HOT PROPERTYGoing for Matter, Not Splatter
Designed on the daring premise that kids might find the real world more interesting than head-crunching superheroes, SprocketWorks is a stunning CD-ROM and online platform for interactive exploration. It encourages curious minds of 8 to 14 (and rubbernecking parents) to probe stuff like blues history and satellite construction. New topics will be released four times a year; a yearly subscription (www.sprocketworks.com) costs $70.
PRIVACYSnoopware
Technology, like most things, can be used for good or evil. That’s especially true of software like SnadBoy’s Revelation and Invisible KeyLogger 97. Both can turn the mischievous into the malevolent with a few mouseclicks. For the forgetful, Revelation uncovers lost passwords. But in the wrong hands it leaves e-mail, online banking and other password-dependent transactions vulnerable. Similarly, IK97 can help prevent the tampering of unattended PCs by logging every keystroke. But it can also show nosy cubicle neighbors what you’ve been typing.
WEBShare More Than Feelings
If you collaborate via the Internet, try WebEx (www.webex.com), a new free service that lets as many as six people “conference” simultaneously. Set up a private cyber-meeting area and invite colleagues, friends and family to join. A student can log on from Albuquerque and watch his mother in Albany mark up his thesis online. If his brother in Ohio wants to butt in, he can annotate the text in a different color. WebEx also lets you share applications or watch another conference member play a game. You can even surf the Web together. Who says the Internet is for loners?
