THE BLOG

LIVING WITH FREE WEB TOOLS

For an Old Age Pensioner such as myself, the creation of a new Website is perforce dependent on the availability of free web tools. Not for senior citizens the luxury of powerful and sophisticated software such as MS FrontPage or Adobe DreamWeaver, - a fixed pension does not permit such indulgences.

The two tools that I therefore settled on were Netscape Composer and AceHTML, both of which are of course freeware. Freeware being in the nature of a free public service, it is almost an act of shameful ingratitude to begin to comment upon its efficacy or otherwise. That, of course, is not the intention of this exercise. The notes below are merely a collation of the comments inspired by the experience of using the two tools.

AceHTML

AceHTML is a free HTML editor supplied by Visicom Media. Among its many useful features are a sizeable library of Javascript and DHTML modules, and a Style Sheet Editor. The Javascript and DHTML modules are a particular boon for novice developers desirous of adorning their web creations with clever graphic displays and visual effects. These ready-made modules can be used very effectively to give a website a professional look. Yet even novices may find it disappointing that AceHTML is not a GUI-driven tool (i.e. it is not WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)).
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Netscape Composer

Netscape Composer is another free HTML editor that is bundled in with Netscape 7.2. Unlike AceHTML above, the Composer is a WYSIWYG tool and therefore allows easy, visual, editing of web pages under development. Unlike AceHTML however, the Composer does not offer a library of pre-defined Javascript modules for graphic effects and displays, - so that for a professional finish a novice is generally dependent on other tools which may or may not be available as free downloads.
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TOMCAT 5.5.17 INSTALLATION ON WINDOWS XP - J2SE 1.4 (JRE 1.4) COMPATIBILITY ISSUE !

Another free web tool that I recently acquired was the Apache Tomcat 5.5.17 web server (Tomcat has been developed under the Jakarta project of the Apache Software Foundation). The installation of Tomcat 5.5.17 on Windows XP was quite straight forward, However, I uncovered an unexpected issue with the additional configuration that Tomcat 5.5.17 installation requires, to make it compatible with JRE 1.4. (or earlier JRE versions). The "compatibility" JAR files provided by Apache in "zipped" form, did not "unzip" in the correct directories and had to be manually re-located to make Tomcat operate correctly.
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RANDOM THOUGHTS

Uniformed soldiers thrown out of bar after homecoming parade for 'not being smart enough'

In an extraordinary incident in the London borough of Croydon, not so long ago, some uniformed soldiers were asked to leave the bar of a local hostelry for not being smart enough for the strict dress code that the establishment operated. Given my ex-Serviceman's tribal loyalty to the Army, my initial reaction was unsurprisingly one of indignation. However, this incident, deplorable as it is, is something that I feel, is of the Army’s own making. For some inexplicable reason, the Army seems to have lowered its own high standards in military dress.
More on this here..

"Broken Covenant" ?

As an ex-serviceman, I have taken more than a passing interest in the debate over the so-called "broken covenant", - a term that has been used to describe the apparent indifference of the general public to the welfare of those that serve their country, particularly those in the Army. However, some of the arguments being put forward in this debate appear to me to be spurious. I remain to be convinced, for example, that the term "covenant" portrays accurately the historic relationship between the Army and the nation, and have concerns that the apparent breach of the covenant may well be the consequence of some of the Army's own recent actions, such as the disbandment of County regiments in favour of "Super" ones.
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Unix Not Secure ?

Despite its wide use in commerce and Government over many years, Unix has not quite been able to allay lingering suspicions about the reliability of its security. A persistent impression of Unix remains that it is by design, inimical to the requirements of good security. Much of this has resulted from the early reputation of Unix as a programmer-friendly environment with easy accessibility. Yet this perception of Unix does not accord totally with reality.
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Windows XP Task List

As a home computer owner I am probably not alone in being beset occasionally with worries about my PC being crippled with virus infection. To ward off this peril, I have instigated some precautionary measures of my own which may be familiar to many but are nevertheless worth re-stating. I have adopted the practice of carrying out regular checks on the processes that are running in the computer at any one time. The Windows facility that I use for these checks is the Task Manager.
More on this here..


Document created by Neil Keskar (nkeskar@hotmail.com) 17/9/08