Issue Number 19 - February 2000

TIM BERNERS-LEE is the man who invented the World Wide Web. But unlike the current spate of Internet millionaires, he didn't make any money out of it. That's because he is more interested in the Web as a revolutionary tool of the information age. His account is an exciting and often quite moving story of technological innovation. Full details and review at --

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/lee.htm

Sell your own writing - Free!
LOTS OF PEOPLE would like to break into writing, but can't find a publisher. Now there's a solution offered by Fatbrain which puts your deathless prose online. You send them your work; they make it available to paying downloaders; and they split the proceeds with you 50/50. It's the marketplace, pure and simple. If people like it, they'll buy. You've nothing to loose anyway. Try it!

http://www.fatbrain.com

Samuel Pepys on Shakespeare
"... and then on to the King's Theatre, where we saw 'Midsummer Night's Dream', which I had never seen before, nor shall I ever see again, for it is the most insipid ridiculous play that I ever saw in my life. I saw, I confess, some good dancing and some handsome women, which was all my pleasure."

Avant-garde Typography
DAVID CARSON was once a competitive surfer and a sociology teacher - but he became a leading figure in the Grunge school of west coast American typography in the 1990s. 'The End of Print' is a best-seller which he designed himself and illustrates the wacky sense of graphic design in which pictures, text, and page layout all seem to blend into each other. This one is for post-Modern enthusiasts. Full details and review at --

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/carson-1.htm

Windows Tip - Drag and Drop
IF YOU DRAG a file from one folder to another folder on the same drive - Windows moves the file. It does not leave it behind in the original folder. If you drag a file from a folder to anywhere on a different drive - Windows copies the file, leaving the original behind.

Fast Publishing
VIRGIN BELIEVES IT will be first to publish a book on Harold Shipman, the doctor jailed last week in the UK for murdering 15 patients. 'Addicted to Murder', a £5.99 paperback, was published only one week after the trial. Written by Mikaela Sitford, a reporter from the Manchester Evening News, which broke the original story, it will include 'exclusive interviews with those closest to Shipman', a foreword by Colin Wilson and a 'profiling analysis' of Shipman by Dr Chris Missen, a criminal psychologist and police adviser. Little,Brown and Blake also have books ready...

"I think people want the fuller picture, the context, what it was like for the people in this small suburb of Manchester"

EDITOR'S NOTE:   Those fortunate enough to live outside this small suburb might be interested to know that it also includes the notorious Hattersley Estate - scene of the equally infamous Moors Murders thirty years ago.

'Come to Hyde - Murder capital of the UK'

How to be an Online Tutor
AS THE NUMBER of online educational courses proliferates, many teachers find it hard to keep up with new skills. If you have been asked [or told] to take on some online teaching, you might be glad of support. Julia Duggleby's new book is based on the experience of a real online course - both as a student and a teacher. It's got some limitations, but it might be of interest until something better comes along.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dugg.htm

Most Hits!
OUR REVIEW of Jane Dorner's new book, 'Internet - Writer's Guide' in the last newsletter has had an unprecedented number of hits in the last two weeks. So if you missed it first time round, have a look at -

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dorner-2.htm