ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 30, 1996 TAG: 9605300051
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
THIS DECEPTIVELY SIMPLE WEB SITE promises to make you smarter one paragraph at a time. And it's not censored.
Tipworld is a simple little site to get to, but where it takes you is enough to leave you as baffled as Holden Caulfield was about puberty.
"Holden" page is just one of the places you can end up as you weave through this sophisticated offering. It will take you a long visit to really check it out.
Tipworld promotes itself as "Making you smarter one paragraph at a time." Among its promises are free daily tips on a variety of subjects that include Windows 95, Macintosh, and Software Bugs and Fixes; and Cool Web Sites. You sign up for the tips by leaving your e-mail address for each category.
Beware: Cool Web Sites will take you on the most side trips.
"Websightings" by this site's editor included places where you could wallow in bits of information about Johnny Cash, ABBA or J.D. Salinger, author "Catcher In the Rye," the 1951 literary classic of which Holden Caulfield is the central character.
This site is not censored.
Myths?
There is something about a computer that makes people have wrongheaded notions, most of which harm nothing more significant than the credibility of the person advocating them.
Here are a few stupid things:
nComputer viruses. They are blamed for more calamity than the government. Sure, viruses are real, and a prudent person ought to check programs downloaded from the Internet or ``loaned'' copies from friends. But if you are using commercial software that came with your computer, or programs you bought in the store, the danger from a virus attack is roughly equivalent to the hazards posed by an invasion by Martians.
nFear of peeking. If your computer is connected to a network or on-line service, it is possible for someone to peek. But the peeker would have to be very smart and very motivated.
nSurge protectors. A lot of folk, including some computer store clerks, think a surge protector can shield a computer from a lightning strike. That's as silly as hoping an umbrella will keep you dry during a hurricane. The name of the device describes its function perfectly. It protects your computer against surges of electrical power. But if lightning hits a power line entering your home, the surge protector likely will be transformed instantly into a charred plastic box ... and so will your computer. If a real lightning storm threatens, unplug your computer.
nErased files. There is the naive belief that an erased file is gone forever.
Here's what happens when a program is ``deleted'' from a hard disk or a floppy disk: The computer changes a single bit of information at the beginning of the file. The rest of the data stays intact, at least temporarily.
Changing that bit signals the computer that the space taken up by the file is now available. But until the space is needed, the old document remains.
If you use a recent version of DOS, insert a floppy disk that has erased files on it into your disk drive. Then type the command UNDELETE. You'll likely get a long list of deleted files that can be completely restored with a keystroke or two.
Route 66
I'm taking the '67 Volkswagen Beetle for my trip on Route 66. You can have the '61 Ford Galaxy Sunliner or the '69 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu or the "Softbun Classic" cycle.
A trip to reddog.com, home of Red Dog beer, will get you on that famous nostalgia road between Los Angeles and Chicago. But first, you must go to Crazy Sal's Used Vehicle Emporium for wheels.
The site makes use of technology such as Shockwave, Quicktime VR and Real Audio, but if you don't know what these are, visit anyway.
If you're old enough, you'll remember the TV show by this name. If not, you missed a lot, especially actors Martin Milner and George Maharis.
See you on Route 66 - or at Lou Mitchell's in Chicago for breakfast.
High tech
Framatome Technologies' site is mighty high tech in subject matter, but you can always look at the pictures, so to speak.
This Lynchburg company has some fine graphics on its page, framatech.com, and also provides a link to the city of Lynchburg's Web page.
Framatome, which employs about 1,700, most of them in Lynchburg, serves U.S. commercial nuclear utilities with nuclear fuel and diagnostic, operating, maintenance and repair services.
Some of the site is still under construction.
Telescope
If Framatome merely whets your appetite for challenging information, you can finish off with naic.edu, the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center's home page.
The site gives you an update on the upgrade of Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the world's most sensitive radio telescope and the dish featured in the James Bond film "Goldeneye."
Links here take you to the National Science Foundation and Cornell University.
LENGTH: Medium: 98 linesby CNB