Is the downloaded version the same as the on-line version?
Yes, it's exactly the same. The mirror sites are set-up using these same archieves.
How off-line can it be used?
At the moment the Chipdir includes a lot of ads
that are being inserted by other sites,
so you can't easily use the above version really stand-alone
(unless you use an ad-stopper of course.
A simple way to implement an ad-stopper yourself is by adding
the IP addresses of the adservers to the 'hosts' file
(in the Windows directory or under Unix in '/etc') and link them to
your localhost. I haven't tried it myself, but it seems to work.
I don't mind as long as enough people are not doing this!
I have to earn a living too... ;-)
Sometimes I compile a special off-line version (which has static ads)
for inclusion on CD-ROM's, but it costs me a couple of hours and there
aren't many requests for it.
How to install
How to unpack the archive?
Put the archive in the directory above the old '/chipdir/' directory
or where you want to have it created.
Then (under Unix) type 'tar xzf chipdir.tgz'.
This will unpack the archive (but will keep the archive file intact)
and create a directory called 'chipdir' with everything in it.
How to correct the permissions
On some Unix's the permissions will not be correct, if so, go inside
the directory and type './mkperm.pl .'. This will recursively go through
the directory and subdirectories and will put all the permissions right
(for use as a publicly accessable site). This is Perl-script, so make
you can execute Perl scripts on your system. If need be, edit the first
line. (BTW. This is the only Perl script I ever wrote. I like PHP much
better... ;-).
CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW and harddisk-ability
To copy the Chipdir to a CD-R, first extract it to your harddisk
and then copy it to the CD-R.
A few small conditions
Personal usage
No conditions. Please don't spread altered copies.
I also run the Chipdir (the new version I am working on)
from harddisk myself of course (both under Windows and
Linux), have fun! The whole site can (still) run with
or without a WWW server.
LAN and intraweb usage
No alterations please.
Make sure you download and install a new version regurarly
when a serious number of people are using it. (At least every year).
The Chipdir is generally updated twice a year.
CD-ROM and CD-R usage
No alterations please.
If you want to include the Chipdir on a CD-ROM or CD-R that you're
going to sell or give away in serious numbers let me know and I make
a special off-line version for it. Please send me two copies of it,
one to show others and one for my archive. Sending more copies is
also appreciated. If you have also organized a selling service, I'd
like to notify my advertisers and others that they can order the
CD and in case of the advertisers that they can deduct the cost (when
modest :-) from their next payment.
Here are companies that lately including the Chipdir on their CD's:
I don't think that mirroring is still a good idea.
But these used to be the conditions:
No alterations please.
Please make sure that you're using a solid OS* like Unix.
The Chipdir is written to be very server type independent so most serious OS*'s should work. Please don't put it on a PC that is not constantly connected to the WWW.
Please send me the URL, city and country of the new site, so I can put it in the overview of mirror sites.
The only alteration allowed is replacing chipdir/gif/host.gif by a small logo or ad for your own site which should (currently) be located in the directory above the '/chipdir/' directory. make sure that it's height is less than that of the Chipdir title banner on the top of every page and that it's width plus that of the Chipdir banner fits on a 1024 pixel wide screen. Your logo or ad will be displayed on (almost) every page in the Chipdir (on your site) and will draw people to your own site. If you use this efficiently it can easily cover your bandwidth costs.
