OverHall IT!
Computer Corner Issue 9
Welcome to OverHall IT! The Computer Corner Issue.
We've had a lot of new subscribers, welcome and I hope you
enjoy the newsletter. In the Computer Corner issue, we are
starting to work on * OverHalling * your computer skills and
web site. And this year in the Balance issue of OverHall IT!
we have been working on * OverHalling * the clutter in the
spiritual area of ones life. (Last year we worked on the health
and financial area, see back issues ) The
Balance Issue of OverHall IT! will be out shortly.
Please forward this issue to anyone you think might enjoy or
be able to use it.
All administration and publication information is now located
at the end of the newsletter.
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Vol. 2, Issue 9
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Table of Contents:
1. Welcome Message
2. OverHall Events
3. Computer Corner
4. Guest Article
5. Computer Tip of the Month
6. Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes
7. Products, Books, and Web Site Reviews
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1. Welcome Message
Wow, What a last month and a half! Doctors and hospitals
had begun to take over my life! As most of you know, I had
two unexpected surgeries in July and many follow-up visits
to the doctor. Many of you sent me prayers and healing
blessings, and if I didn't get to respond to you personally, let
me thank you now. All your emails meant a lot to me.
As I was healing, my beautiful five-year old grandson,
Tucker, sustained 1st and 2nd degree burns to his face, arm,
and hands. He was in the hospital, operated on, and he is
healing quickly and painlessly. A round trip to the hospital
was four hours per visit, and taking care of his darling three-
year old sister, Caitlynn, was challenging. We all have made
it through these challenging times, and all adults are playing
catch up with their lives, including me. So on with
OverHalling your Life and mine!
Whether you're thinking of getting a web site, just got one, or
have had one for awhile, the Computer Corner Issue is here
to help you * OverHall IT *. In the forthcoming Computer
Corner issues I will be taking you step-by-step through the
processes you need to learn and do to have a top notch web
site. We'll also discover new tips and techniques for using
your computer.
Okay, ready to start "OverHalling"?
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2. OverHall Events
LOOK and SEE-I might be coming to your town!
Paula Langguth Ryan and I are starting our Fall 2001 tour,
OverHall Your Life for More Space, Time and Money &
Break the Debt Cycle-For Good!
Sept. 25, 2001
Oakland Johrei Spiritual Center
818 Ramapo Valley Rd., Rt. 202N
Oakland, NJ 201-337-2031
Session 925A: 9 AM- Noon
Session 925B: 1 PM - 4 PM
$39
Sept. 26, 2001
SLC Conference Center
22 W. 34th St., 5th Floor
New York, NY
Session 926C: 9 AM-Noon
Session 926D: 1 PM -4 PM
$39
Call 800-687-3040 or go to Enough is Enough
to register TODAY!!
Register BEFORE Sept. 1st, 2001 and receive the
workshops on audiotape for FREE!!
FUTURE TOURS
**NEW DAY-LONG EMPOWERMENT WORKSHOP**
"How to Understand (and Heal) Your
Relationship with Yourself, Your Money
and Your "Stuff" --
Featuring three powerful speakers.
Coming to These areas in 2001-2002
October 17, 2001 - Denver, CO
Oct. 23-25, 2001 - Phoenix, AZ
November 10-16, 2001 -- NC
January 2002 -- Maryland
February 2002 - South Florida
March 2002 -- Tennessee
April 2002 - Atlanta, GA and Arizona
May 2002 -- Chicago
June 2002 - Los Angeles area
August 2002 - Northern California
September 2002 - Northern Florida
October 2002 - Colorado, New Mexico
November 2002 - North Carolina
If you know of any organizations, spiritual groups,
schools, associations or corporations that are looking for
a speaker or who might like to host a seminar, please have
them call 800-687-3040 for booking information.
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3. Using Keywords in the Body: (Part 2)
Put Them Here, Put Them There, Put Them Everywhere!
By: Janet L. Hall
The keywords you are using MUST be reflected in the page
content, the BODY, of the web page you are trying to
improve or build.
There are many places you can, and should place your
keywords to help you get a higher ranking in the search
engines; remember, this is the ultimate goal. People
searching for you WON'T find you if you don't use your
keywords throughout your web page!
TOP Seven Areas to Place Your Keywords in the BODY of
Your Web Pages:
1. Beginning and near the top of web page.
2. Headlines (Headings) and Subtitles.
3. Links.
4. Site Address in Links.
5. Name of Images.
6. ALT (Image) TAGS.
7. Background Images.
This month we'll look at the last three, one at a time.
We continue building and organizing your web page from
last time by inserting your Image TAGS and ALT TAGS.
PLEASE NOTE:
All HTML code in this article are placed inside ( ). I've done
this because some people receive their email as HTML and
they might have problems receiving or viewing without the
( ). You WILL NOT put YOUR code in ( ).
Image TAGS are a great place to "plug" in some of your
keywords but be careful not to use too many images on your
pages. Why? Too many images can slow the loading
process of your page to appear. Your visitors don't want to
wait, and WON'T, if you have packed too many images onto
a page. They will move onto your competitors, getting
what they came looking for, information, and NOT images.
I use FrontPage to create my pages on my web site;
however, FrontPage DOESN'T automatically include all the
information you should have in your Image TAGS that will
aid in a quicker loading time. Nor does it place YOUR
keywords in your Image TAGS. You have to take the extra
steps to insert them.
Let's look at what a basic Image TAG looks like behind the
scenes in HTML:
(<IMG SRC="whatyounamedtheimagewhenyousavedit.imagetype">)
NOTE: .imagetype is the format, such as .jpg, .gif, or .tif that
the image was saved as. These are the abbreviations for
compression formats for graphics that help make the small
file size. .jpg is good to use for photos or graphics without
text, and a .gif is wonderful to use for a tape or book cover
that has text, such as the title, that you want your visitors to
be able to read.
Your images are placed in a folder or directory in FrontPage,
usually called Images; although I renamed mine PICS. You
should also name your folder or directory on your web host
the SAME. This consistent naming of folders will help save
a lot of time and hassles.
So now I have another element in my code. It looks like this:
(<IMG SRC="pics/whatyounamedtheimagewhenyousavedit.imaget
ype">)
Continuing From Last Time:
5. Naming your Images: Search engines could care less
what you name your images, they can't read them.
6. BUT they can read an ALT TAG, a place where you can
insert a description for that image or your keywords. This
will also allow visitors that have images turned off, to read
what the image is that they can't see when the page is
loading. Go to contactus and place your mouse pointer
over the image of me. A small yellow box will appear with text.
This is what I typed into my ALT TAG for that image.
Including the Alt TAG your Image TAG will look like this:
(<IMG SRC="your folder or directory name/
whatyounamedtheimagewhenyousavedit.imagetype"ALT="k
eyword or description of image">)
Here is an example of one of mine:
( <IMG SRC="pics/janet hall professional organizer.jpg"
ALT="professional organizer, janet l hall, get rid of clutter"
img border="0" width="150" height="138"
align="left">)
7. Background Images: Does it really matter if your page
has a background color? It's probably better not to have
one. Or how about those sites that have not only color
but also images included in the background, and images
on the page? Talk about slow load time for the visitor!!
The best advice is to keep your web pages simple. If it's not
needed or is slowing the load time of your page, get rid of it!
Height, width, and alignment TAGS should also be included
in your Image TAGS. You can read about those in our
guest article below.
Editors NOTE: In the examples above, anything typed in
lower case should be replaced with YOUR information and
YOUR keywords. In the examples above the TAGS
have been typed in UPPER CASE; however, this is not
necessary when entering this information onto your web
page. All brackets and other symbols need to be typed in as
presented in the above examples EXCEPT for the ( ).
To expedite your learning curve, check this out.
My client and friend, Tom Antion, has done it again! I've
been learning a lot of what I've been telling you from Tom
and his new Internet Marketing Tool, Click: The Ultimate
Guide to Electronic Marketing for Speakers, Authors,
Coaches and Consultants.
When he boosts, "This breakthrough e-book will show you
how to build an electronic marketing business from "square
one" into a five-figure . . . six figure . . . even a million dollar
asset," believe me, he is telling the TRUTH! I'm at his office
at least once a week, and I see his products flying out the
door. I've seen his financials, and he doesn't mind me telling
you this. He is making the big BUCKS!
Click has:
Beginning and advanced Strategies to maximize your bottom
line and the latest strategies for high search engine rankings.
This E-Book (available on CD also) offers:
Exact steps for guaranteed # 1 search rankings
Proven strategies for high traffic directory listings
Keyword selection
Keyword placement
E-Newsletter production
TeleSeminar guidance
Audiotape production instructions
CD production instructions
E-Book formatting instructions
Click is Your one-stop guide to selling your products and
services on the Internet. Check it out at CLICK
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To schedule a needs assessment or coaching session
for your life or computer, call Janet at 800-687-3040 or
mailto:janet@overhall.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4. Excerpt from "Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic
Marketing"
By: Tom Antion
Below is an excerpt from Tom Antion's e-book, Click, in
which he interviewed Darrin Graviet, Technology Speaker/
Trainer, about images. The following has been excerpted
with Tom's permission.
Tom: I'm going to ask you a few questions about some of
the things that you helped me do. We all want our graphics
to look great. In traditional print mediums, the print is at a
very high resolution. You said, "No, Tom your web graphics
should only be 72 dots per inch." Can you tell us about that?
Darrin: Well, the thing is, if you have a really good-looking
graphic that takes forever to load, people aren't willing to sit
and wait for it to come up on the browser. You just need as
good as you can get, as fast as you can get. Speed is more
of a plus to the Internet than looks are.
Tom: So, instead of using 1200 dots per inch, which would
take forever, do you scan it at 72 dots per inch, or how do
you get the smaller file size?
Darrin: Tom, if you wish, I'll go through the steps that I
walked through with you on the phone. First, you want to
scan it in or develop it at about 300 dpi (dots per inch). That
way you have enough color so that you can go into the
picture, play with it, knock some pixels out, and have better
control over your graphics.
Tom: All right, so scan or develop it at 300 dots per inch.
Darrin: Yes. Then the second step that you want to do once
you have the image in Photo Shop, or whatever you are
using to manipulate graphics, is to crop all the extraneous
information.
Tom: So just make it a nice tight, full frame of whatever you
are showing, right?
Darrin: Yes, get rid of any extra pixels you can because they
are really killing you on the load time.
Tom: Okay.
Darrin: Third, you want to resize the graphics to a size that
you want to display on the web. Typically, what I will do is I'll
open up Internet Explorer or Netscape at the same time I am
working in Photo Shop and I'll simply save it as a few
different sizes and see what size I like best. Once you get
accustomed to pixel dimensions, then you will be able to
judge what size you want the graphics to be.
Darrin: Once you've cropped the image, and you have
resized the image, the fourth thing you want to do is knock
out as many colors as you can. Try to use the web palette
index colors, which will save it as a gif. If not then go to jpg.
Jpg has a good compression and it will knock out the colors
for you and then finally, no more than 72 dpi. If you don't put
the tag in your HTML that actually tells the HTML the
dimensions of your graphic, then your page loads twice, or
actually it will load more times than that. Every time it has to
determine how to place a new graphic into the page, it
reloads the whole page and your pages can take up to ten
times longer to load.
Tom: OK, I know that some of our readers are beginner
level and they're freaking out right now. What Darrin is
saying is that you take your picture after you've scanned it,
and you put it into Adobe Photo Shop or some of the other
popular graphics program. You either learn to reduce file
size yourself, or you get your Webmaster or mistress to do
it-I don't know if that's a politically correct term or not.
However, you do it to make sure that all of the optimization
things that Darrin mentioned are implemented and your
pages load fast.
Tom: OK. You told us something about the load time of
pages, and setting the height and width for all your graphics.
What does that do for you?
Darrin: What setting the height and width boils down to in
real life is that if the page knows where the graphic is going,
it can save the space and load the text very fast. People can
be reading and having something to do while your pictures
are loading. If you don't do the optimization, they will
probably leave because the pages are taking too long to
load.
Tom: Page loading time is why optimizing graphics for the
web is important for your site. Tell us about sites that need to
be very graphic oriented. Tell us about pre-loading graphics
and how that little trick can help you.
Darrin: Yes, a couple of things. Number one, you don't want
to use a graphic image unless it is something that's
necessary.
It must be something that is better said with an image than
with a word. If you do need an image, make it as small as
possible. One of the things that I do is to try to put the
images down low in the page so the user doesn't even see
them loading. The user is reading at the top part of the
page, and by the time they are finished and scroll down, the
images are already there.
Tom: Great trick, great trick!
Darrin: Another thing that you can do is the trick that I
shared with the National Speakers Association in my
session for them. Its called "pre-loading graphics" and it is
something that even advanced webmasters don't consider. It
is so simple. Your browser has a state called cache. When
you view a web page, it is temporarily downloaded to your
hard drive. When you view a web page, and then you go
view a few more, if you come back to the first page that you
viewed, instead of going back to the server to get those
graphics, it gets them off of your own hard drive. What you
can do is trick the system into thinking that it has already
seen those graphics by putting them on a previous page. I
like to load the page heavy with content to stall the user.
Let's say on page eight I want to hide some graphics that I
want to show on page nine. What I will do on page eight is to
put the same graphics that I want people to see on page
nine, but I will make them 1 pixel high by 1 pixel wide so they
are actually invisible. What that does is pre-load the image
into the visitor's cache and then when they go to page nine,
it shows up immediately. You're showing the same exact
image on both pages. However, on page eight you show the
picture at 1 pixel high by 1 pixel wide. The user doesn't even
see it.
Tom: What an awesome trick! As I said, some of you new
folks just take the idea that you are stalling the people to
give them a chance for the graphics to load. When they go to
the page where you actually want them to see the graphics,
bam, they'll pop right up. That's a great trick!
Wow, talk about cleaning up the clutter of your images!!!
Thanks Tom and Darrin.
To read more great tips like this, check out Tom's Electronic
Marketing E-book, Click
Tom Antion and Associates Communication Company
provides entertaining and informative keynote speeches and
educational seminars.
Copyright (c) 2001 by Antion & Associates and
Anchor Publishing
Box 2630
Landover Hills, Maryland USA 20784
(301) 459-0738 mailto:Tom@antion.com
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce,
copy, or distribute this article so long as article is kept intact,
this copyright notice, and full information about the author is
attached.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5. OverHall IT! Computer Tip of the Month
An OverHall IT! reader called the other day stating that she
wanted to read some of my back issues but didn't know
which one to choose. She feared that she could only choose
one to read and then would be unable to read any others
that she had an interest in. All browsers have a BACK
button or an arrow button pointing to the left, usually located
at the top left side of your screen. You can ALMOST
ALWAYS click on this and it will take you back to where you
came; however, there is an exception. Sometimes you
might be visiting some ones web page where they have a
link to another persons web site, and when they inserted the
link they applied "open new window." This causes your
"Back Button" to become disabled, which means you have to
CLOSE out the screen (window) by clicking the X on the top
right corner of your screen. Now you will be returned to the
place you started before you clicked on that link.
I'd like this section to be yours! If you have a computer tip
that you'd like to share, please email it to,
mailto:janet@overhall.com?subject=ComputerTip
I'd love to hear from you so we can all learn something new!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Get your Children organized for SCHOOL by checking out
our audiotape, Prepared For School
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6. Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes
>>Programming graphics in X is like finding the square root
of PI using Roman numerals.
--Henry Spencer
>> Signs You Are "Webbed Out" From Using The Web:
You are overcome with disbelief, anger and finally
depressed when you encounter a Web page with no links.
You are driving on a dark and rainy night when you
hydroplane on a puddle, sending your car careening toward
a flimsy guard rail that separates you from the precipice of a
rocky cliff and certain death. You frantically search for the
"Back" button.
When you read a magazine, you have an irresistible urge to
click on the underlined passages.
~~ If you have a joke, quote, or anecdote that would fit well
into OverHall IT!, please feel free to email it to me.
mailto:janet@overhall.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enough is Enough AUDIO Tapes now on SALE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Looking for a new way to add revenue to your business
or to improve your website? Check out Tom Antion's
Electronic Marketing Butt Camp CD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you don't have a product and would love to learn how to
create one, check out, * Make Your Knowledge Sell *
Ken Evoy's manual will tell you step by step on how to develop a
product and how to sell your product.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you gotten your * tickle * for the day? Check out the
secret organizing tool that ALL organized families and
successful people use on a daily basis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7. Products, Books, and Web Site Reviews
>> OptiView reduces GIFs, JPGs, and BMPs up to 90%
without sacrificing quality. Crop, resize, rotate, adjust colors,
and compress in one integrated online editor.
FREE evaluation
for up to 10 pages.
>> Maximize Web Site
Traffic: Build Web Site Traffic Fast
and Free by Optimizing Search Engine Placement. This
booked is PACKED with GREAT information!
>>Web Site Garage provides services for maintaining and
improving your Web site. Automate site maintenance
checks, optimize your graphics and analyze your traffic.
>> Speed Up Your Pages Without Losing Image Quality!
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FREE ARTICLES FOR YOUR PUBLICATION or WEBSITE
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I have many articles available for reprint in your publication,
company newsletter, website, etc. You may use articles
written by me that you see in OverHall IT! All you have to do
is print the article in its entirety along with my by line, and
complete contact information at the end of each article. I
would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy too.
Thanks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That's it for this issue of computer corner, the balance issue
will be here before you know it!
Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall
Professional Organizer, Speaker, and Author
Authorized Paper Tiger Consultant-
Find ANYTHING in 5 seconds or Less-Guaranteed!
http://www.overhall.com
"If your current systems aren't working for you... get an
"OverHall"!"
Janet L. Hall is the owner of OverHall Consulting, which is
based out of Southern Maryland and can be reached at
800-687-3040 or 410-586-9440, or e-mail her at
mailto:janet@overhall.com
Janet can "OverHall" your
office, home, and computer clutter and can deliver a
customized speech or seminar for your next event.
Copyright (c) 2001 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263,
Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce,
copy, or distribute OverHall IT! or any articles by Janet L.
Hall so long as article(s) is kept intact, this copyright notice,
and full information about the author is attached.
ISSN # 1533-0702.
OverHall Consulting is proud to send you the bi-monthly
organizing newsletter that you have subscribed to OR that
someone has forwarded to you. If you are receiving this
issue as a forward, and would like to get your own free
subscription, visit http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm
Here in OverHall IT! it is my hope to help you stop juggling
areas in your life around and help you "OverHall" the areas
that might have become cluttered, ignored, or put on the
back burner. I want to help you bring back into focus the
things that are important to you. I want the chaos to stop for
you and help bring you some structure and hopefully some
useful advice and systems so you can accomplish the most
important task...running your life!
Please recommend this newsletter to anyone you know that
is interested in getting control of their life. They can sign up at
http://www.overhall.com/newsletter.htm
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