Vol. 2, No. 16
TODAY'S LESSON: Storage, Uploading, and File sharing

Last week, you learned how to make and search for MP3 files on the Web. But now your hard drive is so packed, you can no longer receive email. Sure, you could resort to snail mail, but passing along all those hilarious jokes and chain letters will get a lot more expensive. No, friends, it's time to clear some space on your hard drive by sending those bulky files to a server on the Web. You can even set it up so that friends can download from the site.

It's as easy as F-T-P.

>>> File Transfer Magic <<<

The file transfer protocol (FTP) is one of those technologies that's been around for years, and is more useful today than ever. Basically, FTP lets you transfer files between two computers, even machines on different platforms. And FTP is an equal-opportunity technology, and works well for audio, video, graphics, and text files alike. To upload files to your Tripod site, you use Tripod's built-in system: "Fetch Those Files"

Or, if you're working with a non-Tripod site and you want to FTP files, you can download free (or almost free) and easy-to-use software:

If you want to become a master file trader, check out Webmonkey's CuteFTP article: CuteFTP for PC

And if you're on the Mac tip, go Fetch: Fetch for the Mac

>>> Expanding Your Site <<<

After you realize how easy it is to upload files, you'll probably want to do more than just transfer your excess MP3s. The possibilities are endless, but what better place to start than with your photo or video scrapbook. You could either scan in some of your existing pics or transfer them directly from a digital camera. If you want to produce and post your photo/video work on the Web, there are three basic steps: shoot, capture, and compress.

You can create, edit and manipulate your videos using these free tools: Lycos VideoProducer

From encoding to distribution, this is a comprehensive article that covers it all: Streaming Video

>>> Storage on the Cheap <<<

If you only have a few files that you want to store on the Web, online storage lockers are a good alternative to setting up your own server. Transferring the files is similar to FTP, and you won't pay for upkeep on the server. These services range from 5 ­to 50MB of free space.

A lengthy list of Web storage services: Online Storage

And if all this talk of online storage has you scratching your head, you could always opt for some more traditional solutions.

This article covers everything from Zip drives to recordable DVDs: Storage Options

1. While CD-Rewritable (CD/RW) disks can hold about 600 MB of data, and are pretty cheap at $3 to $4 per disk, CD-Recordable (CD/R) disks hold the same amount of data but cost as little as 50 cents. Sure, you can write over and over again on a CD/RW disk, but how much money are you really saving by doing so? And isn't the point of storing something to store it, rather than write over it again in a week's time?

2. When shooting video bound for the Web, steer clear of Oliver Stone-style directing. If you have transitions that are too fast, or rapid camera movements, it won't compress well and you'll end up with jerky, delayed images. So stick to those long, steady shots of your fishtank and everything should be fine.

3. It's wild blackberry season out West, and that means you should be extra cautious of big, man-eating critters when hiking in the mountains. My own strategy to keep the bears on alert involves a boombox and a Vanilla Ice CD. While bears love blackberries, they hate one-hit wonders.

1. Learning to Crawl

To make sure search engines can find all the pages on your site (or the pages you want to be found, at least), make a "crawler page" that contains nothing but links to the pages you'd like search engines to crawl. Don't include any text or tags, just the links. Then add a link to the crawler page from your site's home page and search engine spiders will find it as soon as they get to your site and suck down all the pages on it. For more details, and to see an example crawler page, check out: Get Crawled

2. Size Matters

TITLE tags seem to work best if they're under 40 characters in length, and META descriptions should be kept under 50 words. Keep your crawler pages small: Anything over 100 KB can choke spiders or cause them to pass on the pages altogether.

3. Chapstuck

Chapstick, while an excellent way to keep your lips moisturized and conditioned, can be less than beneficial for your favorite shirt, pants, duvet cover, and towels -- especially after your dryer melts the balm down to a hot, greasy wax.

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