. Type 'Send Course Info.' in Subject line.

Re: Point Cast Online - Update

I have used this great new source of news gathering for only two days and I am hooked. I cannot get over how sleek the presentation is. If used in an office environment, I can easily see a number of people gathering around the screen when this app is in its screen saver mode.... See Compuflash 19 March for more details.

Entertainment News

Catch the latest entertainment, TV and movie related news at the following site. Also included are PrimeTime, editorials, reviews ... Required Netscape 2.0

http://superchannel.pair.com/

SIXTIES! http://www.slip.net/~scmetro/sixties.htm Experience virtual memories of the Sixties with music, performers, personalities and events, from the Kennedys to Woodstock.

http://www.vsa.cape.com/~powens/Kidnews.html

FLASH FLASH FLASH

Here's a super replacement for Windows 95 explorer...... I'll amplify on this super app in the next regular issue of Compunews. In the meantime, if you are a Windows 95 user, quick... get it:

ftp://www.pcworld.com/pub/win95/util/tb95prev.exe

Issue 7 March 1996

Things are looking up... The Omega Connection was hit over 350 times since the last Compuflash was published. All pages have received substantial cosmetic improvements. I hope you like the changes and, thanks for your support. Here are a few more links and thoughts..

Freeloader Now Available

The beta version of that new 'state of the art' Ineternet application has now been officially released and you can obtain it at:

http://www.freeloader.net/dlfl2.htm

New e-mail app available

A new e-mail application full of advanced features has been introduced. It is called BeyondMail. I normally do not mention new products which have 'time-limits' built-in their beta versions but this one is different. Their homepage include a substantial 'online tour' of their product and, if the quality of the product matches the quality and obvious care they brought to the making of their 'tour', it promises to be very interesting indeed.

As the 'tour' pages are obviously heavy in graphics, I downloaded the whole thing, pictures and all, and reviewed it later 'offline' with, of course, the help of Secret Agent. This app is full of exciting new features, too many to list here. See for yourself at:

http://131.100.110.12/bmail/personal/index.htm

I will use the beta version to some extent and will publish a review it in the next issue of Compunews.

Switchboard

Another companion product to BeyondMail is Switchboard, a directory that allows anyone with a browser to lookup names and addresses of more than 100 million people and business in the U.S. The search is free and fast. Itried five names at random from my address book and made a hit in each case!

Unfortunately, only U.S. addresses can be entered in the database but anyone worldwide can 'search' for such addresses.

http://www.switchboard.com/

Food and Wine from France

A long-time friend of mine sent me this hot URL and I couldn't wait to pass it on.. This is one page any wine lover will not want to miss. This site contains numerous special features and is extremely well one. I suggest you definitely have the 'autoload images' feature turned on when you first hit this page. It will be featured in the next issue of Compunews.

http://www.frenchwinesfood.com/

Shareware Corner

The following 'hot picks' can be obtained at: http://www.shareware.com

Games

Filename: gmroom12.zip You will find it under the path:

games/gmroom12.zip

A collection of Board Games for Windows

ftp://www.pcworld.com/pub/win95/apps/checks.zip

Getting your own Domain Name

Would-be publishers interested in establishing a presence on the Net (using their own domain name) will find much of the information required by joining a moderated newsgroup called Domain-Name-Request.

To subscribe, send the following command in the BODY of mail to

DOMAIN-NAME-REQUEST@MAIL-LIST.COM SUBSCRIBE

Issue 4 March 1996

I am thrilled to announce that Compunews was featured in today's broadcast of Margot Sinclair (35 hits in three hours) and also that it has received a Golden Award from Grandstrands. Very encouraging.

And there is a treat awaiting you at the site .... Entitled "Quality time .... a trip through Russia" it fills the entire issue of V2N8, now available. Kick your shoes off, grab a glass of wine and embark on a marvellous journey....

A special issue on "Volunteerism and the Internet" is in the making. Should you have some thoughts you would like to share on the subject or know of a site you would like featured, please drop me a line.

The latest issue of Compunews (V2N8) is now available at the Omega Connection...

Issue 17 February 1996

Browsers Issue

Which browser to use? Gone are the days of 'plain, old browsers' giving you simple text-like browsing features. Now, we have tables, forms, very powerful multimedia plug-in apps, almost database-like bookmark features etc etc. By all accounts, Netscape with its myriad of various versions is still the hands-up winner but there are more browsers out there worth a mention.

Following are some of them and where you can get them. All are free for the asking. Some have crippleware features built in (mostly dated to expire on a certain date in the not-too-distant future) but there are others which come to you full-featured and not timed-out!

Cyberjack

More than a browser, it's a set of tools. Easy to install. Among the cons... doesn't support tables or in-line JPEG's. On the good side, it comes preconfigured with hundreds of links to interesting sites .Cyberjcak includes what they call a 'Guidebook' to help you store and orga nize your favorite spots.

One annoying habit of Cyberjack is that it launches a new application of itself everytime you double click on it, even if that particular app was already loaded and running. The good news is that all their separate app (ftp, news, gopher etc) are hooked together with OLE so that is for example, you see an interesting URL in the news app, right-click on it ant it starts the appropriate app. Same with the mail. The key feature of that browser, I find, is their well organized guide. Definitely worth a download.

http://www.delrina.com

Internet Explorer

For the Windows 95 user, Microsoft Explorer Ver 2.0 is a good choice. The pros: it's free, tightly integrated with Win95, good multimedia extensions, support of tables and image-maps. One nifty aspect of it is that, once you are online, you can drag a URL to the desktop. What for? You double-click on the produced desktop icon and off it goes to your URL... The only drawback I could think of is that as you navigate through graphics-heavy sites, your system resources keep getting smaller and smaller until you loose patience... I think this is caused by a built-in bug but I'm not sure. In any event, try it out, it's still worth it.

http://www.microsoft.com

Issue 12 Feb 1996

Heard of RealAudio? Here comes competition...

At one time, there was RealAudio. You could listen to news, music etc in real time as it downloaded. But now, there is StreamWorks! Not only does it provide audio but also movies (full screen if you have the proper hardware, memory etc). It is quite fascinating. It works a little like the Internet Phone in that you log in 'servers' and off you go. There are browse and refresh buttons. I found it quite easy to install and I was listening to news and watching movies on the first try. Another indication of things to come! Check it out at:

http://www.xingtech.com/streams/index.html

Publicize your Homepage!

If you would like to have your homepage listed and available for anyone to link to it, try the following:

http://www.islandnet.com/~hilliard/autolog.html

Issue 11 February 1996

Just off the search..... the latest links!

SuperMedia player

Super Media is an alternative program to other programs like media player.

It has better options, a better interface, and lets you do some pretty cool things with videos. You can play virtually any kind of MCI device as long as you system supports them like .wav, .mid, .rmi, .mpg, .avi, .mov, .mmm, .fli , .flc and more. You can even record your own sounds and save them in any form. When you play videos you will notice that you can change the volume and the speed of the ,movie. You can even get the fps of the video. Get it at:

http://soho.ios.com/~sagibi/ (read info here)

The fastest download is at:

http://users.aol.com/sagib1/private/supermda.zip http://www.southam.com/edmontonjournal/ updated daily

http://www.southam.com/vancouverprovince/ updated daily

http://www.southam.com/vancouversun/ updated daily. Local & National news

http://www.vir.com/gazette/index.html features an archive of Aislen cartoons.

http://www.southam.com/calgaryherald/ updated daily