Keep your eyes on outer space via the Web
May
18, 1997
By JIM
BROOKS
If you've followed the news reports lately you're aware that the
space shuttle Atlantis blasted off on Thursday for a rendezvous
with the Russian space station Mir.
For the latest data on the mission, you can point your browser
to a variety of sites on the World Wide Web.
The NASA Shuttle Web site at http://shuttle.nasa.gov/index.html/
should be your first stop.
The site covers all the information on the current STS-84 mission,
including up-to-the-minute photos and news releases.
And what a nice Web site it is. Unlike many sites, this one really
is interactive.
By visiting the Realtime Data section, you can examine readouts
on what's going on aboard the shuttle -- location, altitude, air
pressure, temperature -- all the data that mission controllers have
at the fingertips.
You can also submit questions to the crew and to the mission controllers
or even find out when the shuttle is likely to be visible with the
naked eye.
Another interesting site and source for live shuttle information
is the United Space Alliance site at www.unitedspacealliance.com.
USA is a joint venture formed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin to
conduct space flight operations under contract for NASA. USA performs
launch, flight and landing operations.
The look and feel of USA's Web site acknowledges the U.S. space
program's history. Educators will be interested in the NASA Space
Shuttle program trading cards that USA offers.
The cards are aimed at schools, but should be available at some
point to the general public.
Nice touches at the USA site included live audio and video feeds
too. Very nice site.
For visual impact, you owe it to yourself to visit Space Magnificent.
The Space Magnificent Web site has great photos of past shuttle
missions, including previous link ups with Mir. The graphically
intense site is worth the wait for downloading graphics, but be
warned that the best effects make heavy use of Java.
You'll also find links to live video feeds at Space Magnificent,
as well as a wealth of information on the space program.
Point your browser to http://space.magnificent.com/.
IE 3.01 FOR MACS. Microsoft, delivering on its promise to
make its Internet Explorer Web browser available to non-Windows
operating systems, released IE 3.01 for the Macintosh this week.
The new browser includes a couple of features that will were originally
planned for the up-and-coming release of Internet Explorer 4.0.
One feature monitors user-selected Web sites and prompts when they've
been updated. The other new feature lets the software automatically
complete addresses when a user types them in.
IE 3.01 requires 4 megabytes of memory, and is available free from
Microsoft's Web site at www.microsoft.com.
COMPUSERVE CAMPAIGN. The Columbus, Ohio-based CompuServe
online service announced this week its national marketing blitz.
The company is targeting affluent, high-end business owners and
executive users by direct mail and print.
The marketing campaign is the company's first since last fall --
and its first since competitor America Online went to flat-rate
access.
AOL was forced to end its marketing campaign for a period of time
to allow its infrastructure to "catch up" to the heavy
demand.
CompuServe's by-the-minute rate structure remains unchanged, despite
pressure from competitors to move to flat-rate, all-you-can-eat
access.
CompuServe plan is to focus on the value of its service, rather
than compete in a price war with other online services and Internet
Service Providers.
MAC ON A PC? Apple Computer's next-generation of operating
system will also run on Intel-equipped PCs, according to Gilbert
Amelio, company chairman.
Amelio's comments at an industry conference this week were aimed
at promoting the planned operating systems with developers, as well
as boosting consumer and investor's confidence in the troubled computer
maker's future.
While Macs now on the market have some compatibility with Window's
based PCs, it remains to be seen how important this feature becomes
as Rhapsody nears release sometime next year.
An article in the electronic edition of the Wall Street Journal
this week said Rhapsody's acceptance by developers -- and its success
-- is critical to Apple's comeback.
PENTIUM II SALES STRONG. Intel reports strong sales of its
new Pentium II computer processor, despite news of a flaw before
its official release last week.
The new chip's shipments will exceed the initial sales of the Pentium
Pro -- primarily because of Intel's pricing.
The flaw, dubbed by Intel as the "Flag Erratum" flaw,
has not slowed sales, the company said.
More detailed information has been posted on Intel's Web site at
www.intel.com, including testimonials from software vendors about
how minor the flaw really is.
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