Test on Wed 25 Oct

For the test, be sure you have read all the following:

The questions on the test will be similar to the questions in the reading.

Better Internet

Start with a nice picture, like this one: http://navigators.com/internet_architecture.html
(Question:  How did he get the little American flag into his web address?)

You will notice that there are lots of pieces between the CLIENT (your PC) and the SERVER (e.g. Geocities).  You cannot control the stuff in between.  As a user, you can only control your PC.  As a web-site author, you can only control the content - you have no control over the server hardware, and no control over the Clients viewing your site!

Answer the following "technical" questions:

  1. Look here:  http://geocities.yahoo.com
    What do all of the following mean?
    • Your own domain name: www.your-name.com
    • 5 matching email accounts
    • 25 MB of disk space for files and photos
    • 10 GB of data transfer bandwidth)/month
    • Easy-to-use web design tools – no HTML required!
    • FTP for instant site updates
    How would each of these "improve" your Geocities account?
  2. What are pop-up ads?  How are they different from banner-ads?
    Which type of ads are displayed on Geocities?
  3. Look here: http://zdnet.com.com/1601-2-5089211.html
    What is streaming media?  How is it different from .AVI movies?
    Should you put streaming media onto your web-site?
  4. Look here: http://www.msnbc.com/m/v/video_news.asp?0cv=c641
    What is buffering?  What does "100 K" mean?
    What are some cheap tricks associated with web-videos?
    How do these reduce bandwidth requirements?
  5. Look here: http://www.digitalfilms.com/
    What is macromedia flash?  How is this different than streaming media?
  6. How fast is the PC you use at school?
  7. What does 2 Gigaherz actually mean?
  8. Why doesn't a 3 Gigaherz PC download any faster than a 500 Megaherz PC?
  9. How fast is your modem at home?  Or do you have DSL?
  10. What is the difference between and analog modem and DSL?
    How fast is DSL?  Is it "worth it"?
  11. What is a "flat rate"?  How much does it cost?
    Why would anyone want to pay for a "flat rate"?
  12. What is peer-to-peer file-sharing?  
    How is that different than "normal" Internet connections?
  13. What is Internet traffic?  How is this connected to bandwidth?
  14. At Geocities, how can you view your site's traffic?
  15. What is an ISP?  How do they affect your service?
  16. If you have a Geocities account, are they an ISP?  Explain.
  17. What is HTML?  Can you send and/or receive HTML in your e-mail system?
  18. You can put HTML pages on a web-site.  
    What other types of files can be on a web-site?
  19. PDF files are generally big. Why would anyone want to use .PDF files?
    Can you make your own PDF files? How?
  20. Can you put a Word document onto a Web-site?  Is it a good idea?
    What problems could this cause?  How could you put a Word document
    on a web-site WITHOUT causing any problems?
  21. Name 4 graphics formats that are supported by web-browsers.
    Name 1 graphics formats that are not supported by web-browsers.
  22. Can you password-protect your web-site or parts of your web-site?
  23. Experiment: Find out whether MP3 files can be uploaded to Geocities.
    Propose a reason why Geocities might not permit this.
  24. Experiment: Start Microsoft Word, and open one of your web-pages.
    Then do "Save-As" and let Word save the file as an HTML page,
    BUT USE A DIFFERENT NAME (don't wreck your page).
    Then open the original file and the MS version in 1st page.
    Does the MS version still work?  Describe some of the differences
    between the original and the MS version.
  25. Research:  Use Google to search for some "expert" advice about
    good ideas and bad ideas for making web-sites, especially about
    using graphics on web-sites.