For years, IE6 caused headaches for developers and prompted many users to switch to alternative browsers. It was full of security holes and it broke nearly every web standard in the book…

Read the rest of this story here: http://mashable.com/2010/06/01/ie6-below-5-percent/

Project

Client: CoCo & Associates: AdvantEdge Accounting

1000kbps responsibilities: Site design and build including fully W3C compliant tableless Google search engine optimized code. Built on top of the Wordpress 2.9 blog engine, this site is highly customized, updateable. Wordpress brings unparalleled editing tools directly to AdvantEdge to be able to fully manage their website on their own.
Technologies: PHP, WordPress, MySQL Database, CSS, XHTML

Project

Client: Chilly White, Enduro360.com

1000kbps responsibilities: Install and configure Wordpress and a customized theme.  Built on top of the Wordpress 2.9 blog engine, this site is highly customized, updateable. Wordpress brings unparalleled editing tools directly to Enduro360.
Technologies: PHP, WordPress, MySQL Database, CSS, XHTML

Project

Client: CoCo & Associates: Give Clean Water

1000kbps responsibilities: Site design and build including fully W3C compliant tableless Google search engine optimized code. Built on top of the Wordpress 2.9 blog engine, this site is highly customized, updateable. Wordpress brings unparalleled editing tools directly to Give Clean Water to be able to fully manage their website on their own. Site features a rich colour palette Twitter feed, Flickr feed, Flash video and enables Give Clean Water to stay in contact with their community while halfway around the world in Fiji.
Technologies: PHP, WordPress, MySQL Database, CSS, XHTML, Flash video

See the full article at Mashable: http://mashable.com/2010/04/12/google-docs-editor-features/

Read the full article here:

http://mashable.com/2010/04/07/meeting-schedulers/

4 Web-Based Meeting Schedulers Reviewed

A slew of online applications are attempting to eliminate the headache of scheduling meetings. And, unlike their proprietary older brothers, such as Outlook and iCal, these new entrants into the scheduling market are completely web-based, compatible with Google Calendar, and best of all, don’t require your invitees to install software or register on their site.

After giving all of these a test-drive, I have not found one service I would use exclusively — each one seems to have some attractive features. Here is the run down of the four applications that just might make the logistics of scheduling a little easier.

1. Doodle

Doodle is a pleasantly light, quick-and-dirty scheduler with the most intuitive interface of the four services I reviewed.

Step 1: Name the meeting. Step 2: Propose up to five possible times for said meeting. And… that’s it. Invitees are given a link to a spreadsheet-like interface where they check each one of their availability times. Everyone’s availability is neatly delineated with bright green and red squares on a calendar, and there’s a clear tally of the number of people available per time. The admin scheduler picks a time and e-mails it to the invitees. Done! In all, it takes only a few minutes, and neither the scheduler nor the invitees have to register on Doodle.

Notable Features: Like all of the services we sampled, Doodle integrates with Google Calendar () and popular desktop schedulers. It also has an iPhone app (for $2.99). Additionally, Doodle has a cool option to canvass attendees on options for a meeting, like what type of cuisine they’d prefer.

2. Tungle ()

Tungle is more feature-rich, and is designed for those of us who have so many meetings that it’s difficult to remember all the factors and people being considered. Scheduling is a 3-step process:

1) Name the meeting and give it a duration; 2) Invite participants (with e-mail addresses); and 3) Propose a time. Unlike Doodle, Tungle has a graphical calendar interface where the mouse pointer can be scrolled over large swaths of days and times. Invitees receive an e-mail which links to a similar graphical interface that denotes other users’ activities. The final meeting time is e-mailed to all participants.

Notable Features: Tungle has a brand new feature (exclusively launched with this post) that allows groups of registered individuals to see their overlapping availability. Simply type in something like tungle.me/greg,josh,wolverine, and my, my editor’s, and my comic book hero’s availability is displayed. Tungle, too, has an iPhone app, which is available for free.

3. ScheduleOnce

ScheduleOnce’s graphical user interface and scheduler is very similar to Tungle’s, and requires about the same amount of time to schedule a meeting. As far as I could tell, schedulers will need to send the link via e-mail, and this could make it more difficult to keep track of invitees. Additionally, unlike Tungle, meeting times are selected on a horizontal time line. This seems more intuitive if the meeting time being considered is only for a single day, but more confusing if multiple days are up in the air.

Notable Features: ScheduleOnce has an integrated plugin for Google Calendar and Gmail (), which places a box (in Gmail) right above the chat window that displays upcoming meetings. It can also find group availability like Tungle.

4. TimeBridge

TimeBridge has a similar graphical user interface to Tungle and ScheduleOnce, but there is a limit to five proposed times (at least in the free version). Time Bridge, like ScheduleOnce, allows invitees to show their preference for a favorite meeting time by selecting “Best” from a list of “Yes,” “No,” and “Best.”

It should be noted that TimeBridge is more than just a scheduler. It offers phone conferencing, online meetings, and to-do lists. Additionally, TimeBridge was by far the most aggressive advertiser. I was offered a coupon for free coffee (twice) and got multiple pop-ups to try new features and sign up for premium membership.

Notable Features: Instead of the scheduler playing king, TimeBridge allows invitees to propose meeting times, which might be the most convenient way to corral a busy team in some cases. TimeBridge also has a free iPhone app.

Conclusion

Second, I would recommend trying out each service. Below is a comparison chart of features, but each app has its own unique interface, and it’s ultimately up to you to decide which one works best for your team.

Website design and usability are critical to converting eyeballs to sales.

The Internet offers a wealth of new opportunity for small businesses, but web surfers are a sensitive bunch. One wrong move and your new customers could be forever lost in the ether. Keep them happy by following these website usability guidelines.

Get organized. Most Internet users appreciate a familiar website layout and can become confused when presented with nontraditional formats. Give them what they want. Visitors typically start scanning a web page at the top left corner and move diagonally down to the bottom right, so it makes sense to place your logo and navigation at the top of the page. The main content and teasers to deeper information should be in the center of the page.

Easier = better. Visitors should be able to find any content on your site within a few clicks. Arrange your navigation in descending order of popularity with concise and obvious labels. Be wary of fancy drop-down or pop-out menus, as they can be cumbersome and annoying to use (but effective if executed properly).

All the news that fits. The age-old newspaper term “above the fold” is also applicable to website content. Most visitors should never have to scroll horizontally. If it’s not possible to fit the contents of your homepage in one screen (requiring no scrolling whatsoever), be sure to make the most important content the most visible.

Ask for the sale. The call to action is one of the most vital and often-overlooked components in small-business websites. Don’t forget why you have a website in the first place. Your new potential customer visited your beautifully designed, highly usable website and read your well-crafted marketing literature… but then what? You should have a line of copy at the end of every page with a brief but convincing sales pitch that includes your contact information. Better yet, include a lead form on every page that utilizes a hook to get users to submit their information. Free consultations and whitepapers are good resources and provide incentives to visitors to submit their contact information.

1) Users scan your website starting at the top left corner and move diagonally down to the bottom right of the page.

2) A deliberately placed navigation with clear labels helps visitors quickly find the content they’re perusing.

3) Always place the most important content “above the fold” so that visitors don’t have to scroll to find it.

4) Create a clear call to action and offer a simple lead form for potential customers to make initial contact.

Project: The Way Website
http://www.findtheway.org

Client: CoCo & Associates: The Way

1000kbps responsibilities: Site design and build including fully W3C compliant tableless Google search engine optimized code. Built on top of the Wordpress 2.9 blog engine, this site is highly customized, updateable. Wordpress brings unparalleled editing tools directly to The Way to be able to fully manage their website on their own.
Technologies: PHP, WordPress, MySQL Database, CSS, XHTML