Archive for May, 2010

One of the most important things when designing a new website is to be clear about what the website is for, and who it is aimed at.  This might sound like fairly basic stuff, but it’s absolutely foundational and often doesn’t get thought about too much.  I’d like to take a moment to address why this is so important, and why getting really clear about these two things can save you an enormous amount of both time and money in getting your new website up and running… Read the rest of this entry »

Every now and then, we receive a support ticket that might seem complicated at the time but the solution is so simple that we’d be foolish not to share… Read the rest of this entry »

Here are five email problems we get calls about all the time … Read the rest of this entry »

A mechanic was removing a cylinder-head from the motor of a Harley motorcycle when he spotted a well-known cardiologist in his shop. … Read the rest of this entry »

Curious about your website statistics? Want to know where your site traffic is coming from? Check out Awstats!… Read the rest of this entry »

We were recently somewhat shocked to receive a “DMCA takedown notice” for a site hosted with us by a friend of ours, a designer who has been using our services for 4 or so years! Read the rest of this entry »

We encountered a strange incident yesterday: an image that showed up in Firefox, Chrome, and Safari but not Internet Explorer (IE). … Read the rest of this entry »

The internet is changing in a big way today (May 5th 2010) – security is being added to the domain naming system (DNS).

It looks like it won’t affect most people as the ISPs will “insulate” people’s routers from seeing the changes. However, if you’re in IT, this is essential knowledge…

Read more here.

The intention is to add further security validation to the domain naming system so it’s harder for the baddies to “take over” websites such as your favourite banking site. For the next month or so, they’re effectively running a trial and they’ll be turning on the real thing in about 30 days – see the article for more information.

You might actually be asking yourself, “WHY would I want to register my business on Google Places?”

Well, for starters, it makes it easier for your customers to find you! You also have better control over the information ensuring that the most accurate info is being displayed in Google Search and Google Maps. And, the best reason yet, it’s FREE and takes about 5-10 minutes to register!

When users type in a localized search for a topic, Google will display the matches for businesses and groups listed in Google Places for those search terms at the top of the page. By the way, Google Places used to be known as Google “Local Business Center” until about 2 weeks ago.

For example, as an exercise, type the keywords “web hosting collingwood” into Google… What do you see?

Convinced? Here’s a quick synopsis of how set it up.
Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re anything like me, and not a great tech-head you may struggle with the concept of passwords like I have!

One of my “learned colleagues” put it into language that made great sense to me recently: “You wouldn’t use the keys to your Porsche to start your Mercedes would you?!!” As if! It occurred to me though that to liken the password to my car keys was a good analogy … well at least one my small brain could understand.

I now have a small notebook in which to jot down my various passwords – probably not a great and secure idea but one that I can manage – just don’t make it too obvious that’s what it’s for! Some people use KeePass or Sxipper to remember their passwords but again only a good idea if your PC or Mac is secure or password protected. There are all sorts of things people do to remember their passwords. One that worked well for me when I had one randomly generated by and ISP was to ask my kids to come up with a word for each letter. It made a quirky sentence that was easily remembered.

One important and simple tip is not to use the same password for your internet banking sites as you do for other sites – in fact, one password per internet banking site is a great, simple idea!

One simple way to make good passwords is to run a couple of syllables from different words together and add a number or a punctuation symbol.

Here’s a password generator site that makes up the reminder for you!