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SCMP Reporter

I've had e-mail from a satisfied Hong Kong Web user who has set up his own commercial site and claims it is proof that anyone can make the most of the Web even if they are not a computer whiz.

  The site, Peking Duck Surfboards, was created by John Patkin for use as a marketing tool. There's nothing special on it. When I tried to take a look, nothing happened.

  The Xerox Parc map viewer, on the other hand, is a site that's impressive and fun.

  As the title suggests, this site lets you zoom in on any point on Earth for as much detail as you need.

  The map provides details of rivers and international borders, but no cities or towns are shown, so, if you zoom in too closely, you will get a blank page.

  The map viewer was created in 1993 by Steve Putz, at the Palo Alto Research Centre in the United States.

  As far as I'm concerned, it is what the Web should be all about. If you poke around the site, you will find answers to most of your questions about the map and how it works, as well as links to related Web sites.

  Xerox Parc is where the computer mouse and the graphical user interface were developed.

  Staying with geography, check out the Antarctica links page.

  Lots here about the most remote continent the planet, including a tour aboard the Nathaniel B Palmer research ship. This is great. There are maps of the ship's journey south from North America to the tip of South America and beyond.

  Masses of detail and pictures of stops en route give you a real idea of just how remote Antarctica is. To get back to the main menu, all you have to do is click on one of many penguin icons scattered all over the place.

  Talking of penguins, there are hundreds of sites out there dedicated to covering penguins from all possible angles. And I do mean all angles, from serious research to The Penguin Conspiracy Page.

  That's the home page of somebody who thinks penguins are taking over the world. Completely mad, but this and the other sites have great pictures.

  For an equally serious view of the world check out the Far Side home pages.

  These unofficial sites are as prevalent as the X-Files home pages, if that is possible.

  One thing though, I get the feeling Gary Larson - who created the cartoons - is unhappy about his work being on the Web.

  Here's part of a letter he sent to one Far Side page creator: 'These cartoons are my children of sorts, and like a parent I'm concerned about where they go at night without telling me . . . please send my kids home, I'll be eternally grateful.'   Two good sites are The Far Side and Mad Cow Disease on the Far Side Weekly.

  Finally, after extensive research I've found a Pacman game you can download and play. If you don't know what Pacman is, you are probably a lot younger than I am. It's completely mindless and totally addictive.

  To play this version you'll need a browser that supports Java. Apart from that, all the instructions are right there.

HOT LINKS Peking Duck Surfboards: www.its.interserve.com.hk/tildepduck/ Xerox Parc Map Viewer: www.pubweb.parc.xerox.com/map Pacman in Java: www.yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au/%7Ecyclone/pacman/pacman.html The Far Side: www.hal.9000.resnet.cornell.edu/farside Mad Cow Disease on the Far Side: www.x54all.nl/tildejburen/farside.htm Gary Larson Annotated: www.dia-sb.de/gl/welcome.html Antarctic Link Project: www.wctc.net/%7Ebmanthey/antarc.htm Penguin Conspiracy: www.concentric.net/%7Emullins/index.shtml 



Web-site novice gains satisfaction with minimalism