04.10.01

Hello WebSiteNotes Readers:

Thinking about spicing up your web site with sound or video? The
following tutorial will show you the steps that you need to take to
begin implementing these features.

Whatever you do, please do not put the Macarena song on your site.
Not only will you lose vistors to your site but you will send them to
a mental institution. Not good.

I hope that this issue was helpful. Have a great day.

The WebSiteNotes Team
Peter Thiruselvam & Stephanie Mitchell

dbXML Core 0.4 (2.52 Mb) - Linux OS

For those of you venturing into the XML language, dbXML is an XML
Database Application Server that stores and indexes compressed XML
documents in order to provide that data to a client application with
no server-side processing overhead. It also provides functionality
that is unique to XML data and can't easily be reproduced by
relational databases.

As an Application Server, dbXML provides business logic and
transformation capabilities. The dbXML Application layer is tightly
interwoven with the Database layer, providing fast execution, the
ability to provide real-time distributed replication for both
databases and applications, and the ability to personalize content at
the database layer.

http://www.LinuxWebmasterFree.com/dbxml.html

Strip Cam - Mac OS

Utility for periodically accepting an image from a camera source, and
uploading it to an FTP server. Strip Cam automatically compresses
image into jpeg.

Strip Cam is written as a control strip module, so its controls and
images are always accessible.

http://www.MacWebmasterFree.com/stripcam.html

CGI.pm v. 3.01 (187 Kb) - Windows OS

This Perl 5 library uses objects to create Web fill-out forms on the
fly. It also provides a simple interface or phrasing and interpreting
query strings passed to CGI scripts while offering a rich set of
functions for creating fill-out forms.

An important fringe benefit of this is that the value of the previous
query is used to initialize the form, so that the state of the form
is preserved from invocation to invocation.

This package requires perl 5.004 or higher. Earlier versions of Perl
may work, but CGI.pm has not been tested with them.

http://www.WebmasterFree.com/cgipm.html

Sound and video are coming to the Internet in a big way. Now, with
cheap new technology, anyone can turn their website into a TV or
radio station without spending a dime.

Given the huge audiences that radio and TV have (99 percent of
American homes have a TV and most own five radios), putting audio and
video on your site could be the most important thing you do. Some
studies show audio and video can increase website sales by as much as
50 percent.

Streaming media, as it is called, excites customers and keeps you
ahead of your competition. The static printed web page will be around
for a long time, but watch for most leading sites to start offering
audio and video.

Streaming media requires a lot more data than a simple printed page.
Having DSL or a T line helps. Since most consumers still use dial-up
modems on lines that support less than 40k, Internet audio and video
rely on clever methods for compressing and reducing big files of
data.

The result is sometimes fuzzy audio and pictures that look faded and
blurry. The level of quality might be annoying on regular TV, but
it's nothing short of exhilarating coming from the Internet. One
client who is using web video says he is getting a phenomenal rate of
sales from it.

Your web site visitors won't mind a bit if your presentation isn't
network professional. They will appreciate the big jump from reading
text to seeing a media presentation.

Start with Audio.

There is a huge difference between the amount of work it takes to
produce video and what is needed to build an audio-only presentation.
A single individual can produce an outstanding radio show while even
a simple TV program requires a full staff.

An audio presentation doesn't require location, lighting, or the
inconspicuous microphone placement video demands.

You can record your voice, add some music, drop in a sound effect
and your audio program is ready to hit the Internet.

There are a number of cheap or free programs that let you record your
audio as a simple WAV file, a Real Audio file, or a an MP3. After
trying several of them, I settled on a $20 program called Internet
Audio Mix available from acoustica.com.

It works with your PC's sound card to record up to four digital
tracks. Operation and editing is completely intuitive.

Most recent PCs have Real Audio bundled with windows. That means a large and growing number of your customers can click on your audio
link, download your Real Audio file, and listen to it within a matter
of seconds.

Speak with energy when you record audio tracks. Because people can't see your face, your voice has to pack extra punch. Try to cut down on "uhs" and "uhms." Don't feel like you have to talk like an announcer.
Customers respond better to a voice that sounds like a regular person.

Several companies have created easy systems for producing and hosting your audio for free. GiveMeTalk.com provides a simple free program for recording your talk show, then lets you host it on their site
where customers can hear you.

I recorded my articles as MP3 files (the format Internet music uses)
and loaded them up on Live365.com. The site rotates my talks, making
them available non-stop 24 hours a day at no charge. I call it the
Dr.Nunley Radio Network and link to it from my site.

Video experts tell me we're years away from having quality streaming
video on the Internet. Still, there are some easy ways to offer
fairly good video from your site.

Because the Real Video format is becoming so widely accepted, you can download and use several of RealNetwork.com's free video production applications.

Real Slideshow (free) lets you combine images with talk, music, and
sound effects. Real Presenter (also free) turns your PowerPoint
presentations into Internet video.

Several of the free web hosting sites now host your streaming media
presentations at no charge. Tripod.com, one of the pioneers in free
web sites, offers a program called ShowMotion. You can combine still
photos with clips of video, scanned images, and backed with your
narration. Tripod hosts it for free.

If all this sounds a bit too technical, Tripod features several fine
presentations produced by high school students. The format is drag
and drop and impressed me as being vastly easier than designing a web site.

Even though Internet audio and video is cutting-edge and exciting, it
doesn't come near the quality we are used to with regular radio and
television. That is good news for small web sites. You can turn out a
homespun effort and still be right on the heels of professionals.

For true professional level video, check wbcimaging.com.They are
television engineers who have long taken an interest in the best ways
to put video on the Internet.

Radio is a billion dollar industry. Television is arguably the most
influential media ever invented. Now that it has become so easy to
produce your own Internet audio and video, it makes sense to add
those powerful dimensions to your web site.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copy writing for
businesses and organizations. Read all his money-saving marketing
tips at http://DrNunley.com/. Reach him at kevin@drnunley.com or
(801)253-4536.

The Editorial Team would like to thank all our readers for reading
WebSiteNotes. We hope you find this information useful. Be sure to
check http://WebmasterFree.com for some free downloads and more great information.

Sincerely,

Peter Thiruselvam
The Editorial Team