Create a Web Site - Find a New Career

Over the years, plenty of people have thought that just knowing a little bit of HTML coding qualified them to be Web site designers. But for Linda Katz of southwest Kansas, practicing her Web design skills helped her launch an entirely new career -- as a tumbleweed farmer!

The Prairie Tumbleweed Farm started out as a simple Web design exercise. Linda wanted to practice her skills and created the farm as a joke back in 1994. But, people found her site and soon began contacting her because they wanted to buy the tumbleweeds! One thing led to another, and Linda now has a thriving business. Her customers include NASA, major Hollywood studios, fashion designers, and ordinary people who just want to own one of these iconic symbols of the old West.

Linda was recently featured on Yahoo!'s People of the Web and she has an interview posted on YouTube, which you can view by clicking the link below:



Discussion Questions for Students
1. Do you personally know anyone who is running a successful Internet business? Do you know how they got started?
2. Have you ever considered creating your own online business? What type of product or service would you offer?
3. Hands-on Exercise: Ask students to find a YouTube video featuring an interview with an entrepreneur who operates an online business.

XP or Not XP -- That Is the Question

Or to put it another way... should I upgrade to Windows Vista or stay with Windows XP? A lot of people still aren't convinced that upgrading to the newest Windows operating system is the best route. In fact, a recent study by Forrester Research indicates that 84% of North American and European companies are currently using Windows XP. Additionally, some users who have upgraded to Vista are reinstalling Windows XP on their systems. They cite software and hardware compatibility issues and increased memory requirements (ideally, you should have at least 1GB RAM and more is better) as just a couple of (expensive) reasons why upgrading may not be a good idea. On the other hand, Windows Vista has a cool new interface, increased security, and improved search functions, just to name a few of the new features and benefits this OS provides. And let's not forget that at some point, Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP. So, what to do? Many companies and individuals have adopted a wait and see attitude and have been planning to reevaluate their options after the first Vista service pack is released.

Well, that time is almost here. And the preliminary results aren't looking good for Vista. Microsoft expects to release Service Pack 1 for Vista and Service Pack 3 for Windows XP in early to mid-2008. According to testers at Devil Mountain Software who are working with early versions of these releases, XP SP3 is outperforming Vista XP1 on everyday computing tasks. Benchmark comparisons show that the current version, Windows XP SP2, already handles typical tasks 50 to 100 percent faster than Vista. After applying the service packs, Windows XP SP3 actually improved its speed by 10 percent! TechNewsWorld provides additional details on their blog, and the blog by Devil Mountain Software researchers - exo.blog - includes graphs and comparison charts, just to make the differences even more obvious.

It should be noted that these are preliminary test results. Hopefully, Microsoft will continue tweaking and refining the Vista service pack to provide better final results. However, it doesn't look like improved speed and efficiency is the main objective of this service pack and users who were hoping for increased performance results may be sorely disappointed.

Discussion Questions for Students
1. Have you upgraded to Vista yet, or purchased a new computer with Vista already installed? If so, what version of Vista are you using and what are your impressions of this new operating system so far?
2. What are benchmark comparisons? (Note: This may be a good hands-on exercise for students -- Ask them to search for some benchmark tests online or to create their own. Select several that would be appropriate to test, divide the students into groups, and ask them to run the tests on computers with different operating systems. If no one has access to a machine running Vista, try running the tests on an older version of Windows, such as Windows 2000 or 98. Have the students present their findings and discuss and compare their results.)
3. Findings seem to indicate that Vista's architecture, not bugs, are behind the lower performance results. Would you be willing to use a slower computer if it was more stable (i.e. less crashes or freezes) than a faster computer? When does slow become too slow?
4. How do you feel about releasing preliminary reports such as this, knowing that the final version of a product may change considerably? Is it fair to the consumer or the manufacturer? Will you take the time to find out what the final version can do or will you have already made up your mind based on early information?

Online Office Suites: Contenders or Pretenders?

Although many people are still wondering whether they should upgrade to the newest version of Microsoft Office, some people are considering a completely different alternative. The question isn't whether or not to upgrade, it's whether to install software on your computer or access it online!

The idea of online applications has been around for a while now, but its biggest feature was also its biggest pitfall - online accessibility. For those of us with dialup connections or limited Internet access, online applications weren't much of an option. No one wants to be limited to using their word processing or spreadsheet application only when they have Internet connectivity. However, as broadband Internet connections have become increasingly common, permitting 24/7 access, the concept of online applications is being revisited.

One of the companies providing online applications is a familiar name - Google. Google Docs provides word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation applications, but no database software. Of course, Google also has GMail and calendar features, but they aren't integrated with Google Docs the way Microsoft Outlook integrates with Office.

But, Google's not the only company trying to give Microsoft a run for its money. Zoho, ThinkFree Online, and Glide also offer online alternatives. In two recent articles, Information Week reviewed and compared these four options. The first article covers Google and Zoho, while the second explores ThinkFree Online and Glide.

There are benefits and disadvantages with all of these choices. On the plus side, many of the applications are free or low-cost. Due to the fact that your work is often stored online, accessing your files from various locations is much easier - no more worrying that you left that important presentation file at home. In the same vein, online access makes collaborating with others simpler too. However, disadvantages still surround the online concept - what happens if you can't access the Internet or the application's server dies? Depending on the application, it may not be possible to back up your work to your own computer, so you need to be sure the company and your Internet service will be reliable. Some of these products will work with existing Office documents, while others may not. And, the level of functionality and features offered may be less than what Office users are accustomed to.

Discussion Questions for Students
1) Do you think the benefits of online applications outweigh the risks?
2) Have you tried any of these applications? If so, how was your experience with them?
3) Would you be willing to forego fancy formatting options and other design features for an application that can produce basic documents for minimal (or zero) cost?
4) Would you consider using an online application as a secondary tool - to supplement but not replace a more conventional application that is installed on your computer?
5) How do you think these online applications remain profitable with their current pricing structures? Do you think the costs may rise if they become more popular?

Running with the Big Cats

Apple released Leopard, the much anticipated upgrade to their current operating system - Mac OS X - on October 26. Initial reviews are favorable and indicate that this new version of the Mac OS will be superior to the new Windows Vista OS. Leopard replaces the previous version, known as Tiger, and will come already loaded on all new Macs. Users will also be able to upgrade their current systems for $129. It should be possible to upgrade machines that are as much as six years old - something that is much less likely to happen for older computers running Windows. Unlike Vista, which is available in four different versions with a varying range of features and pricing (from $100 up to $260), Leopard has only one version. So the only decision the consumer needs to make is whether or not to buy it!

Apple indicates that there are 300 new features in this version of the operating system! Some features have received particularly good reviews, including Time Machine, a backup utility that works in the background to automatically archive and protect your important files. Boot Camp, which allows users to also run the Microsoft Windows operating system (Vista or XP, either of which must be purchased separately) on a Mac, is now included - formerly, it needed to be downloaded and installed separately. The Mac OS also plays well with Linux, making it a very versatile choice.

Reviewers, such as Walt Mossburg from the Wall Street Journal, have indicated that the installation of Leopard was relatively quick and painless and, unlike Vista, they have encountered very few compatability issues with software or hardware. Edward C. Baig of USA Today writes favorably about the aesthetics of the new OS. iChat has added many new special effects, Mail has a new assortment of stationery templates, and some of the new desktop features, including a new version of the Dock and the Spaces virtual desktop feature, allow users to view information in new and creative ways. The general consensus is that Mac users will be pleased with this new cat!

Discussion Questions for Students:
1. Have you ever used a Mac computer?
2. If you have, how do you think it compares to a computer running Windows?
3. Do you think the new features of the Mac will tempt more people to switch from Microsoft Windows?
4. The new Leopard launch seems to be proceeding much more smoothly, and with greater acceptance, than the launch for Windows Vista. What are your thoughts on this?

Discussion: Are Computers Going the Way of the Dinosaur in Japan?

When people think of Japan, they frequently associate the country with its technology. After all, Japan spawned the electronics revolution. Therefore, it will probably surprise you and your students to find out that personal computer sales are on the decline in Japan. This is mainly due to lifestyle changes and demand for other products such as large screen TVs, cell phones, and other mobile devices.

Computers can often be bypassed in today's digital world. Many people download music directly to their cell phones, even here in the U.S. And in Japan many more consumers use their cell phones to shop online than they do in the U.S. Often consumers connect digital cameras directly to printers and digital video recorders (DVRs) directly to TVs to view photos or videos, thus eliminating the need for a computer. And downloading movies directly to the TV is also very popular in Japan.

A survey conducted in 2006 by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs indicates that over 50 percent of the Japanese people surveyed used mobile phones to send e-mail and browse the Internet. As might be expected, the survey also reveals that 30 percent of the people using their phones to send e-mail used PC-based e-mail less, with 4 percent indicating that they sent e-mail solely from their cell phones and didn't use their computers for e-mail at all.

But as sales of computers are shrinking in Japan, business is booming in most other parts of Asia. Computer demand is still very strong in developing countries where the percentage of the population owning computers has been low. Check out the full article for more information.

Discussion Questions for Students:
1) How many computing devices do you own? Laptop, desktop, cell phone, iPod, digital camera, camcorder, etc.
2) Do you use your cell phone to check e-mail and surf the web?
3) Have you found that as you use your mobile device more often, you're using your computer less?
4) How will owning mobile devices affect your decision to purchase your next computer?

Hands On Activity: Personal Information Online

Students are often blissfully unaware of the extent of personal information that is available about them on the web. Much of the information that students share about themselves on social networking sites (such as Facebook and MySpace) is now routinely indexed in search engines. To give students a real life lesson in what is out there, direct them to the search engine Wink and have them search on their name. They'll be surprised at what they find.



Student Discussion Questions
1) How many of you have a MySpace or Facebook account? Have you changed the basic privacy settings on the account or just accepted the defaults? (on Facebook, you can op-out of having your information indexed online in the privacy settings).
2) Employers routinely search the web and social networking sites for information about prospective employees. Is there anything on your site that you would not want an employer to see?
3) What problems can arise from having your personal information posted online?