20 Years ago…

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Fred Myers

The first website went online on April 30th, 1993. Relatively few people were probably privileged enough to even see such a thing, much less have a way to get to it. Many of the websites that came a short period after this one have either been updated or eliminated, but the creators of this one decided to bring it back from the dead. Let’s take a look:

http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

I wonder how long that took to load back in ’93? No styling, no videos, no mobile version, not even any images. Just Times New Roman on a white background. However, there’s lots of links ranging from browsers you could use to access the internet (I don’t think any of them exist anymore, and you have to go through a ton of steps just to POSSIBLY download them), to an information page that has links to campaign materials from 1992 and the Bible (there was no such thing as a search engine to find these things, yet).

We’ve definitely come a long way since then, but it’s nice to see the beginning. It’s pretty much a museum or time machine that you can now access from the comfort of your home computer…or anywhere on any device, since this is 2013.

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Retina and Web Design

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Fred Myers

In this day and age, one does not simply create a website. They have to create a website to work with a plethora of different devices. One feature that hasn’t been discussed a lot is how websites will respond on devices with a Retina display.

Unless you own or keep up with Apple devices, you probably don’t know what Retina is. Even if you have an Apple device or two, you still probably wouldn’t know what Retina is. That might not exactly be a bad thing as long as the average consumer appreciates the extra sharpness of the screen and factors that into buying an Apple computer or i-device. However, a web designer should eventually factor in Retina into their designs if the technology catches on any further.

Basically, a Retina LCD display has a higher pixel density than the majority of other displays in other devices. What that means is that pictures and text will show up much sharper on a device with Retina, versus one without. A Retina display is supposed to have a high enough pixel density that the human eye should theoretically not notice any pixelation from a normal viewing distance. In order to better achieve this, apps and widgets are doubled in width and height to compensate for the smaller pixels.

For a website to be “Retina-ready” just requires a little Javascript, CSS, and images that are twice the size as what they normally would be (they will be scaled down to the proper size for everyone else). This definitely goes well with a responsive design.

While 30 million people have bought Apple devices with Retina displays, that number is only a fraction of the total people online. While definitely not a required add-on, having your site Retina-ready still shows that you’re ahead of the game and providing an enhanced experience.

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An award-winning example of good usability.

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Fred Myers

Usability is something that all designers and developers, no matter their background, should strive for with their product. Sometimes the simplest looking designs end up being the best at accomplishing that task. Here’s a perfect example:

www.gov.uk

Yes, it’s a government website. There’s barely any graphics or exceptional use of colors, and yet it won British Design Museum’s Designs of the Year 2013. By the way, this simple-looking website beat out 99 other buildings, inventions, software, and cars on the list, and is the first website in the award’s 6 year history to win the title. Pretty amazing for a website most people will only visit a couple times a year…and that’s if you’re British.

After visiting other government websites for information, this one seems like a piece of cake. It’s also responsive (load the site on your phone, or simply reduce the width of your browser). The developers even want other governments and people to use their code, so they’ve kindly hosted it on Github.

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Are we being more rude online?

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Fred Myers

Came across an article that says people are getting ruder on social media, and two in five users have ended contact after arguing online.

I guess it’s easy to lose your manners when half the time the other person doesn’t even know who you are or what you look like, but especially if you know the person in real life then the fact that you’re typing them from far away instead of talking to them in person might make you a little bolder…intentionally, or unintentionally.

I’m sure a lot of people have experienced this, especially if you’ve been online for over a decade. There’s a lot of talk about children cyber-bullying, but even more and more adults decide to get into online arguments even if they know one another in person.

For most people, online altercations are little more than a waste of time and things might fizzle out, but for certain people in certain positions, fines can be imposed, employees can be fired, and business deals will either fall through or be terminated depending on how high the tension escalates.

Will our manners in person be able to keep in touch with our online communications? Only time will tell, but it’s always best to treat people the way you would want to be treated…online, as well.

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You may or may not notice this, but…

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Fred Myers

The browser you’re using right now is running one of a few different rendering engines. Internet Explorer uses Trident, Firefox uses Gecko, and the majority of other browsers use Webkit. You’ll find Webkit in Safari, Chrome, and the default browsers of all iOS and Android devices. So why am I talking about browser rendering engines?

It is the job of a web designer/developer to make sure their website gives the same experience across all browsers, if feasibly possible. Some style elements, especially if they’re from CSS3, might require being called out multiple times under different names (ex. rounded corners or gradients), or else they will appear correct in one browser and not the other, or they might not appear at all. There used to be a time when all this stuff was standardized, but it seems that as soon as it appears that we’re getting there, we get hit with a “fork” in the road.

Webkit is an open-source project that has been a collaborative effort by Adobe, Apple, Google and a few other contributors. Yesterday, Google announced that it’s going to fork Webkit and use it as a platform for it’s new rendering engine, called Blink. A project “fork” happens when taking a copy of source code from one software package to start independent development on it, creating a distinct piece of software. Google claims that the reason behind the switch is the fact that WebKit has grown too complicated, and making the switch to its own rendering engine will benefit projects such as the Chrome browser and Chrome OS. They also say they can eliminate some 4.5 million lines of code from Webkit when developing Blink. This will make the Chrome browser faster, and mobile devices should benefit from this the most. Another web browser, Opera, is strongly considering making the switch, and Blink could have a host of it’s own contributors as well, as the project will also be open source. It seems as if Google and Apple are even further distancing themselves.

It remains to be seen whether this will directly affect web design or not. Technically, Blink should mainly be a streamlined version of Webkit, so things SHOULD hopefully remain the same…at least in the short run. We’ll find out for sure once Blink is released and implemented.

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Another reason why going mobile is important.

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Fred Myers

One of my old classmates posted an article which shows that searching from mobile devices is booming. The total number of searchers in this country using mobile phones grew about 26 percent between March and December of last year, from 90.1 million to 113.1 million searchers. On tablets that number grew to 19 percent, although some tablets are counted as phones as well based on the OS and how the browser is setup. Meanwhile, searching from a traditional desktop computer or laptop went down 6% from November 2011 to November 2012.

This is significant because more and more people are not locked to their home or job to get to a search engine, the main source of revenue for companies like Google and advertising for businesses. People with emails linked to their smartphones check their email much sooner, so that’s another thing to take into consideration. Also, folks on mobile devices are more inclined to use map apps either for directions or to simply find something nearby, and reviews and ratings will most likely be attached to these locations (either in the map application itself or linked from a third party website).

Looking at all of that, it would make even more sense to make sure your website will work and function properly for everyone and everything.  Definitely have a clean, polished and dynamic main website, but also make sure it’s responsive or redirects to a format better accessible to those on the go.

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#hashtag

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Fred Myers

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  Well, as long as you don’t get sued for copyright infringement.

I’ve recently read a few articles that say that Facebook is taking a page from one of it’s biggest rivals, Twitter, and is testing out the use of the hashtag to group conversations.  Or rather, their reason could be because the feature is also used by the photo sharing social network, Instagram, which they acquired last year.  I was one of the main people who got annoyed with people using hashtags on Facebook, where it just shows up as plain text.  Since I’ve recently started using Instagram, I’ve been guilty of this crime as well, lol

For those who don’t know, a “#hashtag” is a quick, but efficient way to link a phrase, link, or picture to other people who have used the same thing.  If your social network or blog supports it, just throw a “#” in front of a word that’s in the post you’re trying to share (2 or more words have to have the spaces taken out, so they appear as one big word) and you can connect to everyone else who had the same idea as you.  It’ll be interesting to see how this will be implemented, if the feature is ever released to the public.

Speaking of Facebook, I hope everyone is prepared for yet another layout change coming soon.  I guess it’s about that time.

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Harlem Shake

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Fred Myers

I have NO IDEA where THIS Harlem Shake came from, who started it, or why, but it’s everywhere.  The “Harlem Shake” I know was an actual dance performed by Diddy (a.k.a. P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Puffy Combs (I think he finally settled on a name)) and other New York Hip-Hop artists over a decade ago.  It just goes to show what can happen when you’re given a camera, some editing software, some random music and a random idea.  Put that together with some internet and a very popular video sharing site, and you just might have a marketing tool.

Again, I still haven’t seen the original, but I think it’s crazy how businesses, organizations, schools, professional sports teams, first-responders, and even an army have made their own version of this video.  I think with the times we live in, conventional approaches to some things, like marketing and advertising, will sometimes take a back seat because of how the internet has changed.  Tons of people post their thoughts and ideas online in various formats, but sometimes those small ideas turn out to be a crazy short video clip that goes viral.

 

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Parks Tout Upgraded Websites through TXAD

Posted on February 6, 2013 by michael

Port O’Connor RV Park in Texas and America’s Best Campground in Missouri are among the growing number of private parks across the country that are starting the New Year with newly upgraded or redesigned websites, according to a news release.

“We just went live this week,” said Donna Watson of Port O’Connor RV in Port O’Connor, Texas, who hired TXAD Internet Services to redesign her website at www.pocrv.com so that she could better market her 46-site park. “I had to totally rebuild the site.”

But while redesigning a website can be a daunting task for park operators, Watson said TXAD Internet Services made it easy. “I told them what I was looking for and they took care of it,” she said.

In addition to making her website pleasing to the eye, TXAD Internet Services developed new written content for the site to make it search engine friendly, said Chris Brailsford, TXAD Internet Services’ website developer. “We also created a Facebook page for them and added that to the sidebar on their homepage,” he said.

Sue Alkire of America’s Best Campground in Branson, Mo., was similarly pleased with the work TXAD Internet Services did on her website at www.abc-branson.com, which she uses to market her 160-site park.

“I like the format,” she said. “It’s different and very updated. It looks more contemporary. They captured the feel that I was looking for.”

In addition to giving the website for America’s Best Campground a new look, Brailsford said TXAD Internet Services made it so that it scales down for mobile and tablet devices. “We have the technology now to make it so that a single website will conform to whatever device you’re using, so you no longer have to have different websites for different devices,” he said.

Courtesy of Woodall’s Campground Manager.

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Well, that didn’t last long…

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Fred Myers

The battery on my HTC Radar 4G is definitely not lasting as long as it used to, and the phone doesn’t realize that it’s charging the battery (I’ll eventually have to restart it before it shuts itself off thinking that the battery is empty. It’s full when it turns back on, though!)  I do still enjoy this phone, as well as the Windows Phone 7.5 operating system.  Nowadays, ‘One does not simply’ replace a battery in a phone (say that with Mordor’s voice, lol). I found out that I actually have to take the phone halfway apart with a Torx screwdriver just to get to the battery.  Considering many things, such as the fact that I’ve had it for about a year and a half, that I won it at an event (Thanks, Microsoft and Klout!), and that currently my only other alternative is a 2 1/2 year old Samsung Vibrant with worse battery life, I think it’s just time to upgrade.  What should I get next?  A Windows Phone 8 device? Go back to Android? Or join the millions of iPhone owners? Not exactly sure what I’m going to do, but I’m really liking that Google Nexus 4.  I hope they have a full stock when I’m fully ready to make a decision.

One thing is for certain: whichever device I go with will not have Adobe Flash.  At one time, this was a feature that I was definitely looking for when purchasing a phone.  I was late to hear the news that Adobe decided to pull the plug on any further development of Flash for mobile devices, and that Google has removed it from future versions of Android.  They even recently removed it from their Play Store.  This is even more significant because Flash was once a selling point for getting an Android phone (it was highlighted in the Motorola Droid commercials).  You could truly run almost any website on an Android device. That was something that couldn’t be said for Apple, which completely disregarded Flash in the first place for iOS.  Steve Jobs’ main argument against Flash was that it was buggy and used too many resources, which used up too much battery power.  Looking back to about 2009 or 2010 when Adobe Flash appeared in the Android Market (now the Play Store), it could only be ran on newer and powerful devices.  My T-Mobile G1 with it’s 528 Mhz processor was not given the option to run it, while the Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant I bought the following year had much faster hardware and was allowed to run it.  Although more mobile operating systems from various companies were coming and going, Android was the only operating system that fully and widely supported Flash, and they were still second to iOS (who refused to adopt it) in terms of sales and devices in use.  That being said, Adobe made the announcement late in 2011 that it was ending support of Flash for mobile devices.  That explains my title to this blog post.

The reason mobile Flash is dead is not just because of performance reasons.  In 3 years, we have much more powerful and longer lasting devices.  One reason it’s gone is because of better and more widely used technologies in HTML5 and Javascript. Some websites are slowly adapting to this change and sending Flash content to desktops and laptops that have it, and HTML5 content to others.  Again, another reason to blame for Flash’s departure is Apple choosing not to support it.  Apple devices sell like hotcakes, and when a major player decides not to support something, sometimes their competitors follow suit.  The latest version of Android, Jellybean, won’t give you the option to download Flash, although you may or may not be able to install it by other means.  Flash was never factored into Windows Phone 7 and 8 to begin with, and it’s very doubtful that it will appear in the new Blackberry.  Factoring all that in, it’s best to keep that in mind when building or updating a website since more and more people nowadays are away from the conventional keyboard, mouse and monitor when accessing the internet.

Oh, and don’t worry when embedding Youtube videos.  They switched to HTML5 years ago.

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