TRUSTED PTC SITES

Review by A. J. Baltes:

Reading this book allows someone to create five different styles and types of Websites by walking the reader through accessing Composer and desired templates, altering the text, color, and photos to personalize each Webpage, obtain a host provider, register a domain name, and publish each Webpage to a Web server.

* Chapter 1 introduces the basic functions of what a browser and Web page are, while showing the reader how to down load a free software program provided with the book.

* Chapter 2 describes the logistics of setting up a public location for viewing Web pages on the Internet by locating a host provider.

* Chapter 3 discuses customizing a Family/Personal Website template by using Composer like any other word processor, adding or deleting pages, and saving with a URL to the same folder located on the reader’s computer.

* Chapter 4 continues with detailed items in “Creating a Hobby Website” by scaling images, changing existing hyperlinks, adding rows, discussing anchors, and the effect they have on sharing information with Website viewers.

* Chapter 5 “Creating a Website for an Organization” introduces obtaining a map from the Internet to replace the templates generic sample, offering email access to customers, and providing additional tips.

* Chapter 6 “Creating an Informational Website for Your Business” shows how to customize color within cells, add tables for creating coupons, and setting navigational hyperlinks.

* Chapter 7 “Creating an Online Storefront” deals with how to implement an e-Commerce Website by merging with “Creating Paypal Merchant Account” Website. With this tool, advanced programming skills that are typically required to create a shopping cart, a means to accept payment, and the functions of using forms for transferring users from one Website to another are eliminated. This lifts those advanced tasks off the reader and transfers them onto Paypal’s Website in exchange for a small percentage of the product profit.

* The Bonus Chapter goes into more depth covering specific topics, like HTML, Understanding How the Internet Works, Domain names, and Optimizing Your Digital Pictures.

Throughout this book, the author highlights topics that have been covered in Shelly Cashman’s “Discovering Computers” text book. One is how the Internet works. Scott Mitchell relates the Internet to the U.S. post office and adds a picture that gives a simple analogy for beginners. I appreciated the comparison, and could visualize the delivery process of digital information clearly (Mitchell 130).

The second item introduced in chapter 2 explained the concept of bandwidth. Mitchell shares very practical information related to space and cost that should be considered when choosing a host provider. The nominal comparisons made corresponding to bandwidth gave me a better appreciation for this concept.

The title “Create Your Own Website Using What You Already Know” very accurately describes what to expect out of the contents and functionality this book provides. The reader will be happy to know that the author’s voice is very excited to share information in a reassuring way. Scott Mitchell continually keeps the reader in touch with the fact that the process he is laying out will be fun and easy to do, that the reader will not only learn the process but enjoy going through it.

I found the way the information was presented kept the progression of details simple enough for a first timer to feel very comfortable using and exploring all the items introduced.

Review by W Boudville:

Mitchell gives us a breezy, confident approach to making a website. He emphasises that, within reason, you can do it all by yourself. With the aid of this book, naturally.

He walks us through the templates on the CD that comes with the book. The general thrust is to show how if you can read and write, well, then you can make a website. There is certainly more involved than in merely using a browser to peruse the web. But the book gives a total absence of HTML tags, until the last chapter. Instead, Mitchell lists 3 web authoring tools – Microsoft’s FrontPage, Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and Mozilla’s Composer. These handle the grungy details.

You can regard this book as an independent validation of the claims made for the above tools. Indeed, no programming appears to be necessary for a simple website.

Along these lines, the chapter on making an online storefront is well done. The example storefront is actually quite limited. But even so, to have it running without programming is impressive.

Review by A. J. Baltes:

Reading this book allows someone to create five different styles and types of Websites by walking the reader through accessing Composer and desired templates, altering the text, color, and photos to personalize each Webpage, obtain a host provider, register a domain name, and publish each Webpage to a Web server.

* Chapter 1 introduces the basic functions of what a browser and Web page are, while showing the reader how to down load a free software program provided with the book.

* Chapter 2 describes the logistics of setting up a public location for viewing Web pages on the Internet by locating a host provider.

* Chapter 3 discuses customizing a Family/Personal Website template by using Composer like any other word processor, adding or deleting pages, and saving with a URL to the same folder located on the reader’s computer.

* Chapter 4 continues with detailed items in “Creating a Hobby Website” by scaling images, changing existing hyperlinks, adding rows, discussing anchors, and the effect they have on sharing information with Website viewers.

* Chapter 5 “Creating a Website for an Organization” introduces obtaining a map from the Internet to replace the templates generic sample, offering email access to customers, and providing additional tips.

* Chapter 6 “Creating an Informational Website for Your Business” shows how to customize color within cells, add tables for creating coupons, and setting navigational hyperlinks.

* Chapter 7 “Creating an Online Storefront” deals with how to implement an e-Commerce Website by merging with “Creating Paypal Merchant Account” Website. With this tool, advanced programming skills that are typically required to create a shopping cart, a means to accept payment, and the functions of using forms for transferring users from one Website to another are eliminated. This lifts those advanced tasks off the reader and transfers them onto Paypal’s Website in exchange for a small percentage of the product profit.

* The Bonus Chapter goes into more depth covering specific topics, like HTML, Understanding How the Internet Works, Domain names, and Optimizing Your Digital Pictures.

Throughout this book, the author highlights topics that have been covered in Shelly Cashman’s “Discovering Computers” text book. One is how the Internet works. Scott Mitchell relates the Internet to the U.S. post office and adds a picture that gives a simple analogy for beginners. I appreciated the comparison, and could visualize the delivery process of digital information clearly (Mitchell 130).

The second item introduced in chapter 2 explained the concept of bandwidth. Mitchell shares very practical information related to space and cost that should be considered when choosing a host provider. The nominal comparisons made corresponding to bandwidth gave me a better appreciation for this concept.

The title “Create Your Own Website Using What You Already Know” very accurately describes what to expect out of the contents and functionality this book provides. The reader will be happy to know that the author’s voice is very excited to share information in a reassuring way. Scott Mitchell continually keeps the reader in touch with the fact that the process he is laying out will be fun and easy to do, that the reader will not only learn the process but enjoy going through it.

I found the way the information was presented kept the progression of details simple enough for a first timer to feel very comfortable using and exploring all the items introduced.

Review by W Boudville:

Mitchell gives us a breezy, confident approach to making a website. He emphasises that, within reason, you can do it all by yourself. With the aid of this book, naturally.

He walks us through the templates on the CD that comes with the book. The general thrust is to show how if you can read and write, well, then you can make a website. There is certainly more involved than in merely using a browser to peruse the web. But the book gives a total absence of HTML tags, until the last chapter. Instead, Mitchell lists 3 web authoring tools – Microsoft’s FrontPage, Macromedia’s Dreamweaver and Mozilla’s Composer. These handle the grungy details.

You can regard this book as an independent validation of the claims made for the above tools. Indeed, no programming appears to be necessary for a simple website.

Along these lines, the chapter on making an online storefront is well done. The example storefront is actually quite limited. But even so, to have it running without programming is impressive.

Review by The Dude:

Incredible product for the price!! Pay little attention to the previously written review about how poor the product’s functionality is. The reviewer claims there are no drawing features, no cropping features, and that you are limited to the templates given. This is completely untrue. After five minutes on the program I was able to design logos from scratch, have COMPLETE layer control, and use cropping features. I have very little experience designing logos (about 10 hrs behind adobe photoshop cs3), and I was able to design excellent logos. The program also comes with business card designing software which I have yet to use. Incredible program for . I felt compelled to write a review after being mislead by another review! Good buy.

Review by K. Aaland:

All I wanted to do was to draw 2 long triangles, fill them with color and rotate them. There are no drawing options in this software and no editing features, such as cropping. The logo selections are limited to the predesigned choices in the stock library. From the library you can combine images and then color them to make a graphic. I found the library selections to be quite limited. Better off with LogoSmartz if you want to use pre-designed “templates” to work with, however there are no drawing or cropping features in that program either. I downloaded the free trial of that program from CNet (11/07) For drawing purposes, you are better off with Corel draw or Adobe Illustrator. For 3D, I see Google has a new free program! Looks interesting!

Review by Ed Wilson:

We bought D-REX as a birthday present for our 8-year old son and he can’t stop playing with it. He wanted “Spike” from Fisher Price until seeing D-Rex on TV. The first time we put batteries in and flipped the switch, it was like being in Jurassic Park. The thing is scarily alive AND really funny. Gave me (a man in his 30s) a big happy chill up the spine. Overall, one of the best toys we’ve ever bought him. Very durable and realistic. Highly-recommended.

Review by MAD MOM:

Hesitant at first about purchasing this for my 5 year old dinosaur-mad little girl. Happy that I did. Does all it’s advertised to do. Put batts in and tried it out before wrapping it up for Xmas….had a ball just playing with it myself. Looks a little mean in the beginning but it plays, growls, bites his bone, walks around the house “looking” at things & comes when you call it. It’s like an ugly puppy that somehow starts to look adorable. Has great facial(?!)expressions. My daughter is going to LUV this, and to me, seeing her so happy is worth the pricetag. Super toy!

Review by Book Loving Girl:

I have not worked a “regular” job in the last 3 years. I have always been a pretty technologically savvy person, and I decided to build a variety of websites to bring in some money. Well, I had never done a pay site or “membership site” and wanted to give it a try. I used this and a couple of other books, along with research on the web to get started, and my results have been surprisingly good.

This book helped a lot because it provided me with concrete, specific tips instead of the kind of vague crap that you might find elsewhere. This book didn’t waste a lot of time pointing out obvious “tips” and instead pointed out some things that I definitely wouldn’t have thought of myself.

Even if you find a couple of things that help you in this book, it is worth it for the low price, in my opinion. If you want to start a pay or membership site, you have to give this one a look.