Site of the Week -- July 19, 1999
f there's one project that could rival Star Wars in attention over the next five years, it's the upcoming Lord of the Rings
movie trilogy. And where Star Wars has TheForce.net to funnel its online hype, Rings
has the sharp-looking Ringbearer.org Web site, which hunts the net and the real world for
the slightest mention of the New Line Cinemas project.
Ringbearer's up-to-date news section has everything from the big stories, such as
who will play Frodo Baggins, to minutiae, like the rejection letter of an actor who
didn't make the casting cut. There are also fan editorials about the project, artwork and a
short FAQ that answers most major questions about the movies.
But the part that will raise lumps in the throats of Tolkien fans is the
pictures section. It's got the majestic beauty shots from the New Line
Web site, but more impressively it also has photos of the trilogy's New
Zealand shooting locale, showing exactly why the region is a perfect stand-in for Middle-earth.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- July 12, 1999
ould the Enterprise take out a Star Destroyer? Space
Battles may not have the answer, but it should provide debaters with a
few new rounds of ammunition.
The site is home to a half-dozen high-quality battle fests featuring
starships from the ruling triumvirate of modern popular science fiction,
Star Wars, Star Trek, and Babylon 5.
In its "The Founders" series, Rebel cruisers, the White Star Fleet and
Federation starships engage a fleet of Star Destroyers, Jem Ha'Dar and
Cardassian ships in an attempt to drive the Dominion from the Alpha
Quadrant. These are not plastic-and-glue kitchen model movies--the site's
shorts rival modern special effects and easily outshine the late-1980s tech
of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
The battles are the site's main attraction, but they are augmented by genre
jokes and a message board. The site's movies are dominated by Star
Trek and Babylon 5, but an upcoming Battlestar Galactica
short movie should mix things up.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- July 6, 1999
he Enterprise-E soars past the gossamer strands of a nebula.
Babylon 5 orbits high above the desolate plains of a planetoid.
B-Wings flee the destruction of a Star Destroyer. These are just a few of the alien vistas waiting to be downloaded
from Desktop Starships, a site dedicated to science fiction
wallpaper, fonts and themes.
Desktop Starships includes message boards, a small news section and a "start"
section for those who want to begin their Web surfing with a heavy
dose of SF. But where the site shines is its desktop
goodies. The site's galleries are dominated by beautifully rendered starships from popular series, and there is also a healthy smattering of original SF&F artwork.
The Top 10 Downloads section tracks popular files, while
navigating the galleries is accomplished by using a simple--but not
easily noticed--pull-down menu. A keyword search would be a good
addition to the site, but as is Desktop Starships packs more than enough firepower to
blast visitors' computers into other galaxies.
-- Kenneth Newquist
