Entries in "Recommendations"
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June 18, 2008
Tips for installing Google Analytics on Case and other Web servers.
There comes a time in every Web maintainer's life when the boss or client asks to see the Web stats for the past 6 months/year/5 years or what have you. Ideally you or your server administrator set this up long ago; you—being equally keen to understand the usage patterns of your site, and to use that knowledge to improve your content—check them on a regular basis, and can provide the information immediately. Then again, if you've been busy building and updating sites, this may be one of those projects that has been patiently waiting on your to-do list. If your server doesn't have analytics software pre-installed, and you've not yet installed any yourself, now—before the boss asks—is the time to do so.
June 06, 2008
CaseLearns: 2008 Summer Semester Classes
Registration is now open for summer classes at CaseLearns. Whether you're building your first Web site, adding video to your blog or just want to learn something fun, CaseLearns has a number of options available.
May 18, 2008
Uploading files with Dreamweaver (WebDAV)
If you've been using Dreamweaver to upload files to a Web server using FTP, and you're about to start using WebDAV—either because of the Case Web server upgrade or because you're looking for a more secure protocol than FTP—you'll find that using WebDAV with Dreamweaver is quite similar to using FTP. Simply follow the directions below to configure your sites.
Uploading files with the WebDrive WebDAV client for Windows
Whether you're about to start using WebDAV because of the Case Web server upgrade, or you're just looking for a more secure protocol than FTP, you may have heard that it can be tricky to use on Windows XP or Vista. WebDrive, available to Case faculty, staff and students on the software center, simplifies the process. Those of you in the habit of using stand-alone clients like WS_FTP for transferring files will find this a convenient and easy-to-use alternative.
April 03, 2008
How did I get by before Firefox Add-Ons?
Last night, whilst catching up on my RSS feeds, I discovered Paul Fenwick's video, "How to Fix the Web with Greasemonkey in 3 minutes." The video offers some clever tips on how one can use the Firefox add-on, Greasemonkey, to make Web sites (not just yours) behave the way you wish. I was particularly amused by the way he made MySpace content disappear. But it also reminded me of just how dependent I am on Firefox add-on's.
January 03, 2008
CaseLearns: 2008 Spring Semester Classes
Registration is now open for spring classes at CaseLearns. Whether you're building your first Web site, adding a podcast to your blog or just want to learn something fun, CaseLearns has a number of options available.
December 26, 2007
Web Content: Not just YOUR words and pictures
If they read what you write, they may also want to read what you read. Webmasters and bloggers know this. That's why we'll embed links within our text, build pages with links to recommended sites and/or add linkblogs to our side bars. In a world where most of us don't have the time to research and write everything we'd like to share, such resources add value to our existing content and give readers guidance on where to look for additional information.
November 08, 2007
Usenet Newsgroups: Anachronistic Service or Useful Communication Tool?
Earlier this week ITS announced that it would be taking down the Usenet news server as of December 5, 2007. In a fit of nostalgia, I opened up my newsreader (Mozilla) to leave a farewell message on cwru.general. Oddly enough, my message got a response; others (not many) were still using Usenet! This led me to wonder what had happened to newsgroups. Did the generation that grew up on the Web not know about newsgroups, or did they know about them but prefer the Web? In this age of Web 2.0, where some update their Facebook status by the hour, users pose questions on discussion boards such as http://forum.case.edu, and writers merge their Twitter, Pownce and Jaiku posts into central RSS feeds that can be shared on their Tumblr blogs, is there still a place for Usenet news?
October 01, 2007
CSS Tip: Positioning photos with floats
In the past I've discussed how the use of photos can enhance a Web site, but I've not discussed the code one uses to incorporate them. On campus, and elsewhere, Web designers use a variety of techniques to include their photos.
September 07, 2007
Linkbait: Tasty morsels to entice readers
It sounds nefarious doesn't it? Makes one think of "bait and switch" or that run-down old bait store by the lake—the one where they store the containers of nightcrawlers in the same cooler as the egg salad sandwiches. Blech.
August 28, 2007
An Introduction to Web Standards
I've recently come to the conclusion that a great number of Web developers either don't know about Web standards, or simply don't care. For those who aren't already aware of the standards I'll offer a brief introduction along with resources for additional information. For those who don't care, or who are anti-standards, I'll offer some examples as to why I feel they're important.
August 09, 2007
Enhance your reputation & increase traffic by joining discussions on other blogs
As you know from my earlier post on commenting, people (and robots) like to leave comments on other people's blogs in order to provide links back to their own Web site.
July 06, 2007
Image Formats 101: From Bitmaps to Vector Art which do you use when?
Since we released the logos on Monday, I've received a number of questions regarding file formats. The .gif files I made for the Web are pretty easy to use, but many of you are also incorporating logos into your print projects, and aren't sure which version to use when. To help you choose the best format for your project, here is a bit of background on the differing file formats and some recommendations on their use. Follow the links within the text to learn more about each of these formats.
June 17, 2007
My Web Development Tools
Aaron Shaffer recently posted a link it up of the tools he uses in his business, so I thought I'd share a list of the tools I use most often in Web development and related projects.
May 15, 2007
Blogging your campus communiqués=good customer service
Graduating law students— more prepared than ever for life after Case. I'm forever telling people that they should get a blog. "You could use it to make announcements, publish procedures, respond to questions, share best practices…and it's easy to use." "No, we don't have time to write that sort of stuff." Maybe you do, maybe you don't. But if your job has a customer service component, you may be wasting your time if you're not blogging. You're also missing a great opportunity to share your advice with your target audience. CSO Blog: A Case Study Usually when I give...
April 10, 2007
My media consumption diet
Sandy Piderit recently posted her media consumption diet in an effort to share ideas and propagate the meme initiated by Jeremiah Owyang. As part of this effort, she tagged me to contribute.
February 27, 2007
Flickr: Tags, Groups, Interestingness and Social Networking
Back on January 11th, when I first wrote about using Flickr to archive photos, I promised to follow-up with more information on keywords and groups. These tools serve organizational purposes, help users explore each others work and allow users to interact with one another. In other words, Flickr's easy-to-use photo archiving system also functions as one of the Internet's more popular social networking sites.
January 23, 2007
The workings of Internet search engines
Last week, as I was running errands, I listened to an intriguing lecture about search engine technology provided by Princeton's University Channel, a collection of podcasts provided by UC member universities.
January 22, 2007
On Aesthetics and Usability in Design
I hope everyone enjoys this (in my opinion) very useful video podcast. The parent site WebProNews has an entire series of these (mostly dealing with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This one is less than ten minutes long, deals with usability issues, and is definitely worth watching. WARNING! It might start automatically, and you'll by now have turned down your speakers; if it doesn't, and you have to "push play"... do yourself and everyone in your office a favor by turning down your speakers before firing this one up. The front-end promo is a bit loud. Some of the things I...
January 11, 2007
From HTML tables to Flickr: How do you archive your photographs?
I first got my paws on a digital camera when I was working for Development Programs. My plan was to take photos of events and places on campus so that I could use those photos on the Web sites I built for the department. This turned out to be rather useful, but also time-consuming.
December 12, 2006
Favorite / Recommended Web Hosts
With the end of a semester here already, and a break coming up, I'm sure that many students and staff will be working again on personal Web projects. Now, of course there are opportunities for procuring server space right here on campus, but I'm betting that a good amount of us have purchased space from any number of available web hosts. Bandwidth is cheap. So is storage. Its a bargain, and right now I just don't see how there could be any money that can be made in Webhosting. So, I'm curious; who do you use? My account is hosted...
September 15, 2006
15 Years (give or take) of the WWW
Where I spent my summer vacation. Yesterday was my first day back at work after an Internet-free vacation in Maine on the schooner, Heritage (pictured right). Today I received an e-mail announcing that this year marks the 15th anniversary of the World Wide Web. The message included a link to a timeline of Web history beginning with ideas that first surfaced in 1945. This timeline was part of TechWeb's article series, The Online Supernova: 15 Years Of The World Wide Web. Whether you are new to Web development or have been tinkering with it since the early 1990's, I think...
June 28, 2006
Sharing the wisdom of Blake Ross, inventor of Firefox
Monday night—as I was driving home from work, making dinner, and puttering about the house—I listened to The City Club's podcast of their June 14th 2006 forum featuring Blake Ross, inventor of Firefox. While I've been subscribed to The City Club's podcast's for quite awhile, I thought Blake's talk might be of interest to you because many of the ideas he applies to program development also apply to Web development. Blake Ross, a 21-year old student and developer, realized some time ago that programmers can't work in a vacuum; instead of focusing inwardly on their code, they need to understand...