The Webmaster or Web Manager is a strange and varied beast, something of a jack-of-all-trades. The role demands an attitude that supports self-help, constant upskilling, and a vigilant eye on technology. A Webmasters responsibilities can vary greatly between organisations of various types and sizes.

It’s not unusual for a Webmaster to be expected to posses some skill and take part in a range of traditional IT roles for web related services or projects.

Irrespective of who traditionally performed them, following are some typical tasks that are potentially a Webmaster’s responsibility in a larger organisation with one or more web servers..

- Educating Authors and Customers
- Generating Log Reports
- Publishing & Managing Content
- Securing the Website and Servers
- Managing user/group accounts
- Interacting with clients
- Monitoring/Tuning server Performance
- Server-side Programming / ASP or PHP
- Client-side scripting / DHTML and JavaScript
- Templates creation for Authors
- User & Technical Documentation
- Upskilling & Following technology
- Website promotion and SEO

This is what most people are usually thinking of when they talk about web careers. The web publishing group is responsible for creating, posting, changing and maintaining the web pages on a web site. Although there can be many different positions within a web publishing group, the most common is web developer. Many tasks are often associated with the role of web developer. Programmers, graphic artists and site designers all can fall under this catchall title. But generally, the responsibilities are split between the artistic endeavors and the programming tasks. Therefore, we will concentrate mainly on two common careers: web developer (programmer) and web designer (site designer). However, depending on the size of the company and the web development group, these roles can often both be assigned to the same individual.

Web Developer (Programmer)

After the content is created, someone has to take it and format it into web pages. This is the responsibility of the web developer. Using a blend of programming, artistic and business skills, the developer weaves the content into an engaging format to keep folks riveted to the web site. In addition, developers are also involved in overall site design (in conjunction with the web designers) and usability testing. Interaction with network administrators and database administrators is also frequently required.

The main task of the developer is to generate code for web pages. This usually involves the use of a web development tool such as Dreamweaver, FrontPage, GoLive or Visual Interdev. In addition, good web developers are also expected to be familiar with graphic editing packages (such as Adobe Photoshop) since making changes to the formats of graphics is a common task when developing web pages. Therefore, make sure you have training in at least one of these packages (preferably two) prior to applying for a web development job.

Web Designers (Site Designer)

Site designers and web developer roles can be very similar depending upon the organization. However, web designers usually have a more artistic background and training in interface design (as opposed to developers who have more training in programming). The site designer’s main function is to develop an effective interface between the customer, company management and the web development team.

The designer must ensure that the site design helps management effectively communicate its message to the customer while still maintaining customer functionality of the site. This delicate juggling act is more art than science. Often site designers end up being the project managers for the web site since they tend to interface with all groups responsible for development and maintenance of the web site. Therefore, strong communication skills are a requirement of this job.

It is very simple to build a digital clock. All you need to do is follow the steps given below.

STEPS TO FOLLOW

Insert 3 layers in your time line window and name them, “background“, “text” and “actions“. Similar to the one shown below

1. Select Frame1 of background layer, Design the framework for your digital clock.
2. Select frame2 and press F5
3. Now go to Frame1 of your text layer and insert Dynamic text field in your work area. Select frame2 and press F5To insert a Dynamic text field- Select text tool from your tool box,
   Select Dynamic text from Text pop-up menu in the Property inspector.
   Click on your work area wherever you want the digital clock to appear.
4. Name this Dynamic text field instance as “clock_txt“
5. Go to frame1 of actions layer. Copy and paste the below mentioned script in the action.

time=new Date(); // time object
var seconds = time.getSeconds()
var minutes = time.getMinutes()
var hours = time.getHours()
if (hours<12) {
ampm = “AM”;
}
else{
ampm = “PM”;
}
while(hours >12){
hours = hours – 12;
}
if(hours<10)
{
hours = “0″ + hours;
}
if(minutes<10)
{
minutes = “0″ + minutes;
}
if(seconds<10)
{
seconds = “0″ + seconds;
}
clock_txt.text = hours + “:” + minutes + “:” + seconds +” “+ ampm;

6. Now go to frame2 of actions layer and press F6 to insert a new keyframe.
   Still keeping the play head on the frame2, go to action panel and copy paste the below mentioned script.

gotoAndPlay(1);

Download : Digital Clock (427)

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a tool useful for saving or retaining updated information on websites that you frequently visit or websites that are your favorite. RSS utilizes an XML code which scans continuously the content or subject matter of a certain website in search for new informations then transmits the information updates by way of feeding the information to subscribers.

Advantages :

RSS gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.

• It gives you the latest updates. Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updates site learn about the latest as soon as it comes out.
• It gives the power of subscription to the user. Users are given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently.
• It saves on surfing time. Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user’s time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.
• It is spam free. Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.
• Unsubscribing is hassle-free. Unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why she/he is unsubscribing and then the user would be asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.
• It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool. Users who subscribe or syndicate product websites receive the latest news on products and services without the website sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually interested in their products are kept posted.

Disadvantages :

The disadvantages of RSS use are brought about by its being a new technology and some user-preference concerns.

• Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.
• Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds. For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators.
• The identity of the source website can be confusing. Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.
• Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they would not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.
• RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server. Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site.
• Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support RSS.

It is easy to subscribe to entertainment RSS feed, just click the button that indicates the RSS feed. You usually have to copy the URL into your aggregator, but some RSS feeds automatically download into your reader. You can unsubscribe to an RSS feed anytime.

The great thing about RSS feeds, is that you’re always updated with the latest news and happenings. RSS feeds is revolutionizing the way information consumers get their content. Instead of being bombarded with a plethora of useless information, the consumers now can select & reject the material that goes into their consciousness.

Everybody’s favorite open-source browser, Firefox, is great right out of the box. And by adding some of the awesome extensions available out there, the browser just gets better and better.

But look under the hood, and there are a bunch of hidden (and some not-so-secret) tips and tricks available that will crank Firefox up and pimp your browser. Make it faster, cooler, more efficient. Get to be a Jedi master with the following cool Firefox tricks.

1) More screen space. Make your icons small. Go to View – Toolbars – Customize and check the “Use small icons” box.

2) Smart keywords. If there’s a search you use a lot (let’s say IMDB.com’s people search), this is an awesome tool that not many people use. Right-click on the search box, select “Add a Keyword for this search”, give the keyword a name and an easy-to-type and easy-to-remember shortcut name (let’s say “actor”) and save it. Now, when you want to do an actor search, go to Firefox’s address bar, type “actor” and the name of the actor and press return. Instant search! You can do this with any search box.

3) Keyboard shortcuts. This is where you become a real Jedi. It just takes a little while to learn these, but once you do, your browsing will be super fast. Here are some of the most common (and my personal favs):

* Spacebar (page down)
* Shift-Spacebar (page up)
* Ctrl+F (find)
* Alt-N (find next)
* Ctrl+D (bookmark page)
* Ctrl+T (new tab)
* Ctrl+K (go to search box)
* Ctrl+L (go to address bar)
* Ctrl+= (increase text size)
* Ctrl+- (decrease text size)
* Ctrl-W (close tab)
* F5 (reload)
* Alt-Home (go to home page)

4) Auto-complete. This is another keyboard shortcut, but it’s not commonly known and very useful. Go to the address bar (Control-L) and type the name of the site without the “www” or the “.com”. Let’s say “google”. Then press Control-Enter, and it will automatically fill in the “www” and the “.com” and take you there – like magic! For .net addresses, press Shift-Enter, and for .org addresses, press Control-Shift-Enter.
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