Can’t We All Just Page Each Other?
Pagers made big news last week when a combination of computer foul-ups and human error produced erroneous wireless messages for 10,000 SkyTel customers. Afterward, pager addicts--some of whom woke at 5:16 a.m. to the constant chirping of their beepers--wondered whether the devices made them too connected.
Participants at the Electronic Messaging Assn.’s annual membership forum, to be held Wednesday and Thursday in San Diego, will be looking for ways to persuade people that what the world needs is more, not fewer, ways to communicate electronically.
In addition to pagers, the group pushes e-mail, voice mail and faxing. The priority at this week’s meeting is to find ways for these technologies to improve the prospects for secure global electronic commerce. Information on the meeting is available at https://www.ema.org
THIS WEEK
* Today, 4 p.m.: Members of the hip-hop rap group Nas meet fans of their two platinum-selling singles. Internet. https://www.sonicnet.com/sonicore
* Tuesday, 7 a.m.: Vice President Al Gore will discuss ocean data gathered by U.S. and Russian scientists. Internet. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/gore
* Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Attorney/author Richard North Patterson chats about his latest legal thriller, “Silent Witness.” America Online. Keyword: TBR
* Thursday: Online coverage of the Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford’s annual showcase for independent films, begins and lasts through Jan. 26. Internet. https://www.sundancechannel.com
* Thursday, 5 p.m.: Movie producer Gale Anne Hurd talks about her new films, “The Relic” and “Dante’s Peak.” Internet. https://www.hollywood.com/chat/chat.html
CYBERSPACE
* If you made a New Year’s resolution to eat right, check out CyberDiet at https://www.cyberdiet.com. Get exercise tips, healthy recipes and a bevy of food facts. Visitors can even get a personalized nutrition profile based on their height, weight and body frame.
* You’ve probably received your state and federal tax forms in the mail by now. If you need help filling them out, visit the Tax Sites Directory at https://www.uni.edu/schmidt/tax.html. This site, maintained by an accounting professor at the University of Northern Iowa, has a comprehensive guide to tax sources on the Internet, including links to the Internal Revenue Service.
* If you didn’t get a calendar for Christmas, visit https://www.smartravel.com/wallcalendar.html and download one with stunning pictures of Los Angeles. Pages can be downloaded for free one month at a time.
* Submit your nominations for the top Internet applications and technologies of 1996 at https://www.netguide.com/awards. Categories include Best Use of Technology, Best Sense of Community and Netizen of the Year. Nominations can be made until Jan. 31, and the winners will be announced March 13 at an awards ceremony at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.
* Musicians will find Musician.com (https://www.musician.com) an invaluable resource. Find members for your band (or a band to join), get tech support for your instruments and sign up for free subscriptions to industry publications.
* Visatel Hispanic Cyberspace offers links to information about one of the fastest-growing communities in the United States. Look up business, sports, politics, demographics and more--in English or Spanish--at https://www.visatel.net.
* IBM has compiled an online database with 26 years’ worth of U.S. Patent & Trademark Office patent descriptions. Visitors can search the contents of more than 2 million patents at https://patent.womplex.ibm.com.
* For the latest government economic statistics, visit the Economic Statistics Briefing Room at https://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/esbr.html. The site, a favorite of the CyberSkeptic’s Guide to Internet Research, has stats on prices, income, output, unemployment, credit and more.
* Sportfishing enthusiasts should check out Southern California Marlin Online (https://members.aol.com/marlinnut/index.html) for news, weather reports, schedules, tips from fellow fishers and more. Regulations from the California Fish and Game department are available here as well.
* Take an entertaining virtual tour of North Hollywood with NoHo residents from the rock band Slush at https://www.discoveryrec.com. Visit the secondhand clothing store where band members shop, tour the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and learn a thing or two about parking meters in the San Fernando Valley.
Site suggestions can be sent to [email protected]
