NetBloke.com - Wonderful Web sites - Part One
Publication Date: 28/06/2001
ISSN 1445-1360
Publication Date: 28/06/2001
ISSN 1445-1360
G'day!
Well it appears I have had quite a few problems with my Web site and email in the past week. If you tried to send me an email it probably bounced back at you. I was swapping servers last week and although this went fairly smoothly, it may be possible that for a short period of time you only got errors when looking at my site. I am working with the Web hosting service I use to rectify these small problems as we speak! I am sure that all will be somewhat normal again very soon.
Anyway to this weeks issue. I thought I would try something a little different, which will answer a lot of the questions I get each week related to building a Web site. Therefore the next few issues are dedicated to building your own wonderful Web site.
As you all would know by now I work for Sausage Software, who make a range of Web Editing products, so I do have some skill and knowledge about this area. What I will do is have the Site Recommendation, Internet Tip and Question and Answer area focus on a particular aspect of building a Web site each week for the next few weeks. They will go something like this:
I will be sure to keep you informed of anything else that I find going on in the world of the Web while I focus on this Web site building feature.
Last week I gave the Aussie slang definition for 'narked'. Some blokes wrote in and told me it was slang for a Narcotics Officer. This is true in American slang, but it is not always the same as Aussie slang you know!
Finally I have had a few emails reminding me of my Aussie roots. These people would like to see more Aussie content in NetBloke. Your wish is my command so I will make every effort to do so, however please remember that the majority of major Web sites are still US based. I also never intended NetBloke to be solely for Australians, as I believe the Internet breaks down international borders and opens the whole world up to different ideas and cultures.
That is about it for now so until next week seeya later!
Nathan Allan
So you want to have your own Web site?
Well my first piece of advice to you is for you to decide whether you want to build a serious Web site for your business or a personal Web site just for family and friends.
This will make it easier to decide what sort of money (if any) you should spend on this project. It will also affect the quality and professionalism of the finished Web site.
Did you know you might already have free Web site hosting with your current ISP? If you do not know send them an email and ask!
I will lay off the funny Aussie slang this week and instead define what exactly a Web site is.
Web site
You all know what is a Web site looks like and probably spend a few hours here and there surfing around them for information and the like. However do you really know what a Web site is made up off?
A Web site is programmed in a language called HTML (HyperText Markup Language) that can be interpreted by your Web browser (normally Internet Explorer, Netscape, or Opera). A Web site may also use other programming languages such as PHP and ASP, which allow the owner of the Web site to produce more dynamic and interactive Web pages.
So a Web site is basically a collection of HTML files that tell a browser how to display text and graphics on your browser. These files are all placed on a Web Server, which you access by using a URL (Uniform Resource Locater) or domain name, such as www.netbloke.com.
So to start you all thinking about Web sites and how to build them here are a couple of resources you may find useful.
The first is called SitePoint and it is a centralised resource of information on how to build and profit from a Web site. The SitePoint team say that it is for the beginner to expert Webmaster, but in my humble opinion I think most of the information you will find will be above the comprehension of a beginner. That is not to say that beginners should not try the site out! The Sitepoint Forums alone are full of helpful people that will help you get started.
The SitePoint team are mainly made up of Aussies in Melbourne, with a Yank and Canadian thrown in for good measure.
Go check it out at:
http://www.sitepoint.com
Another good starting point is Builder.com by the blokes over at CNET. Again a little technical maybe but well worth a look!
Work your brain cells at:
http://builder.cnet.com
W3School.com is a great site for all the various ways and details of building a Web site. It is laid out simply and you can start on their basic tutorials or if you are already somewhat advanced you may start on some harder tasks.
My favourite pick this week:
http://www.w3schools.com
This weeks question comes from Mick Combs:
"Is there any way to reduce the size of the "Outlook.pst" and "Archive.pst"? It seems every time I mess with them, I get error messages every time I try to open Outlook 98 and have to put the files back intact in order to use Outlook 98!"
Can you help him out? I will publish your answers next issue!
Answer:
Last weeks question from Joe was:
"Help NetBloke,
I can keep this pretty simple, I am looking for a way to rename the computers of a large network. This would be run on an NT server as a start up program. I have been looking for a while and haven't been able to locate one. If you have any suggestions about a program like this send me a note and maybe I will have some kittens".
Unfortunately no one out there was able to help. So I will ask a couple of friends who are Network Administrators and see if they can help!
If you have a question of your own, contact me.
This joke was sent in by Bob Laurence, please do not take it too seriously!
Special Bulletin:
FOOT-AND-MOUTH BELIEVED TO BE FIRST VIRUS
UNABLE TO SPREAD THROUGH MICROSOFT OUTLOOK
Scientists at the Center for Infectious Diseases and Symantec's AntiVirus Research Center today confirmed that foot-and-mouth disease cannot be spread by Microsoft's Outlook email application, believed to be the first time the program has ever failed to propagate a major virus.
"Frankly, we've never heard of a virus that couldn't spread through Microsoft Outlook, so our findings were, to say the least, unexpected," said Clive Sarnow, director of the CDC's infectious disease unit.
Executives at Microsoft, meanwhile, were sceptical, insisting that Outlook's patented Virus Transfer Protocol (VTP) has proven virtually pervious to any virus. The company, however, will issue a free VTP patch if it turns out the application is not in fact vulnerable to foot-and-mouth.
