Revision History & Coming Attractions

Revision / Change Log

 

 

 

The Ideal Garage was first published on December 2, 2000 because I had some cool Corvair pictures and I felt like learning what it meant to publish a website.  The first site was fairly primitive (e.g., it had 5 non-interactive pages).

The significantly revised version of The Ideal Garage website you are now viewing was originally published in January, 2002.  I have a feeling that this version of the site will have some staying power and I think it’s a good idea to capture the revisions, enhancements, and fixes that have been made.  After all, these changes won’t be captured anywhere else.

I have also included my to-do list for this website so that anyone who’s curious can see what the website’s expansion plans are.

 

 

 

Revision History

 

 

 

December 2, 2000

Original version of The Ideal Garage is published.

 

 

 

January 17, 2002

Revised version of The Ideal Garage first published.

 

 

 

January 18, 2002

A piece of freeware JavaScript that was causing certain Netscape browsers to hang up on the home page was removed.  Code was replaced with handwritten JavaScript.

The “Ideal Cross-pollinization” page was added.

 

 

 

January 22, 2002

The JavaScript code added on 18-January causes the latest version of Netscape (6.2.x) to freeze up on the home page.  A few changes were made to the code, but the repair will have to wait for a future date (i.e., item has been added to the to-do list).

 

 

 

February 3, 2002

Repaired several problems involving external links.  When clicked in Netscape browsers, the browser windows would open with neither scrollbars nor toolbar buttons due to a syntax error in the JavaScript.  Netscape is more sensitive than IE which is Ok.  All links fixed.

 

 

 

February 4, 2002

The “Revision History & Coming Attractions” page (i.e., this page) was added.

 

 

 

February 6, 2002

Revised the query that calculates the “hit count” to filter out my IP address to avoid inflating the number.  The number shown on the home page is an honest count of non-developer hits.

 

 

 

February 7, 2002

Revised the “Original Ideal Garage” page to include the black and yellow style/theme from the original version of the Ideal Garage.

 

 

 

February 17, 2002

A “Usage Statistics” page was added to track the number of visitors to the site, the types of browsers used, etc.

 

 

 

March 17, 2002

Several changes were added on this rainy weekend:

  • The “Buying a Corvair” page was redesigned to put the links to the “Corvair Pre-Purchase Questionnaire / Checklist” at the top of the page.  Too many users never seemed to find it.
     
  • A “What’s New” page was added to summarize the newest features added to the Ideal Garage.  The “Home Page” was also slightly redesigned to accommodate the links to the “What’s New” page.
     
  • A “Submissions Guildelines” page was added to give users an idea of the materials that need to be provided when submitting a Corvair for display in the “Your Garages” area.  These guidelines were developed from emails that have been sent out to a number of interested parties.  The “Home Page” and “Your Garages” pages were redesigned to include a link to the new page.
     
  • Menu choices and a place holder were added for the forthcoming “Ideal Library” page
     
  • An improved page-to-page link/flow-tracking system was installed.  This system will enable significant improvements to be added at a future date to the “Usage Statistics” page.
     
  • The “Copyright Notice” page was slightly redesigned.  It now includes a Return button that’s easier to find.

 

 

 

April 23, 2002

Eliminated a problem suffered by older Netscape browsers (v4.79 and before) in which the text on the “Enter Your Email Address” page did not display correctly.

 

 

 

April 28, 2002

The “Ask Dr. Corvair” parody page was added.  This page was inspired by some of the answers on Virtual Vairs.

 

 

 

May 18, 2002

Reformatted and republished all pages to accommodate page-to-page flow-tracking system.  In so doing, eliminated a problem on the home page in which Netscape users were treated to a view of the Serenska family website’s wallpaper above and to the left of the Ideal Garage banner.

 

 

 

June 1, 2002

Enhanced the “Usage Statistics” page.  Statistics now show detailed usage and viewing statistics for each individual page in The Ideal Garage website, as well as a detailed look at which browser versions and operating systems are used by visitors to the site.

 

 

 

June 10, 2002

Added some great photos of Dan Konkle’s “usage” of his Corvair to the “Usage Statistics” and “Detailed Usage Statistics” pages.

 

 

 

August 24, 2002

Added two additional photos and accompanying text to the Trains & Corvairs page (i.e., Ideal Cross-pollinization).

 

 

 

September 17, 2002

Added three more garages to the “Your Garages” page.  The new garages are:

In addition to the three new garages, the garages of Rick Norris, Craig Hardy, and Ron Thompson were all updated with additional photos.  In Craig Hardy’s case, a new page was added to show off the inside of his neighbor’s Corvair Warehouse.

 

 

 

September 28, 2002

Expanded the content on a few of the garages on the “Your Garages” page:

 

 

 

November 11, 2002

Completed “The Ideal Library” page.  The Ideal Library is a list of over 60 books that should be of interest to Corvair owners.  The Ideal Library includes:

  • A scanned image of the cover of each Corvair book;
     
  • Formatted search links for buying the books at select online used booksellers;
     
  • Ratings and mini-reviews submitted by visitors to The Ideal Garage; and
     
  • Much, much more.

 

 

 

November 12, 2002

Enhanced the link to CORSA’s Online Classifieds on the “Fun Corvair Links” page.  The window that opens now takes the user directly to the ads (instead of through CORSA’s setup screen).

 

 

 

November 23, 2002

Added a new feature to “The Ideal Library” page.  Users may now browse through reviews and comments submitted by other users.  Three more Corvair books, several scans of missing book covers, and numerous small corrections to the book data were also added.

Finally, in honor of the upcoming end of the year, I also removed all references to “The 2002 Ideal Garage.”  Barring another complete overhaul, this website shall henceforth be known as the (plain ol’) Ideal Garage.

 

 

 

December 1, 2002

Made improvements in three areas:

  • Added a picture of a Corvair-powered Trolley to the Trains and Corvairs page (i.e., “Ideal Cross-pollinization”);
     
  • Added a new panel to the “Usage Statistics” page to report on different Corvair Book searches initiated using the “Ideal Library” page; and
     
  • Modified the “Vote for All Corvair Books” page to take advantage of an incremental page loading feature available in Internet Explorer browsers (and ColdFusion).  The page now loads significantly faster.  Also added a “Netscape Warning Page” for Netscape (and other non-IE) browsers.

 

 

 

January 12, 2003

Improved a number of book-related links to the Corvair Underground after I discovered a webpage containing a listing of all the Corvair books the Underground sells.  Also added a scanned image of Bob Helt’s “Corvair Reference Guide.”

 

 

 

March 3, 2003

Made several improvements on this rainy Sunday:

  • Added a new garage to the “Your Garages” page.  The new garage is Ron T’s First Classic featuring his fine ‘62 Monza sedan.  While I was at it, I also updated the content on Norm Witte’s garage to address both the completion of his Corsa restoration project and his recently acquired ‘65 Monza convertible.
     
  • Uploaded an improved and expanded “Corvair Pre-Purchase Questionnaire / Checklist.”  I had been saving tips and suggestions posted on Virtual Vairs for over a year.  The new additions increased the size of the checklist from 10 to 19 pages.
     
  • Created a new mechanism that automatically notifies anyone who downloads a copy of the “Corvair Pre-Purchase Questionnaire / Checklist” whenever a new update is available.
     
  • Added a great anecdote from a former GM Willow Run plant employee to the Trains and Corvairs page (i.e., “Ideal Cross-pollinization”).
     
  • Made a few minor formatting touchups to the “Usage Statistics” page.
     
  • Replaced all hard-coded references to addresses, counts, dates, etc. (e.g., my email address) with table-driven values. 
     

June 14, 2003

Made a few minor touchups in the “Ideal Library” section:

August 1, 2003

Made a few more minor touchups in the “Ideal Library” section:

  • Added a picture of the cover of the Accessory Installation Instructions on the appropriate “Book Detail” page.  This was the last missing cover to be scanned and I was happy to finish it.
     
  • Added a link to Seth Emerson’s Silicon Wire Systems website.  Seth is a good friend to everyone who’s a member of Virtual Vairs.  I can’t believe it took me this long to notice the link was missing.
     
  • In celebration of the fact that I finally bought the book, I added a scan of the CD-ROM that comes with the Corvair Basics book.  Now all I have to do is find the time to read the book...
     

September 9, 2003

I was inspired by a few new Corvair books available at the Corvair Underground and decided to add a fair amount of new content to “The Ideal Library” page. 

The changes are listed below by category:

 

 

 

September 25, 2003

I tracked down a copy of Corvair Owners Workshop Manual by Kenneth Ball.  A scan of the cover and a review was added to “The Ideal Library.”

 

 

 

September 28, 2003

The absolute oldest items on The Ideal Garage’s to-do list (i.e., see January 28, 2002 above) were knocked off while I watched the bloody New England Patriots lose a game to the Redskins today.  Now that the weather is getting cooler and it’s getting closer to the time the Corvairs get put away for the winter, maybe more of these website to-do’s will be completed.  ¿Quién sabe?

  • Recoded the JavaScript detection for browsers to eliminate the home page hanging up on Netscape v6.x and 7.x browsers.
     
  • The website’s first pages now detect if users are using less than Netscape 4.x or less than Internet Explorer 4.x browsers.  If so, the users are directed to a special links page to download the lastest versions of these browsers.  A number of people had tried to access the website with Netscape 2.x / 3.x and IE 3.x browsers and had gotten hung up on the home page.
     
  • Fixed the JavaScript which detects users’ screen resolution settings.  I wanted to keep track of these in order to ensure that The Ideal Garage’s web pages are designed to meet the needs of the majority of its users.
     

 

 

 

January 6, 2004

I fixed a few links that had broken without me noticing them.  On the Fun Corvair Links page, I fixed the links to CORSA’s Online Classifieds and the Corvair Ranch’s website.  I also repaired links to the Corvair Ranch on several other pages.

 

 

 

March 27, 2004

I added a new Corvair book, “Chevrolet Corvair Photo History.”, to the “Ideal Library” page.  This book isn’t scheduled to be released until May, 2004, so more details will follow.

 

 

 

April 28, 2004

Add a link to Collector Car Trader Online on the “Fun Corvair Links” page.  Collector Car Trader Online appears to be a pretty good source for private Corvair sales.

 

 

 

Coming Attractions: The Ideal Garage To-Do List

 

 

 

I had been maintaining this list in a WordPerfect document on my computer’s desktop.  Frankly, it’s easier to keep it together with the website.  Maintaining the list here will also let people get an idea of the next features scheduled to roll out of The Ideal Garage.

The items on the to-do list are sorted in descending priority (a.k.a., likelihood of actually happening).  Notwithstanding the above, please note that one of the last items on this list is to create a feature to make the list interactive.  This will enable users to suggest items they’d like to see.

 

 

 
  1. Enhance the Usage Statistics screen to include a) last date accessed for a given page, b) questionnaire download statistics, c) screen resolutions.
     
  2. Implement an automated Body Tag Decode page.  A few excellent posts concerning how to decode Corvair Body tags have been made on Virtual Vairs.  These will be parsed and programmed in order to present automated results on this website.
     
  3. Create a mechanism that will allow users to generate an Adobe Acrobat file containing a facsimile of a Corvair window-sticker.  In all likelihood, this project will be executed in conjunction with the Body Tag Decode project.
     
  4. Finish the content on the “1966 Corsa Carburetor Rebuild” page.
     
  5. Implement a feature on the “Revision History & Coming Attractions” page (i.e., this page) and/or the “What’s New” page to enable users to suggest items they’d like to see.
     
  6. Redo the rotating picture image content on the Home Page.  The last frame (“Ideal Garage”) hops to the right by one pixel when displayed.
     
  7. Revisit the images on the “Current Corvairs” and “Former Corvairs” pages to eliminate the ugly splotching effect on the “starburst” graphics.

 

 

 

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