Issue Number 25 - May 2000

FREE eBook
Do you have (or plan to set up) a Web Site or E-zine? Then you should get your FREE copy of the 'Web Site and E-zine Promotion for Idiots' E-book. Visit the link below, and read why ZDNet gave this exciting FREE manual a 4 star rating! It's a very good example of what a simple e-book can do.

http://www.smart-web-promotion.com/idiots.htm

HTML Pocket Reference
MOST HTML GUIDES are about three inches thick and contain more information than you'll ever need. Now O'Reilly publishers have come up with the opposite. Their pocket reference series pares all information to the bone, and yet in less than 100 pages this contains every item in the latest HTML coding specification. Full review and details at --

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/nieder-3.htm

I Love You - NOT!!
If you were one of the many people affected by the recent virus, the only consolation is that you were not alone. Protect yourself from the 'I Love You' bug with a collection of virus definition updates, patches, and cleaners. Vaccinate your system if you've already caught the Love Bug, and avoid any future infection. [keep the URL all on one line]

http://1.digital.cnet.com/cgi-bin1/flo?x=dAKhmuuEuYwmuuouh

New Shorter Oxford Dictionary
IT'S BIG; it's been revised then updated; and it's available in book form and on CD-ROM. For a review article on this standard work of reference - plus a very clever web page which reproduces a typical entry in all its smallest details, go to --

http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-sho.htm

Digital Trivia
DID YOU KNOW that the Microsoft screen font Trebuchet is named after a medieval siege weapon? It's a sans-serif font with a specially high X-height - which makes reading text on screen easier. If you don't already have the collection of free screen fonts from Microsoft, they are available at -

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/

Design for Multimedia Learning
This book has been around for a while now, but might still be of interest to those who want an overview of the range of multimedia used to produce programs for learning. It covers how to stucture the learning experience, how to design the software interface, and how to handle text, graphics, sound, and video. Full details -

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

Word Tip - Blue Background
BACK TO THE FUTURE! You type with black letters on a white background - right? That's how nearly everyone does it. But for those who grew up on WordPerfect, you can change to typing white on a blue background if you wish.

1. Open Tools, Options
2. Click the General tab
3. Check the Blue background, white text
4. Click OK

On early versions of Word, it's

1. Open Format/Background
2. Then Format/Font/Colour

Books and their Enemies
"Books are fatal: they are the curse of the human race. Nine-tenths of existing books are nonsense, and the clever books are the refutation of that nonsense. The greatest misfortune that ever befell man was the invention of printing."

Benjamin Disraeli