Goodies to Go ™
September 30, 2002–Newsletter #200
This newsletter is part of the internet.com network.
http://www.internet.com
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
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Goodies Thoughts –
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Browser Wars! Episode Seven |
Will the newly released Netscape Seven put a dent in the
formidable hold that Microsoft’s Internet Explorer has on the browser market? Is
the Empire about to be overthrown? Is the underdog Mozilla really the best
browser? Where does Opera fit in? Do I really need to Know?
Whoa there Nelly! Take a breath!
Let’s take a look. First, do you really need to know?
Probably, yes. If you are developing Web Pages, somebody is
going to look at them (hopefully!) To do this, they are going to use a browser.
If you care what your pages look like to them, then you’ll need to know what
browser they are likely to use and how your pages fare in that browser. The
presentation of pages does differ from browser to browser since they don’t all
handle the various HTML markups in exactly the same way. As a developer, you
will want to have installed at least the two or three most popular browsers with
which to test your pages.
Which ones are the most popular? OK – Microsoft’s Internet
Explorer accounts for better than 80% of all browsers out there. IE6 alone is
about half. Netscape comes in second, garnering another 7% to 8%. Opera pulls up
to 2% and the rest share the remaining 10% to 11% between them. "That’s crazy!"
we hear from the peanut gallery, "The KidSplorer’s the best because it protects
my kids from all that nasty porn out there!" Fair comment. The bottom line is
that your personal choice of a favorite browser is just that — a personal
choice. As developers we are more concerned with getting the 80% + 8% and maybe
+2% right. Hopefully our resulting page will look perfectly acceptable in other
browsers also.
Now, about that Netscape Seven…
There was a time when Netscape was THE browser. Back then
it was Netscape Corporation — the company started by seven of the guys
(including Marc Andreessen) who "invented" the graphical browser ("Mosaic" – see
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/articles/whatis.html ) Then Microsoft included
the Internet Explorer, for free, with Windows 95 and took over the marketplace.
the battle of the giants raged for a while and then AOL took over Netscape.
Rumor was that their motivation was to enable them to sell their ISP services to
areas of the world where "America" On-Line might not fare quite so well as the
less obvious "Netscape" On-Line or even Netscape Network. Who knows? Presumably
they do — I don’t!
Unfortunately, however, there followed a period of sluggish
development compared to the feverish pitch with which new features were being
added to IE. IE took over. Handily. Now here is Netscape Seven and we are back
to the question: "Is the Empire about to crumble?" The answer…. "Probably
not." Sure it’s faster and better looking. Sure it has a built in Instant
Messenger compatible with AIM and ICQ, but — and there’s that "but" — it looks
like a billboard for AOL, with ads everywhere.
Mozilla has a loyal following, and those who use it expound
vociferously on its virtues! It is a nice browser, too. I really like the fact
that you can turn off those annoying (hear that, advertisers – "annoying")
pop-up ads that plague so many sites. I think I know why AOL/Netscape didn’t
include that feature in Netscape 7, but I can’t figure out why it isn’t in IE.
Is it coming soon, O Guys of Redmond?
There are many who have said that Mozilla is the "best
browser" and I don’t disagree. I still use IE most of the time though. NN7?
Sorry guys, I don’t think it’s a Lucky Seven.
By the way – In case you’re wondering where I get my stats
— take a look at
http://www.webreference.com/ — down there on the right. Plus I have stats
from my personal sites. Oh, you want to get personal stats too — check out
http://www.thecounter.com/ and since
I’m hooking you up, if you need a browser try Jumbo:
http://www.jumbo.com/ look under "Internet"
on the left.
Thanks for Reading!
Q & A Goodies
Questions are taken from
submissions to our Community Mentors. You can ask a Mentor a question by going
to
https://www.htmlgoodies.com/mentors/.
Q. Is there anyway to make it just one picture instead of alot of small
pictures or do I have to find another picture for the background?
A. Add a stylesheet that includes background-repeat: no-repeat. If you’re
unfamiliar with stylesheets, the stylesheets tutorial will help you out. https://www.htmlgoodies.com/design/css-html-text-color/
Q. I sell jewelry and want to include a drop-down menu for the customer,
who wants to see a specific group of offerings. Please, tell me, where I can
find SIMPLE instructions on how to do that?
A. Check these links:
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/beyond/menu.html
http://htmlgoodies.earthweb.com/beyond/menu2.html
http://webdeveloper.earthweb.com/webjs/item/0,3602,10437_80381,00.html
http://webdeveloper.earthweb.com/webjs/item/0,3602,10437_66601,00.html
Q. My question is so basic that I can’t find an answer in any of
the FAQs or books I’ve read. What’s the difference between .htm and .html, and
it’s other variants. Can you do more with one than the other? What about old
file handling routines that still enforce the 8.3 file naming convention?
A.
There is really no
difference in the file names. The only issue that might cause a problem is if
the server the site is on is set up to default to is .html extensions and you
name yours .htm it could cause a problem. I think most hosting servers are set
up to default on either. They usually tell you their default extensions
somewhere in the help files for setting up a web page.
Q. I have windows ME trying to save a file as .html but it isn’t saving
as an html file. Do you have any ideas?
A. I’m guessing you’re using Notepad to write your file, and Notepad puts
a txt extension on everything so you file comes out as file.html.txt, and the
browser won’t read that. Try using Wordpad instead and check the file extension.
News Goodies
Study: Consumer Confidence in
Internet Grows
[September 30, 2002] Good news for Web marketers and e-tail plays.
Click here to read the article
Linux to Win Over
Masses
[September 30, 2002] From software companies as large as SAP down to start-ups
like ActiveBuddy, the open source movement has proven its reliability. The
corporate computing novelty has become mainstay as evidenced by one enterprise
after another embracing Linux.
Click here to read the article
ViewSonix Introduces X-Scale
Pocket PC
[September 30, 2002] ViewSonic claims to be the first device in the Pocket PC
category to break the $300 price barrier.
Click here to read the article
And Remember This . . .
On this day in…
1982 Flight Attendant Paula Prince Died from Cyanide Laced Tylenol
Paula Prince was the sixth and last
person to die mysteriously in the Chicago area over a twenty-four period. Two
firefighters, Richard Keyworth and Philip Capittelli, realized that all the
victims had taken Extra Strength Tylenol prior to their death. Investigation led
to the discovery of several bottles of Tylenol that had been tampered with.
Tylenol was recalled nationwide, but the only contaminated bottles found were
those few in the Chicago area. While the culprit was never discovered, the
incident led to the creation and use of the tamper-proof bottles now used for
all medications and a large variety of other ingestible items.
Thanks for reading Goodies to Go!
