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Sausage Sizzler - Customer Choices |
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| Editorial June 25th, 2003 |
G'Day Sizzlers!
I want to use this editorial to explain some of our reasoning and
thoughts behind the latest release of HotDog Professional. There
has been a very passionate and sometimes heated discussion in the
Sizzler Forums on the subject. So let me set a few things straight.
With your upgrade or purchase of HotDog Professional 7 you get as
a BONUS Xara Menu Maker and Crazy Ivan's Boomer software. If you
went out and purchased these separately they would cost US$19.95
and US$49.95 respectively. Let me say we believe including these
programs have increased the value we are able to bring you with
your purchase. Also note that these programs will work
independently from HotDog regardless of the version your running
(i.e. It is not the same as the issues had with third party
programs and the 5.5 Webmaster Suite).
The decision to include these two programs was not entirely value
based though. We believed our less graphically inclined users
would appreciate the ability to create quality menus in seconds
(as you will see in this weeks HotDog Helper). While the
functionality of Boomer gives you some flash capabilities and
while allowing you to do amazing things with audio for your
sites.
As for our release strategy we thought we would try something
different. We released after an internal beta, bypassing our
normal external beta process. This has not gone as smoothly as we
would have liked, however we believe the quick succession of new
builds to remedy problems our users have found, has proven we are
back on track with development.
Yes some people still have the infamous slow down problem. This
is being worked on, however it is hard to do so without being
able to reproduce the problem. If users experiencing this problem
can tell us more about their system set-ups it would be
appreciated.
Anyway I just want all of our users to realize we are trying to
create and offer products that are best for you all. It is the
emails, forums comments and the like that drive us on.
Check out the whole discussion here:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1549
Do not forget we have a new help system to aid you in any query
you may have. Check it out here:
http://www.sausagesupport.com/help/
Also last week I mentioned the new MyContentPlus, content
management system would be launched this week. Well I jumped the
gun a little so you will all have to wait a little longer to see
this new tool.
Read, learn and implement!
Keep on sizzling!
Nathan Allan
Sausage Sizzler Editor
editor@sausage.com
|
Sausage Hosting Special 25% OFF |
|
So you need some great web hosting to host that amazing web site
you have built with HotDog?
To help along your decision here is a coupon to give you 25% off
the initial payment with Sausage Hosting. This means you can get
25% off the first monthly payment, or to save even more money 25%
off a yearly payment. It does not matter which plan you choose,
you can use this coupon:
COUPON CODE: HH252002
NOTE: This coupon is only good until the 16th December 2003.
Anyone signing up by July 11th 2003 will get our new content
management system included in their package for free.
Compare plans and pick the one that is right for you:
http://www.sausagehosting.com/hostingplans.php
|
We released a Beta of our new FTP client late last week to our
Alpha and Beta testers. After the testers picked up a few bugs
the developers got to work and released a new build.
You can download HotFTP Version 1 Build 8 here:
ftp://ftp.sausage.com/pub/hotdog/hotdog7/beta/hotftp_install.exe
Note that this version will time out after 21 days.
View the whole discussion on the progress of this new program and
post your comments, bugs and suggestions here:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1794
Search Engine Tricks
Would you like to know some easy HTML tips and tricks for getting
a better search engine placement?
Go to the Sizzler Forums now to find the answer:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1811
Tip by Kevin Hannan
Xara Menu Maker - Making menus easy!
One of the most unpleasant tasks for me in web designing is the
job of creating and testing link buttons. It's importance in
setting the tone of the website cannot be overstated. This is
increasingly so the more a visitor uses those link buttons to
navigate around the website - so I have to get it right and that
takes time.
Now that XARA Menu Maker comes bundled with HotDog 7 I no longer
dread this task! It's an easy-to-use Wizard that creates link-
button menus and can be used by beginners through to
professionals. When you've completed the wizard the code is
written for you in your HotDog editing window and all the
graphics and javascript files are saved for you ready for
uploading! Now that's what I call easy!
I can choose any template design of button links from a group of
horizontal and vertical templates on each of the 35 pages of
designs that are available. At any time I can try out the button
links in the wizard live-preview window and see just how my
changes are taking effect. Then I can change the font to any that
I have in my Windows fonts collection and change the text of the
buttons. If I want it, the advanced menu gives me greater control
but so far all the default settings have been fine. Next I can
change the colours of every part of the button link and text so
that it fits in perfectly with the colour scheme of my website. I
can also apply a texture to the background of my template from a
stack of background images supplied with this wizard.
Alternatively, I can choose one of my own backgrounds, which is
great for company logos and the like. With the next step I can
change the size of the graphics and the width of the link
buttons. There are even several options where it will do it
automatically for you according to what you want. And finally
there's a Menu properties box, which you can use to add drop-down
menus if you need them amongst other detailed controls to keep
even the most precise Webmaster happy.
So whether you are a beginner or a fully-fledged Webmaster in
just 7 short steps you too can have a fully tailored menu that's
sure to fit the bill! The only problem is it's so much fun to
play with!
Comment on your experiences with Xara MenuMaker here:
http://www.sizzlerforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1815
Tip by Kevin Hannan
To read the Sizzler Forums you do not need to be a member.
However to take full advantage of this resource it will only take
you a few seconds to sign up!
- Go to: http://www.sizzlerforums.com/
- Read the information and click on the REGISTER button
- Fill out the form
- You will receive an email that you simply reply to
- Hey presto! Your a fully fledged Sizzler Forums member!
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