In computer news this week:

What people really look for and do on the internet.

Ah the internet. You have access to the great libraries of the world. English literature, the classics, great plays, Shakespeare, all at your fingertips. Listen to classical music, hear operas, read the great novels of the world online, view the art masterpieces, what a wonderful educational world.

Unfortunately, it appears not too many people are doing that on the internet. In fact it appears that the topics people are searching for mirror television and the movies. When you need to find information on the internet, you go to what is called a search engine and you type in the topics you're interested in. Many of these engines then publish their top 50 lists weekly.

Here's the top topics what people were looking for on Lycos last week:

Dragon ball - I don't even know what dragon ball is.

Britney Spears - I think I know who that is

Napster - Swap music online - not too much classical music available for listening or swapping on Napster, they think Bethooven's fifth is some kind of party wine.

US Post office - evidently that one cent increase has a lot of folks puzzled

Pokemon - games for little kids

Final fantasy - sounds like it goes with Temptation island.

Las Vega gambling - now there's a great family activity

Internal Revenue Service - now you can pay all your money online instead of mailing it, Oh boy

NFL Football - like there isn't enough on television

WWF Wrestling - gee, now you can see huge brutes breaking tables online

Pamela Anderson - I know who she is - she's a great actress, you know

Tattoos - I just can't believe millions of people are searching for tattoo information

Eminem the rapper - I don't care how many grammys he's up for - the music's terrible

Jennifer Lopez - I think I've heard the name

Harry Potter - finally something literary

The Bible - The Bible trails rappers and wrestlers ? What's wrong with this picture?

N'synch - arghhh now we go downhill again

Diets - yeah, you know it's January

Marijuana - I thought that was just in the 60's

Madonna - is she still around?

The Simpsons - don't like them on tv, now I don't like them on computer

Martin Luther King - finally something cultural worth searching for

Carmen Electra and the Backstreet boys - now we're going downhill again

Gnutella - not the spread but the napster clone site

Digital cameras - you actually can find great information about them

Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing and Limp Bizkit - I really am getting old

South Park - Blame Canada

And in 48th place - Montgomery Ward closing stores ..... now there's a topic to keep you glued to your screen for days.

Ah, the internet. Well, maybe next week, Mr. Shakespeare.

For Raw Bytes, this is Frank Delaney

POB 222 Spangle, Wa 99031 (509)245-3736 Email: fdspokane@aol.com