march 98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------ClubRiada
The Riada Newsletter
Issue 3, March 1998
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION - from Riada founder, Daniel Adair.
---------------------------------
Greetings, and welcome to the latest issue of ClubRiada. We hope that everyone had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year.
We've been extremely busy over the last two months with quite a few projects in the works such as a new look Riada web site that recently went "live" and a new Riada product which is in the final stages of development and which we'll be able to tell you a lot more about in our next issue.
Its also been a busy time for the internet community which has seen many interesting developments, from a US Senate investigation of the software industry to Netscape making it's source code for Communicator V5.0b freely available to developers.
It seems that the RiadaGallery just keeps getting better and better. Riada customers have been very creative coming up with some original and interesting submissions this month which made selecting a winner very difficult. After much intense debate, the winner of this month's competition is Zoë Zone. Zoë Zone's site will be featured on the FRONT PAGE of the RIADA WEB SITE with a link to the site. Congratulations to all winners of the Riada awards for their excellent work, and thanks to everyone who submitted their creations for review. Make sure that you get your submissions in for next month and you could be the lucky winner of a FREE Riada Product of your choice.
Daniel Adair,
Founder, Riada Software.
NEWS
---------------------------------
Riada Changes it's Name
During the last six months or so, Riada has experienced rapid growth. In line with this growth and expansion, Riada have changed their name to Riada International Pty. Ltd. Click on RiadaWorld under the Info section of the Riada web site to see how Riada have conquered the world!
Microsoft's Internet Explorer Woes - Continued
In the last issue of ClubRiada, we reported that the US Justice Department was recently successful in having a preliminary injunction brought against Microsoft to prevent it from forcing computer manufacturers to distribute MS Internet Explorer with their computers, as a condition of licensing MS Windows 95 Operating System.
Further developments have seen Microsoft yield to the US Justice Department, agreeing to hide the Internet Explorer icon from the desktop thus settling the action taken by the Department. Not good enough the U.S. Justice Department has replied, and it is now investigating Microsoft for other practices it views as anti-competitive.
Software Industry Under the Spotlight
Concerns about Microsoft were also highlighted in a US Senate Judiciary Committee hearing which began recently, to investigate the business practices of the software industry as a whole and which has called on industry giants such as Bill Gates (Microsoft chairman), Scott McNealy (Sun Microsystems chairman) and Jim Barksdale (Netscape CEO) to testify.
Industry observers predict the hearings may deteriorate into a clash of egos, rhetoric and Microsoft bashing rather than an effective investigation into the issues affecting competition in the software industry, and that Microsoft needs to appropriately respond to criticisms lest it leave itself open to greater judicial and political intervention.
Netscape to Provide Source Code
As part of its efforts to maintain its browser supremacy over Microsoft, Netscape announced that it would be making the source code available for the beta version of it's rival internet suite, Netscape Communicator V5.0b.
The internet community have welcomed the move with open arms, with some harsh critics praising Netscape, although it remains to be seen what effect this latest move by Netscape will actually have on the "Browser Wars" that rage furiously over the internet. Many hope that access to the source code of Communicator will at least see some standards emerge with the browsers and the old "it works in Browser X fine but not in Browser Y" curse, gone forever!
COMPETITION
---------------------------------
Winners of Gold awards each receive a free registered copy of any current Riada software title of their choice, and a link to their site and a congratulatory note is also published on the *FRONT PAGE OF THE RIADA WEB SITE*. All winners receive either Gold, Silver or Bronze trophy images to display on their Riada enabled web site, plus the web sites of Silver and Bronze winners are highlighted in the ClubRiada section on the Riada web site. Submissions for both Hints and RiadaGallery are eligible and are assessed in terms of originality, usefulness and style.
The winner for this issue of ClubRiada is Zoë Zone for excellent use of RiadaBillboard. This site has integrated RiadaBillboard seamlessly into the design of their page. To view the Gold Winner's site for this month, point your browser at http://www.zoezone.com/main.htm
For the Silver and Bronze winners, see their RiadaGallery submissions below.
RIADAGALLERY
---------------------------------
A page of links of RiadaGallery submissions will be maintained under the Info section of the Riada web page along with an archive of back issues of ClubRiada. This month's RiadaGallery submissions include:
Zoë Zone - Gold trophy winner
This site is just fantastic! Really excellent use of Riada products here. Shop 'till you drop at Zoë Zone!
http://www.zoezone.com/main.htm
Webstar productions - Silver trophy winner
This site uses RiadaHeadline in a very effective and stylish manner for conveying information. Good Graphics too!
http://www.terra.net.au/~webstar/index2.html
Solomon W. Jagwe - Silver trophy winner
This site incorporates spectacular graphics with a great use of Riada products. RiadaAttivo is used well for a navigation button bar. See it for yourself at
http://www.sowl.com/home.htm
Grosh Guitars - Silver trophy winner
This is a very colorful site with great graphics, great guitars and a great Riada product! Grab your backstage pass and check out Grosh Guitars.
http://www.groshguitars.com
Armed Robbery page - Bronze trophy winner
The Armed Robbery page is a very informative site about all aspects of Armed Robbery (well nearly all aspects!). Interested in the issues associated with Armed Robbery. If so, take a peek at...
http://www.jomo.net
Barbecue'n On The Internet - Bronze trophy winner
It's a nice sunny afternoon, and your in the yard soaking up the rays when all of a sudden, your friends call you up to tell you they are coming over for dinner. "What shall I do" you despair. Well never fear, because Barbecue'n on the Internet is here! This site has everything you could possibly think of for a grand 'ole barby including recipes and cooking tips. As we say here in Australia... "Throw another shrimp on the barby mate!".
http://www.barbecuen.com/
Larry Boyd's Jukebox
Not a 50's cafe with the Wurlitzer in the corner, but an innovative use of RiadaHeadline as a jukebox nevertheless! The songs scroll through the RiadaHeadline project with descriptions. Mouse overs highlight a song and clicking on the song will play it.
http://www.concentric.net/~lboyd/jukebox.htm
Houston Astros Baseball Team -
Comprehensive information on the Houston Astros Baseball team. Everything from Merchandise to Club History. RiadaHeadline provides important headlines and information.
http://www.astros.com
Yale Law and Technology Society -
Are you interested in how advances in technology are reshaping the law? If yes, this is the site for you...
http://www.law.yale.edu/lawtech/
KA4TAR Amateur Radio Station -
This site uses RiadaLinx as a Link management system. Click on the links to visit them inside the RiadaLinx project.
http://home.att.net/~ka4tar/links.htm
Arabians of Spain -
This site is not about Ali Barber and the forty theives, but Spanish Arabians (Horses). Steal a look :) at ...
http://www.aa.net/spanisharabian/index2.htm
AttorneyFind -
Are you in trouble with the law ? Are you planning on getting in trouble with the law in the near future? If so, this is the site for you. This nifty site will find you an attorney not only for North America, but for a swag of other countries too :)
http://www.attorneyfind.com
Flavio Lucarelli -
This site uses RiadaCartel to dynamically convey news and site information. There is some interesting use of colors for the text in this site and the text scrolling effects have been used quite well.
http://www.lucanet.com.br/mluca
HINTS
---------------------------------
RiadaForm 1.01
When adding fields to your form in RiadaForm, the default option is that a new component should start on a new line. However it is often better in design terms, to be able to place a text label on the same line as a text entry box. To achieve this enhanced control over the layout of your RiadaForm project, uncheck the box "Should the next field start on a new row?" in the properties section of the text label field. Note that this can also be applied to any component, not just text label fields and text entry fields.
**********
Don't forget to submit your Riada enabled web site to RiadaGallery or Hints for next month's ClubRiada issue by emailing mailto:club@riada.com. Or if you have any suggestions for current/new products, email us at mailto:feedback@riada.com.
**********