Site of the Week -- May 24, 1999
ntil now, the secret hope of most science fiction fans--to discover an alien civilization--has been impossible. But anyone with a home computer can join in the search for extraterrestrial life thanks to the SETI@home project.
Based on a small piece of shareware distributed by the University of California-Berkeley, SETI@home provides thousands of space enthusiasts with a way to help scour the skies for alien transmissions. Once downloaded onto a participant's computer, the program grabs a small chunk of data collected by a radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. The program runs as an unobtrusive screensaver whenever the user's computer is idle, analyzing radio waves and then sending the processed files back to Berkeley's servers. The program can run on Windows 95/98, Macintosh, and Unix computers, while versions for other operating systems are planned.
The Web site for SETI@home--which will serve as an online base camp during the program's two-year run--hosts FAQs and highlights of notable findings. It's a grassroots project that the public appears to be starving for, judging by the nearly 300,000 users who have signed up so far.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- May 17, 1999
ll the attention being paid to George Lucas and the Star Wars
series hasn't spilled over onto his first film, the dark science fiction
thriller THX 1138. The THX 1138 page is one the few THX Web sites that are out there, but like its namesake it's been a little
neglected.
The site has some nice features. There's a synopsis of the movie, background tidbits, and a list of THX in-jokes. The host also tracked down some fun images of the female lead getting her head shaved in preparation for her part, though some other image files came up not found during a recent visit. There's an "exclusive" interview with William Loughborough, who dubbed the voice for one of the robot officers in the film. The interview is interesting but odd. (Q: What was a day on the set like? A: I never saw the set. Q: How did THX help your acting career? A: I'm not an actor, I'm a scientist. And so on.)
The THX 1138 page is good for basic background on Lucas's debut
feature. For more, Web surfers will have to wait for promised upgrades.
-- Mark Wilson
Site of the Week -- May 10, 1999
nyone can grill a steak, but it takes a special kind of chef to fry a
tribble. Luckily, enterprising cooks can find directions for delicacies ranging from chicken-fried Godzilla lips to chunky Ewok stew in the pages of the Science Fiction Cookbook.
For fried tribbles, this online cookbook requires a combination of phaser burns and exposure to a molecular accelerator chamber. The final concoction can be complemented by an optional vegetable medley.
Those looking for real-world versions of futuristic recipes won't find them here--these creations are done strictly tongue-in-cheek. The entrees can be sorted by author, ingredient and genre/world, and fans will quickly notice that the cookbook is missing some memorable recipes. While there are directions for werewolf roast and barbecued Jawas, chefs can't wash them down with a nice Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster.
Such oversights may be resolved in the future--the Science Fiction Cookbook encourages visitors to add recipes of their own.
-- Kenneth Newquist
