h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Me too, I can run and use programs, but haven't a clue how to write them, I have trouble with formulae on spreadsheets.

Um, folks....if you've made it this far, you are MUCH more computer literate than the average bear. Try sitting down with someone with zero experience and ask them to log on to H2G2 and create a forum posting. If they don't kill you in frustration it will only be because you helped them do it.

Of course, people like that are at far less risk of becoming H2G2 addicts...

That is true..... It helps the addiction if you know your way around HTML and/or GuideML!
It gets even worse when you start adding Javascripts to your GuideML entries!!!

And if you understood that entry you're a better person than me. Please don't even try to explain it either, my Vapidity would only drive you beserk. I have never met anyone who knows their way round a computer less than I do, unless you count my mother!

I bet my Dad could give your mum a run for her money!
And I must admit that I'm starting to understand GuideML, sorry, - in fact I'm using it for my FASCINATING article on s16(2)(a) of the 1968 Theft Act. I haven't finished it yet...

Its quite handy, people get so exasperated with me that they take over the computer and do it themselves, meaning instead of me having to understand they do the work for me! But thats the same way i feel when my flatmate is typing, she takes forever, that when she has an essay to hand in in half an hour, I or another friend Karen normally take over! But I'd better go now, I'm going to the theatre tonight! Excitment eh!
Hxx

HTML is so easy though once you get the hang of it, I've only been on the net about 9 weeks but I can create web pages now, no problem. I'm gonna teach myself Guide ML though next so all my future pages will match. Oh and enjoy the theatre, tell me what your going to see...

Essentially, don't be afraid of trying something new - and don't be afraid of being lazy when it helps
Hope you have a good time at the Theatre - tell us all about it

Whose afraid of Virginia Woolf, performed in Norwegian, the last trial run before tonights opening. It was very good, though I was glad I'd read it in English although that was a while ago. Had playing the young lecturer, Nick, the guy that Detnye magazine called Norways sexiest man. MMMM. Plus 2 well known actors as the older couple, George and Martha. The girl that played Honey was good, I think thats a very hard character not to make clicheed All in all, It was a very good preoduction, although It seemed to drag and lose energy in the middle. I think Drama students are the worst audience to have, as we pick about everything, but even we couldn't find enough not to give them a standing ovation at the end! It certainly took my mind off things for the night, and I enjoyed it lots!
And our tickets were really cheap, tee hee.
Hxx

I must say that I'm encouraged by Bluebottle and Shorty's messages above about HTML, especially as I spent about an hour yesterday trying to apply some Guide ML tricks to my page and failing dismally. Shorty's story in particular encourages me not to give up. I'll get some of those cute blue cross-headers and one-word hyperlinks on my page, just you watch.

You'll get there - my friend. And I know how you feel - I keep having a shock each time I go to my page to see what I've managed to do there - as computers just aren't my talent. But somehow, with help from Bumblebee and Peregrin and Bruce, I've managed to work out roughly what I'm doing, and got my page to look not bad. And if I can do it, with a little practice, anyone can.
I look forward to seeing you presented with the "Most Stunning Homepage on H2G2" Award someday

HMMM, I've seen my friend tobo's page, I'll just ask him to help! (Himbeing in the same country too is handy) Big brown eyes and a winning smaile could get you anywhere!

Well, GuideML really isn't that hard, but the tools for it are somewhere between primitive and non-existent. Writing such things with a simple editing window is roughly the computer equivalent of writing letters to your mum with a clay tablet and a pointy stick.

It wouldn't be *that* hard to write a GuideML editor that hid the messy details, so all you had to do was select a chunk of text and click a "Make this a header" or "Link to this Researcher" button or whatever.

I wonder whether there would be any market for such a tool?

Nah, you wouldn't have -much- of a market... only 25,000 people! Sounds good, but I don't really know how to do WYSIWYG editing. What I could -possibly- do is to is to have some easier GuideML
eg, Douglas Adams tag to GuideML tags, and XMLing html code tags, closing tags, etc. Maybe. --Maybe--.
Or even to HTML, if I had the conversion code.

Here is my head, and here is a conversation that is way over it. Technical support for Bimbos please!

When I were starting out as 'programmer, t'mouse wasn't invented yet.

Lil

You're all a bunch of raving.....



addicts!

'sus

If any of you are interested in taking a look at an early draft of a GuideML editor for windows, pop round my home page and look for "Guide Dog"...comments happily accepted.

And Lil, I go back that far too...scary, isn't it? I even had to use punched paper tape for storage at one point, but mostly because my employer saw no reason to replace obsolete technology just because it was sapping productivity.

Nothing wrong with obsolete technology, we have just recentley parted with a dear friend at one of our offices that has been running the passenger info screens for the past 20 years, it was state of the art with a green monochrome 12 inch monitor and 5 and a quater inch floppy drive and it had a huge hard drive of 10meg and was run by an Intel 8086 processor. It was a dream to use for the simple reason that it didn't run windoze, a saving grace for any computer if you ask me, it's replacement is a right jumpy little upstart that crashes and sulks on regular occasions. I'm feeling all nostalgic, I may even dig out the Sinclair Spectrum when I get home...
As for the guide ML editor, indeed...sounds like a good idea, should help all the newbies.

Well, there are some times that I rather like obsolete technology. Sometimes it just works better (Hammers for example...how do you improve a hammer?). Sometimes it's just fun to play with (this is why I used to be a historian). But sometimes it's just bloody frustrating. It's that latter class that I'd put the H2G2 GuideML entry system under. Fortunately, I decided to do something about it in addition to complaining.