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January 2000
Down and Out for January!
First that damn flu got me for over a week, in spite of my annual shot and usual good health. Then jumped back to work too hard and fast and  had a relapse for a week.

The rest of January went to just trying to catch up to lost business, finish overdue projects, get ready for taxes  and survive through the inevitable cash flow crunch - what a month!

Being ill is for employees only, not for one-person businesses! Two weeks ill means two weeks without pay and months of 12 hour days to catch up. Very frustrating.

But now I feel up to it again. Man, it is so great to be healthy! Yeeehaww...
 
December 1999
More progress on my training Web:
After several re-builds and much fine tuning, all but the last section (photo assignment) of the first lesson is now finished and polished, as a template for all others.

Soon I'll be able to subject it to a first usability test by "naive" users. That should uncover most major flaws before doing more lessons. 

This is really a challenge - like writing and illustrating a whole book, then publishing it yourself. What fun! The Web is so amazing! 

Been playing with a pre-release version of Microsoft Windows 2000. Very impressive!
 
November 1999
More work on my training Web:
Have created a pretty nice Microsoft PowerPoint slide show for the first lesson. My first work in PowerPoint too. Version 2000 works very well in Web pages. Each lesson will begin with such a slide show overview.

The first lesson is roughed out and the sections are in place. I'm being very careful with lesson one, as it is the template for the dozen to follow.

Have decided to launch the training Web when the first two lessons are perfected, then try to add another lesson every month or two until all 14 are up. Will start at a very low price for all lessons, then probably raise the price some as more lessons are added. So far, the plan is to provide access for 60 to 90 days to all available lessons for each subscription. May need to lengthen that as more lessons are launched.

It's surprising how fast my Everyday Magic! traffic drops off when I don't have time for online marketing!
 
October 1999
Concentrating on my next big effort - my new fine art training Web:
The basic lesson/data structures are done and embedded in a Web design. Enough topics are in place for more than a dozen lessons.
September 1999
More links!
I've begun adding my reviews for Click to visit BriefMe reviews of fine Web content to my links pages. Now you not only get my annotated links, but a published review for all the new ones (and I've been finding some mighty tasty stuff)
 
August 1999
Yet another site re-design:
The Webmeister's work is still never done. Redid all the page titles-banners-top navigation for more consistency and a better look. Also redesigned my home page for the umpteenth time. It never ceases to amaze me how much of a difference it makes, over a period of months, when you constantly improve little (seemingly insignificant) things.

Got a lot of work done on my (yes - it really is coming some day) photo training Web site. Now, if I could only find a few hours to update my links and create some new content!
 
July 1999
Upgraded to MS-Office 2000 and FrontPage 2000:
As usual with Microsoft, their third version of FrontPage is quite polished. The last one was very good, but this new model has a lot of goodies and fixes.
 
June 1999
Wow! I'm suddenly a review writer!:
Check out BriefMe, a Web site for publishing links to good content of all kinds. Unlike a search engine, directory or award site, BriefMe uses specialty content editors (like me) to write site reviews for a weekly e-mail "heads-up" publication.

With over 80 topics and more than a million subscribers, BriefMe is coming on strong! I love to write almost as much as doing photos, so becoming one of their "editors" was a natural. They don't pay us, but instead link each of our reviews to our site. Excellent "affiliate links" type Web marketing!
May 1999
New Big Design Tip:
Added a Design Tip on cropping photos. Created a set of example photos and poked some fun at cropping "Purists".
New Photo:
Finished a new Web version of another of the slides from my old '60s collection - "Red Door"
 
Slide show:
My new Java Applet "Slide Show Portrait" (part of my "People" theme) is finished!  Netscape browsers mess it up a little, but I think it came out pretty well - what do you think?
 
Traffic still growing...Please help me grow - use "Back" button to return
Added a link to WebbieWorld. WebbieWorld is an interesting concept in search engines. Visitors vote for their favorite sites - setting the site's "ranking" in the search engine in terms of actual user preference, not the ranking manipulations of the Web designer or the amount they can afford to pay to buy a high rank at some search engines.

A serious thanks to all who vote for Everyday Magic! and helped me grow this site!
 
April 1999
Yet another - Remodel:
Redesigned and configured the site for even better navigation, faster loading, easier use and better appearance. Ah, the Webmeister's work is never done.....
Slide show:
Experimented with writing a JavaScript slideshow, but found and installed a Java applet instead. It has fewer problems supporting many types of browsers. It works great! . Now I'm working on a set of 8 portraits, which I took in rapid succession, for my first slide show.
 
Traffic continues to grow:
Thanks to you all, the number of visitors is still climbing (sometimes pretty dramatically) every month! Watching the site grow really makes my week!
 
New Award:
I received the Exceptional Design award from Web Source Design. Thanks very much folks!
March 1999
New Tools:
Bought a Nikon Coolscan II film scanner! (let's hear it for eBay auctions!) Finally, I can stop having Photo CDs burned (at great expense) and scan my slides in myself.
Now processing a number of never-before-seen photos to add to this site. Also working on a Java "slideshow" for a series of portraits - with a special surprise ending!
 
Also Got:
A very sensitive 1 degree spotmeter type light meter. This should allow me to start on a series of night shots soon (doesn't the odd lighting from street lights at night strike you as very theatrical?). Will also be doing some experiments. These will hopefully result in some useful info and a new method for photographers with those pesky Dynamic Range problems.
February 1999
Moved to new hosting service - many new features supported:
This site is now hosted by RealWebSite of Palo Alto, California. Not only am I getting a better financial deal, but RealWebSite offers support for Microsoft Active Server Pages and databases. They have many other features as well, like the ability to automatically e-mail your Guest Book comments, excellent discussion group software, customization of e-mail services and more.

And, unlike my last host, I have a ultra-knowledgeable and responsive support person to answer my questions and help me out - the owner! Yes, I've gone from one of the largest hosting services to a small shop, to take advantage of the great personal service, leading edge technology and top-notch expertise.

Also improved Photo Links pages and added links.
December, 1998
Successful end to Millicent public microcommerce trial!
The Millicent microcommerce trial was quite a success! Access to my sales page has been removed, now that the transaction processor is no longer in operation.

Thanks to all those who "purchased" my photo screen-savers here (with free script) as part of the public trial of Millicent.

March 31, 1998
New Feature:
I added a Search Page to help you find information on any page of my site.  Just click on the Click to search this Web site button near the top of my Home Page (or the one here).
Programming changes:
Changed all page titles to be friendlier to search engine spiders. Updated copyright dates. Set up FrontPage 98 Navigation chart. Created database for my FrontPage tips. Did all those Web chores that aren't a lot of fun, but have to get done.
Awards:
Received 4 Web Awards! (the fact that I applied for them did help just a wee bit...)
February 1998
New Feature:
Created first screen savers for sale (part of a "Milicent microtransaction" trial by Digital).
Rebuilt Guest Book to make it simpler and easier to use for people in a hurry.
Programming changes:
Improved home page main logo image and edited text and page layout.
Created new photo sales pages and code, to allow you to buy photo screen savers during the Millicent microtransaction trials.
January 1998
Programming changes:
Installed this What's New? Page to log site changes and new features. Site itself was launched October 5, 1996.
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Last fine art photo pages update: June 18, 2000.
Copyright © 1999 Jim Coe. All rights reserved.