Basic Info
| Grade category: | 7-9 (Grade 8) |
|---|---|
| Team Size: | 1 or 2 (One) |
| Subject Area: | Computer Science |
| Project Type: | Descriptive |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | This project will show how the modern email system works. Includes info on POP, SMTP, IMAP, MIME, plus reviews on webmail services and mail clients, and even a bit about some nasty stuff - Viruses and Junk mail (commonly referred to as "Spam.") |
| Software: | Adobe Photoshop (bitmap imagery), Bare Bones Software's TextWrangler (HTML and CSS editing), Cyberduck (FTP client), Macromedia Flash (Vector animation). The primary OS used was Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger". |
| Hardware: | Nothing special. The primary computer used was a first-generation Apple iMac G5. (I guess that might be considered special) |
| Idea Source: | Ranek's Mind... I was reading through all sorts of articles on email, basically because I was curious, when I thought, "Hey, what a great idea for VSF!" |
| Special Skills: | HTML, CSS, Graphic design (Photoshop, Flash), "General" Computer knowledge. |
| Awards: | None at this point. |
Bibliography / Sources
- Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2006. Wikimedia Foundation. 2006. <http://en.wikipedia.org>.
- "How E-mail Works." How Stuff Works 2006. How Stuff Works, Inc. 2006. <http://www.howstuffworks.com/email.htm>.
- The websites of various webmail providers (first-hand research)
About the Author
Who is the author?
My name is Ranek Kiil, I am currently (2005-2006) in grade 8 at Vernon Barford Junior High in Edmonton, Alberta.
Where did you learn about computers / web design?
I'm basically self taught. I started with computers around 5. When I was 7, we got one of those cute coloured iMacs and I absolutely fell in love with it. I just played around, studying up on (X)HTML and CSS through various web sites. I got into Photoshop because it was bundled with an old scanner I had, and a friend of mine got me into Flash.
What's that at the bottom - Best viewed with Safari or Konqueror?
:) Yes, this site is best viewed in Konqueror or Apple's Safari web browser. It was hard enough to get it working in IE (because I am inclined to use CSS 3), but eventually it all worked. All browsers rendered it pretty-much the same. Then I added a few little visual quirks, using some CSS that, although standard, is not implemented in Firefox yet. One day soon it should, but it's not a big deal - don't loose sleep over having a bad browser.
How did you design the site?
Well, I opened up my text editor and typed stuff in. It's all hand-coded, I hate WYSIYWYG HTML editors. Code is poetry, and no computer ever created a good poem.
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