Ninite lets you pick your favorite software from among an extensive list (Web browsers, messaging, media, images, documents, security, runtimes, file sharing, utilities, compression, developer tools and more), creates a batch installer for them and then installs them for you automatically.

Install multiple apps at once without toolbars or clicking Next. It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3!

1. Pick your favorite software below.
2. Click “Get Installer” and run it.
3. You’re done!

Since I had just purchased a new desktop computer and still had some setting up to do, I decided to give it a try. Worked perfectly and saved lots of time.

Crafting CSS layouts is tricky. In this article, Kevin Yank introduces CSS tables (which, once IE 8 is released, will be supported by all major browsers). They promise to make CSS layouts much easier for everyone.

Today, a talented web designer must be a modern-day MacGyver-that 80s TV action hero who could turn a rubber band and three tin cans into a serviceable aircraft. Turning the average site design mockup into a living, breathing slice of HTML and CSS is a comparably delicate miracle, which must be accomplished using whatever makeshift tools happen to be lying around in current browsers.

That’s exactly why so many professional designers still choose to use HTML tables for layout. How can we expect beginners to adopt CSS for layout when it takes someone with the resourcefulness (and snappy dress sense) of MacGyver to fully understand the techniques involved?

Thanks to the imminent release of Internet Explorer 8, CSS layout is about to become something anyone can learn to do-no chewing gum or makeshift explosives required.

Read Tables: The Next Evolution in CSS Layout

Built into both Microsoft Windows and Macintosh operating systems is an easy way to capture the contents of your computer screen into an image file, often referred to as a “screenshot.”

A screenshot can be helpful when you are trying to obtain assistance as it allows your support person to see exactly what your computer screen was showing (a long error message, for example) at the time the screenshot was taken.

Read How to take a screenshot and send it via e-mail.

Someone on the FreePages Mailing List recommended Web Album Generator as free software to make web albums and photo galleries from your digital photographs. Curious, I decided to check it out as genealogists use lots of image files in working on their website. It is probably the first program I have tried that actually created code that validated on the first try. Kudos, to Mark McIntyre the programs creator.

According to the website, Web Album Generator or WAG for short, the features include:

• Automatic thumbnail creation
• Photograph resizing / resampling
• Photograph rotation NEW!
• Type titles and captions in any language NEW!
• Customizable photo album presentation
• Drag and drop image support
• Add captions and titles for each photo
• No knowledge of HTML required
• XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS 2.0 compliant
• Super-Amazingly easy to use

I have to agree it is a super easy program to use and the code is clean and validates. The program even generates an external style sheet. You can view a sample album created with WAG.

For the full tutorial and how to integrate your album into an existing site created with Expression Web visit the Web Album Generator section of Genealogy Web Creations.

After reading parts of their material and the methods they suggest using, I shudder to think of how many genealogists will buy the book and follow their advice for designing a website.

I echo Tina’s closing statement:

“. . . .the owners of this book and site sent the email to the wrong two people who feel strongly about valid and accessible code. (My good friend Pat Geary also received this email). Hence this post from two irate web designers.”

They offer a free download of the first chapter of the book which includes the following:

Appendix F: Website Authoring Applications

This appendix presents detailed information on the two website authoring applications we recommend, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher, and how to use them to create a genealogy website. A website authoring application creates the HTML files of the website. Also, the website authoring application should be capable of producing, in a straight-forward project, the genealogy book from the genealogy website. “The Book” as it is called in this guide is the traditional product of genealogy research and the dream of many genealogists.

“. . . . the two website authoring applications we recommend, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher, and how to use them to create a genealogy website.” I have to admit, I did not get much beyond this. If you were going to build a house, you would select the proper tools for that job. If you were going to bake a cake, you would select the proper tools for that job. Microsoft Word is a word processor and a perfect tool for writing letters, books, etc. Items that are going to be PRINTED to paper. Micrsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing program and the tool to use for all kinds of publications destined for print. While both of these programs have the capabilities of saving pages in html format are they they best programs for creating a website? Absolutely not!

Both create bloated code, both create code that will not validate. Additional articles on using MS Word as a Web Publisher:

• Webpages are NOT Created Equal by Pat Asher
• Using Word as a Web Publisher
• Scientific Study?
• Choosing a Web Page Editor

I have both installed on my computer. I use both programs BUT NOT for creating websites. There are many web editors you can choose for building your website. I list some of them on the right sidebar at Resources for Website Design.

So when you are ready to design your website, choose the best tool for the job, just as you would when building a house or baking a cake.

UPDATE: As of yesterday, Feb 22, 2008, I received two more unwanted e-mails offering a discounted price off of  “their book.”

This is a comprehensive guide which covers every aspect of creating a genealogy website. Why do you need a genealogy website? All genealogy research in the future will involve the use of the internet. This means all genealogists should stake out their claim to their little corner of the internet ASAP. Now’s the time to start your own genealogy website. This book will show you that creating a genealogy website is no harder than creating any complex document such as a senior thesis, big term paper or a large report.

My opinion on this has not changed. Pick the best tool for the job. Microsoft Word and/or Publisher are meant to be used for print documents. While both programs have the capabilities to save as a html page, neither of these is the tool you should be using to create your web pages.

“You never really know who is going to visit your web-site next. You have no idea which configuration will be used, what browser will be installed, which screen resolution will be in use. However, since you’d like to comfort most of your web users, you need to know their habits and the profile of your average visitor — to adapt the design and layout to your users’ needs.”

I recently installed Google Analytics on my FreePages website and according to the reports I receive, 60.75% of my visitors are using Internet Explorer and another 32% are using Firefox. Of those using IE, almost 73% are using IE7. Over 95% are using a Windows operating system and a little over 28% are using a screen resolution of 1280×1024 and another 27% are using 1024×768. The statistics also show me that a good percentage of my visitors are using Cable of DSL service but enough are still using dialup that I want them to be able to view the site quickly. Do you know the makeup of your average visitor?

Smashing magazine also says:

“Since only 50.4% maximise their browser windows, the screen resolution of 1024×768 doesn’t necessarily mean that your users are browsing with 1024px wide screen through your web-site.”

You can read the rest of this article  Who Is Your Visitor? An Average Profile.

The current article on Smashing Magazine’s blog Browser Tests, Services and Compatibility Test Suites says the following:

“Cross-browser compatibility is still one of the most complex issues when it comes to web-development. Web standards usually guarantee a (relatively) high degree of consistency, however no browser is perfect and particularly older browsers have always been quite good at surprising web-developers with their creative understanding of (X)HTML/CSS-code. Still you need to make sure that (at least) most visitors of your web-site can use it, navigate through it and find what they’re looking for as quickly as possible.

Firefox on Linux doesn’t display web-sites as Firefox on Windows does. As bonus web-developers have to cope with dozens of versions and, of course, Internet Explorer 6 — 46% of browser usage share, which is a true godsend for hardcoders and hackers. It’s almost impossible to keep all possible problems in mind — a detailed test helps you to identify the critical issues — also and particularly if these are the smallest details of your layout.”

Do you know what your site looks like in anything other than the default browser you have installed on your computer?

Does your computer seem to be more sluggish than when you first got it? Do you run regular maintenance on your computer to keep it running like when it was new. If you don’t know how to perform regular computer maintenance it will gradually slow down and become unusable.

Martha of Martha’s Web has an excellent set of articles to help you learn what you need to do and how to do it. Keep you computer safe and running smoothly. The articles include:

How To Be a Responsible Computer User

• Responsible Computer User Overview
• How to be a responsible computer user part 1
• How to be a responsible computer user part 2
• How to be a responsible computer user part 3 (Using Windows Update)

Computer Maintenance

• Part 1 Delete cache and temp files
• Part 2 Run Scandisk
• Part 3 Run Defrag

Read Are you a responsible computer user? And explore the rest of Martha’s site while you are at it.

The first thing to check when your links do NOT work is whether the url of your hyperlink actually matches the files name. Does your link refer to MYPAGE.html while the name of the actual file is mypage.html?

What do we mean by “case sensitive URLs”. Some Web servers (usually Linux or Unix servers, such as the ones RootsWeb use) consider URLs to be case-sensitive. That is, they would treat each of the following URLs as referring to a different file:

http://www.example.com/mypage.html

http://www.example.com/MyPage.html

http://www.example.com/MYPAGE.html

http://www.example.com/MYPAGE.HTML

If you linked to “http://www.example.com/mypage.html”

but the file was actually named “MyPage.html”, the Unix and Linux servers would display a “file not found” error.

Other Web servers (mostly Windows servers) would treat all these URLs as requests for the same file, because they use a file system that doesn’t care about capitalization. Using an incorrectly capitalized link on these kinds of servers doesn’t cause an error.

You can avoid this problem by always using lowercase letters to name your files.  This will ensure that your files work on any kind of server. If you have an existing site, these errors can be difficult to find.

When I first published our family genealogy to the Internet, identity theft was not big in the publics mind. Since then it has become a very real fear. Information on those people who may still be living is not published in any of my on-line databases. If the individuals listed were born after 1920 and have no death date, they are simply listed as LIVING with a surname. No other info is included.

==============

Does your genealogical information on the Internet pose a security risk for the so-called identify theft problem? The simple answer is no. While we all need to be cautious about revealing too much personal information about ourselves and our living family members on the Internet (and elsewhere) the most common sources of identity theft are those we encounter in our daily lives.

In a recent New York Times article by John Leland, it is noted that this crime often begins at home with more half of the victims revealing that the ID thief was a family member, a friend, a neighbor or an in- home employee.

Some genealogists mistakenly believe that if thieves learn their birth date and their mother’s maiden name it poses a risk. It does not. The ID thieves need such key pieces of information as your Social Security and driver’s license numbers to obtain credit, merchandise and services in your name or to gain access to your bank account, credit accounts, utilities records and other sources of personal information. If you still use your mother’s maiden name as a password at your bank or financial institution, change it.

How do thieves get information? According to Identify Theft Resource Center (http://www.idtheftcenter.org/)
–They go through your trashcan, looking for straight cut or unshredded papers.
–They steal your mail or your wallet.
–They listen in on conversations you have in public.
–They trick you into giving them the information over the telephone or by e-mail.
–They buy the information either on the Internet or from someone who might have stolen it.
–They steal it from a loan or credit application form you filled out or from the files at a hospital, bank, school or business that you deal with.
–They may have obtained it from dumpsters outside of such companies.
–They get it from your computer, especially those without firewalls.
–In about half of the cases they are a friend or relative or someone who works for you who has access to your personal information.

Be on the alert for unsolicited electronic mail messages in which your Social Security Number and other personal information are requested.Many report having received e-mail messages that appear to be from their ISP (Internet Service Provider), for example AOL, or from a U.S.government agency like the Internal Revenue Service. The message typically states that the company or agency is updating its records and that it needs certain information from you, such as Social Security number. NEVER respond to such messages. Even though they appear to be official, these messages and/or websites are a scam. No reputable company or government agency sends unsolicited e-mail messages to individuals in which sensitive personal data is sought in this manner.

What about the SSDI (Social Security Death Index)? Social Security numbers are never re-used, so when a person dies, their number is no longer usable by living persons because it is attached to the deceased person. A major way of preventing identify fraud is by methodically running financial, credit, payment and other applications against the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (known commercially as the SSDI) — thus the financial community, insurance companies, security firms and state and local governments are better able to identify and prevent identity fraud. Moreover, the USA Patriot Act requires an effort to verify the identity of customers, including procedures to verify customer identity and maintaining records of information used to do so.

Learn more about how to protect yourself from identity theft at:
U.S. Federal Trade Commission: Your National Resource for Identity Theft
http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/
Reducing the Risk of Identity Theft:
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17-it.htm
8 Tips to Avoid Identify Theft

http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/yourlife/Articles/a2004-01-28-8tips.html

Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identify Theft
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm
Recognizing phishing scams and fraudulent e-mails:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/email/phishing.mspx

How Not to Get Hooked by a ‘Phishing’ Scam

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt127.htm

Remember that ID thieves need more than your name, birth date, e-mail address or your mother’s maiden name to steal your identity. Your GEDCOM and other genealogical information about your deceased ancestors on the Internet do not pose a threat of identity theft. Thieves want your Social Security, credit card, and/or bank numbers to do their dastardly deeds — not your family tree.

Reprinted With Permission. Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 29 November 2006, Vol. 9, No. 48.