Issue Number 14 - November 1999

Information Design - a bibliography
Information Design is the name increasingly given to the visual display of data, instructions, information, and even computer screen layout. Anything from your bank statement to public lavatory signs comes into this category, and debates about how it is best done can be very tetchy and partisan.

To assist the debate, we've started a select bibliography on the subject, with articles and reviews of selected titles. Please feel free to suggest additions. Meanwhile, free download -

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/bib-01.htm

Open Sources - the revolution
As you know, Microsoft has recently been judged a near-monopoly which is exploiting its power unfairly. But did you know that the Gates empire is also under threat from computer programmers who want to give away their software free of charge?

This includes Linux, the new operating system which is posing a distinct threat to Windows. You can follow the debate between these two approaches to technological development by reading the Manifesto of this movement in 'Open Sources: Voices from the Open Source Revolution'. It's a series of polemical essays which explain the origins of their philosophy, and why they think they're going to win.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dibona.htm

Information Design - a web site
Newsletter subscriber Professor James Hartley of Keele University has made details of his latest publications on information design available at his website. Go to --

http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ps/jhabiog.htm

Web-safe Fonts
If you design web pages which rely on fancy fonts, you'll be in for a shock if you view your site on somebody else's computer. The chances are, they won't have them, and their browser will use another font instead. To be on the safe side, many HTML authors stick to what are called 'browser-safe' fonts - those which are most commonly installed. But which are they?

The only truly 'web-safe' fonts are Times New Roman and Arial (for Windows) and Times and Helvetica (for the Mac). If you do specify other fonts, you need to do so with commas, so that if the browser can't find the font you want, it will go to the next on the list.

You can also now take a reasonable chance that people will have the screen fonts specially designed by Microsoft, and packaged with Word and its Office suite. These are Georgia, Trebuchet, Verdana, and Tahoma.

Of course you can still also choose the much-loathed Courier and its latest manifestation, Courier New. I once saw a defence of this font on the grounds that it was legible even on maps supplied to underwater divers!

History of the Internet - the Videos
Robert X. Cringely wrote 'The Triumph of the Nerds' (posh title - 'Accidental Empires'] about the development of computers and the Internet. He takes a wry and irreverant views of IT history, claiming that much of it was unplanned and subject to no more than the whims of egocentric money-makers. We reviewed the book at -

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/cringely.htm

Word Tip - Split Screen Editing
Word can show you two parts of a document within the same window. For example, you can work on the beginning of the document in the top part of the window while you work on another in the bottom. To try this:

1. Open a document.
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + S.
3. Put your cursor on the separating line.
4. Click and drag it to re-size the panes.

When you're done with the split-screen look, use the mouse to drag the dividing line all the way to the top or bottom. You can also choose Windows + Remove Split.

Alphabets and Fancy Fonts
There's a very entertaining book of alphabets, fonts, symbols, and signs which has been around for a while. It ranges from Victorian product labels to monograms, trademarks, and alphabets made from bendy men and Chinese sticks. It's for browsing (and scanning?) rather than serious scholarship, but almost every page has something of novelty or interest, and it's amazingly cheap too.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/alpha.htm

Internet Today!
Jane Dorner reports on a new book covering searching, emailing, and the use of the Net for research. There are step-by-step instructions on sending email, writing web pages, using navigational icons, and how to do a Boolean search. Questions and exercises at the end of each chapter, plus a good index and glossary.

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/ackerman.htm