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((((((((((((((((( WEBREFERENCE UPDATE NEWSLETTER )))))))))))))))))
                        FEBRUARY 16, 1999

_____________________________SPONSORS_____________________________

This newsletter is sponsored by Keynote Systems and Allaire. __________________________________________________________________

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Now with over 57800 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: Movin' on Up 2. DOC JAVASCRIPT: Search Remote Builder 3. NEW FEATURE: Cool Tools 4. UPDATE: Three-level Related Menus 5. DHTML DINER: Browser-specific Style Sheets 6. NEW LINKS: VRML Tutorials, HTML Validators, Imagemap Resources 7. NEW TREND: The Slashdot Effect 8. OTHER VOICES: * New Java Boutique Section: Java Jini * The Latest from the Browser Trenches 9. NEWSLETTER NEWS: L-Soft to Lyris 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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. 3D ANIMATION WORKSHOP: Movin' on Up

Walk this way to learn how to use forward kinematics to pose your character's arms. By Robert Polevoi.

http://www.webreference.com/3d/lesson60/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2. DOC JAVASCRIPT: Search Remote Builder

Put an end to old fashion Web searching with the Doc's new search remote builder. Wherever you're surfing just select some text, click a button, and presto you're searching the Web with your favorite search engines. By Dr. Yehuda Shiran.

http://www.webreference.com/js/search/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 3. NEW FEATURE: Cool Tools

With Yehuda's new search remote tool we're launching a new section today we call Cool Tools. These Web-based webmaster tools are designed to make your life easier. Creating and configuring our most popular scripts is a snap now. Want a hierarchical menu? No problem, go configure and cut and paste. Want a popup window or search remote? Piece of cake.

To celebrate this momentous event, try out our new Browser Sniffer, that reports useful info about your browser, and key object and method detection routines essential from cross-browser degradable scripts. Look for more cool tools soon.

http://www.webreference.com/tools/ http://www.webreference.com/tools/browser/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 4. UPDATE: Three-level Related Menus

By popular demand we've extended our related menus into another dimension. Fit three levels of site hierarchy into one line of popup menus with this new degradable technique. By Andrew King.

http://www.webreference.com/dev/menus/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 5. DHTML DINER: Browser-specific Style Sheets

A new, elegant approach to creating browser-specific style sheets that avoids clumsy document writes and browser detection. By Peter Belesis.

http://www.webreference.com/dhtml/diner/ssheets/

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6. NEW LINKS: VRML Tutorials, HTML Validators, Imagemap Resources

>VRML Tutorials

Still want to learn VRML? Got those cool 3D shades handy? It's not too late...for you or the language. Check out all the material available online and start your journey into virtual reality. http://www.webreference.com/authoring/languages/vrml/tutorials.html

>HTML Validators

I'm okay, you're okay. You're good enough, you're smart enough, and gosh darnit, people like you. But do Web browsers like your HTML? http://www.webreference.com/authoring/languages/html/validation.html

>Imagemap Resources

Make a map, any map with our collection of resources at your side. You'll never be lost in cyberspace again. http://www.webreference.com/authoring/graphics/imagemaps.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 7. NEW TREND: The Slashdot Effect

Open source is hot right now. In the February 1st Update I reviewed O'Reilly's new Open Sources book and talked about the growing open source movement. One of the challenges of free open source code is coming up with business models that make money. Red Hat packages Linux with service, Gecko will ultimately drive more traffic to netscape.com, and Slashdot has another angle, report the "news for nerds," in part about open source projects like Linux. Slashdot has become so popular that folks have coined a new term for the lucky sites that get linked on slashdot's front page, the "slashdot effect."

Slashdot.org is the brainchild of Rob Malda, aka "Commander Taco", a 22-year old computer science major from Holland Michigan. Malda launched the site two years ago to share news he found cool or worthy, or as his tag line says "stuff that matters." His site receives over 70,000 visitors a day, including many journalists from InfoWorld, Time, the New York Times (and yours truly) who check the site daily for the latest tech news.

The "slashdot effect" kicks in when an average of 30,000 or so Slashdotters suddenly descend on an unsuspecting Web server referenced from Malda's site. One webmaster even wrote an article documenting the slashdot effect complete with comparison graphs for other sites like freshmeat.net.

Slashdot is a open-source-like project in itself. Rather than writing all the news (which can get expensive) Malda and tens of thousands of friends report the news and stories as they happen. Slashdot is really a Web-ized BBS with a friendly face, as readers can post stories and responses in near real-time. That's the appeal of slashdot, it has the immediacy of a newsgroup or BBS only in a friendlier package, a Web site that hums. In the true spirit of open source, Rob has started giving away the source for the site, so that others can create similar sites.

Slashdot takes up most of Malda's time now, "I don't have a life. I've only left my house three times in the last week." He's still trying to refine his business model to pay for it all, but would consider an offer from a cooperative buyer.

http://www.slashdot.org http://www.freshmeat.net

Shashdot Effect article and thread: http://www.it.fairfax.com.au/990216/industry/it1.html http://slashdot.org/articles/99/02/15/1249237.shtml

The Slashdot Effect - An Analysis of Three Internet Publications http://ssadler.phy.bnl.gov/adler/SDE/SlashDotEffect.html

WebReference Update, Feb. 1, 1999 http://www.webreference.com/new/990201.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8. OTHER VOICES: New Java Boutique Section: Java Jini The Latest from the Browser Trenches

>New Java Boutique Section: Java Jini

The Java Jini section of the Java Boutique will focus on the emerging technology of Jini, which is destined to bring Internet connectivity to a palm top near you!

http://javaboutique.internet.com/jini.html

>The Latest from the Browser Trenches

The browser war plods on, with Netscape and Microsoft continuing to make steady improvements. Explorer 5.0 and Communicator 4.5 offer no revolutionary changes from their predecessors, but with a likable lizard called Gecko coming up strong, big things are definitely expected soon.

http://WDVL.com/Software/Browsers/Trenches/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 9. NEWSLETTER NEWS: L-Soft to Lyris

This week we've switched list providers from L-Soft to Lyris. Lyris will be handling all of internet.com's newsletters soon, including the daily HTML versions. You shouldn't notice much of a difference, except signing on and off should be much easier now. To sign on just send an email to:

subscribe@webreference.com

to sign off send an email to:

unsubscribe@webreference.com

That's it!

http://www.lsoft.com http://www.lyris.com

That's it for this week, see you next time.

Andrew King Managing Editor, WebReference.com update@webreference.com

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Also on Internet.com .... http://www.Internet.com

Guide to Internet Access and the WWW http://www.boardwatch.com The spot for bots on the Web http://www.botspot.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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