Gifts for the webmaster who doesn't have everything. Yet!.
1998 additions are shown in brown
Hotmail: You probably already have an e-mail account and figure you need another one about as much as dad needs that new tie you got him. But, if like Santa you tend to travel a lot, you know how difficult it can be to access your account from out of town. And if you're ever forced to change ISPs (Internet Service Providers), notifying everyone of your new e-mail address can be a nightmare. Hotmail solves both problems by offering permanent, web-based accounts that you can access from anywhere through your web browser.
URL-minder: If you're tired of accessing web pages only to discover they change about as often as you shop for Christmas cards, you'll love URL-minder. Once you register a page with the service, you're automatically notified whenever its content is updated. You can also add a simple form to your site so visitors can register to be notified each time you update it.
ListBot (see below) proved to be a better way to keep visitors informed of changes to my site so I've dropped URL-minder.
CGI Free: CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts are small programs that run on your server and allow you to add interactive elements such as menus, forms or even count down to Christmas calendars to your pages. Unfortunately, malicious or poorly designed CGIs can also wreak havoc on a server so most ISPs place them off limits. CGI-Free offers a way around the problem by hosting several customizable scripts you can integrate into your site.
On the other hand, if your ISP allows CGI scripts, you'll want to check out the many free scripts available on the web. My favorites sources are:- Matt's Script Archive: Matt Wright's scripts are nearly ubiquitous on the web. I use two of them, FormMail for the Feedback page and WWWBoard for the Forum.
- CGI Resource Index: A nearly exhaustive listing of free and shareware scripts.
- BigNoseBird.Com: Besides one of the best names on the web, BNB features several great scripts, scripting tutorials and other resources for the webmaster.
1-2-3 Guestbooks: Guestbooks, which allow visitors to talk back to you by adding their comments to your site, not only require CGI access, they also - in that great holiday tradition - require considerable assembly. Unless, of course, a free guestbook from 1-2-3 Guestbooks finds its way under your tree. The set up process, which offers the opportunity for considerable customization, is almost painless and 1-2-3 also hosts your book free of charge.
ListBot: If you want to talk back to your visitors, a mailing list from ListBot is the way to go. Visitors join your list by filling out a simple form and then, whenever you have something to share with them - or if you'd just like to send out a holiday greeting - it's a one-step process to reach all your subscribers.
ListBot was part of Submit-It which was purchased by LinkExchange, which was acquired by Microsoft.
And fun is, as I said last year, what the web is all about. So enjoy your new web toys and, if you have a problem, don't worry. I saved the receipts.
