Twenty years ago, Tim Berners-Lee authored "Information Management: A Proposal" which is described, in his own words, as follows:
This document was an attempt to persuade CERN management that a global hypertext system was in CERN's interests. Note that the only name I had for it at this time was "Mesh" -- I decided on "World Wide Web" when writing the code in 1990. [Link to Original Proposal by Tim Berners-Lee]When you take a look at how far we've come, and how fast, it truly is one of the most breathtaking leaps forward that mankind has ever taken, agreed?
The hypertext mark-up language (HTML code) was young when I entered the online environment back in 1995... still near it's first basic version (HTML 2.0). Most of what I learned about HTML was self-taught by taking an excellent online tutorial course put on the World Wide Web by a student with Case Western University.
The free tutorial for HTML 2.0 is still available here.
It's a wonderful, step-by-step tutorial complete with Q & A "self-testing" interactive questionnaires at the end of each section to make sure you understand the content before moving on.
In all my years online, the above tutorial is the ONE THING that changed my life the most!
On the above site, you'll note that the HTML/XHTML and CCS (Cascading Style Sheets) in use today are different than the original HTML 2.0 ...but believe it or not, I still go back to basic HTML 2.0 when creating some sales pages, email templates and more for clients.
HTML 2.0 is clean, easily read by all browsers and fast-loading.
When you see so many adding little things like BOLD and COLOR and EMPHASIS to their web interactions (like in forums and elsewhere that HTML is accepted), having an understanding of the basics can go a long way to creating the look you want to achieve.
My Power Tip Today
I bring this up today, because of the Kindle 2: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation)
.You see, raw HTML files are converted into Kindle format
... BUT certain CCS and modern HTML/DHTML/XHTML files cannot always be converted/don't always work for the Kindle. Yes, you can also convert pdf documents into Kindle format but they don't always turn out perfectly.Don't underestimate the popularity of the Kindle.
Most people who have tried it - ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT - both for it's quick portability of e-books, magazines, news, blogs and more - and also for it's convenience of being able to quickly download Kindle books via the Internet from the Kindle Store
.The Kindle utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S wireless coverage via Sprint's 3G high-speed data network for FREE downloads from the Internet if you are within range. (They have a coverage map available through the Kindle 2 product page
.)If you've been considering creating/offering ebooks (or reports, or news, or more) online, you might want to consider offering a Kindle format
in addition to other portable formats. It could turn out to be very profitable for your online venture!And with that said, it might be helpful to know a bit about the original HTML that got us to where we are today.
Hope this helps! Stay tuned for more Power Tips coming soon...
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