MAY 1, 2000 - SpaceWatch is Internet TV, featuring programming with a cosmic flair. If you're running a fairly recent browser with reasonably standard multimedia capabilities (the Windows Media Player or the RealPlayer plug-in), and you're running it with sufficient bandwidth (forget about it if you're snagging only 28k), SpaceWatch can land you in the middle of the space program or way out in the middle of deep space - take your pick, preferably using a T1, DSL or Cable modem connection. For example, tune in Monday evenings at 7:30 Eastern Time to catch the live Deep Sky program, where you can hob-nob with "the movers and shakers in the world of astronomy." Then again, maybe you'd rather drop in Tuesdays at 2 PM Eastern Time for the live broadcast from Space Center Houston, just to see what the astronauts, engineers and flight controllers there are up to. The advantage to these live broadcasts is that they're interactive - so go ahead, ask a question! Miss the real-time show? You can always play around in the archives, and in any case the prepackaged Cosmic Visions show is bound to be worth a look. It's astronomy and space exploration right here, right now and right on your computer - and that makes SpaceWatch a site too good to miss.
Technical note: Web Site Garage rates SpaceWatch fair over-all, poor in load time (53.41 seconds on a 28.8k modem, or 3.16 seconds over a T1). In comparison, the page you're now reading rates good in both categories (with a load time of 10.24 seconds at 28.8k, 1 second on a T1).
