ARE YOU THINKING OF GETTING A BOOK READING TABLET? Well, we have been considering it, mostly for the children. As most of you know, personally I LOVE LOVE my iPad. Useful,  easy, fun -  did I say useful? However, sharing is not something one does easily when it comes to sticky little 6 year old hands. So we are looking at the possibilities of the other simple tablets out there, which basically comes down to the Nook Color from Barnes & Noble or the Kindle Fire from Amazon, since we want to include web browsing.

And since our local library downloads are available as Kindle editions - that kind of makes the choice for us. Although Netflix being on the Nook is another point to consider. And price, of course.

So I am glad to be seeing the reviews of the Kindle Fire so far - which shipped a day early, today. They seem to say it is the better model:  Read the ZDNet review

Also to mention today: don't forget to sign up for the new newsletter.  In my new collaboration with Michael Carnell (otherwise known as the truly techy Data Director) - DesignTechWeb - we'll be sending out a semi-regular newsletter with how-to tips, content ideas, maintenance guides and  occasional odd ball humor.  And did I say, we'll be making it a point to write in plain-old-English-non-tech-speak?  The content will be directed at you, the website owner, so we hope you'll find it useful.

Just a brief announcement: tomorrow lunchtime, I will be co-presenting at the Charleston Center for Women's Brown Bag Lunch Series at Noon.

This is a free event for professional women.

The topic for the presentation and discussion is Working from Home. My esteemed co-presenter will be Cheryl Smithem of Charleston PR & Design, LLC.

I'll be talking about the challenges of working from home when one has children...!

Registration required:
Call (843) 763-7333 or email to register info@c4women.org

129 Cannon Street
Charleston SC 29403

Snacks provided by Costco Wholesale

More details at:

http://www.c4women.org/Calendar/2011_oct.html

And now in a move that will have big consequences for everyone, Microsoft has announced that it's new OS Windows 8 (which is a big deal, but that's another blog post) will have a mobile version called Metro, which will not support Flash.

Basically explained for most of us, this is because playing a Flash component on a web page requires a plug-in for your browser.  Which Metro will not use. This is with the aim of using less battery power, bandwidth, and being touch interface friendly, and open web standards - all those goals that mobile devices are striving for.

What does it mean? Well, basically, if you want your website to be visible (specifically the picture or video parts of it) then it's time to "remodel" without Flash. Or at least develop a "mobile only" version.

All those lovely home page rotating images, they can still be there, but not in Flash. Apparently, Microsoft recently examined 97,000 web sites, and discovered that 62% of them do currently use Flash - but many of those use it only to display ads, not their content.

All the numbers say that a larger and larger proportion of web browsing is done on mobile devices. And now that Microsoft has joined Apple in this particular attribute, this is one feature that's going to become almost impossible to ignore.

So, it's time to look again at your website, and decide what YOU are going to do.

An elegant website design for a high quality builder in Charleston. This design is based on a blog model, using the SunBlog module to build a searchable project portfolio, as well as an easy way for the owner to keep his content fresh by blog posting useful content for his clients.  The color scheme was already in place with the client's logo;  the skin is a fixed width customized DotNetNuke 5 skin. This project includes some custom graphics and a bandwidth friendly mobile website also, with automatic redirecting. We created a temporary website within a week of the project start, and stayed within the limited budget.  Also included was help with submission of the website to Google Places, Bing Business and more, and basic SEO service. A happy client.

www.SimonBlackConstruction.com

Most people (geeks and the non geeky world too) agree that the single largest problem that Facebook has had to deal with was the difficulties of privacy. Not helped by the amount of times that Facebook changed and update dit's privacy policies, of course, reaching out into every spin off, associated sites and apps...

So, what about Google+? Are we all going to be faced with a similar confusion all over again as we learn the ins and outs of another social network?

I am not sure. Google benefits, of course, because we the consumer audience is so much more aware, at least, of all the questions we should be asking. We have learned something from all those forays into Facebook profiles - Pages - likes - fan pages - Fans..... haven't we?

The privacy settings do seem to be quite straightforward on Google+. At least at first! Who knows where it may go? For now though, have a look at this handy little infographic put out on Super Group Network. It's pretty useful with some tips and tricks and explanations for all those millions of new Google+ users.

And maybe you'll want to change your online behavior. It's telling "them" more than you might think, and then limiting what you see. The answer? Mix it up, search, read and watch and "Like" some items outside your usual comfort zone. And maybe that will be good for you in more ways than just keeping your options open online!

(This post also appears on my new website at www.DesignTechWeb.com. Please note, I am transitioning to the new aite (slowly, very slowly!) so please check in over at the new site and "Like" the Facebook business page from there, too! Thanks all.)

The most useful of these is the variety of search shortcuts. Google itself makes an enormous amount of information available directly, without even visitng other websites.

For example, try typing "weather" and your zip or city name into the search box. You'll get the current conditions and the forecast for the next few days:

Shortcuts are even easier if you have "saved your location" on a previous search. Then you can just type an even shorter term, like "movies". For sports fans,  try  typing in a team name, or league name, to see the latest scores.

To search the dictionary, use the word "define", followed by the word you want defined. Need a time somewhere else? Type "time" with the name of the city:

And there's more...cooking conversions, flight tracking, currencies, area codes... earthquakes. (yes, earthquakes!).

View the whole list at: http://www.google.com/landing/searchtips/

You'll be happily surprised how useful the shortcuts can be!

And then I came across this clip of British comedian Eddie Izzard, talking about the "love/hate" relationship with a computer. It's from 2007, so it's highly possible you have seen it already, and I warn you, it's contains some explicit language, so don't watch it if that may offend you. However, particularly for all my clients who have gone through the "so this is a text editor" training session.... enjoy!

(and if you want to, also check out the newer clip on software updates!)

It may be just time to let go of that outdated old email server. I know, it may have seemed like the latest and best idea to have complete control over your email when you could first afford it, but those days are passed. Now, most businesses simply cannot afford the updates, maintenance and tech support required by hosting your own email server in-house.

Especially when there  is a reliable and free alternative. Yes, FREE (and you know how much I love free!).  Google Apps lets you have up to 50 user accounts at your own domain name address for no charge. This level of account also gives you access to Google Docs, Google Sites, Calendar and a few more tools for online business collaboration.  One drawback - the free version does not let users share contact lists. Not such a big deal in the grand scheme of FREE.

If you need more user accounts, and more features, the charge is $50 per user per year. And if you're a school, or other educational institution, it gets even better - you can get many of the capabilities offered to businesses, but at no charge.

No more tech support at $100 plus/hr, no more buying new equipment, no more worrying about backup. It's all off-site. You can't get to your email if your internet connection is down, but that's the case with your own server getting messages from outside your network anyway.

This is not something I sell or setup - foreverpix is not in the tech support business, I design websites and graphics! However, many businesses ask for advice in the course of setting up a new web presence, or developing an existing one, and this is definitely a move I encourage. Your tech support guy may not - it will probably mean less work for him or her in the long run...

If you want to know more about the possibilities, check out Google's own pages about Google Apps, or send me an email. I can refer you on to someone who can help you with further questions and setup.

www.riversidedockbuilders.com

The big four - Internt Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Chrome - have been competing quite energetically lately. More speed, more security, more features, HTML5 compatibility - and don't forget apps and extensions and add-ons...For a while, Microsoft seemed to have finally made a winner with the forthcoming IE9.

However, today Chrome introduced version 10. And early reports are impressive. In fact, one article called it "screamingly fast" and "close to perfect".  If speed is your priority, then it seems this is the browser for you. Chrome has been my browser of choice for a while - all those handy extensions can save a lot of time for someone who spends as much time online as I do. And now it is faster, and safer...  I'll certainly be trying it. 

Read the full article with all the techy details here: Networking Blog by Steven Vaughan-Nichols on ZDNet.com

And get Chrome here: http://bit.ly/eUZpHz

Facebook is finally giving you a secure connection. Today, you can go into your account settings to make sure that you use it. It won't be turned on automatically, you have to enable this - using "https", giving you an encrypted connection and keeping all that stuff you post somewhat more private, even if you are using an open network to get online.

How to:

1. Go to to Account Settings and then selecting "Account Security," third from the bottom.

2. Click under "Secure Browsing" — if it's there. Facebook says everyone should have this by the end of the day, but in the meantime you might be missing the relevant option.

For more information and complete instructions, check out this article: "The Facebook Setting You Should Change as Quickly as Possible".

Now, I do not profess to be a social media "guru"  (I think that phrase gets a bit too much use) but I do get asked about it quite a lot. So when I saw this article come up in my techie news yesterday, I though it would be a good thing to pass along.

"The Definitive Facebook Lockdown Guide - Securing your profile page".

It's a photo step by step guide on a reliable tech resource website - zd.net. And being all screenshots, it really is easy to follow. I'll open comments on this post, and just let me know if you find this useful. And if you have other questions about using social media for your business, let me know. If I can't help you myself, I probably know someone who can.

It's just... brilliant. For us geeky types, at least. )

Read all the details (with links) at the American Express Open Forum site in a post by Jolie O'Dell.

No, not right, I discovered.

The world of keeping your data safe and secure has evolved. As with almost everything, we're all on a continual learning journey.

Many anti-virus "suites" seem to promise "complete protection" but however good your anti-virus software is, it is not enough on its own. The good news though, is that most disasters in waiting need you to take part - either by ignoring your "housekeeping" or initiating the bad action - like clicking on that link!

In the course of my explorations, I came across a 7 Point Security Regimen that makes a pretty good summary - at least for us cyber security not-so-zealous (read paranoid) people. In understandable and achievable terms...

1. Use a modern operating system - bye bye XP, however much it is in your comfort zone.

2. Keep your OS up to date and backed up. Yes, that means turn on Windows Update with full automation.

3. Update your applications too. Ok, so it seems like Adobe has an update every other minute. Do it. If you don't use these programs, uninstall them.

4. Be suspicious of new software. If you're not sure of a program, don't install it.

5. Set up standard (non-administrator) accounts for everyone else.

6. Use a modern browser. No more Internet Explorer 6. Update to IE8  (or soon, to IE 9, or in fact, no more IE at all. For more on the browser question, read the original article.)

7. Install an anti-virus program and keep it updated.

If you're interested, please do read the original article by Ed Bott, at zd.net. It's not long and uses language you can understand without a computer science degree. And, it makes sense.

Some of the 600,00+ production websites that are run on DotNetNuke,

See more of them at: http://bit.ly/h7FHBl

You're in good company!

I attended two sessions involving web security - and really, we should all just disconnect, get off the grid and never use the internet ever again! And these people really know what they are talking about - way beyond the world of "don't open an attachment if you don't recognize and trust the sender " (although that is still good advice, apparently).  Even websites that seem to be not critical (the example of a Frisbee club was cited?!) apparently have a place in the chain of events that can make them need to be secure (ever seen your domain name appear in spam?  hmm?)

So, on to the basically not-very-good news for all of you. I know we set up your websites so you would not need the services of a web designer on an expensive monthly fee for updating - yes, you are your own web editors! That is what content management systems are all about. However, security concerns mean that your core framework (the part that lets you do your on online editing without software) still needs to be updated regularly.  Plus there are a few "security protocols" that we can put in place to make your site more secure.  

If your website was completed a year ago or more (wow, has it been that long?) and you did not sign up for regular yearly (or every six months for high traffic websites) maintenance, then please send me an email, and we'll get you sorted.

SO you can imagine my joy at discovering: SpringPad.  Don't really know the way to describe it. It lets you gather your information, organize, track and share it. On multiple devices. Oh for everyone who has ever made a list...

http://www.springpadit.com

This blog post seems to cover the question  Do We Really Need To Optimize Our Websites for Mobile Phones? by Daily BlogTips. Really, though, the true exploration of the idea is in the Comments. File size, bandwidth, all those techie details that you'd like to ignore..oh, dear they count. You mean it's not just if it looks ok when I check on my phone?? (Wait until you check your data usage!)

And then the real bottom line. That the amount of browsing that gets done on mobile devices is growing enormously and at an incredible rate. So that it has been estimated that a full 20% of all internet browsing will be done via a mobile device within 5 years. And then the original question becomes somewhat irrelevant - well, yes, you do need to deal with optimizing, because, well, you do want your website to be seen?!

(image via justskins.com)

And everyone (in techie world, at least) it talking about it. And everyone should be talking about it - because the ramifications are huge. As one blog puts it:

"Using free Wi-Fi is essentially the same thing as leaving your house with all the doors and windows open – But this takes it one step further: This posts a big sign up as soon as you leave, to anyone who happens to be looking, that says “I’M NOT HOME NOW, HERE’S WHERE ALL MY SECRET STUFF IS, AND HERE’S A MAP TO FIND IT. FEEL FREE TO TAKE, USE, OR DESTROY WHATEVER YOU WANT.”  (http://shankman.com/why-its-time-to-say-goodbye-to-free-wi-fi-part-two/)

It's not really the fault of the free Wi-Fi, it's the sites that you access over the connection, and those cookies. And it is all about what you put online, too.

There is a (kind of) fix. Use Firefox as your browser with an extension called ForceTLS, which makes your connection use an "https" - but only if the website lets it. Mozilla (the makers of Firefox) have also said some relevant things in the last day or so. Plus Firefox 4 is a step in the right direction too. This article also posts links to the "fixes":

http://blog.mozilla.com/security/2010/10/27/cooling-down-the-firesheep/

Be informed.

www.markssuperservicecenter.com

This family owned auto repair business in North Charleston were a pleasure to work with. With a clear idea of their concept and image, a bright attractive site was called for that emphasized their reliability and values. 

The home page Flash feature draws the eye, while the customized skin was bright and developed to complement the existing logo design and color scheme.

A DotNetNuke site, it also includes a blog with defined categories for updating, and feed widgets to several other pages within the website. A blog tie-in to a Facebook business Page was also developed, and a mobile website  - for those auto breakdown situations.

Even almost static sites usually have a gallery that is maintained and added to, while on the other end of the spectrum is a community edited site (such as charlestonuu.org) where there are many "gardeners" trying to work together...

Content management systems are designed for this kind of cooperative effort and I think that DotNetNuke meets the standard of the blog author's quest for the quality of the software.

As for quality of the content, that's up to the gardeners - it's probably time to get weeding and planting!

http://venturebeat.com/2010/10/15/google-analytics-gets-a-visual-layout-for-the-numbers-impaired/

Now website stats really can be fun and engaging, yes?!  Welcome to the world of geek...
(and if you didn't sign up for the Analytics option, email me.)

And then there is DropBox.  I mean, SERIOUSLY easy. And free. Move files between computers, or share them outside your network. Back up. And now, especially with the extra app DropItToMe, where you can send anyone a link, to send you files of up to 75MB -  seriously EASY and useful.

Find out more about DropBox at www.dropbox.com

And then find out about DropItToMe at  http://www.dropitto.me/

For the real beginner level, but if you are serious about getting to know how to do things, then DNNCreative can be a great resource. Unfortunately not free (and you know how much I like free) but a good place to start:

This is a series of videos in small, easy sections that lets you learn at your own pace. One subscription fee gets you access to everything on the site, so you can go as far as you like in learning to be your own site editor.

www.charlestonsaltwaterfishing.com

A simple, basic website designed to maximize search engine optimization  - the charter fishing crowd here in Charleston is VERY competitive. Images changing on page load give it some interest for return visitors, and theblog is user friendly for the client to update.`A bright colour scheme + uncluttered style + striking page background makes this one of my recent favourites.

DotNetNuke® PhotoSnap is an iPhone app that communicates with the Ventrian Simple Gallery module within DotNetNuke®. This handy little app was developed as part of Hackathon, a DNN sponsored event.

So all of you happy photographers out there with a Gallery module (and yes, most of you have the correct module to use this app on your site) can now upload photos directly to your website gallery, within moments of taking the photo. I would still recommend that you save the pictures somewhere on a hard drive or disc as well though!

Watch the video tutorial on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qYL37S755o

Then see the details at  http://r2istl.staging.r2integrated.com/

And then download the app from:  http://dnnphotosnap.codeplex.com/

Don't forget, for SEO,  to name the photos with a title including one of your keyword phrases!!

If you have any questions, send me an email.

www.CoastalCushion.com

Very marine themed, clean site. The SEO (search engine optimization) got great results - always happy with Page 1 positions, for all the client's KWP (keyword phrases). Whole screen adjusting custom background gives it a striking look.

  http://www.wallpaper-place.com

Love these pictures, great, sharp images and the downloads are available in a good variety of resolutions.

http://dryicons.com/

A lot of it is free, and the licensing is reasonable if you need that too.

"You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions."

- Naguib, Mahfouz