Well, the big news is that I've moved again. My new postal address is: 1509 R. St NW #3 Washington DC 20009. Please address all future postal correspondence/donations/solicitations/etc. to this address. There's also been a change in Quanta's email address, although the old one will probably continue to work for some time. The new address is quanta@quanta.org. A mirror WWW site at "http://www.quanta.org/quanta/" has also been set up, although the main Quanta WWW site will continue to be http://www.etext.org/Zines/Quanta/.
We've recently been getting a lot of publicity - both a "point of interest" listing on the MacUser Internet Road Map (I guess we're "on the map" now...Ugh) and a listing in The Net's latest issue, with special mention of our "groovy graphics." Well we've got plenty more groovy stuff where that came from...
I learned last month that due to a mix-up with some mailers, some Quanta subscribers were not notified when the last issue came out (January 1995). So if you haven't checked out the January 1995 issue, I recommend that you do - you won't be disappointed.
Something I've been working on recently which folks might be interested in is the WWW Virtual Library Electronic Journals list. After taking over ownership of the list, we've significantly revamped it (we actually developed an application called WILMA to administer it). We'd be happy to get in any new additions to the list people might have.
Another big project I've been lucky enough to be involved with is the Science Magazine Science Conduct Online special feature. As well as hosting a reprinted article from Science Magazine on Conduct in Science, the feature is intended as a discussion area and general resource for science conduct.
My work load just doesn't allow me to produce this magazine single-handedly anymore. Last year, I was only able to produce one issue! This year is slightly better, but I can't give Quanta the attention it deserves - not and work at the same time, anyway... That's why I need your help.
First of all, I want to turn Quanta into more of a WWW based resource than it is now. Right now, I work on Quanta in FrameMaker and then export to Text and PostScript after the whole thing is done. Then I take the text version and make the HTML version for the Web Site. Since more and more people are coming on to the World Wide Web, I've decided to do it the other way around. The WWW version will be developed first, and then the text and PostScript versions will come after.
Secondly, I'd like to turn Quanta into a more dynamic resource. On the Web, there's really no need for issues and volumes. I'd like to make Quanta more story-based. When I get a good new piece of fiction in, why should it have to wait until I get five more pieces in before it sees the light of day? Quanta will become a science fiction database, with new stories (and artwork) appearing constantly.
Then, after enough stories accumulate, a quarterly PostScript "issue" could be produced which would contain the best picks from that quarter.
This new service will be called "Quanta Interactive," and ideally it will become not only a great repository of science fiction, but a resource to be used by authors. It will include online discussion groups, dynamic hot lists, possibly even audio and video.
The trick is developing it. If anyone out there has the time and is interested in this project, please contact me at quanta@quanta.org. Ideal candidates will be SF aficionados who also know quite a bit about the Internet and the World Wide Web, including HTML and CGI script development. Of course, I can't pay you right now, but in the future, who knows?
Well anyway, this issue we've got some great stuff lined up for you. It's an eclectic mix - it challenges as well as entertains - it's a bit of this, a bit of that. I'd like to thank our contributors this month, as well as Boris Starosta for this issue's dazzling artwork. You can look at more of Boris's work at the following URL: