You made it! Thanks for visiting.
There are a lot of things the World Wide Web can do for you, but healing you is not one of them.
Welcome to BenWoods.com
While there is a bounty of useful items on the Internet, there is also that vague area of things that serve some purpose, but by themselves, would be utterly useless.
An obvious example of this is a Web counter. Create a Web page by putting nothing on it other than a counter. Put it on the Web. What does it prove? If people actually go to your site, they are insane? True, but in a sense, we already know that everyone is crazy.
I hope you made it to my column today in one piece.
Surely there was no traffic on the trip to work, no wrecks to get in your way and no coffee to spill on that new "Dukes of Hazzard" tie your grandmother gave you for Christmas. Just like any other day, I bet you walked into your office or computer room, started up your computer and immediately accessed the Web, right?
HONK!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!? DON'T CUT IN FRONT OF ME YOU $#%#$@!!! HONK!!! HONK!!!
If this is you, and you also happen to find yourself saying these things often -- OK, every single time you drive more than 33 inches -- then you may be enthused to know I would like to do something about it.
Yes, soon there could be a way to get back at all of those people who pull up right on your bumper; who say using a turning signal is merely a fad; and who think the word "yield" means "go" and the word "merge" means "get outta my way."
I'm sure you've seen it: A Web site that has an amazing design, with bright
colors, animation and various neat effects. But after the awe goes away (10
seconds later) you begin to wonder: Where am I supposed to click?
A large portion
of Web designers have this problem. They think the more creative they
are, the better the Web site becomes. While uniqueness is key
to making a site design stand out, it is important to remember the end user.
That's you! Forgetting that Internet pages should be geared toward the
From the Archive
Determining what a computer is seems like a fairly simple thing. A laptop: yes. A piece of chocolate cake: no. A PC: sure. Sean Connery: probably not, but it's not out of the question that he could be a robot.
Then again, comparing what we know as a computer and an analog computer is a bit different. An analog computer, according to the Wikipedia, is a form of computer that uses electronic or mechanical phenomena to model the problem being solved by using one kind of physical quantity to represent another.
There are a plenty of new careers and opportunities these days, yet you rarely see anyone entering the piracy field. Some people have invented their own versions of a shipwrecked pirate - stealing stereos, hacking into computer files, playing baseball in Pittsburgh - but few take their chances on the high seas.
On the other hand, the Assocated Press said pirates killed more people in 1998 than the year before. The International Maritime Bureau reported Malaysian pirates, who killed 67 crewmen last year, are "getting increasingly violent."
Pirates? Violent?
So you've got your Web page created. You have a great design, with every feature except a toaster. It's the greatest Web site you've ever seen, well, second to this one. But there's just one problem ...
How are you going to make it live?
The next thing you need to figure out is where the site will be hosted. Or better yet, you need to figure out what you expect from a provider.
Some people eat peanut butter sandwiches without the jelly. Others think Cher was better without Sonny.
But "The Jerry Springer Show" without fights? Could that be possible?
I will begin what I hope will be a somewhat lengthy book tour when I visit the Brandenburg Library 12-2 p.m. Jan. 28 to discuss book publishing and my new book, "The Developers." The book is currently available at many regional Borders and independent bookstores, as well as the book's website, thedevelopersbook.com, and Amazon.com. It is also now available through Baker & Taylor, a national distributor.