"The Best of the Net Straight to Your Door

Jan 15th, 2004 Issue #126
ISSN: #1527-3105

Edited & Published by: Merle- Merle@MerlesWorld.com http://www.MerlesWorld.com/

Grab This Ezine's Blog RSS Feed & add to your news reader:
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Donations Wanted: If you enjoy this ezine and feel you have gained valuable information from it, please make a donation. If you prefer to donate using PayPal use this link. Your small gifts will help support the website and this newsletter (and bones for "the boys").
Dakota says "woof, woof" which means "thanks".

Proverbs...

"Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough
sense to be lazy."

Compliments of Siglets

=> 1. News From the Net
=> 2. Feature Article-"How To Choose A Hosting Company"
=> 3. Webmaster Resources
=> 4. Promotional Resources
=> 5. Other Ezines of Interest
=> 6. Just for Fun or Useful
=> 7. E Books and Things of Interest to Publishers
=> 8. Freeware and Shareware to Download
=> 9.Subscribe/Remove Information
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Hello and welcome to our very first issue of the new year!

Brrrrr....it's damn cold here in Ohio. As usual Winter has returned to Northeast Ohio as we've been pelted by a storm over the last few days. It's the kind of cold that makes you understand why bears hibernate. I've lived here my whole life but still takes me awhile to adjust to the bone chilling winds. Thanks to living so close to Lake Erie we get the "lake effect" snow quite often. If you live in a warm climate can you package up some sun- shine and send it to me?

My hard drive crashed last week. Now you might not think that's such a bad thing and for a normal person it wouldn't be but in my case I had no back up. As you can imagine it sucks to be me right now. I had 3 years of work in that computer, half written books, valuable databases of contacts. Gone. All gone. There's no sense crying over spilt milk as they say but it's going to take me awhile to rebuild everything, not to mention all of the software I have to re-install. I hate that job the most. You don't even remember the programs you had on your PC until you go to use them. I have a new hard drive on order and some kind of fancy back up device. Lesson learned. I did find 2 CD's I had burned some of my old files to and I'm very grateful to have those.

If you were one of the publishers I swapped ads with occasionally or you'd like to swap ads with me please mailto:adswaps@merlesworld.com?subject=SWAPS I'm going to have to piece back together a new swap list so if you're interested use this email address.

Are you a good writer? Do you sometimes need an editor? I wanted to take a moment to tell you about my online friend "Larry". His website can be found at http://writeforme.com Not only is he a wonderful person he's an AWESOME writer. If you need help with your copy or maybe someone to edit your new e-book, ask Larry. He's a true artist and one of the last few remaining upright, honest, and kind human beings. The world seems to be in short supply of people like him these days. Tell him "Merle" sent ya!

Have you been reading all of the hoopala about RSS and Blogs these days? I know, I know everyone has a Blog and many are saying ezine publishing is dead and RSS is the answer. I have been doing some research into this field not only for myself but for a new article I have in the works. The problem I see with RSS is it's not mainstream yet. You have to first create a feed and you have to have a news reader. More and more publishers are going this route and I think it's a good add on but I don't think it's going to replace email anytime soon. It's just a little too technical for the average novice user. For more info on RSS check this article out http://tinyurl.com/qqay

I did find this service which looks pretty cool it allows you to subscribe to RSS feeds and get the feeds in your email inbox. Now that's different. No outside software to download. Check this one out at http://rss.blogstreet.com/asp-rssbin/auth_rss

With all of the Bloging pressure I've finally caved and launched a Blog as an add on compliment to this ezine. I'll post extra goodies to it as I find them. Check it out at...http://merlesworld.blogspot.com/ Nothing too exciting there now but give me time and I might surprise you. If you use a news reader here is the RSS feed to add to it... http://feeds.blogstreet.com/39417.rss

If you'd like a chance to win a fr.e ad in this ezine please take 2 minutes and fill out our short survey at http://www.advancedsurvey.com/ when there put 8243 into the survey number box at the right hand side to take the survey. Everytime I write a new article I send it out to a list I maintain of publishers and website owners for possible inclusion in their newsletters or on their sites. If you'd like to be included in that list, send a message to mailto:addmetothelist@merlesworld.com?subject=ADDME As usual I've rounded up some great resources for you so let's get started.

I'd love to hear your comments over at our discussion board.
This week's winner for a free ad is..Milton Smith

For your own chance to win fill in the survey. You'll find the link at the very bottom of this ezine. A winner is pulled twice a month. Enter now.

Thanks for joining me, let's get to the good stuff. If you have any comments you can send them to Me.

Merle

http://www.MerlesWorld.com
http://www.EzineAdAuction.com
http://www.MCPromotions.com

Yahoo, Google Primed for Search War
http://tinyurl.com/2pqtm
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Sp*mmers Ignore Can Sp.m
http://tinyurl.com/2nwno
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Google Adds New Search Feature
http://tinyurl.com/2rl2k
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If your site uses Flash you need to read this
http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol7/browser_no1.htm

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A Statistical Look at Google's Florida Update
http://www.ozemedia.com/Googles-Florida-update.htm

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"How To Choose A Hosting Company"

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of hosting
companies out there. They come in all price
ranges, and with all kinds of bells and whistles.
Here are some things you may want to look for in
a hosting company, especially if your website is
part of your overall marketing plan to sell products
or services.

* Money Back Guarantee - I put this first, because
if you are unhappy with your hosting site, you'll
want assurances that you'll get your money back.

* 24/7 Customer Technical Support - This is critical.
Find out if they mean "there's voicemail or email
24-hours-a-day" or if they mean, "we will answer
the phone and help you 24-hours-a-day"

* Control Panel - The Control Panel where you control
all aspects of your account, such as managing email
accounts, reading statistics, and configuring
autoresponders. Make sure your hosting company has
a centralized control panel for your management
needs.

* Website Statistics - From a marketing perspective,
it's important to know who is visiting your site and
what pages they read. Your hosting company should
keep track of all of this information for you, and
present it in an easy to read format. Make sure your
statistics are updated on a daily basis, and that
you can configure the display to show you by day,
by week, by month or by year. You can learn more
about how to read and interpret your statistics here:
http://www.passionforbusiness.com/articles.htm

* CGI - CGI stands for the "Common Gateway Interface"
and is a protocol through which web pages interact
with scripts on a server. Your hosting company should
allow you to install and run CGI scripts your account.
They may also offer you some pre-installed CGI scripts
for free as part of your hosting package, such as a
message board or email forms.

* POP Email Accounts - A POP (Post Office Protocol)
Email Account is an email account hosted on your site.
Your hosting company should allow you to have more than
one POP account, so that you can set up email addresses
for all your needs. For example, clients requesting
information about a workshop can send email to
mailto:workshop@mydomain.com, while clients can send
their homework to homework@mydomain.com. Also make
sure your hosting company support email forwarding.

* Autoresponders - Autoresponders allow a visitor to
send an email to a specific email address and auto-
matically receive a reply. For example, if you have
a FAQ, people can send an email to faq@mydomain.com
and automatically receive the FAQ list in their
email inbox.

* SSL Secure Server - SSL stands for "Secure Socket
Layer". This is a protocol that allows for encrypted
transmissions on the web, and is especially useful if
you are collecting private information from visitors,
such as credit card information.

* Shopping Cart - If you plan on having a catalog on
the web, like selling your ebooks or audio tapes, a
shopping cart is a must. It lets people browse through
your "store" and pick the items that they plan to
purchase. When they are done, they proceed to the
checkout where they can review their order and pay by
credit card. If your hosting company does not offer
a shopping cart system, there are plenty of stand-alone
shopping cart systems you can use with your website.

* Password Protected Areas - If you want to create
a "members only" or "students only" section of your
site, you will need to make sure that your hosting
company supports password protected areas (folders
or sub-webs).

* FrontPage Extensions - Microsoft FrontPage is a
web development tool that's easy to use. In order for
this package to be completely functional, it requires
that there be special software installed on the server
called "FrontPage Extensions." Beware the hosting
company who wants to charge you for using FrontPage
Extensions; most hosting companies offer them for
fr.e.

* Mailing List Software - Keep your users informed by
offering to put them on the mailing list. Make sure
your hosting company supports double-opt-in mailing lists,
where the person signs up and receives a confirmation
email that instructs them how to officially sign up
for your mailing list.

* Streaming Media - If you'd like to add multimedia
streaming to your site, you'll need to find out if your
hosting company supports the use of streaming media
such as RealAudio or Windows Media files. Some
hosting companies will charge you extra for this
service.

As you can see, there are a lot of things to consider.
Remember, while some of these may not be important to
you now, you'll also want a hosting company that can
grow and support you as your business grows.

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© Karyn Greenstreet 2004.

Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment Expert. Through
consulting, coaching and speaking, she shares tips, tricks
and techniques with self-employed people to create and
grow their businesses, stay focused and motivated, and
work at peak performance. Visit her website at
http://www.PassionForBusiness.com
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Feed Roll

Select a news feed and customize it to match the look
and feel of your site...then copy and paste the code.

http://www.feedroll.com/rssviewer/
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Net Magazine

If you'd like to have the chance to have your site
featured in Net Magazine submit a fun description to
(mailto:jennifer.wagner@futurenet.co.uk?subject= newsletterssitesubmission) This is the hottest computer
magazine coming out of the UK.

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Feedster- Create a Feed

a.. You have a blog or site that updates regularly.
a.. You want to create an RSS feed for it but your host,
like Blogger.com, does not provide RSS capability.
You make a small change to the HTML template which
formats your site's output. By adding a few HTML
.. tags you can create a valid RSS feed.

http://feedster.com/builder.php?next=cfintro

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Is Your Site Up?

"SiteUptime is a free website monitoring service that
watches your website 24/7/365 and notifies you if
it becomes unavailable.Website downtime equals lost
customers and lost profits. In addition, users to
your website may not return if they experience a
connection failure."

http://www.siteuptime.com

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Useful Tips
***********************************

How to Create an Inline Frame

This type of code allows you to create a window inside a HTML document. Basically this displays a webpage within a web page.

I'm showing you the code displayed in a table but that is optional and can be changed or deleted per your needs. Please remove the periods before and after the table tags. Please replace my url with what you need to use.

.<table width="600" border="2" align="center"> <tr>
<td>This is a test by merle to test an inline frame code
<iframe src="http://www.mcpromotions.com" width="400"
height="200" align="right">
<a href="http://www.mcpromotions.com">My page </a> </a></iframe>
</td>
</tr>
</table>.

JimWorld MarketPlace

If you're in the market to hire someone to do a
computer job for you or you're a programmer or
designer looking for work you might want to check
out "JimWorld's MarketPlace". Like anything offered
by JimWorld it looks like a great opportunity to
get some help or earn some cash. Membership is
required.

http://jimworld.com/marketplace/signup/

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If you'd like to swap ads with this ezine please send your
requests to mailto:adswap@merlesworld.com Please include
your ezine name and the number of subscribers.
-------------------

ATTENTION: Small Online Biz Owners!

If you're trying to market your Website and are not
sure where to turn, subscribe to MC Promotions Press
Newsletter and get the information you need to be a
success online. Sure-Fire Promotion/Marketing Tips.
Sites that will help you. Little known advertising
tricks.....and much more. Start increasing traffic
to your site Now http://www.MCPromotionsPress.com

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Fontifier

Fontifier lets you use your own handwriting for the
text you write on your computer. It turns a scanned
sample of your handwriting into a computer font that
you can use in your word processor or graphics program,
just like regular fonts such as Helvetica.

http://www.fontifier.com/

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Crossword Puzzles

If you love crossword puzzles you'll want to
check out the resources here. There's something
for everyone no matte what type of puzzles you
like to do.

http://www.refdesk.com/crosswrd.html

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DotWidgets

DotWidget CMS: A content management system that's
completely browser-based and incredibly easy to use
and install. Its many powerful features include a
WYSIWYG Editor, multiple user support and a flexible
templating system. ($49)

http://www.dotwidget.com/

---------

My CardMaker

Create and print a greeting card in minutes.
Choose a design from the gallery, or make cards
with your photos. It's the perfect way to share
personalized greetings for holidays, a birthday
or any day!

http://www.mycardmaker.com/

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Do You Write Articles?

If so why not submit them to one of the largest article
databases online today. Imagine Free exposure of your
work, as it's reprinted in ezines and websites across
the Internet. Be seen by thousands by submitting your
writings now to...

http://www.Family-Content.com

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E-Book Host

"ebooks-only" hosting service that includes virtually
everything you need to host, market, and deliver your
own ebook in one place.This site have everything you'll
need to set up a sales site for your ebooks -
including built-in PayPal and ClickBank protection!
Basic account under 10.00 a month.

http://www.ebook-host.com/

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Convert Plain Text Files to PDF

Ap Text To PDF ( text2pdf ) is a program to convert
ASCII texts into PDF format with a minimum loss of
formatting information. support command line, batch
convert, encryption, page orientation ,etc.

http://www.adultpdf.com/products/txttopdf/

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Instant Messaging

"The award-winning*, multi-network Trillian IM client
allows you to seamlessly integrate all of your
communications traffic in a single, sleek package.
Stay in touch with contacts spanning multiple networks
and grab the latest news, stocks, and other
information with our versatile array of plugins."
Basic is fr*e.

http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/

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Pop Up Buster

Sick of pop ups? Sure you are, we all are. If you're
a heavy surfer and aren't using some kind of pop up
blocking software you should have your head examined.
This ones free.

http://www.free-pop-up-stop.com/

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Well, that wraps it up,once again thanks for joining me.
If you have any comments please send them to comments@merlesworld.com or visit the site.

For advertising rates for this ezine send...mailto:advertising@merlesworld.com

Current subscriber base is over 4,200- My list is clean as all email addresses are removed the very first time they bounce.
Back issues can be reviewed here...http://www.MerlesMission.com

If you are not a subscriber and would like to be send mailto:subscribe@merlesworld.com

For great web hosting or if you're in need of a programmer contact mailto:DavidBlack@SiteDesignandHosting.com .He's wonderful and an expert at what he does. Tell him "Merle" sent ya.

P.S. I am currently in need of testimonials for this ezine.If you enjoy it please let me know. Send to mailto:testimonials@MerlesWorld.com
«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»«»

If you haven't yet filled in the subscriber survey, get your free gifts by doing it now..and be entered into a drawing for a free ad in this ezine. Winner pulled twice a month. You'll find the survey at:http://www.advancedsurvey.com/ when there put 8243 into the survey number box at the right hand side to take the survey.

I'm now offering my articles for syndication on your website All you have to do is paste SOME code where you want the article to appear and every 10 to 14 days when I update it on my end it will display a fresh article on web design/ maintenance on your site. Easy to do and gives you fresh content without any work whatsoever. For more info and to get to the code Click Here.

Thanks for being a subscriber and I'll see you next time!

If you enjoy this ezine and would like to make a small donation please go to http://tinyurl.com/21se


Disclaimer: Merle's World does not accept any responsibility for any liabilities as resulting from any claims in this newsletter or by the advertisers in it. This newsletter is for informational purposes only. We respect your privacy and do not share our mailing list with anyone. All content provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Comments in this ezine are strictly the opinion of the publisher. Merle does not endorse, and is not responsible for, the above ads. Please use your own discretion when responding to ads in this ezine. Copyright 2001-2003 All Rights Reserved. View our Privacy Policy and our...Site Disclaimer

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