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#042/25-Feb-00
POOR RICHARD'S WEB SITE NEWS
Geek-Free, Commonsense Advice on Building a Low-Cost Web Site
Editor: Peter Kent
Top Floor Publishing
http://PoorRichard.com/
Over 45,000 Subscribers in More Than 100 Countries!
~~~ IN THIS ISSUE ~~~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Beginner's Column:
Domain Forwarding
Add Voice Conferences to Your Web Site
Amazon's Technology Grab
A Search Engine On Your Site in 10 Minutes
Giving Away Free Content -- How Not to Waste Your Time
"Steal A Few Hours!" -- Jim Daniels
Poor Richard's Web Site and Other Top Floor Books
Book Reviewers Wanted
Reading Back Issues
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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{{ Beginner's Column:
Domain Forwarding }}
========>>>
I know new users tend to be a little confused about what domain
names are and how they point here or there ... and so they are
unaware of the different ways in which they can use them. So
the concept of domain forwarding is one that very few people
understand. Here's a quick primer, with some info about a
domain forwarding service you may want to check out.
The Internet uses IP numbers to identify computers. But as
humans don't handle numbers too well, a system of domain names
lays on top of the IP number system. When you type a name into
a browser, the browser asks a "name server" what the name
actually means ... and finds out which IP number it points to
-- which computer the name is associated with.
As you can see, a domain name is _not_ like a sign on a
building. It's more like an entry in a directory. The name is
not directly associated with the computer holding that domain's
Web site. It's simply an entry in a directory that tells a
browser where to find the computer.
Once you understand this, it's not hard to understand the
domain-forwarding game that can be played with domain names.
Here's how it works. Let's say you have a Web site hosted by a
server on which you can't use your own domain name. Perhaps you
have some space on your employer's Web site, or if you're a
student at your school or college. Or maybe you're using some
free space on your ISP's server, and if you want to point your
domain name to the site you'll have to pay a monthly hosting
fee -- perhaps $180/year. Or maybe you have an account with a
hosting company and want to point another domain name to a
subdirectory within the site.
So you register a domain name, and specify the IP number of a
domain-forwarding system. At the domain-forwarding system you
specify the URL of a Web site. Now, when someone types your
domain name into a browser, the browser will discover that it
has to use use the IP number of the domain-forwarding service.
So the browser contacts the service, saying, in effect, "send
me the default Web page for this domain" ... but the service
doesn't actually have a page to send. Instead, it has the URL
of a page that's hosted somewhere else ... so it sends that
page.
So, the advantage of domain forwarding? You can move your Web
site around, without worrying about whether or not you can
register your domain name directly to the various servers. And
changing the forwarding is probably easier than changing a
domain through a registration service. The disadvantages? Well,
there's probably a fee -- I haven't researched this lately, but
most, if not all, forwarding services charge a fee. But it's
probably less than a hosting account. Another problem is that
your domain name may not appear in the Location bar of the
browser. Rather, the visitor will see the URL of the page to
which the browser was forwarded. However, it's possible to play
games with frames, so that the domain name _does_ appear in the
location bar. Some forwarding services will load the page
inside an invisible frame, a frame that is set to 100% of the
browser window.
Another forwarding trick. If you point your domain name to a
forwarding service, you can also forward your e-mail to any
e-mail account you want. Get your own domain name, use that
domain name to receive your e-mail, then switch between ISPs at
will ... you can quickly switch between ISPs by modifying the
information at the forwarding service.
Here's a forwarding service you might want to check out,
YourNameFree.com: http://www.YourNameFree.com/
They charge a $49 set up fee, no monthly charge, and no charge
for modifications. They'll forward both Web sites and e-mail.
And they have a Domain Name Keeper feature (which you can turn
on if you want, it's your choice). This makes your domain name
appear in the browser's Location bar above the forwarded page.
If you want to find other forwarding services -- also known as
redirection services -- check with Yahoo!:
http://yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Companies/Internet_Services/Forwarding/
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
{{ Add Voice Conferences to Your Web Site }}
========>>>
A reader recently told me about an interesting free service you
can add to your Web site -- voice conferencing. HearMe provides
a very simple way to integrate voice services -- register at
their Web site and they'll e-mail you a little piece of HTML
that you insert into one of your Web pages. The system runs on
their servers, so the code is really very simple, just a link
over to their site.
Once installed you can host voice sessions with up to 500
visitors. They'll have to download and install a plug-in,
though it's a quick and simple installation. Each participant
sees a little control box in the Web page -- of course
participants need computers with sound card, speakers, and
microphone. And it's not really designed for old computers --
Pentiums and later running Windows 95 or later. (No Mac
software quite yet.) And they must have Internet Explorer 4.0
or Netscape 4.08 or later.
You could use this system to facilitate communications with
sales agents or support staff; host discussions; provide
"class-room" communications between teachers and students; and
so on.
For more information visit http://www.HearMe.com/
Or go directly to the HearMe VoicePresence page, where you can
find several demo sites:
http://www.hearme.com/company/products/vp/
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{{ Amazon's Technology Grab }}
========>>>
You may have heard about Amazon.com's recent patent awards. The
U.S. Patent office has long been accused of not employing staff
with sufficient understanding of software, and they've finally
proven that the accusations are correct. It recently gave
Amazon.com a couple of very significant patents. They have the
patent for One-Click ordering, and for Affiliate programs.
These patents provide real problems for all businesses online.
Both technologies are important -- at present few small
businesses use them, but they will in the future, because these
features are significant and important business tools. But it's
hard to say what will happen. Amazon.com has already sued
Barnes and Noble for patent infringement, though there's a good
chance that in the long term they'll lose.
First, a couple of quick definitions. One-click ordering is a
function that allows a buyer to click a single button on a Web
page to order a product. When the buyer clicks, software
retrieves the customer's saved information -- credit-card data,
billing and shipping addresses, and so on.
Affiliate programs are familiar to many of us. Create a special
"coded" link to a company that has an affiliate program, and
you can earn commissions when visitors to your site travel
through the link and make a purchase at the destination Web
site.
Amazon claims it cost them $1,000,000 to create their one-click
program. That's just plain nonsense (if it's true, someone
needs firing for running a grossly inefficient programming
department). But even if it were true, it doesn't mean that
such an "invention" should be patentable. The idea is too
obvious. It's like patenting the idea of the light bulb, rather
than an actual functioning light bulb. The concepts behind
one-click and affiliate programs are pretty basic, and the
technologies combined to create these systems are widely used,
and, quite frankly, basic commonplace stuff. Furthermore, it
seems that Amazon may not have even been the first company to
use such systems. CDnow, for instance, claims to be the first
company on the Internet to use an affiliate program, and
another company claims that it had an application for a patent
on affiliate programs rejected in 1994.
These software patents are a nuisance, a drag on e-commerce
development, and, as Tim O'Reilly of the publishing company
O'Reilly and Associates pointed out, they're also pretty tacky.
They are, he points out ...
"a slap in the face of Tim Berners-Lee and all of the
other pioneers who created the opportunity that Amazon
has done such a good job of exploiting. Amazon wouldn't
have existed without the generosity of people like Tim,
who made legitimate, far-reaching inventions, and put
them out into the public domain for all to build upon.
Anyone who puts a small gloss on this fundamental
technology, calls it proprietary, and then tries to keep
others from building further on it, is a thief. The gift
was given to all of us, and anyone who tries to make it
their own is stealing our patrimony."
As a number of people have pointed out (such as Paul
Barton-Davis, one of Amazon's first programmers -->
http://www.op.net/~pbd/amazon-1click.html ), Amazon's very
existence depends on a great deal of work done in the old
Internet spirit, that of releasing one's ideas and work on the
Internet for free. Amazon's patent, Barton-Davis says, is a
"cynical and ungrateful use of an extremely obvious
technology."
Tim O'Reilly also points out -- and I hope he's right -- that
in the long term such patents are probably not going to be
upheld.
If you feel strongly about this issue, I suggest you sign Tim's
open letter to Amazon:
http://www.oreilly.com/ask_tim/amazon_patent.comments.html
(In just two days hundreds have signed the letter; the
equivalent of 400 pages of names and comments.)
More information ...
The Amazon One-Click Patent:
http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?pn=US05960411__
The Amazon Affiliate Program Patent:
http://www.patents.ibm.com/details?pn=US06029141__
Tim's column on the Amazon patents:
http://www.oreilly.com/ask_tim/amazon_patent.html
IBM's Intellectual Property Site (you can search the patent
databases):
http://www.patents.ibm.com/
O'Reilly's Patent Web Site (including a list of controversial
software patents):
http://www.oreillynet.com/patents/
The Boycott Amazon site:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/amazon.html#whyBoycott
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{{ A Search Engine On Your Site in 10 Minutes }}
========>>>
Here's a system you can use to add a search engine to your site
with just a few minutes work. The system provides search
reports, so you can see what visitors are searching for;
automatically generated site maps (a "tree" showing the
relationship of pages); automatically generated What's New
lists; and scheduled re-indexing. You can omit certain pages,
or even parts of a page, from the search, modify a page's
ranking, and so on.
There is one catch. When a visitor to your site is using the
search system, ads will be displayed on the results page. If
that's okay with you, visit http://www.FreeFind.com/ to see how
it works and to sign up for service.
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
{{ Giving Away Free Content -- How Not to Waste Your Time }}
========>>>
I think I'm about to state the obvious ... but perhaps it's not
so obvious, because so many people seem to make the mistakes
I'm going to describe.
You see, several times a week people send me articles to
include in this newsletter. Free articles; all I need to do in
order to use an article is to include a little block of text at
the end of the article, a little "ad" in effect, including a
link back to the author's Web site. It's a great way for a
writer to get free publicity for a business or Web site. This
newsletter, for instance, goes to 45,000 people, so if I carry
an article it gets free distribution to enough people to make
it well worthwhile. And a good article can run in several
newsletters. I don't run many of these "donated" articles, but
now and then, when I'm very busy and know I have an article
that people would find useful, I'll drop it in.
This sort of promotion is very effective and affordable, and
many small businesses are making use of it. But many businesses
are simply wasting their time. Most of the articles I receive
are quite simply unacceptable. I don't know if other
newsletters are running them, but I can't. So if you've been
thinking of using this type of promotion, here are a few ways
you can boost your success rate.
* Don't send out an article that's little more than an ad. Some
articles are nothing more than puff pieces for the writers'
businesses. I won't run such articles, and I'll bet most other
newsletters won't, either.
* Make sure the article contains something useful. Some
articles I've seen, although they're not quite puff pieces, are
nothing more than vehicles for carrying an ad. It's as if the
writer is just filling space, enough to justify the ad at the
end of the article. If there's no real value in the article, I
won't run it (and nor will other newsletters).
* Use your spell checker!
* I'd say use your grammar checker, but most are pretty
useless. If you're not sure of your writing skills, though,
have someone else read through and make sure the writing flows
well and is correctly punctuated. (Perfection is not necessary
-- I often write this newsletter late at night and in a rush,
and am quite aware that mistakes find their way into the
newsletter. But quite frankly some of the articles I get are
painful to read.)
* Don't try to sneak through a Web site review, when it's
obvious that it's your own Web site!
* Write the article in a text editor, not a word processor, and
save in text format. Otherwise you might introduce non-ASCII
characters (such as curly quotes and emdashes) that can
mess up the newsletter as it passes through the e-mail system.
By the way, if you've sent me an article and I haven't run it,
that doesn't mean it was bad! It may not have been related to a
subject I wanted to cover, or maybe I'll run it later. (And
anyway, I don't want to carry too many donated articles.) Come
to think of it, maybe I'll run one right now.
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{{ "Steal A Few Hours!" -- Jim Daniels }}
========>>>
As most online marketers know, time is the most precious
commodity in the world, and you just can't buy more of it.
But you can "steal" a few hours each week!
This tip reviews eight super-cool tools you can get on the
web for free. With these tools streamlining your time-
consuming tasks you'll literally steal a few hours every
single week...
[] Copernic
http://www.copernic.com
Spending too much time searching the Web? Copernic can do
the job for you by utilizing the best search engines
simultaneously. It brings up great results ranked by
relevance, with summaries. Lots of folks have told me they
found my site via Copernic, so it must be a great search
tool! I'm downloading it myself today! Available for Windows
or Mac. And the best part is that it's free with no expiration.
[] Download Wonder
http://www.forty.com/
Take it from someone who offers downloads at his site --
lots of folks could use this program! If you've ever had any
trouble downloading software, or getting it to run after
download, get this free utility. Download Wonder runs in the
system tray and comes alive when you start a download in
your browser. It tracks the entire download process
including hard drive location and any notes you wish to add.
It allows you to open ZIP files and even scans downloads for
viruses! The latest version includes a Keep Alive utility
that prevents your ISP from disconnecting you. The free
version of Download Wonder displays advertisements above
the toolbar.
[] FormPal
http://www.munica.com/
FormPal assists you with creating scripts that can send
email, manage cookies, and generate dynamic Web pages.
FormPal's built-in graphical form editor also includes field
validation methods that can validate credit card numbers,
email addresses and more. A built-in script installer
transfers forms and scripts to your server automatically and
sets the correct file permission for each file. Free 30-day
trial at the site. FormPal runs on Windows and creates CGI
scripts in Perl for Unix and Windows based Web servers.
[] KeyBoard Express
http://www.keyboardexpress.com
Here's a must for all busy cyberpreneurs. Keyboard Express
allows you to record, key in, and play back any set of
keystrokes and associate it with one of more than 450
different hot keys. Eliminate the repetition of the same
sets of keystrokes in word processors, email, and more. The
program can create hot keys for standard email replies,
URL's and forms. Keyboard Express can even be scheduled to
check for email messages. This program is such a powerful
tool, I don't know how I got by without it! (Sorry, Mac
users, this is for Windows only.)
[] SearchSpy
http://www.searchspy.com/
Ever wonder what web surfers are searching for? Try Search
Spy. It offers a continually updated database of words and
phrases captured directly from the Web's leading search
engines. The latest version allows you to browse and compare
search results by popularity. The demo version is limited to
a 50,000-record database, and is save-disabled.
[] UltraEdit32
http://www.idmcomp.com/products/index.html
A great ASCII based word processing program is a must for
anyone running an email list. This program offers great
features for email newsletter publishers. Features include
a spell-checker and the ability to set line width for easy
message reading in all email programs. This software is
available as a free download and 30 day evaluation.
[] WebFormFill
http://www.maxlock.com/
Do you fill out lots of forms online? Whether they are
registration forms or order forms, WebFormFill can
automatically fill them out for you. WebFormFill resides in
your system tray and activates with a single click. The
latest version supports multiple credit card entries and
password protection. Free 30-day trial.
[] ZyWeb
http://www.zy.com
At this site you can create you own personalized graphics
for your web site - for free. Their unique system requires
no graphic or artistic design expertise, and yet allows a
near infinite range of high quality text and 3D graphic
headings to be produced in seconds. Truly a notch above the
rest of the "free graphics" sites on the web. This is an
interactive web-based resource and there is no download
necessary.
---
Did you find these tools helpful? There's plenty
more tips like this at: http://www.bizweb2000.com
Get their FREE BizWeb E-Gazette for Weekly Online
Marketing Help! Mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
or visit www.bizweb2000.com/sample.htm to subscribe.
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
{{ Poor Richard's Web Site and Other Top Floor Books }}
========>>>
Top Floor Publishing now has five books in print:
Poor Richard's Web Site, 2nd Edition: Geek-Free, Commonsense
Advice on Building a Low-Cost Web Site
http://PoorRichard.com/
Poor Richard's E-mail Publishing
http://PoorRichard.com/email/
Poor Richard's Internet Marketing and Promotions
http://PoorRichard.com/promo/
The CDnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet
http://TopFloor.com/cdnow/
MP3 and the Digital Music Revolution: Turn Your PC into a
CD-Quality Jukebox
http://TopFloor.com/mp3/
Order direct from the publisher, and you'll get a 100%,
1-Year Guarantee. If you feel the book wasn't worth the
money, send it back for a refund!
And remember, these books are discounted at the Web site, and
you pay just one shipping cost regardless of how many books
you buy!
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
{{ Book Reviewers Wanted }}
========>>>
Do you review books for newspapers, magazines, newsletters
(electronic or paper), Web sites, or other media spots? If
so, perhaps you'd like to review Top Floor Publishing's
latest book, "Poor Richard's Web Site: Geek-Free, Commonsense
Advice on Building a Low-Cost Web Site, 2nd Edition"? Or
perhaps you'd like to review one of the other books I
mentioned above?
Contact my Marketing Director, Missy Derkacz, at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] Include your full mailing address, the
name of newspaper/magazine/whatever in which the review will
appear and the probable date of publication, and the editor's
contact information.
^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+^+
{{ Reading Back Issues }}
========>>>
If you need to refer to back issues of this newsletter -- and
search the archives -- you can find them at the following
location:
http://PoorRichard.com/newsltr/
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