Need some expert ideas

[SR_DMVan]

This is the first time I have been here but I have visited before. I am need of some help from you code gurus. Let me explain what I want to do, and hopefully you guys can help me with what process and or language I need to use to do it.

I want a webpage that looks like a computer monitor screen with a keyboard underneath the monitor and on the keyboard I want fingers. When you access the webpage, I want the fingers to look like they are typing on the keyboard, while in the computer monitor the news of the day is being typed out. I can get the images for this idea but where do I start to get the code? Is it Javascripting?

Also the news that is being displayed in the monitor window on the webpage will need to be updated daily, so I would like it to be a text file that can be uploaded each day with the new text.

Is this possible? I could really use your help. If you need more info, I can give you what I know, but I dont know enough right now. I have been searching the web, but I have no idea what I am looking for.

Thanks in advance.

[krautinator]

'm no code guru or anything, but I would think you want to use something like FLASH or something similar in conjunction with a server side language (JAVA , etc., to access your text files) for something as complex as that...
don't know anything about FLASH, though...

[SR_DMVan]

Thanks for the input. I was thinking about using Flash. but what kind of code am I looking at to get the text to show in the monitor screen? I have seen some complex sites, and didnt realize this concept was too difficult. I just need some ideas of how I can pull this off. Any more help would be greatly appriciated.

[Vladdy]

While certainly doable even without flash - javascript will do - the question I have is: what is the purpose of going through all that trouble just to present the news of the day:confused:

While it may amaze the first time visitor, it will get annoying fast, since the visitor will have to wait until the "fingers finish typing" before he/she can read without being distracted.

Don't you think a box with the news article will be good enough? The quality of the news content is what will keep the visitors attention and make them come back....

[Nevermore]

1) Fully animated fingers seems a bit silly, but a little animation would be cool.
2) JavaScript could do it if the ideas aren't too complex, but flash would be better, faster, quicker to load and is more widespread
3)Why not go for something simpler? It's true it would be cool once, but not 10 times.

[SR_DMVan]

Yeah, they are good points. The reason for the website is for a computer company (hence the computer theme) the news will really be new deals and or information about the company for that particular day. These are ideas the owner proposed to me and I kinda thought they were really cool at the time, but the more I think about it you guys might be right with the monotiny factor. He just wants to be different then the rest of the web community. He also wants text links at the bottom of the page for non graphic users or flash and on the left hand side will be your typical link buttons to get to areas of the web site. But the main focus he wants is to be that news that is being typed out in the monitor graphic.

You guys mentioned Javascripting could do it, so where and how can I find more information on coding this? I tried all the Java sites I know and I dont know enough about the code to really know what to look for. What should I put in the search string to find code that will allow me to have a text file type itself out in the monitor graphic?

I dont nessassariy need the typing fingers but it would be nice to keep the monitor screen and the typing text. Does anyone know how this can be done?

thanks again for your help.

[Vladdy]

What you are describing is a very familiar problem when dealing with people who order the web site being built.

The problem is that the person who orders the web site is intimately familiar with the site content. Therefore for him/her the plain content is always boring and needs "spicing up" to look attractive. Those people do not see their web site from the first time visitor prospective and when given "creative authority" end up with sites that look attractive to them, but often distracting to the rest of the world.

Considering the example at hand, the teletype text looks cute to the guy because he knows the content of the news article. The first time visitor, as I said before, wants to read the news without the extra distraction. If you do not serve it to them right away, they will move on to the next google hit.

Here is one of the teletype scripts that showed up in the google search: http://members.tripod.com/~coollew/js/telatype.htm Put the monitor picture in the background and there you have it. However, before you do that, be honest: being the site visitor, would you rather have the complete text in front of you?

Wigets are good when they HELP the delivery of information, not hinder it. This particular wiget screams "amature".

[krautinator]

Vladdy's got a good point...

You'd probably be better off just doing maybe a marquee type thing that pauses on set intervals to display whole news items, instead of having to wait untill the text itself types out...

It's hard to please surfers on commercial sites...
they get irritated with all that fancy shmancy stuff, but they don't want just plain old text either...:rolleyes:

[SR_DMVan]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I know that the concept sounds hokey but I just want to see how it works. Thanks for the code. And yes, I agree with you guys how the concept will be anoying to others, but I just gotta try.