Google Penalizes Paid Links
The past few days changes could mean a dramatic change to the way professional SEO’s build links. Especially those with deep pockets. Many of the webs most popular websites and blogs watched their Google PageRank drop dramatically yesterday after the most recent Google Dance.
Clearing Gracefully
Clearing in CSS has always been a bit of a pain. The guys over at QuirksMode have let out a little secret used by the CSS experts to clear:both without an extra div or hidden content.
Bridging the Gap Between Compile Time and Run Time
As the lead systems architect here at Designing Interactive, I enjoy reviewing new code patterns to see if there are areas in our codebase in which they could be implemented. Recently I spent some time digging into Martin Fowler’s Active Record pattern. While a direct implementation of this exceptional code pattern doesn’t fit within our Sandstone Application Framework, I was inspired to review how we have implemented our business entity classes to see if we could implement some of the more fundamental concepts of the Active Record code pattern.
Flip3D vs. Expose
I’m trying to get my brain around the concept of Microsoft Vista’s Flip3D interface. Someone put a lot of time and energy into the concept to add value to their Operating System. In fact, Microsoft calls it a “Productivity Addon.” My question is: What is the value added?
Unobtrusive Javascript Controversy
As a professional and bleeding edge design firm we work hard to stay on top of new technology. We put careful thought into our coding practices and conventions. But what happens when a previous convention has room for improvement but the cost of change is prohibitive? We certainly don’t suggest partial implementation. If it’s worth implementing, it’s worth implementing fully.
Our current controversy revolves around the topic of unobtrusive javascript. We (the staff at Designing Interactive) all agree on the benefits of unobtrusive javascript:
Is your company accessible?
When Josh and Dave asked me to take over the sales department at Designing Interactive, we sat down and talked about the direction we wanted to take with regard to marketing. After looking at the web solutions other companies had been offering to the small to mid-sized business market, we felt we could offer some significant improvements to that demographic.
Based on that conclusion, we developed several product offerings specifically tailored to the needs of small businesses. I set out to market these, and quickly developed a respectable pipeline of prospects and working business.
Target’s Way off Target
Way back in 2006 a blind student at the University of California-Berkeley, Bruce Sexton Jr., filed a lawsuit against the national retail giant, Target. Bruce, in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind, has accused Target.com of having an inaccessible website.
Embedded Fonts – A Bad Idea
Embedding fonts in your website through CSS has been a widely anticipated feature. A recent post at A List Apart has brought more light to this issue recently. The excitement behind this revolves mostly around removing creative limitations and improving readability through better typography.
However, I anticipate the use of embedded fonts will make things much worse, before they get better. Stephen Coles and I are in much agreement on the issue.
Rocky River Business Expo
Come hang out with us at the Rocky River Business Expo. It’s next thursday, October 11, at the Don Umerley Civic Center in Rocky River.
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