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Welcome to our info section. We will constantly be updating with more info, so check back.

In the meantime, here are some basic facts about computer protocols and the Internet. You may find these facts to be useful to you, as you try and learn more about the techno-age of computers.

We, personally, love IBM. This company started it all. They practically birthed the computer. This being an electronic based apparatus, that quite simply works on a binary system of data transmission.

All computers, regardless of the operating system employed, basically work on the transmission of data. This transmission is either "0" or "1" . Like yes or no, or like "on" or "off". Think of it as morse code. Not only does a computer "think" binary, it can also "talk" to other computers via a network, in binary also.

Now these "dots" or "flashes" of "0" or"1" can be sent in certain order, and read as data. If one has the correct program, operating system, etc. on their computer, this data can be read and enacted upon by the computer.

Being that the computer has evolved into a vehicle that can transmit and receive data, the world wide web, and the Internet somehow happened. Originally the military wanted to develop a method of data transmission, in event of war. They originally developed a national computer linking. As time went by, this reached out to the public and especially Universities, for they could share data all over the campus via computers.

At first the early net was primarily text transmission via ftp. ftp is file transfer protocol. This is a simple binary data transfer method. Well, one gentleman got the bright idea of developing html. Html is short for hyper text markup language. Anyways, he developed a new computer language. This allowed for http. Http is hyper text transfer protocol. This allowed not only data transference of text, but also of images, sound and much else.

Here we are... evolving along on the net. But now we have the new language html, so thusly was the need to develop browsers that could read the new language.

This lead to NCSA Mosaic, which, in our opinion, was the grandfather of most modern browsers. (By the way, a Browser is simply a program used to browse on the web. If you are reading this right now... you obviously have one installed on your computer. Or you are browsing on your WEB TV, another newly developed medium for accessing the WWW). Early browsers read html 2.0. Along came Microsoft and Netscape Corp. Each company bought rights to development of this program. As time went by each developed, from the old original NCSA Mosaic which they changed and expanded upon, it's own browser. Into being came Internet Explorer ( which frankly... we don't care too much for ) and Netscape Navigator and Communicator Suite ( which we love- they developed much better in our opinion ). Browsers evolved, html 3.2 evolved. Now we are up to html 4.0.

{New update, as this was current in '99. Currently in'01, with generation 6 browsers out, Internet Explorer has come along way in now surpassing Netscape! - In WebMaster, and Author's opinion}

For these reasons, it is possible to see a difference in the appearence of a particular web site, due to the browser you are using; as some have developed their own html codes for their particular browser. A Netscape code won't be seen by Internet Explorer, and vice versa. This has occurred recently and is a WebMasters nightmare! Quite hard to develop a site that is uniformly seen by all browsers! On top of that, there is now html 4.0. This has new codes which newer browsers read fine, however an older browser may not read or display the language code correctly, or even at all. So if ever you notice something is a bit "weird" in your browser... it may be for one of the afore mentioned reasons. Or possibly you have stumbled upon a site where the webmaster has written bad coding, or extremely advanced coding that your browser can not read. ( We are developing with html 3.2. The best standard still- in our opinion. And we avoid specific browser codes. ) We're not even going to get into the new dhtml or shtml stuff, maybe some other time.

Also comes about the development of the Java language. This is a new language much different than html, in developmet by Sun Micro Systems. Java can run totally in Java alone. There is now HotJava, a Java browser. No html. ( We do not care for java language too much, just our opinion.) Next time you get stuck in a web site that keeps pulling you in and sticks you there, you can thank all the java developers. Also if on your browser you see "java applet" loading, you now know where this came from. We think limited java embedded in html is ok, if need be, though personally we are trying to develop our site with the purest basic html that will display well on all browsers.

In addition to html codes, and Java Scripts and applets that may load into your browser, you may also run into VB Scripts or ActiveX. VB stands for Visual Basic. This is a programming language. Many programs need this to run properly, as with ActiveX. A plugin or program may be specifically written to work with this software application. When browsing or using your browser, or even your computer off line, you may run into VB Scripts or ActiveX applications. Some programs will even tell you that you are missing a component to run an application. Basically these type programs I will call "extended type software". This being a program that will help and extend another program. Many plugins may run with these. Many new video and computer games may run using an "extended type software" program. Say it makes the picture resolution and speed better in a game. It may even accelerate a program. It may also enhance the audio capabilities of a certain program. In fact, a software program can be written that specifically "ties" itself to this program, that it quite simply can not run itself, unless this other application is also installed.

Now we have differences evolving in browsers, in web languages and also in "extended type software"... and then there comes browser plugins! A plugin is additional software that is designed to enhance a Web Browser's abilities. Some plugins are designed to work with a variety of browsers. Some plugins are designed to work with a certain browser alone. In the diverging world of browsers, this can lead to a wide range and variety of plugins. These plugins are additionally added to a browser to enhance a certain aspect of the web.

One could add Superscape Viscape, for example. This plugin allows access to the VWWW (Virtual World Wide Web), an interactive web world that one can not view with out the appropriate plugin. One could wish to visit music sites that have live streaming audio or video, such as a live concert. To access this though one would also need the appropriate plugin to view or hear, such as RealPlayer or MediaPlayer. To listen to MP3 music one would also need the appropriate plugin to de-encode the sound files, as they are in a compressed type of format and conventional wave players will not play them. To listen to audio midi files, one would need a plugin such as Cresendo, Beatnik, LiveAudio, or any other myriad of plugins that would allow the midi music to be heard via the browser. There are many different types of files one can perceive on the net if one only has the appropriate plugin. There are plugins to view and or listen to .avi, .mpeg, .mov, files etc. Each type of file has it's own style of format, and therefore one would need the appropriate plugin that could handle the reading of that particular file format.

It is for these reasons, also, that one could stumble upon a site and be not able to view or access the aspects of the site. A screen might pop up stating, "You do not have the appropriate plugin to view this content", or it simply will not work correctly. Sometimes, depending upon the style of browser you are viewing with, you may be referred to a different area or web page where one would have access to download such a plugin. (Obviously this would not apply to WEB TV viewers.) In this case after downloading, the program could be installed. After proper installation, the next time when one returned to this web site, then the site content could now be displayed upon, or through, your browser.

There are many different plugins, with even more coming into being as time goes bye. Some plugins handle a variety of different file formats. Some can maybe play .wav and .mid files. Some plugins may play .mov, .avi, and .mpeg files. My point... there is quite the variety, but do not get too happy and try and go out and download and install everyone you can get your hands on!!! There is a very unfortunate aspect to the wide variety of plugins we now have. Every time a plugin is installed, (just as with every newly installed software program), there is a slight change in the configuration and system files of the computer. Batch files may also change, along with new and different command pathways the computer may now use. Each plugin has the ability to directly or indirectly affect another plugin. In other words there could be a compatability problem between plugins. A newly installed plugin of one type may cause another plugin, which used to work fine before installation of new plugin, to not work correctly. So until better equipped and more knowledgable about plugins and conflicts, try and keep the plugins on browser to a minimum. The less there are, the less the chance of developing a browser, or browser plugin, compatability problem.

Specific plugins (and much software in general) are known to have specific problems, that is why there are "alpha" versions, "beta" versions, version 1.00, version 2.03, etc. This is because software programs are not perfect, and of course the programmers themselves are not perfect either. That is why there is a metamorphosis always going on in the software world. That is why Widows 3.1 was replaced with Windows 95, then Windows 98, then Win ME, 2000, XP, NT, etc. Programmers may develop a program, and then discover hidden bugs in it. It is polished up, then released as a newer version. Still more bugs can be found, and the process can go on and on. Unfortunately some plugins have many bugs to still be fixed in them, (we have found Beatnik to still have a few) as they are still in a newer stage of programming development. So "Net-Newbies" beware of things like conflicts possibly arising if you try to be experimental with new programs or plugins.

Please stop back, as soon will have info on different styles of computer operating systems. Also will be including info on proper download and installation procedures for software. But unfortunately you will have to check back at a later date for more info on these subjects. I Just don't have the time to continue presently. Much more is forth coming, so please come back. Hope you learned a bit and found this info useful. Bye and see you soon. - WebMaster, L.

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