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Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits - February, 2002
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sheldene chant
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Feb 18, 2002 05:24 PST
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NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS
Your 'support' ezine if you're nervous about the Net
February, 2002 Vol.2 Issue 2
Sheldene Chant, Editor
_____________________________________
By subscription only. Welcome to the 19th
offering from
Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits
You are receiving this newsletter because you
requested a subscription. Our subscriber list is
confidential. Unsubscribe instructions are at the
end of this ezine
____________________________________
IN THIS ISSUE
o Time for a Break...
o Become a Floppy Fan
o Zip and Unzip Basics
o How's Your e-Shorthand?
o Find Out Who Is Behind the Site
o Coping Strategies for Email Overload
o Everyone Should Have a Home Page
o Newbie Club Hot Tip - Freeing Up Memory
_________________________________________
TIME FOR A BREAK...
_________________________________________
FOR the first time in history my PC is behaving properly and I
have managed to work on this ezine without restarting it at
least ten times. What a pleasure.
Maybe some of you are also plagued by your PC 'freezing' -
you have followed all the advice and it's still 'crashing'. For
what it's worth my problems were solved when I was
forced to replace the PC's power pack last month. I'm told
this 'should'nt have made the difference' - but it has.
Thank Goodness.
This issue covers working with floppy disks, organising email
and identifying the person behind a website. In addition
Shelley Lowery goes through zipping and unzipping files
(essential reading) and Richard Lowe, Jr explains why everyone
should have a home page.
I absolutely agree with him because working on my web page
keeps me amused for hours. Even before I had the web page
I spent months learning how to create one - and I thoroughly
enjoyed this, most of the time. In order to learn the basics
I bought The Newbie Club' Website Builder, a reasonably
priced library of eBooks packed with information. Purchasing
the Website Builder also gives you access to several incredible
free programs - two of which I now use all the time and wouldn't
like to live without.
At this time many ezines are asking their free subscribers to
become paid subscribers - or to make contributions towards the
cost of keeping the ezines going. I have always hoped that the
commission I earned from Newbie Club products would take care
of all that but to date this has not been the case.
The Newbie Club is well worth a visit, and you don't have to buy
anything, but if and when you do please remember I will receive a
portion of the purchase price - which will go towards keeping
Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits free. (Perhaps that will influence you
slightly next time you are hesitating about whether or not to click
on that Order Now button!)
To take a look at Website Builder, their latest eBook about email,
or the many free tututorials and eBooks, simply click on
http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs.
_________________________________________
FREE TUTORIALS BY AUTORESPONDER
If you need to know more about backing up 'stuff' on your
computer click mailto:pearlsa-@fastresponder.com
and you should get the first tutorial within seconds.
If you are thinking about making your own web page, or
merely want to exercise your brain slightly, then send for
the web page tutorials by clicking
mailto:nerdsand-@fastresponder.com
Want to find files fast ?- then mailto:fin-@fastresponder.com
Organising your computer - mailto:org-@fastresponder.com
____________________________________
BECOME A FLOPPY FAN
____________________________________
WHEN one is a computer newbie it's easy to overlook
something really helpful - or else become so overawed by the
very concept that you refuse to explore it.
Initially I had this hang-up about floppy disks. Wasn't quite sure
what to do with them, and after one abortive attempt I pushed my
box of disks to the back of the cupboard. Shortly after that I heard
about CD writers, and immediately wanted one. Plus, as a
result of this latest 'info', I decided it wasn't worth bothering
about floppies because, obviously, when it came to data storage
they could not hold much anyway.
However I have yet to acquire the CD burner (it takes a long time
for the 'latest' technology to sink to a reasonable price here) and
some time ago had to do a rethink about floppies.
I was creating a web page and storing practise pages, articles
and images all over my hard drive. It all became so complicated
- until I tried saving my efforts to a floppy in A: drive. Since then
I've been using the despised floppies constantly. To store copies
of my website, to store large photographs, and to back-up files I
would really hate to lose if my PC crashed. I have assembled
quite a collection of diskettes, but no longer feel they are a waste
of time having discovered that 1.38MB can contain quite a lot.
A word of warning though. Buy the best diskettes you can afford.
A little while ago I settled on some bargain buys and after being
accessed a few times I found, to my horror, that those particular
floppies simply 'did not work' any more.
New disks you buy are usually preformatted, but if you want
to re-use an 'old' disk formatting will clear it (but think carefully
because when you do that the contents will be gone forever).
To format a disc place it in A: drive with the small metal 'cover'
pointing forward.
Open My Computer with a double click, then highlight the A:Drive
icon, Right Click to bring up the menu and then click Format. In
the Format Dialogue Box select Quick then click on Start. Within
seconds the format will be completed.
To copy information from one floppy to another, place the disk
with the data in Drive:A. In My Computer highlight the Drive A:
icon, Right Click to bring up the menu, and then click on Copy
Disk. When you click Start in the Copy Disk Dialogue Box the
information you wish to copy onto the other disk will be
temporarily stored on your hard drive. You will be able to watch
its progress. When this is completed you will be prompted to
remove that disk and insert another one. Once you have
complied click Start and the information now on the hard drive
will be sent to that disk.
Perhaps you are working on something terribly important and
would like a copy that can be kept apart from your PC - just in
case. Save your work on your hard drive (C:) in the usual way,
then go to File - Save As and change to your A: Drive by clicking
the down arrow at the right of the top toolbar in the Save As
Dialogue Box. (Need a new folder, then click on the New Folder
arrow to the right of the down arrow mentioned above. Name the
folder then double click to open it.) Now type in the file name you
previously gave this work and click on Save.
Try to remember to label your Floppies - it makes life easier - but
if you forgot simply insert the floppy in A:Drive. Open My
Computer, double click on the A:Drive logo and the contents of
the floppy will be displayed.
To save/send a folder or file already stored on your hard drive to a
floppy disk, find the file or folder, highlight it, Right Click and
when the menu appears click Send To, and then click Floppy A:
You can also save files, folders and images to your A:Drive by
Copying and Pasting and this probably give me most
satisfaction. Of course after I have located the folder in C:,
highlighted and copied it, opened My Computer, then pasted
into A:Drive (where I have hopefully inserted the necessary
floppy), I always have to open the copied file or folder - to make
sure it's all there.
And it is! Aren't computers wonderful?
Copyright 2002 Sheldene Chant
_____________________________________
ZIP AND UPZIP BASICS
by Shelley Lowery
____________________________________
IF you're doing business on the Internet, sooner or later
you will encounter a Zip file. A Zip file is simply an
'archive' of one or more files compressed into one file
for easy distribution.
Zip files are used to compress and transport file
archives over the Internet. It is the preferred method
used for electronic file distribution, as rather than
downloading several different files, you can simply
download one Zip file. In addition, the download time
will be minimized, as the files within the Zip archive
are compressed.
Once a Zip file is downloaded, it can be easily opened and
extracted (unzipped) with a Zip/Unzip software program.
Although there are many Zip software programs available
on the Internet, WinZip is the most popular. WinZip makes
working with file archives simple. It features an easy
point-and-click drag-and-drop interface for viewing,
extracting, adding, deleting and testing archived files.
You can download a fully functional evaluation version here:
http://www.winzip.com/download.htm
Extracting Zip Files
Extracting a Zip file with WinZip can be accomplished in a
number of ways. Here are a few methods to get you started:
Right Click - To extract your files using the right click
method, locate the file you would like to extract and place
your mouse pointer over the file. Right click on your mouse
to launch the menu. Select 'Extract to' and select the
folder in which you'd like to place your files.
WinZip Wizard - To extract your files with the wizard,
locate the file you would like to extract and double click
the file. This will load your file within WinZip. Click on the
'Wizard' button located at the top of your screen to use the
wizard. Follow the step by step instructions.
WinZip Interface - To extract your files within WinZip, your
first step will be to open the WinZip program. Once opened,
click on the 'Open' button at the top of your screen to
locate and open your Zip file. Once your file is open, click
on the 'Extract' button at the top of your screen and
select the folder in which you'd like to place your files.
Creating Zip Files
Creating a Zip file with WinZip can be accomplished in a
number of ways. Here are a few methods to get you started.
Right Click - To create a Zip file using the right click method,
locate the file or folder you would like to place within your
Zip file and place your mouse pointer over the file. Right click
on your mouse to launch the menu. Select 'Add to Zip' to
launch the WinZip program. Click on 'New' to create a new
Zip file, or on 'Open' to add the file to an existing Zip file.
WinZip Wizard - To create a Zip file with the wizard, your
first step will be to load the WinZip program. Once loaded,
click on the 'Wizard' button located at the top of your
screen to use the wizard. Follow the step by step
instructions to create your Zip file.
WinZip Interface - To create a Zip file using WinZip, your
first step will be to open the WinZip program. Once opened,
click on the 'New' button at the top of your screen to
launch the 'New Archive' window. Select the folder in
which you'd like to place your Zip file, type in a name for
your file and click on the 'OK' button. Your new Zip file
has been created. You can now add files by clicking on the
'Add' button at the top of the screen.
Although there are other methods you can use when
working with WinZip, the above methods will provide you
with a basic guideline.
Zip files provide Internet users with the ability to easily
compress and transfer files in an organized fashion. Use
them to your fullest advantage.
Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2002.
__________________________________
Shelley Lowery is the author of Ebook Starter - A complete
ebook design kit. Subscribe to Etips, for a wealth of quality
information to assist you in Web Design, Internet Marketing
& Ecommerce. All new subscribers receive a free copy of
the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing
Strategies." http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1
___________________________________
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____________________________________
HOW'S YOUR E-SHORTHAND?
____________________________________
BAC - back at computer
BAD - broken as designed
B4 - before
BAK - back at keyboard
BBL - be back later
BC - be cool.
BCNU - be seeing you
BF - boyfriend.
BFN - bye for now
BRB - be right back
BRH - be right here
BTDT - been there, done that
BTW - by the way
BWL - bursting with laughter
BYKT - but you knew that
(More email acronyms (beginning with C) in the
next issue)
___________________________________
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___________________________________
FINDING OUT WHO IS BEHIND THE SITE
by Tom Glander
___________________________________
YOU'RE surfing the web, and come across a web site that
doesn't tell you much about *who* is really behind the workings.
Who controls that site?
You can find out, and here's how.
All web sites have to be hosted somewhere. Some company or
organization that provides a computer that's connected to
the Internet all the time (known as a web server) provides
this hosting service.
They're called "web hosts".
The web site is found by domain name, such as
newbieclub.com. Who registered the newbieclub.com domain
name? Who is behind the site?
Some person. Some individual is the 'registrant' of the domain.
Who is it? Or maybe I should ask 'to whom' does this
domain name belong?
Just visit http://www.onewhois.com and type the domain name of
any site... and you'll have the answer to your question.
Up comes a bunch of information about the site, and the
person who registered it!
If you're having problems with a site, you can try contacting
the person who registered the site. They may be able to help.
Example: you visit http://www.onewhois.com and type
'newbieclub.com' (without the quotes) and you'll find that Joe
Robson, my partner, registered the domain name. And you'll also
see where he lives, and what his phone number is.
Apply this bit of knowledge to any domain you are interested
in. You may even want to call the owner and make an offer on
the purchase of that domain.
The WHOIS database is a repository of all the domains that
are registered. Who is behind that domain? They can't hide.
You're surfing the web, and come across a web site that doesn't
tell you much about *who* is really behind the workings. Who
controls that site?
You can find out, and here's how.
All web sites have to be hosted somewhere. Some company or
organization that provides a computer that's connected to
the Internet all the time (known as a web server) provides
this hosting service.
They're called "web hosts".
The web site is found by domain name, such as
newbieclub.com.Who registered the newbieclub.com domain
name? Who is behind the site?
Some person. Some individual is the "registrant" of the
domain. Who is it? Or maybe I should ask "to whom" does this
domain name belong?
Just visit http://www.onewhois.com and type the domain name of
any site... and you'll have the answer to your question.
Up comes a bunch of information about the site, and the
person who registered it!
If you're having problems with a site, you can try contacting
the person who registered the site. They may be able to help.
Example: you visit http://www.onewhois.com and type
"newbieclub.com" (without the quotes) and you'll find that Joe
Robson, my partner, registered the domain name. And you'll also
see where he lives, and what his phone number is.
Apply this bit of knowledge to any domain you are interested
in. You may even want to call the owner and make an offer on
the purchase of that domain.
The WHOIS database is a repository of all the domains that
are registered. Who is behind that domain? They can't hide.
And now you know... so there you go!
Copyright 2001 Roglan International
____________________________________
Another tip-top tutorial from The Newbie Club.
If you are not already a member take the time to
click on <http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs>
It's free.
---------------------------------------------------
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____________________________________
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revolutionary free Learning System. Click over NOW
and change your PC and Net experience forever.
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________________________________________
EMAIL OVERLOAD - COPING STRATEGIES
by Terry Johnston
________________________________________
WE'RE here… the information age! Having fun yet? What's that
you say…. too much information spammers are getting the
better of you, too many friends are sending silly jokes and
greeting cards, you are dealing with a mountain of lists and
ezines that you spend more time sorting and deleting than
reading, can't find that 'important' email in the haystack, can't
meet those deadlines because you're so preoccupied with
sorting out your email?
This is the information age? What comes next…. Perhaps 'The
Information Organization Age' - Bingo!
You've all heard the statistics:
· Every day 8 billion emails are exchanged on the Internet.
· By 2005 this figure will increase to 36 billion.
· The average email user in business spends at least 2 hours a
day dealing with email.
· According to Internet researcher Jupiter Media Metrix, by 2006
consumers are expected to receive an average of 1,400 pieces
of junk e-mail every day!
·
Fortunately email organizing software does exist -- check out:
http://www.emailorganizer.com and http://www.amikanow.com
as well as websites that provide information that help with email
overload such as http://www.email911.com and
http://www.OvercomeEmailOverload.com.
And for those brave individuals who want to take a stab at
manual organizing here are some practical, tried and true
strategies:
USE MULTIPLE EMAIL ADDRESSES
Although most of you have already figured this one out, it's worth
mentioning because it's so fundamental to an anti-email overload
strategy. One way to think of your correspondence is Personal
and Public.
For instance, you can open webmail accounts (e.g. Hotmail &
Yahoo!) for your public, not-so-critical correspondence. This
could include registering when you download software and
utilities from the net, marketing promotions, chat rooms and
message boards.
Your Personal address is reserved for higher priority business
contacts, friends, relatives and associates. Although I now use
email organizing software, so my need for webmail accounts
has dimished dramatically, at my peak I had well over a dozen
accounts going. One caveat to this webmail strategy is that both
Hotmail and Yahoo! are now applying strict minimum usage
rules (they'll close the account if it's not checked in with
frequently).
THE GOLDEN RULE
Help your friends and colleagues cope with their email overload
by NOT contributing to it! You know how it goes: 'do unto
others…' It's the old cause and effect thing. Unless they've
expressed an interest, perhaps you can hold back on sending
those jokes, greeting cards and CCing them on every-little-bit-of-
business.
And while we're on CCing, it's important for everyone to develop
a policy on what to CC and to whom. And those you are copying
to will appreciate it if you use BCC rather than CC to retain their
anonymity.
DEAL WITH A MESSAGE ONLY ONCE
How many times have you read a message, flagged it for follow-
up, came back to it, read it again, perhaps left it until you have
more time, came back to it, read it again… then replied. This is
not a very efficient use of your valuable time, is it?
A great discipline is to deal with the message once. That is to
say, once you've committed to reading it, reply right away before
you go on to the next message.
DON'T REPLY TO 'EVERY' MESSAGE
That heading was hard for me to write because one of my pet
peeves is when people don't reply to me. (I'm getting over it.) The
fact is that it's NOT necessary to reply to every message.
Especially with those one-word replies… like: Great, Cool,
Thanks, Beauty etc. Remember the Golden Rule? Those short,
sometimes meaningless, replies are often only contributing to
the recipient's email overload.
CREATE FOLDERS
Most email clients allow you to set up folders. Although limited in
scope, people, project and client specific folders can reduce a lot
of stress, especially when it comes to finding a message. I know
people who religiously go through their Inbox and drag and drop
each and every message into a folder (including a trash folder).
Time consuming and tedious yes, but in the overall scheme of
things folders can make your email existence much easier.
SPAM BUSTING
Don't fall prey to the 'oldest spamster trick in the book' - don't use
the unsubscribe feature in spam messages (not to be confused
with Lists and Ezines). Spam marketers and list providers use
the unsubscribe feature to qualify email addresses! Do you see
the irony?
You can consult with your ISP. More and more ISPs are
providing spam filters. You can also forward the spam you get to
the FTC (if you are being persistently annoyed by the same
spammer). Send it to uc-@ftc.gov.
I hope these suggestions have brought you some hope. This list,
of course, could extend to many more pages but I'd better let you
go…. You've got tons of email to deal with! Happy organizing!
_________________________________
Terry Johnston is Vice-President of Marketing with Caelo
Software Inc. Caelo develops user-friendly email organizing
software http://www.emailorganizer.com
mailto:tjohn-@caelo.com
___________________________________
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________________________________________
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A HOME PAGE
says Richard Lowe, Jr.
________________________________________
IN my humble opinion, everyone should create a homepage.
Wait, let's back up a minute. What's a homepage? Well, there
are really two definitions.
First, a homepage is the first page of a web site, usually named
index, default or home. Second, a homepage is a web site with
one or more pages which is personal. It's the second definition
which we are using in this article.
Okay, so why would anyone want to create a homepage? It's
simple really. The internet is all about communication. A
homepage is a method whereby you can communicate about
yourself, your family, hobbies, pets, likes, dislikes, religion or
anything else that you desire. Oh, there are limits to what you
can put on your web site - you must stay within the contractual
terms of the company which is hosting it. You also should not
violate any laws - but besides that, post away.
You say you have nothing to communicate that anyone would
want to know? Hmmm. You're alive, aren't you? You have a
family, a job, a pet, a hobby, anything? Let's see what kind of
topics you can choose.
- Make a fan site for your favorite television show (Star Trek,
Wonder Woman, Dallas, whatever)
- Create a personal diary.
- Post a photo album.
- Put up pictures of all of the trash cans in Disneyland (someone
already did it).
- Write about and include drawings and photos of your cat, dog,
fish, armadillo or snake.
- Tell everyone about your job.
- People are always interested in religion - talk about yours.
- You like your car? Create a web site all about that.
- What about your travels around the world? A diary and/or
photos is a good thing to put on a homepage.
- Did some school papers of which you are proud? Post them.
- If you are an artist or photographer, display your work.
- Figure something out? Tell us all about it.
- Had an out-of-body experience, been kidnapped by aliens or
remember your past lives? Well, we'd all like to know.
That's just a sample, there are an infinite number of subjects that
you can write about.
All right, so now you want to create a home page. How do you go
about it? Find a company (a provider) to host it, choose a web
editing package (optional), and get to work. If you want to include
photos or other graphics you will need to get a graphics editor
and possibly a scanner. Don't worry, just start small and work
your way through it. The providers usually make it
pretty easy to get started.
Visit some of the sites listed in the article on freehosts
(http://www.internet-tips.net/Homepages/freehosts.htm). Read
their information and FAQs (frequently asked questions) until you
find one that you like.
Virtually all of these hosts have very easy-to-use utilities to create
very nice home pages. They let you edit right from your web
browser, add pictures, even include nice things like guestbooks
and counters. These utilities are a great place to start.
My advice is to just pick a provider and jump right in. Get your
feet wet. Yeah, your first efforts may not be perfect, but you've
got to start somewhere. Enjoy yourself and have fun.
If you find after a while that the provider that you chose doesn't
meet your needs, switch and start over with another one. Until
you find a provider that you are happy with (fast, easy-to-use, up
most of the time) keep you homepage small. Once you find one
you are happy with, go to town.
Now spend some time working on it. Do a little every day if you
can, or at least a few days a week. Just keep working on it.
When you get a version of the site that's 'done' (all pages
finished, no under construction signs, links working, etc) submit
it to the search engines
http://www.internet-tips.net/Advertising/searchengines.htm) so
other people can enjoy your work. Remember that the search
engines take a few weeks or months to list your site, so don't
expect visitors overnight. Then practice using some of the other
promotion techniques discussed in 'advertising'
(http://www.internet-tips.net/Advertising/Advertising.htm).
Now just keep working on your home page. Get as fancy as you
like. You'll learn about graphics, HTML, and many other things.
You've begun an adventure which has more rewards than you
can imagine.
At some point you will begin to push the limits of the free
host/web based homepage editing technology. You will start to
get frustrated because something you want to do is difficult or
cannot be done at all.
Now is the time to begin to learn about new things. Now you will
want to learn HTML, perhaps buy a nice HTML editor and go to
town. Most likely, by this time you will want to re-create your site
anyway, so pick an editor and go for it. If you don't want to do the
whole thing over, there are techniques to get your site down to
your own hard drive (learn about FTP). Perhaps you will need to
find a new host - there are hundreds and hundreds
of them.
There is an added benefit to doing all of this - you are learning
skills which will be of use throughout the rest of your life. This will
be useful in many jobs, and if you become good enough,perhaps
you will have found yourself a possible new career. At the very
least, you may make some new friends and have a great
adventure.
It's better than sitting at home watching television, isn't it?
-----------------------------
Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And
Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to
improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.
Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net
Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm
Daily Tips: mailto:interne-@GetResponse.com
____________________________________
Want a FREE Guestbook for your site?
A fully customizable Guestbook that will blend right in
with your page design and color scheme. This Brand
New innovative Guestbook offered by The Newbie Club
is a dream to see, and simplicity itself to paste into your
Site. No programming or CGI experience needed. It's
specially designed for Newbies to install. Get yours
NOW at http://newbieclub.com/gbook/?pearlsandpigs
______________________________________
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*-------------HOT TIP----------- *
FREEING UP MEMORY
If Windows says that it doesn't have enough memory
to do something and you're sure that your computer
DOES have enough memory, check your Clipboard
(clipboard viewer). If you copied a big picture to the
Clipboard, press Delete (edit->delete) to delete it or
copy a single character to the clipboard. That picture
or large amount of text may rob Windows of the
memory that it needs to do something else. If you've
done this, and still have memory problems, well, you
may indeed have memory problems!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tip from The Newbie Club, creators of 'How A Newbie
Built A Website In Just 2 days - Absolutely FREE.'
http://newbieclub.com/builder/?pearlsandpigs
* -------------HOT TIP--------------- *
_________________________________________
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------- Signature File--------
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________________________________________
SHELDENE CHANT is the editor of two
ezines. Poignant Pearls & Potbellied Pigs,
and Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits. To subscribe
email mailto:pearlypigs-@topica.com
and mailto:nerdsandnitwi-@topica.com
or visit http://www.newbiesandnitwits.com -
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<br>
_______________________________________<br><br>
<b> NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS<br><br>
</b>Your 'support' ezine if you're nervous about the Net<br><br>
<b>February,
2002
Vol.2 Issue 2<br><br>
</b>
Sheldene Chant, Editor<br>
_____________________________________<br><br>
By subscription only. Welcome to the 19th<br>
offering from<br><br>
Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits<br><br>
You are receiving this newsletter because you<br>
requested a subscription. Our subscriber list is<br>
confidential. Unsubscribe instructions are at the<br>
end of this ezine<br>
____________________________________<br><br>
<b>IN THIS ISSUE<br><br>
</b> o Time for a
Break...<br><br>
o Become a
Floppy Fan<br><br>
o Zip and
Unzip Basics<br><br>
o How's Your
e-Shorthand?<br><br>
o Find Out
Who Is Behind the Site<br><br>
o Coping
Strategies for Email Overload<br><br>
o Everyone
Should Have a Home Page<br><br>
o Newbie
Club Hot Tip - Freeing Up Memory<br><br>
<b>_________________________________________<br>
<br>
TIME FOR A BREAK...<br>
_________________________________________<br><br>
</b>FOR the first time in history my PC is behaving properly and I<br>
have managed to work on this ezine without restarting it at<br>
least ten times. What a pleasure.<br><br>
Maybe some of you are also plagued by your PC 'freezing' -<br>
you have followed all the advice and it's still 'crashing'. For<br>
what it's worth my problems were solved when I was<br>
forced to replace the PC's power pack last month. I'm told<br>
this 'should'nt have made the difference' - but it has.<br>
Thank Goodness.<br><br>
This issue covers working with floppy disks, organising email<br>
and identifying the person behind a website. In addition<br>
Shelley Lowery goes through zipping and unzipping files<br>
(essential reading) and Richard Lowe, Jr explains why
everyone<br>
should have a home page.<br><br>
I absolutely agree with him because working on my web page<br>
keeps me amused for hours. Even before I had the web page<br>
I spent months learning how to create one - and I thoroughly<br>
enjoyed this, most of the time. In order to learn the basics<br>
I bought The Newbie Club' Website Builder, a reasonably<br>
priced library of eBooks packed with information.
Purchasing<br>
the Website Builder also gives you access to several incredible<br>
free programs - two of which I now use all the time and wouldn't<br>
like to live without.<br><br>
At this time many ezines are asking their free subscribers to<br>
become paid subscribers - or to make contributions towards
the<br>
cost of keeping the ezines going. I have always hoped that
the<br>
commission I earned from Newbie Club products would take care<br>
of all that but to date this has not been the case.<br><br>
The Newbie Club is well worth a visit, and you don't have to buy<br>
anything, but if and when you do please remember I will receive a<br>
portion of the purchase price - which will go towards keeping<br>
Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits free. (Perhaps that will influence you<br>
slightly next time you are hesitating about whether or not to click<br>
on that Order Now button!)<br><br>
To take a look at Website Builder, their latest eBook about
email,<br>
or the many free tututorials and eBooks, simply click on<br>
<a href="http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs</a>.<br>
_________________________________________<br><br>
FREE TUTORIALS BY AUTORESPONDER<br><br>
If you need to know more about backing up 'stuff' on your<br>
computer click
<a href="mailto:pearlsa-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:pearlsa-@fastresponder.com</a><br>
and you should get the first tutorial within seconds.<br><br>
If you are thinking about making your own web page, or<br>
merely want to exercise your brain slightly, then send for<br>
the web page tutorials by clicking<br>
<a href="mailto:nerdsand-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:nerdsand-@fastresponder.com</a><br><br>
Want to find files fast ?- then
<a href="mailto:fin-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:fin-@fastresponder.com</a><br><br>
Organising your computer -
<a href="mailto:org-@fastresponder.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:org-@fastresponder.com</a><br><br>
<b>____________________________________<br><br>
BECOME A FLOPPY FAN<br>
____________________________________<br><br>
</b>WHEN one is a computer newbie it's easy to overlook<br>
something really helpful - or else become so overawed
by the<br>
very concept that you refuse to explore it.<br><br>
Initially I had this hang-up about floppy disks. Wasn't quite
sure<br>
what to do with them, and after one abortive attempt I pushed my<br>
box of disks to the back of the cupboard. Shortly after that I
heard<br>
about CD writers, and immediately wanted one. Plus, as
a<br>
result of this latest 'info', I decided it wasn't worth
bothering<br>
about floppies because, obviously, when it came to data storage<br>
they could not hold much anyway.<br><br>
However I have yet to acquire the CD burner (it takes a long time<br>
for the 'latest' technology to sink to a reasonable price here) and<br>
some time ago had to do a rethink about floppies.<br><br>
I was creating a web page and storing practise pages, articles<br>
and images all over my hard drive. It all became so
complicated<br>
- until I tried saving my efforts to a floppy in A: drive. Since
then<br>
I've been using the despised floppies constantly. To store
copies<br>
of my website, to store large photographs, and to back-up files I<br>
would really hate to lose if my PC crashed. I have assembled<br>
quite a collection of diskettes, but no longer feel they are a
waste<br>
of time having discovered that 1.38MB can contain quite a lot.<br><br>
A word of warning though. Buy the best diskettes you can
afford.<br>
A little while ago I settled on some bargain buys and after being<br>
accessed a few times I found, to my horror, that those particular<br>
floppies simply 'did not work' any more.<br><br>
New disks you buy are usually preformatted, but if you want<br>
to re-use an 'old' disk formatting will clear it (but think
carefully<br>
because when you do that the contents will be gone forever).<br><br>
To format a disc place it in A: drive with the small metal
'cover'<br>
pointing forward.<br><br>
Open My Computer with a double click, then highlight the A:Drive<br>
icon, Right Click to bring up the menu and then click Format. In<br>
the Format Dialogue Box select Quick then click on Start. Within<br>
seconds the format will be completed.<br><br>
To copy information from one floppy to another, place the disk<br>
with the data in Drive:A. In My Computer highlight the Drive
A:<br>
icon, Right Click to bring up the menu, and then click on Copy<br>
Disk. When you click Start in the Copy Disk Dialogue Box the<br>
information you wish to copy onto the other disk will be<br>
temporarily stored on your hard drive. You will be able to watch<br>
its progress. When this is completed you will be prompted to<br>
remove that disk and insert another one. Once you have<br>
complied click Start and the information now on the hard drive<br>
will be sent to that disk.<br><br>
Perhaps you are working on something terribly important and<br>
would like a copy that can be kept apart from your PC - just in<br>
case. Save your work on your hard drive (C:) in the usual
way,<br>
then go to File - Save As and change to your A: Drive by clicking<br>
the down arrow at the right of the top toolbar in the Save As<br>
Dialogue Box. (Need a new folder, then click on the New
Folder<br>
arrow to the right of the down arrow mentioned above. Name
the<br>
folder then double click to open it.) Now type in the file name you<br>
previously gave this work and click on Save.<br><br>
Try to remember to label your Floppies - it makes life easier - but<br>
if you forgot simply insert the floppy in A:Drive. Open My<br>
Computer, double click on the A:Drive logo and the contents of<br>
the floppy will be displayed.<br><br>
To save/send a folder or file already stored on your hard drive to
a<br>
floppy disk, find the file or folder, highlight it, Right Click
and<br>
when the menu appears click Send To, and then click Floppy
A:<br><br>
You can also save files, folders and images to your A:Drive by<br>
Copying and Pasting and this probably give me most<br>
satisfaction. Of course after I have located the folder in
C:,<br>
highlighted and copied it, opened My Computer, then pasted<br>
into A:Drive (where I have hopefully inserted the necessary<br>
floppy), I always have to open the copied file or folder - to make<br>
sure it's all there.<br><br>
And it is! Aren't computers wonderful?<br><br>
<b>Copyright 2002 Sheldene Chant<br>
_____________________________________<br><br>
ZIP AND UPZIP BASICS<br>
by Shelley Lowery<br>
____________________________________<br><br>
</b>IF you're doing business on the Internet, sooner or later<br>
you will encounter a Zip file. A Zip file is simply an<br>
'archive' of one or more files compressed into one file<br>
for easy distribution.<br><br>
Zip files are used to compress and transport file<br>
archives over the Internet. It is the preferred method<br>
used for electronic file distribution, as rather than<br>
downloading several different files, you can simply<br>
download one Zip file. In addition, the download time<br>
will be minimized, as the files within the Zip archive<br>
are compressed.<br><br>
Once a Zip file is downloaded, it can be easily opened and<br>
extracted (unzipped) with a Zip/Unzip software program.<br><br>
Although there are many Zip software programs available<br>
on the Internet, WinZip is the most popular. WinZip makes<br>
working with file archives simple. It features an easy<br>
point-and-click drag-and-drop interface for viewing,<br>
extracting, adding, deleting and testing archived files.<br><br>
You can download a fully functional evaluation version here:<br>
<a href="http://www.winzip.com/download.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.winzip.com/download.htm</a><br><br>
Extracting Zip Files<br><br>
Extracting a Zip file with WinZip can be accomplished in a<br>
number of ways. Here are a few methods to get you started:<br><br>
Right Click - To extract your files using the right click<br>
method, locate the file you would like to extract and place<br>
your mouse pointer over the file. Right click on your mouse<br>
to launch the menu. Select 'Extract to' and select the<br>
folder in which you'd like to place your files.<br><br>
WinZip Wizard - To extract your files with the wizard,<br>
locate the file you would like to extract and double click<br>
the file. This will load your file within WinZip. Click on the<br>
'Wizard' button located at the top of your screen to use the<br>
wizard. Follow the step by step instructions.<br><br>
WinZip Interface - To extract your files within WinZip, your<br>
first step will be to open the WinZip program. Once opened,<br>
click on the 'Open' button at the top of your screen to<br>
locate and open your Zip file. Once your file is open, click<br>
on the 'Extract' button at the top of your screen and<br>
select the folder in which you'd like to place your files.<br><br>
Creating Zip Files<br><br>
Creating a Zip file with WinZip can be accomplished in a<br>
number of ways. Here are a few methods to get you started.<br><br>
Right Click - To create a Zip file using the right click method,<br>
locate the file or folder you would like to place within your<br>
Zip file and place your mouse pointer over the file. Right click<br>
on your mouse to launch the menu. Select 'Add to Zip' to<br>
launch the WinZip program. Click on 'New' to create a new<br>
Zip file, or on 'Open' to add the file to an existing Zip file.<br><br>
WinZip Wizard - To create a Zip file with the wizard, your<br>
first step will be to load the WinZip program. Once loaded,<br>
click on the 'Wizard' button located at the top of your<br>
screen to use the wizard. Follow the step by step<br>
instructions to create your Zip file.<br><br>
WinZip Interface - To create a Zip file using WinZip, your<br>
first step will be to open the WinZip program. Once opened,<br>
click on the 'New' button at the top of your screen to<br>
launch the 'New Archive' window. Select the folder in<br>
which you'd like to place your Zip file, type in a name for<br>
your file and click on the 'OK' button. Your new Zip file<br>
has been created. You can now add files by clicking on the<br>
'Add' button at the top of the screen.<br><br>
Although there are other methods you can use when<br>
working with WinZip, the above methods will provide you<br>
with a basic guideline.<br><br>
Zip files provide Internet users with the ability to easily<br>
compress and transfer files in an organized fashion. Use<br>
them to your fullest advantage.<br><br>
<b>Copyright © Shelley Lowery 2002.<br>
</b>__________________________________<br>
<i>Shelley Lowery is the author of Ebook Starter - A complete<br>
ebook design kit. Subscribe to Etips, for a wealth of quality<br>
information to assist you in Web Design, Internet Marketing<br>
& Ecommerce. All new subscribers receive a free copy of<br>
the highly acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing<br>
Strategies."
<a href="http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1" eudora="autourl">http://www.web-source.net/cgi-bin/t.cgi?l=bl1</a><br>
</i>___________________________________<br><br>
FOR WRITERS<br>
FREE newsletter for writers and professional communicators:<br>
tips and how-tos on the writing life. Little-known secrets on how<br>
to make money with your skills.<br>
Subscribe: wiredwordsmy-@topica.com<br>
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____________________________________<br><br>
HOW'S YOUR E-SHORTHAND?<br>
____________________________________<br><br>
BAC - back at computer<br>
BAD - broken as designed<br>
B4 - before<br>
BAK - back at keyboard<br>
BBL - be back later<br>
BC - be cool.<br>
BCNU - be seeing you<br>
BF - boyfriend.<br>
BFN - bye for now<br>
BRB - be right back<br>
BRH - be right here<br>
BTDT - been there, done that<br>
BTW - by the way<br>
BWL - bursting with laughter<br>
BYKT - but you knew that<br><br>
<b><i>(More email acronyms (beginning with C) in the<br>
next issue)<br>
</i></b>___________________________________<br><br>
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healing traditions of a new gemstone or crystal in every<br>
issue. Plus, if you subscribe before February 24, 2002, you'll<br>
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Be sure to<br>
include your mailing address.<br>
<b>___________________________________<br><br>
FINDING OUT WHO IS BEHIND THE SITE<br>
by Tom Glander<br>
___________________________________<br><br>
</b>YOU'RE surfing the web, and come across a web site that<br>
doesn't tell you much about *who* is really behind the workings.<br>
Who controls that site?<br><br>
You can find out, and here's how.<br><br>
All web sites have to be hosted somewhere. Some company or<br>
organization that provides a computer that's connected to<br>
the Internet all the time (known as a web server) provides<br>
this hosting service.<br><br>
They're called "web hosts".<br><br>
The web site is found by domain name, such as<br>
newbieclub.com. Who registered the newbieclub.com domain<br>
name? Who is behind the site?<br><br>
Some person. Some individual is the 'registrant' of the domain.<br>
Who is it? Or maybe I should ask 'to whom' does this<br>
domain name belong?<br><br>
Just visit <a href="http://www.onewhois.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.onewhois.com</a> and type the domain name of<br>
any site... and you'll have the answer to your question.<br><br>
Up comes a bunch of information about the site, and the<br>
person who registered it!<br><br>
If you're having problems with a site, you can try contacting<br>
the person who registered the site. They may be able to help.<br><br>
Example: you visit <a href="http://www.onewhois.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.onewhois.com</a> and type<br>
'newbieclub.com' (without the quotes) and you'll find that Joe<br>
Robson, my partner, registered the domain name. And you'll also<br>
see where he lives, and what his phone number is.<br><br>
Apply this bit of knowledge to any domain you are interested<br>
in. You may even want to call the owner and make an offer on<br>
the purchase of that domain.<br><br>
The WHOIS database is a repository of all the domains that<br>
are registered. Who is behind that domain? They can't hide.<br><br>
You're surfing the web, and come across a web site that doesn't<br>
tell you much about *who* is really behind the workings. Who<br>
controls that site?<br><br>
You can find out, and here's how.<br><br>
All web sites have to be hosted somewhere. Some company or<br>
organization that provides a computer that's connected to<br>
the Internet all the time (known as a web server) provides<br>
this hosting service.<br><br>
They're called "web hosts".<br><br>
The web site is found by domain name, such as<br>
newbieclub.com.Who registered the newbieclub.com domain<br>
name? Who is behind the site?<br><br>
Some person. Some individual is the "registrant" of the<br>
domain. Who is it? Or maybe I should ask "to whom" does this<br>
domain name belong?<br><br>
Just visit <a href="http://www.onewhois.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.onewhois.com</a> and type the domain name of<br>
any site... and you'll have the answer to your question.<br><br>
Up comes a bunch of information about the site, and the<br>
person who registered it!<br><br>
If you're having problems with a site, you can try contacting<br>
the person who registered the site. They may be able to help.<br><br>
Example: you visit <a href="http://www.onewhois.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.onewhois.com</a> and type<br>
"newbieclub.com" (without the quotes) and you'll find that Joe<br>
Robson, my partner, registered the domain name. And you'll also<br>
see where he lives, and what his phone number is.<br><br>
Apply this bit of knowledge to any domain you are interested<br>
in. You may even want to call the owner and make an offer on<br>
the purchase of that domain.<br><br>
The WHOIS database is a repository of all the domains that<br>
are registered. Who is behind that domain? They can't hide.<br><br>
And now you know... so there you go!<br><br>
<b>Copyright 2001 Roglan International<br>
</b>____________________________________<br>
<i>Another tip-top tutorial from The Newbie Club.<br>
If you are not already a member take the time to<br>
click on <<a href="http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs</a>><br>
It's free.<br>
</i>---------------------------------------------------<br>
I CAN'T BELIEVE IT...<br>
Only a handful of you have taken the trouble<br>
to recommend us...<br>
PLEASE RATE THIS EZINE...<br>
Please rate this Ezine at the Cumuli Ezine Finder<br>
<a href="http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra20597.rate" eudora="autourl">http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra20597.rate</a><br>
<a href="http://www.cumuli.com/ezines/ra20597.rate";><br>
AOL Users</a><br>
Editor’s note: When you click to rate it, make sure you<br>
check the number. It’s automatically set at 5, but you<br>
can go as high as 10. <br>
____________________________________<br><br>
NEED A FRIENDLY, HELPING HAND?..<br>
Frustrated and confused about PCs and the Internet?<br>
Sick of feeling like a patronized, second class citizen?<br>
The Newbie Club will treat you with the respect you<br>
deserve and teach you all you need to know with their<br>
revolutionary free Learning System. Click over NOW<br>
and change your PC and Net experience forever.<br>
<a href="http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/?pearlsandpigs</a><br>
<b>________________________________________<br><br>
EMAIL OVERLOAD - COPING STRATEGIES<br>
by Terry Johnston<br>
________________________________________<br><br>
</b>WE'RE here… the information age! Having fun yet? What's that<br>
you say…. too much information spammers are getting the<br>
better of you, too many friends are sending silly jokes and<br>
greeting cards, you are dealing with a mountain of lists and<br>
ezines that you spend more time sorting and deleting than<br>
reading, can't find that 'important' email in the haystack, can't<br>
meet those deadlines because you're so preoccupied with<br>
sorting out your email?<br><br>
This is the information age? What comes next…. Perhaps 'The<br>
Information Organization Age' - Bingo!<br><br>
You've all heard the statistics:<br>
· Every day 8 billion emails are exchanged on the Internet.<br>
· By 2005 this figure will increase to 36 billion.<br>
· The average email user in business spends at least 2 hours a<br>
day dealing with email.<br>
· According to Internet researcher Jupiter Media Metrix, by 2006<br>
consumers are expected to receive an average of 1,400 pieces<br>
of junk e-mail every day!<br>
·<br>
Fortunately email organizing software does exist -- check out:<br>
<a href="http://www.emailorganizer.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.emailorganizer.com</a> and <a href="http://www.amikanow.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.amikanow.com</a><br>
as well as websites that provide information that help with email<br>
overload such as <a href="http://www.email911.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.email911.com</a> and<br>
<a href="http://www.overcomeemailoverload.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.OvercomeEmailOverload.com</a>.<br><br>
And for those brave individuals who want to take a stab at<br>
manual organizing here are some practical, tried and true<br>
strategies:<br><br>
USE MULTIPLE EMAIL ADDRESSES<br><br>
Although most of you have already figured this one out, it's worth<br>
mentioning because it's so fundamental to an anti-email overload<br>
strategy. One way to think of your correspondence is Personal<br>
and Public.<br><br>
For instance, you can open webmail accounts (e.g. Hotmail &<br>
Yahoo!) for your public, not-so-critical correspondence. This<br>
could include registering when you download software and<br>
utilities from the net, marketing promotions, chat rooms and<br>
message boards.<br><br>
Your Personal address is reserved for higher priority business<br>
contacts, friends, relatives and associates. Although I now use<br>
email organizing software, so my need for webmail accounts<br>
has dimished dramatically, at my peak I had well over a dozen<br>
accounts going. One caveat to this webmail strategy is that both<br>
Hotmail and Yahoo! are now applying strict minimum usage<br>
rules (they'll close the account if it's not checked in with<br>
frequently).<br><br>
THE GOLDEN RULE<br><br>
Help your friends and colleagues cope with their email overload<br>
by NOT contributing to it! You know how it goes: 'do unto<br>
others…' It's the old cause and effect thing. Unless they've<br>
expressed an interest, perhaps you can hold back on sending<br>
those jokes, greeting cards and CCing them on every-little-bit-of-<br>
business.<br><br>
And while we're on CCing, it's important for everyone to develop<br>
a policy on what to CC and to whom. And those you are copying<br>
to will appreciate it if you use BCC rather than CC to retain their<br>
anonymity.<br><br>
DEAL WITH A MESSAGE ONLY ONCE<br><br>
How many times have you read a message, flagged it for follow-<br>
up, came back to it, read it again, perhaps left it until you have<br>
more time, came back to it, read it again… then replied. This is<br>
not a very efficient use of your valuable time, is it?<br><br>
A great discipline is to deal with the message once. That is to<br>
say, once you've committed to reading it, reply right away before<br>
you go on to the next message.<br><br>
DON'T REPLY TO 'EVERY' MESSAGE<br><br>
That heading was hard for me to write because one of my pet<br>
peeves is when people don't reply to me. (I'm getting over it.) The<br>
fact is that it's NOT necessary to reply to every message.<br>
Especially with those one-word replies… like: Great, Cool,<br>
Thanks, Beauty etc. Remember the Golden Rule? Those short,<br>
sometimes meaningless, replies are often only contributing to<br>
the recipient's email overload.<br><br>
CREATE FOLDERS<br><br>
Most email clients allow you to set up folders. Although limited in<br>
scope, people, project and client specific folders can reduce a lot<br>
of stress, especially when it comes to finding a message. I know<br>
people who religiously go through their Inbox and drag and drop<br>
each and every message into a folder (including a trash folder).<br>
Time consuming and tedious yes, but in the overall scheme of<br>
things folders can make your email existence much easier.<br><br>
SPAM BUSTING<br><br>
Don't fall prey to the 'oldest spamster trick in the book' - don't use<br>
the unsubscribe feature in spam messages (not to be confused<br>
with Lists and Ezines). Spam marketers and list providers use<br>
the unsubscribe feature to qualify email addresses! Do you see<br>
the irony?<br><br>
You can consult with your ISP. More and more ISPs are<br>
providing spam filters. You can also forward the spam you get to<br>
the FTC (if you are being persistently annoyed by the same<br>
spammer). Send it to uc-@ftc.gov.<br><br>
I hope these suggestions have brought you some hope. This list,<br>
of course, could extend to many more pages but I'd better let you<br>
go…. You've got tons of email to deal with! Happy organizing!<br>
_________________________________<br>
<i>Terry Johnston is Vice-President of Marketing with Caelo<br>
Software Inc. Caelo develops user-friendly email organizing<br>
software <a href="http://www.emailorganizer.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.emailorganizer.com</a><br>
<a href="mailto:tjohn-@caelo.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:tjohn-@caelo.com</a><br>
</i>___________________________________<br><br>
POIGNANT PEARLS & POTBELLIED PIGS - a<br>
monthly ezine packed with original and amusing<br>
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too seriously. To subscribe<br>
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<b>________________________________________<br><br>
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE A HOME PAGE<br>
says Richard Lowe, Jr.<br>
________________________________________<br><br>
</b>IN my humble opinion, everyone should create a homepage.<br>
Wait, let's back up a minute. What's a homepage? Well, there<br>
are really two definitions.<br><br>
First, a homepage is the first page of a web site, usually named<br>
index, default or home. Second, a homepage is a web site with<br>
one or more pages which is personal. It's the second definition<br>
which we are using in this article.<br><br>
Okay, so why would anyone want to create a homepage? It's<br>
simple really. The internet is all about communication. A<br>
homepage is a method whereby you can communicate about<br>
yourself, your family, hobbies, pets, likes, dislikes, religion or<br>
anything else that you desire. Oh, there are limits to what you<br>
can put on your web site - you must stay within the contractual<br>
terms of the company which is hosting it. You also should not<br>
violate any laws - but besides that, post away.<br><br>
You say you have nothing to communicate that anyone would<br>
want to know? Hmmm. You're alive, aren't you? You have a<br>
family, a job, a pet, a hobby, anything? Let's see what kind of<br>
topics you can choose.<br><br>
- Make a fan site for your favorite television show (Star Trek,<br>
Wonder Woman, Dallas, whatever)<br><br>
- Create a personal diary.<br><br>
- Post a photo album.<br><br>
- Put up pictures of all of the trash cans in Disneyland (someone<br>
already did it).<br><br>
- Write about and include drawings and photos of your cat, dog,<br>
fish, armadillo or snake.<br><br>
- Tell everyone about your job.<br><br>
- People are always interested in religion - talk about yours.<br><br>
- You like your car? Create a web site all about that.<br><br>
- What about your travels around the world? A diary and/or<br>
photos is a good thing to put on a homepage.<br><br>
- Did some school papers of which you are proud? Post them.<br><br>
- If you are an artist or photographer, display your work.<br><br>
- Figure something out? Tell us all about it.<br><br>
- Had an out-of-body experience, been kidnapped by aliens or<br>
remember your past lives? Well, we'd all like to know.<br><br>
That's just a sample, there are an infinite number of subjects that<br>
you can write about.<br><br>
All right, so now you want to create a home page. How do you go<br>
about it? Find a company (a provider) to host it, choose a web<br>
editing package (optional), and get to work. If you want to include<br>
photos or other graphics you will need to get a graphics editor<br>
and possibly a scanner. Don't worry, just start small and work<br>
your way through it. The providers usually make it<br>
pretty easy to get started.<br><br>
Visit some of the sites listed in the article on freehosts<br>
(<a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Homepages/freehosts.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.internet-tips.net/Homepages/freehosts.htm</a>). Read<br>
their information and FAQs (frequently asked questions) until you<br>
find one that you like.<br><br>
Virtually all of these hosts have very easy-to-use utilities to create<br>
very nice home pages. They let you edit right from your web<br>
browser, add pictures, even include nice things like guestbooks<br>
and counters. These utilities are a great place to start.<br><br>
My advice is to just pick a provider and jump right in. Get your<br>
feet wet. Yeah, your first efforts may not be perfect, but you've<br>
got to start somewhere. Enjoy yourself and have fun.<br><br>
If you find after a while that the provider that you chose doesn't<br>
meet your needs, switch and start over with another one. Until<br>
you find a provider that you are happy with (fast, easy-to-use, up<br>
most of the time) keep you homepage small. Once you find one<br>
you are happy with, go to town.<br><br>
Now spend some time working on it. Do a little every day if you<br>
can, or at least a few days a week. Just keep working on it.<br>
When you get a version of the site that's 'done' (all pages<br>
finished, no under construction signs, links working, etc) submit<br>
it to the search engines<br>
<a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Advertising/searchengines.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.internet-tips.net/Advertising/searchengines.htm</a>) so<br>
other people can enjoy your work. Remember that the search<br>
engines take a few weeks or months to list your site, so don't<br>
expect visitors overnight. Then practice using some of the other<br>
promotion techniques discussed in 'advertising'<br>
(<a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/Advertising/Advertising.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.internet-tips.net/Advertising/Advertising.htm</a>).<br><br>
Now just keep working on your home page. Get as fancy as you<br>
like. You'll learn about graphics, HTML, and many other things.<br>
You've begun an adventure which has more rewards than you<br>
can imagine.<br><br>
At some point you will begin to push the limits of the free<br>
host/web based homepage editing technology. You will start to<br>
get frustrated because something you want to do is difficult or<br>
cannot be done at all.<br><br>
Now is the time to begin to learn about new things. Now you will<br>
want to learn HTML, perhaps buy a nice HTML editor and go to<br>
town. Most likely, by this time you will want to re-create your site<br>
anyway, so pick an editor and go for it. If you don't want to do the<br>
whole thing over, there are techniques to get your site down to<br>
your own hard drive (learn about FTP). Perhaps you will need to<br>
find a new host - there are hundreds and hundreds<br>
of them.<br><br>
There is an added benefit to doing all of this - you are learning<br>
skills which will be of use throughout the rest of your life. This will<br>
be useful in many jobs, and if you become good enough,perhaps<br>
you will have found yourself a possible new career. At the very<br>
least, you may make some new friends and have a great<br>
adventure.<br><br>
It's better than sitting at home watching television, isn't it?<br><br>
-----------------------------<br>
<i>Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And<br>
Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to<br>
improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge.<br>
Web Site Address: <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/" eudora="autourl">http://www.internet-tips.net</a><br>
Weekly newsletter: <a href="http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm" eudora="autourl">http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm</a><br>
Daily Tips: <a href="mailto:interne-@GetResponse.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:interne-@GetResponse.com</a><br>
</i>____________________________________<br><br>
Want a FREE Guestbook for your site?<br><br>
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with your page design and color scheme. This Brand<br>
New innovative Guestbook offered by The Newbie Club<br>
is a dream to see, and simplicity itself to paste into your<br>
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______________________________________<br><br>
VISIT THE WEBSITE<br>
To view previous issues of Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits<br>
go to: <a href="http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read" eudora="autourl">http://www.topica.com/lists/nerdsandnitwits/read</a><br>
and don't forget to visit the Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits<br>
website, often - there's stacks of information there:<br>
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_____________________________________<br><br>
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_____________________________________<br><br>
<b>*-------------HOT TIP----------- *<br><br>
</b>FREEING UP MEMORY<br>
If Windows says that it doesn't have enough memory<br>
to do something and you're sure that your computer<br>
DOES have enough memory, check your Clipboard<br>
(clipboard viewer). If you copied a big picture to the<br>
Clipboard, press Delete (edit->delete) to delete it or<br>
copy a single character to the clipboard. That picture<br>
or large amount of text may rob Windows of the<br>
memory that it needs to do something else. If you've<br>
done this, and still have memory problems, well, you<br>
may indeed have memory problems!<br>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br>
Tip from The Newbie Club, creators of 'How A Newbie<br>
Built A Website In Just 2 days - Absolutely FREE.'<br>
<a href="http://newbieclub.com/builder/?pearlsandpigs" eudora="autourl">http://newbieclub.com/builder/?pearlsandpigs</a><br><br>
<b> * -------------HOT TIP--------------- *<br><br>
</b>_________________________________________<br><br>
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<b> Copyright 2002 NEWBIES, NERDS & NITWITS<br>
</b>-----------------------------------------------------<br>
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<br>
------- Signature File--------<br><br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab> Editor/Publisher: Sheldene Chant<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab> 6 Strapp Lane, Amanzimtoti 4126,<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab> KwaZuluNatal, South Africa.<br>
<x-tab> </x-tab><x-tab> </x-tab> <<a href="mailto:shel-@icon.co.za" eudora="autourl">mailto:shel-@icon.co.za</a>><br>
________________________________________<br><br>
<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font face="MS Sans Serif, Geneva" size=2>SHELDENE CHANT is the editor of two <br>
ezines. Poignant Pearls & Potbellied Pigs, <br>
and Newbies, Nerds & Nitwits. To subscribe<br>
email <a href="mailto:pearlypigs-@topica.com" eudora="autourl">mailto:pearlypigs-@topica.com</a><br>
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a safe but informative haven for anyone who is<br>
nervous about their PC and the Internet.</font>
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