Archive for October 2002

Got a nagging computer problem, but not sure how to fix it or your Internet resources didn’t help? Call for Help’s Chris Pirillo is able to help out his viewers, but admits he gets stumped. Here’s his Top 10 Help Sites.

Three years ago, I gave a forgettable URL name a more meaningful and shorter one. It started in 1993 with dgs.dgsys.com/~mevans, then it became rampages.onramp.net/~meryl. Couldn’t come up with cool name like many of you have. For once, I appreciated having an uncommon name even though no one can spell it or prounce it right and sometimes assume I’m a guy.

Two goals for this site in the next year:

1. new XHTML / CSS design
2. new Web host

I was going to switch Web hosts before today, but got sick and spent more time on the sofa than on the computer. As for the redesign, I’ve been talking about it since last year so we’ll see if I walk the talk or keep talking. Hey, what if I held a contest offering Eric Meyer’s awesome CSS book and a Google mesenger bag from the Google Quiz (no picture available) to the winner of the best template for meryl.net? Any takers?

I guess it would help to give an idea of what it should contain. Here’s a bare bones HTML page to help things along with the basic things it should contain. Everything content-wise (not the colors, not the style) on this blog page should be there. The cr@ppy graphics can be tossed. One requirement is to make the main content area white or at least, through a style sheet switcher. I plan to convert the Gotchas into blog-style for easier management and more frequent updates, so the new template will be applied there, too.

Oh, you really want to try? Cool! Submit templates to meryl or if you prefer, post them and send a link. When does it end? Let’s see how it goes.

Gizmodo : The Gadgets Weblog is an easy to scan blog covering gadgets. Get the latest on gadgets along with links to reviews and news clippings. Yesterday, I read about a fridge with a built-in LCD, but quickly looked away after seeing the $8,000 price tag. I love the look and feel of the Web site. Also nice are the pictures of the gadget that accompany the entry. [Link Lockergnome]

I lost interest in screen savers eons ago. Too many came out and they got old fast. I still remember the flying toasters and I bought a cheap one where a guy is stranded on an island and funny things happened to him. Just came across an aquarium screen saver that is truly serene. I’ve seen aquarium screen savers, but nothing like this. It’s available for the Mac and Windows. Free version is awesome. Pay and get more stuff, of course.

Those using Windows XP can spiffy up the cursor with CursorXP, which includes themes such as Yin and Yang, Candy Cane, Bubble Gum, Hand, and more. It’s free for the taking, but of course, pay a small fee and you get more stuff. More cursors available from winCustomize. winCustomize has more skins for the desktop, WinAmp, wallpaper, logon, and icons. This screen is lookin’ better!

Both goodies seen on TechTV’s Call for Help.

Bob Stein, the creative mind behind VisiBone, has some up with another great tool for Web developers: JavaScript Cards and Foldouts. The cards and foldouts contain the same information, just presented in different styles. Some find the single-fold card too hard to read because of the small font. The foldouts are easier to read, but come in a set of three.

The purple sheet has the JavaScript language. Though I have an excellent JavaScript book on hand, it helps to have the card because it’s smaller and can be stored nearby plus sometimes I know the syntax, but can’t remember an event’s exact name. Purple covers number, string, boolean, date, function, objects, types, math, array, decisions, and loops.

The orange sheet lists the Document Object Model for windows, documents, forms, layers, events, images, styles, and anchors. In using history, should it be .back() and .forward()? Or should it be .next or .previous? It depends. According to the card, the first set doesn’t work in Internet Explorer 4 and 5. The second set doesn’t work in Netscape 6. Which to alienate? IE 5 users or Netscape 5 users?

The green card provides the literals, classes, repeaters, and submatches of regular expressions. This card helps validate a string’s syntax, search for patterns, or modify strings.

Like the previous VisiBone products, the colors are high quality and the cards are laminated with glare-free material.

One of the best books about designing Web pages for the user comes from Tammy Sachs and Gary McClain, Ph.D. Back to the User: Creating User-Focused Websites from New Riders. It’s easy to scan and easy to grasp. Digital Web Magazine feature for October is Back to the User: Creating User-Focused Websites by Tammy Sachs. Just like the book, easy to scan and understand.

Time to stop designing for the designers and design for the users.

It’s no surprise that Netflix is getting some competition. It was just a matter of when and when is now: Wal-Mart unveils online DVD rental site. I’m a Netflixer and though Wal-Mart is cheaper, I don’t plan to switch despite their inability to respond to emails.

The only complaint I have about the Newseum: The Pulitzer Prize Photographs: Capture the Moment is that there aren’t enough pictures. It’s an amazing and emotional journey through photos and their photographers. [Link Neat Net Tricks]

Another whiz bang tutorial from A List Apart shows you how to build a style switcher using PHP. When I briefly worked on my site’s redesign (which, of course, has not met its public), one of the key features I added was a style switcher so visitors can change the style of the site that works best.

I use PHP on some of the meryl.net pages and would love to use it on all pages. But who has time?

But wait… there’s more. ALA has a second article, This Web Business Part 4: Business Entity Options. It may look scary to run your own business, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. To start mine, I filled out and notarized a form from my county to established the company, meryl.net (creative, isn’t it? Not really) and paid 10 bucks.

I have an Excel spreadsheet and manage all activities. One page for expenses, one page for charitable donations, one page for each company or business that pays me, and one page that has the totals by quarter for the year. I pay quarterly taxes to Uncle Sam. You can get a 1040-ES form from the IRS Web site.

The form, it has four parts with each due in April, June, September, and January (dates are listed). The first part helps you figure out how much to pay for the quarter. I skipped that part entirely. Instead, I made a guesstimate in the first year I was in business (and later checked with an accountant), and learned from the results. I underestimated. This year, armed with information, I knew how much to pay in the first quarter. If I made more or less than that amount, I adjusted it.

Once you submit a quarterly tax form, the IRS will send you a pre-printed form. They do it because they want your money and want to keep it simple.

Of course, here’s the standard disclaimer. I’m not an accountant nor a lawyer. Use the advice at your own risk.

Eric Meyer interviews Douglas Bowman of Wired News, one of the Web’s oldest news Web site that has launched a redesigned Web site using validated XHTML and CSS for its layout.

Get the details on the whys, the 13 style sheets, advantages, disadavantages, and lessons learned. [Link Webreference]

Update: Zeldman talks about this redesign and gives kudos to Wired News for complying with W3C recommendations by using XHTML with CSS. However, one thing keeps Wired from being compliant — third party content (read ads). The Wired team can’t control the external content and they certainly don’t want to threaten its advertisers to become compliant and lose their funding.