A 'Zine of Your
Own
While infoshops like the Long Haul in Berkeley and Blackout
Books in New York City are becoming the resource centers of choice for
traditional 'zine-makers, ZineZone is catering to the cyber savvy. ZineZone
(www.zinezone.com)
is the Internet's answer to street libraries. The site lets a user cull
information from the Web and organize it into one's own tidy online 'zine.
The free service works like this: Punch in your topics of interest and
related URLs, then ZineZone does a search and delivers relevant content
on a daily basis. The site has a slightly overzealous voice that chummily
recognizes you as an adventurous type (what, because you surf the Web?)
and invites you to meet (through interviews) "fellow adventurers and heroes
who have blazed their own trails." But ZineZone does have heaps of information,
with 'zines on everything from rum to ergonomics to Andy Warhol. (CM)
The Vibrator
That Helps You Sleep
The Sharper Image has come out with a truly useful gadget:
a massive vibrating watch that's worn while sleeping. If you're fantasizing
about what the Harmony Sleep Companion with Silent Alarm can
do for you, stop. The Harmony S.C. is not designed for its owner's pleasure
but rather to aid the wearer's sleeping comrade. The Harmony S.C. is
so artificially intelligent that once it detects loud repetitive sounds,
such as snoring, it starts vibrating, continuing with ever increasing
intensity until the wearer shifts positions or throws it across the
room (although this is not recommended). You can also program the Harmony
S.C. to work like a silent alarm clock. You'll wake to intense wrist
vibrations while your bedfellow languishes undisturbed. The Harmony
S.C. also records how many times it stopped you from snoring. For those
who sleep with snorers, this could be the best $39 you'll ever spend.
To learn more visit www.sharperimage.com.
(PK)
Ultra-Portable
Pop
Digital audio has taken yet another controversial leap forward.
Diamond Multimedia has just released the first portable music player
that allows you to pick up audio files from the Internet or record them
from CDs using your computer. The Rio
PMP300 ($199.99 at Comp USA, 10385 SW Cascade Blvd., Tigard,
684-1662, currently sold out) utilizes MP3 technology, an audio compression
format widely used for distributing music over the Internet. With no
moving parts and no software, this handheld unit (not much bigger than
a cassette case) stores up to 60 minutes of music. Superior to the minidisc
in its versatility, the MP3 playback device has been turning a lot of
heads, including many within the music industry who fear (as usual)
that the system poses a potential threat to profits and royalties. (JS)
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Willamette Week | originally
published February 3,
1999
|
