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We bring you the news - log on!
Written by: Jasna Sýkorová
The news goes hand in hand with your
morning coffee. While newspapers and magazines have internet counterparts,
there are also news reporting projects that don't devastate our
forests, producing news on the spot purely electronically.
http://www.inews.cz
A selection of news from Czech dailies and specialized magazines.
The site is well arranged but somewhat impersonal. News reports
are up-to-date, relevant, and divided into chapters (for example,
"From this Country"). By clicking on a title, the
visitor arrives at full texts even in periodicals for which
files fees are normally charged. Unfortunately, when searching
for old reports it is impossible to learn how far back the database
goes, and results are incomplete. After registering free of
charge, one can arrange to have news according to key words
sent to a mobile phone, or modify the appearance of the site.
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http://www.ceskenoviny.cz
Original news, up-dated by the minute. Although ČTK does not
issue its own newspaper, its web site comes close - in terms
of graphics and the amount of information. Topics have their
own complete sections, such as traffic and news reports. The
crowning jewels are Coming Events and discussion forums on topical
themes (e.g., war in Iraq). For those looking for more than
reading material, there are on-line interviews or travel logs.
There is also a ranking of the most-read articles. Some news
reports are in audio format, so you can listen to them. Not
surprisingly, searching is notable poorer than with the paid
version.
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http://www.headlines.cz
The Newton group's news portal is one of the leading Czech administrators
of electronic news files. Compiled news reports are standard,
relying mainly on dailies. Although the sections are cleverly
thought-out and offer a selection of the most-read articles
or topics, the site design is a bit sterile and not very well
arranged. Searching, which is the strong point of Newton's paid
services, is nothing special either. A professional-looking
web site, but lacking in pizzazz.
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http://www.blisty.cz
Britské listy - at the beginning of the day it can lift your
spirits or dash them. It contains characterful commentaries
that don't strive for elegance. The site, guaranteed by publicist
Jan Čulík, who lives in England, cooperates with many correspondents
from all points in the political spectrum - that is, anticommunists.
This year the site has been made more attractive in appearance,
and in addition to commentaries, it also features on-line interviews
and tracks various topics, from political to general.
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http://www.neviditelnypes.cz
This project of writer Ondřej Neff, who has assembled an online
community of writers and readers, stands out with its propensity
to politics, dogs, and science. The site opens with updated
news in brief that later expands into larger commentaries. These
are serious even despite the humorous tone of the site. Content
is supplemented by translated BBC news reports from abroad.
Users will find many links to other projects, either the site's
or associates'.
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novelties
http://www.coto.je
A printed encyclopedia adapted for the internet. The user can search
brief entries in Otto's Encyclopedia, the Small Czechoslovak Encyclopedia,
and the Universum Encyclopedia. Complete results are available for
fees on the order of hundreds of crowns (according to the extensiveness
of the search).
http://www.medikatalog.cz
Health care supplies should be available even without searching. This
new internet shop, connected with an information portal on health
care, tries to resolve this problem. So far the assortment is very
limited, confined mainly to therapeutic mattresses and barrier-free
access products.
http://www.zlato-stribro.cz
A rather interesting project that offers the option of placing orders
for jewelry over the phone for pick-up in person or delivery by the
Czech postal service. The jewelry, except for wedding rings, is quite
simple, costing from a few hundred to two thousand crowns. A competitor,
www.sperky.cz,
will arrive on the net in January..
http://www.radiorota.cz
This site's motto could be "internet radio against xenophobia".
Broadcasts are organized by Romanies for (not only) the Roma community,
and feature a hit parade, astrology, news, and topical programs focused
on, for example, asylum homes. Software for free listening can be
downloaded from the site.
word of the
month:
Grabbing
- Long winter evenings can be spiced up with a pleasant, nearly
never-ending flow of music. You can get this thanks to the compressed
format for music files - MP3. If you want to set up your own
disco program from your favorite CDs, first you have to convert
them to this format. This process is called grabbing. There
is a program for using it usually called grabber or ripper (i.e.,
Audiograbber, free of charge for a limited time). You can mix
play lists from grabbed CDs right in your computer on virtual
players like WinAmp, or you can burn your own CDs to play on
your stereo. |
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