Posted: Tuesday, 1st May, 2012, Category: Tech News
On the 25th May 2012 it becomes illegal in Europe for any website owner to ‘set a cookie’ without the PRIOR explicit permission of the visitor. When a user first visits a website that uses cookies they will need to agree to accept the cookies (if they wish to use the site). Read further information from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Cookies are text files which sometimes get stored on your computer when you visit a website. They have a multitude of uses. One of the most frequent usages is so the website remembers who you are, next time you visit. If you need to learn more about cookies, visit this page from BBC Webwise – What are cookies? Commonly, static websites don’t often use cookies very often but database powered websites (including WordPress) frequently do.
I would urge website owners to watch the 2.5 minute video below which sums things up nicely:
This is a very odd piece of legislation and it’s going to be interesting to see how things develop. If the law is implemented fully, we could be see pop-ups on just about every website we visit, which could become extremely annoying. It wasn’t long ago that we declared war on pop-up advertising. Now we’re inviting pop-ups back again!
Personally, I think a browser setting initiative, combined with public education about cookies would be a much smarter solution. Technically, there’s lots of information which website owners should include in footers (e.g. company registration numbers and registered addresses) but many websites don’t. And I see little attempt to enforce this. Draw your own conclusions.
If Josh.biz manages your website for you and you would like to discuss implementing cookie warnings on your website, please get in touch with us.
Posted: Sunday, 29th April, 2012, Category: Comment
I meet a wide cross-section of different people in my profession and social life – different sexes, ages, outlooks and positions in life. One of the most interesting and diverse attitudes is towards our old friend, Facebook.
Youngsters embrace it instantly and can’t imagine a world without it. Those of us in the middle have mixed opinions but largely embrace it. After all we were around when the ZX Spectrum arrived 30 years ago. And at the upper echelons of the age bracket, some love it as much as teenagers whilst others can’t see the attraction at all – ‘I don’t need Facebook. I live in the real world. What a load of nonsense’.
I’m not too bothered about any of this but I’m fascinated by those who claim to despise Facebook.
Yes, if you’re crazy for it, you can spend all day (every day) reading about your friends and family. But on the other hand, you can take it or leave it. Owning a Facebook account doesn’t condemn you to logging in continuously.
And if you dip in occasionally (in one of those bored moments) you could find it quite interesting to catch up with those hordes of people who have appeared in your life and met your approval of being a ‘friend’. Sometimes it’s great to just flick through their photos.
Just be very selective about who you add as a friend. And occasionally, have a cull on your Facebook friends (they don’t get notified). And when you receive a friend request, never feel obliged to automatically say yes – if they don’t fit your criteria, just ignore them.
There’s one thing for certain; if you want to maintain contact with those special people you’ve encountered in your life, Facebook offers the best chance of doing this. E-mail addresses, telephone numbers and postal addresses can change frequently and become lost, but being friends on Facebook can be forever.
And even the Facebook advertising isn’t so bad. I rarely click an advert on Google search pages but find the Facebook adverts much more alluring. Is the targeting such a bad thing? How else are we going to know about the wonderful products invented for us?
Things have been extremely busy since Christmas. We’ve completed 2 very large projects – Halesworth Health and Traditional Norfolk Poultry. Both required good use of our project management skills, enabling us to combine great design, copy (words) and imagery, whilst adhering to industry standards and SEO guidelines.
Driftwood demonstrates our ability to integrate with SuperControl, our chosen partner for holiday cottage availability and online booking. Holiday cottage owners are well-known to increase their bookings when online booking is offered. SuperControl offers a comprehensive and reliable solution.
At the same time, we’ve strengthened the infrastructure of our business in many key areas to ensure that our clients continue to receive the same reliable and responsive service as always.
Unsurprisingly Windows Mobile phones haven’t exactly taken off with a bang, no doubt because of their atrocious track record (yes, Microsoft, we don’t forget that quickly – see this old blog post from 2009).
Pads are continuing to march upon our homes although not at the speed I first anticipated. The iPad is still regarded as an expensive toy by many. Certainly £400 is a considerable expense but it wasn’t long ago that spending over £800 on a desktop or laptop computer wasn’t an issue.
The ‘new iPad’ is certainly a jump forward although not as ground breaking as it might have been. The new screen resolution is certainly amazing as I saw for myself over the weekend when comparing my iPad2 with the new version. Read a quick comparison of the two models here at IT Pro.
Pads are good
Whilst pads are certainly no replacement for a standard computer, they do 90% of what most people want ever do sitting at home in their armchairs. The fact that pads make no noise whatsoever is a major benefit. I recently used my laptop at home and my wife was quick to moan about the incessant whirring of the fan (kicking in every 10 minutes).
Android inadequacies
I’m still not convinced that Android alternatives are enticing enough. Every Android device seems to look and feel slightly different from another. This isn’t helped by the persistent ’skinning’ of the operating system by the manufacturers. This itself suggests that they don’t believe Android does a good enough job.
The ability to update the operating system seems fraught. There are heightened security concerns, with apps (software) having little quality checking (in contrast to the fairly strict Apple vetting of apps).
All of these things combine to cause natural apprehension and subsequently the onslaught of pads isn’t happening as fast.
But the arrival of Windows 8 (heralding the arrival of the Windows tablet) could change all of that. If nothing else, it will put the focus firmly back on tablets yet again (just in time for Christmas no doubt).
Norfolk has secured a significant amount of funding from the Government to install the infrastructure required to improve broadband speeds and access across Norfolk. The Norfolk County Council now need to attract competitive bids from telecom providers to install the actual infrastructure, but before they do they need individuals and businesses in Norfolk to register their interest so they can show the demand for better broadband.
How?
Click www.sayyestobroadband.co.uk and click on the relevant buttons to ‘Say Yes’ to better broadband in Norfolk.
There will be no obligation to subscribe to the services when launched, but in registering your interest you will be helping Norfolk get better broadband.
Posted: Friday, 9th December, 2011, Category: Site Launches
Tattersett Farm is a family run business which has been growing, harvesting, processing and packaging high quality vegetable produce, including parsnips and carrots, for over 25 years – Three generations of the Hammond family have worked the land and invested in new technology.
Saturday was Christmas shopping day up Norwich, not one of my favourite chores. I decided to get ahead of the game this year, rather than leaving everything to the last minute as usual. Norwich is widely recognised for being one of the best cities in England for shopping and there’s no shortage of shops to trawl around.
One of my main purchases was to be an Apple iPod Touch for our eldest daughter. Initially concerned when she asked for one for Christmas, I’ve realised that she always pinching my iPhone for watching TV, playing games and listening to music. So I have little doubt she’ll make very good use of it. Plus, the parental control settings should avoid any potential problems in that department. But, at £160, she won’t be getting too many others presents!
You can buy them from the Apple Store in Chapelfield (or their website) for £169 but I noticed from a TV advert that Currys are selling them £10 cheaper, with a free speaker dock thrown in.
Here’s a couple of questions which are coming up a lot at the moment:
Should I have a Links page and start a reciprocal links/link exchange campaign?
I have been asked if I would like to exchange links with my website. Should I do this?
First of all, it’s important to understand that there are almost endless techniques which can be employed to assist your website to achieve higher positions on search engines.
Start with a strong foundation
This process begins by ensuring that your website is constructed professionally, taking advantage of the suggestions given by Google in their Webmaster Guidelines and other recommended industry techniques. For example, it’s always important that pages are given well composed titles and descriptions (read our previous post on this subject).
Page content (words) should be your focus
Of primary concern is page content. Put simply, if a website is packed full of quality content, other websites will naturally (organically) link to your pages. This is one of the reasons why blogging is such an effective tool. It provides website owners with the opportunity to add lots of good quality content on an ongoing basis. By sharing ideas, tips and opinions, this information can act as link bait.
On the 25th May 2012 it becomes illegal in Europe for any website owner to ‘set a cookie’ without the PRIOR explicit permission of the visitor. When a user first visits a website that uses cookies they will need to agree to accept the cookies (if they wish to use the site). Read further information from the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Norfolk has secured a significant amount of funding from the Government to install the infrastructure required to improve broadband speeds and access across Norfolk. The Norfolk County Council now need to attract competitive bids from telecom providers to install the actual infrastructure, but before they do they need individuals and businesses in Norfolk to register their interest so they can show the demand for better broadband.
Saturday was Christmas shopping day up Norwich, not one of my favourite chores. I decided to get ahead of the game this year, rather than leaving everything to the last minute as usual. Norwich is widely recognised for being one of the best cities in England for shopping and there’s no shortage of shops to trawl around.
Here’s a couple of questions which are coming up a lot at the moment:
Learn to love Facebook!
Youngsters embrace it instantly and can’t imagine a world without it. Those of us in the middle have mixed opinions but largely embrace it. After all we were around when the ZX Spectrum arrived 30 years ago. And at the upper echelons of the age bracket, some love it as much as teenagers whilst others can’t see the attraction at all – ‘I don’t need Facebook. I live in the real world. What a load of nonsense’.
I’m not too bothered about any of this but I’m fascinated by those who claim to despise Facebook.
Yes, if you’re crazy for it, you can spend all day (every day) reading about your friends and family. But on the other hand, you can take it or leave it. Owning a Facebook account doesn’t condemn you to logging in continuously.
And if you dip in occasionally (in one of those bored moments) you could find it quite interesting to catch up with those hordes of people who have appeared in your life and met your approval of being a ‘friend’. Sometimes it’s great to just flick through their photos.
Just be very selective about who you add as a friend. And occasionally, have a cull on your Facebook friends (they don’t get notified). And when you receive a friend request, never feel obliged to automatically say yes – if they don’t fit your criteria, just ignore them.
There’s one thing for certain; if you want to maintain contact with those special people you’ve encountered in your life, Facebook offers the best chance of doing this. E-mail addresses, telephone numbers and postal addresses can change frequently and become lost, but being friends on Facebook can be forever.
And even the Facebook advertising isn’t so bad. I rarely click an advert on Google search pages but find the Facebook adverts much more alluring. Is the targeting such a bad thing? How else are we going to know about the wonderful products invented for us?