Totally wired
The world of the web
The 'Ask ; *
Jeeves' lntervrew
wwwsatirewire.com/features/satire- jeevesinterviewhtml
If you don’t know, ’Ask Jeeves’. wwwaskjeevescom rs the Internets closest thrng, at present, to an 'rntellrgent’ search engrne. lt wrll endeavour to make sense of an Englrsh guestron wrthout the need for any Jargon or mathematical operands. Thrs was obvrously way too much of a temptatron for someone who has attempted to rntervrew the engrne. The results are here, and apparently genurne. Never questron a guru too closely, otherwrse yOu mrght end up wrth drvrne nonsense.
Mucker
www.mucker.co.uk
Not berng one to fav0ur featurrng a half frnrshed proto-SIte, I feel that thrs one rs an exceptron. Keep an eye on the local ’ned' communrty and Jorn In on their actlvttles. Download s0und brtes of yOur fav0urrte ned askrng for ’50p for a bottle of Buckre’, post a message onto the ever popular message board, or Just hang around on the corner of cyberspace and smash stuff.
The Half Bakery
wwwhalfbakerycom We are all famrlrar With those rnventrons Irke the steam engrne and the telephone etc. But how about those Inventions that weren't gurte thought out properly? They all came here to die. How do you fancy an actrve tattoo on yOur wrrst that acts as a computer screen, or a krd powered TV? I’ve got both and l don't know what all the fuss IS about.
The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Shame
wwwfadetoblack com/hallofshame/ Take yOur average frlm star: they’ve
probably recorded
more humdrngrng records than A Flock Of Seagulls. Thrs srte rs proof of that, and all the regulars are here: Shatner, Nrmoy and the rest. But It's probably worth it more than anythlng else for ’(Lrttle) Joe Pescr' srngrng ’Got To Get You Into My ere'. Tune In and rum
Witness Rights Alert
www.0ddcastcom/witness
A human rrghts srte, focusing on worldwrde atrocmes, and spearheaded by such rock lumrnarres as Lou Reed,
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Peter Gabriel and Mrchael Strpe. Srgn up and do your but to help the needy. Heal the world wrthout leavrng yOur keyboard. (Steve Blarr)
m rims am / Internet hole
your speakers. O.
Bigmouth
www.bigm0uth.co.uk/
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Brlled as ’The UK's Nol Musrc lnformatron Statron’, thrs srte keeps you up to date like a vrrtual NME, seven days a week. Latest UK grg gurde, festrva! news and that krnd of grg. Buy CDs onlrne, or keep an eye on your favourrte band usrng the encyclopaedrc Interface. You can even buy trckets for the Trna Turner grg. Technology Is a crazy thrng.
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Books
ON-LINE Book sites
Once upon a time, the world of book publishing was seen as the preserve of polished old men browsing dusty bookshelves in an antiquarian manner. Then along flowed amazon.com and literary types everywhere went web crazy.
As you would expect, those inventive types at Canongate - the publisher which brought us the bible in easily digestible chunks — are leading the way with
Canongate
Literary types everywhere are going web crazy
www.canongate.net which has extracts from favourite books, the latest on the Canongate Prize For New Writing and news on their collaboration with Mojo magazine. And they even had a correspondent at Euro 2000 for those who couldn't bear the ramblings of Motson and McCoist. The site was described recently as 'like a cool club stocked with well-read friends rather than a lazy corporate exercise.’ Which isn't a million miles off the mark.
Polygon's site w euo ed 3.: uk) is a functional slice of their own particular history (this is where James Kelman, A.L. Kennedy and Janice Galloway got their big breaks) as well as a focus on their top current writers. Leila Aboulela and Ruth Thomas are the ones they are pushing for now. Mainstream may be best known for their enormous output of sports books but, as their site shows, there is much more to them than that. www.mainstreampublishing.com looks at their broad range of fiction and biography and there are links to the various companies with which they have sponsorship or other co-operation. And should you be so inclined, there is the opportunity to get involved in your own bit of sponsorship.
As we approach the frenzy that is Edinburgh in August, the book festival offers some welcome respite. Their website — wane. edbook‘est :o .rk — has a full list of the appearing authors, an opportunity for you to pose questions to the writers involved and soundbites from the events once they happen.
(Brian Donaldson)
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6—20 lui 2000 THE “ST 111