Screen Printing Gets a Rival

Screen Printing Gets a Rival

by: Nash Ville

Before anything else, let’s have a brief description of the screen printing and heat transfer processes. Screen printing refers to the forcing of inks through a stencil that is in a mesh material. Heat transfer, on the other hand, is a method of applying an image in Tshirts, sweatshirts, jackets, hats, bags and more by releasing an ink, dye, toner, etc. from a special transfer paper via heat. Now, let’s move onwards…

According to the article ขScreen Printing vs. Heat Transferข by Bruce Roberts which was posted at www.bfprinting.com, the author has mentioned some pros and cons in using the screen printing and heat transfer methods to produce printed apparels. The article has stated that screen printing is advisable if you are planning to do mass production of Tshirts. He has added that digital heat transfer must be considered for printing short runs because it avoids the expense and extra work of preparing screens and cleaning up ink and chemicals. With financial considerations, much money is needed in screen printing than in heat transfer if you want to set up a business. The screen printing process was also explained in Roberts’ article.

Advantages and Limitations of Screen Printing

Screen printing is suitable for most projects which will be exposed to outdoor elements because of its inks that can last outdoors up to seven years against fading. Its other advantages include larger or smaller design format, use of half tones and blends, versatility and adaptability, great design reproduction capabilities, being good with fine detail, being economical on larger orders, and being permanent when applied properly. So, if you need printing on ridged materials like wood, glass, plastics, etc., it is absolutely the perfect choice for durability and value. However, it doesn’t work well on coarse textured substrates.

Advantages and Limitations of Heat Transfer

The heat transfer process offers unlimited print color combinations, photographic quality reproductions, and the versatility to print small quantities with multicolor designs. It also allows an opportunity to have small quantities of shirts made with colorful designs at affordable prices. Moreover, heat transfer printed shirts are fully washable and can be ironed after a wash while screenprinted shirts cannot be ironed. However, this process doesn’t work properly on dark shirts.

There you have it, folks! With this information on screen printing and heat transfer, the choice is still left for you to decide on which process best suits you. I agree that both methods of printing can be truly fun and rewarding but then, there will always be one that will stand out from among these two. What do you think, is it screen printing or heat transfer?

About The Author

Nash Ville

Well, I must say that I am not a born writer. I didn’t acquire this gift hereditarily either. However, I’m an adventure book lover and used to read everything that I come across in the Internet that sounds interesting. I think, I only developed it through constant practice and exposure to numerous writing stuff. I was chosen to compete in press conferences that showcased my needsowelldeveloped writing skills. I became part of our school publication staff. I started as a news writer and photojournalist of the school paper. Soon, I was appointed editorinchief. It was during this time when I realized that I needed to be more efficient in writing because duty called for it. I should say that this event in my life opened me wholly to the wonderful world of writing.

With all these, I can’t say that I have mastered writing because of these writing experiences. I believe that this craft is also a continuous learning process. I’ve been working hard to become amore efficient and competent in writing, most especially now that I’m working as a content writer for this company. I’m doing articles for printing companies, medical sites, legal sites, and many more.

For additional Information about the articles you may visit their website at http://www.brochuresprintingonline.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 09

by Nash Ville

Writing Effective ALT Text For Images

Writing Effective ALT Text For Images

by: Trenton Moss

Anyone who knows anything about web accessibility knows that images need alternative, or ALT, text assigned to them. This is because screen readers can’t understand images, but rather read aloud the alternative text assigned to them. In Internet Explorer we can see this ALT text, simply by mousing over the image and looking at the yellow tooltip that appears. Other browsers (correctly) don’t do this. The HTML for inserting ALT text is:

But surely there can’t be a skill to writing ALT text for images? You just pop a description in there and you’re good to go, right? Well, kind of. Sure, itกs not rocket science, but there are a few guidelines you need to follow…

Spacer images and missing ALT text

Spacer images should always be assigned null ALT text, or alt=กก . This way most screen readers will completely ignore the image and won’t even announce its presence. Spacer images are invisible images that pretty most websites use. The purpose of them is, as the name suggests, to create space on the page. Sometimes itกs not possible to create the visual display you need, so you can stick an image in (specifying its height and width) and volià, you have the extra space you need.

Not everyone uses this null ALT text for spacer images. Some websites stick in alt=กspacer imageก. Imagine how annoying this can be for a screen reader user, especially when you have ten of them in a row. A screen reader would say, ขImage, spacer imageข ten times in a row (screen readers usually say the word, ขImageข, before reading out its ALT text) now that isn’t helpful!

Other web developers simply leave out the ALT attribute for spacer images (and perhaps other images). In this case, most screen readers will read out the filename, which could be ‘newsite/images/onepixelspacer.gif’. A screen reader would announce this image as ขImage, newsite slash images slash one pixel spacer dot gifข. Imagine what this would sound like if there were ten of these in a row!

Bullets and icons

Bullets and icons should be treated in much the same way as spacer images, so should be assigned null alternative text, or alt=กก. Think about a list of items with a fancy bullet proceeding each item. If the ALT text, ‘Bullet’ is assigned to each image then, ขImage, bulletข will be read aloud by screen readers before each list item, making it take that bit longer to work through the list.

Icons, usually used to complement links, should also be assigned alt=กก. Many websites, which place the icon next to the link text, use the link text as the ALT text of the icon. Screen readers would first announce this ALT text, and then the link text, so would then say the link twice, which obviously isn’t necessary.

(Ideally, bullets and icons should be called up as background images through the CSS document this would remove them from the HTML document completely and therefore remove the need for any ALT description.)

Decorative images

Decorative images too should be assigned null alternative text, or alt=กก. If an image is pure eye candy then thereกs no need for a screen reader user to even know itกs there and being informed of its presence simply adds to the noise pollution.

Conversely, you could argue that the images on your site create a brand identity and by hiding them from screen reader users you’re denying this group of users the same experience. Accessibility experts tend to favour the former argument, but there certainly is a valid case for the latter too.

Navigation & text embedded within images

Navigation menus that require fancy text have no choice but to embed the text within an image. In this situation, the ALT text shouldn’t be used to expand on the image. Under no circumstances should the ALT text say, ‘Read all about our fantastic services, designed to help you in everything you do’. If the menu item says, ‘Services’ then the ALT text should also say ‘Services’. ALT text should always describe the content of the image and should repeat the text wordforword. If you want to expand on the navigation, such as in this example, you can use the title attribute.

The same applies for any other text embedded within an image. The ALT text should simply repeat, wordforword, the text contained within that image.

(Unless the font being used is especially unique itกs often unnecessary to embed text within images advanced navigation and background effects can now be achieved with CSS.)

Company logo

Websites tend to vary in how they apply ALT text to logos. Some say, ‘Company name’, others ‘Company name logo’, and other describe the function of the image (usually a link back to the homepage), ‘Back to home’. Remember, ALT text should always describe the content of the image so the first example, alt=กCompany nameก, is probably the best. If the logo is a link back to the homepage then this can be effectively communicated through the title tag.

Conclusion

Writing effective ALT text isn’t too difficult. If itกs a decorative image then null alternative text, or alt=กก should usually be used never, ever omit the ALT attribute. If the image contains text then the ALT text should simply repeat this text, wordforword. Remember, ALT text should describe the content of the image and nothing more.

Do also be sure also to keep ALT text as short and succinct as possible. Listening to a web page with a screen reader takes a lot longer than traditional methods, so don’t make the surfing experience painful for screen reader users with bloated and unnecessary ALT text.

About The Author

This article was written by Trenton Moss. Heกs crazy about web usability and accessibility so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

This article was posted on March 31

by Trenton Moss

How to Hire a Freelancer Using Elance

How to Hire a Freelancer Using Elance

by: Matt Bacak

If you have a project that you need to outsource but don’t know where to turn, Elance might be your solution. Elance connects businesses with a pool of professional providers from around the globe. When you post a project on Elance, providers compete against each other to give you the best price and service. You can choose either an open bid where all qualified Elance professionals can bid or an invitation only bid where you can peruse portfolios and choose which providers youกd like to invite to bid on your project. Signing up with Elance is easy and itกs free. Hereกs a stepbystep guide to start you on your way to finding the professional thatกs right for you.

1. Go to Elance.com and click on the ขBuy Servicesข tab located at the top of the page. This will take you to the next screen.

2. On this screen youกll be presented with three choices: ขPost Your Projectข, ขSearch For Providersข or ขGet Project Reviewข. For this guide we are going to focus only on posting a project for open bid. So, click on the first button, ขPost Your Project.ข (You can always come back later to investigate the other options.)

3. Here, youกll need to enter your contact information. If you do not already have a username and password, click on the ขclick hereข underline next to the password box to get to the next screen. If you have a username and password, enter it now and skip to step 5.

4. Youกll see a screen with eight empty boxes. Youกll need to create a ขusernameข and choose a password. Enter each within the assigned boxes. Reenter your password in the ขReenter passwordข box. Remember to choose both a username and a password that youกll remember. Next, enter your email address, first name, last name and phone number. Youกll also need to reenter your email address for verification purposes. Then, click ขcontinueข.

5. Choose the category which best suits your project needs. There are 11 categories to choose from. These include: Administrative Support, Architecture & Engineering, Audio, Visual & Multimedia, Graphic Design & Art, Legal, Management & Finance, Sales & Marketing, Software & Technology, Training & Development, Website Development and Writing & Translation. Once you choose your main category, youกll be asked to choose a subcategory. This allows you to receive bids that better match your project. After choosing your subcategory, youกll be taken to the next screen.

6. On this screen there are three main boxes of information to provide. In the first box, youกll need to Choose a Title for your project (e.g., 12 Business Articles), describe your project in detail (how many words, project deadlines, etc.), choose how many days you will allow providers to bid on your project, choose an estimated start date, a projected budget and attach any files that may be relevant to your project. The more detailed you are in describing your project, the easier it will be for qualified providers to give you detailed proposals regarding your project.

7. In the next box, youกll be asked if you want providers to able to seek clarification on your project via the private message board. If so, check the box. If not, skip to the next box.

8. Finally, youกll be asked to choose how you receive your bids. The Select Level will provide you with higher quality providers. Providers will give you more competitive bids as Elance charges providers a higher rate to list as a Select Provider. Youกll also be seen as more serious about your project if you choose this level. The lowest amount you can receive for your project is $250 and you also must pay a refundable $25 deposit to post your project. If you choose not to go this route, you can pick the Basic level which allows you to post your project without a deposit but youกll still need to be credit card verified (so that Elance knows you can pay for projects you award.) After filling in the required information in each of the boxes, click ขContinueข to move to the next screen.

9. Here, youกll need to provide your credit card information. Unless you chose Select providers you won’t be charged. If you want to pay your provider with a credit card through Elance, youกll need to verify your credit card. Elance will make two small posts against your card and then refund them once youกve posted your project. Once you supply the required information, click on ขContinueข.

10. On the next screen, youกll confirm the information you supplied regarding your project. If you need to make any changes, this is the place. You can either click on ขPost Project Nowข to make your project active or on ขSave & Post Laterข to post the project at a later date.

11. Now that your project is live, bidders can bid on your project. When you receive a number of bids, pick the provider best suited to your needs and your project is on it way to being completed.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt Bacak

Screen Scraping Your Way Into RSS

Screen Scraping Your Way Into RSS

by: Dennis Pallett

Introduction
RSS is one the hottest technologies at the moment, and even big web publishers (such as the New York Times) are getting into RSS as well. However, there are still a lot of websites that do not have RSS feeds.
If you still want to be able to check those websites in your favourite aggregator, you need to create your own RSS feed for those websites. This can be done automatically with PHP, using a method called screen scrapping. Screen scrapping is usually frowned upon, as itกs mostly used to steal content from other websites.
I personally believe that in this case, to automatically generate a RSS feed, screen scrapping is not a bad thing. Now, on to the code!
Getting the content
For this article, weกll use PHPit as an example, despite the fact that PHPit already has RSS feeds (http://www.phpit.net/syndication/).
Weกll want to generate a RSS feed from the content listed on the frontpage (http://www.phpit.net). The first step in screen scraping is getting the complete page. In PHP this can be done very easily, by using implode(file(กก, ก[the url here]ก)); IF your web host allows it. If you can’t use file() youกll have to use a different method of getting the page, e.g. using the CURL library (http://www.php.net/curl).
Now that we have the content available, we can parse it for the content using some regular expressions. The key to screen scraping is looking for patterns that match the content, e.g. are all the content items wrapped in <div>กs or something else? If you can successfully discover a pattern, then you can use preg_match_all() to get all the content items.
For PHPit, the pattern that match the content is <div class="contentitem">[Content Here]<div>. You can verify this yourself by going to the main page of PHPit, and viewing the source.
Now that we have a match we can get all the content items. The next step is to retrieve the individual information, i.e. url, title, author, text. This can be done by using some more regular expression and str_replace() on the each content items.
By now we have the following code;

<?php

// Get page
$url = "http://www.phpit.net/";
$data = implode("", file($url));

// Get content items
preg_match_all ("/<div class=\"contentitem\">([^`]*?)<\/div>/", $data, $matches);

Like I said, the next step is to retrieve the individual information, but first letกs make a beginning on our feed, by setting the appropriate header (text/xml) and printing the channel information, etc.

// Begin feed
header ("ContentType: text/xml; charset=ISO88591");
echo "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"ISO88591\" ?>
";
?>
<rss version="2.0"
itle);

// Second, get url
preg_match ("/<a href=\"([^`]*?)\">/", $match, $temp);
$url = $temp[ก1ก];
$url = trim($url);

// Third, get text
preg_match ("/<p>([^`]*?)<span class=\"byline\">/", $match, $temp);
$text = $temp[ก1ก];
$text = trim($text);

// Fourth, and finally, get author
preg_match ("/<span class=\"byline\">By ([^`]*?)<\/span>/", $match, $temp);
$author = $temp[ก1ก];
$author = trim($author);

// Echo RSS XML
echo "<item>
";
echo "\t\t\t<title>" . strip_tags($title) . "</title>
";
echo "\t\t\t<link>http://www.phpit.net" . strip_tags($url) . "</link>
";
echo "\t\t\t<description>" . strip_tags($text) . "</description>
";
echo "\t\t\t<content:encoded><![CDATA[
";
echo $text . "
";
echo " ]]></content:encoded>
";
echo "\t\t\t<dc:creator>" . strip_tags($author) . "</dc:creator>
";
echo "\t\t</item>
";
}
?>

And finally, the RSS file is closed off.

</channel>
</rss>

Thatกs all. If you put all the code together, like in the demo script, then youกll have a perfect RSS feed.
Conclusion
In this tutorial I have shown you how to create a RSS feed from a website that does not have a RSS feed themselves yet. Though the regular expression is different for each website, the principle is exactly the same.
One thing I should mention is that you shouldn’t immediately screen scrape a websiteกs content. Email them first about a RSS feed. Who knows, they might set one up themselves, and that would be even better.
Download sample script at http://www.phpit.net/viewsource.php?url=/demo/screenscrape%20rss/example.php

About The Author

Dennis Pallett is a young tech writer, with much experience in ASP, PHP and other web technologies. He enjoys writing, and has written several articles and tutorials. To find more of his work, look at his websites at http://www.phpit.net, http://www.aspit.net and http://www.ezfaqs.com

This article was posted on December 11, 2004

by Dennis Pallett

Don’t Use Markers to Label CDs and DVDs

Don’t Use Markers to Label CDs and DVDs

by: Adam Platzer

Many people use markers to write on the surface of their CDs and DVDs when labeling their media. What most people do not know is that using markers, such as Sharpies, ballpoint pens, or any other sharp object can be very damaging to the media. Most markers contain chemicals that create oxidation, which can deteriorate the CD or DVD. The oxidation can ruin the aluminum, which covers the surface of the media and ultimately can destroy the data on the disc. Additionally, these types of markers can damage the physical structure of the disc.

There are a couple of ways to avoid these problems. Special pens are now sold which are made specifically for writing on media. One brand is called Staedtler Lumocolor CD/DVD Markers (pictured to the right). Another tip to keep in mind is that off the shelf markers can be used on media that has been screen printed because the screen printing protects the data from chemical destruction.

About The Author

Adam Platzer

Marketing & Communications

Spinergy

CD/DVD Replication, Duplication, and Screen Printing

Phone: 8003331328

http://www.spinergymedia.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 08

by Adam Platzer

Web Accessibility: The Basics

Web Accessibility: The Basics

by: Trenton Moss

What is web accessibility & why is it important?
Web accessibility is about making your website accessible to all Internet users (both disabled and nondisabled), regardless of what browsing technology they’re using. In addition to complying with the law, an accessible website can reap huge benefits on to your website and your business.
Your website must be able to function with all different browsing technologies
The first and perhaps the most important rule of web accessibility. Not everyone is using the latest version of Internet Explorer, with all the plugins and programs that you may require them to have for your website. Different browsing technologies, each with their own accessibility requirements, can include:

Lynx browser Textonly browser with no support for tables, CSS, images, JavaScript, Flash or audio and video content
WebTV 560px in width with horizontal scrolling not available
Screen reader Page content read aloud in the order it appears in the HTML document
Handheld device Very small screen with limited support for JavaScript and large images
Screen magnifier As few as three to four words may be able to appear on the screen at any one time
Slow connection (below 56kb) Users may turn off images to enable a faster download time
1600px screen width Very wide screen

This basically means that to ensure your website is accessible to everyone you must provide alternatives to:

Images in the form of ALT text
JavaScript through the tag
Flash with HTML equivalents
Audio & video by using subtitles or written transcripts

For enhanced website accessibility you must also be careful how your pages look when support for CSS and/or tables has been removed.
There are two good ways you can check your website is accessible for all these:

Download the Opera browser and read this article on checking web accessibility with Opera (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/checkingjustbrowser)
Download the Lynx browser from http://lynx.browser.org and see if you can successfully access every part of your website

Forms need to be accessible to all web users
When a web user fills out a form itกs a great thing. People fill out forms to:

Buy a product
Sign up to a newsletter
Ask a question

These are the goals of your website! A site visitor may look through your site, decides he likes what he sees and tries to sign up to your newsletter.
…But the form isn’t accessible to him so he clicks away and you lose a potential customer. Most forms on the web suffer from accessibility issues. The two main reasons for this are:

Prompt text is incorrectly positioned
Prompt text is unassigned to form items

(Prompt text is the text that appears next to each form item, for example, ‘name’, ‘email’, ‘comments’)
To find out more please read this article about making your forms accessible (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/accessibleonlineforms).
It should be easy for all users to quickly process the content on your website
We generally don’t read web pages. We scan, trying to find what we’re looking for as quickly as possible. On a regular monitor, we scroll down the page looking at the items that stand out from the rest of the text: headings, links, bold text and bullet points. Nonkeyboard and visually impaired users often scan pages by tabbing between headings or links.
To ensure the accessibility of your website, use headings, links, bold text and bullet points and make sure they contain descriptive text. For example, never use กclick hereก for link text.
Structure and presentation should be completely separated
By separating structure and presentation your website will be accessible to and ready for the future of the Internet: PDAs, mobile phones, incar browsers, WebTV and 1600px screens.
The structure of a document is how it is organised, usually with navigational menu items, headings, subheadings, paragraphs, lists, and links. The presentation of a document is how these words and images are presented to the end user.
The main principle behind this accessibility guideline is to use CSS and not tables to lay out your web pages. Check out our CSS resources area for how to use CSS to increase your websiteกs accessibility.
Thereกs more to separating structure and presentation than just laying your web pages out with CSS. Have a look at this HTML element list that tells you which elements are structural and which are presentational. For optimal web accessibility, you can, and should, avoid using presentational elements as they may cause your website to become less accessible to certain users.
The end user should have control over your web pages
All web users have unique requirements for how they use the Internet, depending on the kind of browser they’re using or any kind of handicap or disability they may have. By handing control back to your users youกll enhance your websiteกs accessibility and you site visitors will be able to use your website in the way that best suits them.
This accessibility guideline could mean allowing users to resize text, warning them when links are going to open in a new window, or providing a link at the top of the screen that takes the user directly to the page content.

About The Author

This article was written by Trenton Moss. Heกs crazy about web usability and accessibility so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy (Webcredible http://www.webcredible.co.uk) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

This article was posted on July 13, 2004

by Trenton Moss

Improving Usability For Screen Reader Users

Improving Usability For Screen Reader Users

by: Trenton Moss

Simply ensuring your website is accessible to screen reader users is unfortunately not enough to ensure these users can find what they’re looking for in a reasonably quick and efficient manner. Even if your site is accessible to screen reader users, its usability could be so incredibly poor that they needn’t have bothered coming to your site.

Fortunately, there are plenty of simpletoimplement guidelines you can follow, which not only drastically improve usability for screen reader users, but for all web users:

1. Descriptive headings

The use of onpage headings is one of the most important usability features for screen reader users, as it helps them more easily understand the page structure. Although text on the page may appear to be a heading for sighted users, it must be labelled as a heading within the HTML code for screen reader users to know it is a heading.

Screen readers don’t look at web pages they read through the HTML code. If a piece of text is called a heading within the HTML code then the screen reader will announce that itกs a heading. If not, screen reader users won’t actually know if something that visually appears to be a heading is actually a heading.

Another usability benefit of using headings for screen reader users, is that these users can call up a list of onpage headings and jump to the section of the page in which they’re most interested. This works in much the same way as sighted web users scanning through web pages by glancing at headings. If headings are descriptive of the content contained beneath them it becomes far easier for screen reader users to find the information which they’re after.

2. Descriptive link text

Screen reader users can browse through web pages by calling up a list of onpage links, and activating the link in which they’re most interested. As such, nondescriptive link text such as ‘click here’ should be avoided at all costs as it makes no sense whatsoever out of context.

The good news is that the use of descriptive link texts represents a usability benefit for everyone. When we scan through web pages, one of the items that stands out to us is link text. ‘Click here’ is totally meaningless to web users scanning through pages and forces users to hunt through surrounding text to discover the link destination.

3. Lists

Using lists within the HTML code is extremely useful for screen reader users, as screen readers announce the number of items in each list before reading out the list items. This helps these users know what to expect when hearing a list of items (such as site navigation).

This works in mush the same way as an answer phone telling you how many messages you have, before listening to them. By informing you of how many messages you have, you instantly know what to expect. If thereกs only one or two messages you can probably remember them; much more and youกll probably want to get a pen and paper and make notes.

The use of lists is really just a behindthescenes change to the code and needn’t affect the visual appearance of the website.

4. Logical linearization

Screen reader users generally have to listen to web pages from start to finish, top to bottom, left to right. Sighted web users on the other hand can glance through a web page almost randomly, spotting important information wherever it may appear on the page. Because of this, important information should always be placed towards the top of the page.

One example of how not to do this is to place instructions for a form at the bottom of the page.

Placing important information towards the top of the page actually benefits everyone, as the important information is now in the place where sighted users look first the top of the page.

5. Short, succinct ALT text

ALT text is the alternative text for images that gets read out to screen reader users. Any website offering even basic accessibility will provide this alternative text. Some websites try to overexplain the information conveyed by images, forcing screen reader users to have to listen to a lot of unnecessary and irrelevant information.

Screen reader users often take longer than sighted web users to work through websites, so help make their surfing time easier with succinct ALT text.

6. Short, frontloaded paragraphs

Frontloading means placing the conclusion first, followed by the what, why, when, where and how. By placing the conclusion first, screen reader users can instantly gain an understanding of what the paragraphกs about. They can then decide whether they want to keep on listening or if they want to skip to the next paragraph (which they can easily do with the screen reader). If the paragraphs are short, they can do this safe in the knowledge that they won’t be missing extra information.

Frontloading content obviously benefits everyone, as web users no longer have to search around for the main point of each paragraph.

7. Descriptive page title

The page title is the very first thing that screen reader users hear when arriving at any web page, so itกs truly essential that itกs descriptive of the page. Again, this benefits everyone as users can use the page title to orientate themselves and confirm that they’re on the page they think they’re on. This is especially true for web users on dialup connections where the page title displays a number of seconds before the rest of the page.

Conclusion

There are a number of relatively simple and painless things that can be done to improve usability for screen reader users. Fortunately, nearly all of them improve usability for all web users, meaning everyone benefits which is never a bad thing.

About The Author

This article was written by Trenton Moss. Heกs crazy about web usability and accessibility so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

This article was posted on August 25

by Trenton Moss

How To Take Care Of Your Laptop Computer

How To Take Care Of Your Laptop Computer

by: Joe Chianese

As the proud owner of a laptop computer, youกll want to keep your machine in the best possible condition.
Aside from cleaning your screen and dusting the keyboard, however, youกll need to take a few extra steps to maintain your laptopกs health:
Play it cool
A laptop computer generates a lot of heat, especially when running the latest highpowered software. Too much heat and you risk damaging the internal circuitry.
Always try to keep your laptop in a wellventilated, cool environment. And ensure you don’t block the fan grills on the sides, back, or bottom of the machine at any time.
Handle the screen carefully
Avoid touching or playing with your LCD screen.
Yes, it might be fun to watch the waves generated by your finger against the screen, but LCD displays are fragile devices that must be cared for.
Take care when cleaning the screen too, and use only approved cleaning materials.
You won’t want to pay the money for screen repairs or, even worse a new machine entirely.
Don’t drop it
Whatever you do, don’t drop your laptop computer! Keep it safe inside of a carrying case when moving around or traveling.
Don’t leave it on the edge of a table or on an unstable support of some kind. One ill fated drop to the floor could spell death for your mobile office.
Try to make sure the rubber feet underneath are in good condition and are still attached. This will prevent the device from sliding around accidentally.
Be careful with those drinks…
If you need to have a drink while working or playing, be careful not to spill it.
Your laptop computer could suffer the consequences from just a few drops of liquid poured in the right places.
While you probably do eat and drink around it regardless, you will want to occasionally wipe down the edges, the keyboard, the touchpad, and maybe even wipe down the screen to keep any dirt from accumulating.
Just say no to viruses
Security wise, make sure you obtain an antivirus program.
Secondly, keep it updated!
Buying an antivirus one month and not updating it for the next six really negates it purpose. Your laptop computer could be exposed to hundreds and thousands of new viruses every month if you don’t update your virus definitions.
Most antivirus programs have automatic update methods, eliminating the need for you to have to remember to do it manually.
Avoid Popups
Popups are particularly annoying on a laptop computer. Trying to close a bunch of windows without a regular mouse can be a nuisance.
Youกll want a popup blocker, such as the Google Toolbar (located at http://tools.google.com), to prevent these pop up ads.
Many intrusive forms of advertising, and even some viruses, can install software on your machine by using various forms of popups. Itกs best to get yourself a blocker and avoid the situation entirely.
Use a firewall
Always utilize a firewall on your Internet or network enabled laptop computer. Even if you use Windows XPกs built in firewall (or purchase one from such companies as Norton), your security will greatly benefit from it.
Blocking out all the unnecessary ports and closing all the loopholes will prevent a hacker or virus from freely entering your hard drive.
So there you go. Combine all of the above tactics and help your laptop enjoy a happier and healthier lifestyle!

About The Author

Joe Chianese is a technical writer and frequent contributor to HowToBuyALaptop.com. For advice on how to find the right laptop computer for you, visit: http://HowToBuyALaptop.com

This article was posted on July 03, 2004

by Joe Chianese

How to Create Your Own Blog Using Blogger

How to Create Your Own Blog Using Blogger

by: Matt Bacak

It takes only a few minutes and is easy to setup your own weblog using the Blogger weblog system. By completing only three simple steps, creating an account, naming your blog and choosing a template, you too can join the thousands of people now blogging on the web. Hereกs a detailed stepbystep guide to help to get you started using Blogger

1. Go to Blogger.com and click on the arrow that says ขCreate Your Blog Now.ข Youกll be asked to create a username and choose a password that youกll use to access your Blogger account; choose a display name that will be used to sign your posts (e.g., moody mom, bloggerx, etc.) and provide an email address. Youกll also be asked to check a box indicating that you accept Bloggerกs Terms of Service . Then click on ขContinueข to go the next screen.

2. On the next screen to name your blog (e.g., The Blog Report, Myrahกs Insanity Report, etc.) You can choose any name you wish. After you choose your blog title, you need to choose your URL address. This is the web address that people can click to access your blog. Again, as long as itกs not taken, you can choose any address you want. Remember, the shorter and easier to spell the better it will be for people to remember. Also remember, that many thousands of people use Blogger to host their weblog and it may take you a while to find a web address that hasn’t already been taken. Finally, for security purposes, youกll need to provide word verification by typing in the box the word that is displayed above the box on the screen. Then, click ขContinueข to move to next screen.

3. On the next screen, youกll need to choose a template for your blog. This is the design of your blog, what your blog will look like to visitors. Blogger provides 12 different templates to choose from. Pick your favorite. You can change the look of your blog at a later time by choosing a different Blogger template or using of the hundreds of free templates that are available across the Internet. After you choose your template, click ขContinue.ข Blogger will begin creating your blog.

4. Once itกs created, click on ขStart Postingข and write your first post for the world to see. Click on ขPublish Postข and Blogger will tell you it is publishing your post. Then click on the ขView Blogข tab and youกll find that you’re officially a member of the blogging world.

About The Author

Matt Bacak became ก#1 Best Selling Authorก in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s eBiz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com

This article was posted on August 08

by Matt Bacak

Website designing Pillars (part2)

Website designing Pillars (part2)

by: Pavel Lenshin

USABILITY

Usability is what makes your WS pleasant to deal with. While everyone defines personally for her(him)self how to make design nice to look at, memorable (in respect to branding) and serve customer/business needs in the best way possible, the technical side of usability can and should be corrected using the standard requirements.

SOURCE CODE OPTIMIZATION

Firstly about the four problems that come to my mind with กdirtyก HTML source code:

Potential crossbrowser conflicts as some particular useless Tags (a piece of HTML source code) may be neglected by one browser but create some visual errors, when viewed in other browser.

The more useless HTML Tags webpage has, the more drive space it occupies.

As the derivative of the previous problem, the more size of that webpage, the longer it takes to visitor to load and view it.

Search engines like plain and clear textual information for easy search and scan. By having a lot of useless pieces of HTML code, you prevent SE spiders to proper index your webpages. The result is the obvious decreasing of your Search Engine rankings. That is why Meta Tags correcting is not the only thing you should pay attention to.

Statistic shows that more then 85% of all WSs online demands graphics or HTML code optimization. That is actually a common problem, the core of which lies in the use of highly popular กhomeก web editors like FrontPage or other.

The กwinnerก among the worst is wellknown Netscape Composer, due to the extremely กdirtyก HTML code it generates while editing old or creating new webpages. If you have ever used Composer and no one have กcleanedก those webpages afterwards, they definitely contain a lot of HTML กgarbageก.

Based on my own experience every 50Kb Netscape Composerกs webpage can be easily optimized to the 40Kb file size or less, as a simple result of the deleting junk HTML tags. If you implement Cascade Style Sheet and HTML compressor you will get the same, but กclean & shinyก webpage totaling 2530Kb (4050% space savings) with the enhanced visual effects.

The example above shows saving on a single webpage, but if we speak in terms of 5060 pages WS, that occupy (without graphics) 35Mb of hard drive space, the potential savings as a result of HTML optimization may reach 13Mb. So if you are experiencing the lack of hard drive space with your hosting provider, the solution to that problem lies in simple WS optimization. It doesn’t only save a lot of space, but, as we know, eliminates potential crossbrowser mistakes, helps SE spiders to properly index your webpages and make your visitorsก surfing more quick and smooth and therefore pleasant.

GRAPHICS OPTIMIZATION

When we speak about poorly optimized graphics we get two problems: more occupied space and worse load time. Given that the first obstacle may be overcome by acquiring personal server with several Gigabytes of hard drive space, the letter problem will continue to exist as the majority of web visitors have low speed dialup connection.

To make your graphics optimized on the basic level, you should save it in the proper graphic format. Many popular pictures of eBook covers can be easily optimized simply by resaving .JPG format into .GIF or vice versa depending on particular file. That tactic alone can bring 15Kb file to occupy 710Kb in the matter of 2 min.

The basic math shows that 10 optimized pictures (without HTML optimization) on a webpage are capable to decrease the overall size of it from 120Kb to 70Kb with no visual loss in the quality of picture. Are you aware of statistics how many visitors leave your site just because they are tired to wait until all pictures load? It doesn’t mean that you have to simply delete these pictures completely as some people suggest, what it does mean is that they are better to be optimized because in case with eBook covers, they proved to triple selling potential and their absence will be hardly compensated by new visitors.

To choose the right format, follow one simple rule: กIf the target picture is more likely to be a photo, with many colors, unshaped objects and different lights, this file should be saved in .JPG format. If, on the contrary, a picture is more likely to consists of a number of vector objects like circles, triangles, squares, doesn’t have too many colors or similar to some drown comics, then .GIF format is the best to use.ก

If it is hard to determine, then save it in both formats and compare quality/size ratio. Not much work, big effect.

Having semi or fully professional graphic editors will allow you to get even better results by selecting compression rate, smoothness, sharpness of edges – if we speak about .JPG format; or palette, colors, rate of transparency, animation features etc. – if we deal with .GIF format.

Todayกs technological opportunities are vast, so it is you to decide how deeply you want to กdive inก.

CROSSBROWSER & SCREEN RESOLUTION OPTIMIZATION

The numbers are the following:

2% have outdated 14กก with 640*480 pixels in width and height respectively.

49% of websurfers use 15ก monitors with preferable กstandardก screen resolution of 800*600 pixels;

45% surf the web with 17ก monitors with reasonable 1024*768 resolution;

4% of users enjoy 1819ก monitors with 1152*8641280*1024 screen settings.

What should these numbers tell you? The very simple thing – if you created the WS on your 15ก monitor, don’t assume that it will look as good on other monitors as on yours.

Let me draw several notes here about the tendency that monitor market will follow in the nearest future. First is that all 14ก monitors are gradually going to their deserved eternal rest. Even the share of notebooks with 15ก TFT screens growing exponentially. There are even several new versions with 16ก active matrixes. Don’t also forget that notebooksก 14ก TFT screen have almost the same diagonal inches as usual 15ก CRT (Cathoderay tube) monitors. Secondly, the number of 15ก monitors is also decreasing, due to growing number of 17ก monitor owners that is the third point.

One sentence conclusion of the above statistics is that your WS should look fine, at least, under 800*600 and 1024*768 resolutions. This is a market demand to your WS and, as we know, you better not joke with The Market.

Without going deep into theory, there are two ways:

more simple;

more complex.

Both correct, both satisfy the demand above but the letter way, given it is more complex, usually perfectly fits any screen resolution, whether it is 14ก or 21ก and more favorable to WS space usage.

The easier way would be to make the borders of your webpage (tables of your webpage) to be fixed with certain number of pixels.

The most popular settings are something between 650 to 750 pixels just to fit that 800 pixels width screen under the most popular 15ก monitor 800*600 resolution. If you go that way your webpage will have the same look under different sets of resolutions.

If we try to see it at 14ก monitor with 640 pixels in width, the unpleasant horizontal scroller would appear because our fixed setting in 700 pixels is wider then 640 and it just won’t fit in it. If, on the other hand, we look at our imaginable site under 1152*864 or 1280*1024, it will look too narrow, as it will occupy only 60% of the screen width (our 700 in comparison to 1200 screen pixels width). Why does this designing way simpler? You just won’t have any problems building it: no need for resolution or crossbrowser optimization, as fixed pixels are read correctly under almost every browser.

The more complex way is to have width of one or several HTML tables columns on your site to be set in percents like 75% or 100% and, therefore, poses the ability to automatically broaden or narrow according to the specified percents, depending on what screen resolution the site is being viewed under.

If you have 600*800 screen settings (the screen width is 600 pixels) and one of the table width of your site is set to 100%, then this particular table along with all included text and graphic will narrow to 600 pixels, if we set the monitor to 1200*1024 resolution, i.e. having 1200 pixels wide, our siteกs table will stretch to the specified 100%, in that case, 1200 pixels.

Thatกs why it looks more attractive under different resolutions but demands additional optimization, including crossbrowser optimization, as Netscape Navigator browser has some problems with proper interpreting of percent settings in multi column tables. Which way to choose depends on the tasks and your preference.

I wish you endless creativity and no more then 70Kb per page

copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin

About The Author

Pavel Lenshin is an Internet entrepreneur, webdeveloper and marketer, founder of the entrepreneurship portal, where you can find discounted Internet services, marketing solutions, FREE ebooks, FREE reports and finally uncover innovative business strategies through FREE กNET Business Magazineก.

Visit: http://asbone.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on January 09, 2005

by Pavel Lenshin

Website Backgrounds: 5 Cool Tricks for a Professio

Website Backgrounds: 5 Cool Tricks for a Professional Look

by: David Leonhardt

Most websites feature white backgrounds. Or they sit on a navy or gray background but most of the screen is still white, like a page of paper set against the darker background. Occasionally, you might run across more interesting colors reds and purples and greens and rust – often looking more gaudy than professional.

But every now and then, there is a website with a photo or a drawing or a pattern background. This tutorial will show you not just how to place a background on your website, but five clever ticks to spice up the background without resorting to gaudiness.

The basic html code to place a background on your web page is very simple:

To place a background in a table, perhaps set against a solid color page background, here is the basic html code:

The image file called image.jpg now becomes your background. A typical image would show up ’tiledก. In other words, it repeats itself horizontally and vertically to fill the screen. This usually does not look very professional, so here are five tricks to clean it up and spice it up.

1. Use กstripก graphics. Strip graphics are simply very long images that stretch across the screen. When they repeat, they repeat one below the other. To see this in action, view my page at http://www.thehappyguy.com/SEO.html. The yellow strip along the right side looks like it is part of the top banner image. But it is a 650 by 20 strip image, mostly white, with a touch of yellow along the left side. This works well with patterns that vary only from left to right

2. Hold the background in place. When a visitor scrolls down, the text rolls over the image. I used this trick at my personal website: http://www.leonhardtonline.com (Please forgive the mess – I never seem to find the time to clean it up.) The html code to do this is:

This works for patterns, but it works best for photos or drawings, such as a faded image of your company logo or a faded scenery shot or a faded photo of people interacting. (Remember that the background should not stand out at the expense of the foreground text and images, which is why you want faded images.)

3. Another great background trick is to place a smaller picture in the background, such as your company logo or some other image that you do not want to take up the entire screen. This works best against a white background. Here is the html code:

If you want the image to show up just in a table:

I used this function in just one cell of a table by inserting it in my tag for my navigation menu at http://www.vitaminsupplementsstore.net . Notice how the faded bottle is in the background behind the navigation links, but it does not repeat down the page.

4. You can further control the position of the background image. Consider the following code:

We now have a background that fills the top right corner of the page. Depending how big it is, it might cover most of the screen or just the corner.

5. Another way to use background images are as navigation buttons. While search engines can easily follow image links, they don’t carry the same relevancy as keywordrich text links. A background button image can make a text link look like a button. Each navigation link would have to be placed within its own table or cell, then apply the code used in the previous example.

Used properly, background images can greatly enhance the appeal of your website. If you are looking for a way to spice up your website, these four tricks can help.

About The Author

David Leonhardt is a freelance writer and SEO specialist. Contact him at [email protected] or visit his website at http://www.thehappyguy.com. Read more webmastering and online marketing articles at http://www.thehappyguy.com/marketingarticles.html or pick up a free motivation ebook at http://www.thehappyguy.com/l/dailymotivationinspiration.php

This article was posted on August 21, 2004

by David Leonhardt