Bruce Cohen WEB FEET
Aliweb’s the key
The World Wide Web (WWW) browsers Netscape and Mosaic=20 are the virtual keys to the virtual world — but they=20 only unlock the door to cyberspace. Once you’re in,=20 where do you go? What makes the Internet truly=20 accessible are the search engines that have been=20 established around the world. These engines are=20 programmed to trawl information from the thousands of=20 databases on the ‘Net and store pointers to the=20 contents of these sites. (When you run a search, you’re=20 not actually “searching” the ‘Net itself, you’re=20 querying a database containing info about other=20 databases — that’s why the response is so generally so=20
Best of all, many search engines offer forms-based=20 queries: you simply type in the key word/s, submit your=20 inquiry with a press of a button and the engine returns=20 the results. Without these engines, your information=20 hunt on the ‘Net can be a tedious and complex affair.
The ‘Net is not, however, perfect. There is no single=20 search tool that can prowl the entire Internet for=20 information, so an inquiry using one search engine may=20 return nothing, but another will return hundreds of=20 documents and references.
The best solution is to add the Aliweb (All-In-One) WWW=20 page to your bookmark list, or better still save it to=20 your hard drive. Aliweb provides, in a single file,=20 links to more than 100 search engines with their=20 inquiry forms. Not only does it include the search=20 heavyweights like Lycos, Webcrawler, The Internet=20 Yellow Pages and a host of other engines, but it also=20 offers quick access to some useful databases like=20 Rogets Thesaurus, Websters Dictionary, the Internet=20 Movie database, a 100 000 CD database and more. Aliweb=20 is a must starting point for serious ‘Net searches.=20 Find it at:
Big Bang
* Monday was a Big Bang day for business on the=20 Internet. The American Stock Exchange (AMEX) became the=20 first US stock market to open a Web site. The service=20 (http://www.amex.com) features a daily market summary=20 and news reports for the 20 most active companies=20 traded on the Amex, as well as explanations of various=20 financial instruments. There is also an electronic=20 forum, in which analysts discuss topical investment and=20 regulatory issues.
An address to die for
* If you think the right to life is a hot issue, what=20 about the right to death? One of the most controversial=20 sites on the Internet is DeathNet, a database on=20 euthenasia at:
Maintained by the Canadian Right to Die Society, it=20 gathers together a vast library of information on death=20 and dying “with a sincere respect for every point of=20 view”. It’s detractors have not had the same courtesy.=20 DeathNet has been (inaccurately) accused of offering=20 email suicide kits and has been the victim of some=20 serious gutter journalism about its activities.=20 Rightwing religious groups have tried hard to close it=20 down. It’s a morbidly fascinating and comprehensive=20 site dealing with an issue that South Africa too must=20 confront — sooner or later.
* Avid ‘Netsurfers are always interested in finding=20 new sites as they are established on the WWW. Probably=20 the best place to find them is at the Yahoo database:=20
This is regarded as one of the best “jump stations” on=20 the ‘Net. Look in Yahoo’s What’s New section and you’ll=20 find an archive of daily listings that makes Netscape’s=20 own what’s new offering pale into insignificance. Yahoo=20 is registering links to around 200 new sites every day!
Comments and queries to Bruce Cohen at [email protected]
The Mail & Guardian’s Web site is at=20