November 1999
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The Ides of November 1999 |
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E-MAIL TIP Whenever you send an e-mail message that includes the URL of a Web site, make sure you precede it with the prefix http:// . This ensures that people who use who use Netscape's e-mail application or Pine in SmarTerm 8 or above (as well a plethora of other e-mail software programs such as Eudora and Outlook) will be able to click on the URL -- including the http:// protocol turns it into hyperlink within an e-mail message. Once the recipient clicks the hyperlink within your message, his/her Web browser is invoked and he/she can effortlessly visit the Web page you've cited. For example, if you're reading this issue of Ides in your e-mail you may be able to immediately see the difference between < www.winnefox.org > and < http://www.winnefox.org >. In addition to using the http:// prefix, please "buffer" URLs with the < and > signs and spaces (as in < http://www.winnefox.org >. Doing this ensures that, even if the person reading your message doesn't use e-mail software that turns URLs into clickable hyperlinks, it will #1 make URLs more easily identified from the rest of your sentence, and #2 it will be easier for him/her to cut and paste the URL into his/her Web browser. And make sure to include any punctuation OUTSIDE of the < and > signs -- otherwise a Web browser may confuse a .[dot] (as in winnefox dot org), and a .[period] as in the end of a sentence. And on a different note, in case you've been hearing about the Bubbleboy virus/worm, according to the McAfee Bubbleboy Help Center you don't need to take action against it unless you use a PC running Windows 98 with the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 Web browser and Outlook or Outlook Express. One risk of using search engines instead of selected lists evaluated by library staff is of running into "Rogue Web sites" masquerading as the real thing. Some rogue Web sites clearly state they're a parody, as at Whooee, it's the White House! However, others may masquerade as the real thing in an attempt to "hijack" "visitors". As seen in the October 1, 1999 issue of Library Juice an example of a rogue Web site can be seen in the difference between http://www.greyday.org and http://www.grayday.org. ŪTMark says, "... whereas http://www.greyday.org calls for more copyright protection, http://www.grayday.org urges visitors to keep the Internet 'free from phony copyright laws.'" Political campaigns seem to cause a boom in bogus Web sites as well. One example is U.S. Senate candidate Rudy Giuliani's official Web site at http://RudyYes.com/ versus ŪTMark's bogus version at http://YesRudy.com/. Even the humorous Mankato, MN Home Page (which includes links to Whale watching on the Minnesota River) has added a disclaimer, "Mankato, as portrayed on these pages, DOES NOT EXIST! PLEASE do not come here to see these sights. (This had to be added because several individuals have come here to see some of the sights listed on these pages!) What can I say??" And the most notorious examples are http://www.whitehouse.gov (the real one) versus http://www.whitehouse.net (a parody) and http://www.whitehouse.com (a porn Web site.) One clue you're at the wrong Web site is "What's New: The President signs the Telecommunications Act of 1996..." or "Help the BMS: The Bureau of Missing Socks is the first organization solely devoted to solving the question of what happens to missing single socks." And if you click the Reload button of your Web browser you'll see the different versions available -- one features a photo of the "stealth" model of the White House. As Ann Scholz-Crane said it in Evaluating World Wide Web Information, "using and citing information found over the Web is a little like swimming on a beach without a lifeguard." For tips on "sifting the gold from the chaff" on the Web, review Evaluating Information Found on the Internet to protect yourself from being "taken" by rogue or parody Web sites.
To help you keep your projects organized, you can create folders on your PC's desktop. Keeping related items together in folders gives you quick and easy access to everything you need, so you don't have to pick through different programs and directories to pull together the information. A folder can hold a shortcut or any type of electronic document -- a MSWord document, a shortcut to the A:\ drive, a spreadsheet, a PowerPoint presentation, shortcuts to Web sites, and even e-mail messages. To create your own project folder, right mouse click anywhere on your empty Windows 95 or Windows NT desktop and select "New", then "Folder". You can name the folder anything that will match your current project. Now you can create shortcuts to items and "drag and drop" them into your project folder. When your project is completed, you can either delete the contents or move them into other folders on your PC. Just in case you haven't already read about the new Encyclopaedia Britannica site make sure to give it a try -- EB has placed the entire contents of its 32-volume set online for free! Partly because the launch of this Web site was so widely publicized, the EB server crashed under the strain of so much traffic. However, according to American Libraries News for November 1, 1999 EB has been adding more Web servers to meet the demand, so despite some initial "speed bumps" the site is well worth a look. If you attended either the "Copyright Resources for Schools and Libraries" program or arrived early enough at the "BadgerLink and the Linked Systems Project" program at the recent WLA conference, you would have heard the catchy tune "Library Girl." Now you can hear it on your own PC (if you have a sound card, speakers, and either RealPlayer G2 version 6 or higher plugin [the basic player is a free download] or a MP3 player) at the Boyzvoice Web site. (Scroll past all the photos of the band and friends, until you get to the icon to download the mp3 format file.) "Help me turn this page, baby."
is Cranberry
and Turkey Casserole. If you're looking for more recipes for Thanksgiving
gatherings (or what to do with leftovers) try the
Searchable Online Archive of Recipes (SOAR) Thanksgiving collection
and Thanksgiving
Recipe.com. |
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The Ides is written
by Joy Schwarz. URL: http://www.winnefox.org/ides/idesnov99.html |
