What can be done with these banners? Audio can be synchronized with your banner images and text to deliver eye and ear pleasing messages. Slide shows can be placed within banner. Relevant product information can be imparted quickly and effectively before visitor is ever asked to click through to website. Special offers and promotions can be referenced to entice shopper. No longer are viewers merely spectators; they are active participants.

Interactive audio banners provide consumer with ability to listen to more detailed information and even to initiate buying function directly from banner itself. This really helps to capture that "impulse" buyer right at time he's most anxious to buy. Because it's interactive, a web visitor can directly respond to it.

The power of audio should not be underestimated. People would still rather hear about something than spend time reading or sorting out passing images. Keep in mind that museums and other institutions have offered tours for years that are accompanied by audio scripts designed to educate visitor yet allowing eye to roam freely and absorb creative on an individual basis.

Audio banners can also add a personal appeal to visitor. Use banner to tell a story about product or service that invokes an emotional response. Talk about product's benefits to consumer and how product will improve his life/work/relationships. Use banner to whet people's appetites for additional information. Never lose sight of fact that people make buying decisions based on emotional reasons and design your banner presentation accordingly.

It is far too early for any of us to dismiss banner ad as an idea whose time has past. We have to step back, take an objective view, and start thinking about how we can make them more than just billboards. As Internet leaves its infancy and enters "toddler" stage, we need to remind ourselves that we're still dealing with a new medium. And that this new medium is still largely unexplored.

My advice to anyone is generally don't allow ActiveX controls to be installed from anywhere except for really big sites like Microsoft. It's just too difficult to judge how safe or unsafe control happens to be.

How is this different from Java? Well, Java has an entirely different security model which does not make assumption that user has been educated about specific Java applet. Java sets specific rules to what an applet can and cannot do, and generally these rules do an excellent job of preventing damage to a system (there have been bugs but no where near as many as with ActiveX).

On top of security concerns, ActiveX only works in Internet Explorer. Yes, I know there is a plug in for Netscape but it's slow and not very usable. Besides, most Netscape users don't have it installed. If you are designing a web site, please consider this very carefully. If you include ActiveX controls you are losing as many as 50 percent of your visitors. Perhaps more, depending upon your market. Is any functionality that you might gain worth that cost?

Of course, if you are creating an Intranet (a web local to a company) then by all means use all of ActiveX controls that you want. In this case, you have far more control over user environment that you have on web.

Richard Lowe Jr. is the webmaster of Internet Tips And Secrets. This website includes over 1,000 free articles to improve your internet profits, enjoyment and knowledge. Web Site Address: http://www.internet-tips.net Weekly newsletter: http://www.internet-tips.net/joinlist.htm Daily Tips: mailto:internet-tips@GetResponse.com