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The Cool Tricks and Trinkets Newsletter #112 10/19/00 |
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In this issue: - First
Look, Then Buy ~~~~~~ Sponsor's Message~~~~~~ ***** If You Can See It, You Can Snagit! ***** TechSmith SnagIt captures any image, text, or video from the screen and sends it directly to the printer, the clipboard, an e-mail message, a file, the catalog browser, and even directly to the Internet! Visit our website for a FREE trial copy! Publisher's
note ~~~~~~~Please support our sponsor~~~~~~~ First Look, Then Buy FirstLook.com offers "millions" of multimedia previews of the latest movies, music, video games and TV. More than 3 million previews were available the day we visited, and the 30-second audio and video samples are surrounded by links to official sites, interviews, reviews and, of course, online stores. Still, there's plenty to do for free here: Clicking on Dr. Dre's new CD "Still Dre," for example, also gives you album notes, a discography and tour dates. Preview "Tony Hawk's Pro Skate 2" and you can link to Cheat Planet to pick up cheat codes for the game. Free membership lets you enter contests, win prizes, write your own reviews and create wish lists. Helping you navigate are media player downloads and FirstLook's Top Picks at each channel. http://www.firstlook.com click here Sweet Memory - Memory CleanerDownload Owning a computer may be Mother Nature's way of giving us problems we would never encounter in her world. Like, how come memory gets tied up in closed applications? Fortunately, the folks at PC World have done it for you, with a handy little memory cleaner utility. This small utility promises to help your PC run faster with fewer crashes. Special features like log file abilities, command-line functionality and a choice of cleaning methods make this a cool little download. This is the 4th most popular download at PC World and best of all, it's free. http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description.asp?fid=7151 click here The Color of Money - 2020 Green If you're serious about getting your financial life in shape, 2020 Green will give you a great work-out, but don't expect to get toned in 30 minutes. A remarkably designed and thoroughly conceived site, 2020 Green guides visitors through every step of becoming financially solvent, starting with getting a job at one of four virtual employers, from a deli to a communications firm. Once you get the job, you're walked through the shock of receiving that first paycheck and learning the difference between gross and net pay, and then through equally comprehensive lessons in bill-paying, using credit, investing and saving. At each step, you choose a virtual firm to work for, shop at, invest in or save with -- and at each stop you can rate your skills with self-tests, take challenges and consult a glossary. http://www.2020green.com/index.jsp click here SHORT TAKES: Start Your Engines - Let's Mow Not quite life in the fast lane, lawn mower racing is a slow, steady route to the finish line, and this site is your eticket to well-paced excitement. Created by the U.S. Lawn Mower Racing Association, whose president crows "We're the Grateful Dead of Motorsports!" the site has the complete mow-down on race schedules, race maps, news and photo gallery - and no whiplash. http://www.letsmow.com/
click here Dog Don't "Step into it. Don't be afraid, your shoes won't get dirty." That's the invitation into this odd web site promoting Budapest's very earnest campaign against dog "do" on its city streets, cars, doorsteps and apparently every other surface. In both Hungarian and English, the site is best viewed with ShockWave. http://www.kutyakaki.com/
click here Culture T's - Howard Besser's T-Shirt Database Only at Berkeley would library science students compile a massive database of T-shirts as a lesson in cataloging. Created under the guidance of Professor Howard Besser, whose academic interests are "multimedia databases in cultural institutions," the students deliver 533 searchable T-shirt graphics with dates and brief descriptions. And, incredibly, no links to online stores where you can buy 'em. http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/T-Shirts click here If you enjoy this newsletter, turn your friends on to it. They can subscribe by sending an email to cool-tricks-join-request@list.adventive.com Morphing Mr. Right - Face Generator Create Mr. Right, or Miss Pigface, depending on your mood. The Face Generator is "a face transformation tool" that lets you manipulate the head, eyes, nose and mouth of one of several programmed faces. You can even give him or her a nasty case of acne by clicking on "Uses soap every Christmas." Then send your creation as an e-mail to your friends. The site suggests the face generator may someday have serious applications in law enforcement and, yes, cosmetology. For now, it's just for fun --- and just for Internet Explorer users. http://www.facegenerator.com click here The Complete History of the Discovery of Cinematography Next time you're standing around at a party as a bunch of movie buffs compare the trunk shots of Tarantino and Scorsese, blow them out of the frame with your critique of the on-film detonations of, say, Alice Guy Blache, a turn-of-the century French woman who trained rats to attack her lead actors. The Complete History of the Discovery of Cinematography makes a good case for its claim that motion picture-making is 2,500 years old, with detailed timelines dating to 900 BC, theoretical explanations of light and lenses, biographical sketches of venerable (and sometimes wacky) film luminaries, bizarre inventions in film technology -- and wonderful illustrations. http://www.precinemahistory.net/ click here ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Imagine a credit card with a 0% introductory APR on purchases (for complete pricing information and important terms and conditions, please click on the link below) and a 30-second online credit decision (subject to verification). Apply now for an Aria Visa credit card! Simply click here. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Fire Call Why on earth would anyone in his right mind rush into a fire!? National Geographic gives a face and a voice to the heroes, who jump out of the frying pan and into the fire for a living, as Norbert Schuster, a wildland firefighter, does his best to explain the impulse to don heavy fire gear under a hot sun to combat one of nature's most dangerous and unpredictable phenomena. Go behind the lines and into the heat of the battle with the 52-year-old Schuster, for audio interviews, multi-media features and photographs from National Geographic Photographer Mark Theissen. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/firecall/#more click here Building Big Children get to build, explore, design and experiment with great big things here: bridges, domes, skyscrapers, dams and tunnels. This web site mirrors the five-part miniseries by WGBH-Boston/PBS, offering ingenious tools to engage small minds in grand concepts like forces, loads, materials and shapes - it's physical science 101 disguised as a giant game. Hosted by David Macaulay, creator of The Way Things Work, Building Big has interactive labs where visitors can fiddle with the strength of different building materials, special challenges where they can be dam engineers with big leaks to fix, activity guides for teachers and a comprehensive database of the world's greatest feats of engineering. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/ click here Get Satisfaction - U Get Heard You have a serious complaint to make against a company, and if you get scooted down one more branch on the corporate voice-mail telephone tree, you just might fire up the chainsaw. Despite all the 800 numbers out there, customer service isn't what it used to be. Well, get heard here: UGetHeard.com gives you the tools to have your complaints handled promptly. Handily subdivided by industry, the site offers easy, industry-tailored complaint forms, routes them to the right department, follows up on cases and has partnerships with leading companies to promote happy endings. Monthly inspirational stories, sample letters, corporate ratings and online polls practically turn complaining into a subculture. And if you want to pat someone on the back, you can even send an applause letter. Membership is free. http://www.ugetheard.com/ click here If you're interested in advertising in Cool Tricks and Trinkets, email info@tricksandtrinkets.com SUBSCRIBERS' SITES - Many of our subscribers have fascinating on-line projects. This weekly section will introduce you to some of these sites. Please let me know about your project so that I might mention it in this section. Write me at info@tricksandtrinkets.com ~PouncerNet - web-hosting, web-site building and photography. click here ~Quality Flash Inc. - Cool Flash presentations at low prices. click here ~The Fool Files - Information about Mr.T, punk and software reviews. click here ~For Bird Lovers - Unique and innovative products for your birds. click here ~Beasts Of Burden - Site dedicated to animal abuse prevention. click here ~Whirlwind of Wealth (W.O.W) - Assisting you in realizing your abundance.click here ~Windows For Newbies - Making your PC do what you want. click here ~The Check Was Really In The Mail! click here ~MY Life - ecards, dedications, lyrics, and writings. click here
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