Archive for 'Technology'

One of the biggest pains when designing a website is ensuring cross-browser compatibility. When it comes to HTML this is not too much of a problem, however javascript and CSS are. The layout in one browser may look completely different in another. Unfortunately, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is not very CSS compliant, so it is always a good idea to test a design in as many websites as possible.

However, this is not always so easy if a web browser, in particular Internet Explorer, is unavailable for the operating system you use, which is the case for users of Linux, BSD and any other non-Windows OS.

Fortunately, though, for Linux users there is a solution:

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As a webdeveloper, albeit a hobbyist one, I’ve found Firefox standards-compliance to be a valuable asset when writing HTML, CSS and javascript. Adding a few extensions makes Firefox even more useful to a webdeveloper/webmaster. My three favourite extensions are:

Firebug - a great way for analysing a page and all the parts that make it up; javascript, images, CSS, HTML, page load times, file sizes and even edit a page in real-time. It will even find errors in your code. It’s absolutely essential, even for the webmaster who outsource their webdevelopment so they can analyse pages and determine if there are too many "hits" per page (e.g. 10 javascript files and 60 images, when it could be a lot less) which will cause slow loading speed or to easily change the colour of a page themselves and see in real time how it will look.

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Google’s desktop software set, Google Pack, has been updated to be even more useful. It now includes Norton Security Scan which provides basic but adequate protection, especially when combined with Spyware Doctor (which protects against spyware and adware). Yes - I am a Linux user but I also have a laptop running Windows XP Home and a girlfriend, so some protection is definitely required.

Google Pack has become pretty extensive and perhaps an essential collection of software to install for any PC user now; it saves time by bringing together many great pieces of software. The software included is now:
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Recently, Google announced there would be a new system of ad unit management for publishers and now finally it is here - well, not every publisher will see it just yet as it is currently in "roll out" phase. If you have not seen the changes to the new ad management within your Google Adsense account yet, don’t worry as you’re sure to shortly.

What does the new Ad Management system mean for publishers? To start off with, managing the colours, borders and channels is done simply and quickly through your Google Adsense account without having to modify Adsense code on your site. (Although you’ll need to allow changes up to 10 minutes to take effect.) Additionally, there is less code to be placed on pages ergo less chance of messing breaking the code (plus slightly quicker page load times).

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Sadly, my experiment with Bidvertiser failed. I’ve removed it and won’t be bringing Adsense back for now either. Currently, I have other projects I’m working on which are far more important. I like Bidvertiser’s reporting and control over advert appearance, I just think my blog was not the right place for it. For now, I’ll stick with just Kontera as this seems to work well on a blog.

Hopefully, my pages will now be more readable and load quicker for my visitors.