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Sausage Sizzler - Webmaster Community Newsletter

To receive this newsletter via email subscribe here. To manage your exisitng subscription (for example change of email address) please use Subscription Management. In Issue 30: Editorial August 28, 2002 SausageHosting.com 20% Coupon for Sizzler Subscribers Blogger - Web Based - Free phPortal Beta - PHP3+ MySQL - FREE Is it AOL or is it Microsoft? Quoting a price for Design Dear Children

Editorial August 28, 2002

G'Day Sizzlers!

What a great week the last has been! Full of ups and downs but overall quite inspirational!

Let me start with the low. After a severe storm we were in the last 30 people in Des Moines to have their power reconnected. This in turn lead to the realization that we really do rely on power quite a bit! Besides our food spoiling, I was unable to get on the net at all. To add insult to injury after it was reconnected the next day they switched it off again to repair a support cable. It wouldn't have been so bad if I was working on my computer with the UPS and wasn't halfway through an important email.

Lesson One: Have a good UPS and surge protector.

I attended Gnomdex this past weekend. If anyone went they would know that you really got value for money. Great speakers, great entertainment, and great people! The difference with this conference is that you actually get to interact with the speakers and attendees. To name just a few there was Steve Gibson from GRC.com, Mark Thompson of AnalogX.com, Doc Searls, Evan Williams from Blogger.com, and Phil Kaplan from F*dCompany. Not to mention that David Lawrence from Online tonight broadcast live from the event.

Now along with speaking to some local IT people, this gave me access to Evan Williams whom I briefly discussed the possibility of a HotDog with Blogger capabilities. Already I have moved on to talk to the business development person about this. Check out my personal blog at http://blog.netbloke.com if you don't already know what blogs are!

Lesson Two: Try to take advantage of opportunity. So in hindsight you can at least say you tried.

Anyway if that is all you get from this issue, I think it is a lesson well learned. But wait there is more! Bram goes a little of topic with a comment on what seems to be increased cases of child abduction (although his Gear Grinders next week will discuss ITs answer to this problem), I review Blogger, Bram discusses pricing your design work, and there is more!

Finally I have to make a quick note that Sausage Hosting is really starting to take off. We are starting to make a few peoples hosting experience a little more pleasurable and transparent!

Have a great week everyone.


Keep on sizzling!

Nathan Allan
Sausage Sizzler Editor
editor@sausage.com

Sponsor - SausageHosting.com 20% Coupon for Sizzler Subscribers

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SuperToolz

Blogger - Web Based - Free

http://www.blogger.com

Ok so I have started my first blog. As you would have read in the editorial it can be found at http://blog.netbloke.com. A blog is basically an online diary or journal. Some are personal, some are topic specific, it is really decided by the owner of the blog. Some are read by a few people, some are read by hundreds of thousands, this is up the readers. People read what they like. blogs give people who wouldn't normally be heard a simple and effective way to get on the web and say their peace.

I started my blog on my NetBloke site, which is my little hobby in helping people get the most out of their time and money spent on the net. In total it probably took me about ten minutes to set up the basics (a functioning blog) and then another hour or so fiddling with the template to make it look like part of my web site. Note that it comes with a number of built in templates so if you do not want too much trouble stick with those.

The basic version of Blogger allows to post your thoughts any time through a simple to use web interface. You can host your blog on your own server or one of Bloggers servers.

For $50 (at time of publication there is a $35 special) you can upgrade to Blogger Pro. In my opinion the features of the Pro version give you all the extras that, for me at least, would make your blog more interactive and useful to people. To check out Blogger Pro go to:
http://pro.blogger.com/

Try blogging today., but I warn you it can be addictive.

Review by Nathan

Dynamic Tip

phPortal Beta - PHP3+ MySQL - FREE

http://www.dansteinman.com/php/phportal/

This is a cool little script that is still in progress. However it has some the elements that would let you build a great little portal manager for your users. In other words a customizable start page to your site, or if they so choose their home page.

Some of the features include;
- News headlines
- Universal search engine
- Web account manager
- Stock quotes

With the following in the works still:
- Translator (using babelfish)
- Calendar
- Bookmark manager

I believe this is a great idea that could help you site be a little more useful to your customers.

Review by Nathan

Sizzler Spotlight

Is it AOL or is it Microsoft?

I have had a rather baffling week, a few of them actually. I use and truly enjoy MS Outlook 2000. It does everything I need it to do and makes my life easier (mostly). It also synchronizes with my pocket PC so Im as mobile as I need to be.

Over the course of this past month or so, Ive had problems trading mail with users of AOL. I thought I had narrowed my problem down to something that dealt with AOL users and their web-mail interface versus their software based e-mail.

Before I get lost, allow me to describe the issue.

After a very vigorous investigation, it seems that AOL mail (web and software?) hates mail sent from Outlook and only Outlook. I was borrowing my friends AOL account (Web-mail only) to test things out. Here is what I did. I am hoping any of you may have experienced this as well.

1. When I send mail to people with AOL accounts, be it from my yahoo or TodoBebe account, using OUTLOOK 2000, the TO: field, when the message arrives BACK in my Inbox, says: bscolnick@yahoo.com; bscolnick@yahoo.com
2. When I send from Yahoo! web-mail to AOL, there is no issue.
3. I sent mail from another PC, using another mail account, also using Outlook. Same thing. Again, mail sent back to me had this in the TO: field; postmaster@todobebe.com; postmaster@todobebe.com
   
   NOTE: When an AOL user gets mail from an Outlook user, the issue of the addresses only appears upon REPLY to the message.
4. I had my friend send mail to his AOL account from work. He uses Lotus Notes at work. When I replied to his message, the address in the TO: field was normal.
5. I asked a completely foreign person (in more ways than one) to send mail to this AOL account. He uses Eudora AND Outlook.   From Eudora, no problems. From his Outlook based account, same issue as mine.... nathan@sausage.com|; nathan@sausage.com
6. I thought maybe it was because I was sending with Outlook in html format. No difference. My html settings are BASE 64. In the past, I used none, but it seems that other users sometimes received corrupted attachments when we (TodoBebe) sent them. Setting to Base 64 fixed that.

I am beyond baffled as to the cause of this issue. One person proposed that both AOL and MS use completely non-standard standards. Both of them are so out of whack that they clash with each other.

What on earth could be the cause of all this?

http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=782

Review by Bram

Designed for Browsing

Quoting a price for Design

I have a very perplexing question. How do quote your design time? Honestly, what is your time worth when it comes to design? As of late, my clients seem to not value my time and only care for the end result. I suppose I cannot blame them, but still, the work we do does take time and time spent doing work has a value.

Do you limit your design strategy based on time paid for? Do you reach a point in the design process and say, "STOP! Times upno more designing for YOU, mister!"

What is the cut-off line? In a perfect world where we need no money (or having won the lottery) Id likely design for many hours, be involved all kinds of projects regardless of the outcome (or income).

When you quote a job for a customer, and they sign a contract, how do you keep them to that time budget without them thinking or calling you cheap? I mean, they DID sign the contract.

What I have done is figured a fair hourly rate for myself. I know how I work, I know how I plan and I know the amount of thought and energy I put into a project. All of that work has an hourly value.

After I meet with a potential client and I have examined my notes of what they want, I figure a time (in hours) and do the math.

I have yet to find a customer that reads the proposal or contract that states quite clearly what they must provide. I have learned not to give a breakdown by price for anything I do. I can detail the work that I will do, but only one overall price.

Invoicing is simple. Upon signing the contract 50% is due up front, 25% due upon template design approval, 25% due prior to upload to live area.

All of this comes back to one question; what is design or design time worth?

http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=783

Discuss with Bram

Gear Grinders

Dear Children

What in creations name is going on? In the USA lately more and more news stories are surfacing about missing and or dead children. I suppose this has been going on for a long time but some recent (past few months) activity has shed light on this horrible topic. If not that reason, the news stations must need some ratings help.

I am a father of two.   When I think of someone grabbing my child some of the thoughts that run through my head are big metal bats, head stomping and butt kicking. After that I think I might actually get mean.

I know.. I know. Violence begets violence. I just cannot understand how, for example, a 27-year-old male can find pleasure in raping a 5-year-old girl.   Ok, fine, now she has been raped. Why end her life?

In todays news, some sick person, as the FBI has noted, killed two 13-year-old girls that were friends with his daughter. He left one to rot in a shed and buried the other in a barrel under a concrete slab.

I do not care to go into horrific details, repeating all of what we can find in the news. The main point is that I am sincerely intrigued as to what the H*LL is going on this world.

Terrorist plots and child rape/murders. I think it might be time to pack up and find a secluded, uncharted island (with DSL access).

http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=784

Discuss your experiences with Bram

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