Online archives preserve digital memores of Sept. 11
November
18, 2001
By JIM BROOKS
Though the events of Sept. 11 are etched forever in our minds, there
may come a time when it is necessary to look back, to remember more
exactly the way the day's events unfolded.
That day the Internet became the link to the latest news for people
who didn't have a television handy.
The September 11 Web Archive was commissioned by the Library of
Congress to preserve digital materials related to the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks, and is a collaboration with the Internet Archive
and webArchivist.org. The Internet Archive archives the Web sites
used in the collection, and webArchivist.org identifies materials to
be presented in the collection.
The collection contains thousands of Web sites and has gathered more
than 5 terabytes of Web pages online since Sept. 11.
The archive is searchable, and the ``Surf the September 11 Archive''
link gives you links to major national and international news Web
sites and charitable organizations that responded online. The archive
also includes many memorial sites, tribute pages and other related content.
It's an ambitious program that is continuing to archive additional
new content daily. Visitors may suggest a Web site to include in the archive.
For more information visit the site at http://september11.archive.org/.
PAY AS YOU GO. Following what appears to be a trend in music
download Web sites, Aimster is offering a premium download service
that is promising users quicker download times.
For $4.95 per month, music fans can join Club Aimster. The company
says the secret of faster downloads and a better connection is the
updated Aimster networking software that Club Aimster members use.
The recording industry, which has filed suit against Aimster for
copyright infringement, claims the new system is nothing more than
another way to permit copyright infringement.
Aimster has no licensing deal with any record label to allow music to
be downloaded.
For more information, visit www.ClubAimster.com for more details.
SHOW ME THE MONEY. With the dot-com shakeout and the fall in
online advertising, nearly every company with a Web site is looking
at ways to generate revenue.
With the value of banner ads falling, companies have been using
pop-up and pop-under ads -- those annoying browser windows with
advertising -- to generate interest in everything from cameras to
credit cards.
If buying an X10 camera would eliminate these annoy pop-up ads on my
computer screen, I would gladly buy one today. Maybe two.
Other sites are considering charging users to access Web site content
-- an idea that has only been successful in a few situations.
USA Today tried charging for content during the Web's early days, but
it quickly shelved that idea. The Wall Street Journal's electronic
edition is one of the handfuls of successful pay news sites.
``Free'' has been the mantra of Internet users since long before the
Web took off in popularity. It's long been a part of the Internet
culture. And a new study by the Pew Internet & Life Project
indicates that attitude hasn't changed.
Of those Internet users who have been asked to pay for Web site
content that was once free, only 12 percent decided to pay. Half
found free alternatives for the content, and the rest decided to quit
getting that content.
A third of Internet users surveyed believe the failure of the
dot-coms in the last couple of years will have a major impact on the
overall U.S. economy. That's probably due to the fact that more than
a quarter of those surveyed either knew someone who lost their
dot-com job, or had a family member who lost money investing in a dot-com.
More than 70 percent of those surveyed attributed the collapse of so
many dot-coms to investors eager to make money and take substantial
risks to do so.
For more survey results, visit www.pewinternet.com. |
