Site of the Week -- July 26, 1999
pace.com is a central source for all news related to the final
frontier. This well-designed, advertisement-free site publishes daily
updates on rocket launches, ongoing missions, astronomy, space business and
even UFO reports. The stories can be viewed by category, making it easy to
get up to date in any particular topic. Another nice feature
is the thorough coverage of the international space scene, such as reports on Europe's
Ariane rocket program and the Russian Mir space station.
Space.com also has book
reviews, feature articles about current space issues, and information on the history of
space exploration. Chat rooms, message boards, and an electronic store round out the site.
Of particular interest to SF fans is the "Space Imagined"
section, which has news stories on space-related books, movies, games and TV
shows. Better still, a "Space on TV" area lists all science fiction and space-fact
series currently on the air.
Overall this is perhaps the best space news site on the Web, thanks to its complete
coverage and clean, easy-to-navigate design. It's a one-stop source for
anyone who wants to keep up to date on astronomy, space exploration and the
space industry.
-- J.B. Peck
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
