FAQ

Nope. This site is not born for awards (yet). But you can help: if you think the hours I spent on building this site is rewarding then tell the world. Refer to the links to rate this site. The comments that you sent to the webmaster are proof of interest and suffice.

Why was this site developed?

For personal mobility purposes only. People that use different workstations cannot easily replicate their bookmarks. Different platforms and locations create challenges to maintain easy access to the information on the internet. Search engines may take too long to look up that site you last accessed. Therefor, this portal was built. It is not a repository of long link lists. Only links that are regularly used by the user (read author) are published.

Why was this published on the internet?

Because the best things in life come for free. Wherever I go, I want to get access to my information. The Internet is available world-wide.

Is this site useful to me?

Most likely not, unless you share the same users' profile and business interest like me. A great deal of the content is a reference to my professional background and information technology experience. Mac users may appreciate the pages published in 'Technical Stuff'. Browser and web design issues are published in 'Web Goodies'.

Why are so many alternative sites referenced?

The alternative sites come for free, so what? The beta site (or secondary) gives me a preview before the final update of the primary site. The mirror site will only help if the others are lacking good performance or are temporary out of service. My target is to keep only two main sites up-to-date (one in the Americas and one in Europe).

Who are the sponsors?

No sponsors. This is an 'Indie' (i.e. independent) site. Company banners or logo's are only published to make this site more interactive. This site has no commercial purpose. The price for convenience is paid out of my pocket (the web space comes not for free). In return, I expect a good service of the providers and so will you!

What does the visitor counter tells me?

The counter was only added since March 24, 2001. All visitors prior to that date are not counted. Only new visitors are added to the counter.

There ain't much graphics, why?

Graphics are nice, but it takes time to download them. Besides, you may opt not to download images. To allow all users to view the content (also those connecting to the Internet over slow links), I have reduced the number of graphics.

I cannot find my way arround!

Finding it hard to find your way in the Internet world? Ask someone who's got the maps (heard that one before!). Try the Site map, it gives you an overview of the published pages.

I like this site, can I bookmark it?

Of course you can. Be sure you bookmark the Primary site. Reload the pages everytime you visit the site to pick up the latest updates. The home page has a 'Add to my favorites' button for (windows) users to automatically bookmark this site in your favorites (favorieten). Use it at your convenience.

Can I promote this site?

Promotion is seen as a commercial activity and reserved to the author and owner of this web site. You may tell your friends about this site. However, you may not submit it to search engines nor advertise it without written aproval from the owner. Contact the webmaster for more information.

Which browser will work best to view this site?

Use Internet Explorer (5.x and above) or Netscape Navigator (4.7x and above). Lower versions are not recommended because of potential Y2k bugs. This site is always tested with both browsers on a MAC OS and Windows platform. Use the one you like most. WebTV has not yet been tested. Netscape 6 for Mac is not tested because it only supports high-end systems (read also the 'iMac Bondi' pages ). The 'Your Browser' page will tell you which browser you are using now.

My browser displays a wrong date and time.

This is a known issue. Netscape Navigator (4.7x) displays a different date and time stamp (e.g. Sep 25 16:19:34) than Internet Explorer (4.5x) for my 'Page last updated' info. This different behaviour is noticed on both platforms, MAC OS and Windows.

'Get the Plug-in' spawns when viewing some pages.

Oops, your browser does not support the embedded file extension support and asks you to instal it. If you do not want to proceed, just select 'cancel' and continue to view my pages. This is a known issue, in particular on a MAC OS browser. You will get these errors when pages with sound files (e.g. '.wav') are viewed.

I installed the 'Plug-in' but still get errors.

Either the installation was not successful or you have two browsers installed on your system (e.g. Internet Explorer and Netscape). You will have to intall the plug-in for each type of browser.

How was this site built?

You will find the answer on the Web Goodies page.

Can I re-use some of the code of your pages?

What you load is what you get. But keep in mind 'the Net-etiquette'.

Is this site using the 'latest' features?

Not always. The objective is to be fully compliant with the W3 Consortium recommendations. Moreover, browser specific features will not be used for compatibility reasons.

After visiting this site I have many windows open.

Yes indeed. The links on the body pages (white background) may spawn a new browser window. This is done to preserve the initial site link. Links in the left frame will leave this site.

My Browser asks to set a Cookie. What does this mean?

A 'cookie' is information that is stored on your local system. This information can be retrieved by the server. To test your Browser settings (see 'Your Browser' page), the server will set a cookie. If you disabled your Browser to accept automatically a cookie, it may display (example):

'The server <server name> wishes to set a cookie that will be sent only back to itself.

The name and value of the cookie are:

visits=<n>

This cookie will persist until Sun Dec 2 13:13:37 2001

Do you wish to allow the cookie to be set?'

To keep a balance between security and user convenience, you may configure your server to accept only cookies that get sent back to the originate server. More information on cookies is available on the Web Goodies page.

For use with Internet Explorer, you will find the settings in Tools, Internet Options, Security.

For use with Netscape Navigator, you will find the settings in Edit, Preferences, Advanced.

Which other TNG sites exist?

The Net Gate (TNG) is a project that started in 2000. The table below gives an overview where you find TNG pages published on the Internet.

You are now connected to the TNG Site

TNG Primary	http://bioss.net
TNG Secondary	http://mirror.bioss.net
TNG Trivia	http://trivia.bioss.net
TNG Trivia Secondary	http://trivia2.bioss.net
TNG Galleria	http://galleria.bioss.net (not yet available)
TNG Beta	http://www2.bioss.net

Do any shortcuts exist?

The Net Gate (TNG) is a project that was not built in one day. Along the years, shortcuts were created. The list below sums those that have been used in the past. Some may still be operational.

get.to/basics The Net Gate Mirror site

(this is an American site)

Not as often updated as the Primary Site

go.to/bioss The Net Gate Primary site

(this is a European site)

move.to/bioss The Net Gate Secondary site

(this is a NEW beta European site)

http://www2.bioss.net

Shows the latest updates before official release on the Primary site.

surf.to/bioss The Net Gate US Mirror site

(this site has been discontinued)

nav.to/bioss The Net Gate beta site

(this site has been discontinued)

nav.to/bioss2 The Net Gate scratch site

(this site has been discontinued)