S o f t W h e r e for 11 August 1999 You can also read this issue online at this location: TEXT: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/7502/archives/text/1999-08-11.txt HTML: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/7502/archives/html/1999-08-11.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C o n t e n t s - Chit Chat - Software - EarthNavigator 1.0a - Third Voice 1.0 beta 2 - Netomat - DigiCams 1.0 - Gooey 1.0 beta - KeeBoo 1.0 - Napster 2.0 beta 3 - PiHex 6.0 RC1 - Subliminal Messages v3.0 - GTRipple v1.0 - Banner Crafter v1.0 - MouseImp 1.0.2.13 - Updates & Patches - News - AMD's Athlon(K7) CPU surpasses Intel Pentium III - Microsoft and AOL in a Message War - Lucent to enter indian ISP market (with DSL) - Cool Sites - The Hunger Site - GotoWorld - 4* Personals - Love Calculator - Cool Links - MP3 Search Engines - Projects - Essential files - Notes - Technical notes ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C h i t C h a t Hi guys (and gals too) :-), How are you all doing ??? (Welcome to our new subscribers.) Yeah, yeah I know that I am late again almost by a week. The last week has been like hell. First my Phone line went dead, then my system crashed and if that wasn't enough my modem refused to communicate. Things are back to normal and I hope that they remain like that. Well, I have updated my site to a great extent. I have added a search engine and tweaked the interface, and made the site more dynamic, so I would suggest you guys to give it a try and tell me your suggestions, comments, criticism about the site. http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/7502/ or if you would like to have a redirecting shortname http://softwhere.4all.cc And yeah spread the word about the list to your friend. Come on people forward this message to your friends, colleagues, co workers or just about anyone (hey, but don't spam) because we need more subscribers. Amit ---------------------------------------------------------------------- S o f t w a r e EarthNavigator 1.0a EarthNavigator.com is an interactive 3D globe which floats on your desktop and has links to thousands of Web sites around the world. Just point and click on any country or place and let your Internet browser take you there. EarthNavigator.com includes links to relevant Web sites about each country. You can also quickly get detailed maps of any place in the world, the local weather, distances and driving directions between points (US only), the local time anywhere in the world, and much more. For each place in the world (countries, states, provinces, cities, etc.) you can also create your own link to an Internet Web site and then jump directly to that Web site. Yu can also link each place with an e-mail address and send e-mail to that place just by clicking on it. In addition, you can link a file (such as a picture, document or program) and then launch the file when you click the place. You can use the mouse to quickly rotate the globe to see a place of interest, or set the globe to rotate on its own. You can turn the day/night shadow on or off, and see where nightfall is based on your timezone. It's easy to zoom in on any place in the world. You can zoom into an area as small as one square meter, or zoom out to see the whole world. You can view the world as a free-floating globe on your desktop or change it to a regular window. EarthNavigator.com is accessible from the System Tray, and you can set it "always on top" of other applications. The photo-realistic globe image is based on satellite images of the Earth. This program was formerly known as "My World". This updated version includes local time zones anywhere in the world, maps, driving directions, world-wide weather, and more.. Licence Freeware (Ad supported) Size 2.37 MB OS Windows 95/98/NT Requirement 32 MB RAM Download http://www.earthnavigator.com/enavdown.htm http://www.softseek.com/files/review?EDGO18235sw Limitation This free program is advertiser supported. If you do not want to see the advertising banners, you can register the software. Approx. download time 12 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Third Voice 1.0 beta 2 Third Voice is a browsing companion that allows you to append notes to any Web page and read messages posted by other Third Voice users. Notes can be inserted at virtually any reference point, including sentences, words, or even single characters. Once posted, you can designate a note as public, group, or private. Notes appear to you and other users of Third Voice as small icons near their corresponding reference points. To view, simply click one of these icons and the note will be displayed in a small window. You can also respond to notes by creating message threads and public discussions. To make finding notes on a page quick and easy, Third Voice displays a collapsible sidebar in your browser window that contains an index of in-line notes. Once Third Voice is installed, you must sign up for your free account. The only information required is your name and email address. Version 1.0 beta 2 includes several new features, not the least of which is support for both Internet Explorer 4.0 and 5.0. Other new features include a peer voting option that allows you to vote on whether a note is "great" or "spam/junk," on-demand note viewing, spam and other note filtering, a new public groups application that allows you to create or join public forums around specific topics, a reply notification that lets you know when someone responds to a note you have posted, and enhanced security. Licence Freeware Size 37 KB OS Windows 95/98/NT 4.0 Requirements 24MB RAM (on Windows 95/98), 32MB RAM (on Windows NT 4.0), Internet Explorer 4.0 Download http://www.thirdvoice.com/download/setup.exe Site http://www.thirdvoice.com/ Note This download consists of a small file that, when executed, will launch Internet Explorer, download the browser components, and install the program. Because of this, you must maintain your Internet connection after you double-click setup.exe. Approx. download time: < 1 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Netomat More art than browser, netomat lets you view content on the Web in a new and revolutionary way. Images and fragments of text float across the screen, moving at different speeds in relation to the position of your cursor. Unlike traditional methods of Web browsing, you do not navigate by clicking hyperlinks or typing in URLs. Instead, you type in questions, phrases, or words, and netomat responds by altering the flow of information to include related elements from the Web. All elements are stripped of their original context and set loose from all constraints of static page design. Licence Freeware Size 1.3 MB OS Windows 95/98/NT Requirements Java Runtime Envoirnment 1.2.1 or higher Download http://www.netomat.com Approx. download time: 7 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DigiCams 1.0 DigiCams is a Webcam viewer that allows you to see the world through the eyes of the many digital cameras connected to the Internet around the world. DigiCams maintains a list of Webcams, updated weekly. DigiCams' database includes real-time snapshots of the beaches of New Zealand, a misty view of Niagara Falls, the sidewalks of Venice Beach, and the traffic in Atlanta. Three viewing modes provide easy access to the WebCams. In Random Play mode, DigiCams randomly takes you on a virtual tour of the planet as seen through the eyes of the Internet. Using the Location Browser, you can sample cameras by location. Finally, using the Auto-Update function, you can pick a camera you like and have DigiCams update the picture however often you specify. Other features include preset buttons to save your favorite cameras, visit the camera's Website with a single click, and shrink or enlarge the image, and a Cool Links menu to highlight the favorite cameras of the week. Licence: Freeware (Ad supported) Size: 1.3 MB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://home1.gte.net/fosterk/da/index.htm http://www.softseek.com/files/review?DEDEUT25024sw Limitation DigiCams is free software, supported by the advertisements displayed below the Webcam image. Approx. download time: 7 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gooey 1.0 beta Gooey is an Internet tool that allows people simultaneously browsing the same Web site to communicate with each other (see screen shot). With Gooey, chat is not restricted to specific areas or sites but turns into an integral, natural part of your browsing. Using Gooey, you can chat on virtually any site on the Web, and get a constantly updated list of all the other online users on any site you visit. You can conduct group and private chats while exploring your favorite sites. A special "Hitwave" window displays the most popular sites among Gooey users at any given moment. Gooey also has a media-rich content zone that provides you with anything from news feeds and cool games to Flash animations. Licence: Freeware Size: 2.3 MB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Requirements: Internet Explorer 3.01, or Netscape Navigator 3.0, or AOL 4.0 Browser Dowload: ftp://ftp.download.com/pub/ppd/ppd_Gooey10F.exe Site: http://www.hypernix.com/ Note After downloading and installing Gooey, you are required to register and create an online personality. Approx. download time: 11 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KeeBoo 1.0 KeeBoo lets you gather information and/or content from Web pages, text files, images, movies, and spreadsheets to create shareable "books". You simply drag and drop the various items into a new KeeBoo "book" and then enhance and personalize your new book by adding sticky notes and highlighting important sections. The program automatically creates chapters, a table of contents, and an index. Once a KeeBoo book is created, it can be archived for future reference. These virtual books are placed in a graphical bookcase, can be viewed in any standard Web browser, and sent via e-mail. Licence: Freeware Size: 173 Kb OS: Windows 95/98/NT Requirements Pentium 200, Internet Explorer 4 or above Dowload: http://www.keeboo.com/download/enu/keeboo10/keeboosetup.exe Note You have to be online in order to install KeeBoo, because the installer downloads a larger file for the actual installation. Approx. download time: < 1 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Napster 2.0 beta 3 Napster is a search tool designed to help you find and download MP3 music. Using an advanced search system, napster scours multiple online libraries for the songs you want. The search is in real time, so the returned list of available songs is reliable every time; if you cannot access a song, it simply does not show up in the results. All results are pinged to allow you to find the fastest site, and you can specify minimum ping times, bit rates and frequency. Napster avoids conventional FTP transfer problems by using "Automatic Hash Resuming" to ensure the completion of each MP3 transfer. The program identifies each song by a "hash" of its contents rather than by its file name. If a remote computer disconnects while you are downloading a song, napster uses "hash resume" to find the next fastest site with the song to automatically complete the download. With this feature, you never have to worry about a library going offline. A "hot list" feature is also available to notify you when your favorite MP3 libraries are online and accessible. The program has a built-in chat system with different forums based on music genre. By fostering this virtual community, napster's creators hope to ensure a vast collection of MP3s for download. The program includes an MP3 player, but you can configure napster to use any preferred external player. You can create "play lists" to hear songs in a particular order. Napster runs as a convenient icon in the System Tray area of the Windows taskbar. Licence: Freeware (Ad supported) Size: 331 KB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://www.napster.com/ Limitation Napster is free software, supported by the advertisements. Approx. download time 2 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PiHex 6.0 RC1 PiHex is both the overall project and the program you download, which is, strictly speaking, the PiHex client. PiHex (the project) is a distributed computing project using idle time slices on computers scattered around the world to calculate specific bits of Pi without computing all the previous bits. In this way, PiHex is ideally suited to highly parallel systems (such as the internet) where each computer only has a very limited amount of memory -- with about 100K of memory, PiHex can compute the five trillionth bit of Pi, whereas 'classical' algorithms for computing Pi, which compute all the bits up to a certain point would need over a terabyte of memory, which is out of reach for all but the world's most powerful supercomputers. PiHex uses Bellard's formula, essentially a refinement of the BBP formula which expresses Pi as an infinite sum. To calculate the five trillionth bit, we need to add up the five trillionth bits of seven trillion terms. I assign ranges of terms (eg, first two hundred billion terms) for each computer to add up, and then author add all the results together at the end. Since PiHex only uses idle time slices, it should not interfere with any other programs you are running. Thus, you can leave it running all the time. PiHex subdivides the assigned range into smaller sub-ranges, and writes the sum of each subrange to the output file when it completes, so if your computer crashes at some point, PiHex might lose half an hour of work, but it should be able to restart without any problems. PiHex is designed to use all the available CPUs: It spawns a separate thread for each CPU to do that CPU's calculations. Therefore, if you have a multi-processor machine, you only need to have one copy of PiHex running. For this reason, PiHex will not allow you to have two copies running at once. Licence: Freeware Size: 47 KB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://www.cecm.sfu.ca/projects/pihex/ Approx. download time: < 1 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subliminal Messages v3.0 This program simply shows subliminal messages (of your choice) while you work on your computer. The messages are constructed in such a way to help you in the following areas: 1) Wealth and Money 2) Self Esteem and Happiness 3) Weight Loss 4) Depression 5) Exercise 6) Motivation 7) Procrastination 8) Quit Smoking 9) Stress Management 10) Your own Custom made messages Licence: Freeware Size: 2.38 MB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://www.jeffguy.com/software/index.htm Approx. download time: 13 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GTRipple v1.0 Now you can have a virtual pond on your Desktop without experiencing water damage. This is an amazing toy; for its first version, GTRipple is quite configurable and equally as stable. Your background image will be set in motion indefinitely to give you an effect of water in motion. Even if you don't have a wallpaper having a lake or pond this one can create with its mirror option. Licence: Freeware Size: 293 KB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://www.pnc.com.au/~garethth/download/GT-Ripple.exe Site: http://www.pnc.com.au/~garethth/ Approx. download time: 2 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Banner Crafter v1.0 This is a most amazing program which creates GIF banners or other GIF graphics using a visual drag 'n drop object placement system. All the basic elements are supplied and you can simply place them into your image. Once the base banner has been created, you can then animate it through this excellent program. The final result is a static or animated 'titlebar' or toolbar-type graphic (like programs have). The interface is unusual with lots of floating tool bars, and the lack of Helpfile is a decided disadvantage. However, help is available on-line and I would strongly suggest you thoroughly check out the website before doing too much with this program. The on-line tutorial is a good start. Allow yourself some time to get to know Banner Crafter, the results will be worthwhile. If animated GIF banners with Windows- style objects on it (menu boxes, etc) are what you're wanting to create then this is the perfect tool. I wasn't just impressed, I was "blown away"! Licence: Freeware Size: 2.5 MB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://linkcrafter.bannermation.com/bannerCrafter.htm Approx. download time: 13 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MouseImp 1.0.2.13 MouseImp is a handy tool that helps you to use your conventional mouse more efficiently. The AutoShrink feature increases your available workspace by removing toolbars from the screen so that only caption bars remain. To access a toolbar, just point to its caption, and it will be restored immediately. The Direct Scroll feature makes it easier to scroll through windows. Instead of using a scroll bar, you can activate MouseImp and scroll by moving the mouse up or down, anywhere in the window. Licence: Freeware Size: 372 KB OS: Windows 95/98/NT Dowload: http://www.tv4studios.com/downloads/mouseimp.exe Site: http://www.tv4studios.com/ Approx. download time: 2 min. at 28.8 kbps ---------------------------------------------------------------------- U p d a t e s & P a t c h e s IrfanView Updated to version 3.05 Download: http://stud1.tuwien.ac.at/~e9227474/ Sonique Updated to version 1.05 Download: http://www.sonique.com MediaTalk Ring 99 Updated to version 6.5 Download: http://www.mediaring.com/download/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- N e w s AMD's Athlon(K7) CPU surpasses Intel Pentium III Advanced Micro Design (AMD) has released its latest challenger to the Intel Pentium III and this time the perennial underdog has got a winner on its hands: AMD's 600 and 650 MHz Athlon (K7) microprocessors beat the Intel Pentium III handily in just about every benchmark test there is. And for the first time, AMD, which generally makes chips for the sub-$1000 PC market, finds itself on the top of the performance charts. AMD is making the Athlon available in 500, 550, 600, and 650 MHz versions, which will sell for $325 to $1000 each. Perhaps most intriguingly, current generation Athlons requires a high-speed 200 MHz system bus, double the speed of Intel's Pentium II/III/Xeon bus. And the Athlon ships in a black plastic cartridge that looks suspiciously similar to the Pentium II though it has a completely different connector. If you're looking for a thorough and technical review, I recommend Tom's Hardware Guide: http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/99q3/990809/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft and AOL in a Message War Microsoft announced that its MSN Messenger instant messaging service has gained over 700,000 subscribers in only six days of availability. MSN Messenger is a free Internet messaging tool that allows users to communicate in real time with friends, family and coworkers from any Internet-enabled PC. Online giant America Online (AOL) threatened to sue Microsoft for tapping into its subscriber base by offering MSN Messenger as compatible with its own AOL Instant Messenger. After several failed attempts at blocking MSN Messenger from accessing its subscribers, and a ton of bad publicity for its hypocritical stance, AOL finally relented. MSN Messenger is not yet as feature-rich as AOL's offering, but it does offer nice integration with Microsoft's HotMail and Outlook Express programs. For more information about MSN Messenger and the free download, please visit the MSN Messenger Web site: http://messenger.msn.com/ Meanwhile AOL is patching its messanger so as to not allow MSN and yahoo pagers users to be compatible. Follow the story at: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-39989,00.html?dd.wf.ne.0803.03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Lucent to enter indian ISP market (with DSL) US telecom major Lucent Technologies will enter the Indian Internet market through its recently constituted Internetworking Services (INS) division by introducing a faster and cost effective DSL connectivity technology. http://www.ciol.com/newsroom/aug99/15.asp http://www.indiaexpress.com/news/technology/19990805-0.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C o o l S i t e The Hunger Site (http://www.hungersite.com/) There really is a site out there called "The Hunger Site" that is donating money to hunger relief organizations. All you have to do to make a donation is visit and click on the "Donate Free Food" button. Every time you click on that button, one of the Hunger Site's sponsors donates 3 cents to the organization running the Hunger Site's Web page. Of that 3 cents, approximately 2.58 cents is sent to an international relief organization [currently the donations are going to the United Nations World Food Program]. That may not sound like a lot of money, but 2.58 cents is enough to both purchase and transport one and a half cups of cooked rice or grain cereal. I know this whole "click on a button, feed a hungry person" story sounds too good to be true, but one of the Hunger Site's sponsors confirmed that they were indeed donating 3 cents for everyone who clicks on the site's "Donate Free Food" button. The sponsors are donating the money to generate goodwill (and, truth be told, sponsoring the Hunger Site is also a brilliant marketing move --once someone clicks on the "Donate Free Food" button, they are taken to a page that shows a small ad for the sponsor. <<<<< Source: TourBus >>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GotoWorld (http://www.gotoworld.com/getpaid/default.asp?rid=1001299661) You all must have heard about Get Paid to surf the Web programs like AllAdvantage etc.... but this one is difference because it a browser which has got language translation for Web sites built into it. The browser features skins and also has plug-in for MP3s, Internet Radio stations, and TV plus free software for Chat, Instant Messaging, Editor, etc. And they also allow you to earn money by viewing ads. They pay 40 cents per hour of viewing of ad, 20 cents for each hour each person you refer down to 4 generations ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 4* Personals (http://www.4starads.com/personals/personals.cfm?ID=545) The romance saga continues from the last issue and this time also I got couple of romance site. 4 Star Personal is another cool site where you can submit your ad and wait for the person to get to you or you can browse the ads of other person to find that "special" one. They also have email membership but for which you have to pay. And they also have usual search engine for searching and browsing the ads. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Love Calculator (http://www.lovecalculator.com) We all know that a name can tell a lot about a person. Names are not randomly chosen: they all have a meaning. Doctor Love knew this so he made another great invention just for the lonely you! Sometimes you'd like to know if a relationship with someone could work out. Therefore Doctor Love himself designed this great machine for you. With The Love Calculator you can calculate the probability on a successful relationship between two people. The Love Calculator is an affective way to get an impression of what the chances are on a relationship between certain people. Or if you want you can download the program. Love Calculator Licence: Freeware Size: 37 KB OS: Windows 3.1/95/98/NT Requirements VB Runtime Dowload: http://www.lovecalculator.com Note Available for other OSes also ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C o o l L i n k s MP3 Search Engines Audiofind (http://www.audiofind.com) Oth.net (http://www.oth.net) MP3 Box (http://www.mp3.box.sk) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- P r o j e c t s Do you have processor power to waste or is your computer too fast ? Participate in these Collaborative computing projects and be useful to something. And you might even win prizes upto US$ 100,000. And best of all these projects run in idle time of your PC. And don't forget to join the SoftWhere Teams on these projects. Visit: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/7502/projects.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E s s e n t i a l F i l e s Some of theprograms mention in this list may require the following files. VB Runtime file You can get the Visual Basic Runtime files for versions 3, 4, 5 and 6 at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/vbasic/runtime.asp Java Runtime Envoirnment 1.2.1 You can download the JRE from http://java.sun.com/ Or if you want the direct link, here it is ftp://usmt.java.sun.com/pub/jdk/1.2/78674t/jre1_2_1-win.exe ---------------------------------------------------------------------- N o t e s Hey come on people send me some feedback. What you like, what you don't about this list. Whether you want more software, or more news, whether you want more system software or entertainment software or if you have something intersting to share or you have found a cool site or cool software or whatever just right to me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- T e c h n i c a l N o t e * A technical note for the readers* If you get an error page when you click links in this newsletter, please try copying the entire link (including the .html) and then pasting it into your browser's URL field. There are a variety of email clients in use by our subscribers, and since each client handles links differently, broken links sometimes occur. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SoftWhere is Copyright 1999 by Amit Arora . Commercial use prohibited. For non-commercial purposes please forward, post, link, print, spread as you see fit. If you use any material from this list, please mention us and a quick word about us. SoftWhere acknowledges all the copyrights of the respective owner, authors of the sources of SoftWhere and all the respective companies mentioned in this list or on the site. Please forward this to anyone you think maybe interested in subscribing. Visit SoftWhere at: http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Mouse/7502/ Subscribe SoftWhere at: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/SoftWhere ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Amit Arora amit.arora@bigfoot.com