Split vote means more information on both development and management

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I reported last week on my survey of whether you want this newsletter to concentrate more on "Web management" or more on "Web development." As you now know, there was a completely unexpected result: The final vote was a tie. The figures for both Web management and Web development were about 42 percent, with about 16 percent for "Other."

That means I'm redoubling my efforts to bring you even more secrets about Web management and Web development. In hopes of satisfying those who chose "Other," I'm also devoting more attention to the occasional feature I now call "Wacky Web Week" at the end of the newsletters.

Next week, I'll print some of the comments from readers who voted for "Other." Last week, the voters for Web management had their say.

That means the advocates of Web development get their turn in this issue. As always, my readers come up with the most interesting ideas, and I think you'll agree that they have the experience to back up their opinions. Have a listen:

"What a choice! It should have been easy to make a decision, but it isn't. Too many of us are now stuck on both sides of this fence, needing to know what it takes to develop Web sites as well as manage them. Not having a full technical staff at hand makes it difficult even more today to tell our customers what it will take to develop a Web page, especially after they have seen all the slick things that can be done. Even more difficult is to tell them what it will cost to maintain it and keep it slick, dynamic, and exciting." -- Robert Sanborn, SanbornSoftware.com

"I'm officially voting for the concentration on Web development. We're getting enough hype about e-commerce, business-to-business, and other new letter combinations from the rest of the world. But one of the things I really like about your newsletter is the somewhat miscellaneous nature of the links. I think you're doing fine as is. Also, please don't remove the humor links! I'm getting so many newsletters now, if I subscribe to one more my job will be 90 percent reading newsletters and Internet articles, but I really enjoy a funny article. I loved 'Windows RG'! Thanks!" -- Sara McDarby, director of technology, Schenectady Museum

"This is a demonstration of the classic conundrum, what you want vs. what you need. I find development more interesting, and would prefer to read about development issues. But I also need to remain current on management issues, and you provide a clear, easily digestible insight into what I need to know, whether I like it or not. Don't abandon either." -- Wayne Mathews

"I'm not into Web commerce per se, selling stuff on the Web. I'm interested in providing service over the Web and thus I'm more interested in the Web development side. I'm particularly interested in stuff that can be done on Linux and Windows. Technologies like Java, PHP, ASP, XML, Python, perl, and database connectivity and interaction seem important, as well as what can be done with non-MS technologies that duplicate what is being done with Microsoft's .Net vision. All these pieces are dancing in my head, and seeing some comparative reviews and ideas would be excellent." -- Chris Boynton, ProMicroInc.com

"Companies that develop Web sites and applications need developers who understand there's a difference between building a personal Web site and creating a Web site or application that involves multiple developers and contributors (i.e., the whole idea of separating data, presentation, and logic). After a number of years, I think I know the drill (although I constantly come across better ways of doing things). But I keep seeing developers who may know HTML and other Web technologies, but don't understand basic software concepts like information-hiding, modules, and other higher-level software stuff. This gets more important with any type of larger application, including Web-based things. -- Gregory W. Mohr, software engineer, Motorola.com

"Web development is still a rapidly changing area (I believe even more so than marketing, sales, etc.) with a set of constantly evolving technologies. Personally, I would like to see more concentration on the use and implementation of these technologies. I don't think you should limit yourself to the languages (HTML, Flash, ASP, PHP, etc.) but also include the servers themselves (Apache, IIS, etc.). Additionally, I am always interested in your expert opinion on what percentage of the industry you believe is using which technology. Thanks for a great column." -- Andrew Scheck, WorldCom [ellipses in original]

"I know wireless is going to be a big thing, but I know almost nothing about the new development challenges it will bring. How do you write a good interface for a cell phone? At the same time, I'm sure managers want to know how much it's going to cost and what it will do for the bottom line. So I guess what I'm saying is that I'd like to see specific topics covered from both perspectives. I think this would be helpful to both audiences and allow for some 'cross-pollination.' " -- Larry Mckenzie

NEXT WEEK: I'll return to my usual format, followed by the comments of readers who voted for the mysterious category of "Other." See you then.

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LIVINGSTON'S TOP 10 NEWS PICKS O' THE WEEK

1. Buyers say timely delivery, ease of return are key

http:/www.eurekalert.org/ http://bri.li/?412

2. How the new iMac got that Time magazine cover page

http://www.nytimes.com http://bri.li/?7fa (free reg. reqd.)

3. Cost of acquiring new online customers falls to $12

http://www.dmnews.com http://bri.li/?be2

4. How free sites persuaded surfers to pay for content

http://www.contentbiz.com http://bri.li/?fca

5. Profit-making e-zines are forging new trends in 2002

http://www.promotionbase.com http://bri.li/?13b2

6. Free link page helps surfers opt out of pop-up ads

http://www.technoerotica.net http://bri.li/?179a

7. How "Google Effect" reduces need for obvious names

http://www.siliconvalley.com http://bri.li/?1b82

8. Legal pointers save Web developers' self-interest

http://www.llrx.com http://bri.li/?1f6a

9. HTML tips: How to make those horrible animated GIFs

http://www.webmasterbase.com http://bri.li/?2352

10. A boss' nightmare: Flash game Cutie Quake (audio)

http://www.coffeebreakarcade.com http://bri.li/?273a

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WACKY WEB WEEK: THE INDUSTORIOUS CLOCK

I've seen some mighty wacky PC clocks in my time, but Industorious takes the cake. It's a Flash animation in which a human hand writes the date and time on scraps of paper in your browser window, then rewrites the seconds -- you guessed it -- once a second.

The effect, displayed at YugoP.com, was developed by MONOcrafts, a studio led by Yugo Nakamura in Tokyo. It's a fascinating little movie to watch, although you might not want to leave it running on your screen all day. Considering that the animation consumes about 25 percent of the CPU time on a Pentium 933, the bandwidth police might want to visit your cubicle.

THE INDUSTORIOUS CLOCK FLASH ANIMATION

http://www.yugop.com http://bri.li/?c37a

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E-BUSINESS SECRETS: Our mission is to bring you such useful and thought-provoking information about the Web that you actually look forward to reading your e-mail.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: E-Business Secrets is written by InfoWorld Contributing Editor Brian Livingston (http://SecretsPro.com). Research director is Ben Livingston (no relation). Brian has published 10 books, including:

Windows Me Secrets:

http://www.amazon.com http://bri.li/?0764534939

Windows 2000 Secrets:

http://www.amazon.com http://bri.li/?0764534130

Win a gift certificate good for a book, CD, or DVD of your choice if you're the first to send a tip Brian prints: mailto:Brian@SecretsPro.com