t is easy to feel that the days of celebrity scientists like Thomas Edison and Marie Curie are long gone. The plucky solo inventor of history has given way to anonymous teams in sealed laboratories, quietly and collectively producing new gadgets for corporations who then sell them without crediting the minds behind the hardware. That does not mean, however, that there is no way to learn who developed veggie burgers, the remote control or the microprocessor. Celebrating the advance of science and technology by profiling inventions great and small—as well as the people who built them—The Great Idea Finder seeks to inspire the "inventor" in all of us.
A fantastic site for anyone curious about the development of any of the technologies that permeate 21st-century living—blue jeans, microwave ovens, traffic lights, just name it—TGIF provides inventor biographies and invention facts and even debunks myths about how particular innovations came to be. These essays come with book recommendations and Web links for related reading, making further research simple. The archive of articles is huge, covering every imaginable invention-related subject, from how words get into the dictionary to facts about the invention of Kevlar by Stephanie Kwolek.
TGIF also spotlights exciting new technologies (and significant improvements to existing ones) with its Great Idea Award. It offers a trivia quiz and reviews of books on science and technology, and it allows guests to submit their own concepts for dream inventions. Finally, in the Resources section of the site, visitors can find useful Web links, information about invention-related DVDs and TV programs, suggestions for simple experiments and a listing of contests and competitions for young scientists.
Content-rich, well-organized and filled with ideas for writers, students and anyone interested in technology, TGIF is one of those staggeringly useful sites that will draw visitors back again and again.
—A.M. Dellamonica
Site of the Week—March 21, 2005
attleTech Universe is a fan-driven news and community Web site committed to tracking every aspect of its namesake science-fiction setting, from the tabletop game to the latest Xbox arcade shooter.
The site's home page is given over the news, a recent sampling of which included a blurb about a new "Classic BattleTech" column discussing upcoming tabletop game releases, an announcement about MechWarrior 4 computer game upgrade and a quick hit about two new maps available for Xbox's MechAssault 2.
Venturing beyond the home page reveals aspects that diehard fans will love. There are the obligatory discussion forums but in a interesting twist, the site rewards those who post to them with "C-Bills." These bits of imaginary currency can in turn be used to purchase real-world BattleTech stuff, like miniatures, decals and books. The forums are well-trafficked, and offer visitors a place to arrange online and offline games.
The "Site Regiment" section is attempts to re-create a fictional BattleTech regiment using painted miniatures. Fans sign up to paint a particular regimental mech, photograph it and upload the photos to the site. Each mech has a C-Bill bounty that the fan earns when the project is completed, and as with forum posts, these C-bills can be used to buy more BattleTech products. Completing the site is its image gallery, which includes photos of its members' completed mech projects, fan artwork, screen shots taken from computer games and downloadable desktop images.
—Ken Newquist
Site of the Week—March 14, 2005
s science fiction has matured over its long decades of literary life, appreciation of its merits has grown beyond geeks and fanatics to include researchers serious about proving its scholarly merits.
Located at the University of Kansas, the Center for the Study of Science Fiction offers resources for casual and serious genre researchers, with a focus on written science fiction. "A Basic Science Fiction Library" gives librarians a lengthy list of authors and books designed to give readers an excellent foundation in science fiction. While oriented towards academics, it's also perfect for anyone who is looking to expand his understanding of the genre's history.
The "Science Fiction Youth Program" page presents suggestions for getting young people interested in reading speculative fiction. It includes SF reading lists, essays on teaching science fiction, links to SF resources and much more. There is a page dedicated to the annual Campbell Award for science fiction, which is presented at the center's own University of Kansas, as well as one for the "Campbell Conference," an academic gathering held alongside the award ceremony. Rounding out the site is information about the university's annual SF-related academic programs, including workshops on writing and teaching science fiction.
—Ken Newquist
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