KSFO's Web Wanderer

The Links for January 2, 1999

My wife Lisa bought me a nice Win CE machine for Christmas. I went searching for stuff to feed it (software), and eventually found this site. It's the best WinCE site I've come across. (If you know a better one, please email me!)

This site has everything - hardware, CE built-in apps, how-to's, FAQs, games, free software, and links to other CE websites.

If you have a CE machine, bookmark this site.

Net Distillery

Stephen sent this incredible utility site in.

Net Distillery generates PDF files over the web. It's a server which runs Adobe's Acrobat Distiller 24 hours a day. You can put postscript documents into one directory on the server (using FTP) and pick up the resulting Acrobat Portable Document Format file (PDF) in another.

Why do they do it? They guy wanted to do something in the spirit of the early Internet - it was a community filled with people helping others out.

Is it legal? On the site, they say "The Distiller running on this server is a full legal license. Your files are uploaded into the INBOX. When files appear in there, I move them into another directory and "distill" them. Once complete, I move them into the OUT directory for pickup. The files are processed in a sequential fashion usually on a first come first serve basis. FCFS breaks down a little when a backlog builds up so you may experience a slightly longer delay than you expect. It may be that Adobe did not anticipate anyone providing this kind of service, but it operates within the constraints of the license agreement. "

If you do a lot of PDFs, you will probably want you own copy of the software. But - if you are the occasional user, or just have a few documents to encode, this is the site for you.

Thanks, Stephen!

PC Portal

Ray from San Francisco found this one.

The Problem: Ads in newspapers and magazines from the major PC vendors (COMPAQ, DELL, MICRON, etc.) offer the latest (and ever cheaper) "minimum PC configurations", which are all different, making comparison difficult.

THe Solution: the PC PORTAL website.

All you do is enter the Minimum and Maximum $ price range you can afford, (ie: 1200-2500), then PC PORTAL scans its database of "minimum PC configuration" ads and presents the ad results to you, side-by-side, in table format. From this table you can then click and go directly to the PC vendor's webpage, for additional details on the PC(s) found by PC PORTAL. So, the PC PORTAL website is a quick, first, high level step in comparing PC ads that fit your profile, with a minimum of confusing details.

Very, very slick. Try this site the next time you buy a new PC.

THanks, Ray - this is cool!

CD World

Natasha told us about this family-owned Campbell business.

CDworld is a family business from Campbell, CA. They have a very large selection of CDs - music, movies, and software, (and recently adding board games).

Movies are available in DVD, VHS, and laserdisc.

I checked some of the software prices, and they looked very, very good.

The next time you want to buy CDs or games online, why not patronize a local business? Check 'em out.

Free Computing

Ranman found this great free computing resource.

Free Computing is a totally freeware site that has freeware applications in about 10 different categories with about 5-10 freeware apps in each one.

Aside from the freeware, this site has links to free Tech Support sites, free web design information, free graphics, free Internet access and free email. Ranman says "As always with free stuff sometimes is worth what you pay for it, and as always it is good to be careful, but this site is quite good. My favorite app is Kill Ad which allows you to get rid of those annoying Java popup windows."

It's a good, useful site. Check it out. Thanks, Ranman!

The Tacky Postcard Archive

Lizmac found this site.

The site proudly boasts "Preserving the bad taste of our era for future generations."

It's a very fun site to browse through. The tacky postcards are organized into galleries.

Fun stuff - well worth a tour. Check it out.

Thanks, LizMac!

Napa Steve's Real Quickies

Napa Steve is THE MAN when it comes to finding Real Audio and Real Video sites, his finds are now a regular feature of the Web Wanderer's Report. Every week, Napa Steve will try to find one or two hot Real sites. This week he gives us two hot ones

ZDTV

Napa Steve thought this site might be good. It has live RealAudio stream from the TV show and some archived video, like their Silicon Spin feature.

Longtime listeners of this timeslot will remember Leo Laporte, who hosted the show before Bob took over. Leo is a friend of both Bob and I, and he's had us both been on ZDTV.

Bookmark this site, and check it out. The next time Bob or I are on ZDTV, you can watch us too!

C-Span

Napa Steve recommended this one. We're living in interesting times, politically. With the high level trials, you can find yourself wanting to get some current news in a hurry.

C-Span usually provides good coverage - live and archived. If you've got a network PC, you can grab the latest coverage over the net - no TV necessary.

Check it out.

B. Weed sends us Reefer Madness

B. Weed couldn't resist this one

"I was just surfin' around while I had the flu (don't worry, this is one virus you can't get on a computer) and I found a RealVideo version of Reefer Madness, in its entirety. I hadn't seen this thing in YEARS and it was kinda cool to check it out again. Besides, I just couldn't resist the thought of you announcing on the radio, "B. Weed sends us Reefer Madness.""

Reefer madness is a 1938 movie warning about the dangers of smoking marijuana. It was presented seriously then, but is considered a cult classic now.

Thanks, B. Weed!