Virtual Include

Next Slide, Please

Why bother to have images that change randomly on a site? "Visitors returning to the page feel that, although the content might not have been updated, something has changed, and the site might be worth revisiting again in the future," writes A List Apart's Dan Benjamin in "A Better Image Rotator."

]]> His article comes complete with conceptual overview, link to a working example, working PHP script, and sample configuration file — and it seems like a pretty clean idea. How about using this concept (if not the actual script) on the front page of intervarsity.org or /staff/?

Virtual Include gets a Checkup

Here is the output from a free link checker utility called Xenu. There are many different products that provide this service. Anyone have any suggestions and/or recommendations?]]>

Xenu's broken link report

Created on September 10, 2004 at 13:50:55

Root URL: http://www.virtualinclude.net/

Broken links, ordered by link
Broken links, ordered by page
List of redirected URLs
List of ftp and gopher URLs
List of valid URLs you can submit to a search engine
Site Map of HTML pages with a Title
Broken page-local links
Orphan files
Statistics for managers

Broken links, ordered by link:

http://www.bluerobot.com/web/layouts/)
error code: 404 (not found), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000005.html

http://www.gift-card-finder.net/
error code: 12007 (no such host), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/cgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?__mode=red&id=35

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=arabetics
error code: 403 (forbidden request), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000014.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=IE+css+hacks&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
error code: 403 (forbidden request), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000011.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=pizza+delivery+ordering+online
error code: 403 (forbidden request), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000012.html

http://www.k9tkf.com/
error code: 12007 (no such host), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/cgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?__mode=red&id=21

http://www.mc.clintock.com/first_floor/living_room/flatfiles/drawer_3/index.php.)
error code: 404 (not found), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000005.html

http://www.textpattern.com/
error code: 412 (error 412), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000039.html

http://www.virtualinclude.net/www.slashdot.org
error code: 404 (not found), linked from page(s):
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/000023.html

9 broken link(s) reported


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Broken links, ordered by page:

http://www.virtualinclude.net/000005.html
	http://www.bluerobot.com/web/layouts/)
	  \_____ error code: 404 (not found)
	http://www.mc.clintock.com/first_floor/living_room/flatfiles/drawer_3/index.php.)
	  \_____ error code: 404 (not found)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/000011.html
	http://www.google.com/search?q=IE+css+hacks&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
	  \_____ error code: 403 (forbidden request)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/000012.html
	http://www.google.com/search?q=pizza+delivery+ordering+online
	  \_____ error code: 403 (forbidden request)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/000014.html
	http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=arabetics
	  \_____ error code: 403 (forbidden request)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/000023.html
	http://www.virtualinclude.net/www.slashdot.org
	  \_____ error code: 404 (not found)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/000039.html
	http://www.textpattern.com/
	  \_____ error code: 412 (error 412)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/cgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?__mode=red&id=21
	http://www.k9tkf.com/
	  \_____ error code: 12007 (no such host)

http://www.virtualinclude.net/cgi-bin/mt-comments.cgi?__mode=red&id=35
	http://www.gift-card-finder.net/
	  \_____ error code: 12007 (no such host)

9 broken link(s) reported


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List of redirected URLs

Return to Top

List of ftp and gopher URLs

Because the checking of ftp and gopher URLs is unreliable, here is the list to give you the possibility to check them yourself.

Return to Top

List of valid URLs you can submit to a search engine (HTML or plain text):

Return to Top

Site Map of valid HTML pages with a title:

Note: if you upload this Site Map to your web page, exclude its URL or delete its page before checking, to prevent the software from checking the Site Map itself!

I've just found a cool RSS client � that's what has tipped the scales for me to finally look more closely at this publishing medium. I'd be curious to know what feeds others have found useful or especially interesting.

Wanted: Lots of Eyes

"Douglas Wilson, chief technology officer for Lotus..., says that open-source methods can build very high-quality software 'by virtue of having lots of eyes.' He says the key is getting the right eyes. 'What makes open source go is the community. If a technology spawns a community of interest...then you have both a very powerful creative force and a market force.'"

— Michael Fitzgerald, "Trash Your Desktop," Technology Review, Nov 2003, 46.

]]> Here's how I read that last sentence: Most of the time you want smart and motivated people both making your product and then using it (indeed, clamoring for it); and open source means that those can be the same people.

Such an interesting observation (and quite a promise) � and it just makes me wonder about all the implications: Does that dynamic (linking making with using) work the same way for open-source content projects (like InterVarsity's National Library / File Cabinet, for instance)? And how do you spawn the community?

Traffic Update

Just in case you're wondering how Virtual Include is doing traffic-wise, here's a summary graphic that shows the trends over the months since launch. Onward and upward!

]]>

To put numbers to these, the August page views were 1,916 and the visits were 742. (That's very good stickiness, at 2.6 pages per visit.)

(By the way, the February spike in hits is due to the initial installation of Movable Type.)

Gmail Headroom

Just a little give-away offer here: I've got six invitations that I can offer for people to set up a new Gmail account — but I can't think of anyone who might want one who doesn't already have one! If you are such a person (or know one), please comment on this post to say you'd like one.

Internet Drive Times

I picked up a tip from The Mighty Slashdot today on the Internet Traffic Report.

]]> Apparently, these guys are sending pings across continents every 5 minutes and monitoring the response times. They then turn this into an index that tells you how the network traffic is flowing all over the world.

So when you can't seem to get to CNN or Yahoo, you could presumably check here to see if the whole network was hosed up, or just your local network.

Browse Happy!

A new website has been set up by WaSP to help educate the masses on the possible security issues found when browsing with Internet Explorer. They are trying to help people browse happy with confidence.

]]> From the main page:
Internet Explorer can make your computer unsafe. Why not switch to a browser that's more secure?
Many already have. Read their stories, and choose a browser that's right for you.

You can also read more here:
Browser Campaign Slams IE (CNET)
Get Rid of Internet Explorer - Browse Happy! (Slashdot)

Include ("Zach") ;

A hearty Virtual Include welcome to Zach Conrad, who joins us as an author here at our own little slashdot. Not that he needs more places to publish online: what with his tour de force site, studentjourney.org, he is already creating an inspiring model of excellence in terms of technology, ministry, and content alike. Welcome to Virtual Include, Zach!

Bush to Join Virtual Include

Well, not really. But according to The Onion, George II has got a blog of his own now.

Spooky "Site Pal"

File this one under "gratuitous use of Flash" — and also under "spooky trip into the uncanny valley." Don't miss how his eyes follow your cursor around the page.

I suppose the biggest question is, does it really sell walleye fishing?

Tweak the Google Look

Pardon me if I'm simply the one dork who didn't know this already, but I just learned that Google not only provides super-easy (and free) code to put a Google search box on any site — which I did know — but they also have a simple set-up procedure to allow you to customize the look of the search-results page that they serve you, including your own logo and color scheme.

]]> For any site running a database-driven CMS (like virtualinclude.net itself), search is still probably better done in-house. But for a simpler flat-HTML site that wants a little search capability, Google's freebies would be a good solution.

I can't help thinking that I'm not the only dork who didn't know this — otherwise more people would use this, and I'd have noticed it by now. Speaking of which, does anyone know of sites that have used these freebies to good advantage? Post them in comments, if you would.

Not that we don't share Google's apparently deep and abiding love of the primary colors.... OK OK, actually, we don't. :)

360 Deg Panoramic Pictures ... From a Kite!

Some of us [Jon] have previously attempted the fine art of Kite Arial Photography. Most of the time the pictures come out as weird angles of land and sky, some surprisingly interesting.

Scott Haefner has taken this to a whole new level with 360 Deg panoramics made from two pictures, one from the ground looking up and a second from the kite looking down. The pictures are fantastic!

]]> First the pictures are beyond amazing. If you have been to these places you instantly feel like you are there. The pictures look 3D (check out the lighthouse) but they aren't. If you move too fast you start to get a little motion sick; it's that good!

The site is also nicely designed. Tabs on the top for different sections, that reveal a horizontal menu below. It's a real treat all around.

BTW, the 360 Panos are great, but don't miss the other fantastic pictures on the site as well.

Where Can I Buy a Card for Jimi?

Finally a new holiday that doesn't smack of Hallmark marketing: System Administrator Appreciation Day. Mark your calendars for the last Friday in July.

CMS Choices

Six Apart, the company who produces Moveable Type (the software that we use to power this website) just changed their licensing terms in such a way that it makes it very expensive to upgrade MT for sites like this.

As a result Jon and I have started researching different CMSes as candidates to replace MT (at some long future date).

]]> This process has been very fruitful! I hadn't realized how far the competitors had come in the last year or so that we have been on MT.

We quickly narrowed down the candidates to Text Pattern and Word Press. Both are open source (WP is GPL, TXP is BSD licensed) free software. Both are PHP/MySQL based and very nifty.

Jon and I installed both to experiment. Word Press is much like MT in its thought processes and structure. TXP is somewhat different with a clear delineation between content and presentation.

Both packages are nice, but both are young yet. Each is releasing updates almost monthly and so, it's a good time to watch, learn and plan for a next step.

Virtual Include

Next Slide, Please

Virtual Include gets a Checkup

Xenu's broken link report

Root URL: http://www.virtualinclude.net/

Table of contents

Broken links, ordered by link:

Broken links, ordered by page:

List of redirected URLs

List of ftp and gopher URLs

List of valid URLs you can submit to a search engine (HTML or plain text):

Site Map of valid HTML pages with a title:

Wanted: Lots of Eyes

Traffic Update

Gmail Headroom

Internet Drive Times

Browse Happy!

Include ("Zach") ;

Bush to Join Virtual Include

Spooky "Site Pal"

Tweak the Google Look

360 Deg Panoramic Pictures ... From a Kite!

Where Can I Buy a Card for Jimi?

CMS Choices