Goodies to Go ™
July 26, 2004–Newsletter #295
This newsletter is part of the internet.com network.
http://www.internet.com
Featured this week:
* Goodies Thoughts – Mind the Store
* Q & A Goodies
* News Goodies
* Goodies Peer Reviews
* Feedback Goodies
* Windows Tech Goodies
* And Remember This…
Goodies Announcement
The new Beyond HTML Goodies book
is now available!
Go beyond the basics
and learn how the pros add and use dynamic HTML features and advanced
JavaScript techniques. Beyond HTML Goodies demonstrates dozens of new and
different features readers can add to their existing Web pages using HTML and
JavaScript. The book starts with simple text and image tips, such as adding a
clock to a Web page or causing text to appear when the mouse moves over an
image. It gradually builds to more complex tricks, including manipulating forms
or working with cookies behind the scenes. Throughout the book, readers enjoy
Joe’s snappy style and “to the point” discussion of each “goody” in the book.
http://books.internet.com/books/0789727803
Goodies Thoughts – Mind the Store
The last thing in the world that a retailer wants is to lose
everything in their store. I can understand that! To prevent such a loss they
might install burglar and fire alarm and prevention systems, lock things in a
safe and put bars over the windows. What, however, are they to do if their
storefront is made of bits and bytes instead of bricks and mortar? Basically,
the same thing!
For a web store you need…… let’s think about it:
1. a website
2. a hosting service
3. a merchandise database
4. a shopping cart system
5. a way for customers to pay you
6. a fulfillment system
7. an accounting system
That should just about do it. Except, of course, that’s like a brick and mortar
store without doors or locks!
Having said that, though, I would agree that if enough attention was paid to
each of the named elements, it would be possible to build an effective and safe
web store. If, for example, the hosting service guaranteed sufficient uptime,
bandwidth, virus protection, backup, monitoring and technical support; and if
the payment mechanism included sufficient security and believable guarantees to
assure the purchaser that they won’t be ripped off; and if….. etc.
Now, the brick and mortar retailer (let’s call them the "retailer" versus the
on-line "e-tailer") could choose to open their store inside a mall, in which
case many of the concerns they otherwise would have had would be taken care of
by the mall’s building and security systems. E-tailers have a similar
opportunity. The retailer, however, will have to surrender at least an arm and a
leg to the mall owner, while the e-tailer can get theirs for (virtually) a song!
"How?" you say. "Yahoo!" I say and "E-Bay" I echo.
On Yahoo.com take a look down, almost at the bottom of the page, under "More
Yahoo!" you’ll see a "Small business" heading and under that, "Sell Online". Why
such a neat link is buried so deep I haven’t figured out, but there it is — a
link to one of the lowest cost, easiest to use and best backed on-line store
creation systems on the web. They have a help system to walk you through eleven
steps to starting you on-line business. Their comprehensive guide is also
available in PDF format so you can print out the 300 page document and read the
whole thing in the comfort of the hammock under your oak tree (or one in the
park!)
Then there’s E-Bay. E-bay’s core business is selling stuff, unlike Yahoo which
is primarily in the portal business. Strangely, however, they also have buried
the gems of their store business opportunities deep in a series of links. Here’s
a shortcut:
http://pages.ebay.com/storefronts/start.html
Yahoo! offers a more customized solution, which also adds to the setup
complexity, whereas E-bay’s offering is a simpler solution, but with less
customization.
E-bay describes a four step process (though to be fair, each step includes a few
"steps"!) for the creation of your store. E-bay also (now) owns Paypal. Buying
out Paypal was a shrewd move, if you ask me, since the majority of sales on
E-bay were paid via Paypal. The main reason for this was the level of trust
consumers have in transactions completed though Paypal.
E-bay has only enhanced this trust since they took over, by adding buyer
guarantees to transactions completed through Paypal’s services. Taking Paypal
payments seems to be competitive in price to the seller, easier to set up (you
don’t have to go through the whole "merchant account" application process) and
enhances buyer confidence. Sounds good to me!
I love simple! And if simple also is complete, then I love E-bay stores. If,
however, your store needs a more "private label" appearance, Yahoo! Stores is
probably your best alternative.
Then again; if you want maximum control, you could always do the entire thing
yourself. (See you in a couple of years!!)
Thanks for Reading!
– Vince Barnes
Q & A Goodies
Questions are taken from submissions to our Community Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going to
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors.
Q. I am currently in the
process of the 30 step java series of primers. The teacher has been floating
from one type to another (javascript to text/javascript) and when I replace one
with the other it doesnt seem to change or injur the script. Is there a
difference, or are they 2 ways to say the same thing?
A. "javascript" and "text/javascript" are supported by the current crop
of browsers, but "text/javascript" is the standard that is now being pushed to
be used by Web Developers. Unless you are using an extremely old browser I would
stick with "text/javascript". I believe in your script tag you can use the
following:
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
so that the older browsers will still recognize it and ignore the type="" part.
Q. How do I track hits to my website?
A. There are a couple of ways to track hits on a website. One is to
attach a web counter to your home page. This is a small script that counts the
number of times your page is accessed.
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/beyond/countcgi.html
Another way is to ask your web host if your site has a web stats area that you
can view. One other is to install a script yourself for gathering web stats.
This would take some knowledge of scripting or you can look for one that has
already been built.
[There’s always
http://www.thecounter.com – Ed.]
Q. I was wondering if there is an efficient way to design a site that
fills 100% of the visitors’ screen without having to code multiple pages and use
a Java sniffer to deliver the correct page. I know there is also the option of
directing the tables to a percentage equaling 100%. Any thoughts on other ways
to go about this?
A. There are two that I know of depending on exactly what you want to do.
One maximizes the browser window on entry to the page. The other expands the
page without toolbars to the entire screen. The second one only works in IE and
can be annoying to some people as they don’t like websites to take control of
their browser and it can be hard to close the window after the effect happens. I
only suggest that you use them sparingly.
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex8/automax.htm
http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex8/window1.htm
Q. I tried to copy and paste two of your JavaScript codes onto my page,
but the code shows up on my page instead of what the code is supposed to do. It
doesn’t look like anything is wrong with the code, but can you tell me why the
code is showing up on my page. I also tried the digital clock and got the same
result.
A. Usually the code will show up on a page if you have left out the
<script> </script> tags.
Q. How do you create a form?
A. Here is the link to the HTMLGoodies tutorial on forms:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/fm.html
[& check out these newer Forms articles:
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/articles/emailforms1.html
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/articles/emailformphp.html
-Ed.]
Q. There is a HALO fan site on the web and they have some sort of title
generator that changes the title every time you load the site. How’d he do that?
A. It looks like they are using a Server Side language such as Perl or
PHP to do that, but you can use JavaScript. Here is an example:
<html> <head>
<title>Title change</title>
<script language="JavaScript">
mytitle=new Array()
mytitle[0]="New Title One"
mytitle[1]="New Title Two"
mytitle[2]="New Title Three"
mytitle[3]="New Title Four"
len=mytitle.length
randnm=Math.round(Math.random()*(len-1))
document.title=mytitle[randnm]
</script>
</head>
<body>
This is a test
</body>
</html>
Q. I’m having trouble understanding how to get an image map to work like
a frame page. I want my map in one place, but the links to come up in another
frame.
A. It sounds as if you are not using the "target" correctly. If you have
two frames, one on the left and one on the right and you have the navigation in
the left frame. When you click on a link in the left, you want the page to open
in the right frame. If the name of the right frame is "right" then in the
hyperlink tag you have to have target="right"
<a href="some_page.htm target="right">Click Here</a>
That should do it. Change the target name to the frame name that you have
designated in your own frames.
[Exactly the same applies to the href’s in your maps. Note that if you create
the map with a graphics program like Paintshop, however, you might have to add
the "target"s manually, after the map is created. – Ed.]
News Goodies
Google Sets IPO Price Range
[July 26, 2004] UPDATED: Plus, it sets some more rules for
its unique auction IPO process for the long-anticipated IPO.
Click
here to read the article
MS SQL Server Steps Up
[July 26, 2004] The software powerhouse’s forthcoming database will back
both Intel and AMD chips, as Beta 2 is vastly improved.
Click here to read the article
Sun Serves Up AMD Servers, Workstations
[July 26, 2004] The company unveils its 4-way Opteron based Sun Fire and two
workstations that made their debut on eBay.
Click
here to read the article
IT Heavies Lifting Dollars For Blogs
[July 26, 2004] Microsoft, IBM and other tech players see dollar
signs in advancing social networking even if the industry is
currently in an ‘awkward adolescence.’
Click here to read the article
Microsoft on Hiring Spree
[July 26, 2004] The company’s HR department fills vacancies,
new positions in light of its bulging purse.
Click here to read the article
eEye Stares Down Security Threats
[July 26, 2004] The Blink security software helps companies safeguard
against known and unknown network threats.
Click here to read the article
Diebold for Democracy
[July 23, 2004] Creased and curled voting receipts, or the lack of them, may
be the hanging chads of this year’s elections.
Click here to read the article
BayStar To Sue SCO
[July 23, 2004] SCO’s creditor won’t sell back its equity shares until
confidential information surrounding SCO’s licensing revenues are released.
Click here to read the article
OSDN, Microsoft to Collaborate Again
[July 22, 2004] The partnership coincides with the open source developer
group’s plans to create a new corporate identity.
Click here to read the article
VeriSign: Be Wary Online. Be Very Wary.
[July 23, 2004] E-commerce not keeping pace with e-scammers.
Click here to read the article
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Top
Windows Tech Goodie of the Week:
A Sneak Peek at Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition
(Beta 1)
http://www.asp101.com/articles/john/vwd2005expressb1/default.asp
I always thought Microsoft made a mistake when they
eliminated Visual Interdev as a stand alone product. I guess
I wasn’t alone because it looks like it’s coming back as
Visual Web Developer 2005 Express Edition.
Top
And Remember This . . .
On this day in…
1908 The Federal Bureau of Investigation Was Created
On this day in 1908 US Attorney General Charles Bonaparte instructed
a group if federal investigators he had recently hired to report to
the Chief Examiner of the Department of Justice, Stanley Finch.
Prior to that point, the Department of Justice had primarily
concerned itself with examining the financial transactions of the
federal courts. The hiring of ten former Secret Service
investigators marked the expansion of these duties to over the
investigation of federal crimes. By March of the following year, the
Office of the Chief Examiner had grown to include 34 agents and the
then Attorney General, George Wickersham, renamed it the Bureau of
Investigation. On May 10, 1924, J. Edgar Hoover was appointed acting
director of the Bureau of Investigation. With Congressional
approval, he expanded and restructured the Bureau into an efficient
crime fighting force, gaining wide public fame as it battled
organized crime. In 1935 Hoover and his "G-men" became known as the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Today was also the day that in: 1775 Benjamin Franklin became
the first US Postmaster General; 1790 the Assumption bill
passed making the US responsible for any state debts; 1835
the first sugar cane plantation in Hawaii was started; 1848
the first Woman’s Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, NY;
1865 Patrick Francis Healy became the first black awarded a PhD;
1887 the first Esperanto book was published; 1926 the
National Bar Association (US) was incorporated; 1945
Churchill resigned as British Prime Minister; 1947 the US
Department of Defense was established; 1947 with the passing
of the National Security Act (US) the Central Intelligence Agency
was established; 1948 Bob Howard became the first black TV
network show host; 1953 the Cuban revolution began with Fidel
Castro leading an attack on Moncanda Barracks; 1956 Egypt
seized the Suez Canal; 1957 the USSR launched the first
intercontinental ballistic missile; 1963 Syncom 2, the first
geosynchronous communications satellite was launched; 1964
Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa was convicted of fraud and
conspiracy; 1990 US TV soap opera General Hospital taped its
7,000th episode; 1991 Paul Rubens (Pee Wee Herman) was
arrested in Florida for exposing himself in a movie theater;
Born today were: in 1856 Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw;
1875 father of analytic psycology Karl Gustav Yung; 1892
novelist Pearl S. Buck; 1894 English author Aldous
Huxley; 1902 comedienne & Mrs. George Burns, Gracie Allen;
1922 writer / director Blake Edwards; 1922 actor Jason
Robards; 1926 actor James Best; 1928 director Stanley
Kubric; 1929 humorist Jean Shepherd; 1940 Mary Jo
Kopechne (killed in Ted Kennedy car crash); 1941 country
singer Bobby Hebb; 1941 actress Darlene Love; 1943
Rolling Stone Mick Jagger; 1945 actress Linda Harrison;
1946 English (Russian father) actress Helen Mirren (Ilynea Lydia
Mironoff); 1949 musician Roger Taylor (Queen); 1950
English actress Susan George; 1956 skater Dorothy Hamill;
1965 actress Jennifer Ashe
Thanks for reading Goodies to Go!
