HTML Writers Guild Newsletter Volume 6 Number 16, 21 August 2000 http://www.hwg.org/ mailto:editor@hwg.org --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Newsletter Sponsors: SearchButton.com, TheShortList.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table of Contents 1. Member-Submitted Tips: Design tips for handheld devices (Next Issue's Topic: Cross-platform compatibility) 2. New Feature: Get to know your fellow Guild Members 3. August Town Hall: Thursday, August 24th 4. Upcoming Online Classes: Go back to school this Fall with the HWG! 5. HWG Events in Your Future: STC Pan-Pacific Conference 6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs (How to change your email address, how to unsubscribe, and more.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Searchbutton.com http://www.searchbutton.com/hwg Get FREE Web site search and reporting today! Improve your sites' navigability and usability with site search and reporting solutions from Searchbutton.com. There's no hardware, software, or implementation downtime. Your site visitors will gain instant access to the information they want and you find out a lot about your visitors. Premium service options available. Sign-up is quick and easy; plus a special offer for HWG members! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Member-Submitted Tips: Speeding up download time (Marshall Jansen, HWG-News Editor, hwg-news-tips@hwg.org) The Guild's foundation is members helping members, sharing our expertise and knowledge to improve our skills in the craft of web design. Everyone has something to teach, and something to learn! In keeping with that spirit, the HWG-News Newsletter HWG-News features member-submitted "tips" in each issue, in the space between articles and announcements. What happens if your tip is selected? Each issue, the first-place winner will receive a free HWG t-shirt. Runner-up tips will be also listed in the HWG-News newsletter as space permits, and submissions will be posted on the HWG web site. The topic for this issue, as announced last issue, is: Design tips for handheld devices Now that webphones, Palm Pilots, and other handheld devices are accessing the web, how do you code your pages so that these users can access your site? We only got a handful fo tips this time, and most of them focused on the same subject. As such, the winner was a bit more difficult to select. http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/newsletter/tips/ Complete rules and information (including size limits) are also listed at the URL above -- please read it! This issue's winner was sent in by Kjetil Kjernsmo. [HWG-News Tip: Speeding up download time --------------------------] To make sure pages are accessible to all kinds of devices, separate presentation and from content, make sure everything validates (with e.g. ) and comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines that you can find at . [------------- Submitted by Kjetil Kjernsmo ] If you have suggestions for upcoming HWG News Tip topics, you can send those to hwg-news-tips@hwg.org as well. The category for the next newsletter is: Cross-platform compatibility Not everyone is lucky enough to have a PC, a Macintosh, and a Unix machine, each running multiple versions of the most popular browsers on thier desks. What are some of the pitfalls to avoid when designing web pages so that your pages look good in all environments? Send in your 5-8 line tips to hwg-news-tips@hwg.org. 2. Get to know your fellow Guild Members: Fred Barnett (Marshall Jansen, HWG-News Editor, editor@hwg.org) This issue we are starting a new feature, where we get to know some of the hobbies and interests of a randomly chosen Guild Member. For the first time out, the member isn't being randomly chosen, though. Instead, Fred Barnett, one of the Governing Board Members,volunteered to be our 'Guinea Pig' and see what the readership thought about this idea. Every issue, we will give a Guild Member an opportunity to fill out a short questionnaire about themselves for printing in HWG-News. Now, on to Fred and his questions! HWG: What is your name? Fred: Frederick J. Barnett HWG: What is your occupation? Fred: Webmaster. HWG: Where do you live? (City, State/Country) Fred: Sorrento, Louisiana HWG: How old are you? Fred: 37 HWG: What was the last book you read? Fred: Rangers of World War II HWG: What was the last movie you saw? Fred: If you mean at a theater, then that's probably Star Trek VI: The Final Frontier. If pay cable counts, then it would be Enemy of the State. HWG: Who is your favorite musician? Fred: Enya. HWG: What is your favorite TV show? Fred: Star Trek. The original series mostly, but I like the others too. Except Voyager, cause I've never seen it. HWG: What is your favorite Web site? Fred: Don't really have a favorite. HWG: What is one of your non-Web related hobbies? Fred: Astronomy and pyrography (yeah, that's two). HWG: How long have you been a web designer? Fred: 5 years. HWG: How did you learn HTML? Fred: Some trial and error, but mostly from the HWG mailing lists. HWG: How long have you been a member of the Guild? Fred: 5 years. HWG: Why did you join the Guild? Fred: I was just starting out in web design, and I was going to create a new web site for the local astronomy club I'm in. Wanting to do it right, I decided to join HWG after seeing their logo on the web site of my first HTML editor. I followed the link, and the rest as they say, is history. HWG: What's your biggest pet peeve in web design? Fred: Right now it's the recommendation to use CSS in your pages, but having to keep the older tags that CSS replaces in order to insure your site looks the same or nearly the same in older browsers. It seems like double the work for no good reason. HWG: What's your internet start page? Fred: http://www.eatel.net/~fred/ (I use my personal page) HWG: Which search engine do you try first when web searching? Fred: Usually Infoseek, though sometimes I use Yahoo first. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This issue of HWG-News is sponsored by: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- TheShortList.com http://www.theshortlist.com Your e-career path just got shorter.  TheShortList.com provides on-line career profiling and resume services for IT and e-commerce professionals. In just a few minutes, you may gain increased exposure in America's top Dotcoms, Systems Integrators, Digital Media Houses or Corporate End Users involved in e-commerce. Best of all, TheShortList.com will put you in direct contact with the employers...no headhunters, no job postings, no wasted time.  Just you and your dream IT career. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. August Town Hall: Thursday, August 24th (Frank Boumphrey, VP of Special Events, vp-events@hwg.org) Note: Last issue we said that the Town Hall meeting would be the 31st. It is not the 31st, but the 24th of the month. We are sorry for any confusion this might have caused. Town Halls are informal affairs, where you can talk to the governing board, ask questions, and generally let you opinions be known in a more public forum than email. We hope to see you there! The details on the June town hall meeting are: 24 August Town Hall Meeting Date: Thursday, 24 August 2000 Time: 6:30 p.m. PST, 9:30 p.m. EST Server: HWG Interactive, http://interact.hwg.org/ IRC: irc.hwg.org, port 6667 Channel: #townhall To connect, either go to the URL above and use the Java-based client available via the web, or use your favorite IRC client and join channel #townhall. 4. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class! (Ann Navarro, Online Education Director, classes@hwg.org) Through a web-based interface, we offer a broad series of online classes designed to teach you the skills you need, in a way that fits your busy schedule. Our instructors are your fellow Guild members, chosen for their expertise in their field and their willingness to pass along their experience to you. Upcoming courses you can take include: Macromedia Flash Wizardry,A Master's Course Dates: August 21, 2000 - October 1, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $120 Full members, $150 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a222.1.html Take your Flash skills to the next level! This class takes you beyond the basics and into the lesser known aspects of Flash. Using Macromedia Dreamweaver - Part I Dates: August 28, 2000 - September 24, 2000 (4 weeks) Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a131.7.html Designed for the student who wishes to evaluate the Macromedia Dreamweaver 3.0 web design tool. The publicly available 30 day trial version will be available for students to use for this 4 week intensive course. Topics will include: layout and visual design, tools for creating tables, frames, and forms, implementing style sheets, and adding javascript or behaviors. New features in version 3.0 not mentioned in the current text as they pertain to these topics will also be covered. Introduction to HTML 4.0 Dates: September 4, 2000 - October 15, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h101.19.html Leave your WYSIWYG editor behind and explore the nuts and bolts that make web pages function! Business Writing Basics Dates: September 4, 2000 - October 29, 2000 (8 weeks) Tuition: $25 Full members, $50 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/b101.9.html You may be good at HTML tags, but that's just half the equation! Learn how to make your content sizzle in our writing course! Introduction to Programming Concepts Dates: September 11, 2000 - October 22, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $40 Full members, $70 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p010.4.html Want to take one of our programming courses, but feel you're not yet ready for the "intro" courses? Here's the class for you! Learn the programming concepts central to all programming languages, and you'll be prepared to master your next (or first!) choice of scripting or programming languages with ease. Sites that Sizzle: Web Animation with Macromedia Flash 4 Dates: September 11, 2000 - October 22, 2000 (6 weeks) Tuition: $60 Full members, $90 Trial members Details: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a221.11.html This course covers the exciting world of Flash 4. You will learn to draw, create, import and manipulate vector objects, making them come to life in frame-by-frame animations and on multiple layers. COURSE FEES Course fees are based on membership level; Full members receive a discounted tuition price, while Trial members pay the standard price. Full membership is only $40 per year, so upgrade your membership before registering, and save money! Payments may be made online via secure transaction; all figures are in U.S. funds. A certificate of completion is available for an additional $5; the request needs to be made at the time of registration. A certificate can be requested after class is completed for $10. Textbooks (when required) are separate and may be purchased through the Guild's online bookstore, The Bookmark. Books should be purchased before the first week of class! In addition, students should have regular access to the web and the ability to post completed assignments on a public (non-Intranet) web server. Sign up today through our online enrollment forms or get more information at: http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ 5. HWG Events in Your Future: STC Pan-Pacific Conference (Frank Boumphrey, VP of Special Events, vp-events@hwg.org) As part of our ongoing Speakers Bureau program, we are pleased to present this list of upcoming industry events at which the Guild will be participating. More information can be found at our events page: http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/events/ * STC Pan-Pacific Conference Honolulu,Hawaii October 18-21, 2000 http://www.pan-pacific.org/ Ann Navarro and Chris Higgs will be giving talks on XML. If you are attending either of these events, please stop by and introduce yourself to our HWG representatives, we'd love to meet you! 6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs (HWG-News Newsletter Editor, editor@hwg.org) This newsletter was edited by Marshall Jansen . Some questions you may be asking: Q: Why did I get this mail? A: You received this newsletter because you are a member of the HTML Writers Guild. This message came from HWG-News, the Guild's mandatory mailing list for all members. If you need more information about HWG-News, please see the List Charter at: http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-news/index.html Q. Why doesn't this newsletter talk about web design or HTML more? A. The newsletter is the Guild's administrative bulletin to the membership; beyond the HWG News Tips, we don't include specific information on web creation. If you are interested in the topics of Web design and HTML, then you might want to subscribe to some of our discussion lists devoted to those topics. More information on the Guild's offering of discussion lists can be found at: http://www.hwg.org/lists/mailinglists.html Q. How can I find out more about Guild activities? A. The Guild has set up a one-way announcement list, HWG-Announce, that carries bulletins of day-to-day Guild business. For details on how to subscribe, please see: http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-announce/ Q: How do I unsubscribe from HWG-News? A: Since this is a required list in order to maintain your Guild membership, unsubscribing is the same as resigning from the HTML Writers Guild. If you have your Member ID and password, to resign your membership in the Guild and to unsubscribe to HWG-News, visit: http://www.hwg.org/member/resign.html Fill in the pertinent information, and submit it. If you don't have a Member ID, or have forgotten your password, send mail to: mailto:lost-password@hwg.org with a Subject of: Resign membership In the body of the message, provide the following information: * Your email address(es) * Your member ID if you have one. * The list of discussion lists you are on. Please remember that unsubscribing to HWG-News automatically resigns you from the Guild. If you have problems with unsubscribing, please contact the password support team for help. Q: How do I change my email address for Guild mailings? A: Full members can update their membership profile at any time by going to this page: http://www.hwg.org/member/profile.html. If you don't know your password, contact the password support team for help. Trial members can send email to to change their email address. Q: Can my company advertise in the Guild's newsletter? A: Yes; the Guild is offering sponsorship opportunities in HWG-News on a limited basis. If you are interested in advertising your web related product or service here, please send email to advertising@hwg.org or call (334) 928-4542. Discounts are available to Guild Business and Corporate members, as well as for multiple placements. The Guild's newsletter reaches over 117,000 web authors worldwide each month. (Note: The Guild does not make our member database available for third party use. We have a strong privacy policy and will not release our members' personal information; our mailing list is not for sale. Any questions regarding the Guild's advertising or privacy policies can be directed to advertising@hwg.org.) Q: What if I want to comment on this newsletter? A: The HWG-News Mailing List is a "Read-Only" list -- please do not try to reply to this message directly. If you wish to contact the editor of this newsletter, you may do so by sending email to editor@hwg.org. Each article begins with the contact information for the author as well. Copyright 2000, HTML Writers Guild, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Published twice monthly via email and WWW.