Dreamweaver and HomeSite together make a powerful web-building toolbox (you can download a 30-day trial version of HomeSite at www.allaire.com). Dreamweaver is a pretty easy program to use to get your basic elements in place, but HomeSite allows you to fine-tune your code, do a global "search and replace" to edit your pages for consistency, as well as spell-check your text. Anyone can put a page up on web; if you're a master of HTML, you'll be able to take full control of look, feel and functionality of your pages.

3) The cursor plug-ins tend to be resource hogs. By this I mean they use memory and CPU time that could be better used by other functions of your system. I have noticed definite performance issues when I examine web pages using some of these cursor routines.

4) Special cursors are not looked upon favorably by professional webmasters. You will find that many of awards programs on internet have special clauses in criteria which disallow sites with these cursors.

5) Too much moving data on screen tends to be very annoying to visitors. If you have a strange cursor and a few animated GIFs you are really pushing your visitors tolerance to limit.

6) The cursors get in way of your message. As they move around, cursors cover text or graphics that you want your visitors to see.

7) The focus of cursor is obscured by animation. On standard cursor it is obvious where cursor is pointing because it is an arrow or bar. On a waving flag or a heart, it is not so obvious and tends to be confusing. Confused visitors tend to hit back button very fast.

8) Worst of all, these cursor plug-ins often act as spyware. What's that, you ask? Spyware is a program which examines your surfing habits (among other things) and reports it back to some location. What these free cursor plug-ins really do is build up a history of usage and surfing patterns of anyone who uses them. This information is then sold to advertisers.

9) In addition to recording habits of web surfers, cursors also record hits to web sites which use that technology. This allows cursor companies to gather even more data which can, in theory at least, be sold to advertisers.

For these reasons, my recommendation is to simply avoid strange cursors on all but personal home pages.