people have loaded this article since 17 November 1997
Internet Hot Spots


by Alan Mann

Here are ten local sites of interest for your web browsing delight. The URL, or address, needed to visit these sites appears in bold type. Just type the URL into your web browser and press . There's some exciting sites for our state, so hold on and here we go!

State of Utah (official) homepage pulls together a variety of information available on Internet about Utah. From 1997 budget to proposed legistlation, from job listings to state agencies, from education to county governments, from a list of WWW sites to "technology 2000," this site pulls together hundreds of things available to your web browser. You can see the latest from the legislature, courts, get stats on elections, or see which Utah towns are online (links included). This is a very useful site. Don't just read this paragraph, become a part of the government process.

Utah Sports Teams are well represented on Internet. I really like the unofficial Utah Jazz homepage. So it's based in Alberta, Canada, it has a list of 20 different web sites with Jazz information, including the official Utah Jazz Homecourt, USA Today, Fox Sports, Nando Net (latest box scores), SportsLine, the Tribune, and Deseret News. One of the listed Jazz homepages is based in Japan. It also links to two Karl Malone fan home pages, and the David Benoit homepage, called Benwassome! There's even a link to the Utah Jazz newsgroup (talk radio on the Internet). Statistics, league standings, and a listing of all Jazz games with final scores await the serious Jazz fan. For you other sports enthusiasts, try the Salt Lake Buzz, Utah Grizzlies, or your favorite college team (see the "Education sites", below).

Utah Centennial and 2002 Olympics are online. The centennial site offers information, press releases, a calendar of centennial events, gifts ideas (a beautiful 1996 calendar), and a history with time line for Utah. It also has an email link to the centennial commission. The 2002 Olympic committee has set up its homepage, where there are in the process of adding detailed information about the Olympics and the various venues. This is a site to keep checking in the future.


Education sites abound in Utah. All of the major colleges (universities) have web pages. All of them start with http://www. and end with .edu/. What goes between depends on which school--BYU, UVSC, CEU, SCI.DIXIE, SUU, UTAH, USU, or WEBER. We could spend all our time talking about any one of these fine homepages, but you'd best explore the one of interest to you on your own. BYU, UofU, and USU have such extensive information available that you could never see it all. By the time you checked out everything there today, thousands of news pages would have been added. Note that the University of Utah was one of the founders of the Internet. I hear a lot about the Utah Education Network, but there isn't much there yet.

Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and Visitors & Convention Bureau are excellent sites with links for the whole state as well as the city. The Chamber of Commerce page links to the Utah Travel Council, information about climate (including current & forecasted weather), cost of libing, education, benefits, and more. It's an advertisement for potential vacationers as well as a source of data for those considering a move to Utah. The Convention and Visitors Bureau includes news, questions & answers, trivia, ski report, and links to info on tours, attractions, dining, shopping, and accomodations. It lists groups booked into the Salt Palace and convention center in 1996, with anticipated attendance and revenue that will be generated. It even includes links for other cities and counties in Utah (yes, even Utah Valley). All in all, an informative site, even for locals.

Channel 4 Utah is one of several broadcasters on the Internet. Their homepage contains links to news information (can be delivered to your emailbox daily), weather and sports updates, olympic coverage, TV schedules, Salt Lake Buzz, and more. It even has a link to ABC News Online. KUED, KTVX, KBYU, and KJZZ also have web pages, as do several local radio stations. There are many listings of TV and radio stations on the Internet, and none seem to be complete. You can also check out other a few other broadcasters online.

UTAH Virtual Tourist shows a map of Utah with the location of web servers (web sites) in the state. Each map location is also a "hotlink," which allows you to click on the site and be connected directly to that site. The map includes connections to our universities (BYU, UofU, and others), various high schools, and many businesses. This site lists hundreds of websites in Utah. Virtual Tourist is out of New York, and includes similar maps and lists for the other 49 states as well as several foreign countries.


Utah Computer Society, or Blue Chips, is a site to keep Utahns informed about the latest developments in computers. They meet on the second Wednesday of every month at the University of Utah. They have several special interest groups (SIGs), including Communications & modems, Databases, Entertainment, Finance, Genealogy, Internet, Multimedia, New PC users, NeXTstep, Open Access, OS/2 Warp, VisiualBasic, Windows, and WordPerfect. They also publish a monthly magazine and a calendar of events. Their regular computer interest group meetings can be a gold mine of information.


Utah Links (KioskUtah) will help fill in the gaps if you haven't seen what you're looking for. It has links to Utah newspapers (yes, you can read the Tribune, Standard Examiner, Deseret News or Church News from Internet), arts, TV & radio stations, hobby groups, government sites, educational institutions (even Utah elementary schools on Internet), libraries, phone books, maps, sports (hiking, skiing, fishing, hunting, golf, biking), businesses (real estate companies & more), recreational sites (parks, lakes, forests, etc.), and more. Be ready to spend a lot of time following up hundreds of links. You may prefer to try a text (no pictures) list of Utah links.



BrionZion just might liven up your web surfing. With his friends Anna Tsazi, Baldy Gull, Yosemite Salmon, and Old Yellerstone, you can ride off on an exciting tour of Utah. Brion also has a centennial activity book ($4.96 at numerous locations) and sponsors a creative writing contest called This is the Write Place. Throw in some graphics and good writing, and you have a site that is informative and entertaining for young and old alike. This is a must see for those with children.

If this hasn't been enough, let me point out a few quick references, namely :
Utah Facts (state flower, insect, etc.) Utah Symphony UTAHNET (government offices online)
Infobases (scriptures & Family history) Corel (convert WordPerfect to HTML) Deseret Book Online
WorldWide Web 1st Ward (info on LDS) LDS Church Official Internet site Max Bertola's photos of SouthernUtah (hundreds!)
A tour of Temple Square Images of Utah (scenic pictures)

These are some local Internet HotSpots. Don't be afraid to try them out. Just type the URL given in bold type into your web browser, and you'll soon be spending your leisure hours learning more about Utah, a pretty, great state.