New seekers
Despite so many dot.com's falling out of the sky, it is getting no easier to find your way around the ever-sprawling web. Traditional methods of finding what you want are simply straining to cope. Once-trusted search engines such as AltaVista and Northern Light have long been clogged-up with links to bookshops. Of course there is always Google to rely on, but recently two new sites, both built at home with virtually no budget, have come up with useful additions to the search and hope method.
Diana McK, a librarian based in Hong Kong, has had the bright idea of assembling a library of websites according to the Dewey Decimal System (DDC).
First published in 1876, the DDC is the system used by libraries throughout the world to categorise books. Although the project isn't fin ished, the list at www.geocities.com/deweyhk/ is already quite extensive and growing by the week.
Another good reference site, this time for history, can be found at http://members.aol.com/historyresearch. Information is arranged either by continent or by topic, but the really clever part is that the site only links to other link pages. It is an effective reference tool, and a must for most undergraduates or anyone with an interest in history.
Toaster
Students at Brunel University have invented a net-enabled toaster that displays the weather forecast by browning an icon on your bread. Soon, no proper e-home will be without one. Details can be found at www.brunel.ac.uk/.
Urban links
The ugly confrontations at Monday's Mayday demonstrations have already started dominating the headlines, but it's worth remembering that for many people, Mayday is much more about a serious political movement that is being fostered on the net.
Dozens of groups claim to be laying siege to the forces of capitalism, and there are far too many to list here. However, the underground e-zine Urban 75 has an exhaustive set of links at www.urban75.org/mayday01/links.html
Art for all
The Beeb's recently relaunched arts site has added a little online gallery featuring digital artworks from a number of well-known artists.
What's nice is that the Beeb hasn't gone for the usual suspects but has commissioned a number of artists from other disciplines instead. Works from the likes of Bob and Roberta Smith, Janette Parish and a beautiful screen saver from Michael Craig-Martin are already there.
Expect works from Gilbert and George, Matt Collishaw and Julian Opie in the coming weeks, say the online curators.
The site welcomes contributions from less famous digital artists, too. Send your masterpieces to www.bbc.co.uk/arts/digital
BT changes
More BT number changes come into force on Saturday affecting mobile, pager and premium rate numbers. All mobile and pagers will now begin with the prefix 07, special rate numbers will continue to begin with 08 and have expanded to include internet services, and premium rate numbers will begin with either 090 or 091. See www.numberchange.bt.com for more details.
Census day
The census is issued on Monday, and although you can't fill it out online, there is help with the form, and a decent set of FAQs (answers to Frequently Asked Questions) at www.statistics.gov.uk
Cancer cure
Scientists at Oxford University are working with Intel to search for a cure for cancer using the internet. Inspired by the Seti@home project that links computers to search for extraterrestrial life, the project uses similar technology to network computers in order to process the vast amounts of data.
A network of PCs pool their processing power, which gives the scientists the power of a supercomputer at a fraction of the cost. Seti@home has attracted almost 3m users since its launch in 1999. See www.intel.com/cure
Pay or else
One of the UK's internet industry news services, Netimperative.com, says that unless its users volunteer to switch to a subscription model by next Tuesday, then it's curtains for its mix of daily bulletins and weekly analysis. At the moment membership is free, but Net Imperative want to charge £50 a year.
Six degrees
Students at the department of computer science at Virginia University have updated the modern parlour game, Six degrees of Kevin Bacon. Taking its cue from John Guare's play, Six Degrees of Separation, the object of the game is to link any well-known actor to another using only six steps. Two people are said to be linked if they star in a film together. See www.cs.virginia.edu/oracle/star_links.html
New and noted
• Tomato, a British design collective, has participated in a pan-European art project at www.absolut.com/lights
• A stylish city guide for the capital can be found at www.viewlondon.co.uk
• There is a witty spoof of The Weakest Link at www.supanet.com/missinglink
• The founder member of Faithless goes around the world with digital camera. Check out his progress at www.1giantleap.tv
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Bag a bargain
Foreign office advice
Go green
Write about it
Not forgetting
