SHOCKWAVE INTENSIFIES WEB BROWSING.Byline: Joe Kilsheimer The Orlando Sentinel The Orlando Sentinel is the primary newspaper of the Orlando, Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently in its 131st year of publication. The Sentinel is owned by Tribune Company and is overseen by the Chicago Tribune. Anytime you visit a high-profile site on the World Wide Web, you had better be prepared to be ``shocked.'' Otherwise, you will miss out on a lot. In this case, getting shocked means having a piece of software called Shockwave, a ``plug-in'' that extends the capabilities of the Netscape Navigator An earlier Web browser for Windows, Macintosh and X Windows from Netscape that provided secure transmission over the Internet. Soon after its introduction in 1994, Navigator, or just "Netscape," as it was commonly called, quickly became the leading browser on the Web. browser. Shockwave lets you look at Web pages that have been animated with programs from Macromedia Corp., a leading producer of graphic arts graphic arts: see aquatint; drawing; drypoint; engraving; etching; illustration; linoleum block printing; lithography; mezzotint; niello; pastel; poster; silk-screen printing; silhouette; silverpoint; sketch; stencil; woodcut and wood engraving. software. Of all the Netscape plug-ins - there are more than 20 - Shockwave is by far the most popular with Web site creators. It gives them a large bag of tricks for adding games and short animated cartoons that - fortunately - can be downloaded fairly quickly with 28.8 and 14.4 modems. Shockwave has been available on the Internet for about nine months. If you downloaded it when it first came out but haven't used it in a while, you'll need to get it again. Macromedia has updated the program to work with the latest version of Netscape Navigator 2.0, which came out a few months ago. For the time being, Shockwave works only with Netscape; Macromedia says it will release a version for Microsoft's Internet Explorer Microsoft's Web browser, which comes with Windows starting with Windows 98. Commonly called "IE," versions for Mac and Unix are also available. Internet Explorer is the most widely used Web browser on the market. It has also been the browser engine in AOL's Internet access software. browser in a few weeks. The Shockwave address: http://www.macromedia.com Here are some of the shocked sites that I found entertaining: ``Mission: Impossible'': This site, intended to promote the summer blockbuster movie of the same name, opens with a flashing green warning: ``Stand by for a retinal scan A retinal scan is a biometric technique that uses the unique patterns on a person's retina to identify them. It is not to be confused with another ocular-based technology, iris recognition. .'' The animation continues with what looks like a reflection of your eye being scanned by a laser. Then the screen says, ``Limited access privileges confirmed.'' Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to delve deeper into the site, pretending you are a member of the ``Mission: Impossible'' team. Address: http://www.missionimpossible.com/shock01.html Ben & Jerry: Make them hairy!! Modeled after those cheapo cheap·o Slang adj. Cheap. n. pl. cheap·os One who is cheap. games filled with little iron filings that are supposed to look like whiskers See metal whiskers. , this site lets you drag and deposit ``hair material'' onto the cartoon faces of ice cream magnates Ben and Jerry. I personally think they look best in an Amish configuration. Address: http://www.benjerry.com/fun/bj-hairy.html |
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