Bajema’s Web (14 October 2008)

An artist’s website must represent an extension of that artist’s skill and sense of beauty, for it gives the viewer not only an immediate understanding of the artist’s aesthetic; it must convince possible employers instantly and invite to further inspection of the artwork on display.

Not often gets one to see a website that impresses and amazes on first sight and fails to disappoint even under closer scrutiny. Miss Bajema’s pages cling together in delicate perfection and seem all designed with individual consideration. A woman’s touch is undeniable in the details that make for a subconsciously agreeable visiting experience.

Although the structure of the websites shifts somewhat when the visitor explores its different sections, its theme, a clever mix of color and graphics, keeps it all together elegantly, making the transfer from page to page smooth, even enchanting. One senses no annoyance, rather a mild curiosity over what to find beyond a link, and Miss Bajema never seizes to exceed expectations.

With an decorous sepia color scheme, exquisite graphics and spectacular artwork, Miss Bajema’s website makes for a lavish artwork in itself, a testament of sheer elegance in design, and a proud accomplishment definitely rewarding of our award.

Retrostacja: steampunk & pulp (12 January 2007)

From somewhere deep within the dark forests of what used to be the domain of the medieval Teutonic Order lurks Krzysztof Janicz, webmaster of Retrostacja: steampunk & pulp—recently supplemented with an English version appropriately named Steampunkopedia. Appropriate because this website is certainly the number one resource on all that is Steampunk, chronicling the history of the genre from the 1960s onwards. The comprehensive list that makes up the Steampunk Chronology for which Retrostacja is so famous, details every single work that comes within contemporary definition of Steampunk, and the webmaster continues to monitor new developments and publications.

Perhaps an even greater delight is the huge database of Steampunk Links, listing probably several hundreds of websites in one way or another related to Steampunk. And there is also a section housing Steampunk videos and music.

Yet I must also note the website’s structure and design: a consistent—and very stylish—lay-out is maintained throughout the many pages that the site counts. An organized navigation is provided; appealing graphics supplement the site's content. Summerizing, Retrostacja: steampunk & pulp is without question your gateway to all that is Steampunk.

Strange Fascination (1 August 2006)

Strange Fascination without doubt lives up to its motto of being the “largest online to Mr Spock”—in fact, it does far more than that. With her excellent website, Miss Karen captures the essence, the soul of Star Trek’s most beloved and most intriguing character. “The human adventure,” she writes, “that is Star Trek [ . . . ] is really about people.” For that reason, the cast of The Original Series were such a succes; the great chemistry between those immortal characters represents what Star Trek is truly about. And Spock is at the centre of that chemistry.

His character is thoroughly examined in the “Vulcan Master” section of Strange Fascination, which features biographical information, personality analysis, and pages on what influenced the character; how Spock came to be. Of particular interest is the “Spirituality” page, which details how elements of eastern religion and mysicism found their way into Spock and ultimately the Vulcan species as a whole.

“Spock’s World” features pages analysing Spock’s bound with Kirk, McCoy and his other crewmates onboard the Enterprise, as well as his shared Human/Vulcan roots and his “fleeting and awkward encounters with the fairer sex.” Furthermore, Spock's people and their heritage are examined in great detail, also on a page that describes mythological influences on the Vulcan people.

The website furthermore features descriptions of all original Star Trek episodes and the feature films, focussing, of course, on Spock’s role in the drama. A “Rec Room” offers book reviews, humour and downloades, while one can jump at “Warp Speed” to the best Trek the Web has to offer via a linkage list. For one who wishes to learn more about the webmistress and her motivations, there's a “Site History” page, and there is also aKindofMagic.Ca, home to even more science and fiction. In the best of Vulcan tradition, I wish Karen and her Strange Fascination long and prosperous life.

History of Robots in the Victorian Era (15 March 2006)

This website is one of the most fascinating, and most elaborate steampunk websites online today. Not without reason, it was noted as “deliciously detailed” by The New York Times, because it is particularly the great amount of detail that makes this website such a great place to visit. “Charming,” as declared so by the U.S. News & World Report, is the right word to describe the layout of Paul Guinan’s website. Although the site may not be as graphically stunning as some others dedicated to the genre of steampunk, History of Robots in the Victorian Era does offer an elegant layout and impressive photographic manipulations.

By far the most detailed, and most amazing section is the one dedicated to the robot “Boilerplate,” supposedly unveiled at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago by one Professor Archibald Campion. One learns how Boiletplate served with Roosevelt’s “Rough Riders” during the Spanish-American War of 1898, fought during the Japanese-Russian War of 1904, and ultimately vanished under the salvoes of shrapnel on the battlefields of the War To End All Wars in 1918.

But the Victorian Era has more robotic engineering on offer. It was famed inventor John Brainerd who created the world’s first robot in 1865. The patents for “Steam Man” were purchased by Frank Reade in 1875, who then set about to produce his own improved version; “Steam Man Mark II” His son, Frank Reade Jr. turned to producing a mechanical man that would be powered by electricity. The result was the “Electric Man” The fourth Victorian robot presented was constructed by inventor Louis Philip Perew in the late-1890s: an electrically operated mechanical man, demonstrated for the world press in October 1900.

History of Robots in the Victorian Era is part of a much larger website, namely Paul Guinan’s Big Raid Hair, which offers many additional features including a page dedicated to the Reade family's airships. All with all, this website is most certainly worth more than one extended visit and will continue to entertain the visitor with each new page.

Federation Starship Datalink (27 April 2005)

There are countless Star Trek websites, in all sizes, which strive to gather as much information on canon as possible. Few come close to succeeding at this goal; many fail and become a monument to other webmasters, reminding that encompassing all of Star Trek within a single website is an impossibility.

The Federation Starship Datalink is far from such a website. Instead, it focuses completely on one aspect of Trek, and indeed the one probably most admired by its fans: starships. Being a fan of concept art myself, webmaster Hobbes’ excellent collection (probably the largest and most informative one can find) is of course a personal favourite of mine, but there is much more that deserves extended examination.

To start with, FSD features an all-including list of starships that appeared on Star Trek (not including Enterprise), sorted by class. While that may not be the website’s most spectacular section, it does provide a practical reference. Besides starships, the site also includes information on all Starfleet shuttlecraft and starbases, and special attention is given to all vessels named Enterprise, as well as to the Defiant and Voyager. Although there are other places where one could find data on these vessels, it makes the site complete as a starship reference. Accompanying, there's a section containing high-quality starship images.

Worth mentioning in particular is the Deep Space Nine section, which pretty much serves as an online DS9 Technical Manual. Although this section appears to be incomplete as of yet, it does manage to provide as much useful information as possible.

Furthermore, there is the “Starship Ops” section, which includes articles from Star Trek: The Magazine on treknology, propulsion technology, operation procedures and communication systems. Every single article manages not only to inform, but also to entertain the reader with interesting information, both from canon sources as well as from reference material. Summarizing, the Federation Starship Datalink is awarded “Elegance” for providing all of Star Trek fandom with an excellent reference about Starfleet hardware and how they were designed.

Ex Astris Scientia (2 November 2004)

When looking for reliable information on starships or treknology, when looking for well-balanced, fair episode reviews, when looking for interesting, detailed analyses of science and technology on Star Trek, and when giving out awards to Star Trek websites—there is one website one cannot miss. Bernd Schneider has maintained an extensive database on knowledge from the stars since 1998, having become the best-known website on Trek since.

His “Starship Database” contains an extensive summery of all starships that have appeared on the show, accompanied by reliable, canon information. Furthermore, more in-dept articles on different starships can be found in the “Starship Articles” section. Additionally, there is a large gallery containing numerous starship images.

The following “Fleet Yards” section is dedicated to non-canon starships: here Bernd’s own starship designs are exhibited, as well as those of the Starfleet Museum, the Advanced Starship Design Bureau, and the Journal of Applied Technology, all three being hosted on Ex Astris Scientia's server.

The following “Treknology” section contains an A to Z list of all things treknology. Being not such a great treknology fan myself, I find myself not using this extensive reference work too often. However, if you’re looking for information on Star Trek technology, it is unlikely you won’t find it here. This section also includes Bernd’s extensive research on warp propulsion (a section always under construction, it seems) and time travel, and the Inconsistencies section, which contains analyses on exobiological, historical, technological, and sociological problems.

Other Ex Astris Scientia features include Bernd's episode reviews, usually most objective and fair, a galleries, containing several hundreds of images from all Star Trek, reference works including timelines, planet classifications, and substances and particles, book reviews, technical support, fan-fiction, model kit reviews, 2D rendering help, weblinks, polls . . . There truly is enough to read for days, if not weeks. Congratulations, and thanks to Bernd Schneider for creating Ex Astris Scientia, and for maintaining it for so many years.

Unimatrix 0-1 (19 June 2004)

This German website is dedicated to one of Star Trek’s most fascinating species: the Borg. Besides a large database on all that is Borg, Unimatrix 0-1 offers information on many aspects of Star Trek: Voyager and Enterprise also, including personnel databases, starships and episode guides. The most important reason for Unimatrix 0-1 being awarded “Elegance,” however, is the aesthetically pleasing webdesign which makes the site a joy to visit.

Titan Fleet Yards (8 May 2004)

Contrary to many other Star Trek websites, Titan Fleet Yards seeks not to offer much content about the franchise, instead the website features little content, yet each is worth particular attention. The webmaster’s list of Federation member worlds is without doubt the most extensive and most reliable in its form, and it is for this feature that Titan Fleet Yards is so renowned. [ . . . ] The website’s layout is simple, but neat and functional; site navigation is clear—all with all, it is Titan Fleet Yards' simplicity in design that makes it worthy of being awarded “Elegance.”