Site of the Week -- Aug. 2, 1999
he Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's entry for Earth is simply "mostly harmless." The humans at the Project Galactic Guide--presumably the ones still fascinated with digital watches--beg to differ. They've compiled hundreds of entries about living, dying and procreating on their backwater planet, and have posted them on the Web for all their world to see.
The guide seeks to emulate the far larger, loftier and (with its trademark "Don't Panic" message) friendlier Hitchhiker's series, a five-part trilogy written by Douglas Adams. Begun in 1991 as a Usenet effort, Project Galactic has grown to include a variety of online and offline guides that are available on a plethora of operating systems.
The Guide prides itself on putting humor first and facts second, an ideology reflected in its articles. Its editorial board has assembled (presumably between day-long lunches) entries that capture the nuances of Adams' humor while delivering valuable public service information on topics like "constructing an atom bomb." Its contributors are--without a doubt--a bunch of cool froods who know where their towels are.
-- Kenneth Newquist
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
