Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Ajax
Ajax is a web technology which you can use to make sites behave more like a desktop applications.
There is no more waiting for pages to load with Ajax. We can take the background server side (database for example) calls & responses, then input them discreetly into session data which allows instant update of screen items.
When the technology emerged in a useable form about 3 years ago there was a huge rush to roll it out at every opportunity resulting in sites that lost site of useability, development standards and compliance.
We've been discreetly using Ajax to enhance the user experience on our sites. We have used it particularly in our CMS application where standards and compliance can be relaxed as you have control over your user group.
There is no more waiting for pages to load with Ajax. We can take the background server side (database for example) calls & responses, then input them discreetly into session data which allows instant update of screen items.
When the technology emerged in a useable form about 3 years ago there was a huge rush to roll it out at every opportunity resulting in sites that lost site of useability, development standards and compliance.
We've been discreetly using Ajax to enhance the user experience on our sites. We have used it particularly in our CMS application where standards and compliance can be relaxed as you have control over your user group.
XML
XML - it's the great catchall three letter acronym of the last few years. Take a few minutes (4:31) to watch this fascinating video about where the web is headed
As you can see XML is all about creating content that can be shared seamlessly across different application standards.
It is possible to create complete websites using XML and XSL stylesheets. Mostly these days though it is used to add information to a site from an external XML feed.
We have created an XML parser to decipher feeds and deliver readable content back to the browser. A great level of interest is also being shown in RSS ('Rich Site Summary' or 'Real Simple Syndication') which allows companies to feed content from their sites to mobile devices or RSS readers.
As you can see XML is all about creating content that can be shared seamlessly across different application standards.
It is possible to create complete websites using XML and XSL stylesheets. Mostly these days though it is used to add information to a site from an external XML feed.
We have created an XML parser to decipher feeds and deliver readable content back to the browser. A great level of interest is also being shown in RSS ('Rich Site Summary' or 'Real Simple Syndication') which allows companies to feed content from their sites to mobile devices or RSS readers.
Web 2.0 at a glance
Lets make sure you're crystal clear on this idea of the Web 2.0. When you hear the term Web 2.0, you should first ask, "What's Web 1.0?" Although you'll rarely hear Web 1.0, it is meant to refer to the traditional Web where you have a very distinct request and response model. For example, go to Amazon.com and click a button or enter a search term. A request is made to a server and then a response comes back to your browser. That request has a lot more than just a list of books and titles, though; it's actually another complete HTML page. As a result, you probably get some flashing or flickering as your Web browser's screen is redrawn with this new HTML page. In fact, you can clearly see the request and response, delineated by each new page you see.
The Web 2.0 dispenses with this very visible back-and-forth (to a large degree). As an example, visit a site like Google Maps or Flickr. On Google Maps, for example, you can drag the map around and zoom in and zoom out with very little redrawing. Of course, requests and responses do go on here, but all behind the scenes. As a user, the experience is much more pleasant and feels a lot like a desktop application. This new feel and paradigm is what you see when someone refers to Web 2.0. - Article source
The Web 2.0 dispenses with this very visible back-and-forth (to a large degree). As an example, visit a site like Google Maps or Flickr. On Google Maps, for example, you can drag the map around and zoom in and zoom out with very little redrawing. Of course, requests and responses do go on here, but all behind the scenes. As a user, the experience is much more pleasant and feels a lot like a desktop application. This new feel and paradigm is what you see when someone refers to Web 2.0. - Article source
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
.ie Timebomb
It intrigues me how little attention Irish companies pay to their domain names. There seems to be little awareness that domain names have become valuable company assets and as such should be treated that way. Basic facts such as who is listed as the domain owner and most importantly who is listed as the administration contact seem to be largely ignored.
What companies are failing to realise is that if 'someone' doesn't get a notification that a domain needs to be renewed and it lapses then that companies website will disappear from the internet. Worse still the email system could fall down also and can anyone remember the world before email? In the big bad dotcom world things could go from bad to worse if the lapsed domain gets snapped up by a bottom feeding competitor or one of a plethora of websites that actively seek out these up for grabs domains. Of course this is worst case scenario stuff and unlikely in the highly regulated .ie sphere.
There are a few simple steps you can take today to check your domain name and its current status. I would recommend that companies start to pay more attention to this (that means take ownership in corporate speak) rather than leaving it to the web developers.
.ie Quick Check
Visit IEDR.ie and enter your .ie domain in the Whois Search form.
Hopefully you will receive a listing similiar to the one displayed below which I have -> broken apart to see what it all means <-
The admin contact is the most important piece of information here. It is crucial that this is correct as every other detail can then be edited. If the person listed is not known at your company, perhaps it is someone from the original web development company, perhaps its someone who has left your company, then you need to get this information updated.
To do this you must first ascertain what the admin contact email address is.
Start by copying the admin-c IEDR handle
Then click here https://www.domainregistry.ie/PasswordReminder.php
Paste in the IEDR handle, click search, when the admin contact details appear click the 'reset password' button. Check your e-mail to see if a password reset message arrives to anyone in your company. If it does, happy days, use the information to reset the password (basic security update), then login and update any details that are out of date.
If the email does not arrive then you should send a fax to the IEDR and request that they change the admin contact on the domain and also update the stored email address. There is a standard template (with instructions) that can be copied and pasted onto company headed paper here - https://www.domainregistry.ie/UpdateAdminContact.php
Once this has been done you can repeat the steps above to recover the login details.
Hopefully this simple exercise will save you a few headaches down the line.
Paul Keane
graphics-it.com
What companies are failing to realise is that if 'someone' doesn't get a notification that a domain needs to be renewed and it lapses then that companies website will disappear from the internet. Worse still the email system could fall down also and can anyone remember the world before email? In the big bad dotcom world things could go from bad to worse if the lapsed domain gets snapped up by a bottom feeding competitor or one of a plethora of websites that actively seek out these up for grabs domains. Of course this is worst case scenario stuff and unlikely in the highly regulated .ie sphere.
There are a few simple steps you can take today to check your domain name and its current status. I would recommend that companies start to pay more attention to this (that means take ownership in corporate speak) rather than leaving it to the web developers.
.ie Quick Check
Visit IEDR.ie and enter your .ie domain in the Whois Search form.
Hopefully you will receive a listing similiar to the one displayed below which I have -> broken apart to see what it all means <-
- domain: domain.ie ->Self Explanatory, the registered name
- descr: Company Name -> The Companies Legal Name
- descr: BODY CORPORATE (LTD,PLC,COMPANY) -> The type of company
- descr: Discretionary Name -> the domain type
- admin-c: ABC123-IEDR -> this is the IEDR's unique identifying tag for the Administration Contact for this domain
- tech-c: DEF123-IEDR -> and this is the technical contacts IEDR Handle.
- renewal: 01-January-2009 -> no explanation needed
- status: Active
- nserver: NS.HOSTINGCOMPANY.COM -> this is where the domain is currently hosted
- nserver: NS2.HOSTINGCOMPANY.COM -> this is the backup host server
- source: IEDR
- person: Admin Contact Name
- nic-hdl: ABC123-IEDR
- source: IEDR
- person: Billing Contact Name
- nic-hdl: DEF123-IEDR
- source: IEDR
The admin contact is the most important piece of information here. It is crucial that this is correct as every other detail can then be edited. If the person listed is not known at your company, perhaps it is someone from the original web development company, perhaps its someone who has left your company, then you need to get this information updated.
To do this you must first ascertain what the admin contact email address is.
Start by copying the admin-c IEDR handle
Then click here https://www.domainregistry.ie/PasswordReminder.php
Paste in the IEDR handle, click search, when the admin contact details appear click the 'reset password' button. Check your e-mail to see if a password reset message arrives to anyone in your company. If it does, happy days, use the information to reset the password (basic security update), then login and update any details that are out of date.
If the email does not arrive then you should send a fax to the IEDR and request that they change the admin contact on the domain and also update the stored email address. There is a standard template (with instructions) that can be copied and pasted onto company headed paper here - https://www.domainregistry.ie/UpdateAdminContact.php
Once this has been done you can repeat the steps above to recover the login details.
Hopefully this simple exercise will save you a few headaches down the line.
Paul Keane
graphics-it.com
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
geansai gorm
Damien Mulley is running an SEO competition to see who can get the keyword geansai gorm highest in google search results. Its probably very good for his sites ranking too.... We've put up a site here to see if there are many black arts to be learnt.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Volvo Ocean Race Game
The real race complete with daily pictures and emails from the boats is here http://www.volvooceanrace.org. Now armchair enthusiasts can race their own boat around the world at http://www.volvooceanracegame.org. There are 30000 people entered so far and results can change at an alarming rate! Graphics IT's boat is creatively called 'graphics-it com'. You can have a look at where we are currently lying by clicking here
PR Zone
PRzone.ie - there's an interesting premise to this site
"Ireland's business PR website, providing a voice to small and medium businesses, simplifying the process of publishing articles & news and customer testimonials, centrally, publicly and to your website" - http://www.przone.ie
"Ireland's business PR website, providing a voice to small and medium businesses, simplifying the process of publishing articles & news and customer testimonials, centrally, publicly and to your website" - http://www.przone.ie
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Friday, September 5, 2008
www.thechildcarenetwork.comSaturday, August 16, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Berry Hair Salon
We've just completed the site for BrÃd and the gang in Berry Hair Salon in Dun Laoghaire.
http://www.berryhairsalon.com
Friday, July 18, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Mobile barcodes - QR Codes
QR or 'quick read' codes may be what the advertising print world has been looking for.
Imagine a print advertisement which can talk to your mobile phone - finally a link between the real and virtual worlds.
Just as a traditional barcode can identify a product when swiped in a scanner, 'mobile barcodes' allow a phone to interact with a billboard or newspaper advertisement via its camera.
If your phone doesn't already have a reader (check in applications) you can download one to most handsets. We've road tested a few readers and recommend the Kaywa Reader
Imagine a print advertisement which can talk to your mobile phone - finally a link between the real and virtual worlds.
Just as a traditional barcode can identify a product when swiped in a scanner, 'mobile barcodes' allow a phone to interact with a billboard or newspaper advertisement via its camera.
If your phone doesn't already have a reader (check in applications) you can download one to most handsets. We've road tested a few readers and recommend the Kaywa Reader
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
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