If you are looking for a way of creating Camtasia like animations, I think I may have found the ultimate free solution.
For those of you are are not familiar with Camtasia, it is a product that allows you to capture your screen as you use your software. You can annotate the presentation later with text or audio as well as capturing the audio while you are using the software.
There are other products on the market that do the same thing, but Camtasia is the most popular. One of the other products that I found is a product called Qarbon. I used Qarbon to produce the animations on DMB Hosting that show how to setup your email on Eudora or Outlook. Qarbon has one main problem. You have to "take a picture" of each screen along the way. This works for most applications, but if you are illustrating something where you are typing text in, or you are illustrating a product like MS Paint, this obviously does not work so well.
The next product I found that gets a little closer (and Free) is CamStudio, which it appears has been renamed to Captivate by Macromedia and is no longer free. CamStudio takes pictures of your screen every ?? milliseconds so what you end up with is an exact animation of what you were doing. You also are not able to edit the results easily. So, for most people, this is going to be a less than ideal solution. The animations produced are, by their very nature, going to be larger than they need to be and not quite what you wanted to produce.
However, a couple of weeks ago, I found another product called Wink. Now that version 2.0 has been released, it does everything I need. It will let you capture screens as you click the mouse or type any key, which handles about 90% of my needs. But, it also lets you capture screens on a screen at a time basis, like Qarbon or on a user control timed basis like CamStudio. It also lets you edit the presentation when you have finished recording. This means you can insert missing screens, add in audio, or annotate the screens with text.
I just got the software and I'm still learning how to use it, but I have put together a presentation on how to signup for hosting at DMB Hosting. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the best voice quality out of the presentation, but otherwise, I think you'll get the basic idea of what you can do with this great FREE piece of software.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Thoughts on Web 2.0
Web 2.0
I like the Wikipedia definition best. ". . . a buzzword incorporating whatever is newly popular on the web . . ."
I've been watching some specific items on this front that I think all web developers specifically and all web site owners generally ought to be keeping their eyes on.
The first of these is a technology called AJAX. AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript And XML. But, what it stands for if less important that what it allows you to do. What if you could develope a web application that looked and behaved more like a desktop application? What if your screen never blinked when you refreshed the contents? What if you could build a word processor that sat inside of a web browser?
That's what AJAX will allow us to build.
The second technology I've been watching closely, which allows us to achieve similar behavior is Flash.
Most people think of Flash as those cool animated images on the web. But, I recently discovered a couple of frameworks that will let you take an application written in CSharp for the desktop and port them to Flash applications that will sit in the web browser.
Between the two, I believe we are just a couple years away from hybrid web applications. We will still need page at a time web sites that deliever content. But, when you get to a place in the application that is more interactive and less content based. Something as simple as the checkout operations on an e-commerce application. AJAX at the least, starts looking very attractive.
I like the Wikipedia definition best. ". . . a buzzword incorporating whatever is newly popular on the web . . ."
I've been watching some specific items on this front that I think all web developers specifically and all web site owners generally ought to be keeping their eyes on.
The first of these is a technology called AJAX. AJAX stands for Asynchronous Javascript And XML. But, what it stands for if less important that what it allows you to do. What if you could develope a web application that looked and behaved more like a desktop application? What if your screen never blinked when you refreshed the contents? What if you could build a word processor that sat inside of a web browser?
That's what AJAX will allow us to build.
The second technology I've been watching closely, which allows us to achieve similar behavior is Flash.
Most people think of Flash as those cool animated images on the web. But, I recently discovered a couple of frameworks that will let you take an application written in CSharp for the desktop and port them to Flash applications that will sit in the web browser.
Between the two, I believe we are just a couple years away from hybrid web applications. We will still need page at a time web sites that deliever content. But, when you get to a place in the application that is more interactive and less content based. Something as simple as the checkout operations on an e-commerce application. AJAX at the least, starts looking very attractive.
Monday, April 24, 2006
For those of you using PHP...
there is a php.ini file that normally gets placed in your domain's directory when php is activated. You should not delete this file!
One of the outcomes of deleting the file is that you may not be able to send mail from a program such as OSCommerce that comes with some of the plans.
One of the outcomes of deleting the file is that you may not be able to send mail from a program such as OSCommerce that comes with some of the plans.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Scheduled Maintenance at DMB Hosting
On Saturday 4/22/06 we will be performing scheduled maintenance on our Control Panel, SiteStudio, NT15, NT31, and NT33 servers.
Starting at 5pm EST, DMB Hosting will be starting an update of the Control Panel and SiteStudio servers. The CP will be updated to H-Sphere 2.4.3 Patch 11. SiteStudio will be updated to version 1.7. The CP and SiteStudio servers will be inaccessible during the update process. We expect the update to take 4 hours and be complete by 9PM EST. No web/database/mail services will be interrupted due to the update.
Starting at 8PM EST, we will be upgrading the drives on servers NT31 and NT33. The servers will be taken offline and imaged to their new larger drives. Total downtime should be less than 2 hours.
NT15 will be taken offline at 9PM while its second processor is examined. The server is currently reporting only one operating processor and may need to be reseated or replaced. Total downtime will be 30 minutes.
You can determine which server your site is hosted on by logging into the control panel and clicking the "Account Settings" your server will be listed in the item labeled "Host Name"
Starting at 5pm EST, DMB Hosting will be starting an update of the Control Panel and SiteStudio servers. The CP will be updated to H-Sphere 2.4.3 Patch 11. SiteStudio will be updated to version 1.7. The CP and SiteStudio servers will be inaccessible during the update process. We expect the update to take 4 hours and be complete by 9PM EST. No web/database/mail services will be interrupted due to the update.
Starting at 8PM EST, we will be upgrading the drives on servers NT31 and NT33. The servers will be taken offline and imaged to their new larger drives. Total downtime should be less than 2 hours.
NT15 will be taken offline at 9PM while its second processor is examined. The server is currently reporting only one operating processor and may need to be reseated or replaced. Total downtime will be 30 minutes.
You can determine which server your site is hosted on by logging into the control panel and clicking the "Account Settings" your server will be listed in the item labeled "Host Name"
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Planned Maintenance at DMB Hosting
Start time (Eastern): Thursday 9:00 AM 4/20/06
End time (Eastern): Thursday 12:00 PM (Noon) 4/20/06
We have been notified by Eaton (PowerWare) maker of our new 120KVA UPS that they have a recall on the 9390 control board. During this maintenance window, a PowerWare Engineer will be replacing the recalled control board. In order to replace the control board the UPS has to be placed in maintenance bypass mode and turn off. By placing the UPS in maintenance bypass mode the power will be unconditioned and unprotected by the UPS, direct feed from the utility (OUC).
As a precautionary measure and since a direct utility feed can be inconsistent, we have decided to supply the utility feed with the Generator vs. OUC. The Generator power is more consistent and stable than the utility. The utility feed will also be available in the event there is or become any issues with the Generator.
Although we don't anticipate any power loss or service interruptions, our Support team will be closely monitoring your service(s) to ensure that this planned maintenance causes as little interruptions to your service(s) as possible.
Again, this work should not affect your service.
End time (Eastern): Thursday 12:00 PM (Noon) 4/20/06
We have been notified by Eaton (PowerWare) maker of our new 120KVA UPS that they have a recall on the 9390 control board. During this maintenance window, a PowerWare Engineer will be replacing the recalled control board. In order to replace the control board the UPS has to be placed in maintenance bypass mode and turn off. By placing the UPS in maintenance bypass mode the power will be unconditioned and unprotected by the UPS, direct feed from the utility (OUC).
As a precautionary measure and since a direct utility feed can be inconsistent, we have decided to supply the utility feed with the Generator vs. OUC. The Generator power is more consistent and stable than the utility. The utility feed will also be available in the event there is or become any issues with the Generator.
Although we don't anticipate any power loss or service interruptions, our Support team will be closely monitoring your service(s) to ensure that this planned maintenance causes as little interruptions to your service(s) as possible.
Again, this work should not affect your service.
Monday, April 17, 2006
Internet Explorer may bust your web site
In case you haven't heard, word on the street is that Internet Explorer 7 (in beta 2 now) is going to render a whole lot more like FireFox than Internet Explorer 6.
What this means for you is that if you are one of the many web site developers, or business people, who have only been testing how your site renders agains Internet Explorer 7, you might want to consider loading up FireFox, or the beta version of Internet Explorer 7 and make sure the site still renders correctly in those browsers.
What this means for you is that if you are one of the many web site developers, or business people, who have only been testing how your site renders agains Internet Explorer 7, you might want to consider loading up FireFox, or the beta version of Internet Explorer 7 and make sure the site still renders correctly in those browsers.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Is your website legal? Are you sure?
A couple of days ago, I made you aware of the fact that cookies, and therefore tracking, would not work under IE unless you had a P3P Privacy Policy installed.
If that isn't motivation enough for you, maybe this will be. You could get yourself in some serious trouble with the law without a Privacy Policy. You also need a terms of service agreement on your web site.
So, where do you get this information without spending an arm and a leg? As I'm sure you can immagine, both of these documents, along with a sales agreement which you may also need, are basically boiler plate documents that some lawyer has tucked away on his computer. But, he'll probably charge you $300 for the set as well as whatever time it takes him to make revisions.
I found a place that will not only get you these documents for much less, but will also explain why you need them.
Check out the Internet Law Compliance System and make your site legal.
If that isn't motivation enough for you, maybe this will be. You could get yourself in some serious trouble with the law without a Privacy Policy. You also need a terms of service agreement on your web site.
So, where do you get this information without spending an arm and a leg? As I'm sure you can immagine, both of these documents, along with a sales agreement which you may also need, are basically boiler plate documents that some lawyer has tucked away on his computer. But, he'll probably charge you $300 for the set as well as whatever time it takes him to make revisions.
I found a place that will not only get you these documents for much less, but will also explain why you need them.
Check out the Internet Law Compliance System and make your site legal.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Illegal Immigration, Outsourcing and Unemployment
Yesterday I had a short discussion about Immigration, Outsourcing and Unemployment. The gist of the discussion centered around the fact that we have a wealth of unemployed resources already available in the United States that are both local and legal.
This raises the question then. Why are we sending jobs overseas or hiring illegal immigrants when we have people here who could use the work.
The simple answer, of course, is because it is cheaper. Why is it cheaper? Because we HAVE to pay minimum wage to the unemployeed.
While I propose to have all the answers, I love raising questions, especially if I don't hear anyone else talking about them.
Don't tell me that the unemployment rate is less than5% so everyone who wants a job has a job. There are two basic problems with this arguement. First, it doesn't account for people who have been out of work for years and second, it doesn't account for people who might be able to get some kind of job if it were not cheaper to send that job some place else.
Of course, there will still be jobs that will be given to people who are not US citizens, but there is quite a bit of "unskilled" labor that we could give to US citizens first and if we were able to do that, there would be less need for cheap labor and less of a immigration problem.
In short, make immigration and outsourcing economically less viable, and you will go a long way to solving the problem.
This raises the question then. Why are we sending jobs overseas or hiring illegal immigrants when we have people here who could use the work.
The simple answer, of course, is because it is cheaper. Why is it cheaper? Because we HAVE to pay minimum wage to the unemployeed.
While I propose to have all the answers, I love raising questions, especially if I don't hear anyone else talking about them.
Don't tell me that the unemployment rate is less than5% so everyone who wants a job has a job. There are two basic problems with this arguement. First, it doesn't account for people who have been out of work for years and second, it doesn't account for people who might be able to get some kind of job if it were not cheaper to send that job some place else.
Of course, there will still be jobs that will be given to people who are not US citizens, but there is quite a bit of "unskilled" labor that we could give to US citizens first and if we were able to do that, there would be less need for cheap labor and less of a immigration problem.
In short, make immigration and outsourcing economically less viable, and you will go a long way to solving the problem.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Are you ready for "ActiveX D-Day?"
Do you know what it is?
Fortunately, you have another 60 days to figure this out. But the gist is this. If you have an APPLET, OBJECT or EMBED tag in your html that is loading something with an interface you want the user to be able to interact with (say, a flash movie they should be able to pause) you will need to RE-WRITE your web page.
The full article explaining how the new system will work, can be found here.
But, the short version of the "fix" is this. If you want your APPLET, OBJECT or EMBED tags to work like they always have you will need to dynamically load them via an external javascript file.
No, you can't do this inline. According to Microsoft, "You cannot write script elements inline with the main HTML page to load your control externally. If the script is written inline programmatically, for example with the writeln function, the loaded control will behave as if it was loaded by the HTML document itself and will require activation."
So, why is this happening.? Because of some stupid patent infringement.
Fortunately, you have another 60 days to figure this out. But the gist is this. If you have an APPLET, OBJECT or EMBED tag in your html that is loading something with an interface you want the user to be able to interact with (say, a flash movie they should be able to pause) you will need to RE-WRITE your web page.
The full article explaining how the new system will work, can be found here.
But, the short version of the "fix" is this. If you want your APPLET, OBJECT or EMBED tags to work like they always have you will need to dynamically load them via an external javascript file.
No, you can't do this inline. According to Microsoft, "You cannot write script elements inline with the main HTML page to load your control externally. If the script is written inline programmatically, for example with the writeln function, the loaded control will behave as if it was loaded by the HTML document itself and will require activation."
So, why is this happening.? Because of some stupid patent infringement.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Privacy Policies, Internet Explorer and Tracking
One of the many features available at DMB Hosting is a visitor tracking tool called Urchin, now owned by Google. One of the ways this script can be setup is with a feature called UTM. Which uses a bit a javascript and cookies to better track unique VISITORS vs computers visiting your site.
What many people using this tool may not realize is that in order to get reliable results, you must have a P3P privacy policy implemented and you must have "Compact Headers" implemented in your web pages if that page is going to make use of cookies either directly or indirectly. If you don't you might be loosing up to have of your statistics due to cookies being blocked.
Before you start groaning about "all that work" you should know that last night I found a free tool that will create everything you need. The compact headers, the machine readable privacy policy xml file, the human readable privacy statement (that should be published where people can view it) and the code snippets you will need to add to your pages. This tool is available at P3PWiz.com so head on over and get your site fixed up now.
What many people using this tool may not realize is that in order to get reliable results, you must have a P3P privacy policy implemented and you must have "Compact Headers" implemented in your web pages if that page is going to make use of cookies either directly or indirectly. If you don't you might be loosing up to have of your statistics due to cookies being blocked.
Before you start groaning about "all that work" you should know that last night I found a free tool that will create everything you need. The compact headers, the machine readable privacy policy xml file, the human readable privacy statement (that should be published where people can view it) and the code snippets you will need to add to your pages. This tool is available at P3PWiz.com so head on over and get your site fixed up now.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
Apple unveils software to permit Windows use - Yahoo! News
Apple unveils software to permit Windows use - Yahoo! News: "NEW YORK (Reuters) - Apple Computer Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news), the maker of the
Macintosh computer and iPod music device, on Wednesday rolled out a first-ever software patch to run Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system on its PCs, a move that could draw millions of new buyers."
I don't really expect this is a surprise to anyone. Next step is for them to release a "patch" that allows the Mac OS to run on a WinTel computer.
Macintosh computer and iPod music device, on Wednesday rolled out a first-ever software patch to run Microsoft's dominant Windows operating system on its PCs, a move that could draw millions of new buyers."
I don't really expect this is a surprise to anyone. Next step is for them to release a "patch" that allows the Mac OS to run on a WinTel computer.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Does rel="nofollow" work?
For those who don't know (yet) that all the major search engines now understand rel="nofollow" and what it's implicaions are. Here's a short review.
If you don't want the search engines to count a link out from your site when they are calculating link popularity, which is one of many ways they determine if they should list your site for a specific keyword phrase, you can add the attribute rel="nofollow" to your anchor tag (hyperlinktext
The thought was that by using this, people who posted comments so that they could generate a link back to their own site would stop doing so since it would reduce the benefit to them. But did it?
Since computer programs post the links and since humans still see the links, even if the search engine spiders do not, there is no reason to believe this attribute has helped at all.
What it has done is clean up the search results. And this is what the search engines had in mind all along. Once again, something has been marketted to the web community as something that would benefit them with the only real benefit being to the proponent of the new standard and those who would abuse the system.
If you don't want the search engines to count a link out from your site when they are calculating link popularity, which is one of many ways they determine if they should list your site for a specific keyword phrase, you can add the attribute rel="nofollow" to your anchor tag (hyperlinktext
The thought was that by using this, people who posted comments so that they could generate a link back to their own site would stop doing so since it would reduce the benefit to them. But did it?
Since computer programs post the links and since humans still see the links, even if the search engine spiders do not, there is no reason to believe this attribute has helped at all.
What it has done is clean up the search results. And this is what the search engines had in mind all along. Once again, something has been marketted to the web community as something that would benefit them with the only real benefit being to the proponent of the new standard and those who would abuse the system.
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