Bruce
Radio Shoots Itself in the Internet Foot
Traditional, terrestrial radio isn't doing a great job of approaching the new world of Internet music. They are making a strategic mistake that will come back to haunt them soon.
Will the DotCom Implosion Ease the Skills Shortage?
After more DotComs go belly up and those hundreds of Internet companies rumoured to be circling the drain start to gurgle, a whole bunch of only slightly tarnished development talent will come on the job market. Will it be enough?
How Corporates Poison their Own Web Efforts
Stiff corporate thinking has to change if big business wants to cash in on the entrepreneurial genius that lurks within their organisations. Otherwise their best people will leave to build competing, light-on-their-feet dotcom businesses.
The Dotcom Pointy-haired Boss Syndrome
PHBs, people who are hard to work with, troublesome, incompetent and all the other horrible things we can lump together under this acronym will always be with us. I’ve worked for several of them and probably will again. My experience has taught me that the best thing to do is get away from them as quickly as possible.
Hey Napster fans! Pull your pants up, turn your hat around and get a job.
Today's Junk Software
Web development software that simply does not work well causes huge problems for start-ups.
What Internet Skills Shortage?
There’s plenty of talent out there but most people don’t know how to hire Internet developers.
Banner Ads Eat St. Louis!
Personalisation is going to make Internet advertising huge. There will be a bit of a premium charge for this of course.
Client-side vs Agency-side
Why do some projects sing along and others flop? Internet projects are supposed to be fun. How can you work with a Web agency without killing each other?
TCP/IP TV?
Highly Targeted Marketing on the Web - a Cadillac in the jungle, and other stories.
How to Hire the Best Web Developers
You’ve finally got the approval for the big, cool Web project you’ve been pushing for over the last year, and now all you need is to hire some great Web developers who can write HTML and Java and get the site up and keep it running. All you need now are some people who can write HTML and Java, right? How do you find and hire these people?
Controlled Chaos Is the Key
Establishing and managing a large commercial Web site is similar to running a daily newspaper. Deadlines are not only daily, but hourly or even more unreasonable. Seeming chaos in such newsroom environments is normal and perhaps even desirable. Actual chaos, on the other hand, quickly robs a development effort of efficiency and timeliness. Actual chaos demoralises the troops and costs money.
How I Made a Lawyer's Fortune from a Virus
Two weeks later, holding the phone two feet from my ear, I heard the Ayatollah bellow in a surprising loud moo "the damn virus is everywhere!
Hard Drive Cram
How big did you say that program is?
IRQs, DMAs, Memory Addresses
All of us at WDJ are more than ready for Plug and Play that really works.
The Tech Support Blues
These people are really trying hard to do their job - shame it's a bit like sweeping sand on the beach.
What's So Cool About Tablets?
What are all these people on about with those little tablets and crazy pens? Don't they know how to use a mouse?
Managing Commercial Web Sites
While establishing and managing a commercial Web site, several key issues need to be addressed not just during the planning stages but on an ongoing basis. Here are a few items a smart Web manager should think about. Community BuildingMove to Open StandardsOnline DemographicsBuilding LoyaltyIncremental Revenue StreamsImproving Performance
|
Charlie
The Internet Company is Dead
The free-for-all e-commerce environment that spawned prodigies like Amazon and eBay is gone forever. Pet supplies, anyone?
A Web Developer's Christmas Wish List
I'm making my list, and I want a helluva lot more than my two front teeth!
Web Makes Business Sense Obsolete
Stick to the business you're in? Don't kill the golden goose? These and other time-tested business principles are daily ignored by the Internet's young turks.
An Internet Parable
This story should be familiar to those of us of "Baby Boomer" age (and our parents). Our adolescent dreams of Rock stardom lead to a very important lesson for today's Web developers.
A Plea for Editors
Basic proofreading has gone to the dogs, and it threatens to bring our civilization down with it.
How to Build Lame Web Sites
Every customer is different, and therefore there are innumerable ways to drive them away. However, certain tried-and-true methods are practically guaranteed to yield results.
Microsoft FrontPage - Friend or Foe?
Is What You See really What You Get? FrontPage may give you more than you bargained for.
Dynamic HTML - So Near and Yet So Far
Netscape or Microsoft? I'll take the one in the middle, please. A silly arms-race mentality keeps exciting new tools tantalizingly out of our reach.
The Web in 1998
Will ad banners become passe? Will most Web sites start charging subscription fees? Will "cost-per-click" become the prevalent advertising model? No, none of these apocalyptic events will happen.
A Do-It-Yourself Webmaster's Kit
Ready to dive into the Web for fun and profit? Or, if you're already in the pool, do you want to venture a little farther off the deep end?
Like any craftsman, a Webmaster or Web designer needs a set of good quality tools. Unlike most other crafts, a lot of fine Web tools are cheap or even free. And even better, you can read reviews of lots of cool tools, and even download them, right here at the good old Web Developer's Journal. This article is a list of suggestions for your toolbox, and serves as an overview of the various tutorials, reviews, downloads and other stuff available here at the WDJ.
Paige
We'll Make Money Selling Ads On the Site!
Build a special interest Web site about your hobby and make millions selling ad banners! Your mileage may vary.
Banner Ads Aren't Worth It
We do the math for you. It's not a good deal.
Chaos is Not a Symptom of a Healthy Start-up
But is chaos a necessary part of an Internet development effort or is it a symptom of poor management?
CyberSex 2000 - The End of Civilization As We Know It?
Cyber sex will be happening big time. The two-way vibrating two-way joysticks that were popular after 2000 are a big yawn (ThrustMaster, indeed . . . !).
|
Andrew
Internet Predictions For 2001
Now that January is over and most industry pundits have made their predictions for 2001, Andrew Starling is able to steal their ideas and present them as his own.
Commercial Overkill
Many sites are cramming more adverts on to their pages and heavily pushing their affiliate programs. The problem is that at some point the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
Why The Web Still Isn't Ready For Consumers
Despite early projections, consumers have not been overwhelming e-retailers with business. The questions we need to ask ourselves are why, and is there anything positive we can do to improve the situation?
The Internet and Society
We're all so busy building Internet sites that sometimes it's hard to see the wood for the trees. What effect is our wonderful industry having on society as a whole? Andrew Starling steps back from the oaks and views the forest.
File Addressing
File addressing is all about filepaths and the way that images and other files are referenced in an HTML document. Here's a quick review of the four main methods of addressing - default, absolute, relative and root.
The IT A-bomb Team
When you create a new Web site, what's your prime audience? People or machines?
Web Site Trends
We all know that Microsoft Internet Explorer is way ahead of Netscape Navigator, but which Web servers are most popular, and what design elements do top Web sites have in common? Here are some of the answers.
Dotcom Bubble - "The Emperor Has No Clothes!"
Expect valuations in ecommerce companies and other consumer business to go down even further. Somebody has noticed the Emperor is nude and the stock market and venture capitalists are no longer prepared
to pay for his wardrobe.
Who Controls the Internet?
If you've ever been asked this question, you'll know it's a difficult one to answer. The obvious reply is "nobody". Problem is - nobody believes you.
MP3 Will Give Streaming a Bloody Nose
Big media companies hope that the free MP3 phenomenon will toddle off into a quiet corner somewhere and die, so they can make money out of streaming audio. No chance. Don't they know the Internet has changed the rules?
One Fat Gecko: Netscape 6
Had a look at the Netscape 6 preview version yet? It's been out on release for a few months, and now all the fuss has died down
(what fuss was that then?) it's time to take a long hard look at the monster Netscape has saddled us with.
The Mad, Mad World of Pixels Per Inch (PPI)
A measure of resolution for JPEGs, GIFs, and computer monitors. It's not straightforward.
Domain Vacant
Many of the best domain names belong to speculators. Problem is, most of these names are still standing idle, waiting for a sucker with deep pockets to come along.
Navigation - What's On Your Visitor's Mind?
The Web is packed with opinions on good and bad navigation, along with many pages of guidelines on how to get it right. But let's skip all that and look at one or two original concepts based on the way your visitors think.
The Web Meets TV - It's Tabloid Time
Television and the Web are two media on a collision course. Surely it won't be long before they merge and we see them both on the same screen. Or maybe not.
Of course the Internet will be taxed.
Governments may find themselves losing tax income because of e-commerce. They won't like it.
|
