[meteorite-list] COMPLETELY METEORITIC IMPACT RELATED

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi, All,


    John Walker, founder of Autodesk, Inc. and co-author of 
AUTOCAD, naturally became rich, sold the company, moved
to Switzerland. He has a website full of astronomical programs
of all kinds, all free (he can afford it), and other tidbits, like the
full text of an 1880 book by P. T. Barnum, entitled The Art of 
Getting Money.

    At this URL is a free download of an impact screen saver:
http://www.fourmilab.ch/craters/

    I quote his description:
"What better way to protect your monitor's phosphor 
than by smashing rocks into it at dozens of kilometres 
per second? The Craters Screen Saver simulates cratering 
of initially flat terrain, obeying the same power-law relating 
crater size to number observed on airless solar system 
bodies. New version 3.0 is compatible with dual screen 
configurations on Windows XP and saves preferences 
in the registry individually for each user. This is a minimalist 
screen saver originally released in 1994 which appeared in 
the November 2000 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine."

    It's quick, effortless, not buggy, fascinating to watch, and
free -- what more could you want?

    His list of astronomical programs (also free) is worth 
exploring, too.


Sterling K. Webb