M A N T E X N E W S L E T T E R Number 69 - mid May 2002 Design + FREE stuff + XML ------ ISSN 1470-1863 ------ Good news! Our last pub quiz was really quite difficult - so for this issue we've made it EASY! 0----- FREE XML Guidance notes We've created some new FREE guidance notes for designers. XML is the markup language which will eventually supersede HTML for all web design. It lets you create your own tags for any documents or files. There are now well-established versions of XML for chemicals, maths, and even business. XML Standards shows details of the varieties, and links to where you can find further details. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/t171/t171-33.htm And if you want to read more about XML, we have a suggested reading list for XML and XHTML. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/biblios/art-xml.htm If it's FREE tutorials on the subject you're after, we have that as well. Look no further - http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/t171/t171-02.htm 0----- PUB QUIZ - Question 1 Which drink contains juniper as flavouring? 0----- 'The Intelligent Wireless Web' What do you get when you cross the use of mobile phones with handheld computers and add speech recognition software? Answer - the Web of the near future. Peter Alesso and Craig Smith have a new book which spells out the new technology they predict will be taking over shortly. It includes not only speaking our instructions to computers, but having them speak back to us, via Speech Synthetic Markup Language, which enables web pages to be read out loud by text-to-speech generators. This is not science-fiction stuff, but technology that's already with us. Glimpse the future at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/alesso.htm 0----- PUB QUIZ - Question 2 What is the salary paid to a clergyman called? 0----- ENDNOTE - FREE Update Endnote is the software program for academic writing we reviewed in a recent newsletter. It arranges the citations and references in essays, dissertations, and theses - then automatically generates reading lists in any format you specify from an enormous range. The manufacturers have just issued free updates which offer 500 new content files, plus multiple connections to online libraries, and import filters to capture data. www.endnote.com If you didn't catch the review of this impressive tool first time around, have a look at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/endnote.htm 0----- PUB QUIZ - Question 3 What colour is cochineal? 0----- 'The Non-Designer's Web Book' Would you like to write web pages without having to go through the slog of learning HTML? Robin Williams is a top designer who has produced a book which will help you to do just that. She assumes you will use a Web editor such as Netscape Composer, MS Front Page, or Adobe PageMill. Her focus is mainly on graphic design, and making your pages look attractive, whilst It's a best-selling book - partly because it is so stylishly produced, and partly because it takes you through the whole process - from getting onto the Web to uploading your own pages onto it. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/william2.htm 0----- PUB QUIZ - Question 4 Which bird has the largest wingspan? 0----- Make money reading books Got a good speaking voice? Do you enjoy reading out loud? Speechradio are looking for readers to produce dramatised audio books. They are looking for people with good reading voices, capable of dramatised readings of novels. They pay UKP 125 per day, plus agreed travel expenses. The work will be based in either the Midlands or Brighton, and the first batch of recordings are planned for July and August this year. For more information email - speechrad@aol.com 0----- PUB QUIZ - Question 5 What is the normal size of a floppy disk? 0----- THE FINAL WORD 'Predictions can be tricky, especially when you're talking about the future.' Yogi Berra 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS Which drink contains juniper as flavouring? ANSWER: Gin What is the salary paid to a clergyman called? ANSWER: A stipend What colour is cochineal? ANSWER: Red Which bird has the largest wingspan? ANSWER: Albatross What is the normal size of a floppy disk? ANSWER: 3.5 inches 0----- COMING SOON 'Print + Electronic text Convergence' 'Creator to Consumer in a Digital Age' 'Flash for Cartooning' 'Dreamweaver 4 in a Nutshell' 'Innovating in Higher Education' (c) Copyright 2002, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm FREE BACK ISSUES featuring news items, reviews, and product details are available at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and subscription information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and subscription information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to unsubscribe, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-69-May-2002 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library