The Monthly Newsletter for Web Professionals
Volume 7 Issue 05 - May 2005
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In this Newsletter...
Letter from the Editor, The Latest Industry News, Featured Web Professional, Featured Articles, The Latest from WOW Headquarters, Front and Back, Get Involved With WOW
Letter from the Executive Editor
What a long strange trip it’s been.-- The Grateful Dead
Sorry for the cliché quote above. It’s just that nothing describes the last seven years any better. It was seven years ago that, working with a colleague from a California State University at Sacramento, I started the World Organization of Webmasters. And now, after all those years of trying to create a professional organization that not only would bring Web professionals together but would advance the causes of community, education and certification, WOW has reached a milestone of sorts.
The Latest Industry News
Apache eyes open-source Java project
From ZDNet News
The Apache Foundation has proposed creating an open-source version of Java on the desktop, a plan that Sun Microsystems has initially welcomed.
Project Harmony, which was formally proposed May 6, 2005, aims to write from scratch the software, called Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE), that is needed to run Java programs on desktop PCs.
The project was proposed by members of Apache--the foundation behind several popular open-source products -- and other individuals involved in Java development. The submitters plan to create a Java virtual machine, related "libraries" and testing software--all of which would be available under the Apache open-source license.
If accepted, the project would create something that open-source developers and others have demanded for years but that Sun has resisted.
To read the entire article, go to
Full Story
Sober.P worm hits new heights
From ZDNet News
The Sober.P worm is circulating the Internet in greater quantities than ever, according to antivirus company Sophos.
Sophos says the mass-mailing worm accounted for 5.4 percent of all e-mail the company saw over the weekend [May 7-8, 2005] and 84 percent of virus activity. That represents an increase compared with May 6, 2005, when Sophos said the worm accounted for 4.65 percent of all e-mail and 77 percent of virus activity.
"The strange thing is that we're actually seeing more reports than ever," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "It's increased, and it's even worse than last week. We don't know how many people are infected, but those infected are just spewing these e-mails out."
Cluley said the second most prevalent e-mail threat, the Netsky.P virus, accounted for 0.3 percent of all such threats, and the Zafi.D worm, the third most common, accounted for just 0.08 percent. "Those have been big viruses but have been dwarfed by the Sober worm," he said.
To read the entire article, go to
Full Story
Exploit code chases two Firefox flaws
From ZDNet News
Two vulnerabilities in the popular Firefox browser have been rated "extremely critical" because exploit code is now available to take advantage of them.
The cross-site scripting and remote system access flaws were discovered in Firefox version 1.0.3, but other versions may also be affected, said security company Secunia, which issued the ratings Sunday [May 8, 2005].
The two vulnerabilities, when combined, can be exploited, but no known cases have yet emerged where an attacker took advantage of the public exploit code.
One flaw involves "IFRAME" JavaScript URLs, which are not properly protected from being executed in the context of another URL in the history list.
To read the entire article, go to
Full Story
Bits and Bytes
To all who are reading these words: Please send us your funny stories, anecdotes or sniglets. Not only will your story been read by … well, a lot of people, we will link to your Web site so you can be world famous. Send your contributions to Mike Sturman, newsletter editor, at content@contentassociates.net
Do it now!
-From whatis.com (www.whatis.com)
Sniglet: A sniglet is a word that should be in the dictionary but isn't. Sniglets are the brainchild of comedian Rich Hall who, with a little help from his friends, wrote a series of books containing sniglets in the mid-eighties. With a little help from Rich Hall and our readers, here are some IT-related sniglets we think should be in the dictionary but aren't:
alpha geek - the most knowledgeable, technically proficient person in an office or work group.
analog-retentive - those people who obstinately cling to outmoded technology.
AlzIMers - typing in the wrong IM window when you have more than one conversation going.
animousity - vigorously clicking your pointer device because a page is loading too slowly.
AOL-WOL - disappearing from an IM conversation without notice.
backronym - an IT term whose letters once had no meaning, but have since come to stand for something-or-other.
blamestorming - sitting around in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed, and who was responsible.
cellphonic appraisal - the activity that occurs when a ringing cell phone causes everyone in the room to check and see if it's theirs.
crapplet - a poorly written or totally useless Java applet.
cinderellaware - software (demo or shareware) which becomes useless after a trial period unless the user pays for and registers it.
cube farm - an office filled with cubicles.
dopeler effect - the tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
dot gone - last year's e-commerce hopeful.
e-dundancy - e-mailing a person at the same time as you're having an IM conversation with them about the same thing
execuglide - to maneuver oneself around the room while seated in a wheeled office chair.
faxcess - having access to a fax machine.
faxcination - staring intently at the fax machine because you're waiting for a fax to come through.
fonesia - the affliction that strikes when you dial a phone number and forget whom you were calling just as they answer.
fUtility - a 3rd party utility that won't install no matter how closely one follows the instructions.
gadaboutag - the orphan HTML tag that's messing up your page.
For more sniglets, go to:
Featured Article
Communicating with Clients
A language problem can create frustration on both sides of the table.
-By Mike Sturman
How many times have you wanted to reach out, grab the neck of the person for whom you are developing a Web site and throttle him or her? And how many times do you think your client has wanted to do the same to you?
The reason for all this potential violence is the inability to clearly communicate what the client wants and what the Web professional can produce.
And, since the customer is always right, Web professionals need to hone their client-communication skills.
Upcoming Events
ISPCON May 24-26, 2005 Baltimore Convention Center Baltimore, MD
WOW Web Design and Project Management Workshop Tour: Strategies and Best Practices, Six Cites, Three Days of Killer Content.
WOW Web Content Management and Web Services Workshop: Nationwide Tour: Hot Topics. Seven Cites. Two Days of Killer Content.
WOW Getting Down to Web Business: 7 Strategies for Success Tour.
First Annual West Coast WOW Education Web Professional Summit and WOW Certifications, in conjunction with TechEd, at the Pasadena Conference Center, CA .
Get Involved With WOW
There are many ways to get involved with WOW
Is there a WOW chapter in your neighborhood? Would you like to start one? E-mail Joshua Blackford, WOW's Membership Director at jblackford@joinwow.org
We need instructors! If you have web expertise and want to share your knowledge please contact us at: info@joinwow.org We're looking for Contributing Authors for the Feature Articles section. Are you an expert in your field? Is there something that you feel WOW members need to know about? Send your story to info@joinwow.org.
Mentors, if you are interested in getting involved in our mentoring program to assist students online contact bill@joinwow.org