Newsletter ArchiveSUBJECTs:E-mail Netiquette- Oh Netscape, Where Art Thou? The Internet 800 Directory - http://www.inter800.com The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter This issue is for Friday, March 15, 2002 Table of Contents 01. E-mail Netiquette 02. Oh Netscape, Where Art Thou? Welcome to The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter. An event took place this week that we all need to aware of; ICANN, the nonprofit organization that oversees technical issues related to the Internet's addressing system (domain names) has eliminated public representation on their board. This group directs policy that affects all of us that use the Internet and now public participation in this process has been ended. Please take some time and let your Congressperson know how you feel on this subject. If you have any thought or ideas you would like to share with me, please send them to Chuck Arning at chuck@inter800.com *01 E-mail Netiquette These past two weeks, Chuck has discussed some of the technical elements of email. Today, I'm going to cover a few basic points regarding the more human side of email communication. Consider it a lesson in Netiquette. First, please try to remember that text has no tone. One of the drawbacks of communicating via email is a lack of body language and tone of voice. Sarcasm, for example, is completely lost. Oftentimes, we let our own insecurities add meanings to the email that may not having been intended by author. Try to keep this in mind when reading AND writing emails. Make your language as clear as possible. Add more information about how you feel than you would during a verbal exchange. Try to look at the incoming message as objectively as possible. When I first started using the Internet, I found myself involved in more than one "flame war" that was caused by a misunderstanding of meaning. Second, use spell check, or at least proofread your email before you send it. Myself, I am an excellent speller. Unfortunately, I'm a horrible typist. I proofread almost every email before I send it and have someone else proof something meant for widespread publication (like this newsletter). When communicating via email, you don't have the benefit of physical appearance. Your words and how they appear on the screen are pretty much responsible for creating an impression of you. Careless typing or poor spelling can lead someone to think you are unintelligent and/or sloppy. Is this how you wish to be perceived? Third, when sending out the same email to multiple parties, use the "Bcc" function available in most (if not all) email programs. Bcc stands for Blind Carbon Copy. It conceals the email addresses from the other recipients. Many view their email addresses as privately as their phone number. I would not give out someone's phone number without their specific consent, so neither would I divulge an email address. If you are forwarding an email (such as a joke), you may want to consider first removing the email adress(es) that sent it to you. Fourth, avoid sending attachments. Most people have a very deep-seated fear of viruses and are extremely hesitant to open any attachment. If you do send an attachment, it’s usually a good idea not to include more than one attachment per email. For example, if you were sending 4 photos, you'd send 4 emails, each with one photo attached. Most of the world is not using a broadband connection so receiving an email with 4 photos attached could be a painstaking affair. Further, many Internet providers limit the amount of space reserved for incoming email and huge files can effectively shut down the recipient's email box. Word documents can contain Macros that can be used to convey viruses and should be virus scanned before opening. If what you are sending is basically text, include it in the body of the email rather than attaching a Word document. On this note, I'd like to remind everyone that it is usually a good idea not to open any attachments unless you were expecting them. The idea that it's ok if it's from someone you know is now ridiculous. Most viruses immediately attack the infected party's address book and send to EVERYONE that person knows. In other words, if you get a virus, it is extremely likely that it came from someone you know. Last, I'm going to leave you with a very basic computer maintenance plan. This is primarily for new computer users, although some may have been using computers for years and never been taught this (my wife still doesn't get it!). If you have a program that is behaving erratically, sometimes, the simplest way to correct it is to simply close the program and re-open it. If this does not work, reboot the computer and then re-open the program. If this still does not work, a last ditch effort would be to uninstall and re-install the software. Thanks for your time today. I hope this information is helpful. George Paul (http://gotollfree.com) The Internet 800 Directory 800-299-1879 george@gotollfree.com We’re Talkin’ Serious” Bone Suckin’ Sauce ! Winner: “Battle Of The Sauces.” Created in true western North Carolina style. Tomato based all-natural, sweetened with honey and molasses. Order your Box of six today for $39.99 +s/h. Toll-Free 1-800-446-0947 or online http://www.BoneSuckin.com *02 Oh Netscape, Where Art Thou? Ever ask yourself, "Whatever happened to Netscape?" Long time Internet users will recall that Netscape was once the dominant Internet browser. The company enjoyed incredible stock growth and was frequently referred to as the fastest growing software company in history. But where is it now? Let's start by reviewing their history. >From Netscape's web site: Netscape was founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, who founded Silicon Graphics, and Marc Andreessen, who created the NCSA Mosaic software whose graphical user interface simplified Internet navigation. The Mountain View, California, company held its initial public offering in August 1995, only 16 months after it’s founding. In 1994, Netscape developed and refined an innovative new way to distribute software when it made the first copies of Netscape Navigator client software available for download over the Internet. >From the original email authored by Marc Andreessen: Mosaic Communications Corporation is making a public version of Mosaic Netscape 0.9 Beta available for anonymous FTP. Mosaic Netscape is a built-from-scratch Internet navigator featuring performance optimized for 14.4 modems, native JPEG support, and more. Subject to the timing and results of this beta cycle, Mosaic Communications will release Mosaic Netscape 1.0, also available free for personal use via the Internet. The release was met with great enthusiasm and Netscape was well on its way to becoming an indispensable tool for the Internet user. >From Wired, 2/10/94 (By Gary Wolfe): "Don't look now, but Prodigy, AOL, and CompuServe are all suddenly obsolete - and Mosaic is well on its way to becoming the world's standard interface. When it comes to smashing a paradigm, pleasure is not the most important thing. It is the only thing. If this sounds wrong, consider Mosaic. Mosaic is the celebrated graphical "browser" that allows users to travel through the world of electronic information using a point-and-click interface. Mosaic's charming appearance encourages users to load their own documents onto the Net, including color photos, sound bites, video clips, and hypertext "links" to other documents. By following the links - click, and the linked document appears - you can travel through the online world along paths of whim and intuition." In many ways, Netscape's browser is as responsible for the web's current popularity as anything else, maybe more so. Netscape's browser enabled the Internet to be used by those who had little to no experience. Netscape was the first commercial company to distribute its software over the Internet. At one point, Netscape executives even claimed that their browser would be the heart of a new Net-based operating system that could challenge the Microsoft Windows hegemony. And that appears to be the beginning of the end. In a nutshell, Netscape openly challenged Microsoft at their own game, but found they did not have the ability or resources to compete at the same level. In CEO Jim Barksdale's words: "It was not a totally uncommon event for a customer to question whether it made sense to do business with Netscape because of Microsoft's public position that it was going to crush Netscape's business." This prompts me to wonder why Netscape so brazenly challenged a company whose power it obviously feared and respected. Barksdale contends that Microsoft engaged in many practices designed to interfere with Netscape's ability to distribute its browser. Inbedding Internet Explorer in every machine that used a Windows operating system hurt Netscape tremendously, as most computer buyers simply used the software that was already installed on the machine. Since then, Netscape's market share has slipped to 7% (with Microsoft holding 91%). The company has been purchased by AOL Time Warner and seems to exist mostly for the value of its lawsuit against Microsoft. You see, AOL is now openly challenging Microsoft and Netscape's lawsuit may give them leverage in their ongoing battle. Who is responsible for Netscape's tumble? It seems to me that everybody shares the responsibility in varying degrees. Microsoft certainly did seek to crush Netscape and used business practices that are most likely illegal. Still, Netscape understood Microsoft's position in the industry and arrogantly chose to attack them just the same. More than anything, this decision is probably the basis of Microsoft's claim that Netscape's demise is due to poor business decisions. And to think that all of this has taken place in the span of less than 8 years. George Paul (http://gotollfree.com) The Internet 800 Directory 800-299-1879 george@gotollfree.com Vegas Vacation has the best rates on Las Vegas Hotel Rooms. Don't make a reservation without calling us first! Call 800-637-6442 or visit our ad in the Internet 800 Directory: http://inter800.com/02281174.htm Banners? Pay-per-click? Why not target your market with links or information placed in relevant content? The Internet 800 Directory Newsletter offers direct access to business people who are interested buyers. Advertising: Information on how to sponsor this publication: Call 800-299-1879 Thanks for taking to time to review our newsletter for this week. If you know of anyone that might benefit from receiving this newsletter, send them to (http://www.inter800.com/news800/ ) where they can subscribe. All Contents Copyright ©1995-2002 The Internet 800 Directory Subscribe To The Newsletter: |