KC News 2003

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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FOUR FAVORITE SHORTCUTS
INSTANT MESSAGING
MOZILLA
TEST YOUR SPEED
BLOCK THAT BLOODY POP UP WINDOW
PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY
WAP
HELP ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU RICH!
CRASH COURSE IN REVAMPING WEBSITES

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Keyboard Shortcut Du Jour
====================
FOUR FAVORITE SHORTCUTS
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A new year, a new look at my four favorite shortcuts. Practice, memorize, and use often!

* F1: Help
* ALT + TAB: Switch between open programs
* ALT + F4: Quit program
* SHIFT + DELETE: Delete item permanently
Bookmark the WINDOWS TIP list:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/wintips.html

TALK IS CHEAP
-------------------
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Talk for hours...we know you'll love Click4Prepaid from GLOBALCOM:
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HOUSEHOLD ITEM
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INSTANT MESSAGING
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IM programs are coming of age. Your teenagers use them to exchange text messages in real time, and now you should try them out too.
Top offerings come from AOL (AIM), MSN, Yahoo and ICQ. All free. Tip: the smart new Netscape 7 browser has AIM built in!

Use IM to text messages to colleagues, partners and family. Add a microphone and speaker and talk to anyone on the planet. Add a webcam and have live video conferences. Yes, the quality is quite good, especially with broadband connections.

Still not sure what IM is good for? Not convinced it's worth it? Want to learn more?

Read this article at HowStuffWorks.com:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/instant-messaging.htm

* MONEY-SAVING RANKINGS
Best sites for comparison shopping and reviews.
* "SWEET SPOT" SHOPPING LISTS
DESKTOPs and LAPTOPs. Best price-to-quality!
* GREEN PC Section
Helps you save energy.

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WORD OF THE MONTH
===================
MOZILLA
~~~~~~~~
Mozilla is a full-fledged browser suite based on the latest Internet standards. It was developed in an open source environment and built by harnessing the creative powers of thousands of programmers on the Internet, incorporating their best enhancements.

Mozilla is all open source, free of charge and thoroughly tested by a multitude of developers. It has all sorts of advantages over its competition, one of my favorite of which is NO POPUP ADS (see also "BLOCK THAT BLOODY POP UP WINDOW" below)!

Anyone who wants an alternative to the Internet Explorer should download the latest version of Mozilla (currently version 1.2.1) from www.mozilla.org.

Mozilla Rising
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/09/10/browser_wars/index.html

101 things that the Mozilla browser can do that IE cannot:
http://www.xulplanet.com/ndeakin/arts/reasons.html

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SITES FOR SORE EYES
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TEST YOUR SPEED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you'd like to know how your Internet connection compares to others? Or you're curious how fast your connection really is?

Visit the Bandwidth Place and do their Speed Test:
http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest/

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KC TIPS
======
BLOCK THAT BLOODY POP UP WINDOW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We all have to live with spam email and pop up windows. Or maybe not?
It is now quite simple to block popup windows!

If you switch your browser to the open source MOZILLA BROWSER you can block pop-ups automatically.

If you are already using Mozilla, here is how:
Go to Edit | Preferences | Advanced | Scripts & Windows
Uncheck 'Open unrequested windows'
This blocks most unrequested popups!

For those who prefer to stick with the Internet Explorer, there are several third party programs that can do the trick for you. Most will set you back $20 to $40 but here are a few that are free.

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WinTips
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PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Windows Media Player (WMP) is that handy bit of software that comes with Windows which can play almost any video or audio file.
When you play a CD with WMP it surfs the net to find information such as song titles and album art for you.

But Media Player also identifies your copy of Media Player to the site where it's getting data. Why? According to the help file, "The server uses this unique identifier to monitor your connection. By monitoring your connection, the server can make adjustments to increase the playback quality and to alert you about events that occur when receiving streams over the Internet."

No turn off the option that says "Allow Internet sites to uniquely identify your player?" and you have eliminated one more unnecessary invasion of privacy.

Bookmark our FAQ Tips site!
WinTips, WebTips, ImageTips, Shopping Tips and more:
http://www.kahl.net/tools/tips.html

=======================
AOTM (Acronym of the Month)
=======================
WAP
~~~~
WAP stands for Wireless Application Protocol.
It is a global standard for wireless applications, and most importantly a protocol for providing wireless devices (like cell phones) with access to text-based information, including Web pages, chat, and e-mail.
WAP runs over most wireless networks, including CDPD, CDMA, GSM, and TDMA. The BlueTooth wireless standard has WAP built in.
Basically, WAP enables Internet companies to configure their content only once for the microbrowsers (or small screens) of almost any WAP-enabled device, regardless of the service provider.
WAP is just starting to become popular, primarily in Europe. Expect to hear a lot more about it in the next year or two. And get ready to surf the web WAP style on your cell phone!
Don't have a WAP enabled cell phone but still want to see what a WAP Site looks like? You can use the "Wapalizer" to display WAP sites in your browser:
GELON WAPALIZER:
http://www.gelon.net/
Handy Acronym Links (or HAL):
BABEL : A Glossary of Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://online.dossnet.com/babel.htm
Acronym Finder: Look up 119,400+ acronyms/abbreviations & their meanings
http://www.AcronymFinder.com

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!!Hoax & Virus Alert!!
================
HELP ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU RICH!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you received a Nigerian 419 Scam letter? You know, the one from someone in Africa who needs your help to get millions out of the county? You have? Join the club!

The bait is the fictional millions described in these letters. The goal is to get you to cough up money for "expenses" required to transfer millions to you.
Sometimes, the victim is lured to Nigeria, where even worse things happen.

Similar letters are now cropping up from everywhere - for example a woman in Brunei is trying the same scam albeit with a slight twist. The bottom line is always the same in these scams - you are supposed to help a complete stranger and then be handsomely rewarded. Thousands of gullible people are swindled this way every year.

Now some folks are having a little fun trying to beat the scammers at their own game. Read about their experiences here:
http://www.scamorama.com/threebucks.html

Remember kids, play it safe on the net. Don't trust internet fairy tales. Scan for virii and verify your emails here:
http://www.kahl.net/hoax

KC WEB SERVICES
----------------
Kahl Consultants offers WEB SERVICES and HOSTING for small business.

* World Class HOSTING with personal service
* Online MARKETING Plans
* Website TRAFFIC Analysis
* Personal Attention

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NetTips
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CRASH COURSE IN REVAMPING WEBSITES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not getting the hits and sales your desire from your website?
Let's look at the most common culprits.

Difficult to read text -
I'm not just talking about colored backgrounds either. If your text is all over the place, or spans the width of the screen, it's going to be difficult to read, and it doesn't much matter if your selling $50 bills for a dollar - visitors will abandon your site.

Clear message -
Does your website copy ramble on or is it clear and to the point? The key here is focus - focus on what you want from the visitor. If you're trying to make a sale, demonstrate your product, show him the benefits and how it will change his life and lead him gently by the hand. Rambling on loses sales.

Good layout and design -
I've heard many people say that copy is king. Well, if you've got a third rate design, which looks like a fourteen year old with one weeks HTML experience knocked it up, you ain't going anywhere. The Internet is one place where people do "judge a book by its cover", so if you're hoping visitors will part with their cash, you'd better project a professional image. That means a good looking website. Look at similar sites to establish a baseline for design standards, and try to make that your minimum goal. If you do your own design, and you're not confident, then get someone else to do it if you seriously want to make a decent living online. Your
website's design will project the same image on your business - sloppy, basic design =sloppy, basic business. Fresh, professionally design equals - you get the message!

Website architecture -
Getting a bit advanced now, but if the mechanics aren't quite right, you may be handicapping yourself from getting decent website listings. This is hard to spot if you don't know what you're doing, but if you've repeatedly been failing to get decent listings, it might be time for a once over from a professional.

Clear ordering process -
Is it easy to order from your site? Yes, I know you can figure it out, but how about getting someone who isn't familiar with it to take a look? Do you accept credit cards? There are only a very few instances where a website will work without them.

Marketing -
Once you've got your site looking hot and working great, the hard work really begins! Marketing is an ongoing process - don't leave it to chance by relying on
search engines, and don't think for a minute it's something you do for a day or two after your site has launched and then forget about it. You need to market, using methods that will be effective for your business model, and that will be within your budget. In short, you need a marketing plan that you can follow day in day out.

QUICK AND DIRTY MARKETING PLAN GUIDE
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1) Make sure you are totally "au fait" or conversant with your target market and the market within which your business operates.
2) Have a brainstorming session and write down every method you can think of to market your business.
3) Go through each method and decide if it would be suitable for your business, and is within your budget.
4) Compile all the workable techniques into a master plan that you can refer to regularly.
Compiling a marketing plan does rely on a thorough knowledge of Internet marketing, so if you're unsure it's worth seeking the help of a professional, as it can really focus your efforts and be the difference between success and failure.

If you do go it alone, try and read up on everything you can on the subject. You are competing against professionals, and there is nothing wrong with seeking the help of one from time to time.

Kahl Consultants
http://www.kahl.net
Technology. Use it appropriately. Put it in our hands.

THE PLUG
========
Is your small business or organization performing?
Want to enhance your net presence? Call us!

If you got this far you obviously enjoyed KC News.
Pass it on! Remember, the best things in life are free.

THE PUNCH LINE
==============
DEJA VU - THE WEB AS WE REMEMBER IT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Internet old-timers (those who used the web more than 5 years ago!!) will get a kick out of the DEJA VU website.
Dejavu.org lets you relive Internet history. It emulates "ancient" web browsers!
Deja Vu
http://www.dejavu.org/

Kahl Consultants
P.O.Box 4284
San Rafael, CA 94903-4284
USA
Tel: +1-415-499 0838
Fax: +1-415-499 0833
www.kahl.net
Contact us

The award-winning Kahl Consultants. Helping small business in San Francisco Bay, Marin, Sonoma and globally.
Your comments?

Technology
Use it appropriately
Put it in our hands

KC News

KC News JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2003 | BROWSER SPECIAL | Vol.5, No.1-2