Archive for December, 2007
Whilst Microsoft’s Internet Explorers 5 and 6 were fairly easygoing pieces of browser software which usually displayed web pages reasonably correctly irrespective of W3C compliant HTML, the same cannot be said about their successor.
Indeed, like Mozilla Firefox, the new version 7 flavour of Internet Explorer seems to be rather more discriminating when it comes to displaying HTML code.
This becomes especially apparent when one is looking at a page constructed from old style layers (div tags) such as the ones cranked out by Dreamweaver MX and its contemporaries.
It should be said that I am not in fact referring to table-less designs where the HTML code simply specifies a div id and leaves all formatting issues to the CSS; I am talking about old style div tags such as the one below:
[div id=”Layer1″ style=”position:absolute; left:350px; top:225px; width:550px; height:794px; z-index:4″]Whatever content[/div]
Please note: < > brackets have been changed to [ ] brackets so the code can be displayed on this page.
The above approach was (and in a lot of cases still is) a firm favourite with many less experienced web designers using earlier versions of Dreamweaver and its ilk without any clear appreciation of W3C compliant HTML or the long-term implications of launching web sites with improperly formatted code.
In any case, whilst Internet Explorer in its version 5 and 6 incarnations was the undisputed king of web browsers, issues related to improperly formatted HTML did not generally come back to haunt the designer after his or her site went live, but with the advent and increasing popularity of Firefox user complaints about text overlap, collapsed page layout and other on-screen formatting issues became an annoying part of life for many designers employing the traditional div tag approach.
Yet still this was not seen as a huge problem by many less experienced professionals since Firefox’s market share was comparatively small and the majority of their client’s visitors would invariably be using Internet Explorer to surf the web and so the issue was simply ignored or put off until later.
The launch of Internet Explorer 7 however is set to change this generally lax attitude to W3C compliant HTML by certain elements of the web design industry.
In fact, Microsoft’s new and fussier browser is being adopted at an incredible rate.
January the 8th 2007 officially saw the 100 millionth installation of IE 7; quite impressive for a time span of less than three months since its release.
Some sources in the U.S. even claim that the browser has now reached a 30% market share, although this does sound a little premature.
So what about those designers now finding themselves with a portfolio of web sites increasingly plagued by screen formatting issues, not to mention the growing promotional drawbacks brought on by a lack of W3C compliant HTML?
These days, W3C compliance is an essential part of web design and site deployment, especially as Internet Explorer 7 becomes a fact of daily life on the web during the course of 2007 bringing with it an increasing number of display and functionality issues for improperly formatted HTML.
Designers who have not yet made the transition from the WYSIWYG approach to actually learning about HTML would be well advised to take a look at the W3C web site and familiarise themselves with internet standards.
A small investment in some HTML learning materials and the time to put them to good use might also be an idea.
December 27th, 2007
So you now have the Dreamweaver 8 and you are just not quite sure whether your web design company is willing to shell out some more to upgrade to the latest CS3 version. This is actually a challenging decision to make for your web design company. As a web designer, you have to work with the software, so it is both your right and responsibility to decide whether the new version will help you come up with improved web design. This makes you wonder too: Now that Adobe has already bought Macromedia, what have they done to it? Have they ruined it, or have they made it so much better that you should already kick yourself now for not buying it earlier? Well, if I were to be asked, I stand somewhere in between these two.
Web design feature #1: Adobe and Dreamweaver Together
Your web design company may find it reason enough to buy the new Dreamweaver CS3 because of its full integration with Adobe graphics tools like those found in Photoshop. When you have an image, you can directly click on it and edit right away.
Web design feature #2: CSS Support Made Better
One of the best features found in the new Dreamweaver CS3 is the integration of better CSS layouts. These layouts are all well-commented in the code, so it can be pretty easy to start knowing how CSS layouts tend to work. They now have over 32 layouts that you can choose from in 1, 2 or 3-column formats, in fixed and liquid type web designs. You may also define the position where you want the CSS to be when creating a new page, not to mention how easy it is to move the CSS styles around. You can stat out by styling the tag directly into the HTML through a style attribute and move it to your style sheet. With Dreamweaver CS3, you will only have to right click on the tag and set it to “Convert Inline CSS to Rule” to build a custom class for that specific style or to create one full CSS selector.
Web design feature #3: Mobile Support
Your web design company will also be pleased to know about the mobile support integrated into the new CS3 version. Creating pages made especially for mobile devices have been popular in the recent years, but it can be difficult to design one which is compatible both on mobile and web browser platforms. However, with the integration of the Adobe Device Central into the CS3, Dreamweaver now makes it easy to view your pages in cell phones.
Web design feature #4: Ajax Implementation Now Made Possible
The Dreamweaver CS3 now has integrated the Spry framework so that it adding Ajax widgets and effects onto your pages have now been made possible. All you do is to drag and drop them and incorporate them into your dataset. Dreamweaver CS3 features Spry components which include: widgets for tables, lists and forms: transition effects such as growing, shrinking, highlighting and fading, and integration of data from XML feeds such as in database or RSS.
Web design feature #5: XLST Support
Another amazing feature about the CS3 that both you and your web design company will love is the extensive support it has for XLST through the use of XML files as database source. Through XSLT, it is easy to view the XML in a tree form and integrate it right into your HTML document. This simply means that if you have a number of XML files set in the same format; it is relatively simple to create one single template for all of them in the new CS3 using XLST.
Web design feature #6: Support for Mac Intel Processors
If your web design company works on an Intel-based Macintosh platform, you will be happy with the performance improvements of the CS3. It is now native to the platform and does not run on Rosetta so that it loads a lot quickly than before. In fact, CS3 claims that what loads in Dreamweaver 8 for 4 minutes can load in the CS3 in under one minute. You can do further testing to confirm this.
To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade
That is the question. In my case, I have upgraded and haven’t regretted any of it. I appreciate the new CSS features, the XSLT support and the Device Central. However, your web design company may see one piece that is still missing, which is that of web design time and programming. As in the previous versions, the Dreamweaver CS3 is also still difficult to use in terms of live databases and server side scripts. However, there may be extensions to make things easier for you. On a general whole, go on and upgrade and you will most likely never have to look back.
Semul Johnson is a search engine optimization specialist for SEO 1 Services specializing in Seo web design http://www.seo-1-marketing-services.com
December 22nd, 2007
The latest version of Macromedia Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver MX works with a standalone program that is a wonderful assistant in managing your file extension. Macromedia Dreamweaver MX offers extensions to improve the functionality and scope of Dreamweaver. This program is the extension manager that can be relied upon to install and remove your file extensions. Through this program, you can turn your extensions on and turn them off, as you please. Plus, true to Dreamweaver’s integrated capabilities, the extension manager program works well with Flash and Fireworks to manage their extensions as well.
If you haven’t got any idea on how to manage your extensions through Dreamweaver MX, then, after going over these simple steps, you will find out how reliable and easy it is:
First, open the Extension Manager. Do this by going to the “Commands” menu and choosing “Manage Extensions…”
Second, if you haven’t gotten around to downloading the extension or extensions you want to install, then start downloading them before we go another step further.
Third, since the Extension Manager handle extensions for several programs, as mentioned above, you must make sure that Dreamweaver MX is displayed in the drop-down menu.
After checking out the drop-down menu, go to the “File” menu and choose “Install extension”. This command will open a standard file selector box. Once opened, browse to the file you downloaded and click “Install”. A disclaimer announcement will appear before you. Be sure to read it and that there are no unexpected requirements for use of the extension, since some extensions happen to have these. After reading, click “Accept”. And lastly, click “OK” and close and restart Dreamweaver.
If you don’t like to go through all these process we gave you above, you can skip them and install the extension by double clicking on it after you download. You can also import extensions from Dreamweaver 4 into Dreamweaver MX, but not all Dreamweaver 4 extensions will work in MX. There are important points to remember in installing your extension, though, whenever you install quite a large number of extensions, optimal function of Dreamweaver can slow down. Thus, always make sure that you disable extensions you don’t necessarily need.
It’s very easy to disable your extension: first, open the Extension Manager by going to the “Commands” menu and choosing “Manage Extensions…” Then highlight the extension you want to disable and uncheck them by clicking on the check box next to the extension. Always remember that you may need to restart Dreamweaver to fully disable extensions. If you want to reenable the extensions, just go to the same process. Make sure that the “On/Off” check box is checked.
December 21st, 2007
America Movil and Yahoo! today announced a new strategic global partnership providing a framework for making Yahoo!’s industry leading mobile services available to millions of consumers in 16 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. The agreement sets the stage for Yahoo! oneSearch to be the preferred mobile search service on America Movil’s diverse wireless carriers’ portals and prominent placement of links on the carrier portal to Yahoo!’s Mobile Web properties.
Under the global framework agreement, oneSearch, Yahoo!’s industry leading mobile search product, will be the default mobile search service on America Movil’s wireless carriers’ portals, making it easier for consumers to find relevant answers to search queries on their mobile devices. In the coming months, Yahoo! will customize and deploy localized versions of oneSearch for each region, integrating America Movil’s wireless carriers’ content and tailoring the experience to best meet the needs of each country’s consumer audience.
Yahoo! oneSearch delivers a search experience specifically designed for the mobile phone by delivering relevant results and instant answers in a user-friendly interface, thereby removing the need for consumers to navigate through a sea of PC Web links. oneSearch provides consumers access to news, financial information, weather conditions, flickr(TM) photos, Web images, and Web and Mobile Web sites.
Together, America Movil and Yahoo! are enhancing the experience for consumers on mobile devices. Over the coming months, the two companies will look to bring additional Yahoo! products and services to mobile devices.
“Fostering deep relationships with mobile innovators like Yahoo! is an essential part of our mobile strategy,” Luis Cosio, value added services director of America Movil, stated. “With our mobile leadership in Latin America combined with Yahoo!’s expertise in mobile Internet services, we are delivering compelling mobile experiences for consumers and driving further adoption of the mobile Internet.”
“Our partnerships with leading global operators like America Movil are essential to expanding Yahoo!’s mobile reach and demonstrates our commitment to working with partners to enhance consumers’ mobile Internet experience,” said Bruce Stewart, vice president and general manager, Connected Life Americas, Yahoo!. “By providing compelling mobile experiences and continuing to partner with key operators to provide services tailored for their customers, we can grow usage of the mobile Internet, create new revenue streams and extend our leadership in mobile services.”
The strategic partnership with America Movil is Yahoo!’s largest mobile search deal with an operator to date, building on twenty previous partnerships with mobile operators globally and reinforcing Yahoo!’s strong leadership position in mobile audience reach, mobile search services and mobile advertising. Yahoo! oneSearch is now available in 19 countries around the world, and first launched in the United States in January 2007. For information on oneSearch, Yahoo! Go and Yahoo!’s other mobile products please visit http://mobile.yahoo.com.
December 20th, 2007
Google today welcomed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s clearance of its planned acquisition of DoubleClick Inc., a premier provider of display ad serving technology and services. Google announced in April 2007 a definitive agreement to acquire the company for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management.
“The FTC’s strong support sends a clear message: this acquisition poses no risk to competition and will benefit consumers,” said Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google. “We hope that the European Commission will soon reach the same conclusion, and we are confident that this deal will deliver more relevant ads for consumers, more choices for advertisers, and more opportunities for website publishers.”
The acquisition was approved earlier this year by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and was recommended for approval by one of three Brazilian regulatory agencies. Google cannot close the acquisition until the European Commission, which is still examining the transaction, grants clearance of the deal.
In its clearance opinion released today, the FTC explicitly rejected any current or potential competition concerns. Google and DoubleClick are complementary businesses and do not compete with each other. Google’s current business primarily involves the selling of text-based ads, while DoubleClick’s core business is delivering and reporting on display ads. DoubleClick does not buy ads, sell ads, or buy or sell advertising space. Rather, it provides technology to enable advertisers and publishers to deliver ads once they have agreed to terms, and to provide advertisers and publishers statistics relating to those ads.
The FTC’s opinion also noted the robust competition in the online ad serving space, and Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick is just one of several recent transactions that underscore this strong competition. In recent months, several major transactions in the online advertising space were announced, including Yahoo’s acquisition of Right Media; AOL’s acquisition of ADTECH AG and TACODA; WPP Group’s acquisition of 24/7 Real Media; and Microsoft’s $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive and acquisition of AdECN Inc.
While the FTC’s opinion reaffirmed the law by noting that privacy concerns played no role in its merger review, Schmidt reiterated the company’s commitment to user privacy.
“For us, privacy does not begin or end with our purchase of DoubleClick,” Schmidt said. “We have been protecting our users’ privacy since our inception, and will continue to innovate in how we safeguard their information and maintain their trust.”
December 20th, 2007
Yahoo! today announced that three world-renowned scientists from Yahoo! Research have been recognized for their achievements in fields key to developing the next-generation of Internet experiences, including computer science, artificial intelligence, data mining, and algorithm engineering. Dr. Andrei Broder was named Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Dr. Ron Brachman and Dr. Raghu Ramakrishnan were named Fellows of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). These prestigious honors recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to both the practical and theoretical aspects of computing and information technology.
Broder is a fellow and vice president for computational advertising and search technology at Yahoo! Research where he conducts new research on the intersection of information retrieval, machine learning, optimization, and microeconomics and leads the computational advertising group. He was selected for the honor of ACM Fellow for contributions to algorithms and web technology.
Brachman is the vice president of worldwide research operations for Yahoo! Research and is responsible for all operational activities for the organization; his responsibilities also include overseeing academic relations for all of Yahoo!. Brachman was selected as an IEEE Fellow for his leadership in knowledge representation and reasoning in computer science and artificial intelligence.
Ramakrishnan is chief scientist for Yahoo!’s audience group and a Yahoo! Research Fellow, heading up the community systems group. Ramakrishnan was selected as an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to the fields of deductive databases, data mining and query optimization.
“We are honored to have so many of our talented researchers recognized by top scientific organizations and the academic community at large for their technical and scientific contributions to both academic and product and systems accomplishments,” said Dr. Usama Fayyad, EVP and chief data officer for Yahoo! “At Yahoo!, critical research into the sciences that underpin the Internet are helping us to create increasingly indispensable experiences for our users and to advance the positive impact of the Internet around the world.”
As a testimony to the depth of talent and expertise on Yahoo!’s fast-growing research team - which is one of the largest in the world focused on the new sciences of the Internet - Broder joins four other ACM Fellows at Yahoo!: Brachman; Fayyad; Dr. Prabhakar Raghavan, head of Yahoo! Research; and Ramakrishnan. Previous honorees from Yahoo! as IEEE Fellows include Broder and Raghavan.
Yahoo! Research’s mission is to develop the world-class science that will deliver the next generation of businesses to the company. Yahoo!’s scientists focus on data-driven analysis, high-quality search, algorithms and economic models. Yahoo! Research is committed to an open culture of collaboration with peers from academic and research institutions, with a focus on simultaneously publishing scientific work of the highest standard and driving a research agenda with significant impact for the company.
ACM is an educational and scientific society uniting the world’s computing educators, researchers and professionals to inspire dialogue, share resources and address the field’s challenges. The ACM Fellows program was established to recognize outstanding ACM members for technical, professional and leadership contributions.
IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional society. The organization fosters technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. Through its more than 370,000 members in 160 countries, IEEE is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. IEEE Fellow is the highest grade of membership and is recognized by the technical community as a prestigious honor and an important career achievement.
December 19th, 2007
Microsoft Corp. has acquired Multimap, one of the United Kingdom’s top 100 technology companies and one of the leading online mapping services in the world. The acquisition gives Microsoft a powerful new location and mapping technology to complement existing offerings such as Virtual Earth, Live Search, Windows Live services, MSN and the aQuantive advertising platform, with future integration potential for a range of other Microsoft products and platforms. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The addition of Multimap enhances Microsoft’s position as a leading provider of mapping and location platform services,” said Sharon Baylay, general manager of the Online Services Group at Microsoft. “This acquisition will play a significant role in the future growth of our search business and presents a huge opportunity to expand our platform business beyond the U.K. and globally. We are thrilled to welcome Multimap onboard.”
One of the best-known online mapping companies worldwide, Multimap provides a publicly available personal mapping service at http://www.multimap.com, as well as a range of integrated business services.
“Partnering with Microsoft gives us a world of new opportunities to build our mapping services into new technologies and applications,” said Jeff Kelisky, CEO of Multimap. “As one of the world’s foremost technology brands, Microsoft is in a position to bring even more value to the Multimap service and give people everywhere new, exciting and fun ways to get from point A to point B.”
Multimap will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, as part of the Virtual Earth and Search teams in the Online Services Group. The acquisition is the latest in a series of moves as Microsoft seeks to expand its online services to deliver software, services, and premium content and applications to consumers and businesses.
December 13th, 2007
Today, Google announced its 2007 End-of-Year Zeitgeist. This year’s Zeitgeist reflects both the most popular and the fastest-rising global search terms that people have typed into Google.com. We mined millions of search queries to discover what captured people’s attention this year. To see the results of this research, both serious (news makers, presidential candidates, etc.) and light (movies, lyrics, ringtones, etc.), visit http://www.google.com/zeitgeist.
December 13th, 2007
Previous Posts
