By Gary Kirchherr
OK, quick - name a feature of Netscape Navigator 1.x you don't like.
Did you say "Bookmarks"? Me too.
Net-surfers who find a new Web page they want to keep for future reference can add the page's Universal Resource Locator (URL) to a Navigator menu for future reference. And although you can rename the URL and move it anywhere on the menu, you're still stuck with the one menu. Needless to say, this can become cumbersome in a hurry.
Until my back-ordered Navigator 2.0 comes in and I can subdivide Bookmarks into different categories, I have to make do with the single menu. This means cleaning out the menu often so it doesn't get unwieldy. The URLs of pages I really like go into an HTML document I keep on my hard disk. My copy of Navigator is set to open this document when the program launches, so all my favorite pages immediately are a point-and-click away.
The latest Navigator housecleaning turned up a few URL gems that definitely are keepers.
An indespensible addition to any list of URLs for quick and easy reference are search engines. These Web sites allow you to search for information by typing in one or several keywords.
One such search engine is Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com/), which has made a lot of news recently as a now-publicly traded company. Another good bet is WebCrawler (http://webcrawler.com/). But my personal nod goes to Alta Vista (http://www.altavista.digital.com/), run by Digital.
Alta Vista seems to have a superior search database, at least based on my personal test. I had all three search engines look up "kirchherr." Yahoo turned up three hits, while WebCrawler struck out completely. Alta Vista, though, turned up 69 (!) "kirchherr" pages. Virtually all the hits were related to Astrid Kirchherr, girlfriend of the Beatles' original bass player; those looking for information on her lesser-known namesake in Holland, Mich., will find it eventually by following Hit No. 42 - the "Macatawa Area Free-Net Users Page."
Another great search engine doesn't look for home pages - it finds addresses and phone numbers of U.S. adults (and businesses too). All you need is a last name, although your task will be easier if you also have a first name and/or an idea of where they live.
A couple of such search engines are available, but easily the best is Switchboard (http://www.switchboard.com/). It's easy to use and up-to-date, although far from perfect. For example, the search for Kirchherrs turned up a distant cousin's name, address and phone, but none of the three is correct - she married and moved almost four years ago. Still, Switchboard is a must-have.
One Web company I heard about through MacWEEK magazine is Netmind (http://www.netmind.com/). The home page offers several reference tools, including loan calculators, a personality test, and an anonymous remailer. But the one to look for is URL-minder (http://www.netmind.com/URL-minder/URL-minder.html).
This service will notify you via e-mail when a given Web page changes. No more do you have to waste the time continually checking the page yourself - just wait for URL-minder.
Looking for a way to kill an evening? Fans of "The Simpsons" should check out the alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup's list of frequently asked questions. The so-called LISA - List of Inquiries and Substantive Answers (http://miso.wwa.com/~mkurth/lisa.html) - has in one place everything you could possibly want to know about the animated television show.
And if you want to read a previous article by your favorite computer columnist but can't remember where you left that 2-month-old Sentinel, a Web site exists for you too (http://www.micronet.net/users/~abbafan/curmudgeon/).
Did I miss anything? If you think I left out a URL that should be on everyone's "list of keepers," e-mail me. The best ones will be included in a future column.