Links for Web Design, Computers, and the Internet
Welcome to the links page. Here we will share a large collection
of friendly links with you on subjects like Web design/development, the Internet,
graphics (and images in general), writing, and more down to Earth sites to help
you with the daily grind.
Related topics include application hacking (altering the
interface, for example), ASP, CGI
scripts, CSS style sheets, domain
name registration, flash, fonts, graphics, web page hosting, HTML
4, Internet safety, searching the Internet, Internet security, advanced software
applications, and information on standards and compliance with the w3c, web
design resources, XHTML,
XML, and much, much more.
Graphics, GUI, and OS (Show/Hide)
Presenting a collection of Web sites that are in some way associate
with Graphics (e.g. tiles, buttons, icons), GUI
(application interfaces), and Operating System modification. Although several
of these sites focus on Macintosh users, there is a good amount of content for
Windows users as well.
Blue
Sky Heart Graphics … Desktop pictures, icons, Kaleidoscope themes,
and more. Webmaster Layne Karkruff does amazing things with Adobe Photoshop.
You can can also hire her for custom work or pay extra to access more desktop
pictures.
Sub-links: Icons,
Wallpaper,
Kaleidoscope.
Digital
Blasphemy … Desktop pictures, animations, and even posters. Designer
Ryan Bliss is very talented and it shows clearly in his exceptional work. You
may also purchase a membership that gives you access to more materials and
more talent.
GRSites
… GRSites.com is really a great free source for textures, backgrounds,
web graphics, fonts, and sounds. All things listed are free and there is also
a large selection of high quality graphics for you to look at.
Sub-links: Textures,
Graphics,
Fonts, Sounds.
GUIStuff
… This site is unique in the fact that instead of providing free graphics
like most other sites, they provide free pre-build GUIs for your web page!
Many of them are also very high quality and worth more than a look.
Icon
Factory … Icons (Mac OS 9 and X). Amazingly large selection of all
qualities. The greatest source of icons for the Mac on the net.
Icons.cx
… Icons (Mac OS 9 and X) Very high quality and a decent selection.
Kaleidoscope
… Kaleidoscope is a program that allows classic Mac OS to use any one
of many skillfully designed alternate themes. The software is surprisingly
stable for a Control Panel and is worth taking a look at. Other graphics artists
on the net have developed Kaleidoscope themes for use with this program.
Rampant
Mac … Desktop pictures (2D & 3D), icons, patterns, and GUI
hacks. Rampant Mac is a great place for PC and Mac users alike to find beautiful
graphics for their computers. (Rampant Mac moved and is now under development.
At the time of writing the Icons and Patterns sections were not online.)
Sub-links: Wallpaper,
3D
Wallpaper, GUI
Hacks.
ResExcellence
… ResExcellence is best site out there for everything graphical on the
Macintosh. They have regular contests, tutorials on how to change the appearance
of the OS and apps, the graphics to do it with, and the best collection of
links around. Their collection also includes desktop pictures and many reader
submissions.
Sub-links: Icons,
Wallpaper,
and many Mac GUI mods from the home page.
X Icons
… Icons (Mac OS X). This, as far as I can tell, is the best place on
the Internet for OS X icons.
Internet Safety and Filtering (Show/Hide)
Just as the name suggests this is a short list of some sites
(organizations) that are working to filter Web content (in a good way). For
example, many provide filter software for parents (which could be used to filter
things like pornography), but also provide rating systems for Web sites (so
they don’t get accidentally filtered).
ICRA/RSAC
… The Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA)
is helping parents filter negative content away from their children’s
eyes. You can have your site rated and in exchange a meta tag will be provided
that allows browsers (with the proper patch) to allow or prevent access to
your site based off certain parameters. Register to support their cause and
to prevent your site from being filtered out by concerned parents that have
restricted access to unregistered sites.
Sub-links: Buttons,
Support.
SafeSurf
… SafeSurf, like the ICRA,
is also working hard to help parents filter negative content from their children.
You can have your site rated in exchange for a meta tag to use in your web
page. This is used by browsers equipped with an application to do this. Register
with them to support their cause and to prevent your site from being filtered
out by concerned parents that have restricted access to unregistered sites.
Sub-links: Submit,
Buttons,
Support.
Surf Safely
… Surf Safely is a search engine that indexes only sites that have rated
properly for children or sensitive viewers with one of the other security sites
listed in this section.
Sub-links: Submit,
Advanced
Search.
UFCWS
… Apply with United Federation of ChildSafe Websites (UFCWS).
to have your site examined to make sure the content is appropriate, registered
with an organization like ICRA
or SafeSurf, and that
your Privacy Agreement is friendly and ethical. Apply with them to further
the cause of Internet safety and security.
Here you will find a bountiful list of software developers
that are in some way related our content (e.g. professional application developers
like Adobe and Macromedia and browser developers like Microsoft and Mozilla).
Sub-lists are provided for quick access to helpful links on the featured pages.
Adobe
… Adobe is one of the best software companies in the world rivaled only
by Macromedia. Their graphical programs in particular are some of the best
around. Photoshop has no equal in the industry.
Sub-links: Acrobat,
After
Effects, GoLive,
Illustrator,
Live
Motion, PageMaker,
Photoshop,
Photoshop
Elements, Premier.
Apple Computers
… Original Computers, Good Software, Excellent Company.
Sub-links: Classic
Mac OS, Mac OS X,
Appleworks,
DVD Studio Pro,
Final Cut Pro,
Quicktime, iTunes.
Macromedia
… Macromedia is, most would say, the undisputed leader in web-related
applications and one of the most acknowledge software companies in the world.
This site was entirely designed in Macromedia Dreamweaver and with considerable
ease. Some of Macromedia’s pages require the flash plug-in, download
it here.
Sub-links: Dreamweaver,
Dreamweaver
UltraDev, Director,
Fireworks,
Flash,
Flash
Player , Freehand.
Microsoft
… Everybody who visits this page probably knows who Microsoft is. They
are the largest operating system manufacturer in the world (Windows), they
dominate the browser industry (Internet Explorer), and they also have many
other products out there (some very good, others trash).
Sub-links: Windows,
Internet
Explorer, Office
Suite, Word,
Excel,
PowerPoint,
FrontPage,
Visual
Studio, Mactopia.
Mozilla
… Mozilla is the browser developer behind the top-of-the-line Gecko rendering
engine used in Netscape 6 and other browsers like Chimera/Kmeleon. Mozilla
is now the most standards-compliant browser available for download. If you
are going to download a Gecko browser I suggest Mozilla itself over Netscape
and co. Browser downloads are linked to from the home page.
Netscape
… Netscape is Microsoft’s rival in the Internet browser industry.
They used to compete closely with one another but the recent failings of Netscape
4.7.x and Netscape 6.0 have cost them dearly in the long run. Now, with Netscape
6.2 (one of the best browsers available), they are making a comeback (1% at
a time). It will be a long time, if ever, before they come into even competition
with Microsoft again.
Opera
… Opera makes the Opera browser. True to what they say it is one of the
fastest browsers on earth and in recent updates it has gained exceptional compliance
with HTML, CSS,
and JavaScript standards. If you have not tried Opera I suggest that you do.
You may even find yourself willing to pay the licensing fee.
Sub-links: Windows,
Macintosh, Linux.
TuCows
… TuCows is a wonderful resource for programs of all kinds. Although
they are not as intuitive as VersionTracker, it is nice to have them around
when you think VersionTracker may not be listing everything or if they are
currently off-line.
Sub-links: Windows,
Macintosh,
Linux,
PDA.
VersionTracker
… Keep on top of current files released for Mac OS, get reviews, and
download programs or updates that you want to use. “VersionTracker.com
is the #1 online resource for new software releases, patches, updates and information.
Our goal is to become a trusted third-party technology advisor for software
users, developers, and IT professionals, making it easy for everyone to keep
their computer systems up-to-date and running smoothly.” – VersionTracker
Sub-links: Classic
Macintosh, OSX
Macintosh, Windows,
PDA.
Useful Internet Resources (Show/Hide)
Simply put, this is a collection of useful sites to help with
common life and Internet tasks (everything from a dictionary to planning a trip,
finding out where someone is to tracing an IP address). I hope you find this
collection useful (we add and remove sites from this as they change privacy
policies and payment (i.a.) required for service).
Search the Internet
AltaVista,
Google,
Yahoo
… Search the Internet for Web pages.
WhatIs?com
… Find out what something specific is (ex: CSU/DSU
or the CCIE
cert).
Deja:
Usenet … A search engine for Usenet.
OneLook
… Search online Dictionaries.
Acronym
Finder … Define an Acronym or Abbreviation.
CareerBuilder,
Monster.com … Search
for Employment.
Arin.net
… Search Domain Names.
Search for People (411)
AT&T Anywho,
InfoUSA.com, Qwest
Dex, SwitchBoard.com,
WhitePages.com …
Find People and Phone Numbers.
Reverse
Phone Directory … Phone Number searches of all types using
multiple major sites (ad-ridden).
Commercial (buy and sell)
Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble …
Buy Books
E-bay …
Buy everything else.
Information
Internet FAQ
Consortium … Information on pretty much anything.
Bandwidth
Place … Check your Bandwidth.
Expedia:
Currency … A Currency Converter.
GameFaqs
… Information and Walkthroughs on most any Game every made.
MapBlast
… Get Maps for most locations.
CarFax
… Get a Car’s History by VIN.
There is a fee for this service.
SpyOnIt
… Information on upcoming Events.
Yahoo NetEvents
… Information on upcoming Internet Events.
Language
Translator … Language Translator at AltaVista.
World
Time Zones … Time Zone information.
Travelocity
… Plan a trip, short or long.
News
CNN, Excite
News, News.com …
General world news and updates.
SlashDot,
Wired News … News
on Computers and Technology.
ThinkSecret
… News on Apple Computers
and their products.
Yahoo
Finance … Information and news regarding the Stock Market.
Weather.com
… Learn about the Weather where you are or were you are going.
Web Design and Development (Show/Hide)
Getting a top-of-the-line Web design education without college
is not easy, but possible given the professionals on the Internet today who
are sharing design information at no charge. Combine these sites with your own
projects and over time you can be a Web design master (if you have the willpower
and confidence, that is).
A
List Apart … A List Apart features weekly Web Design (or related)
articles and forums
for coders (e.g. HTML,
JavaScript, XML). I highly
recommend this site to anyone interested in Web Design. See also zeldman.com
Blue Robot
… Blue Robot, like glish.com, is another site that promotes CSS
design. They have a wealth of resources dedicated to helping a CSS
layout designer and the information is presented in a clear and concise fashion.
They also have another section with some
templates from which Web designers can make their own pages. A must see
for CSS buffs.
CGI
Resource Index … This is an amazing source for CGI
scripts. They are divided by language and from there you can go gown the
file hierarchy until you find exactly what you are looking for. They also feature
user reviews.
<Code
Bitch> … Powered by a bitter opinionated Web author that actually
know what she is talking about. If you enjoy reading about Web design and related
languages you may want to make this page a regular stop.
Glish.com
… Presented by Eric Meyer, CSS
master, glish.com is a virtual playground for Web designers that make use of
CSS
in their projects (which would be all of them in an ideal world). You may
also want to purchase his wonderful books; they are some of the best on the
market.
JavaScript
Section … This is a wonderful site that I came across on Zeldman.com.
It includes some JavaScript snippets for you to use along with great information
on DHTML, proper
usage of JavaScript itself, and how the language can be used properly with
forms, framesets, windows, and other bits in the HTML
world. If you like JavaScript even just a little you will probably love this
site. (It is a frameset, so I can not link to individual sections with out
removing the menu).
W3C …
The W3C sets all the Internet standards (e.g. [X]HTML,
XML, CSS,
and the DOM) and we can thank
them, along with some other people like WASP,
for the fact that browsers are fairly standardized today. The list of tools,
specifications, and information found on this site goes on and on, all I can
suggest is digging through it to find what you need (note that there are friendlier
places to learn Web design).
Sub-links: [X]HTML,
HTML Use, XHTML
Use, [X]HTML Validator,
[X]HTML
Validator (Upload), CSS[2],
CSS[2] Use,
CSS[2] Validator,
CSS[2]
Validator (Upload), XML,
DOM.
W3Schools
… HTML, XHTML,
CSS, XML,
XSL, DTD,
DOM, WAP,
SOAP, Schema, XForms, JavaScript, DHTML,
VBScript, WMLScript,
Flash, SQL, ASP,
ADO, AppML,
and more. This is a simply wonderful web page and not only does it cover all
of the topics above, it covers them in great detail. If you work with any of
these things you should do yourself a favor and check them out.
Sub-links: HTML,
XHTML,
CSS,
XML,
JavaScript,
Flash,
SQL,
ASP.
WDVL
… HTML, XHTML,
XML, CSS,
and much, much, more. You have the W3C
for how to use it, but this site provides additional material that not only
includes HTML, XHTML,
and CSS, but also how to use ASP,
CGI, JavaScript, and more.
This page, when combined with the W3C,
will provide you will enough reading material to keep you busy for an endless
amount of time.
Sub-links: HTML,
DHTML, CSS,
JavaScript,
Flash, XML,
ASP, CGI.
Web Design
Group … “HTMLHelp.com is maintained by the Web Design Group
to provide Web authoring reference material, tips, and answers to frequently
asked questions.” — Web Design Group. A great FAQ,
valuable links to tools and references, a BBS, and more.
Sub-links: [X]HTML
Validator, [X]HTML
Validator (Upload), CSS[2]
Validator, CSS[2]
Validator (Upload), Reference
Section, Tools,
FAQ, Design
Elements, Articles,
HTML BBS, Links.
Web
Standards Project … “Our goal is to support these core standards
[the standards set by W3C]
and encourage browser makers to do the same, thereby ensuring simple, affordable
access to Web technologies for all. When we speak about “standards”
for the Web, we mean: Structural Languages HTML
4.0, XML 1.0, Presentation
Languages Cascading Style Sheets 1, Cascading Style Sheets 2, XSL
(under development)…” — Web Standards Project. If you are
a web designer or author you should look at this site. It has a lot to teach
most of us.
XML.com
… “XML.com, where the XML
community shares resources and solutions, features timely news, opinions, features,
and tutorials; the Annotated XML
specification created by Tim Bray; authoring tools, XML
resources, interactive forums, and newsletters.” — XML.com. This
page had droves of information and resources for XML
and is a valuable resource for people who use this markup language.
Zeldman.com
… “Zeldman presents: Web design information and entertainment since
1995. The Daily Report, part of a complete zeldman.com breakfast.” –
zeldman.com. Maintained by Wed Designer extraordinaire Jeffrey Zeldman, zeldman.com
is home to news and content that is nearly always of interest to Web designers.
There are several services that Web designers and developers
may need to interact with at some point during their careers. Common on this
list are things like Web site hosts. In this section I will present a list of
various service providers I have interacted with and found pleasurable to deal
with.
Caffinated.net
… We receive our web hosting from Caffinated.net. There are many companies
out there that can provide you with good hosting, and it can also be a very
difficult decision to choose one. It really depends on your needs. Caffinated.net
provides us with fast hosting supported by people who know what they are doing.
Their prices are very reasonable and they can work with you to make sure you
have all the features you need. More importantly, if there is a problem you
will be speaking with someone who can fix it, not an operator who will be the
first step in a tedious repair process. And, no, they did not pay us to say
this, it is truly what we think. If you are in need of hosting, get in touch
with them and see what they can do for you.
theCounter.com
… TheCounter.com is just what it sounds like. An external counter supported
with JavaScript and a Cookie from your web page. This is a great alternative
for anyone that cannot use, or does not know how to set up SSI.
There is not a registration fee to use the nicer counters and get access to
your site statistics, but if knowing your visitors is important to you this
is a great way to do it.
Joker.com
… Register a Domain Name for a very low price. No gimmicks, goes straight
through Network
Solutions. I know, I registered with them myself and I was amazed not only
by the turnaround but also by the efficiency and price.
SpamCop
… Use this online service to report e-mail spam to the sender’s
administrators. After you register they will give you an address at which you
can enter the e-mail’s source. Their online programs will trace the e-mail
and find all the admins and anti-spam addresses associated with the sender’s
ISP.
The site is difficult to navigate and poorly constructed but it works and that’s
what counts.
Writing, Grammar, and Fonts (Show/Hide)
Writing is an integral part of Web design. If your grammar
and spelling are poor it does not matter how nice your site is, your audience
will be critically limited. Here are some helpful writing resources for you
to peruse. In addition to that I will also present some good font sites in consideration
of how much a nice typeface can help a design.
Aenigma
Fonts … Free fonts. Aenigma does not have a very large selection,
but the fonts found there are high quality, there are no popup ads, and the
server is fast.
FreeFonts
top 100 … Free fonts. This is a great place to find the most popular
high quality freeware fonts on the Internet.
GRSites
Fonts … This page—the fonts section of GRSites.com—has
a wide selection of fonts for you to browse through. You will be able to find
pretty much every high quality freeware font that has achieved any level of
popularity here.
Guide
to Grammar and Writing … If you have a writing or grammar question
you would like an answer for this is the place to go. They may not provide
much information on the HTML
used to bring it to the web—in fact they often use the incorrect HTML
for this—but you will learn about nearly everything else a writer needs
to know before calling himself a pro. I frequent this site myself. If you don’t
want to dig through their menus use the site
index.
Guide
to Grammar and Style … Another informative site for grammar and writing.
This site is text-based and has no ads resulting in fast load times.
My Fonts
… You will find a very large selection of fonts on this site. They list
expensive professional fonts along with commonly used free fonts. If you are
interested in owning good fonts and don’t mind paying a little this would
be a great place to look.
Copyright ©2001–2002 James Peirce
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