In computer news this week:

What people really look for and do on the internet in 2002

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.

You may form your own opinions as to what visitors from another planet might say about this top 50 list, after the concept of the internet "as a great educational tool - similar to television's introduction " is explained to them.

Here's the top topics for 2002 which people were searching for on Lycos last week starting with #1:

1 World cup - that's the soccer games

2 Dragon ball - Last year this was number one - I didn't know what dragon ball was last year, and I still don't.

3 Tatoos - I just can't believe millions of people are searching for tattoo information but I guess they are because last year this was only # 11.

4 Britney Spears - I know who that is now - the girl in the pepsi commercial - last year she was #3

5 Fathers day - that makes sense

6 KazaA - file swapping - last year Napster filled this spot - has disappeared - and this is the new replacement

7 Mike Tyson - this must make Lennox Lewis unhappy

8 Harry Potter - I actually have seen him - last year's #8 was US Post office - evidently that one cent increase had a lot of folks puzzled - I'm sure they'll make a comeback with their upcoming increase

9 Eminem - that rapper guy replaced Pokemon - he's moved up from last year's # 14

10 Spiderman - used to be one of my old paper cartoon favorites - he bumps last year's Final fantasy

11 Jennifer Lopez - I even know she's called Jlo - she replaces Las Vega gambling

12 Pamela Anderson - she's moved up 2 spots since last year - probably on her acting ability - and she replaces last year's holder of the 12 position - the Internal Revenue Service - way to go Pamela

other repeat top searches for this year and last year include:

WWF Wrestling - you can still see huge brutes breaking tables online

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

Marijuana - I guess that wasn't just in the 60's

Notable names that have fallen off the top 50 list which means they're tanking:

N'synch - Madonna - The Simpsons Carmen Electra and the Backstreet boys Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing and Limp Bizkit

Ah, the internet. Well, maybe next year, Mr. Shakespeare - who incidentally may be found at www.shakespeare.com.

For Raw Bytes, this is Frank Delaney

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