Letters

On the subject of MP3 sites...

Have to point out that the price for a Rio player is dropping quite a bit. I have seen the price down around the $120 level through some reputable mail order companies. A new version with 64 megs of onboard memory is coming out soon but retails around the $250 area.

The other exciting MP3 software out there is MP3Spy (http://www.mp3spy.com). People have set up MP3 servers that stream audio across the net much like Real Audio/Video. MP3Spy helps you find these servers and hooks right into Winamp to connect to them. There are quite a few anime/jpop/video game music servers out there right now. The transmission is superb over a T1 and good over a 28.8 modem (providing you are not running too many other apps at the time ^_^).

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Luis A. Cruz
cruzl@ccs.neu.edu
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/cruzl/
Anime Video Game Resource Center: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/cruzl/avrc/

    I just wanted to voice my support for your anti-Java rant. I have yet to encounter any kind of Java-related thing that was beneficial in any real way. When will the madness end?!?

Terry Flora tflora@duke.edu

That's one side of the argument. Here's the other:

    I read your views about JavaScript on your "Last Exit Before Toll" column. Even though I might have sent a email to you long ago about JavaScript used in Anime sites(oh did I?), here I would like to share my views on JavaScript and its use on Anime Web pages.

    First of all, some corrections to your column. Unlike what you told on the page, JavaScript actually has NOTHING to do with the server (server-side JS does exist, but it's another story). It's a client-side object-based language that allows pages to be rendered on client's machine without further server reference.

    I don't agree with your view that "It does very little that is useful, and what it does do is annoying". Yes I do understand that many people are using JS unwisely like those annoying popups, redirects, and more, but these are just NOT all that JS can do. There are far more JS can achieve other than the above named features and bonus features like "make buttons light up or as a quick navigation tool". Actually JS can do things that can NEVER be achieved by normal HTML. It can bring cool effects and interactivities to pages, and with the advanced features in the latest browsers, JS is no longer just taking "partial control of your browser". Actually it can practially take full control of your browser. You can even make Web applications with Dynamic HTML and JS(they do FAR MORE than Web pages), and when applied to Anime sites it can be interesting dancing Anime characters, interactive introductions and fanfics, or even games!!

    I agree that most of the Anime sites are just using some crappy or over- common scripts, but Anime sites with JS used wisely DO exist. You may be able to browse these crappy pages faster and happier with your JS-disabled browser, but at the same time you will just miss those GREAT JS-featured sites, like mine (kidding :)). Don't disregard JS just because some people are misusing it. There are still many people out there who worked very hard to bring Web-surfers awesome pages with JavaScript.

    The importance of JS keeps on increasing as you can notice its increasing use on many big and great sites. JS and related features will soon become "part of the HTML" that every Web authors should learn and every Web pages should contain.

Butz Yung
Final Fantasy VIII and Anime Themes
http://animetheme.vill.edu/ <http://animetheme.vill.edu/>
Dynamic HTML Resource Center
http://animetheme.vill.edu/dhtml/ <http://animetheme.vill.edu/dhtml/>
Email: butz@hkstar.com <mailto:butz@hkstar.com>

I realize that only sites that "misuse" JavaScript are the problem. However, those sites have to be weighed heavily against the very few sites that make good use of it. "Cool effects" and "dancing anime characters" are not what I would consider useful. If I visit such a site with JavaScript turned off, I'm not really missing anything of importance.

I've wracked my brain, and I can only think of one JavaScript application in all my browsing that brought real value to the reader. It was on a soccer site. The application was an interactive World Cup standings table which allowed you to test different scenarios by entering different scores for the games. Other than that, I'm stumped.

Sorry, but I'm leaving JavaScript off. I don't feel I'm missing much, and the lack of pop-up windows is heavenly.

Just a personal thanks for the little mentions of new anime coming from Japan. As a student with a busy life, I don't have much time to surf around and look for stuff. I thank you for the little mentions in the colume on the Turnpike on the 'Pike. Thanks to one colunme I went to watch Mahou Tsukai Tai! Not disappointed.

Now anticipating Serial Experiment Lain.

"Theo Chiu" theo_c@hotmail.com

Greetings,

    I am the technicial director of Anime Alberta, and I am responsible for the operation of Web Anime Alberta Radio (WAAR). I am very pleased to see that our radio station is drawing some excellent reviews from some public, and much respected people like yourself. Thanks to reviews like yours we are now enjoying listeners from everywhere around the world. We are slowly adding more shows to our program, and increasing the diversity of our shows as well. I am also working on ways to minimize the amount of cuts/skips that will occour to our listeners.

    We hope to provide anime related information to the anime community and the general public, and continue to entertain everyone with this unique form of art. We hope that everyone will enjoy the shows, and keep listening. Ja ne!

-Gabriel Hall
 Anime Alberta
 Technicial Director

Web Anime Alberta Radio

waar.anime-alberta.org:8000
http://www.anime-alberta.org

In regards to your LAST EXIT post I found something that really stood out to me. Yeah, I can agree with the likes of Java Scripting... the pop-ups are annoying and frustrating. And then I came to this comment:

"Ignore any site whose URL does not end in '.jp'. US-based hentai sites, generally-speaking, are not worth squat."

I sat here looking at this and each time I read it, I began to become increasingly annoyed with it, so much so, I figured I would write you.

I own and operate a Hentai website, I work hard on it and put a lot of time and effort into it. I don't charge people to view it, I don't fill it with banner ads, click-throughs and pop-ups, and I am an AMERICAN website.

I even have a link from Anime Web Turnpike to my site, a site which you in one foolish breath have told people to ignore, simply because I don't have .jp at the end of my domain name.

Hurt deeply,

Jack D. Kammerer
MAUL President
http://www.anime-agenda.com
MaulPres@aol.com

In the section of my column you quoted, I was advising my readers as to the best way to find good hentai sites. My advice stands. Browsers have a far better chance of finding good hentai artwork if they browse Japanese sites than if they slog through the pile of manure that are the US hentai links, even though there are a few diamonds buried in all that excrement.

I apologize if you got the impression that I was telling readers specifically to ignore your site. I assure you that was not my intention.