http://timothytocci.
word
press.com/
20 May, 2011 | created using fivefilters.org
Opera Dragonfly is out
of beta
May 14, 2011 09:07PM
http://www.opera.com/dragonfly/
Its official, Opera has released its debugging environment to the
world. Dragonfly is built into the Opera browser. To use it hit
Ctrl + Shift + Ion Windows and Linux, or ⌘ + ⌥ + I on Mac.
Alternatively, target a specific element by right clicking in the
page and selecting Inspect Element.
The new beta version of
Opera Dragonfly is out
Mar 26, 2011 03:27PM
Want to try it out? Go to the following page and follow the five
steps outlining beta usage: http://www.opera.com/dragonfly/
Dragonfly is Opera’s debugging tool.
Opera Unite Programming
from a Newbie Perspective
Jan 5, 2011 05:00AM
Opera Unite is a personal web server platform provided by the
Opera browser. To me, Opera Unite is a JavaScript tinkerers
platform that is perfect for experimenting with different ideas
I may come up with. The Opera web site gives the newbie a list of
articles that introduces the different parts of the platform and
libraries used to develop an Opera Unite program (
http://dev.opera.com/articles/unite/). This article is meant as an
introduction to the platform from a newcomers point of view. You
should download and install the Opera browser from
http://www.opera.com/. There are versions for virtually every
popular operating system in use today.
1
What is Opera Unite?
Opera Unite is a Web Server service that lives inside of the
Opera browser. Opera provides your browser with a web address
when you enable Unite services in the browser. All calls to that
web address are forwarded through the Opera web site to your
Unite service through a special service proxy. People call the
address Opera provides you with to run an Opera Unite program
installed in your browser. When you are not online, or when your
Opera Unite service is not running users that call your web
address are forwarded to your Opera Unite profile page.
How Do I Enable Opera Unite?
To enable the Unite service, click the Panels button in the lower
left corner of the Opera browser, a toolbar should open up on the
left side of the screen. Click the third button down from the top
which is the Unite button. The Unite service panel should be
open. Click the start button on the top of the panel and follow the
directions. The Unite service comes with six apps by default (you
should see them listed).
Programming for the Opera Unite Service
In order to program anything for Opera Unite you must have
a basic working knowledge of JavaScript. If you are new to it
there are plenty of tutorials out there on the Internet. JavaScript
is not difficult to learn even though it may seem the opposite
from looking at somebody else’s code sometimes. Similar to
C++, JavaScript allows a programmer to abstract the abstracted
abstraction. In other words, it may seem difficult simply because
the script is some other programmers interpretation of
something. The basic syntax of JavaScript is always the same, no
matter how someone else structures or abstracts something.
(At this point I am assuming you know a bit of JavaScript and you
want to get started)
The Structure and Anatomy of an Opera Unite Application
The organization of an Opera Unite application is a simple folder
structure containing the files and scripts that your application
will use zipped together (with the .zip file extension changed to
.ua). There is an xml configuration file that tells Unite the name,
path, author, among other things. Also, there is a html index file
that acts strictly as a script loader (if you have ever scripted
Spartan html this concept shouldn’t be new to you). Other than
that there are the scripts that get executed which usually consist
of a main.js and library files that you plan to utilize.
someuniteapp.ua
–scriptsfolder
–main.js
 –index.html
–config.xml
If this is your first time experimenting with Unite
development on a Windows system there is something
that you must do before you get started. Windows by
default hides all known file extensions in Windows
Explorer. You must change this in order to be able to
change the extension of the zip files you create (so
Unite will recognize it as an application). Do this by
going to Folder Options in your Windows Explorer
Tools menu and choose the View tab. Turn off the
check box labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
Click the OK button and you’re done. Keep in mind that
with this option turned off you rename file types as
well as their names (you’ll have to be careful not to
change or erase the extension while renaming anything
else on your system)(or you could change the setting
back when you are finished).
Config File
Before anything you should create the configuration file.
This is a short xml file that describes your program
to Opera:
  YourOperaUniteApplicationName
  A description of your Opera Unite application.
    Your Name Goes Here
    If you‘re part of a company it’s name goes here
 
 
   
   
 
Opera based their Unite feature on their already established
widget system which also uses xml configuration files. The
file is pretty basic as you can see. The important fields are
the application name and description, the author name,
and the servicepath field. The service path field is the
actual path address for the application that comes after
your top level Opera Unite url. Features that are part of
Opera’s xml namespace get a feature tag with an address.
In the example above I have included the FileIO xml tag for
the FileIO feature (you need it to use templates or write to
a data file, so I included it).
Dummy Index File
The next file is the dummy index.html file. All that file does
is call the scripts that are included and ran when you get
a visitor. It is not meant to be a home page or anything like
that. You create the home page from your script file (you
can use a html template file for your html). It could be
a blank page template or even just the script tags that
include your scripts. Any library (server-side) you plan to
use is included here. There is also a loader script library
that you can use as well. To me, its just seems easier to use
the standard html script tags to include my server-side
scripting files:
2
    Hello simple example”;
    // now send it to the client
    response.write(pg);
    // done now close the connection
    response.close();
}
Granted, this example really doesn’t do anything special;
but it does give the very basic structure of the whole
request process. Basically, listeners are set up that call
handler functions that handle requests. Response objects
are created through the WebServerRequestEvent object
that is passed to the handler function (e in the case above)
and written out to the client using the write() function of
that response object.
Other Various Files
Other files that are included would be the icon files that you
point to in your configuration file (they’re not really needed
but that is where you would include them). Other graphics
that your application would use could go in an images
folder. Cascading Style Sheets used by your application
could go in another folder.
Note: Opera Unite applications are dependent upon
your connection UPLOAD speed. Big images and files
could slow down your application drastically. If your
application is image laden your best bet would be to
upload them to a service such as flickr and call them
from within the client html. The same goes for
scripting libraries used inside the client html. You
could call libraries from google and save the bandwidth
to make your application more responsive. However,
any libraries you use on the server side should be
included in the .ua file.
Testing
Opera has to approve any program that they include on
their site. However, in order to test something you write
you’ll have to install the program off of your hard drive. To
do that you zip the files together, rename the file to have a
.ua extension instead of a .zip extension (Windows users
may have to change the Show File extensions for all Known
File Types Windows Explorer setting in order to do this),
and drag it to the browser window. This should start the
installation process. Keep in mind that you have to have the
Unite service already running to install anything from your
hard drive.
 Troubleshooting
If you are having problems installing your application there
are two things to check first. Firstly, check and make sure
that the Opera Unite service is currently running when you
drag your application to the browser window. Secondly,
check and make sure that the index.html and the config file
is at the root of the .ua (zip) file. Some compression
programs will include the folder as the top level – which is
what you don’t want (Opera will not recognize it as an
application). Simply select all of the files enclosed (instead
of right clicking on the folder) in the app folder and add
them that way. Other than that – check your script for
mistakes.
In Conclusion
While this has been a rudimentary look at how an Opera
Unite application is constructed I tried to cover the most
important parts plainly and blatantly. You can see how
requests and responses are handled and how the basic
structure of an application comes together. Opera Unite
applications can be as simple or as complex as you want
them to be.
From here you could utilize functionality in your application
by learning how to use the different Unite libraries in your
scripts (the two most prevalent would be Markuper and
Yusef Opera’s template and server libraries).
Reading
Unite API Documentation –
http://dev.opera.com/libraries/unite/docs/
Unite Developers Primer –
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/opera-unite-develop
er-primer-revisited/
Yusef: Opera Unite Server Framework –
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/yusef-the-unite-serve
r-framework/
Markuper: Opera Unite Template Library –
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/markuper-unite-tem
plate-library/
Happy Tinkering!
Windows 7 God Mode
Dec 18, 2010 10:40PM
godmode – name a folder this on your desktop in Win7:
GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
It gives you access to every administrative task on the system.
3
Tim’s Dojo Toolkit Resource
Links
Nov 16, 2010 01:26AM
Of all the JavaScript libraries on the Internet today Dojo stands
out from the crowd. No, I’m not saying that it is the most popular
by any means (I believe jQuery takes the cake). But for hard core
business web page programming Dojo wins out hands down in
my opinion. Major corporations the world over such as IBM,
BeOS, and AOL use this framework for good reason; it abstracts
away many of the inconveniences and pitfalls of cross browser
web development. Here’s some good links to get you started (in
no particular order so you’ll have to pick through them – sorry).
Dojo Toolkit http://dojotoolkit.org/ – The Dojo toolkit website
where you can download the library for offline development
and experimentation. Also a great resource for getting
started tutorials.
Dojo Theme Tester
http://download.dojotoolkit.org/release-1.5.0/dojo-release-1.
5.0/dijit/themes/themeTester.html – want to see how the
different Dojo themes look as a finished product? Go to this
page to get an idea how your finished page might look with
each of the different Dojo themes. Every basic Dijit widget is
shown as well (in case your curious).
Dojo Quickstart Guide
http://sitepen.com/labs/guides/?guide=DojoQuickStart –
Sitepen’s quickstart guide for getting Dojo up and running
on your web site easily.
Feature Explorer http://dojocampus.org/explorer/ – check
out what Dojo can do for you right away by checking out
this feature explorer site. Great for learning how do get that
specific bit of javascript up and running using Dojo.
Dojo API Docs http://api.dojotoolkit.org/ – already working
with dojo and need to check out a method signature or go
over something how something is nested in the toolkit?
Check out the API docs.
Introduction to the Dojo toolkit, Part 1: Setup, core, and
widgets
http://www.javaworld.com/javaworld/jw-01–2009/jw-01-intro
duction-to-dojo-1.html – a javaworld article on getting
started with Dojo that goes over widgets as well (good for
Java people).
Developing Dojo Widgets with Dojo 1.x
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/wa-aj-dojotool/?
ca=dgr-lnxw9dDojo-Widgets&S_TACT=105AGX59&S_CMP
=grlnxw9d#2.Introduction|outline – an IBM article that
introduces widget development using Dojo. (IBM articles
are always well written)
Functional Ajax with Dojo
http://dojocampus.org/content/2008/03/14/functional-ajax-wi
th-dojo/ – a DojoCampus article about making ajax calls
with Dojo.
No end to rounded corners
http://dojocampus.org/content/2008/03/21/no-end-to-rounde
d-corners/ – another DojoCampus article about getting
rounded corner boxes using Dojo going on your pages.
Ajax with the Dojo Toolkit – Tutorial
http://www.vogella.de/articles/AjaxwithDojo/article.html –
a good article on ajax and Dojo. He uses Java on the server
side in this but you can easily adapt it to any server side
language – well written.
Introducing DojoX DataChart
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2009/03/30/introducing-dojox-
datachart/ – a sitepen article that introduces charting
using Dojo.
Dojo Drag and Drop, Part 1: dojo.dnd
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2008/06/10/dojo-drag-and-drop
-1/ – a sitepen article that introduces drag and drop
using Dojo.
Getting Started with Adobe AIR
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2009/01/21/getting-started-wit
h-adobe-air/ – a sitepen article that introduces desktop
development using the open source DAIR (Dojo on Adobe
AIR) library (a worthy read).
Convenient Tools for your AIR Applications
http://o.sitepen.com/labs/dair/ – introduction video about
how dair can help you create great desktop applications.
Dojo Extensions for Adobe AIR
http://code.google.com/p/dair/ – the google code page for
the DAIR library (you download it here).
Dojo and Air, a fancy file uploader
http://dojocampus.org/content/2008/04/02/dojo-on-air-a-fanc
y-file-uploader/ – a great DojoCampus tutorial for getting
started using the dair library to create a file uploader
application. If you want to use dojo to create desktop
applications this is a good place to start.
Separating Content from Presentation the Dojo Way
http://dojocampus.org/content/2008/06/18/separating-conte
nt-from-presentation-ajax/ – short page on content
separation and the Dojo reasons behind it.
Rounded tabs with dijit Theming
http://dojocampus.org/content/2008/02/22/make-your-own-r
ounded-tabs-with-dijit-theming/ – a scarce (the only one I’ve
come across on the net) tutorial covering skinning Dojo
from DojoCampus.org. This one covers rounded tabs and
Dojo, but you can probably use it for more than that.
Official Dojo Theming Docs
http://www.dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/dijit-themes.html
#dijit-themes – the official Dojo documentation for theming
the Dojo toolkit’s widgets.
Styling Dijit Form Elements
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2009/02/25/styling-dijit-form-el
ements/ – a good sitepen tutorial on tweaking out the css for
your Dojo widgets and forms.
Usable directory listings with a little Dojo
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2008/04/29/usable-directory-lis
tings-with-a-little-dojo/ – if you use directory listings on your
Apache server this sitepen Dojo tutorial is for you!
Dojo Toolbox http://o.sitepen.com/labs/toolbox/ – The Dojo
Toolbox is a great resource for offline development as it has
a complete copy of the API docs shadowed for offline
lookups as well as other tools to make working with Dojo
easier. Every Dojo developer should have this Adobe AIR
program installed on their system.
4
Sitepen’s Dojo Resource Page
http://o.sitepen.com/labs/dojo.php – a listing of all the
sitepen articles and tutorials related to the Dojo toolkit.
Application development with Lucid
http://www.lucid-desktop.org/documentation/en/dev/dev/intr
o/application-tutorial/#dev-intro-application-tutorial –
applications for the online desktop system Lucid (formerly
Psych) are developed using the Dojo toolkit. If you are
interested in hosting your own multi-user online desktop
system Lucid is the way to go if you are a Dojo developer.
This page gets you started developing your own applications
within Lucid.
Writing Your Own Widgets
http://www.dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/quickstart/writin
gWidgets.html – the official Dojo tutorial for writing your
own widgets for use within the Dojo framework.
Dojo and TinyMCE – Creating a Widget
http://grasshopperpebbles.com/ajax/dojo-and-tinymce-creati
ng-a-widget/ - a tutorial for getting TinyMCE up and running
as a widget within the Dojo toolkit.
Dive into Dojo Data
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2010/10/13/dive-into-dojo-data/
– a good yet not too long sitepen tutorial on getting started
using dojo data.
Animated AJAX Record Deletion Using Dojo
http://davidwalsh.name/dojo-ajax – a tutorial on animating
the record deletion process on a web page using Dojo.
Create a Dojo-Powered WordPress Website View
http://davidwalsh.name/dojo-wordpress – shows you how to
get a Dojo powered WordPress view up and running.
Create a Simple Dojo Accordion
http://davidwalsh.name/dojo-accordion – shows you how to
get a Dojo accordion widget up and running on your pages.
Create a Context Menu with Dojo and Dijit
http://davidwalsh.name/dojo-context-menu – gets you going
creating context menus using Dojo quickly.
Accomplishing Common Tasks Using MooTools, jQuery, and
Dojo http://davidwalsh.name/mootools-jquery-dojo – while
not exclusively a Dojo tutorial, David Walsh covers how to
do a few thing with each of the three frameworks mentioned
in the title. There’s a part two and three as well if you are
interested (the links are on the bottom of this tut).
gpDojoGallery: A Dojo Photo Gallery Widget
http://grasshopperpebbles.com/ajax/gpdojogallery-a-dojo-ph
oto-gallery-widget/ – Les Green discusses his photo gallery
widget (download from
https://github.com/lesgreen/gpDojoGallery)
Create a Dynamic Flickr Image Search with the Dojo Toolkit
http://davidwalsh.name/dojo-flickr – David Walsh teaches
you how to make a nifty Flickr image search application.
Portlet development using REST services and the Dojo
Toolkit
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/websphere/library/tech
articles/0803_lawless/0803_lawless.html – This article
focuses on the creation of a reusable reference design for
creating Web 2.0-enabled portlets using Representational
State Transfer (REST) services and the Dojo Toolkit. (IBM)
 Dojo Portlets
http://www.dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/dojox/widget/Por
tlet.html – official Dojo docs on the Portlet widget.
Creating new Dojo Widget
http://www.alexatnet.com/content/creating-new-dojo-widget
– a well written article on Dojo widget creation by Alex
Netkachov.
Custom Dojo Builds
http://www.dojotoolkit.org/reference-guide/quickstart/custo
m-builds.html#quickstart-custom-builds – official
documentation on creating a custom Dojo build for your
web app.
cb1inc’s Dojo Resource Page
http://www.cb1inc.com/category/dojo/ – covers all of
cb1Inc’s articles on Dojo.
Bringing PHP, MySQL, and Dojo together
http://o.dojotoolkit.org/forum/dojo-core-dojo-0–9/dojo-core-s
upport/bringing-php-mysql-and-dojo-together – discusses
web development utilizing Dojo on the front end, JSON in
the transport layer (instead of XML), and PHP and MySQL
on the backend.
RoseIndia’s Dojo Resource Page
http://www.roseindia.net/dojo/ – covers all articles and
tutorials from RoseIndia about Dojo.
A Beginner’s Guide to Dojo Charting, Part 1 of 2  a site to a client or fellow developer anywhere.
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2008/06/06/a-beginners-guide-
to-dojo-charting-part-1-of-2/ – a good primer for producing
charts with Dojo.
Dive Into Dijit
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2010/07/12/dive-into-dijit/ –
The first of a four part series from sitepoint about learning
the Dojo widget set – Dijit
Introducing The Dojo Toolkit
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/introducing-the-dojo-toolk
it/ – Opera’s introductory documentation to Dojo (excellent).
Creating and Enhancing Dojo Classes
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2010/07/01/creating-and-enha
ncing-dojo-classes/ – a good starter tutorial for object
oriented development using Dojo by David Walsh.
Widgets within Widgets
http://higginsforpresident.net/2010/01/widgets-within-widge
ts/ – a Dojo master discusses widget nesting.
From jQuery to Large Applications
http://www.sitepen.com/blog/2010/11/15/from-jquery-to-larg
e-applications/ – start using Dojo without abandoning your
investment in jQuery.
If you know of any good Dojo links please leave them in
a comment so that everyone can know them. Happy
JavaScripting!
I recently snatched up the Dojo Findings  on is in a sub-folder simply add it to that web address to serve it.
http://dojofindings.blogspot.com/ blog name at blogspot to
discuss the dojo toolkit tutorials I come across on the web.
Check it out!
5
Using Opera Unite in your
Development Cycle
Oct 10, 2010 11:17AM
Using Opera with its Unite service can be invaluable to your
development cycle. Most site developers are using their
workstation as their development server while they get a site
written and developed. During that cycle of development it is
virtually impossible for anyone to view the progress without
having physical access to that workstation where it is being
worked on. I mean, what client or partner isn’t going to want to
see “how things are going”?
With Opera Unite you can install different JavaScript server
programs that run off of your system while Opera is running. One
of those JavaScript server programs that are of particular
interest to to web developers working on a development LAMP
stack is the Web Proxy (http://unite.opera.com/application/272/)
server program. Using Web Proxy it is possible to serve up
a program running on your development server. Don’t
misunderstand me, it is no perfect solution. The Opera forums
are already filled with security complaints and concerns. At this
point I wouldn’t feel comfortable using it as a full time solution.
But it will enable you to show off the development progress of
I have has problems with it however. Sometimes you’ll need to
refresh the browser to “catch” a renegade style sheet or
JavaScript file. Using this server program counts as using a proxy
from your development server (LAMP) to the Unite server
(running inside Opera) running on your machine that is running
through a proxy on Opera’s servers, so there’s bound to be small
glitches in throughput. Anything you serve up that uses cookies
for security is a security risk. There are other various complaints
about the Web Proxy Unite service, but those mentioned are the
ones I concern myself with the most.
It’s surprisingly simple to set up too. Download and install the
Opera web browser from http://www.opera.com/ . Then go to the
link for the Web Proxy Unite program mentioned previously and
hit the install button. From there you’ll be asked to enable Unite
services in your browser (you’ll need to create a free Opera
account and configure the Unite server for your computer – its
easy). After that you set a path for the proxy which should be the
name of your running development server (on my Windows box
its localhost – I believe it sets the running server as default). It
also asks for a folder where the content should be served from.
DON’T set this as the folder of your program on the development
server. That folder will only be served up by Web Proxy if your
LAMP development server is off (great for static content though).
The path to your localhost will be shown in bold on the
configuration dialog. That is the web address to the root of your
development server installation. If the program you are working
One other Opera product I use during development is the Opera
Mobile emulator (
http://www.opera.com/developer/tools/#operamobile) which
emulates a smart phone browser on your desktop. Opera’s
mobile edition is getting more and more popular. Viewing how
your pages look in an emulator is a blessing when your
debugging your css. On a side note: I’ve come across some great
web development articles on the Opera developer site (such as
this one on mobile pages –
http://dev.opera.com/articles/view/the-mobile-web-optimization-g
uide/).
customization tips. I would also recommend using google docs as
well as you may embed anything you write there on your site. It
is plain to see that Google give users many free services that
could be used to your advantage
http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

Opera’s Unite Web Proxy and mobile emulator can be useful You may say “well that’s great, but I want more”. Beyond paying
anyone developing web sites. Considering that Opera is a free for some shared hosting, there is a way (I did say free at the
product there’s no reason not to have it on your system. Opera beginning of this page). However, there are other limitations. It
widgets (http://dev.opera.com/sdk/) are now first class objects on has to be on your computer and you have to download and run
your system. They run as a standalone program does now
the Opera web browser http://www.opera.com/ with the Unite
(without the browser being open). You do, however, need to have
http://unite.opera.com/ Web Server service turned on. That
the browser installed on your system for them to run. All in all
means your site will have operating hours like a store or the
Opera’s a great browser even if you don’t use it for everyday web
library unless you have your computer running 24 hours a day
surfing.
7 days a week. When your computer is off or you have Opera
turned off users will be redirected to a page that has your Opera
Working With Opera Unite profile picture in the upper right corner and an explanation that
you Unite server isn’t running. You get one paragraph on that
Jul 31, 2010 06:43AM page (that’s it though so think of something short to say – like the
hours you are running), and it would be a good idea to have your
del.icio.us Tags: opera,opera unite,web server,javascript,html
opera profile picture something relevant to the page you are
Doing your own web page on the Internet is easy. Most of the hosting.
time, if all you are doing is writing that includes pictures your
Also, there is the matter of your Internet connection speed. Your
choices are almost endless. Things get a bit more narrowed down
web server is limited by your connection UPLOAD (which is
once you want anything more. Google and Microsoft both offer
usually a little slower than your download throughput). If you are
web space and blog space (Google with Blogger and Microsoft
just hosting web pages with a little script in them you’ll have
with Live), but there are limitations put on what you can do. With
little problems. But if you are hosting last Thanksgiving’s video of
those services, like many others, you have to stay within their
uncle Bob acting like a chicken, you may run into a speed
systems framework. Most people want the bling they see on
problem (dial-up users pay attention). If you put the video on
other sites. Most of the time that bling comes at the cost of
Utube or another video hosting site and embed it on the page you
including JavaScript on the page at the very least. For more
probably won’t have any problems at all however (because all the
complex animations you may want to include a Flash widget or
visitor is downloading from your page is the embed script not the
video. This article is about doing it your way for free.
video itself).
For many, a personal web page is an ever changing slate of
Opera provides you with your web address after you choose
personal taste and thoughts. Being able to express yourself to the
a name under your user profile. It will show up as a sub-domain
fullest, with every option available to you, is difficult to do on the
under your profile user-name in the URL. The Opera Unite web
Internet these days (for free). The almighty grail of expression is
server program will forward the visitor to a default Unite profile
the web server. You can do anything you want with your own
page (which will have your picture from your Opera profile) if
web server space. That, however, costs money every month.
your browser isn’t running . If you are running other Unite
Most people want to express themselves in their own way for
services other than the web server they will be listed on this
free. Like taking out a piece of paper and drawing on it, we all
page as well.
want the freedom to do what we want whenever we want to do it.
Domain forwarding services are a way around the default
Most of the public sites that allow blogs and free web sites do not
address given by many of the free site providers such as Google
allow JavaScript. Why, because it can be a headache for them.
sites. Unfortunately most, if not all of these don’t seem to work
JavaScript, beyond making a web page more expressive, can be
with Opera Unite’s proxy service. There are a couple out there
used maliciously. JavaScript has become the programming
that are free, but the big thing with those services are ads. Those
language of the web browser. It can be used to redirect the
services will allow you to register a free domain name (just not
browser, read and write cookies, and in the right hands – cause
a dot com name) and point visitors to the page of your choice.
general havoc.
I have had mixed experiences using these types of services. Take
Google Sites http://sites.google.com/ is an option for many
smartdots http://www.smartdots.com/ for instance, they tell you
people. Google does NOT allow you to run your own JavaScript.
that there are no forced ads using their service and they lie, lie,
Google does, however, allow you to embed some of their own
lie (get used to that on the Internet). I found some German ad
JavaScript widgets (which gives you a bit more than the other
asking me if I want a free iPod pop up anyway (which made me
guys). If you are willing to sacrifice a bit of creativity I would use
angry of course). However, smartdots does list you in as many
them. They don’t require ads of any kind and they have many
search engines as they can (maybe you can still use that to your
templates to get you started. You can create as many sites with
advantage). One that is not that bad is the .tk domain service
as many pages as you like as long as you keep within the 100mb
http://www.dot.tk/. TK will give you a domain free, but you have
limitation (you can fit a lot of HTML in a hundred megabytes).
to get 25 hits on that domain in 90 days or it gets canceled (or
After you get set up there I recommend you visit Steegle.com for
you can pay 7 dollars a year). No advertisements were found

6
using this service but they do force their favorite icon on your
browsers tab. Also, sub pages on your site will always point to
your homepage using these free services.

There is also another up side to using these services I almost

forgot to mention, you can change where they point to whenever
you want to. So you can log in to the domain provider and change
to another site hosted on say Google (or anywhere else you can
get a free site) whenever you want to.

The Opera Unite Web Server service is great. Your page will
have to be named index.html in the folder you create or choose
during setup in order to run. Setup is easy, just read what is
there and follow the directions. You can choose to create a blank
index page to get you started with something to edit.

I am referring to a static web page with anything you want

running in it with no JavaScript or Flash limitations. Don’t expect
to be able to run PHP doing this because it will not work – just
HTML (and JavaScript).

Opera Unite’s Web Server service has the capability to run

server side scripts, just not PHP. If you really need to run some
kind of server-side scripting it does allow you to using JavaScript.
So it is a true web server in that sense. The technology is new,
however, and it is largely unknown to me
http://dev.opera.com/articles/unite/. Hopefully it will be the
subject of another page of text the next time I am writing here.
But I do know there are no limitations on static pages using this.
The only size limitation is the space you want to use on your hard
drive. Keep in mind that Opera Unite has other services to offer,
what I am referring to is the Web Server service specifically
here.