Archive for July, 2009

Extremely locked down is what we are looking at here. I came up with this topic when I was working with a small department of a large company. They have limited web access, no ability to upload files via thumb drive, and CDs/DVDs are out of the question. So how do you share information, the latest department news etc. without sending emails to everyone? I began to wonder if I could put together an Intranet site for them without access to servers or even external web sites like Google or facebook.

The short answer is: Yes I could. The longer answer is: Yes, you can too, and I am going to help you do it.

What makes this sort of Intranet possible is that your browser (we are going to look mainly at Internet Explorer) is capable of doing some amazing stuff thanks to the power of a Netscape creation called Javascript, and Microsoft’s browser extensions called Active X controls. Most of the work will be done with Javascript, but for the DB access we are going to need Active X.

OK I hear you now. “But I thought you said no servers?” Remember, we are building this Intranet for a small department or Business, and true to my word, NO servers will be used in the building of our website.

The DB that we will be using (and only if you want a more interactive site) is MS Access. If you have it installed on your PC you’re ahead of the game. If not, we will need to get a little more creative, but it is still very doable. (You will not need to go out and get MS Access if you do not have it.)

For an example of what can be done,  zip on over to Joshua Faulkenberry’s site and see what he has created. Come right back though, OK?

Here are some things you will need to make this work.

• First and foremost you will need a shared location for your files. The company mentioned above has a networked file share mapped as the I: drive on all the departments computers. So if I drop an Excel spreadsheet called “mysheet.xls” on this drive, everyone in the department can get to it by going to: I:\mysheet.xls
• Next you will need to have some knowledge of, or at least a desire to learn some HTML, CSS, Javascript, and a little SQL. I am going to help you here, so don’t run off just yet if you don’t know a lick of web stuff. I hope to make this a gentle learning curve. For you HTML experts, stick around too, I hope to make this a learning experience we all can enjoy.
• I would suggest you also become familiar with your company’s technology policies as well. Please don’t do this if you think you will run afoul of these rules and regulations.

As we go along we may run into more things we need. but for now, that’s it. Come back next time for our first look at what an Intranet is for and your first web page.

Well, that was relatively painless. I am now up and running and have a passable wrapping around my brand-spankin’-new WordPress blog. Here are two links I came across that enable you to create pretty nice skins for a WordPress blog site – Did I say cheap?

PixoPoint – Which is the site I used to create the theme I am using as of today.
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Check out Yvo Schaap’s* site for a very easy to use theme generator.

the PixoPoint generator is more flexible – and as usually is the case has a bit of a learning curve if you are not into web development. If all you want to do is put a personal look on your blog then zip over to Yvo’s site. I was looking to make my blog look more like my main site, so I went with PixoPoint (by the way I like their name…) In the end when I am able to spend more time with the back-end of WordPress I will probably create my own theme (More to enable me to get rid of the PixoPoint links, not because I really need to.)

*(If that’s not your name please forgive and correct me)

The goal of any Blog in my opinion is to do just that, enable a person to express their opinions in an open arena for all to see.

The goal of this Blog in particular, is to allow me the opportunity to express my musings on the state of the WWW. In particular how the technologies available today and in the future of that thing we call the “web” can be harnessed by the small business. Inexpensively I might add.

Here are a few things I hope to be bringing to light:

• Do I really need a web presence?
• How can I get the most bang for my meager budget?
• What are my options when selecting where my site will be housed or hosted?
• What is Whois and Why?

I also have a few projects up my sleeve that I want to air in public. my apologies to any I may offend in the process.

• Can a small company or department within a company actually have an intranet without running a server?
• I am also interested in seeing if I can bring to life a small modular server using some pretty cool tech
  • GumStix or Beagle Board come to mind for this
  • Speaking of cool, check this tiny projector out. You can put it in your shirt pocket…

Well I think you get the picture.

I look forward to tackling these and other thoughts, I hope you enjoy the ride.

Steve