Well, it's been quite a month! TechTrax hit cyberspace at the beginning of
May. Since then, several hundred folks have signed up with us to be notified
when each issue of TechTrax is published, so they don't miss a single issue.
It appears that folks have faith in the type of information that will be provided
here. Time is precious and with tons of options out there for which to spend
your valuable time, we appreciate the fact that you want to spend a little time
each month reading what we have to say. We'll do our best to keep that faith
by striving to provide quality information and fun distractions so you won't
feel your time is being wasted.
And although the writers we have been able to entice to join our crew, so far,
are top notch (click Authors above to see the quality writers we have here so far), we'd like to further entice even more folks to share their knowledge
and information. Have you ever thought about sharing what you know? Is
there a writer in there? Ok, so maybe you're thinking "Humm, I bet I could
write an interesting/informative article, but I don't know if anyone would really
enjoy reading my stuff." Or maybe it's more like "I knew how to do
that, too. I could have written an article like that, but I don't have time."
Well, we're not above bribery! So in a blantant effort to encourage folks to
sit down and start pounding out a masterpiece, we're going to offer
up a contest. Yup. Sure, we can easily fill up this magazine with lots of quality
articles, as you can see with one look at this month's table of content, but we're going to whine for even more! I believe there's a lot of
talent out there—we just need to tap the right vein.
Starting...well, starting right now, TechTrax will begin accepting articles from
readers who would like to try to win a copy of their choice of either FlightSim
2002 (Microsoft's premier flight simulator program) or if asphalt and dirt is
more your style, Microsoft's Racing Madness (which includes three separate
popular programs: Midtown Madness in Chicago, Monster Truck Madness 2 and Motocross
Madness). If you're not familiar with these programs, be sure to click the links on the game names above to learn more. If you're interested
in giving this contest a shot, read our Writing Contest article found in Escapes, to learn all the details. And no, Greg, you're not
eligible to play! But the rest of our regular authors are invited to
partake in the competition. The readers will choose the winner. Let the games begin!
I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank Robert Cox, Lithopolis, OH,
who was our very first subscriber. I'd barely clicked the send button
on my announcement of TechTrax's debut, when Robert hit the subscribe button
to request notification for each issue. Thanks, Robert, for your support. And
likewise, thanks to all who signed up to be notified. We hope we don't
disappoint you. And for those of you who are just now realizing that TechTrax
is worth your time, know that you, too, can go to our main subscription page,
enter your email and we'll tap you on your virtual shoulder each month with
a quick email to remind you it's time to learn more.
And finally, in case you missed the Offline Options menu item up top, know that TechTrax
is available in two formats for your offline reading enjoyment. One version
is a stripped down Word document which contains each month's articles, but in
a text only format. This "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Stupid) version will
provide our many blind readers with a simpler way to get the information they want, without
having their screen readers tripping over useless images and other web fluff.
Each month, TechTrax will be available for download from our subscription page
in this straight forward Word doc format. For those of you who want to view TechTrax
in its full-featured format, but don't have time to sit online reading, you'll
also find directions from the Offline Options link that'll tell you how to set up Internet
Explorer's subscription feature to lock into TechTrax and have the full
issue, with all links and images included, downloaded right to your computer. You can then read it offline at your leisure, with all working links, just as if you were still connected to
the Internet, but leaving the phone lines free so the kids can still be blamed
for running up the phone bill!
Enjoy!
Dian ~
Dian D. Chapman
Editor, TechTrax Ezine
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