Event Archives, 2002

The SIG meets once a month to discuss and learn about issues relevant to the Web development field. Meeting topics span the gamut of issues related to Web development, including Web design, programming, and business management.

Jan 2002 | Feb 2002 | Mar 2002 | Apr 2002 | May 2002

Meetings are free for members. Join us in becoming a SIG member. Non-Member meeting entrance fee is $10.00 for professionals and $5.00 for students with valid student ID or class schedule. NBMA members also enjoy a $5.00 discount at these meetings.

May 14, 2002

Effective Site Search with Avi Rappoport

Avi Rappaport shared her knowledge on effective site search, "Site Search That Doesn't Stink", a talk that she gave at InternetWorld.
As a Web developer you make Web pages come alive using back end wizardry, clever copy, impressive animation, and top-notch graphics. You put a lot of work into your site. But the content is not the only issue: to have value, your site must have good navigation and be accessible. But do you know all that you really need to know to optimize these pages for a search engine? Have you really studied all the nuances that will help the pages be seen when a search is performed? Have you found a need to have a site search for local information (not web wide search or vertical portal)? What do you really know about search engines? A bit? Maybe a little more? We were further educated in the deeper aspects of information architecture, and user experience, -the way of search engines.
To learn more, visit Avi's Web site, "Search Tools for Web Sites and Intranets".

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April 9, 2002

Adobe Cancelled, So We Threw a Membership Party!

Adobe did a turn-around and left us in a lurch for the second part of the Adobe presentation. They cancelled! So, as to not disappoint you, our treasured and valued membership, we took this opportunity to throw a party! The event was very informal, giving us the opportunity to mingle and get to know each other. We started the evening with some important Web SIG announcements, and then will fielded those gnawing questions you've been dying to ask the Board. Some very, very exciting events are coming this year, and we gave you a sneak peek as to what they are. Speaking of the Board, this was a good opportunity for you to come and say goodbye to our outgoing president Shenoa Lawrence and hello to our new president, Marcy McNeil.

It's rare that we get the opportunity to take an event just for the pleasure of networking, but this was our chance. Thank you for joining us for lots of good food, drink and fun!

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March 12, 2002

Get a Sneak Preview of Adobe Upgrades

In this first of a 2-part series, Alan Felgate of Adobe Systems, Inc. demonstrated what the new version of Illustrator, GoLive and LiveMotion have in store for us.

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February 12, 2002

Independent Contractors: Business and Legal Issues

Corporate law specialist Austin Bosarge shares how to protect your business

Who owns YOUR work?

Copyright and other common issues (contracts, liability, taxes, incorporation, etcetera) for the independent contractor were addressed at this informative meeting. Anyone who is even considering "going solo" benefited from this presentation, as well as veterans who have experienced the unexpected along the way. Austin Bosarge, counsel to The Corporate Law Group, went over the basics of business and contract liability that all self-employed people must know to be successful. An extensive question and answer period followed the presentation. This meeting alone was worth the annual membership dues.

The Corporate Law Group focuses on corporate and individual property law as well as financial planning. Austin graduated cum laude from Suffolk University Law School and is licensed to practice in California. He is the former president and CEO of MagicHome, a Sausalito-based mortgage technology firm. Austin also holds a degree in electrical engineering and is an experienced computer engineer.

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January 8, 2002

PHP: From Personal Home Page to Hypertext Preprocessor

Rasmus Lerdorf presented an outstanding introduction to PHP, a scripting language that now empowers more than 5 million Web sites.

PHP allows you to go one step beyond HTML. For example, if you need a database, PHP is a server side database. Rasmus tells us it is not a big step from HTML to PHP, though programming experience does make it much simpler. He refers PHP as being "HTML-centric," making it easier for common HTML programmers to understand.

PHP started out as a simple macro templet system, but after adding if-then statements people wanted more. So he added the while statement. Well, he tells us it was slippery slope after that.

A font engine was added to PHP, so imaging text with different fonts is now possible. PHP knows about true colors and alpha channels, can draw graphs, lines, bars, and pie charts (even in three dimensional format!). PHP can draw bezier curves and create Flash imagery on the fly.

To learn more about PHP, visit Rasmus' notes for this presentation at conf.php.net/scwd

We look forward to seeing you at our next event.

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