The hard road to building the web…
Filed under: Conversation, New technology, New Web Creations, Thirdsector Systems, Web services
Every web designer and publisher has clients who believe that ‘…we email it in and it appears on our web site‘. If you have someone in your department, setting or business who believes this we think it is a compliment to your design and build skills, as well as the back office processes that deal with new content, images, films and functionality.
Mix Online have produced a great poster which explains all the functions and processes, no matter how lightly touched upon even in small design houses, which must be undertaken to create the simplest functioning web page.
Mix Online believe that…
Designing, building and launching websites is real hard work — but our profession is seriously misunderstood. To help explain the process, we drew you a picture. A really big picture…
…and this is what they have done. You can view the design and build web process they have created on this web page. You can use the links on the page to dive deeply into the image and explore the functions of design and creation that go into building your web site. (View deep zoom).
Our own development process at Thirdsectorweb.co.uk can be found in narrative form, on this web page. Our systems are designed to support remote clients with all the services needed to launch simple, magazine style web sites, to more complex blog driven, gallery supported, e-commerce and information gathering web pages.
Our simpler, less sequentially staged process none the less includes all the elements found in the Mix Online illustration – in small design houses fewer people wear more hats.
It’s still hard work though, whatever the content, time frame or functionality desired.
Happy New Year for 2013 from all at Thirdsectorweb.co.uk
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The Kindle and a philosophy
Filed under: Amazon, Cloud services, Conversation, New Web Creations
Amazon have just relaunched The Kindle, as well as moving shortly to release the Kindle Fire in the UK for the first time.
Below is a film of Jeff Bezos delivering the Amazon story in Santa Monica, California. It’s a long film, but the first 15 or 16 minutes are the killer parts.
They tell you how Amazon research feeds services into their infrastructure, how Amazon price their products to be used for absorbing new content in the future. ‘The Kindle Fire is a service…‘
The delivery of the presentation is perhaps a little slow, but perhaps the audience were live blogging and tweeting directly from the auditorium. (Know your audience?).
The revealing facts about how readers are encouraged to read more, by using new technology, are astounding. No source for the research is offered, but there is no missing the passion Bezos has for the product and the warmth he feels for his customers.
The launch of Kindle Paperwhite display, and its ‘front lit’ technology, is also a game changer for small tablets. The Kindle family is faster, clearer and with better font rendition on screen. The prices are another paradigm shift for the industry too.
‘Add more than the customer pays for…’ a great way to add value to the technical supply chain.
You can buy a member of the Kindle family from our children’s book sister web site here at Dolphinbooksellers.co.uk, or from our Thirdsectorweb online shop here. (Everything made, picked, packed and delivered by Amazon).
Visit the Thirdsectorweb home page here.
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Outlook.com – neater, smoother…
Filed under: Cloud services, Microsoft, New technology, New Web Creations, Web services
With the nearly upon us launch of Windows 8, you can now subscribe to the new Outlook.com preview service.
If you have a Hotmail account, you can try out this new web version of Outlook for personal use here.
The screen presentation is simpler, with less busy, uncluttered toplines and a clear, elegant typestyle to display your folders and emails.
Social media integration is inlcuded of course…
with photos of your friends, recent status updates and Tweets that your friend has shared with you, the ability to chat and video call – all powered by an always up-to-date contact list that is connected to your social networks.
We have been using Windows 8 Release preview on our laptops for remote client work recently. On a laptop, with no touch screen, the blocky, colourful layout is easy on the eye, but the key function is the Windows button, which flips you between the front end display and your last used interface. Clicking through to a traditional ‘desktop’ environment is where the real works get done.
On balance, the advantages to Windows 8 are clear – extra boot speeds and the ability to back up mirror copies of your installation, or to refresh the Windows build simply with one click.
These new Microsoft interfaces are easy on the eye, slick to use and very nicely integrated – an advance we think.
Meeting online – never easier…
Filed under: browsers, Conversation, New technology, New Web Creations, Web services
We have just signed up for a permanent meeting room on Meetings.io
This is a great service at first inspection, from a design and technical team that make things work intuitively and easily on the eye.
Up to five people can join you in your hang-out. You can take notes, sms and play video in meeting. Simple and effective.
When signing up, which takes about a minute, you will need to allow Meetings.io access to your computer camera and for Flash to be enabled.
Once up and running all the usual features are available, private meeting, anyone can drop-in sessions etc. and the working area of the screen automatically scales to adjust for new visitors.
Two people sitting at your desk, then switch your image frame from portrait to landscape, get more real estate on your screen to accomodate the wider picture.
If you are looking for an always on meeting solution online, with no software to install and that is free to use…then check out Meetings.io
We tested the service on a simple 2Mb internet connection, with both visual and audio working fine.
Business networking, team meetings and colleague get togethers were never so easy.
Readability has changed
Filed under: Conversation, New technology, New Web Creations, Web services
We first looked at Readability on our Thirdsector Tech blog back in March 2009. Then it was a promising and innovative way to make clear web pages and articles by stripping out the excess content.
As web designers we know this can have a mixed blessing – removing all our hard working banner adverts and promotional links.
However, if a web page isn’t communicating, it isn’t working. The new Readablity enhances this functionality across a number of platforms now.
This short film shows you how…
Readability — Read comfortably anytime, anywhere. from Arc90 on Vimeo.
Having a Readability account is helpful too. You can save pages for later or keep an archive, set to display in your personal format at anytime.
Check out Readability. See a simple idea having grown.
Minus – simple storage and sharing
Filed under: browsers, New technology, Web services
We have just opened a Minus account online in order to access this stylish, fast competitor to Dropbox.
Offering users 10Gb of free storage space, with unlimited uploads and downloads and a maximum file size of 2Gb we really like this new service.
The sign on is simple and there are desktop apps, as well as mobile versions and browser extensions. A full suite of alternative methods to access your files, any files, and to share them with others.
This short film shows you the Minus approach…
The access controls from your desktop menu bar work well and you can ‘turn the lights off’ on the file display for stored items to make reading and focus on content easier.
Fast, easy to use and with bags of facilty. If you are looking for a drop and share service online, with the ability to integrate into your existing kit – great if you are on the road, then we really like Minus – the plus storage and sharing solution we think.
The Cloud – how does it work?
Filed under: Cloud services, Conversation, Microsoft, New technology, Web services
The short film below offers insights into how Microsoft provides the technical services and support needed to make your Hotmail account work or your business to deliver work on their Azure Cloud system.
An impressive set of statistics are offered that show how Microsoft have dramatically reduced energy and water consumption at their data centres. Like Google, Microsoft have used standard shipping containers to bolt together strings of processing packs to enhance an installation, quickly bringing their server racks online.
Where is the cloud? In the Dublin data centre for Microsoft if you are in Europe, very securely guarded and with vast teams around the globe to provide your support.
The film is a little dry in terms of presentation, but very clear in how Microsoft maintain security integrity for your data and how they dedicate time, energy and capital in reducing environmental impact.
That’s how the ‘cloud’ works.
Google Maps get on the Underground…
Filed under: google, New technology, New Web Creations, Search engines, Web services
Google yesterday made public transport information for London available on Google Maps.
You can now use Google Maps to navigate your way around 18,000 bus stops and more than 250 underground stations. If your in town for a conference or just using some spare time to enjoy the city this is a great new feature.
Let’s say you’re at Trafalgar Square, and you want to visit Madame Tussauds. With a simple directions search, you’ll see all the possible public transport connections. In Maps, click “Get directions” in the left-hand panel, and then the train icon to see public transport directions. Enter your departure location next to A, and your destination next to B.
These can be either street addresses or names of popular places, businesses or restaurants. When you’re done, click the “Get directions” button and suggestions for your trip will appear below.
Available on both Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile, Android device users have not been forgotten. Using the new transit Navigation beta service, your device will alert you to get off the bus or train, or when to make any transfers on your journey,
See the Google Maps for Android in the Android Market here.
Liking Lytro
Filed under: browsers, Conversation, New technology, New Web Creations, Web services
We cannot see what a Lytro camera looks like, but the image facility on our laptops when visiting the Lytro site is fabulous.
You can zoom, pan and refocus on and around an image, post capture. You can also ‘play’ the functions with one click.
if you think static jpegs on a web site are just the beginning of the digital photography revolution, then Lytro seems to prove your point.
Wherever Lytro go with their technology, then web development and image resources online are about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Have a look at the emerging Lytro web site and see what we mean.
Think Quarterly – think Google UK
Filed under: Community, Conversation, google, New technology, New Web Creations, Web services
It isn’t new any more, but if you haven’t checked out Think Quarterly from Google UK you should do so.
As a small business with constant pressure on time to service our client base, if we had unlimited resources then Think Quarterly would be the style and content for a pretty near perfect online newsletter/magazine style publication to engage with our user base.
Produced by the Google UK team Think Quarterly offers readers intellectual insights into the latest technological developments, as well as think pieces about change in both infrastructure and the philosophy of the web – beautifully filtered through a mesh of ideas around business and communication.
Our favourite article in the current issue is on Open Data. An article from Nigel Shadbolt highlights the opportunities available to make the word a clearer, better understood place using public data sources.
Not directly focused on technology, but on what analysis can be achieved with it.
He gives a mention to Schooloscope, which enables parents and carers to see how their school is doing by making performance data clear.
Similarly, oh that every local authority should have published its spending data on spotightonspend.
You can flip Think Quarterly pages online, download a copy as a pdf, subscribe by RSS feed, follow the team on Twitter or on your mobile.
Clean, clear thinking and concise. Think Quarterly.
Short Bio
Tim Smith is our lead partner for web technologies and production. You can see more of Tim's contribution to his partnership here...
Tim supports the development of web design, hosting and communication at Thirdsectorweb.co.uk ...
Also closely involved in the partnership's work in developing charitable governance, community business development and the management of capital and revenue projects.
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