Can a computer write fiction as good as that written by a human? Judge for yourself by going to InstantNovelist.com/human.html. Posted on the site are five 500-word stories, four written by humans, but a fifth by Brutus.1, a fiction-writing program developed by the Minds and Machines Laboratory. Only 25% of site visitors have identified it.
The world might not be enough for Bond’s enemies but the Web offers enough for even the most devoted 007 fan. The official site at www.jamesbond.com has some smart QuickTime movies from the new film, plus clips from the past. Product placement is now a key feature of Bond movies, so Omega, the maker of Bond’s watch, has its own site at www.omega.ch. There is also a good unofficial Bond site at www.mcs.net/~klast/www/bond.html
Error pages, don’t you just love them? Apparently some do, and a catalogue of the best “404 not found” errors has been put together at www.plinko.net/404
Captainbirdseye.com is one of the sassiest pieces of Flash animation to appear on the Web. Aimed at children, its interactive adventures are updated regularly. Kids must register with the site before selecting the character they will use in the adventures.
South Africa now has three of its own World Heritage sites – Robben Island, the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, and the hominid fossil treasure troves of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and environs. www.unesco.org/whc/heritage.html
The Net is swamped with over-designed websites laden with useless eye-candy. Smart vendors, however, know that users value speed and simplicity above the masturbatory products of overpaid design agencies. Jakob Nielsen is a consultant who earns large amounts of money pointing out these simple truths. www.alertbox.com
You know that place halfway between Jo’burg and Cape Town? Yes, Colesberg. Besides a motel, it also has some history, especially from the South African War. www.mjvn.co.za/anglo-boer/index.html
Part of Somalia has attempted to extract itself from anarchy, by declaring itself a separate and independent country called Somaliland. But no-one recognises it, leaving it in the kind of never-never land occupied by Turkish Cyprus. www.somaliland.com
New York’s New Fiction Project has launched the first international short story competition for writers of any nationality, language or culture. South African writers are invited to submit stories. www.newfiction.org/
Cape Town will be jiving from January 6 to 9 with the mother of all jazz festivals. The official Jazzathon website has a schedule of the free concerts that will be taking place around town. More to come as the festival approaches. www.jazzathon.co.za/
The decoding of chromosome 22 was anounced on December 1. This monumental biological discovery has been compared with the invention of the wheel. Download a detailed diagram of the chromosome’s sequence from the Sanger research centre’s website (www.sanger.ac.uk/HGP/Chr22/), or search the Nature website for the article announcing the achievement. www.nature.com