Web Resources and Interesting Sites

LAMP stands for Linux (operating system), Apache (web server), MySQL (database management system) and PHP (scripting language). Hosting a website involves using a server for serving content in HTML. A server by itself can only serve static web content. A dynamic site is generated by collecting and storing data which is created on the fly by user inputs.. eg user names and passwords. A program called 'server-side scripting language' helps the web server construct dynamic, customized web pages. The language, using the embedded scripts, collects and processes the data, assembles the page and loads it on the server, which can then pass it to the browser.

LAMP is a free, open-source web development suite, which combines the four technologies of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP and is a powerful solution for building high performance, database-driven websites. For more info on LAMP, visit Onlamp.

If you use your keyboard a lot and need to hone your typing skills to enhance your productivity, TypeWeb is an effective on-line service that helps you do just that.

These sites serve a very useful function.. they create graphics (buttons, logos, banners..) online, free of cost, for anyone who needs to create a web-page graphic and isn't an artist:

d)- Crecon (banners only.. they have lots of banner backgrounds to choose from).

HTML., (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) the web-page formatting language developed by Tim Berners-Lee, revolutionized the internet, leading to the creation of the world wide web and bringing a host of divergent forces into cyberspace. In the beginning only HTML was used to build web pages. But HTML has a drawback: it can only create static pages. As things advanced, many new technologies and platforms developed, like Java, Javascript, CGI and Flash, which allowed dynamic, design-rich, database-driven sites to be built. But this led to more problems for web developers.. a web design pro has got to learn some or all of these platforms and languages if he has to stay ahead. To get around this, there's a new language called Curl which combines the features of the popular web-creation technologies. Curl provides all the tools required to create dynamic, interactive pages with multi-media features. That means that a web developer now can be proficient in a single platform, Curl, to produce that great site. Details are available at the Curl site.

Climateprediction.net is the largest experiment to try and produce a forecast of the climate in the 21st century. To do this, they need people around the world to give time on their computers - time when they have their computers switched on, but are not using them to their full capacity. [read more..]

The internet abounds in 'net agents', sites that act as agents for users. For instance if a journalist needs to monitor the latest update to a site of journalistic interest, he has to keep visiting that site or sites. C4U helps make this kind of task easy. Using the C4U software you can automatically get updates on hot developments in sites of your choice, right on your desktop.

Then there's the agent portal! This one has a huge store of information on agents across the web. It's called, naturally, agentland.

When you send an email, the system automatically states the date and time it was sent. Maybe you need to show the date and time differently to the recipient. There's a service which allows you to do that. You can specify the date and time you want the email to show. The service will send the email on that specific date and time. The service is called EmailAlibi.

Need to monitor the dynamic files (mailbox files, log files etc) on your computer that are continually changing? Use the free software Tail This. You'll need to also download the VB files needed to run this neat program.

Another innovation on the internet is email-based website management. Pagegetter is a service that allows you to collect any web page, with all its embedded components, by sending an email to the address provided.. bingo, it's yours. Visit pagegetter for details.

Web pages often need to be constantly updated. For instance, 'today's price' or 'today's special offer' or 'today's headlines' would be meaningless if the data wasn't current. But there's a couple of bottlenecks here: often pages are maintained/updated not by the content provider, but the site administrator; and the process of updating itself can be time-consuming; and some hosts don't even provide file managers. FlexWindow is a service that enables dynamic content on a site to be updated via email.. the person who wants the content updated doesn't have to be great at HTML. All one has to do is copy and paste the javascript code that's sent after registration, on the page that needs to be updated; after which, updating is done simply by sending an email to them. Visit FlexWindow for details.

Most computers are shared by users, at home or in the office. This throws up a problem: how to keep sensitive data private? It can be encrypted, but that has its own disadvantages: it must be de-crypted every time before access, and if you lose the password, the data is lost forever. FileGuard is a neat solution that gives the user control over his/her sensitive data by setting various levels of access restrictions.

Search engines depend on data collected by automatic programs for their reults. This poses obvious limitations on the depth and quality of search results. A way past this is to get net users themselves involved in the search process; each user stores new or unknown web pages in a sharable area accessible by other users. This results in an exponential increase in the quantity and quality of search results; the more users sharing information, the better the results. This is the P2P (Peer to Peer) model, made (in)famous by Napster, but which can be used legally and with great benefit. Widesource is a P2P search engine. Its use involves installing the software and initiating a search string.. this prompts the program to examine the bookmarks of current users on the Widesource network. The program has additional features like worldwide chat etc.

Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) don't allow 'relay' of email messages. That basically means that you can only send email from your PC through your ISP using your ISP-provided user name/passowrd.. when an email is sent this way, your mail client (eg Outlook Express) contacts your ISP's SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server, which then does the work of delivering the message to the addressee. But if you are using another connection (say your friend's, or the airport lounge's, or even a different ISP on your own PC), the ISP will refuse to 'relay' the message (this is basically to prevent unauthorised users, spammers etc). To get around this, you can use a free open SMTP relay service, or install a personal SMTP server. OpenRelay carries a list of free open SMTP relay services. If you want the option of a personal SMTP server, there's MailExpress.. (trial version).

13)-Cyberwalker: Tips on how to upgrade your PC., stop pop-ups, reduce spam, update your BIOS, clear offensive sites, and much more.

Great science and technology website. Features daily news, conference reports, book reviews, interviews and links: New Scientist

Need a fixed IP address for your computer? This free service will give a domain name (like yourname.no-ip.info) which will always point to your computer even if your ISP has a dynamic IP for your machine. For more details go to No-Ip

Looking for a diploma in web design?? Or just all the info, resources and guidance on building effective web pages.. Check out W3 Schools