There are lots of type of cookies in this world. There are chocolate chip, butter pecan, 7-layer, Oreo, coconut, Internet, etc.
"Internet cookies! What’s that taste like?" Internet cookies (e-cookies, shall we say) are small text files that websites put on your hard drive when you visit them. In these cookies files, you may find a variety of information:
Partnered with Java applets, Javascripts, or CGI-based pages, a cookie is the key method for website designers to maintain a profile on you, their frequent visitor. This is an excellent example of Push-Pull technology. With it, the site can show dynamic (changing, tailored for you) content according to what you’ve done in the past or what you’ve specified for an interest This operates for convenience (time-saving and reducing redundant motions within sites) and utility (entering necessary content that must be correct and may change every time).
Some profess to an evilness of cookies. How can one associate the word "cookies" with evil? I’ll tell you how. In addition to tailoring content, a website may add content in the form of "nuisance advertising" that reflects your previous interests in their site. (But there will be advertising there regardless of if it is personalized, but since it is customized to your needs, it may be of interest.) A second bone of contention is that an outside source, the server, deposited a file on your hard drive without your knowledge. (Of course, it wasn’t the server but the page, which you downloaded into your memory and probably also into the Temporary Internet Files directory in your hard drive. In addition, you could set your computer to prompt upon the use of cookies in a page.)
Some say cookies, which are text and cannot perform an actions on their own, are just one step away from snooper agents that can read through your memory and confidential files. (Of course, Java, which is quickly becoming an Internet standard, was made so that it cannot perform illegal functions and CGI could perform these functions long before the World Wide Web became a public media. Fortunately, your system probably has the necessary security to protect against intruders. Besides, you can disable allowance of cookies in your browser settings if it really bothers you.)
Every major company website now uses cookies to track your actions. If you’re running a Windows operating system, search for your cookies directory and you’ll notice a list of names you know. Microsoft. Sun. Yahoo. Meshes.
Well, not yet, but soon! Meshes is in the process of integrating a cookie that monitors any price calculations you make and can send these pre-estimates to Meshes upon your request. That can be quite useful if you’re looking to do business. Imagine you want to build a website: about twenty pages, using a little dynamic content, with about thirty original graphics, and a nice contact form. So you come up to the Meshes site, calculate the price and find it to be quite the deal. You go to the contact form to start a correspondence and schedule a formal meeting. And on this page is a button that says "Send Estimate." Yes, it sends every specification you made and the total price, in one neat and tidy package. Now Meshes knows you’ve done your homework and we can start to prepare for your interests: Form a team specifically to fill your needs, bring together the necessary software and hardware and services, make coffee. And it was all done in the background, hassle-free, thanks to cookies.
Hey, Internet cookies taste pretty good!