dinsdag, oktober 31, 2006
Feedburner
Having a blog is one thing. Having people knowing about your blog and reading it is another. I stumbled accross Feedburner.com. This site helps you to promote your blog by including it in its listing and provides various services for blog owners, most of them free and some paying. People can subscribe to the feeds with the tool of their choice and blog owners can anlyse subscription, optimize their feeds etc. One cool example of the service is a rotating headline animator that I use as a mail footer, just by inserting some HTML code, like below.
My feedburner site is http://feeds.feedburner.com/journeytoabout2findoutcom.
My feedburner site is http://feeds.feedburner.com/journeytoabout2findoutcom.
maandag, oktober 30, 2006
To blog or not to blog
Blogs are perhaps the 'killer app' for web2.0. I'm also a part of the blogosphere for one month now and so far it's a positive experience. I try to write two or three posts a week. Blogs are all around us now, we even have our internal blogs at IBM these days, and I can't help wondering why so many people would be interested to read what seems to be the digital version of a diary. Today I want to shortly share my experience in setting up a blog.
First there is the choice of site. The most popular blogging tools include MovableType, Blogger, TypePad and Wordpress. You can read some comparisons here.
MovableType and TypePad are both owned by Six Apart. Blogger.com has been purchased by Google some time ago.
I chose blogger because it is free (TypePad isn't), simple (on first sight MovableType is so powerfull it has to be complex too) and has an intuitive interface and clear help section to get you started. I also chose it because it is integrated with Google's Adsense and I wanted to experiment with that as well. Finally I chose Blogger because with Blogger you can actually put the blog on your own web site.
The most 'difficult' part of Blogger for me was the customisation of the template. Blogger has nice default templates, and with a little knowledge of style sheets (CSS, well explained on w3schools.com), you can tweak the colors, font size etc. It's also in the template you can add the creativecommons or other logo's (see on the left).
Next is a screenshot of the interface to post a new blog entry (this one actually). As you can see, a nice clean and clear interface. I recommend Blogger.
First there is the choice of site. The most popular blogging tools include MovableType, Blogger, TypePad and Wordpress. You can read some comparisons here.
MovableType and TypePad are both owned by Six Apart. Blogger.com has been purchased by Google some time ago.
I chose blogger because it is free (TypePad isn't), simple (on first sight MovableType is so powerfull it has to be complex too) and has an intuitive interface and clear help section to get you started. I also chose it because it is integrated with Google's Adsense and I wanted to experiment with that as well. Finally I chose Blogger because with Blogger you can actually put the blog on your own web site.
The most 'difficult' part of Blogger for me was the customisation of the template. Blogger has nice default templates, and with a little knowledge of style sheets (CSS, well explained on w3schools.com), you can tweak the colors, font size etc. It's also in the template you can add the creativecommons or other logo's (see on the left).Next is a screenshot of the interface to post a new blog entry (this one actually). As you can see, a nice clean and clear interface. I recommend Blogger.
zaterdag, oktober 28, 2006
Mindblowing presentation style
In my last post I referred to the identity 2.0 site. Even if identity 2.0 doesn't mean anything to you, I urge everyone to have a look at this presentation by it's founder Dick Hardt. I'm sooooo jealous at his presentation style. Here I am, in my daily job doing these bullet point presentations in my company's approved house style, instead of telling a story like Dick does. Wow.
PS There's actually a book 'Beyond Bullet Points' that helps you turn presentations into stories, using Hollywood's proven story telling techniques.
PS There's actually a book 'Beyond Bullet Points' that helps you turn presentations into stories, using Hollywood's proven story telling techniques.
donderdag, oktober 26, 2006
Passwords, passwords,...
Small tip today: instead of using your dog's name or just 'password' as a password, you can actually generate strong passwords for free at the following site: http://www.winguides.com/security/password.php
Just select the criteria for your new password and click the button. The only thing this free web application can't do for you is remember it. :-)
The problem with today's web is the "identity silo's". You need a separate account for every site you use (so far in my about2findout journey these are directnic, seekdotnet, blogger, feedburner, google adsense). There is a growing identity 2.0 movement trying to overcome this inconvenience, but it's not mainstream yet. I'm not sure how identity and logon will be handled at my site yet, but probably with the traditional userid and password.
Just select the criteria for your new password and click the button. The only thing this free web application can't do for you is remember it. :-)
The problem with today's web is the "identity silo's". You need a separate account for every site you use (so far in my about2findout journey these are directnic, seekdotnet, blogger, feedburner, google adsense). There is a growing identity 2.0 movement trying to overcome this inconvenience, but it's not mainstream yet. I'm not sure how identity and logon will be handled at my site yet, but probably with the traditional userid and password.
dinsdag, oktober 24, 2006
AJAX
For me, the social aspects of web2.0 are much more important than the technical ones. But there are some new technological evolutions that are characteristic for the new web applications, and the most important one of them is undoubtebly AJAX.
In short, AJAX technology offloads some interaction and application logic to the browser. It makes the application more responsive and dynamic, because there is no back and forth to the web server needed anymore for every single click. It's done by using a whole lot of JavaScript on the browser side.
I like the idea very much. In fact, also Microsoft and the ASP.NET community are working on a project codenamed ATLAS, that will bring AJAX technology to ASP.NET applications. But I'm not a good enough programmer to be able to deeply understand or write all these javascripts. I can and will include ready-made AJAX components, such as these. The AJAX controls toolkit is expected somewhere near the end of the year, which should be in time for my prototype site.
DECISION: I will only use free, ready-made AJAX controls and scripts
In short, AJAX technology offloads some interaction and application logic to the browser. It makes the application more responsive and dynamic, because there is no back and forth to the web server needed anymore for every single click. It's done by using a whole lot of JavaScript on the browser side.
I like the idea very much. In fact, also Microsoft and the ASP.NET community are working on a project codenamed ATLAS, that will bring AJAX technology to ASP.NET applications. But I'm not a good enough programmer to be able to deeply understand or write all these javascripts. I can and will include ready-made AJAX components, such as these. The AJAX controls toolkit is expected somewhere near the end of the year, which should be in time for my prototype site.
DECISION: I will only use free, ready-made AJAX controls and scripts
zondag, oktober 22, 2006
MS Expression Web
Today I started to work on my mother-in-law's web site. She opening a bed & breakfast, and two home cooked meals make me the web master :-). Of course the site name is registered with DirectNic.com, as all my sites are.
For the first time I'm using Microsoft Expression Web, a new product from Microsoft currently in beta and freely downloadable here. Expression Web succeeds Frontpage, but doesn't use any Frontpage server-side technologies and is (at first look) completely standards based. It heavily uses style sheets and has a standards compliance checker. It also integrates the standard ASP.NET components. On the site you will find tutorials, video's and two free virtual labs all for free. And I found already a web site out there where you can buy Expression-compatible templates, called ExpressionGraphics.net .
I've only played with the tool for some hours, but so far, I like it. Whether or not I'll use it for about2findout will depend on my experience and it's retail price once public I guess.
For the first time I'm using Microsoft Expression Web, a new product from Microsoft currently in beta and freely downloadable here. Expression Web succeeds Frontpage, but doesn't use any Frontpage server-side technologies and is (at first look) completely standards based. It heavily uses style sheets and has a standards compliance checker. It also integrates the standard ASP.NET components. On the site you will find tutorials, video's and two free virtual labs all for free. And I found already a web site out there where you can buy Expression-compatible templates, called ExpressionGraphics.net .
I've only played with the tool for some hours, but so far, I like it. Whether or not I'll use it for about2findout will depend on my experience and it's retail price once public I guess.
donderdag, oktober 19, 2006
Creative Commons
Today I want to talk about a cool site that helps you with all legal issues of owning your own texts and web content, and still be able to share it to the free, open internet community. It matters. If you do nothing, anyone can steal your ideas and claim ownership of it. In an open source, you want others to benefit and share, but you still want to be recognised as the author. And for inventions, you don't want someone else to patent your idea because you forgot to protect it.
It's called Creative Commons, and this is their own description :
Instead of copyright, it is referred to as copyleft and used increasingly on blogs and web2.0 sites. It's very simple: you go to this page, select the options you want such as allowing commercial use, applicable legislation, whether or not modifications are allowed and it generates a logo and associated HTML code for you to copy on your site. Anyone clicking on the logo will find a legal text covering your 'copyleft'. The sites also allows for copyleft music and for searching material under the Creative Commons license.
DECISION: any content on about2findout.com will be subject to a Creative Commons license.
It's called Creative Commons, and this is their own description :
With a Creative Commons license, you keep your copyright but allow people to copy and distribute your work provided they give you credit -- and only on the conditions you specify here.
Instead of copyright, it is referred to as copyleft and used increasingly on blogs and web2.0 sites. It's very simple: you go to this page, select the options you want such as allowing commercial use, applicable legislation, whether or not modifications are allowed and it generates a logo and associated HTML code for you to copy on your site. Anyone clicking on the logo will find a legal text covering your 'copyleft'. The sites also allows for copyleft music and for searching material under the Creative Commons license.
DECISION: any content on about2findout.com will be subject to a Creative Commons license.
dinsdag, oktober 17, 2006
6C learning
I'll be in Berlin Dec 1st to present a case study I've done at the Belgian ministry of finance together with prof. Baten and prof. Viaene of KULeuven. It will be the first time our 6C learning model is presented in Europe. The 6C learning model basically is a way to structure the complex field of (e)learning into 6 attention areas: Concept, Computer Infrastructure, Content, Culture & Attitude, Coaching and Coordination & Control. It has become the glasses I use to look at learning. And of course the about2findout.com project will adhere to those principles, we'll cover all areas. In fact, I regard about2findout.com as a 6C learning project.
Have a look at the model and feel free to comment: http://www.6c-learning.org . It's released under a Creative Commons license that allows free non-commercial use of the model. Enjoy :-)
Have a look at the model and feel free to comment: http://www.6c-learning.org . It's released under a Creative Commons license that allows free non-commercial use of the model. Enjoy :-)
zondag, oktober 15, 2006
Sunday afternoon sandbox
I should have gone outside, it was a sunny day in Belgium, but instead I spent my sunday figuring out Visual Studio. I created this 'sandbox' website on my local computer to get to know the tool and some of its features. I used to be a Delphi programmer long time ago, and it takes me quite some adjustment to work with VS. What strikes me is that the help is no help at all too me. When I see a button on the screen that I don't understand, pressing F1 will get me all sorts of information, but not what that button does or that particular error message or even the component I'm working with. Maybe it's my configuration settings, but at least Delphi got me directly to the answer. Anyway, I work around it by using Google as my online help during programmation and it works very well. Most answers, short and targeted explanations and sample code can be found somewhere on the net. But isn't it weird that I learn more from Google, forums and wikibooks than from the product's own integrated help? The Masie Centre calls Google 'fingertip knowledge', and I'm starting to understand what they mean :-) .
Anyway, in my sandbox experiment I'm building an online application for the many learning quotes and statements that I collected over the past months.
My progress so far includes comparing the ease of use of a MS Access, MS SQL or XML database, playing with style sheets and getting the GridView component to work as I want (and I did find a way to shorten long text and abbreviate it automatically in the table! Hurray!).
I'm going to use an MS Access one because it integrates quite good with the tool (auto-update, insert etc), and I don't want to spend money on renting an MS SQL database for this little toy application. I also like the simplicity of having it in one file that can just be copied without the need for database management tools and scripts.
Next week I'm trying to find out how to protect the site before I put it on the internet and I'll try to build a page with a random quote. And the week after that I want to turn it into a Web Service that gives you a random quote. As long as I'm learning to build a proper site, I might as well experiment with something reusable afterwards...
Anyway, in my sandbox experiment I'm building an online application for the many learning quotes and statements that I collected over the past months.
My progress so far includes comparing the ease of use of a MS Access, MS SQL or XML database, playing with style sheets and getting the GridView component to work as I want (and I did find a way to shorten long text and abbreviate it automatically in the table! Hurray!).
I'm going to use an MS Access one because it integrates quite good with the tool (auto-update, insert etc), and I don't want to spend money on renting an MS SQL database for this little toy application. I also like the simplicity of having it in one file that can just be copied without the need for database management tools and scripts.
Next week I'm trying to find out how to protect the site before I put it on the internet and I'll try to build a page with a random quote. And the week after that I want to turn it into a Web Service that gives you a random quote. As long as I'm learning to build a proper site, I might as well experiment with something reusable afterwards...
zaterdag, oktober 14, 2006
The wisdom of crowds
During my flight back yesterday, I finished reading 'The Wisdom of Crowds', by James Surowiecki. The book's tag line reads 'why the many are smarter than the few' and a summary is on the site : "large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant—better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future."
It's a good book, although not all examples are relevant for this part of the world. It does however make a learning professional think about the value of expertise. Under favorable conditions (a diverse, very large audience without any particular skills or without having access to all detailed information, but making independant decisions), crowds tend to outperform individual experts with access to all information. So, is expertise overrated? Does it make sense to pay a lot of money to an individual for something the crowd can do better? These questions become relevant in an internet age because with almost no extra cost we CAN access a crowd nowadays where it would have been impossible or very costly before. Some web2.0 sites prove that a lot of Joe Commons equal or outperform corporations or professionals.
Wouldn't it be great to use this 'wisdom of crowds' for learning somehow without relying solely on the expert/teacher? The book hasn't given me any answers, just a lot more questions. I recommend this book.
It's a good book, although not all examples are relevant for this part of the world. It does however make a learning professional think about the value of expertise. Under favorable conditions (a diverse, very large audience without any particular skills or without having access to all detailed information, but making independant decisions), crowds tend to outperform individual experts with access to all information. So, is expertise overrated? Does it make sense to pay a lot of money to an individual for something the crowd can do better? These questions become relevant in an internet age because with almost no extra cost we CAN access a crowd nowadays where it would have been impossible or very costly before. Some web2.0 sites prove that a lot of Joe Commons equal or outperform corporations or professionals.
Wouldn't it be great to use this 'wisdom of crowds' for learning somehow without relying solely on the expert/teacher? The book hasn't given me any answers, just a lot more questions. I recommend this book.
vrijdag, oktober 13, 2006
The color of learning
Learning is pink.
Teaching is green.
I selected fixed colors because it enforces a strong brand image.
Teaching is green.
I selected fixed colors because it enforces a strong brand image.
zondag, oktober 08, 2006
Choosing a web host
So far I have a web name and decided on a programming language. Today I'll discuss how I selected my hosting provider. A web host offers you a place on their web server to store your website content, and they usually charge a monthly or yearly fee for it. All web hosts allow for storing static web pages. If you need specific server languages such as Java, PHP or ASP.NET, you need to select a host that offers those.
One thing to keep in mind: hosting is a commodity. You can find literally hundreds on the web and the competition is fierce, and prices low. You have plenty of hosting options, and it is easy to just copy your content and put it on another server at another provider. You know that, they know that. So avoid at all costs to be tied in with your provider! One way is to register your web name yourself separately at directnic or other sites, or make very sure that your host doesn't legally own the name of your site! Another way hosting providers want you to stay is to have unclear policies on how to end your hosting agreement. And they will also offer a lot of extra services such as free components that make it more difficult to just pack your site and go elsewhere with it.
Important when comparing web hosts :
You'll find two big categories of hosting plans: on Linux servers and on Windows servers. The latter will be a little more expensive because Windows isn't free. I have one of each: some of my sites are hosted with ipowerweb.com and my ASP.NET sites are on seekdotnet.com .
I'm happy with both, so I'll stay. But here are some of my experiences I wanted to share:
DECISION: I'll host my site on seekdotnet.com unless it gives problems. In the beta period, I'll use the free account on VWDHosting.net .
One thing to keep in mind: hosting is a commodity. You can find literally hundreds on the web and the competition is fierce, and prices low. You have plenty of hosting options, and it is easy to just copy your content and put it on another server at another provider. You know that, they know that. So avoid at all costs to be tied in with your provider! One way is to register your web name yourself separately at directnic or other sites, or make very sure that your host doesn't legally own the name of your site! Another way hosting providers want you to stay is to have unclear policies on how to end your hosting agreement. And they will also offer a lot of extra services such as free components that make it more difficult to just pack your site and go elsewhere with it.
Important when comparing web hosts :
- the cost they charge per month or year (most offer 3 months free when signing up)
- the setup cost (usually free and most offer a 30 days money-back guarantee)
- the disk space (don't be fooled, you'll never need a 1 GB site unless you store movies our sound files on it, so don't pay a lot more for 10 GB or 100 GB accounts)
- the monthly volume you are allowed for people visiting your site (popular sites will generate more traffic and need more bandwidth, ususlly the limit is OK and is there solely to avoid misuse)
- if you need it the e-mail addresses you can have, if there is webmail or SMTP
- the number of databases included (usually mySQL server, an open source database) and the total database size
- the ease of use of their web-based control panel
- the quality of their support and online knowledge base, FAQ or forums (have a look!)
- search for reviews on your provider on Google before you sign up
You'll find two big categories of hosting plans: on Linux servers and on Windows servers. The latter will be a little more expensive because Windows isn't free. I have one of each: some of my sites are hosted with ipowerweb.com and my ASP.NET sites are on seekdotnet.com .
I'm happy with both, so I'll stay. But here are some of my experiences I wanted to share:
- IPowerWeb.com is cheap, very popular, fast and easy to manage. Two comments: they ask a photocopy of your VISA card when you sign up, which is a weird practise. Second: they did not upgrade my account with the extra gigabytes they now standard provide for new sign-ups. Not that I need it, but it doesn't seem fair. Otherwise, never had any complaints.
- The best ASP.NET provider is probably discountasp.net . If I get problems with my current one, that's the one I'll change too. They are very popular, highly respected in the community and always include the latest technologies in their package. But they are -inspite of their name- more expensive than others, especially if you want a MSSQL database which is not included by default.
- I selected seekdotnet.com for my ASP.NET and MSSQL database hosting, merely because of the low price. They have some bad reviews, but generally I'm happy with them and I'll stay until I encounter major problems.
- They offer good support, for example reset my security for me on request, installed my dotnetnuke website, tested my SMTP settings etc. But you have to submit your request via the support section in the control panel. They don't respond well to sending mails.
- They do have serious problems with their SMTP mail server once in a while. I never got the mail functionality on my dotnetnuke site http://www.6c-learning.orgworking. But that could be a bug in dotnetnuke because I did a test with a mail component in ASP.NET and that worked...
DECISION: I'll host my site on seekdotnet.com unless it gives problems. In the beta period, I'll use the free account on VWDHosting.net .
Labels: hosting provider, ipowerweb, seekdotnet, web host
zaterdag, oktober 07, 2006
Web programming
Yesterday I talked about creating web pages. But about2findout.com will not be just a collection of static web pages, it will be a web application that actually does 'stuff'' (stuff to be determined at this time :-) ). The application logic is handled at the web server side.
As I see it, there are three major web application languages: JAVA based servers, PHP based and ASP.NET based. Sure, there are some technical differences, but I think you should make the choice based on what you like best and what you feel familiar with. In the end you can do about the same things with all three. If you have some affinity with one or the other and know your way around in finding the necessary supporting communities and forums on the net, just go for that one. Otherwise you'll just end up in meaningless 'religious' discussions among techies that have no added value for your project.
Next time I'll comment on my search for a web host. ASP.NET hosting providers will likely be more expensive as JAVA and PHP providers don't pay license fees for their servers or applications.
As I see it, there are three major web application languages: JAVA based servers, PHP based and ASP.NET based. Sure, there are some technical differences, but I think you should make the choice based on what you like best and what you feel familiar with. In the end you can do about the same things with all three. If you have some affinity with one or the other and know your way around in finding the necessary supporting communities and forums on the net, just go for that one. Otherwise you'll just end up in meaningless 'religious' discussions among techies that have no added value for your project.
- For using JAVA you need to program in the JAVA language, created by Sun, and you need to host your site on a Java application server. Examples of the latter are IBM WebSphere Application Server or the open source JBoss that is now owned by RedHat. JAVA is a very powerful language, which is the same as saying it is hopelessly complex for beginning users who don't care about programming anyway and just need results. Personally I don't like JAVA because I find it 1) ugly, 2) needlessly complex and 3) slow. But that's just my opinion. More info here.
- PHP is a very popular language and a lot of open source projects are written in it, including popular open source Learning Management Systems such as Moodle, Belgian's own Dokeos or ATutor. There are freeware PHP Editors also. So if you want to leverage the vast amount of freely available PHP code, it's a good choice. It's also vendor neutral.
- ASP.NET is Microsoft's solution. You can program in a multitude of languages (visual basic, C#,...) that will end up in ASP.NET code for the Microsoft web server called IIS (Internet Information Services). If you program in ASP.NET, you will need to host your site on a Windows based server and probably use Microsoft's database SQL Server because as you guessed it, it's all kind of integrated. I've been a Microsoft Certified Trainer in a previous life, and I'm very familiar with their technology. So I'm biased towards working in ASP.NET because I have the most background in it. There is a freeware ASP.NET programming tool called Visual Studio 2005 Express Edition that you can use for programming and comes with free video tutorials.
Next time I'll comment on my search for a web host. ASP.NET hosting providers will likely be more expensive as JAVA and PHP providers don't pay license fees for their servers or applications.
Writing web pages
Today I want to talk about creating web pages.
All web pages ultimately are written in a language that is called HTML (short for Hypertext Markup Language). It's an easily readable language that describes what's on the page. And then you have other nice acronyms like XML for structuring data (I believe it stands for eXtended Markup Language). The common look and feel for a site is done via something that is called CSS (Cascading Style Sheet). And the program logic is either at the client side where your browser is responsible for executing the code (often JavaScript), or at the server side.
Don't worry too much about all of these underlying languages and technologies, because most are handled via web site authoring tools or programming tools. But it always helps to understand the basics so you can slighlty modify whatever those tools produce.
The best place I could find to learn about HTML, XML, CSS and all the other acronyms and find a complete reference and examples is a free site called www.w3schools.com . I highly recommend it. For example, I used it to insert a tag to redirect the about2findout.com placeholder site to my existing 6C-learning site (for the example click here).
For the kind of learning2.0 something site I have in mind, I'll need a lot more than static pages. I need a web application and therefore I need to use a programming language at the web server side. I'll cover that next time.
All web pages ultimately are written in a language that is called HTML (short for Hypertext Markup Language). It's an easily readable language that describes what's on the page. And then you have other nice acronyms like XML for structuring data (I believe it stands for eXtended Markup Language). The common look and feel for a site is done via something that is called CSS (Cascading Style Sheet). And the program logic is either at the client side where your browser is responsible for executing the code (often JavaScript), or at the server side.
Don't worry too much about all of these underlying languages and technologies, because most are handled via web site authoring tools or programming tools. But it always helps to understand the basics so you can slighlty modify whatever those tools produce.
The best place I could find to learn about HTML, XML, CSS and all the other acronyms and find a complete reference and examples is a free site called www.w3schools.com . I highly recommend it. For example, I used it to insert a tag to redirect the about2findout.com placeholder site to my existing 6C-learning site (for the example click here).
For the kind of learning2.0 something site I have in mind, I'll need a lot more than static pages. I need a web application and therefore I need to use a programming language at the web server side. I'll cover that next time.
woensdag, oktober 04, 2006
What's in a name?
The first thing you need when you want to make new web application is a name such as www.myfunkyname.com . It's called a DNS name (short for Domain Name System) and it's not free but almost. You basically need to pay a yearly small registration fee to your registrar. The rules and tariffs are different for the different top domains.
So, let's talk about the top domain. These are fixed and the most known ones include .com, .net, .org . Last year some new top level domains were started to overcome the shortage of names, such as .biz and .name. And then there all all country top domain names ending in the two character ISO acronym such as .us, .be and even .tv (the island Tuvalu!). Each country's assigned registrar decides upon the rules for getting a name. The rules for .com, .net and .org are very simple: first come, first served. And let the courts settle it when a snot teen from Alabama registers kentuckyfriedchicken.com instead of KFC. Or if a Dutch guy registers belgium.be because our own government was too slow (true story!). Anyway, I have chosen for a .com name for my site because that is what most people will naturally fill in when searching for a site. If you want to be sure, you can also reserve the same name with .net, .org or other endings and all point them to your domain. Or names that can easily be mistaken for yours. It costs extra, but otherwise somebody else might piggyback on your name. For example, whitehouse.com is NOT the same as whitehouse.gov . (Believe me, don't check it out, I said don't !) Anyway, if you want to know more about the top internet domains available, check out http://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt .
How can you check if your great name is still available? How can you reserve your name? There are many registrar services and hosting providers that will help you out here. I personally recommend keeping the name and the web server (hosting) choice separated to avoid a tie-in with your hosting provider. In one of the next posts I will cover web hosting for your site, but you need to know it is an independant decision from where you reserve your name. You can have you name pointing or redirecting to any server or site on the web, and that way you can switch hosting providers easily: you just copy your site somewhere else and adjust your web name link.
The registrar I have chosen for my internet sites is directnic.com . They were the cheapest when I first needed a site, they charge 15$ per year per name and there online management tools are great. It's a completely web based service and I'm very happy with it. They will send you reminder mails when your names expire and allow for redirection, domain parking, your own e-mail addresses ending in @yourfunkyname.com, adjusting the name server (NS records) etc... Right now there are even cheaper registrars out there, but I'm happy with mine and I want to keep all my names in one place. BTW all my sites multitaal.com, bertdecoutere.com and kleinzwarthuis.com point to different folders on the same webspace I have purchased.
So, in conclusion
Next time I'll discuss how I decided on buying web space.
So, let's talk about the top domain. These are fixed and the most known ones include .com, .net, .org . Last year some new top level domains were started to overcome the shortage of names, such as .biz and .name. And then there all all country top domain names ending in the two character ISO acronym such as .us, .be and even .tv (the island Tuvalu!). Each country's assigned registrar decides upon the rules for getting a name. The rules for .com, .net and .org are very simple: first come, first served. And let the courts settle it when a snot teen from Alabama registers kentuckyfriedchicken.com instead of KFC. Or if a Dutch guy registers belgium.be because our own government was too slow (true story!). Anyway, I have chosen for a .com name for my site because that is what most people will naturally fill in when searching for a site. If you want to be sure, you can also reserve the same name with .net, .org or other endings and all point them to your domain. Or names that can easily be mistaken for yours. It costs extra, but otherwise somebody else might piggyback on your name. For example, whitehouse.com is NOT the same as whitehouse.gov . (Believe me, don't check it out, I said don't !) Anyway, if you want to know more about the top internet domains available, check out http://data.iana.org/TLD/tlds-alpha-by-domain.txt .
How can you check if your great name is still available? How can you reserve your name? There are many registrar services and hosting providers that will help you out here. I personally recommend keeping the name and the web server (hosting) choice separated to avoid a tie-in with your hosting provider. In one of the next posts I will cover web hosting for your site, but you need to know it is an independant decision from where you reserve your name. You can have you name pointing or redirecting to any server or site on the web, and that way you can switch hosting providers easily: you just copy your site somewhere else and adjust your web name link.
The registrar I have chosen for my internet sites is directnic.com . They were the cheapest when I first needed a site, they charge 15$ per year per name and there online management tools are great. It's a completely web based service and I'm very happy with it. They will send you reminder mails when your names expire and allow for redirection, domain parking, your own e-mail addresses ending in @yourfunkyname.com, adjusting the name server (NS records) etc... Right now there are even cheaper registrars out there, but I'm happy with mine and I want to keep all my names in one place. BTW all my sites multitaal.com, bertdecoutere.com and kleinzwarthuis.com point to different folders on the same webspace I have purchased.
So, in conclusion
- Check out this list of registrars if you want to reserve your own name(s)
- Keep in mind that buying web space and buying a web name are two independent decisions. You want to own your own name, so make sure it's not your registration service that legally owns the name!
- The most used top domains are .com, .net and .org
- Check if your chosen name is still available, for example on www.directnic.com
Next time I'll discuss how I decided on buying web space.
zondag, oktober 01, 2006
Hello world!
I'm passionate about e-learning. I'm passionate about the web 2.0 direction the internet is taking. And I wanted to DO something with that. So I decided to start a learning2.0-something-like-thingie of my own, whatever that turns out to be.
One thing is for sure: it's going to be something between a gigantic failure and the next killer app.
I don't consider myself an expert in any field: I'm not a professional programmer and I'm not a professional web designer, but I get around. And I'm no expert on AJAX, web services, SCORM or any of those hip things, but I know the basics and so I can learn and find out.
This blog documents my journey in finding out what web2.0 is about, how that can benefit e-learning, what is needed to set up a web application, and how to build a community. Feel free to join me and comment along the way!
One thing is for sure: it's going to be something between a gigantic failure and the next killer app.
I don't consider myself an expert in any field: I'm not a professional programmer and I'm not a professional web designer, but I get around. And I'm no expert on AJAX, web services, SCORM or any of those hip things, but I know the basics and so I can learn and find out.
This blog documents my journey in finding out what web2.0 is about, how that can benefit e-learning, what is needed to set up a web application, and how to build a community. Feel free to join me and comment along the way!
