Brain child

[Click to enlarge]

Finally, we managed to create this... It's very simple, VERY SIMPLE. Nothing fancy about it. If you are interested, do check it HERE.

Gratuitous eye candy...

In this day and age, Internet users are becoming more aware regarding the usage of multimedia elements. As one of the internet users, I prefer a site offers these elements because to me this websites offers more choices as well as better information. More often than not, the message can be conveyed with much precision.

Other than that, by integrating multimedia elements in a website, the developer is actually offering the users more control. This is because, when listening to an audio files (streaming) a user has the ability to control the playback.

When developing a website there are numerous elements that can be utilized. They are:

Images : By and large, this element is the most prominent in any website. It is the easiest element to date. A developer only needs to find suitable images and graphics so that the message can be conveyed precisely.

Animation : Basically, once a page has loaded, anything that's still moving on the screen is animation. There are a variety of uses for animation ranging from simple animations that might be intended to "liven-up" a page through to more complex and lengthy animations that could be used to provide a product demonstration. The types of animation are ranging from GIF files to Flash files (*.flv or *.swf), depending on the purpose.

Text : In designing a website, the most vital element to take into consideration is the fotnts and the typeface. For text on the web the most common sans-serif fonts are Verdana, Arial, and Helvetica. Verdana was specifically designed to be more readable at small font sizes, it has wider proportions than Arial so works well for body text. Arial is better if used for larger sizes such as headings. Helvetica is most popular with Mac and Linux users, but is not always supported by older versions of Windows. A popular alternative to Arial is Universe which looks similar but with slightly wider spacing.

Audio : Audio in website ranges from sound effects, background sounds, streamed audio files as well as downloadable sound files. The numerous formats in distributing audio files are, MP3, WAV, MIDI, Real Audio, OGG Vorbis, AIFF and the list goes on. However, MP3 is the most sought after since the size is relatively small and yet the quality of the sound is still preserved.

Video: Nowadays, this element is widely applied in websites. It is a common sense that using video helps to improve understanding. Other than that, video also helps to distribute information and idea more effectively. Nevertheless, when integrating videos in a website, it is important to consider issues such as compression, size, quality, speed and bandwidth. Is these issues are not handled carefully, the usage of videos will be in vain.

Tools of trades...

This is the expansion of the previous post. In this entry I am going to discuss on the types of tools integrated in a website. These tools include chatting, forum, email, downloading and uploading files, search engine and guestbook. By and large these tools advocate interactive reciprocal activities between a user and a developer.

Chatting
The most common tool integrated in a website. This tool enables immediate response between two or more individuals done in a virtual chat room. Previously, this can only be done using text-based chat but now, it integrates web-cam chat as well as voice chat. The most popular host is Yahoo Messenger.


Forum
Forum or Internet forum basically is an online discussion site. It actually adapts the traditional bulletin board. Forum enables users to discuss regarding almost any subject matters. People participating in an Internet forum may cultivate social bonds and interest groups for a topic may form from the discussions.



Email
Email is abbreviated from Electronic Mail. This is a method of exchanging digital messages, designed primarily for human use. E-mail systems are based on a store-and-forward model in which e-mail computer server systems accept, forward, deliver and store messages on behalf of users, who only need to connect to the e-mail infrastructure, typically an e-mail server, with a network-enabled device (e.g., a personal computer) for the duration of message submission or retrieval. Rarely is e-mail transmitted directly from one user's device to another.


Downloading and uploading
Uploading and downloading are two terms used in computing to refer to data transfer. In brief, files are considered uploaded when they are transferred from a computer to a central server. Files are downloaded when they are transferred from a server to a smaller peripheral unit.

Search Engine
A web search engine is a tool designed to search for information on the World Wide Web. The search results are usually presented in a list and are commonly called hits. The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other types of files. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or open directories.


Guest book
A guest book is a paper or electronic means for a visitor to acknowledge their visitation to a site, physical or web-based, and leave their name, postal or electronic address (if desired), and a comment or note, if desired.


In final analysis, these webpage tools are developed in order to enhance the performance of a website. It is imperative that these tools are applied with the satisfaction of a user in mind.