Robot Builder’s Sourcebook

introduction xiii
Sourcebook. Send a short e-mail, describing your company, school, or Web site
to:
listings@robotoid.com
If you’re still working on your Web site, please complete it before submitting
your request. Submissions from non-US entities are especially encouraged.
Updates and Changes
People on the Internet move, change addresses, or plain go out of business.
Some of the listings in Robot Builder’s Sourcebook are bound to change over time.
To help reduce the frustration of dead-end links, we regularly survey the companies
and Web sites included in this book, and provide updates at the following:
http://www.robotoid.com/sourcebook/
Here, you’ll find:
• New additions to the sourcebook.
• News of major changes, like Amazon.com going bankrupt (nah...).
• Searchable database of all the links provided in Robot Builder’s Sourcebook.
The searchable database is useful if you try a Web address printed in the book,
and it’s no longer working. To reduce wear-and-tear on your mouse and keyboard,
we use a special coding feature for our searchable database. If you find
a Web address is no longer functional, locate the six-digit ID number included
with its listing. A typical ID number looks like this:
012345
Enter the ID into the Search box, and click the Go button. The latest Web
address we have for that listing is displayed.
Report Changed or Dead Links
Though we make every effort to look for, change, and remove bad links,
some fly under our radar. If you find a link that is no longer working, please
report it using the Changed Links button on the main Robot Builder’s
Sourcebook page.
What You Need to Use The Internet
Many of the resources listed in this book rely on contact via the Internet. In
fact, some sellers, like Amazon, only do business through the Internet. They
discourage the “older fashioned” methods of mail order buying, and may not
even provide a mailing address.
Odds are you already have what you need to make use of the Internet, but to
recap:
• Web browser. Any reasonably recent version of your favorite should be fine.
For some Web pages, you’ll want a browser that can display graphics and
run Java and JavaScript code.
• Shockwave. Some sites use Shockwave, an add-in program that provides animation
and sound effects. Shockwave is a “plug-in” that works with your
Web browser. You can download it at http://www.macromedia.com/.
• E-mail reader. If you use a Web-based e-mail service (like Hotmail or Yahoo),
then your browser is your e-mail reader. Otherwise you will need an e-mail
program, such as Microsoft Outlook Express (comes with all new versions of
Windows). Additionally, there are several free and nearly free e-mail readers
you can try.