Windows 8 and Mac OSX Lion
Posted on Jun 16, 2011 by Peter Ellis in IT, News, Social Media
A few days ago some screenshot leaked from Microsoft developers showcasing the new PC operating system called Windows 8. As a true competitor, Apple followed Microsoft’s leak with their announcement of the new Mac OSX Lion.
I decided to look in to both promising operating systems and see what they are bringing to the table.
Both Windows and Mac are completely consumer-oriented and app-centered. The mobile world has evolved in last few years, to the point where there’s no such thing as a Dumb phone anymore – all phones are Smart, maybe even too smart. Well, desktop market has been mowing in the same direction for a couple of years now. Tablets, touch screens, app stores and cloud networking have dominated the personal computer/device market.
Windows 8 user-interface is completely based of the recently released Windows phone. The desktop is no longer a static image with icon shortcuts all over, it has evolved in to a dynamic, always changing dashboard, filled with tweets, blog posts, wall comments and feeds.
App store is front-center in Mac OSX Lion. Why settle for an app on your iPhone or even an iPad – get it for your iMac.
I think that this progressive evolution in personal computer space is great for consumers, but might not be that beneficial to the professionals.
Many companies have been blocking social media websites since MySpace days. Imagine upgrading to Windows 8 and having these sites update your dashboard – I’m not sure that employee productivity is going to rise.
Don’t get me wrong, I am big supporter of new technology and innovation, but there has to be a way to unplug. Maybe the panic room concept should be rethought and turned into something else.
These few speculations are based on research of two new operating systems, and I actually can’t wait to be able to test drive both of them to see how many new robust features they will be packed with.
Web Wednesdays – May 11, 2011
Posted on May 11, 2011 by Anne Lopez in IT, News, Web Wednesdays
Web Wednesdays – Wednesdays we will feature websites that we’ve come across while in our process of searching for inspiration, the latest trends, or learning about anything and everything we can get our hands on that interests us.
Is your wallet bursting at the seams because you have so many business cards? Is your Rolodex overflowing with contacts? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a service that allows you to consolidate all of them into one, organized area? Well, say hello to CardMunch.
CardMunch is a new app for the iPhone that allows you to recycle all of those worn out business cards and have all of the information right at your fingertips. Just hover your phone over a business card! It will automatically detect when the card is in range and take the picture. Use Multishot mode to submit a stack of cards at once. Every business card you submit is transcribed, edited and reviewed by multiple workers to guarantee accuracy. The workers even crop the company logos from business cards! If it was an important business lead, just make a connection with them via LinkedIn. Within minutes you will be rid of all of those business cards, and you will now have a high-tech Rolodex in the palm of your hand.
Searching for a contact has never been easier. Every aspect of the contact is fully searchable. So search by name, address, even notes about the company. Never worry about cluttering your phone’s address book. Store contacts in the CardMunch or iPhone address book, you have the flexibility to choose. You won’t have to worry about losing your contacts because CardMunch stores them on your web account. All you have to do is log into another phone to recover them. And the best part is, it’s FREE!
So if you have worn out, tattered business cards hanging out of your wallet, now’s the time to download CardMunch for the iPhone. And for all of you out there with BlackBerry’s, don’t worry, CardMunch is coming to you soon.
10 Signs of an Aging Website
Posted on May 10, 2011 by Peter Ellis in News, Web Design
These are 10 signs of an outdated or aging website. If you check any one of them after looking at your website, you should consider making some changes and adjustments to your website immediately.
1. Your website is left aligned to the browser window.
The website should be centered in the browser window. There are some cases where left aligned websites can be visually pleasing, but in most, it leaves a lot of blank space on the right that is not very visually appealing.
2. Your website only takes 1/3 of the screen.
With recent progress in technology and affordability of computer monitors, the screen resolutions within last 2 years have increased. In 2009, average computer was sold with a 17” monitor that was set to 1024×768 resolution. Today, most computers are being sold with a 19”+ monitor size, and even though some devices such as netbooks and tablets have smaller monitors, their resolution is still set higher than those 17” monitors 2 years ago.
Use that space on your website for content and visual aids, after all, you’ve paid for the website, so make sure that you are utilizing it to it’s fullest (in this case, widest) extent.
3. The copyright notice at the bottom of your website is older than my two year old daughter.
Keep updating the date on the bottom of your website (unless you don’t have it). This is one of the things that your website users check in order to ensure that the website and website content is current. There are many ways to set the date to auto update, and it’s not that difficult to do it manually as well.
4. Your website still has a visible visitor tracker.
Really? Nobody cares. Great tools such as Google Analytics were created for a reason. Use them and keep the user information to yourself, unless you are running a social networking website or a website that offers advertisement on it, and even than, you should not have the “visitor ticker” on your home page.
5. Your website has a fancy splash page.
Ok, for large global companies a splash page can still be useful, but not so much so for a local business owner. The website user will not sit there and watch some fancy animation to be loaded in order to proceed to your website, the attention span on the Internet is definitely decreasing, so don’t make them wait. Even if you have the “skip the intro” button – don’t make your visitor click one extra time.
6. Your website’s content is not current.
If you are getting phone calls inquiring about services that you no longer offer, it’s a clear sign to remove those from your website’s list of services, and browse through the entire content to make sure that its’ still relevant to your business.
7. Your website looks weird on some browsers.
New browsers and new versions are entering the market very rapidly and at times are very difficult to keep up with. Contact your website designer and developer to check for browser compatibility and have them make all appropriate changes to ensure a smooth experience for your website visitor.
8. Your website still uses dirty old SEO tricks.
Hidden text, paragraphs and paragraphs of keywords on the bottom of every page, hundreds of keywords in your header? Google and other search engines have a name for that – SPAM. Search engines are extremely intuitive and it’s very difficult to trick them, so I would suggest doing things the right way.
9. Your website is not mobile-friendly.
With all the mobile browsing and challenges between Adobe Flash and Apple products such as iPad, iPhone and iPod, your website needs to be optimized for those devices. They are becoming less alternative and more prominent in today’s market. Heavy use of scripts, pop-ups, rollovers and Flash is not going to fly.
10. Your website looks like it comes from the 90’s.
Your website’s look is just as important as the functionality and the content. You can have the best features and greatest content on your website, but if you can’t captivate your visitor to go pass your home page, what good is that great content doing you?
Fashion changes every year, fads come and go, new technology is introduced to the world almost daily – stay on top of it with your website look and design. After all, a first impression is a lasting impression.
Verizon Small Business
Posted on Apr 27, 2011 by Dennis Driscoll in Advertising, IT, News
This TV commercial from Verizon Wireless is a “must see”.
The Small Business with the Best Technology Rules. See Susie’s technology in action. Susie’s lemonade stand receives a technology upgrade from Verizon.
May 2011 Wallpaper
Posted on Apr 27, 2011 by Anne Lopez in Freebie, Wallpaper
May is here and so is the warm weather. Light up your desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone or netbook screen with this great addition to our FREE wallpaper collection.
Choose your size below:
640×960 (iPhone)
800×600
1024×768
1024×1024 (iPad)
1280×800
1280×1024
1440×900
1680×1050
1920×1200
Take a Poll
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