Show V Section Wednesday March 20 2002 The Herald journal Have you surfed just for pleasure? By MattSyma D o you remember when you first ventured onto the World Wide Web? For me it was back in the early ’90s when the number of active web sites could still be counted on one set of millipede toes About that time came into vogue and you visited all die sites you could find just for die adventure of it Search engines were rudimentary directories You were more often just as successful making up a plausible URL (wwwjmnethingcom) to find what you were looking for or even just to see if anything yet existed thereThere were no streaming videos “web-surfin- g" flashy graph- ics or interactive content I remember just sitting for hours in front of my 14” screen (the same one I have today unfortunately) reading about somebody’s fondness for cockatiels or someone else’s hatred for Chevrolets Perhaps it was a waste of time but the very accessibility provided its own fascination Then corporate America plunged onto the scene and systematically packaged all the commercial content it could find into convenient portals and super-sitSearch engines became clogged with references to pop cuhurefran news and corporate identity sites sprang up like weeds And let us not forget the online retail stores Sure I enjoy the ready access to news shopping sports scores and the latest celebrity gossip ' (wwwewcom is my favorite) It’s easy to spend plenty of time just reviewing your favorite sites again and again But I still yearn for the days of surfing for surfing’s sake Here are some suggestions: Visit one of the more sophisticated search engines such as googlecom or profusioncom Search for your full name You may be surprised to see how many entries for you or some-- v one named just like you will pop up You may even find some interesting genealogical or historical documents related to your family v isn’t your If extreme bag impress your friends with your Millionaire-calibtrivia knowledge after visiting the homegrown strangefactscom site You’ll learn what product was first to carry a barcode and die physical limits of plain paper folding Spre some of their stuff tfunvenfiable but at least you'll have a source for your claim that fingernails grow four times foster than toenails For more useful information visit how8tuffworkscom This seemingly comprehensive site offers expert but answers to modem life ' mysteries such as “How do zippers work?” or “How do stinger missiles wort?” If you’re looking for a way to expand your general knowledge this is the place to start Trouble is it’s hard to stop I never knew my carYrear differential could be so' es ever-emergi- ng self-intere- f ' " ' a ( V 7 - 'f '‘ilj— iiL’ VS vf-77- fl! VV st S ' P'S j 7 - '’I er k: tr f plain-Engli- sh Germany HANOVER cloth keyboard that you can spill a drink on — and laugh Detachable screens that let Internet '' addicts wander the house Personal digital assistants that can surf the Web in colw and double' as phones cameras fcndvideo players Thii year’s new gadgets at CeBIT the world’s biggest technology show are all about taking computing off the desktop and onto the road — ot the couch or even into the bathroom Spurred by advances that promise to " make wireless gizmos faster the industry ' Tis rolling put a rash of new products at the trade fair which runs through today i Microsoft Corp Weighed in with Mira its “connected home” gystem in which 7 7 interesting'-'''- : Once a mainstay for surfers every-where Joke pages continue to expand their offerings I have almostno memory for jokes so I must frequent them regularly ifI'm to compete with my family Jdre- - v centralxom Offers mostly palatable A variations on the classic joke cate- gories If you Value your innocence be carefol not to too for afield ' however For some sophisticated social sophistry visit focmiomcom '7 Yes tire ultimate timp waster is S 'V now more usefpl titan ever But you1 7 can still find diversions if you’ll just accounts stop balancing your for a few minutes Remember tiw ' last law of surfing: “Just one more dick and I' ll go to bed”:f7 7 : 7 joke-telli- ' 7 7 - on-li- : ne ' if 7 7 ‘ c V v' A ' top: VWtoriwak along thaaWea at tha CeBIT computer fair to Hanover nofthem fuHy functional virtual keyboard tat can be projected and touched on any air- Gemiany a ful-aitape la shown by 8iamane Procurement Logietlca8ervlcet Lee Seeking bofca Into a camera as her eye Is eeen on toe soeen during a presentation of the TniaEYE iris scan system by Korean oompav nySaimTtehnologtoavlitoratand to froiX of ootourtulitiowcaaaa at the Sony booth tone TSOJOOO vfeNors attended die workfe leigoet technology fair scheduled tolaat through today: 7 ' Matttww Syma'ia an Internet Project Manag ar at a local technology company Ha can ba raachadatcachatechnoOyahooJom i' ' i VV1 Ctocfcwfaa from ' r iv Sfc V- - t - 7 7 - x j ng 7 ' ' 7’ f ' 'f : ‘ '1' " jdetachable r-7- Photos by The Associated Press ' f topch-scre- en displays See FAIR on C8 vv- 7 r- v-- - i '7' t I i: cpnnect-e- d to PCs by wireless hubs allow people to wander about their bomes without lpring a Web connection Data entry is with a sty- lus or wirdess keyboard “Relaxed com- v puting scenarios" is the compaiiy’s ' t V l : tK r y ' I" '! |