The web looks very different today than it did 10 years ago.
Back in 1994, Yahoo had only just launched, most websites were text-based and Amazon, Google and eBay had yet to appear.
But, says usability guru Dr Jakob Nielsen, some things have stayed constant in that decade, namely the principles of what makes a site easy to use.
Dr Nielsen has looked back at a decade of work on usability and considered whether the 34 core guidelines drawn up back then are relevant to the web of today.
"Roughly 80% of the things we found 10 years ago are still an issue today," he said.
"Some have gone away because users have changed and 10% have changed because technology has changed."
Sites for sore eyes
Some design crimes, such as splash screens that get between a user and the site they are trying to visit, and web designers indulging their artistic urges have almost disappeared, said Dr Nielsen.
"But there's great stability on usability concerns," he told the BBC News website.
Dr Nielsen said the basic principles of usability, centring on ease of use and clear thinking about a site's total design, were as important as ever.
"It's necessary to be aware of these things as issues because they remain as such," he said.
They are still important because the net has not changed as much as people thought it would.
"A lot of people thought that design and usability was only a temporary problem because broadband was taking off," he said. "But there are a very small number of cases where usability issues go away because you have broadband."
Design decision
Dr Nielsen said the success of sites such as Google, Amazon, eBay and Yahoo showed that close attention to design and user needs was important.
"Those four sites are extremely profitable and extremely successful," said Dr Nielsen, adding that they have largely defined commercial success on the net.
"All are based on user empowerment and make it easy for people to do things on the internet," he said.
"They are making simple but powerful tools available to the user.
"None of them have a fancy or glamorous look," he added, declaring himself surprised that these sites have not been more widely copied.
In the future, Dr Nielsen believes that search engines will play an even bigger part in helping people get to grips with the huge amount of information online.
"They are becoming like the operating system to the internet," he said.
But, he said, the fact that they are useful now does not mean that they could not do better.
Currently, he said, search sites did not do a very good job of describing the information that they return in response to queries. Often people had to look at a website just to judge whether it was useful or not.
Tools that watch the behaviour of people on websites to see what they actually find useful could also help refine results.
Research by Dr Nielsen shows that people are getting more sophisticated in their use of search engines.
The latest statistics on how many words people use on search engines shows that, on average, they use 2.2 terms. In 1994 only 1.3 words were used.
"I think it's amazing that we have seen a doubling in a 10-year period of those search terms," said Dr Nielsen.
Tuesday 29 May 2007
Email Validation Spec
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has adopted a vendor-developed specification designed to detect e-mail with bogus header information. The technology could help reduce spam and phishing attacks that clog Internet traffic.
Yahoo was the initial developer of the spec, called DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), but other participants joined the effort, including Cisco, Sendmail and PGP Corporation for later revisions.
The hope is that the specification could succeed where other efforts have failed. It puts validation of both the sender and receiver at the domain level. Phishing almost always involves faking an address of a legitimate site, such as a bank or e-commerce sites like eBay and PayPal.
The spec will require a key for domains, but DKIM will distribute keys to any domain requesting one. Each domain has its own private and public keys. E-mail messages are signed with the private key and sent with the public key, which is embedded in the letter's header. The receiver then validates with the public key, and this tells the receiver that only someone with a valid private key could have originated the letter.
If the signature doesn't pass validation, the receiver has their choice of how to handle the letter. The DKIM spec doesn't dictate how to handle invalid letters. Most ISPs will likely label the letter junk mail although they have the right to block it.
Dave Crocker, principal consultant and founder of Brandenberg InternetWorking, is also involved in developing the spec and has decades of experience in working with e-mail systems. He said DKIM will be far more effective than the current method of IP filtering.
"IP addresses are a problem because they are associated with a machine rather than an organization or a person. Because they change, and they can be faked for all sorts of usage," he told internetnews.com.
One of the goals of DKIM is to create something easier to administer. A domain name is good for that, better than having it done on the individual clients. By having the server handle signing and validation, changes and updates are done on a few servers rather than every client computer.
However, that leaves DKIM open to a weakness. Crocker said it won't necessarily help defeat botnets (define), compromised computers with hidden software that pumps out spam unbeknownst to the computer's owner. Botnets are the primary source of spam on the Internet.
Because the client doesn't do the signing, the sending server does, DKIM has no way of knowing if an e-mail originated from the user's e-mail client or from a botnet program spitting out spam. And even if the good guys find a barrier, the bad guys find a way around it.
"DKIM is not about stopping botnets. It's about verifying that a message really involves whoever it says it involves. There's certainly an expectation it will be helpful against phishing because it allows you to start building for a basis for trust," he said.
It would also help that both sender and receiver are using DKIM. Moviola.com, a film equipment rental company in New York and Los Angeles, is one of the first companies to sign up for the service since its mail provider was involved in testing the specification, so it really isn't seeing benefits yet, said Shawn Silvas, system administrator with the company.
But he expects to. "It's going to change the nature of who's spamming," he said. "Hopefully it will help get rid of the spam, like zombies, but it won't help with business spam from legitimate companies like JC Penny. But if it can help reduce Viagra and stock spam, that will be nice."
Silvas said he doesn't care much for the existing spam blocking methods, such as IP black listing, because IP addresses can change on a DHCP network.
"Just because an IP has sent out spam in the past isn't always bad, and just because it's flagged as good doesn't mean I want it. That really hits hard on small businesses whose e-mail is legit because if they are on a DHCP connection, they could get blocked," he said.
The DKIM spec has been fully approved by the IETF and published as an RFC, so people can start deploying it now. Crocker maintains a list on his home page, which at this point is rather modest. He expects it to grow.
Yahoo was the initial developer of the spec, called DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), but other participants joined the effort, including Cisco, Sendmail and PGP Corporation for later revisions.
The hope is that the specification could succeed where other efforts have failed. It puts validation of both the sender and receiver at the domain level. Phishing almost always involves faking an address of a legitimate site, such as a bank or e-commerce sites like eBay and PayPal.
The spec will require a key for domains, but DKIM will distribute keys to any domain requesting one. Each domain has its own private and public keys. E-mail messages are signed with the private key and sent with the public key, which is embedded in the letter's header. The receiver then validates with the public key, and this tells the receiver that only someone with a valid private key could have originated the letter.
If the signature doesn't pass validation, the receiver has their choice of how to handle the letter. The DKIM spec doesn't dictate how to handle invalid letters. Most ISPs will likely label the letter junk mail although they have the right to block it.
Dave Crocker, principal consultant and founder of Brandenberg InternetWorking, is also involved in developing the spec and has decades of experience in working with e-mail systems. He said DKIM will be far more effective than the current method of IP filtering.
"IP addresses are a problem because they are associated with a machine rather than an organization or a person. Because they change, and they can be faked for all sorts of usage," he told internetnews.com.
One of the goals of DKIM is to create something easier to administer. A domain name is good for that, better than having it done on the individual clients. By having the server handle signing and validation, changes and updates are done on a few servers rather than every client computer.
However, that leaves DKIM open to a weakness. Crocker said it won't necessarily help defeat botnets (define), compromised computers with hidden software that pumps out spam unbeknownst to the computer's owner. Botnets are the primary source of spam on the Internet.
Because the client doesn't do the signing, the sending server does, DKIM has no way of knowing if an e-mail originated from the user's e-mail client or from a botnet program spitting out spam. And even if the good guys find a barrier, the bad guys find a way around it.
"DKIM is not about stopping botnets. It's about verifying that a message really involves whoever it says it involves. There's certainly an expectation it will be helpful against phishing because it allows you to start building for a basis for trust," he said.
It would also help that both sender and receiver are using DKIM. Moviola.com, a film equipment rental company in New York and Los Angeles, is one of the first companies to sign up for the service since its mail provider was involved in testing the specification, so it really isn't seeing benefits yet, said Shawn Silvas, system administrator with the company.
But he expects to. "It's going to change the nature of who's spamming," he said. "Hopefully it will help get rid of the spam, like zombies, but it won't help with business spam from legitimate companies like JC Penny. But if it can help reduce Viagra and stock spam, that will be nice."
Silvas said he doesn't care much for the existing spam blocking methods, such as IP black listing, because IP addresses can change on a DHCP network.
"Just because an IP has sent out spam in the past isn't always bad, and just because it's flagged as good doesn't mean I want it. That really hits hard on small businesses whose e-mail is legit because if they are on a DHCP connection, they could get blocked," he said.
The DKIM spec has been fully approved by the IETF and published as an RFC, so people can start deploying it now. Crocker maintains a list on his home page, which at this point is rather modest. He expects it to grow.
Consumer Database Fraud
Cable & Wireless has served an injunction against a former executive following the theft of a 100,000 customer database, the BBC has learned. The injunction orders Seemab Zafar to hand over any part of the database of former subsidiary Bulldog, including names, addresses and financial details.
Ms Zafar, from London, denies that she holds any part of the database.
A BBC investigation has established that the database had been illegally used by call centres in Pakistan.
The call centres tricked customers into handing over credit card details.
One victim of the scam, Gareth Thomas, has subsequently been defrauded on his bank and credit cards, and had his identity cloned on the internet pay system Paypal.
Other victims complained of being relentlessly called by call centres in South East Asia, who won't reveal their identity nor what personal information they hold.
The High Court injunction was brought by Cable & Wireless because it owned internet services provider Bulldog at the time the database was taken.
Read more at BBC online.
Ms Zafar, from London, denies that she holds any part of the database.
A BBC investigation has established that the database had been illegally used by call centres in Pakistan.
The call centres tricked customers into handing over credit card details.
One victim of the scam, Gareth Thomas, has subsequently been defrauded on his bank and credit cards, and had his identity cloned on the internet pay system Paypal.
Other victims complained of being relentlessly called by call centres in South East Asia, who won't reveal their identity nor what personal information they hold.
The High Court injunction was brought by Cable & Wireless because it owned internet services provider Bulldog at the time the database was taken.
Read more at BBC online.
Less Clumsy Robots
The race to create more human-like robots stepped up a gear this week as scientists in Spain set about building an artificial cerebellum. The end-game of the two-year project is to implant the man-made cerebellum in a robot to make movements and interaction with humans more natural.
The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls motor functions.
Researchers hope that the work might also yield clues to treat cognitive diseases such as Parkinson's.
The research, being undertaken at the Department of Architecture and Computing Technology at the University of Granada, is part of a wider European project dubbed Sensopac.
Read more at BBC online.
The cerebellum is the part of the brain that controls motor functions.
Researchers hope that the work might also yield clues to treat cognitive diseases such as Parkinson's.
The research, being undertaken at the Department of Architecture and Computing Technology at the University of Granada, is part of a wider European project dubbed Sensopac.
Read more at BBC online.
Monday 28 May 2007
Blogging
Only a short time ago I said to somebody at the Mission Beach Information Station that they should start a couple of blogs for their customers to start leaving messages on. Seems that they took my advice. After a slow start they've constantly, meticulously been blogging away putting in nice bits of information for the visitors to Mission Beach to feed off. It'll take time, but in the long run, the blogs will be of benefit to them in many ways to do with their usual marketing campagins, their e-marketing, and getting people to stay using their internet cafe for longer.
Sunday 27 May 2007
Zazz Rocks
For any of you people who haven't yet noticed it, there's a very good website out there which sells one different random item every day at remarkably low prices (well, it appears random to me but I would imagine they put a lot of thought into it). It's called zazz and they are tops. Most of the time they sell technology-based items so you can pick up, for example, cheap LCD screens, computers and the like but occassionally they'll throw in something out-of-character like a bean bag they sold the other day.
Anyway, everybody should bookmark them as their home page because one day they will be selling something you want at a price that you won't find anywhere else.
Anyway, everybody should bookmark them as their home page because one day they will be selling something you want at a price that you won't find anywhere else.
Thursday 24 May 2007
Cassowaries in the Garden
I went round a friend's house yesterday and there was an adult male cassowary with a chick happily wandering round in the garden. It can't have been more than four feet away from me but, luckily, I was on the terrace of the house behind a fence so it was a nice, relaxing meeting rather than a scary "wonder when he's going to kick me" meeting. Anyway, I'm glad to report that the adult and the chick both looked very healthy.
Sunday 20 May 2007
FA Cup Final Disappointment
Let's face it, the FA Cup Final was so rubbish I couldn't even be bothered to write about it until now. Enough said I think.
Saturday 19 May 2007
FA Cup Final
Well, it's the end of a long domestic season and the FA Cup Final is on TV tonight. Shame about the time difference because it means you're already knackered by the time you start watching. It's a bit different from meeting up with your mates down the boozer to sink an afternoon of Stella and shout at some dodgy refereeing decisions.
Still, I can live with that considering that I've been down the beach all day today and am writing this with a tin of New to warm me up for later on. Now, I hate both Man U and Chelsea but, in interests of fairness and sharing of trophies, I hope the Chels stuff those filthy northern monkeys.
Still, I can live with that considering that I've been down the beach all day today and am writing this with a tin of New to warm me up for later on. Now, I hate both Man U and Chelsea but, in interests of fairness and sharing of trophies, I hope the Chels stuff those filthy northern monkeys.
Thursday 17 May 2007
More Than Just Web Design
At Ion e-Business we're more than just the experts in web design in Mission Beach. We can also help you improve the general I.T. in your business by recommending and purchasing new hardware, networking your machines, sharing peripherals in your office and generally helping you with office automation tasks.
We've just helped Mission Beach real estate specialists, Andersons Real Estate, incorporate new Windows Vista machines into their network and brought their Microsoft Office technologies up-to-date by introducing Microsoft Office 2007.
We've just helped Mission Beach real estate specialists, Andersons Real Estate, incorporate new Windows Vista machines into their network and brought their Microsoft Office technologies up-to-date by introducing Microsoft Office 2007.
Wednesday 16 May 2007
Malware Hijacks Windows Updates
Courtesy of the BBC.
Virus writers may be able to smuggle malicious files onto a computer using Microsoft's security patch updates, experts say. At least one program is in circulation that can hijack a key component of Windows Update to introduce malicious software that could be used to hijack a computer.
The method bypasses users' firewall, allowing files to download undetected.
Ion e-Business can give you advice on the latest threats to your computers and web design technologies.
Virus writers may be able to smuggle malicious files onto a computer using Microsoft's security patch updates, experts say. At least one program is in circulation that can hijack a key component of Windows Update to introduce malicious software that could be used to hijack a computer.
The method bypasses users' firewall, allowing files to download undetected.
Ion e-Business can give you advice on the latest threats to your computers and web design technologies.
Tuesday 15 May 2007
Open Source Infringes Microsoft Patents
Microsoft has given the most detailed description to date of the number of open-source computer programs it says infringe on its patents, but the company says it still prefers licensing deals with open-source developers, software distributors and users instead of legal action against them.
"There is no reason why any segment of the industry needs to be exempt from intellectual property rules," Horacio Gutierrez, a Microsoft vice president for intellectual property and licensing, said in an interview on Monday.
At the most basic level, open-source software is distributed free of charge to consumers or businesses to use on their computers, and to programmers to modify, build on, and distribute again - also for free.
While proprietary software companies like Microsoft make money by selling licences for programs, open-source companies give away the program and usually make money selling support services.
Open-source programs step on 235 Microsoft patents, the company said. Free Linux software violates 42 patents.
Graphical user interfaces, the way menus and windows look on the screen, breach 65. Email programs step on 15, and other programs touch 68 other patents, the company said. The patent figures were first reported by Fortune magazine.
Microsoft also said Open Office, an open-source program supported in part by Sun Microsystems, infringes on 45 patents. Sun declined to comment on the allegation.
Microsoft is the dominant maker of software that powers servers and desktop PCs, but the company views the free or low-cost Linux operating system alternatives "with a great deal of concern," said Al Gillen, an analyst at the technology research group IDC.
"It's one of the few operating systems that represents a viable threat that Microsoft has a great deal of difficulty containing," Gillen said, because the developers share their code.
"Microsoft can't drive a company out of business and make Linux go away," the analyst said.
Instead, Microsoft has struck a number of patent-licensing deals with companies that use open source code, most notably Novell last November.
In one aspect of the deal, Microsoft agreed to sell Novell's flavour of Linux, called Suse. It also agreed not to sue the customers who bought it, even though it claims the open-source software infringes on its patents.
"Microsoft could have chosen to litigate many years ago, but we have decided not to do that," Gutierrez said. Instead, in the interest of making sure programs that include open-source technology work well with Microsoft products and vice versa, the company will continue to pursue similar deals.
Courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald.
Contact Ion e-Business in Mission Beach for the latest web design technologies using Microsoft and open-source products.
"There is no reason why any segment of the industry needs to be exempt from intellectual property rules," Horacio Gutierrez, a Microsoft vice president for intellectual property and licensing, said in an interview on Monday.
At the most basic level, open-source software is distributed free of charge to consumers or businesses to use on their computers, and to programmers to modify, build on, and distribute again - also for free.
While proprietary software companies like Microsoft make money by selling licences for programs, open-source companies give away the program and usually make money selling support services.
Open-source programs step on 235 Microsoft patents, the company said. Free Linux software violates 42 patents.
Graphical user interfaces, the way menus and windows look on the screen, breach 65. Email programs step on 15, and other programs touch 68 other patents, the company said. The patent figures were first reported by Fortune magazine.
Microsoft also said Open Office, an open-source program supported in part by Sun Microsystems, infringes on 45 patents. Sun declined to comment on the allegation.
Microsoft is the dominant maker of software that powers servers and desktop PCs, but the company views the free or low-cost Linux operating system alternatives "with a great deal of concern," said Al Gillen, an analyst at the technology research group IDC.
"It's one of the few operating systems that represents a viable threat that Microsoft has a great deal of difficulty containing," Gillen said, because the developers share their code.
"Microsoft can't drive a company out of business and make Linux go away," the analyst said.
Instead, Microsoft has struck a number of patent-licensing deals with companies that use open source code, most notably Novell last November.
In one aspect of the deal, Microsoft agreed to sell Novell's flavour of Linux, called Suse. It also agreed not to sue the customers who bought it, even though it claims the open-source software infringes on its patents.
"Microsoft could have chosen to litigate many years ago, but we have decided not to do that," Gutierrez said. Instead, in the interest of making sure programs that include open-source technology work well with Microsoft products and vice versa, the company will continue to pursue similar deals.
Courtesy of Sydney Morning Herald.
Contact Ion e-Business in Mission Beach for the latest web design technologies using Microsoft and open-source products.
Sunday 13 May 2007
Google Searches Web's Dark Side
One in 10 web pages scrutinised by search giant Google contained malicious code that could infect a user's PC. Researchers from the firm surveyed billions of sites, subjecting 4.5 million pages to "in-depth analysis".
About 450,000 were capable of launching so-called "drive-by downloads", sites that install malicious code, such as spyware, without a user's knowledge.
A further 700,000 pages were thought to contain code that could compromise a user's computer, the team report.
To address the problem, the researchers say the company has "started an effort to identify all web pages on the internet that could be malicious".
Courtesy of the BBC website.
About 450,000 were capable of launching so-called "drive-by downloads", sites that install malicious code, such as spyware, without a user's knowledge.
A further 700,000 pages were thought to contain code that could compromise a user's computer, the team report.
To address the problem, the researchers say the company has "started an effort to identify all web pages on the internet that could be malicious".
Courtesy of the BBC website.
Sitemaps
One often overlooked area of search engine optimisation is sitemaps.
Sitemaps are an easy way for webmasters to inform search engines about pages on their sites that are available for crawling. In its simplest form, a Sitemap is an XML file that lists URLs for a site along with additional metadata about each URL (when it was last updated, how often it usually changes, and how important it is, relative to other URLs in the site) so that search engines can more intelligently crawl the site.
Web crawlers usually discover pages from links within the site and from other sites. Sitemaps supplement this data to allow crawlers that support Sitemaps to pick up all URLs in the Sitemap and learn about those URLs using the associated metadata. Using the Sitemap protocol does not guarantee that web pages are included in search engines, but provides hints for web crawlers to do a better job of crawling your site.
In Mission Beach web design work performed by Ion e-Business never forgoes the use of sitemaps.
Sitemaps are an easy way for webmasters to inform search engines about pages on their sites that are available for crawling. In its simplest form, a Sitemap is an XML file that lists URLs for a site along with additional metadata about each URL (when it was last updated, how often it usually changes, and how important it is, relative to other URLs in the site) so that search engines can more intelligently crawl the site.
Web crawlers usually discover pages from links within the site and from other sites. Sitemaps supplement this data to allow crawlers that support Sitemaps to pick up all URLs in the Sitemap and learn about those URLs using the associated metadata. Using the Sitemap protocol does not guarantee that web pages are included in search engines, but provides hints for web crawlers to do a better job of crawling your site.
In Mission Beach web design work performed by Ion e-Business never forgoes the use of sitemaps.
Saturday 12 May 2007
Kanu Nears New Deal
Nwankwo Kanu has revealed he is confident of signing a new two-year deal to remain with Uefa Cup hopefuls Portsmouth. The Nigerian striker's future at Fratton Park has been in some doubt, despite an impressive campaign, as he has been angling for a longer contract than the one-year deal Pompey were keen to tie him to. Kanu was seeking a longer agreement before moving from London to live closer to the club, after admitting that his long commute was having a negative impact on his family life.
However, it now appears that Pompey have relented on their insistence on a one-year deal and look set to keep hold of the former Arsenal man for a further two years.
"I think the progress is on. My agent is negotiating with them and it just needs a little more time," said Kanu. "I want to stay. I have always wanted to stay but the travelling is a problem and I think that will be sorted in the new contract."
Kanu can help Pompey clinch a Uefa Cup place on Sunday against former club Arsenal, as they must beat The Gunners and hope that both Bolton or Reading fail to win in their respective games. The Nigerian hit-man, who has claimed 12 goals this season, is determined to lead the South Coast side to Europe as a reward for the Fratton Park faithful.
"We have had a fantastic season here and now it is great we are fighting for our European passport rather than fighting against relegation," Kanu added. "To get into Europe would be great for the club, great for the players, but most of all we want to give something back to the supporters. We don't want to disappoint them."
However, it now appears that Pompey have relented on their insistence on a one-year deal and look set to keep hold of the former Arsenal man for a further two years.
"I think the progress is on. My agent is negotiating with them and it just needs a little more time," said Kanu. "I want to stay. I have always wanted to stay but the travelling is a problem and I think that will be sorted in the new contract."
Kanu can help Pompey clinch a Uefa Cup place on Sunday against former club Arsenal, as they must beat The Gunners and hope that both Bolton or Reading fail to win in their respective games. The Nigerian hit-man, who has claimed 12 goals this season, is determined to lead the South Coast side to Europe as a reward for the Fratton Park faithful.
"We have had a fantastic season here and now it is great we are fighting for our European passport rather than fighting against relegation," Kanu added. "To get into Europe would be great for the club, great for the players, but most of all we want to give something back to the supporters. We don't want to disappoint them."
Friday 11 May 2007
Redknapp Eyes New Signings
Harry Redknapp believes he will have to bring in ten new players if Portsmouth qualify for the Uefa Cup.
Pompey must beat Arsenal on the final day of the season and hope that Bolton and Reading both fail to win in order to secure European football for next season. Redknapp feels the additional workload of the Uefa Cup would put a huge strain on his current squad, but would relish the challenge of building for the competition.
He explained: "That's what we are all here for. That is what it is all about. You need new challenges, you need to keep building and improving your squad. It will be great for us to get into Europe but we can't take it on with what we've got. We are going to need about ten extra players because if you are going to be successful in the Uefa Cup you are going to play at least ten extra games. It starts like a cup competition, goes into a league format and then back to a cup again. Ask Newcastle and Tottenham how difficult that was to handle this season."
Arsenal are likely to field an under-strength team on Sunday but have never lost to Portsmouth in the Premiership and Redknapp accepts it will be difficult for his side to claim the three points they need.
"If we let them get into their passing game we could get murdered," he said. "We've got to go at them right from the start like we did in beating Manchester United, Newcastle and Liverpool at Fratton Park. It would be great to add Arsenal's name to that list.
Pompey must beat Arsenal on the final day of the season and hope that Bolton and Reading both fail to win in order to secure European football for next season. Redknapp feels the additional workload of the Uefa Cup would put a huge strain on his current squad, but would relish the challenge of building for the competition.
He explained: "That's what we are all here for. That is what it is all about. You need new challenges, you need to keep building and improving your squad. It will be great for us to get into Europe but we can't take it on with what we've got. We are going to need about ten extra players because if you are going to be successful in the Uefa Cup you are going to play at least ten extra games. It starts like a cup competition, goes into a league format and then back to a cup again. Ask Newcastle and Tottenham how difficult that was to handle this season."
Arsenal are likely to field an under-strength team on Sunday but have never lost to Portsmouth in the Premiership and Redknapp accepts it will be difficult for his side to claim the three points they need.
"If we let them get into their passing game we could get murdered," he said. "We've got to go at them right from the start like we did in beating Manchester United, Newcastle and Liverpool at Fratton Park. It would be great to add Arsenal's name to that list.
James Signs New Deal
Courtesy of Sky Sports
Portsmouth have received a boost ahead of the final day of the season with goalkeeper David James agreeing a new contract at the club. James has agreed a new two-year deal, with the option of a third season on top, which could see the player remain at Fratton Park until 2010.
James confirmed to Pompey's official website: "The last year has been great and I am delighted to have signed the extension to my contract. I have enjoyed my football here and with the plans for the new stadium the future for Pompey is looking very good on and off the field. To be part of that future is exciting and I'm greatly looking forward to things developing."
The 36-year-old, a £2million signing from Manchester City last summer, has been in superb form this season and recently eclipsed David Seaman's record for Premiership clean sheets.
His form has been instrumental in Pompey's fine campaign which looks set to secure the club their highest league finish in more than 50 years.
Harry Redknapp's team are also still in contention for a Uefa Cup place, with Arsenal the visitors to Fratton Park on Sunday
Portsmouth have received a boost ahead of the final day of the season with goalkeeper David James agreeing a new contract at the club. James has agreed a new two-year deal, with the option of a third season on top, which could see the player remain at Fratton Park until 2010.
James confirmed to Pompey's official website: "The last year has been great and I am delighted to have signed the extension to my contract. I have enjoyed my football here and with the plans for the new stadium the future for Pompey is looking very good on and off the field. To be part of that future is exciting and I'm greatly looking forward to things developing."
The 36-year-old, a £2million signing from Manchester City last summer, has been in superb form this season and recently eclipsed David Seaman's record for Premiership clean sheets.
His form has been instrumental in Pompey's fine campaign which looks set to secure the club their highest league finish in more than 50 years.
Harry Redknapp's team are also still in contention for a Uefa Cup place, with Arsenal the visitors to Fratton Park on Sunday
Thursday 10 May 2007
How Google Ranks Websites
By NetRegistry News
by Jim Pretin
Google is by far the most important search engine on the net. To rise to the top of their search engine, you need to improve your link popularity and you need to understand how they measure your link popularity (over 50% of all search engine traffic comes from Google, and if you can rise to the top, you will likely rise to the top of all the other search engines as well).
Link Popularity
Link popularity is defined as the number of sites that are linking to your site. Some websites have thousands or even millions of sites linking to them, while others might have only a few. The search engines use the number of inbound links your site has as a measure of how important your site is, which translates into your search engine ranking.
The actual number of links to your site is not the only variable used to calculate your link popularity. The search engines also examine the relevance of the links to the subject matter of your site. For example, if a website that sells vitamins has 4,000 inbound links, but the source of most of the links are websites that have nothing to do with vitamins, then the algorithm that search engines use to determine link popularity will take that into account, and the link popularity score will not be very good.
Quality not Quantity
It is possible for a website with a relatively small number of quality inbound links to be ranked higher than a site with a bunch of irrelevant or insignificant links. If I have a website that offers vitamins, and I have 800 quality inbound links, then I might receive a much higher search engine ranking than another vitamin site that has 3,000 links that stem from link farms or Free For All (FFA) pages.
If you try to acquire inbound by using link farms or FFA pages, not only will it hurt your search engine ranking, but you might get permanently removed from the search engine listings. Links farms are sites where you can instantly exchange links with all the sites listed in that directory. FFA pages are pointless link directories. The search engines usually discount any links that come from either of these sources.
Now that we understand what link popularity is and how it works, we need to look specifically at how Google measures it. They use a number of variables in their algorithm to calculate your overall link score. The higher your score, the higher you will be ranked in the search listings.
One factor that Google uses in their algorithm, obviously, is the total number of sites linking to you. The more links you have, the higher your score will be. However, their algorithm is a little more complicated than that, and it is possible for a website with fewer links to be ranked higher than a website that has more links.
Relevancy is important
The reason for this is because Google also measures the quality of your links. If your website is about vitamins, and the site linking to you is a video game site, then that is not considered a quality link. The link still helps your score, but the link would help your score much more if it were from a website whose subject matter is the same as yours.
Also, Google gives a higher score to a link if it comes from a page that has actual content that relates to your keywords. For example, if your site is about jewellery, and another jewellery website has posted a link to your site on their links page, that link is not as valuable as a link to your site coming from a blog or a message board where a lot of information about jewellery is being written or discussed.
Call Ion e-Business today for web design that adheres to search engine optimisation methodologies.
by Jim Pretin
Google is by far the most important search engine on the net. To rise to the top of their search engine, you need to improve your link popularity and you need to understand how they measure your link popularity (over 50% of all search engine traffic comes from Google, and if you can rise to the top, you will likely rise to the top of all the other search engines as well).
Link Popularity
Link popularity is defined as the number of sites that are linking to your site. Some websites have thousands or even millions of sites linking to them, while others might have only a few. The search engines use the number of inbound links your site has as a measure of how important your site is, which translates into your search engine ranking.
The actual number of links to your site is not the only variable used to calculate your link popularity. The search engines also examine the relevance of the links to the subject matter of your site. For example, if a website that sells vitamins has 4,000 inbound links, but the source of most of the links are websites that have nothing to do with vitamins, then the algorithm that search engines use to determine link popularity will take that into account, and the link popularity score will not be very good.
Quality not Quantity
It is possible for a website with a relatively small number of quality inbound links to be ranked higher than a site with a bunch of irrelevant or insignificant links. If I have a website that offers vitamins, and I have 800 quality inbound links, then I might receive a much higher search engine ranking than another vitamin site that has 3,000 links that stem from link farms or Free For All (FFA) pages.
If you try to acquire inbound by using link farms or FFA pages, not only will it hurt your search engine ranking, but you might get permanently removed from the search engine listings. Links farms are sites where you can instantly exchange links with all the sites listed in that directory. FFA pages are pointless link directories. The search engines usually discount any links that come from either of these sources.
Now that we understand what link popularity is and how it works, we need to look specifically at how Google measures it. They use a number of variables in their algorithm to calculate your overall link score. The higher your score, the higher you will be ranked in the search listings.
One factor that Google uses in their algorithm, obviously, is the total number of sites linking to you. The more links you have, the higher your score will be. However, their algorithm is a little more complicated than that, and it is possible for a website with fewer links to be ranked higher than a website that has more links.
Relevancy is important
The reason for this is because Google also measures the quality of your links. If your website is about vitamins, and the site linking to you is a video game site, then that is not considered a quality link. The link still helps your score, but the link would help your score much more if it were from a website whose subject matter is the same as yours.
Also, Google gives a higher score to a link if it comes from a page that has actual content that relates to your keywords. For example, if your site is about jewellery, and another jewellery website has posted a link to your site on their links page, that link is not as valuable as a link to your site coming from a blog or a message board where a lot of information about jewellery is being written or discussed.
Call Ion e-Business today for web design that adheres to search engine optimisation methodologies.
Andersons Real Estate
We're currently doing some web design work for Andersons Real Estate, the specialists in Mission Beach real estate. Anybody who has ever used the old one will know that, by their own admission, it's not very good. The old site was written with the biggest of all faux-pas when it comes to search engine optimisation: framesets. Framesets have the effect of giving the search engine looking at the site absolutely nothing to index. Now, as content is king when it comes to search engines you can probably see that framesets are BAD.
This is why we're so pleased with the results we've been getting while we've been performing some SEO work at the same time as the new site is under development. We've managed to get the old site up to 3rd in Google for the search term 'mission beach real estate'. When the new website goes live and Google actually has something to index we're expecting even better results.
The new site also has some powerful features not offered by any other agents in the area so watch the website over the next couple of weeks and you'll see what I mean: Andersons for Mission Beach real estate
This is why we're so pleased with the results we've been getting while we've been performing some SEO work at the same time as the new site is under development. We've managed to get the old site up to 3rd in Google for the search term 'mission beach real estate'. When the new website goes live and Google actually has something to index we're expecting even better results.
The new site also has some powerful features not offered by any other agents in the area so watch the website over the next couple of weeks and you'll see what I mean: Andersons for Mission Beach real estate
Mission Beach Information Station
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Mission Beach Information Station for being my first client in the area. Historically, the businesses of Mission Beach have had a rough ride when trying to get any web development done and the support they have received has been atrocious. So, when I breezed into town and Kerrie and Steve took a punt on me they were risking a lot. I supposed it helped that I'd been working for the last 14 years on trading floors with the most demanding punters of the lot but still, they took a risk.
Well, that risk has paid off for them. Their site is now newly designed and stable, they can update it in-house through their content management system, they have a real-time Mission Beach accommodation booking facility, they are receiving extra revenue from various ideas that we came up with and, more importantly, we're gradually moving them up the ladder in Google. Search engine optimisation is probably the most important part of getting your site noticed - unfortunately, it takes time for your changes to take effect. Google has an awful lot of web pages to reindex - the whole world in fact - so you have to be patient and trust in the guy doing your SEO.
There are some more changes in the pipeline for the Mission Beach Information Station that will make the website stand out from the rest so keep your eyes on it. Kerrie and Steve are on a mission!
Well, that risk has paid off for them. Their site is now newly designed and stable, they can update it in-house through their content management system, they have a real-time Mission Beach accommodation booking facility, they are receiving extra revenue from various ideas that we came up with and, more importantly, we're gradually moving them up the ladder in Google. Search engine optimisation is probably the most important part of getting your site noticed - unfortunately, it takes time for your changes to take effect. Google has an awful lot of web pages to reindex - the whole world in fact - so you have to be patient and trust in the guy doing your SEO.
There are some more changes in the pipeline for the Mission Beach Information Station that will make the website stand out from the rest so keep your eyes on it. Kerrie and Steve are on a mission!
Guessing Robots Find Their Way
Robots that use "guesswork" to navigate through unfamiliar surroundings are being developed by US researchers.
The mobile machines create maps of areas they have already explored and then use this information to predict what unknown environments will be like. Trials in office buildings showed that the robots were able to find their way around, New Scientist reported. Making robots that can navigate without prior knowledge of their surroundings was a huge challenge, the team said.
Most mobile robots do this using a technique called SLAM (simultaneous localisation and mapping), whereby they build up a map of their unknown environment, using various sensors, whilst keeping track of their current position at the same time. But this technique is slow because a robot must explore a great deal of terrain to know its precise location. It is also prone to errors.
So the team from Purdue University, in Indiana, has developed a new approach. The robots create a 2D map of the area they are exploring, but when they come to an unknown area, they check back through this information to see if it seems similar to any areas that have already explored. They do this using an algorithm - a step-by-step problem solving procedure.
Professor George Lee from Purdue University, in Indiana, who carried out the research, said: "The robot gets to a new area and thinks: 'Have I seen these sorts of things before?' Then it goes back and looks at its stored data. "It might then think: 'Hey, this is very, very similar to something I've seen before, I don't need to explore that room or corner.' And this saves time for it to explore other areas."
He said it was similar to the human navigational process, where we build up a "mental map" of our surroundings by recognising familiar sights.
The mobile machines create maps of areas they have already explored and then use this information to predict what unknown environments will be like. Trials in office buildings showed that the robots were able to find their way around, New Scientist reported. Making robots that can navigate without prior knowledge of their surroundings was a huge challenge, the team said.
Most mobile robots do this using a technique called SLAM (simultaneous localisation and mapping), whereby they build up a map of their unknown environment, using various sensors, whilst keeping track of their current position at the same time. But this technique is slow because a robot must explore a great deal of terrain to know its precise location. It is also prone to errors.
So the team from Purdue University, in Indiana, has developed a new approach. The robots create a 2D map of the area they are exploring, but when they come to an unknown area, they check back through this information to see if it seems similar to any areas that have already explored. They do this using an algorithm - a step-by-step problem solving procedure.
Professor George Lee from Purdue University, in Indiana, who carried out the research, said: "The robot gets to a new area and thinks: 'Have I seen these sorts of things before?' Then it goes back and looks at its stored data. "It might then think: 'Hey, this is very, very similar to something I've seen before, I don't need to explore that room or corner.' And this saves time for it to explore other areas."
He said it was similar to the human navigational process, where we build up a "mental map" of our surroundings by recognising familiar sights.
Wednesday 9 May 2007
About Mission Beach
Mission Beach is a relaxed, yet vibrant beachfront town with over 14 kilometres of magnificent golden sandy beaches. Here two World Heritage areas, The Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics Rainforest, come together to form a tropical paradise. In many places, the rainforest literally fringes stretches of pristine golden beach, giving Mission Beach a reputation as an ideal natural holiday choice.
Only 2 hours from Cairns and 2.5 hours from Townsville, Mission Beach offers an excellent choice of restaurants, galleries, gift stores and coffee shops and of course the famous Mission Beach Accommodation that includes everything from Backpackers and B&B's to beautiful absolute beachfront Resorts.
While you are here enjoy golf, kayaking, cassowary spotting, reef and estuary fishing, rainforest hikes, jet skiing, crocodile spotting, bird watching, market shopping, bike riding, swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving. A day trip will have you enjoying the beautiful Atherton Tablelands, historic Paronella Park, Hinchinbrook Island, Josephine Falls and so much more.
For those of you with a little more adventure on your mind, a trip to Mission Beach won't be complete without experiencing a tandem skydive from 14,000 feet landing on one of the most pristine and untouched beaches you will ever see, or you can partake in a white water rafting trip in the beautiful Tully Gorge.
Less than 5 kilometres offshore of Mission Beach, Dunk Island and Bedarra Island make up an aquatic playground that is renowned along the east coast of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef is only 38 kilometres away making Mission Beach the closest mainland access to the Reef, just an hour or so by boat. This means more time experiencing the wonders of Queensland's Great Barrier Reef when you stay at Mission Beach.
There are four villages that are collectively known as Mission Beach: South Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach, North Mission Beach and Bingil Bay. Our spectacular palm-fringed beach connects these four small townships, from Kennedy Bay in the south, to Garners Beach in the north, a favourite spot for naturalists.
Mission Beach Accommodation is available in all four of these townships and most visitors to our beautiful area find that they have a favourite. The Edmund Kennedy walking track at the southern end of the beach is part beach, mangrove and rainforest. Several creeks empty their waters at Mission Beach and locals can often be found fishing for barramundi and mangrove jacks. Good fishing is also to be had at Clump Point jetty and the rock wall at Clump Point boat ramp, and for absolute seclusion, try Brooks Beach or Garners Beach at the northern end. It's quite likely that you'll catch a glimpse of the endangered Southern Cassowary in the rainforest around Mission Beach.
At Mission Beach, you will find a tranquil and very friendly tropical holiday township ideally suited to those who desire a true break from everyday life. Experience a lifestyle change by investing in Mission Beach real estate and come and live in paradise with us.
Only 2 hours from Cairns and 2.5 hours from Townsville, Mission Beach offers an excellent choice of restaurants, galleries, gift stores and coffee shops and of course the famous Mission Beach Accommodation that includes everything from Backpackers and B&B's to beautiful absolute beachfront Resorts.
While you are here enjoy golf, kayaking, cassowary spotting, reef and estuary fishing, rainforest hikes, jet skiing, crocodile spotting, bird watching, market shopping, bike riding, swimming, snorkelling and scuba diving. A day trip will have you enjoying the beautiful Atherton Tablelands, historic Paronella Park, Hinchinbrook Island, Josephine Falls and so much more.
For those of you with a little more adventure on your mind, a trip to Mission Beach won't be complete without experiencing a tandem skydive from 14,000 feet landing on one of the most pristine and untouched beaches you will ever see, or you can partake in a white water rafting trip in the beautiful Tully Gorge.
Less than 5 kilometres offshore of Mission Beach, Dunk Island and Bedarra Island make up an aquatic playground that is renowned along the east coast of Queensland. The Great Barrier Reef is only 38 kilometres away making Mission Beach the closest mainland access to the Reef, just an hour or so by boat. This means more time experiencing the wonders of Queensland's Great Barrier Reef when you stay at Mission Beach.
There are four villages that are collectively known as Mission Beach: South Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach, North Mission Beach and Bingil Bay. Our spectacular palm-fringed beach connects these four small townships, from Kennedy Bay in the south, to Garners Beach in the north, a favourite spot for naturalists.
Mission Beach Accommodation is available in all four of these townships and most visitors to our beautiful area find that they have a favourite. The Edmund Kennedy walking track at the southern end of the beach is part beach, mangrove and rainforest. Several creeks empty their waters at Mission Beach and locals can often be found fishing for barramundi and mangrove jacks. Good fishing is also to be had at Clump Point jetty and the rock wall at Clump Point boat ramp, and for absolute seclusion, try Brooks Beach or Garners Beach at the northern end. It's quite likely that you'll catch a glimpse of the endangered Southern Cassowary in the rainforest around Mission Beach.
At Mission Beach, you will find a tranquil and very friendly tropical holiday township ideally suited to those who desire a true break from everyday life. Experience a lifestyle change by investing in Mission Beach real estate and come and live in paradise with us.
Tuesday 8 May 2007
Latest Pompey News
Portsmouth are being linked with a raid for highly-rated Italian marksman Rolando Bianchi.
The 24-year-old is only behind Francesco Totti and Cristiano Lucarelli in the Serie A goalscoring charts after bagging 17 goals so far this term. Bianchi has shone for Reggina and is attracting a great deal of attention in both Italy and abroad.
Juventus are believed to hold a firm interest - but Premiership scouts are a familiar thing at Stadio Oreste Granillo this term. Indeed Liverpool and Boro have both been touted as possible bidders, as Pompey are now. Portsmouth are looking to bolster their striking ranks next term with the likely departure of top-scorer Kanu.
Another name Pompey are being strongly linked with is former ace Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Portsmouth sold him to Middlesbrough in 2005, but manager Harry Redknapp has rued his sale ever since and remains a big fan. However, with Boro struggling to hold onto Mark Viduka - it would appear unlikely they would be willing to let the Nigerian depart.
The 24-year-old is only behind Francesco Totti and Cristiano Lucarelli in the Serie A goalscoring charts after bagging 17 goals so far this term. Bianchi has shone for Reggina and is attracting a great deal of attention in both Italy and abroad.
Juventus are believed to hold a firm interest - but Premiership scouts are a familiar thing at Stadio Oreste Granillo this term. Indeed Liverpool and Boro have both been touted as possible bidders, as Pompey are now. Portsmouth are looking to bolster their striking ranks next term with the likely departure of top-scorer Kanu.
Another name Pompey are being strongly linked with is former ace Yakubu Aiyegbeni. Portsmouth sold him to Middlesbrough in 2005, but manager Harry Redknapp has rued his sale ever since and remains a big fan. However, with Boro struggling to hold onto Mark Viduka - it would appear unlikely they would be willing to let the Nigerian depart.
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