What's been happening here ...

Fenruary 3-5, 2007 - Implementing Stirrers page as php/mysql/js. Cutting out big amounts of code over straigh html/js, so the overall result should be a faster site. Also, implementing js code to load images on demand

January 31-Fenruary 2, 2007 - Came to the realisation that the only way forward was going to be php/mysql + javascript + ajax. So, started learning some of all to get moving again.

January 26-30, 2007 - Worked at the stierrers page bute kept stiking dead ends with regard to content population using purely javascript.

January 24-25, 2007 - Moved onto setting up one of the products pages - intend to use javascript to populate the page.

January 17-19, 2007 - Continued with re-vamp of main nav bar. Started up-dating index page - trying for a new look. Have figured out a fair bit of new stuff doing www.robertgilmourartforms.com ... so will try and implement some here.

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December 6,7, 2006 - re-styling main menu system in preparation for some changes to product page layouts.

December 4,5, 2006 - Set up an old 15inch 1024 x 768 monitor for web page checking or worst case scenarios -> highlighted a couple of major lay-out flaws immediately. So, looking at ways to re-format and make the whole thing more universally viewable. Also under consideration is ways to speed up load times further.

December 2, 2006 - Updating non product modules. Also, fixed a number of formatting bugs that have come to light as a result of increased page checking.

December 1, 2006 - Continuing with page changes. Finished the salad server page. the next wave will be splitting up the product modules a bit - I think. Also, envisage a bit of a style change site-wide. Got all of existing product modules up-dated.

November 29,30, 2006 - Starting a wave of quick changes to separate up load formatting ... with the intent to re-format more thoroughly as soon as time permits. Finished updating the index page ... and complied it to W3C HTML 4.01 Transitional. And CSS2. Added credit card icons to top of page as part of top nav bar.

November 27,28, 2006 - Did a temporary fix on an unresolved formatting problem from last session. looking at page load speeds. Realise the need to restructure the formatting of pages by eliminating the one big table and change the low level formatting to successive divs.

November 25, 2006 - Tidied up the shipping estimate script a bit and seems to be ok ... Set up the product details info (text etc) as an _include module and incorporated relavant variables to top of test page. Ran out of time today -> still have to sort out some issues with details panel in product modules. ALSO ... have to look at page load time issues closely .... the really long pages like Salad Servers are taking long load times because the most of the images are trying to load before anything shows ... have to think about this.

November 24, 2006 - Almost finished this re-vamp of the shopping cart script - have formularised several parts so have cut the code bulk down by probably 50%. Went live with the re-written shopping cart scripts. Also progressed with the shipping estimate script by adding an EstimateShipping module to the shopping cart that accesses the same shipping data table as does the ComputeShipping script. It's working in theory - just need to flesh it out and do some formatting etc.

November 21 - 23, 2006 - The shipping estimate endeavour has grown to a fusion with the shopping cart ... which has grown to a streamlining of shopping cart code ... which has followed on to include and update of postal charges - incorporated into variable arrays instead of being hard-coded. At least it will be easier t update charges next time.

November 17,18, 2006 - Began adding a shipping Estimate facility which will live on the details page of product modules. Site stats show a lot of visitors going to the Shopping Cart page, presumeably to check the shipping amount ... since the site is obviously in Australia .. and most visitors are OS. Also, plan to put a HELP icon on the product modules. Maybe people also aren't finding the Purchas tab of the product modules ... might try and make it stand out more than the rest ... and scatter a few Buy Now buttons around the product module pages.

November 16, 2006 - Temporarity added Dynamic Converter currency conversion scripts back to products pages - although I intend to write my own conversion script to speed up the conversion process.

November 11, 2006 - Added the serving dishes module to the live site menu. Still have to add some wood modules to it, but otherwise it's OK. The gallery images section of this module is at present 'longhand', but will streamline the code later to use included modules and javascript. This will form, the basis for my image-substitution routine for the future and also on my other sites.

November 11, 2006 - Continuing with addition of serving dish - nautilus small - module.

November 9,10, 2006 - Fixed an issue with the Spoonholders page and added some more content - module is about half finished. Started added a module for serving dishes.

November 8, 2006 - Fixed a couple of small issues and the re-vamped menu is complete enough to upload.

November 6,7, 2006 - Re-vamping main menu to eliminate background images in favour for CSS divs. Makes it simpler for re-sizing elements when new menu items added.

November 4, 2006 - Began adding Spoonholders module. This is the first of the non-utensils modules, so the layout and code set-up will vary a little from the pattern so far. Got it up there with about half content but working. Need to address some issues with the main nav menu system ... Might redesign it a little as I've discovered a few better ways to do things since I originally laid it out.

November 3, 2006 - Got the bulk of the new salad servers module loaded and functioning. Added a further salad servers module - small 3 prong servers. Processing images for next salad server module. Finished adding bulk of Spade 2 Prong salad server module.

November 2, 2006 - Did some image processing for more salad servers. Started adding a new salad servers module - small 2 prongers.

October 31, November 1, 2006 - Finished and uploaded bowls enquiry pages - will modify to incorporate into site at some stage.

October 24-28, 2006 - Have been off getting my personal portfolio site started - so this site has languished for a bit. Adding a temporary page of bowls to accommodate a specific enquiry.

September 19-23, 2006 - Mostly looking at issues with getting site stats working properly still. Looked at other site visitor logging tools including javascript tools. Didn't make any decisions.

September 18, 2006 - Set up and generated an XML sitemap and RSS feed for site data ... using a php script It also generates an html sitemap, which I'll skin and incorporate to the site at some stage. Submitted the sitemap to Google and MSN. Submitted the feed to MSN and Yahoo. Did some page link checking from Google's list of crawled pages.

September 15,16, 2006 - Spent 2 days getting site stats running again - some problems to existing setup caused by migrating the site content to a sub-directory ... which I did to allow more than one site domain to run from my web Hosting account in the future. After much t&e, finally got Awstats working correctly again ... and didn't lose too much access data.

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September 14, 2006 - 10pm EST Australia - The new site format is now online and Live!

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September 14, 2006 - made some stop-gap changes to shipping charges module. Also sorted out some formatting and sequencing issues with the main product modules. Re-set all the Robots directives to Index, Follow; set all the hyperlinks to root-relative (instead of folder); set up the relevant rewrites and redirects in the .htaccess file. Preparing to go live!

September 13, 2006 - Assessed changes needed on shipping charges module.

September 12, 2006 - Addressing some continuity issues with page footers. Starting on updating the shopping cart script. Also have to address a re-vamp of the shipping costs engin.

September 11, 2006 - Converted shopping cart module over. Tidied up a few other page issues.

September 8,9, 2006 - Converting contacts modules over. Changed the Frontpage Extensions based web forms over to Powweb server-based forms. Modified the simple form fields validation scripts abd also added user input confirmation with just simple alert boxes for the time being - may add something more substantial later.

September 4,5, 2006 - Converting muddlers modules over.

September 1,2, 2006 - Continuing.

August 31, 2006 - Started converting another salad server product module

August 30, 2006 - Continuing with re-format. The included modules concept is working well

August 26, 2006 - Fixed a few hyperlink issues resulting from changes. Changed names of product page files to get product name only into URL - SEO consideration. Starting to move other utensils across to new format, beginning with salad servers.

August 25, 2006 - Identified most of the re-useable code in the classic stirrers include file and set all up as include modules with .inc extensions. All seems to work. Should help the subsequent viewer pages load quicker also because most of the key components with be loading as files from the cache - I think??? This method of working on the html is way ahead of using MS FrontPage - wish I'd thought of it sooner ... especially since I virtually didn't use any of the FrontPage features any more - always working in the code window.

August 24, 2006 - Had a couple of code issues that became apparent after the switch to SSI inclusions - it seems that FrontPage Inclusions were a lot more tolerant to slight syntax error than Apache SSI. Re-setting the Classic Stirrer page at present. Also, intend to look at download sequencing at this time ... and perhaps try and set up a basic SSI page template for these products pages which will hopefully speed things up a little in the future. Did some experimenting with SSI variables and discovered a few useful things.

August 23, 2006 - Substituting Apache SSI for FPI on the assumption the includes running under native Apache (pardon the Pun) with be more efficient than the Frontpage Extensions version. ALSO ... decided to give MS Frontpage the TOSS. I suspect that the server extensions are causing some of the current problems ... so, let's avoid them. Have switched back to true html code editing using Crimson Editor and editing the server files directly. Saving a back-up copy locally in case of mishap. It's a bit more clunky than the instant previews given by FrontPage, but it will hopefully alleviate a few potential problems.

August 22,  2006 - Investigating the FPI problem from the 19th.

August 19,  2006 - Adding product modules to the large 2pr salad servers page. Starting adding content to 3pr large salad servers module. Re-named file structure and set up destination folder on the host web server. Uploaded an image of the site to the new server directory - ie a sub-folder below the main htdocs folder - and FP Includes is now not working properly.

August 18,  2006 - Time is mostly consumed with making stuff at the moment - several large orders and being in the middle of our local tourism season doesn't leave much time for working on the website.  Processing Salad Server images to flesh out Large 2pr salad servers page.

August 1,  2006 - Adding some more details to muddlers page. Corrected a couple of minor formatting issues.

Rest of July - Busy doing non-web stuff.

July 3 2006 - Adding to muddlers pages.

June 28 2006 - Adding extra sections in muddlers.

June 23,24 2006 - Continuing with salad servers. Began adding extra sections to muddlers. Registered www.muddlers.com.au as an Australian domain.

June 21 2006 - Started adding Large salad servers section.

June 16,17 2006 - Continuing with Muddler / Longhorn section. Processed some images for large salad servers section - to be added next.

June 14 2006 - Added most of content to Muddlers/Longhorn section.  Modified the Styles formatting a little as I can see that it could get quite complicated adding a large number of new sections -> will try to 'commonise' as many bits of CSS formatting as possible.

June 13 2006 - Started adding the first Muddlers section.  Began processing muddler images also.

June 12 2006 - Fixed a couple of z-order problems with pages in Mozilla Firefox. Also, refined mainmenu a little.

June 9 2006 - Re-formatting contacts page. Also, sorted out some formatting issues with page footers - standardising etc.

June 7,8 2006 - Continuing with re-format of Stirrers content page. Created Info Panels to formalize the layout a bit better and also a defined product Tab panel.  Continuing to refine the CSS and moving all style references out to the external style sheet file.  All elements now have their own individual CSS style reference ... every single element can be controlled from external.  Pretty much finished the Classic Stirrer section.

June 6 2006 - Continuing with re-format of Stirrers content page.

June 5 2006 - Continuing with re-format of Stirrers content page.

June 3 2006 - Re-formatting existing pages down to 800 x 600 ... the about pages etc.

May 30 2006 - Continuing on main menu re-vamp. Re-formatted Products page.

May 29 2006 - Building new main navigation menu.

May 27 2006 - Re-sizing images and page elements on Index Page. Started on re-building main nav menu.

May 26 2006 - began reformating down to 800x600.  Going to use this as an opportunity to clean up all the CSS formatting and loose ends within the code.  Also began looking at menu format finalisation - have some concerns about it's rendering and positioning on MAC. Already have seen that it doesn't render in the correct z-order on MAC:Safari.

May 24 2006 - A review of site stats shows that 800x600 res browsers account for almost 20% of visitors now - quite possibly notebook users.  This makes this size second most to 1024 wide browsers ... so, reluctantly decided to re-size the footprint of the site to 800x600 centered.  This means down-sizing headings and some of the images to accommodate the smaller layout.  So, this puts addition of new content on hold until completed.  Better to do it now across a few pages than later across many.

May 23 2006 - Working on content - Classic Stirrer section.  Adding wood descriptions to newly added timber options for The Classic Stirrer.  Testing the site on MAC has revealed some substantial display problems on MAC:Safari and less so (but, still some) on MAC:IE.  Historical MAC visitor stats show only about 4% of total, so MAC issues are secondary at present.  WIN:IE is displaying everything properly except for a small issue with Windows form elements (esp. drop down input boxes).  WIN:Firefox was trouble-free from the beginning, although is showing a couple of z-order problems which should be easy to overcome.  Opera appears OK.  Not too worried about old browser versions - web-users will just have to upgrade!

May 22 2006 - Adding contact to Stirrers section.  Hosting server is having a few problems at present due to change of ownership and porting servers across to new location in the US.

May 20 2006 - Processing stirrer images to add content to Classic Stirrers section.

May 18 2006 - Compacted existing pictures in site - jpegs down to medium/30 quality.  Added alt text to images for SEO advantage. Looking at general page format - appearance - need to make main nav menus look more like a menu. Also, pages may benefit from some more structured 'boxing' and framing.  All in all, the structure is almost close enough to start adding some content and start testing.

May 17 2006 - Added classic stirrer details to the stirrers page ... overcoming a bit of 'writer's block' that I've had for several weeks now re: copy writing.  Re-formatted that page substantially as well. Also, added shipping method to summary outputs on Cart pages.  Added shipping insurance for Australian shipping (behind the scenes). Fixed some formatting issues on the Manage Cart page. Fixed an order date issue during checkout. Also, changed the order number algorithm slightly. Started some tidying up of external styles file. Changed structure of footer _includes file also re: external style formatting.

May 16 2006 - Finalizing confirmation return page from checkout ... encountered a problem with secure paging and _includes pages ... but have got around it by using absolute URL's to specify included files rather than using file-relative specification. Doing some more tidying up on ManageCart page.

May 13 2006 - Tidying up loose ends ... which seem to keep coming ... and coming ... and!!!  More work on the checkout page ... and the automated purchase confirmation page.  The confirmation page writes a purchase order number (generated from the date) and thank-you stuff and summary of the order to the screen.  the same details all get forwarded as an email also.  Also, moved some more page-common stuff across the site over to _include files to reduce the page bulk of each page a little more.

May 12 2006 - Resumed work on checkout page and getting the new checkout script working properly on the server.  Adding details like integrated Thank-you page with site-standard look and automated order number etc.

May 6 2006 - Finished adding data fields to checkout page. 

May 5 2006 - Figured out one possible solution for statistics tracking using a single pixel image downloaded by javascript - then use a Error 301 redirect to track the call in the server log.  Will need to start saving server logs each day and download them periodically.  Then, write a program in VisBasic (or such) to analyse them for specifics that aren't provided by Awstats.  Sorting out some minor formatting issues with the site.  Uploaded a copy of site - renamed - to mingle in main site folder.  Sorted out some file issues.

May 4 2006 - Discovered that page footprint is uncomfortably large for 1024 pixel wide displays - which is what the site stats shows viewers are mostly using ... so, have to shrink the page format a little.  Fixed a problem with site-stats of the old site.  Having lots of trouble trying to figure a way to institute stats on the new css site - don't really want to have to go back to separate page loads in order to track individual site movements.

May 3 2006 - Looking at site statistics now.  Server based statistics won't provide deep enough info with my use of layered page divs, since the div info isn't recorded in the server logs.  Looking at ways to collect info on visitor movement thru the site.

April 28,29 2006 - Sorted out most of remaining shopping cart display problems re MSIE. Couple minor issues still to address.

April 27, 2006 - having real trouble with MS Internet Explorer's handling of page elements like drop-down boxes - because they are rendered above everything else on the page and don't respond to z-index ordering ... hence my in-page pane-based page layouts are suffering whenever a form is included on the page ... like in the ordering system.  Trying to find viable work-arounds.  // Found a solution I think.  /// Moved on and added the data collection pane for shipping and payment etc.

April 25-26, 2006 - Tidying up shopping cart.

April 21-22, 2006 - Finished most of the shopping cart re-write.  Got just a few things left to tidy up on it.  Have to do the fiddly bits like validation checking etc.

April 18-20, 2006 - Shopping cart presenting some problems with table layouts so have forced a partial re-write up-dating table layouts to CSS as much as possible ... trying to standardise layout.  Too hard to go full CSS at this stage ... it's not impossible, but complicated by the need to dynamically add rows of data as items added to cart ... this is pretty simple in the current table-based cart ... so, sticking with table for now, but controlling it's appearance as much as possible using CSS and external style sheet.

April 12-15, 2006 - Working on Contacts page and tabs etc. Added Shopping cart page ... utilising same idea of presenting all three cart functions on the one page using layering ... (1) manage cart, (2) check out and (3) user confirmation page. Realised that there are some problems with the existing cart so resolved to re-write where necessary.

April 11, 2006 - Added the contacts page ... using a tab matrix to serve all three Contact Forms ... instead of 3 separate anchor refs. The contact tab matrix is the same basic mechanism as the products tab. Got it about half done tonite.

April 10, 2006 - Added AboutThisSite and HowToOrder pages.

April 3-7, 2006 - Pretty much got tab layout sorted out. Problems with javascript menu, so decided to write a DHTML one. Also, discovered SSI's and Dynamic Page Templates, so this caused a re-structure in the past couple days ... but, on top of this now ... and the site now is templated and certain sections like menus etc reside in external included pages. Also, moved javascript out into external files. All of the CSS is resided externally. Just have to tidy up the Stirrers section now ... which is the basically the construction model ... and then start adding content. My aim is to get the full mechanics of the site working before uploading anything ... and hence avoid the usual trap of uploading a partially working site. Got the first part of the shopping cart into place in the stirrers section ... a couple of little formatting problems to attend to, but it's basically working. Added AboutTheArtist page.

April 1, 2006 - Still on tab layout of Classic Stirrer.  Getting close to having a working model.

March 25-31, 2006 - refining tabs layout structure -> reformatted code to enable easy updating later ... and also facilitating easy addition of new elements and content.  Investigating a method also of tracking viewing of inidvidual page elements (eg tabs that contain their own content and don't reference separate pages).

March 24, 2006 - working on products tabs layout - utensils page / classic stirrer.  Once this layout is complete, it will as a template for everything else.

March 21-23, 2006 - working out CSS for tabs on product page.

March 15-17, 2006 - working on products page layout.

March 13, 2006 - exploring use of tabbed pages to present product details

March 11,12, 2006 - Developing images and theme for this new site layout

March 10, 2006 - building images - intro products page

March 9, 2006 - adding content - intro products page

March 6,7, 2006 - editing images for new index page.  Sorted out a layout which seems to look good.

March 2, 2006 - Started upgrading appearance of site and changing layout to CSS.

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January 3, 2006 - installed and fine-tuned more frequent and comprehensive site stats - server-side. Added a fine bowls page - which is a temporary offering prior to getting a personal portfolio site up and running. Updated the copyright statement at bottom of pages.

December 30, 2005 - had a few problems getting contact forms page to work ... implemented in order to begin collecting subscription addresses and visitor feedback. Intention is to link to it from pages. Updated 'Contact' link on all pages to point to a contacts page rather than simply generating a blank email. Added a contact link to all of the pages. Added "right-click" disable script to whole of site as a trial ... as a precaution prior to adding fine bowls and sculpture pages etc.

December 27 - 28, 2005 - (1) sourced an inline currency converter (2) sourced a mailing list manager program to work with MS Outlook ... for dealing with site subscribers. Made some formatting changes across the whole site - minor. Implemented Inline Currency Converter (Dynamic Converter) to existing pages with item prices shown. Also, changed some item prices. Fixed a minor problem with CSS Styles file which was affecting display of cart and checkout pages.

December 5 - 9, 2005 - added a page of fine bowls (not in nav system as yet) for viewing by specific clients.

November 17, 2005 - Added a page of table designs for a private customer - not included in navigation structure at present.

October 31, 2005 - began updating salad servers section of site - standardising layout to that of the muddlers section already competed. Intend to add some content during the next week as well.

October 28, 2005 - fixed a case sensitive issue with the resources folder - leading to some 404 not found errors since I decapitalised a folder name.

October 25,26, 2005 - Updating muddler pages with new item. Added some SEO tweaking to index page and followed thru to other relevant pages. tweaked a few titles and index page text as well.

October 22, 2005 - tweaking the products/what's new page and adding some content and tweaking the muddlers main page. Did a bit of SEO stuff on the index page and followed through to a couple more pages. The site has been bouncing in and out of #1 spot on Google for muddler keywords ... strange.

October 19, 2005 - beginning to update products/what's new page and follow through with updates through the rest of pages

October 3, 2005 - removing some defunct pages from the server and fixing some mysterious broken links in the main site.

September 29, 2005 - Added .htaccess file to server -> to allow error 301 redirects from home page to index page.

September 27, 2005 - More layout changes on the Index page. Added some BuyNow buttons to enhance the commerciability of the page.

September 24, 2005 - Changed and added content to index page ... added muddlers pictures and links.

September 22, 2005 - making alteration to meta tags and SEO stuff. Found some errors in tags that may have been affecting SE placement (??). Also, moved links to this page to a less conspicuous place as the 'geek' stuff probably doesn't need to be on show any more to people who just want to buy stuff!

April 13, 2005 - dropped the No-Javascript index page in favour of a straight JS page. Was concerned that the redirection from the non-JS page might not bode well with Google. Anyone using a non-JS browser or with JS turned off, needs to face up to reality anyway.

April 12, 2005 - fixed a couple of dead page links. Also fixed a bug with links to checkout page

March 23-25, 2005 - adding some more salad server pages

March 21, 2005 - adding pages for muddlers

March 4, 2005 - made a few minor formatting changes. Can see the need to change to CSS but haven't time to do it now.

November 25,26 - Tweaking keywords and ImageAltText on the home and index pages. Setting up muddlers page.

November 17 - Added a page showing a general range of products available - because it will be some time before all of the product category pages are up and running.

November 10 - Continuing with salad server pages.

November 9 - Started adding salad server pages. Also changing page titles a bit to optimise search engine handling.

November 6 - Changed main page table dimensions from centre justified to left justified. This is to put main focus of page into left paortion of small browser windows ... also makes space available on the right side of the main page space for if and when the need arises - like links and features etc. Fixed a check-out page issue - trapping null country.

November 4 - Formally submitted to oogle. Adjusting SEO stuff for existing pages.

November 2,3, 2004 - Began re-adding content pages starting with Utensils>Stirrers. Getting the process of the site stabilised for just one product class. Sorted out more issues with the shopping cart/ordering system - mostly javascript stuff like getting input boxes to keep display of existing input when pages refresh etc. Have an issue of apparent slow managecart page reload time to look at. Have uploaded the current image of the site on the basis that most of it is working - subject to minor refinement.

November 1, 2004 - Tidying up a few loose ends on the first few pages.

October 14, 2004 - Tidying up a few more layout issues with the lead-in pages. Getting display compatibility between major browsers sorted out.

October 13, 2004 - Simplifying site structure from the top down. Removing duplication of content pages for benefit of old browsers -> visitors should be encouraged to keep their browsers updated!

July 12,13, 2004 - Continuing with re-formatting.

July 2, 2004 - Continuing with re-formatting and filling in blanks from the beginning of the JS portion of the site. Integrating shopping cart into body pages and tidying up navigation. Also looking at cutting down load times - some pictures have been placeholders to be replaced by load-friendly versions wrt filesize etc.

July 1, 2004 - Reformatting and standardising JS part of site.

June 29,30, 2004 - More shopping cart tweaking.

May 25,26, 2004 - Modifying shopping cart "Nopcart" to pass specific values to the secure checkout page. Almost ready to go back now and start padding out content in the body of the site.

May 9 to May 22, 2004 - Writing code for and fine-tuning shopping cart. Also, doing some format/appearance fine-tuning on the body pages layout.

May 8, 2004 - Have been working on shopping cart section of the site. Open source "NopCart" is geared towards intra-America, so have had to write a full JS section to handle shipping from Australia to the world, with different shipping methods and with/without insurance etc ... and get all this to work properly over SSL.

Mar 25, 2004 - Adding more product pages to javascript section of site. Also, looking at the 'next steps' for making shopping cart functional with (1) shipping calculations and (2) payment info collection. Also, added a 'site being developed' notice on the index/home pages ... in case the fact wasn't obvious .

Mar 22, 2004 - Consistency issues across some existing pages. Added PHP/mySQL newsletter sign-up to Home page (in JS section) - sorting out operational stuff for that. Upload changes from last few days.

Mar 21,2004 - Getting the shopping cart to work for just one page and sorting out formatting etc.

Mar 20,2004 - Sorting out shopping cart structure

Mar 19,2004 - Began adding Javascript pages. Upgrading menus to JS. Add rudiments of JS shopping cart sourced from http://www.nopdesign.com.

Mar 18,2004 - Removed live chat facility (maybe temporarily). Began adding JS pages. Attend to consistency.

Feb 18,2004 - Fixed a problem with HelpCenterLive. Started this page - Site Status.

prior to Feb 18, 2004 - Adding content pages to the non-javascript part of the site. Added HelpCenterLive as Instant Chat facility - not working fully.