General WEBLOG for October 2000

http://www.xdsoft.com/explorer/ - XDSOFT builds "3D Exploration", a great software to browse through dozens of different 3D file formats, including the popular .3DS, .DXB, .DXF, .DWG and .X types. It works like regular image viewers, except that it works for three dimensional objects and allows you to rotate them from xx to zz.

http://www.alphaf1.com/gp3/ - The site to go for Grand Prix 3 files. The 1.13 patch was released here before even being available at the Hasbro servers! Notice that 1.13 patch brings support to modern multi-axis devices, which is a must to have split accelerator and braking pedals. The patch doesn't solve problems like replays not working in machines with >= 1 GB of RAM and won't accept your old hotlaps, if you went out of the track, even if it was just for a few centimeters.

http://www.spinesolver.com/ - Ah! What a superb site, if you are having pains on your back... I found this URL, while trying to understand why I was suffering, and how I could fix it, after a little accident I had.

http://www.dvdcreation.com - We still are months away from affordable DVD recorders, but the high end market already exists. Some packages, like Sonic DVD it! Premium Edition are being sold by the thousands, allowing designers to produce those flashy intros you see, when you insert a DVD-Video in your DVD-Player. Sonic's software is just an example. The world of DVD Creation is really kicking and deserving your attention. Go check it.

http://www.japanese-online.com/ - I am trying to learn japanese these days. That is quite a problem in Portugal / Europe: I can't afford a private teacher, and public schools don't offer courses on japanese subjects, plus books on japanese couldn't be more rare... So I am left with the Internet... Will it be enough? I don't know, but the URL above is my starting point. Let's try together?

http://www.digiscents.com/ - You probably have the technology to record your voice, your picture, your movements... and now you can record your smell! Yes, the dream I once had in my childhood has become true, though not because of me.

Some 15 - 20 years ago, while thinking about something that no one had invented, it occurred to me a "smells machine". Now, someone with the money and the knowledge did it! Coming soon to a PC near you.

http://www.void.jump.org/archive.html - The ZX Spectrum remains the most influential gadget in my life. This tinny 48 KB beast was the reason of my life, for many adolescent years (**cough, cough**). Today, all the software that once required me days of tape trading with friends, is available for free and in a matter of seconds. Go download some games and emulators! Then try my own software, available from the CS Projects page :).

http://www.patches-scrolls.de/index2.html - If you are looking for game patches, this one is a nice starting point. It is a slow site, sometimes just repeating what 50% of the gaming Internet is announcing, but more frequently than most of the alternatives, the "Patches Scrolls" indeed delivers the links to what is new.

http://www.planetdreamcast.com/ - The Dreamcast is a surprise console. Fighting a fight against many media who just can't resist the hype of the Playstation 2, the little white box offers some of the best arcade conversions ever done, to any platform, in absolute terms! Forget about DVD handling, e-motion engine(s), and everything else that still is not translating to great software... Get your hands in what is cheap and effective, today! "Planet Dreamcast" can give you some smart advises.

http://www.midtownmotors.co.uk/main.html - There are strange things. Midtown Madness is a hugely popular game, but there aren't many MTM fan sites... Why? Well, I can't answer that, but I can make public one of the very few interesting MTM URLs I found. Check my MTM2 review on 121000#mtm2.