---- MANTEX NEWSLETTER ---- Number 79 - March 2003 Writing + Usability + E-Learning ---- ISSN 1470-1863 ---- Spring is Here - New Books + Updates 0----- 'Speed Up Your Site' [new book] If you've got a web site and you want to make it more effective, this is a terrific compilation of tips and advice. Andy King takes you through every way of maximising speed and usability - from shrinking page size, making files smaller, and reducing download times, to amazing compression techniques which enable you to put multimedia files on your site. He also covers the less technical but very important issue of choosing keywords and effective meta-tags. Full review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/king.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1 Who invented action painting? 0----- Virginia Woolf - Update We have updated our chronology of Virginia Woolf's life and works. It also has links to two popular biographies of Woolf - one by John Lehman, who worked for her at the Hogarth Press for a while. The other is an academic study by Hermione Lee. For literary studies buffs, there's also the 'Cambridge Companion to Virginia Woolf' - a new-ish collection of essays. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/woolf-00.htm She's one of the most popular authors on our site - and there's a new film out which is based on her life, her ideas, her literary techniques, and probably her greatest novel 'Mrs Dalloway'. Ignore the publicity, the critics, and the hype - just go to see a marvellous film. It's well acted and scripted, beautifully shot, and very moving. 'The Hours' - on release now. 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2 Which organs does silicosis affect? 0----- Bandwidth Figures The Bandwidth Report is a monthly roundup of connectivity trends in the US. As of January 2003, 67.5% of US home users connected to the Internet at 56Kbps or less. Broadband penetration passed 30% for the first time in December of 2002 and grew to 32.6% in January. Extrapolating the Nielsen//Netratings data, broadband penetration in the US should exceed 50% by July of 2004. http://www.websiteoptimization.com/bw 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3 In which country is the city of Timisoara? 0----- Marcel Proust - new addition. We've started a guide to the work of Marcel Proust - one of the giants of the modern novel. You need plenty of time to tackle "Remembrance of Things Past" [or "In Search of Lost Time"] - but it is well worth the effort. Three different translations are compared, and there are details of a biography and a collection of essays on the background to his work. The latest translation is in a boxed set which is on offer at a knockdown price at Amazon. We also offer details of the standard biography of Proust by George Painter, and a 'Cambridge Companion to Proust' for serious readers. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/proust-1.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4 What sort of creature is a Shih tzu? 0----- 'How to Plan and Manage an E-learning Programme' [new book - long title] This is a book for online course designers who want something to hold on to in the heady business of providing digital training and education. It offers a practical, step-by-step approach to planning, designing, and managing e-learning programs. There are lots of real life examples and checklists of things to do. Course designers and managers will be interested to know that the authors also confront the issues of how expensive it is to design such materials. They also have tips on how to make provision for the human support element required in online learning courses. Full review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/lewis.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5 Who invented the hovercraft? 0----- Online learning - update We have updated our downloadable bibliography of online education design. This features books which deal with issues of course design, writing for the screen, learning objects, digital training strategies, and instructional materials. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/bib-ole.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6 What casts the shadow on a sundial? 0----- 'A Pattern Language for Web Usability' [new book] Pattern language is one of the new jargon terms in Web design. It means using standard solutions to common problems of design. Usability is more straightforward - this adds up to 'making sites easier to use and navigate'. Ian Graham's new book combines these two approaches. He offers a theoretical opening, which is followed by very practical series of case studies in which every aspect of a web site is looked at in terms of how it can be improved. This is a book for web designers, information architects, usability buffs, or anybody wants to improve the efficiency of their web site. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/graham-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #7 What nationality was Sigmund Freud? 0----- The Short Story - new notes We've produced a list of guidance notes and recommended reading on the short story. These feature Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Guy de Maupassant, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, Franz Kafka, and Jorge Luis Borges. More will be added soon - along with mini tutorials on the short story as a literary genre. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/resource/story-00.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #8 In which country is the town of Timbuktu? 0----- Music Extra [new artist - for me anyway] We don't live exclusively in a world of writing and technology, so from time to time we're going to include brief items of cultural interest into this bulletin. First up comes an item on the musical front. My own recent musical discovery is the singing and piano playing of Patricia Barber. It's a mixture of jazz, classical, and torch songs - and I particularly like John McLean, her smokey John Schofield-like guitar player. She's like a white Cassandra Wilson - although that's probably a politically incorrect thing to say. Listen for yourself at Amazon - and keep the URL all on one line. http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000K3BF/ref=nosim/mantexinformatio http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000K3BF/ref=nosim/mantexinformat0b 0----- Pub Quiz Question #9 Who wrote 'Under the Volcano'? 0----- Online Etymological Dictionary The Etymology Dictionary provides a free online dictionary of word origins compiled by Douglas Harper. These run from 'A-1' to 'zymurgy'. 'A-1 - 1837, Lloyd's of London designation for ships in first-class condition. zymurgy - 1868, from Gk. zymo-, comb. form of zyme "a leaven" + -ourgia "a working," from ergon "work." The last word in many standard English dictionaries; but in the O.E.D. [2nd ed.] the last word is zyxt, an obsolete Kentish form of the second person singular of see (v.). There's also a keyword search option which lists results from all over the Web. http://www.etymonline.com/ 0----- Pub Quiz Question #10 What is the day before Ash Wednesday called? 0----- TXT MSG Essays in the Classroom An English essay written by a teenager in text messaging short-hand has re-ignited concern among teachers that literacy standards are under threat. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Monday that the 13-year-old's teacher could not decipher what the youngster had written. "I could not believe what I was seeing. The page was riddled with hieroglyphics, many of which I simply could not translate," the teacher told the newspaper. The teenager's essay which caused the problem began: "My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF + thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it's a gr8 plc." In translation: "My summer holidays were a complete waste of time. Before, we used to go to New York to see my brother, his girlfriend and their three screaming kids face to face. I love New York. It's a great place." Source - Reuters 0----- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS Who invented action painting? ANSWER: Jackson Pollock Which organs does silicosis affect? ANSWER: The lungs In which country is the city of Timisoara? ANSWER: Romania What sort of creature is a Shih tzu? ANSWER: A dog Who invented the hovercraft? ANSWER: Sir Christopher Cockerell What casts the shadow on a sundial? ANSWER: A gnomon What nationality was Sigmund Freud? ANSWER: Austrian In which country is the town of Timbuktu? ANSWER: Mali Who wrote 'Under the Volcano'? ANSWER: Malcolm Lowry What is the day before Ash Wednesday called? ANSWER: Shrove Tuesday 0----- COMING SOON 'Words on the Web' 'Design Through Digital Interaction' 'Creative Content for the Web' 'Designing Web Graphics' 'Literacy in the New Media Age' 'Visual Language for the World Wide Web' (c) Copyright 2003, 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 at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and list-joining information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and list-joining information remains. 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