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In this issue:
Editorial February 6th, 2003
Sponsor - Sausage Hosting
HotDog Helper - HotDog - Working Hand-in-Hand With You
Designed for Browsing - Nissan - SHIFT_web design
Sizzler Spotlight - HotDog QE Alpha Tester Feedback
The Server Source - RPM Packages
Tips & Tricks - Javascript
Becoming a Member of the Sausage Sizzler Forums
Newsletter Information




  Editorial February 6th, 2003

G'Day Sizzlers!

We released an alpha version of HotDog QE (Quick Edit) to our small group of Alpha Testers yesterday. A small but important milestone for us! So far the feedback has been distinctly positive. I have highlighted one testers comments in this weeks Sizzler Spotlight.

We also have another new section I had been talking about. My mate Brian Stevens is going to be writing about server related issues. So you will be able to get your machines into top shape!

To top off a great issue we have a great special with everyone having the opportunity to take US$50 off any of our hosting packages or Dog Packs.

So I will leave you to it! Read, learn, then implement!

Keep on sizzling!

Nathan Allan
Sausage Sizzler Editor
editor@sausage.com



Sponsor - Sausage Hosting
Make Sausage your one stop shop for all of your web needs!

Now is the time to swap to Sausage Hosting!

Our existing customers are very pleased with our service and support so why don't you also take advantage of it?

To give you all more incentive to swap over from your existing host (maybe before your next payment is due) we are going to give you US$50 to put towards any hosting account or Dog Pack we offer.

This very limited offer is only available to the first 100 customers.

COUPON CODE: SS50OFF

NOTE: This coupon is only good until the 12th February 2003.

http://www.sausagehosting.com/



  HotDog Helper

HotDog - Working Hand-in-Hand With You

HotDog can help you keep visitors coming back to your site by reminding you how big your web page is and how long it will take to download. All you need to do is call up ‘Document Properties’:

From the HotDog menu, select:
Mouse Keyboard
Format ALT-o
Document Properties ALT-d
SPEED ACCESS SHIFT + CTRL + d


and click on the ‘Document Size’ Tab. Choose the connection speed - typically 33.6k or 56k for a dial-up modem and the time it will take to download is calculated from the weight (in kilobytes) of the web page.

Post your comments here:

http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=1305

HotDog Tip by Kevin Hannan

  Designed for Browsing

Nissan - SHIFT_web design

http://www.nissanusa.com/

My wife and I wish to buy a new car in the next year or so, and I would love to have a new Nissan sitting in my driveway. They make some of the sweetest cars on the road today, as Nissan tends to focus on style and performance. Even their commercials look like someone was trying to make a short film. Anyway, I was checking out the Nissan website, when I realized they extended the style and performance to the Internet.

The entire site sits on a white background, giving it a very professional and clean feeling. But enough of the white is covered up with attractive images and information so the white doesn't blind you when it loads up. The earthy and gray tones on top of the white actually make it almost soothing to gaze at. The menu system is very simple and easy to navigate. It's broken into four categories across the top of the page, or you can jump straight to the car of your choice in the flash animation below the menu. I think this is a very intuitive way of approaching this, because the company focuses on automobiles, but at the same time you are going to have people like me who are gathering information and want to find it quickly. If I want to read about financing, I go to the Buying menu. If I want to check information like recalls on my current Nissan, I go to the Owning menu. Extremely simple.

I also especially appreciate the fact that the web site, despite the flash animation and numerous images, loads up pretty quick on my lousy dial-up connection. I pine for the days when I too will have broadband, but for now, it's nice to know that even web designers for big companies like Nissan, know how to keep the page reasonably sized for 56k'ers like me. Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.nissanusa.com/

Post your comments here:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1304

Site spidered by Orion Johnson



  Sizzler Spotlight

HotDog QE Alpha Tester Feedback

Although the Alpha of HotDog QE is not public (as we are using a tightly managed group of users), I thought you would all like to see some of the feedback from one of our somewhat excited Alpha testers, known in the forums as WebDesEyen.

"(bouncing around like a little kid with his new favorite toy)

looking great! looking fast as lightening! looking yummy! all "very constructive", i know... just wanted to show my appreciation
"

"it took a long time, but it was worth the wait i think!
the guys from sausage have delivered...
and i am impressed.
big time.
"

So it looks like there are some happy users out there. We hope to make this available to everyone as a Beta in the coming weeks.

Sizzler Spotlight by Nathan Allan



  The Server Source

RPM Packges

Recently I have received a few questions about how to install programs on Red Hat Linux. I'm not surprised by this trend as more and more people are becoming tech-savvy and venturing into cheaper, more efficient, operating systems.

So you are an ex-Windows guru and you are staring at this newly installed Linux operating system and you start to think, "hey, lets go download and install some programs!" So you download a couple of EXE files to the desktop and double-click them... nothing. Now you are staring at the computer in anguish because nothing you do will install this EXE. You think, "where is this vast world of open source software and how do I install it?"

This first question is easy to answer. If you are running a Red Hat system then you can find a lot of software on Red Hat's Web site. However, personally, I would rather you look to Rpmfind.net for your desired software.

So now you know where the files are at but now you this long file name in front of you and you don't know how to decrypt it. Let's look at an example. We have here a DNS server install package with a file name of: bind-9.2.1-9.i386.rpm. Now we will pick apart the name to show you how to decypher this long file name. Bind is the package name or you can think of it as the software name, like Outlook. 9.2.1 is the version number of the software. 9 is the release number but if they came out with a new version called 9.01 then the whole RPM package name would be bind-9.2.1-9.01.i386.rpm. I386 stands for the architecture the program was made for. I386 is for most Intel and Intel-clone processors, like AMD. You will occasionally come across a piece of software specially made for the AMD Athlon processor at which time you will see athlon in place of i386. There are other architectures such as those for the Sparc, Alpha and Mips processors. Last, but not least, there is an RPM on the end to stand for Red Hat Package Manager. So now you see that this long file name serves a very important and beneficial purpose by giving you the most information about a program before you download and install it.

Just so you know there are other install packages out there like DEB files which are controlled through the Debian package manager but RPM is more universal on all Linux machines and that is why I chose to write about it.

Next week I will outline the commands for installing, upgrading and removing packages from your Red Hat system. This will include installing from an FTP server. In the meantime feel free to search out some RPM packages you would like to install because by this time next week you'll be an Linux install guru. Until next week, feel free to discuss this and more in the Sizzler Forums.

Post your comments here:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1302

Sourced by Brian Stevens



  Tips & Tricks

(HTML) Creating Tool Tip Pop-up Messages

Javascript Do you need to ensure the browser’s window is maximised? Copy and paste this simple script either in the <HEAD>, between <HEAD> and <BODY> or in the <BODY> section of your page. <script language="JavaScript1.2">
<!--
window.moveTo(0,0);
if (document.all) {
top.window.resizeTo(screen.availWidth,screen.availHeight);
}
else if (document.layers||document.getElementById) {
if (top.window.outerHeight<screen.availHeight||top.window.outerWidth>screen.availWidth){
top.window.outerHeight = screen.availHeight;
top.window.outerWidth = screen.availWidth;
}
}
//
--> </script>

Post your comments here:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1303

Tip by Kevin Hannan



  Becoming a Forum Member

To read the Sizzler Forums you do not need to be a member. However to take full advantage of this resource it will only take you a few seconds to sign up!

  1. Go to: http://www.sizzlerforums.com/
  2. Read the information and click on the REGISTER button
  3. Fill out the form
  4. You will receive an email that you simply reply to
  5. Hey presto! Your a fully fledged Sizzler Forums member!

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