((((((((((((((((( WEBREFERENCE UPDATE NEWSLETTER )))))))))))))))))
DECEMBER 28, 1998
_____________________________SPONSORS_____________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Nortel.
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Nortel Networks introduces the next killer web app..the telephone!
Link your telephone to your web page with a free trial of the
Internet Voice Button.
Now on-line consumers can talk to businesses over the phone
without leaving their site. To learn more and try it out go to:
http://vbtrial.nortel.net/index.html?banner=6
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Now with over 52100 subscribers
http://www.webreference.com <- link to us today
http://www.webreference.com/new/ <- archive, subscribe/unsubscribe
New this week on WebReference.com and the Web:
1. 3D ANIMATION WORKSHOP: Surface Suite for Professional Texturing
2. UPDATE: Universal Related Scrolling Menus
3. PREDICTION: 1999: The Year of E-Business
4. NEW BOOKS:
* Web Design in a Nutshell - A Desktop Quick Reference
* Nerds 2.01 - A Brief History of the Internet
Spread the word! Feel free to send a copy of this newsletter to
your friends and colleagues, and while you're at it, snap a link
to WebReference.com.
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1. 3D ANIMATION WORKSHOP: Surface Suite for Professional Texturing
Put on a happy face for the holidays! We show how to overlay an
existing image of a human face onto a model of a human face,
adaptively fitting it onto the surface. By Robert Polevoi.
http://www.webreference.com/3d/lesson56/
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2. UPDATE: Universal Related Scrolling Menus
We've updated our popular related popdown menu how-to to include
live scrolling menus with more robust code. Add these JavaScript-
enhanced live select lists to your site navigation arsenal.
By Andrew King.
http://www.webreference.com/dev/menus/
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3. PREDICTION: 1999: The Year of E-Business
Predictions are tricky, but what the hey it's the last newsletter
of the year. Content, context, commerce, were all king, what will
be king in 1999? IBM's slick commercials have the term right,
e-business. More than just e-commerce, e-business spans customer
service, fulfillment, the entire selling and buying experience
for both businesses and customers.
Forrester Research estimates that US Internet Commerce will grow
from $48 billion in 1998 to as high as $1.3 trillion by the year
2003, representing over 9% of all US sales. Global iCommerce will
surpass $3.2 trillion representing almost 5% of all global sales.
This tremendous growth will be due to Metcalf's network effect
and cost efficiencies of selling online.
http://www.webreference.com/new/980622.html - Metcalf's Knee
http://www.forrester.com/Press/Releases/Standard/0,1184,114,00.html
http://www.forrester.com/Press/Releases/Standard/0,1184,121,00.html
Forrester Research, Dec. 17, 1998
What separates sellers on the Net is ease of use, customer service,
and efficiency. A recent study by Forrester Research revealed that
two thirds of electronic shopping carts don't make the checkout
counter. Jupiter found that over 42% of top Web sites took longer
than five days to respond to e-mail inquiries. There are exceptions
of course. Cyberian Outpost's goal is 24 hour e-mail response time,
and just like good phone support they estimate how long the wait
will be in their e-mail autoresponder (currently 48 hours). I
e-mailed Merriam-Webster last week with a question about their new
unabridged dictionary and received two answers in less than 24 hours.
http://www.outpost.com
http://www.m-w.com
http://www.forrester.com/Research/Report/0,1001,2603,00.html
http://www.jup.com/jupiter/press/releases/1998/1109a.html
Jupiter Research, Nov. 9, 1998
Nortel Networks has been running a TV ad for a product that allows
real time customer service. The user clicks on a customer service
button (the Internet Voice Button) and a friendly customer service
rep appears in a window, ready to answer your questions. This level
of customer service isn't for everybody, but companies need to
dedicate more manpower to achieve higher levels of service.
Efficiency: By selling books only online, Amazon.com has an
advantage over Barnes and Noble and Borders, they have no physical
stores and staffs to support. Selling online cuts out the middle
man, and increases cost efficiency. 40% discounts are hard to beat
when you have the extra baggage of atoms to support. Autobytel.com
is causing fits at some car dealerships as they perceive Net
showrooms to be a threat to their business.
http://www.amazon.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com
http://www.borders.com
http://www.autobytel.com
IBM is arguably the leader in e-business enabling technology and
recently launched Startup for e-business, a $39.95 Windows-based
software package that allows you to interactively set up an
e-business site on the Web. A Java applet works in concert with
their Web site and allows you to set up a secure e-commerce site
to sell your products over the Web. After the 30 day free trial
they'll host your site for $24.95/month.
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4. NEW BOOKS: Web Design in a Nutshell - A Desktop Quick Reference,
Nerds 2.01 - A Brief History of the Internet
>Web Design in a Nutshell - A Desktop Quick Reference
A compendium of useful reference material for designers creating
Web pages. Like O'Reilly's other nutshell books it packs a lot of
useful reference information into a small space, but also distills
the collective wisdom of creating Web pages down into easily
digestible chunks. I wish I had this book when I was first starting
out, it is a great way to get up to speed quickly on Web page
authoring as many of the tricks and techniques we learned by trial
and error are in here.
The book covers the key technologies involved in creating Web pages,
including cross browser design, validation, screen sizes, Web-safe
colors, character entities, HTML tags, a nice section on server side
includes, graphics (GIF, JPEG, PNG) creation and optimization,
audio/video, and interactivity. Emerging technologies are briefly
discussed including CSS, DHTML, XML, and Internationalization. The
appendices include an excellent browser support table for CSS
compatibility plus a browser support chart for the HTML 4
specification.
The author says she spent most of 1998 writing this book and it
shows, there's a huge amount of useful information in here without
a lot of fluff. Recommended.
Web Design in a Nutshell - A Desktop Quick Reference
Jennifer Niederst
O'Reilly, 1999. $19.95
ISBN: 1-56592-515-7
http://www.littlechair.com/book/
http://www.oreilly.com
>Nerds 2.01 - A Brief History of the Internet
The sequel to Triumph of the Nerds, and the companion book to the
new TV series "Nerds 2.01 - A Brief History of the Internet" on PBS
by Robert Cringley. A fascinating and often funny true-life tale
of how the Internet came about with interviews of key players
along the way.
Nerds 2.01 - A Brief History of the Internet
Stephen Segaller
TV Books, 1998. $27.50
ISBN: 1-57500-106-3
http://www.tvbooks.com
http://www.pbs.org/opb/nerds2.0.1/
That's it for this week, have a Happy New Year!
Andrew King
Managing Editor, WebReference.com
update@webreference.com
+----------- ANNOUNCING THE NEWS HARVESTER INSTALLER ------------+
The fastest news ticker on the Web, available for your site free,
just got easier to install. And it's Unix and NT compatible!
Get yours NOW! http://www.webreference.com/headlines/nh/
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Also on Internet.com .... http://www.Internet.com
Guide to Internet Access and the WWW http://www.boardwatch.com
The best Web sites every moment http://www.coolcentral.com
The Reference Desk for Web Marketing http://www.cyberatlas.com
The latest Internet news http://www.internetNews.com
How to do e-commerce on the Internet http://e-comm.internet.com
The Leading Business Internet Magazine http://www.internetworld.com
Java applets: freeware and shareware http://www.javaboutique.com
A free cut & paste JavaScript library http://javascriptsource.com
The definitive high-tech encyclopedia http://www.pcwebopaedia.com
Boost your site's search placement http://searchenginewatch.com
ServerWatch ratings and reviews http://www.serverwatch.com
Download Internet apps 4 WIN 3.x/95/NT http://www.stroud.com
THE list of ISPs with 3,000+ http://www.thelist.com
The Web Developer's Virtual Library http://www.wdvl.com
Web server software comparisons http://www.webcompare.com
WebDeveloper, resources and tips http://www.webdeveloper.com
The developer's guide to webmastery http://www.webreference.com
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