WebWatch and Surfbot -- Surfbot is the real Web Assistant -- run your bookmark file through it and immediately find out which URLs have recently moved, changed, and/or been updated. Surfbot will actually take any list of URLs and check each URL for recent changes. You input the earliest date desired, run the program, and then watch as Surfbot produces a local HTML document containing links to those documents that have been updated after the desired date. Surfbot stores its arguments in a parameter file. This way, once you customize the program, Surfbot can be run with a single mouse click or even unattended by being invoked from a script. After a complete run, the date and time of the run is recorded and is used as the base date for the next run. This way you can be sure that you never miss an update of one of the specified URLs. At the same time, redundant retrievals are eliminated. Surfbot, previously known as WebWatch, is currently only available as a 32-bit application (Windows 95, NT, and Win32s); a 1.1 release of its predecessor, WebWatch, is also available (in both 16 and 32-bit releases) and versions for Macs and Unix are expected to be released soon. The 2.0 release of Surfbot takes full advantage of the Windows 95 interface, including full integration with the Windows 95 Plus pack's System Agent. Pros: Easiest way to monitor whether your favorite URLs have been modified recently Cons: Can (and will) become more flexible and extensible New for v1.1: Proxy server support and user-authentication New for v2.0: Windows 95 specific, revised interface, full integration with Windows 95 Version Reviewed: Win 3.x - 1.1. Win 95 - 2.02 Date of Review: 4/24/96 Reviewer: Forrest Stroud apps conference Main Menu