Comparing Web Publishing and Print Publishing

Web publishing is by far a faster and more efficient way to present information to the world than by using print publishing. Print publishing, such as newspapers, magazines, books, maps, and other documents have major disadvantages. Factors include access, time, cost, and availability, which will be further explained...

Accessibility

How easy is it to get to a prefered document? Suppose you want to look up, say frogs. On the internet, all you need is a computer, web browser, server software, and a modem or network installed. Everything is in one place. Once you have these things, simply use a search engine like Yahoo or Lycos. Type in frogs as your topic search and in a few seconds, "bing", you see links to all sorts of links to pages with your subject, frogs! With print publishing? Well, you can go search for stuff on frogs in your local library, looking in journals, books, and well, you get the picture. All that hunting and searching in a library brings us to our next point: time.

Time

To most people, time is money. People are always pressed for time and are on the go. With web publishing, everything is in one place and information can be available in a few seconds. And all of us know how time comsuming it can be to look for information at a library.

Also speaking of time, do you know how long it takes to update information to books and journals? Even newspapers can seem like old news because with web publishing, updating information can be done in seconds. Want to know the weather is like in Sydney, Austrailia? You can wait for the daily paper, OR you can search and find it on the internet right now this minute. Which would you prefer??

Cost

So how much do you want to spend? Web publishing requires only a computer, internet service, software, and a modem or network. Sure it seems like a huge lumpsum, but believe me, it costs less than getting a publisher, waiting for your product to come out, and all that junk. Ah, and since you can update your information at any time, once again you should stick to web publishing.

Availability

Who exactly will actually see your information? With a book or newspaper, only a select few. With web publishing, ANYONE can go to your page, provided they have internet access.

Let's Get Interactive!

As the World Wide Web advances, so does the technology. Interactive capabilities are available, bringing new ways of presenting or gathering information. Here are a few examples:

Real Audio Player -- Allows one to listen to audio in real time, without requiring downloading. Of course you need a sound card for this, though.

mIRC Homepage -- Real time chatting with others have become very popular! Here is a popular IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client for Windows

CU-SeeMe -- You've seen it on the Jetsons, now videoconferencing can be done over the internet, TCP/IP network, or a standard phone line!

Sportszone NFL Chat -- Chat rooms on the web enable you to talk story, debate, or just listen in on selected topics. Try this site to talk stink about the Cowboys and stuff...

KALI -- This is a program that enables you to play games over the internet that support IPX networking. All you need is a PPP account! Oh, and 20 bucks. Imagine playing Warcraft II with a guy from Japan and one from Germany at the same time!

You got Skills?

To publish your very own web site, you need some skills. Knowledge of the HTML language is the bare minimum. Anyone can create a page, but the trick is to make a GOOD page. No sense in making a hompage that no one will be interested in. Thus, you must have knowledge of internet development procedures. As a beginner to this area, one must have a lot of patience. Much time and effort must be put into developing a decent page. Lots of trial-and-error and tribulations to be tolerated.

No Skills? Then CHEAT!

Aha, yes there are things which can help you "cheat" in making a homepage. HTML editors have become very popular. All HTML tags and structures are automatically placed in a point and click interface. Sure, it is VERY easy and user friendly, but it is considered "cheating" because you are not really learning the language. What fun is that? Remember: Cheaters never win!

Netscape, Internet Explorer, and Lynx...

Web browsers have different ways of presenting documents to the viewer. Both Netscape and MIE (Microsoft Internet Explorer) use graphics and with proper plug-ins, one can even see videos or hear music. Lynx, however, is text-based only, without pictures and sounds. Thus, it can get pretty confusing at times. Without a mouse interface as well, I tend to stick to the much easier to use Netscape or MIE.

Lynx is mostly intended for those with slow connections, but I have a hard time using it because many sites are graphic intensive which is neccessary to comprehend the link. I personally try to stay away from it unless I am forced to use it. Lastly on the subject of LYNX, you also cannot view the document source to copy a new HTML format. (at least I don't think you can) That doesn't appeal to me since I look at them quite often.

When it came to finding differences between Netscape and MIE, I couldn't really find many. One thing I found significant was that with MIE you can display HTML text in any typeface you specify. The only requirement is that it must be on the reader's system. MIE also adds a number of additional formatting extensions, which include watermarked, or nonscrolling, background images.

On a personal note, I prefer Netscape for a variety of reasons. Or instance, I am constantly downloading programs and stuff from homepages. On Netscape, I could be downloading, and still be able to browse around. But on MIE, I was forced to stay on the page that I started the download. So if the file was like 2 megs, I would have to just sit and wait it out. At least on Netscape, it saved the location of the download so I could browse elsewhere.

Both Netscape and MIE are in a tight race to get people to use their browser. At the present, Netscape still holds about 82% of the market that uses Netscape as opposed to MIE. It will be interesting to see how it will change over the next generations of this class. Sources indicate more people are switching to MIE at a steady but not alarming rate, so I often wonder what the case will be say, in 1998.

To find out more, click the appropriate icon.

My own Homepage...

This past summer I had the time to make a personal homepage on the school's Uhunix server. Though it is not very organized, I got a feel for html commands. Feel free to check out Trav's Bungalow hut...
On my page I wrote a little bit about myself, and created links to which I visit frequently. There is no link on my page that I do not check up on every now and then.

Down With OPP!

No, silly. Not "OPP" the rap song. It means other people's pages. In MY world, at least. I just wanted to get your attention in case you were bored reading my report!

The first page I like to go to is Sam's World 'O Fun. Although not the best organized site, It features a cool page of "Babes on the Net". He sure has guts to put those links on his page. I would put them on my page too, but I wouldn't want people thinking that I was a pervert or something. Hats off to you, Sam.

If it's frames you're looking for, try checking out Steven Takeda's @unlimited. He made his own graphics using Paint Shop Pro 4.0, and has made his page with frames with the help of the popular Hotdog Web Editor.

Want to see a good example of Professionally made web design? Look at Pat Han's Page. When the page loads, try checking out the document source under "view" on the top of Netscape or MIE. This is a good example of how HTML editors can make web publishing and design easier and faster.

Go to report #2

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