GWT Blog – GlobalWorldTech

Every business today looks to the future and that is the reason the world is dynamic with loads of innovation.

Cloud computing is an example of a futuristic idea turned into a real initiative and it serves to offer imminent benefits to enterprises and companies.

For one, many enterprise features that seemed to cost a fortune a while back have now been availed in the 'cloud', so that medium and small business can implement at an affordable price.

More important is the that cloud computing has become easily available and there are more than enough application areas to employ the innovation.

#1 Cloud Computing Snapshots

Virtual Machine (VM) snapshot taking is a field of administration that has become reliant on VMware to provide 'images' of a specific state in business time. The snapshots come in handy when detailing the progress and traces of time and are helpful in making directives for the business.

The limitations of this technique however challenges even the most the established enterprises, because of its timeliness and the restricted ability to take only one VM snapshot at a time.

One of the most exciting applications of cloud computing is the possibility of taking instantaneous snapshots of various virtual machines. This is therefore a concept that beats even the most advances platform for virtualization.

#2 Cloud Computing Hybridization

More to the benefits and applications of the cloud computing is the ability to merge servers and work with all them conveniently. The previous generation of computing relied on deciding between a private cloud and a public one since they offered varied experiences.

Cloud computing makes it possible for formation of a hybrid cloud that allows users to integrate both the public cloud and private cloud so that they work on both of them together.

The connection is made via secure virtual private networks (VPNs) and hence, all users can be connected to a public cloud securely. This breaks the boundaries that used to exist for just sharing the internet and applications to a much wider potential for companies.

#3 Cloud Computing in Disaster Recovery

Most virtual infrastructures outside of the cloud are faced with the high cost and difficulty of implementing disaster recovery solutions. This is mainly because the cost of implementing the feature is influenced by the separate users in the system.

Cloud computing takes away this burden by the fact that, service providers are the ones to implement disaster recovery features and therefore incur the risk and cost. Backing up of data is more so to the advantage of the user in that there is no need for cumbersome local monitoring when all the servers can be moved to the 'cloud'.

There are numerous other exciting applications of cloud computing such as; multiple and instantaneous exportation and importation of servers to the 'cloud', paying specifically for what is use and most importantly saving time and money.

Keeping these in mind, an individual should understand that there the platform is limitless and all it takes is being able to identify an established and reliable provider that meets their needs.
 

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For those who are designing for the mobile web, whether it is a blog or some type of business site, you have to remember navigable sites are much easier to use, than those that are extremely cluttered and hard to scroll.

With a mobile device, users are far more limited in space; for this reason, web designers who work on mobile website design have to keep a user friendly platform in mind, and must make the content easy to access, in order to ensure mobile device users will not lose interest and jump to other sites.

Break Up Pages

With a laptop or desktop you can place a large amount of text on one page, without online visitors having to scroll sideways; but, with a mobile site, you are going to want to break up the text.

Especially on newspaper sites, or blogging sites, breaking up the content onto several pages is much more navigable than users having to scroll sideways to read the entire page. Since you are limited in space, breaking things down makes it easier to scroll through.

Resolution

In setting up the mobile website, choosing the right resolution is also key. As a web designer, you have to do the research to find out the specs for current smart phones (which are used to get online), and use your best judgment to create the perfect resolution for the majority of the devices out there.

You must also remember the range of screen sizes (tablets, smart phones, pdas, etc), to develop and choose the right resolution.

Simplify Design

Simplicity equals usability with mobile websites; the easier it is for users to scroll the site, the more likely it is they will visit the site. Avoid inclusion tables, using frames, and other types of formatting which is used on traditional websites, as these will slow the speed down, and make it harder to navigate.

With mobile websites, the more links the user has to click through, the slower it will go (unlike a traditional website); so, simplifying things down to the simplest format is critical for mobile web designers.

Proper Navigation Placement

Knowing your users is key here. You should research to find out how they want to navigate, in order to properly develop the mobile site; the easier things are to navigate (and find the links users are most interested in viewing), the better the design will be.

Text Links

Although your desktop site might have dropdown menus and various fancy images, with a mobile site you want to opt for text links. Not only will this make things faster, it also ensures the site will not freeze up often. Although it is not as animated, it is going to make for faster browsing.

When designing for the mobile web, web designers have to know their audiences, what they are looking for, and create an easy to navigate site, in order to keep visitors tuned in. If there are various fancy designs, links, or other additional elements featured on the main browser, this will slow down the functionality on a mobile device, and will turn users away.
 

Image(s): FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There is a saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. This is true because our brains process visual information far better than the analytical ones.

This is why even high-end cars still have analog speedometers rather than the digital ones, even though the technology for both exists for over 30 years.

Information graphics or Infographics are trying to introduce this concept in the field of visualization of technical information, the Web and the IT industry.

Infographics are visual representations of complex data, information or knowledge in a simple standardized graphic form that can later be used in various fields of science and professions.

Typical examples of infographics include traffic signs, streetcar maps and metro subway maps.

Infographics on the Web act as information aggregators and storage space savers, because one map or symbol can replace hundreds of lines of text.

Infographics are also trying to simplify the whole web browsing experience by quickly and clearly depicting complex data. A good example of this are the animations made in Adobe Flash which have revolutionized mapping solutions and various other products on the web.

Infographics are changing the Web by turning vast amounts of text and boring information into an incredibly practical and easy-to-consume content. The best examples of this are various maps, diagrams, models, life cycle maps, tables and trends such as the ones depicted at:

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/06/25-useful-infographics-for-web-designers/

http://sixrevisions.com/resources/10-revealing-infographics-about-the-web/

and

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/cool-infographics/

All of the above examples show the enormous potential of infographics to represent various data in a unique and interesting way.

Perhaps one of the most widely known examples of infographics is the video statistics option on YouTube.com. The option can be accessed via the 'show video statistics' button under every video clip in YouTube's database. This option shows the visual statistics of every video clip in regards to various criteria, such as: total views, ratings and audiences by age or location.

For all of you who would like to design and produce infographics, but have no previous experience in design, there's a nice website called visual.ly. This website will build infographics for you trough a simple wizard-like interface. All you have to do is to answer a series of questions and choose your infographics template which you can later customize.

Infographics on the web have become a powerful marketing and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) technique to attract large number of backlinks and visitors to websites of interest, which is why a large number of marketeers are starting to use them.

The technique is very popular among Web developers as well, because it enables them to design visually appealing, content rich and user-friendly websites with an equal amount of information as the conventional text-based websites. With infographics, the Web is becoming more visual and easy to use.

One of the first steps in this process was the integration of image search option in search engines, which enabled the users to search the images in a visual way. Infographics are revolutionizing the Web today and turning it from a "hex editor" look into a truly visual experience.
 

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Responsive web design (RWD) is a concept for web designers who want their sites to have universal utility across as many browsers and platforms as possible, particularly in the mobile arena.

While a lot of tech developments come and go like hit songs, this concept appears to have enough legs to transform and upgrade web design in several major ways.

It's advantageous to at least learn about it and consider using responsive web design, especially if your business depends on mobile interactivity. The RWD concept subscribes to the use of simplification and minimal coding.

Ethan Marcotte came up with the idea of responsive web design, coining the phrase, in an article he wrote for tech website A List Apart.

He also wrote a book on the topic in 2011 called "Responsive Web Design." An underlying theme of the book suggests that the web designer must think beyond the desktop and consider the mobile world, which is quickly rising in popularity.

The root of Marcotte's solutions stems from cascading style sheets (CSS) with an emphasis on fluid as opposed to fixed or liquid layouts and flexible images designed for mobile users.

Fluid layouts are more based on proportions that resize according to screen size than a fixed number of pixels. Interactivity with user data is also key to improving the evolving internet experience and can be accomplished using a form of coding known as CSS3 media queries.

In 2012 responsive web design has clearly become a top emerging trend for the more savvy web designers looking to piece the internet puzzle together with the most effective coding that limits the need to duplicate the process for different forms of media.

Constantly changing trends in web design raise lots of questions about time constraints, such as: is it really worth it to learn a lot of different coding techniques that will be outdated in a few years? In the business world, such a fixation is called "diminishing returns." The best way around these time-burners with temporary utility is to learn processes that save time instead of consume valuable amounts of time.

Responsive web design appears to be a time-saving solution. It is certainly a completely new way of thinking that sharply contrasts the ethics of web design that began to form in the 1990s and subsequent decade.

Back then layouts were built on tables that took hours to construct just to display data that could be drawn on a chalkboard in five minutes. CSS changed that way of thinking, although CSS itself became a time-consuming process if it involved a robust website with hundreds of unique pages or displays.

People who are still confused why different browsers display a given image differently, especially on mobile devices, probably will regard RWD as just another cumbersome trend controlled by tech gurus who make the big bucks by staying ahead of the curve.

People who just want to upload content and not worry a thing about coding will likely enjoy cloud-based solutions and social networking as sufficient platforms. But webmasters who want to stay on the cutting edge certainly are embracing the power of RWD in favor of the old world of creating different coding for different devices for delivering the exact same content.

In many cases, creating separate code for the desktop and small screens isn't good enough anymore, as another trend has developed in which users enjoy viewing web content on large high-resolution screens. As always, adapting to internet trends helps your site stay fresh, modern and easy to use.
 

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Web designers are faced with a variety of choices when seeking full sized image, alert box or modal window for a given project.

Your specific requirements and ease of customization on the modal popup boxes you want limits the selection a little bit.

Examples Of Modal Popup Boxes

• jQuery UI Dialog

It is a section of the jQuery UI which is full bundle of plugins and effects based on jQuery. It is easy to customize and flexible making it suitable for implementation in any project without limitations.

The dialog box can be implemented in five distinct forms; modal form, modal confirmation, modal message, modal dialog and basic dialog.

The dialog box is a floating window which consists of a content area and title bar. The window can be closed, resized or moved using the x icon as default. If the length of the content surpasses the required height, a scroll bar automatically appears. The slightly transparent modal overlay layer and bottom button bar options may be included.

To learn more about jQuery UI Dialog, click the link http://jqueryui.com/demos/dialog/

• NyroModal

It is a jQuery plugin and can easily be customized. It is capable of defining numerous callbacks at various time within the process to enable you edit and change the settings, data or any other item. The dialog box also has an efficient error minimization and call_blank function which targets iframes.

The vital jQuery functions such as fadeTo and animate help in redefining animations from A to Z. the filters also allow defining totally different possibilities for the plugin on their ways of operation.

Follow http://nyromodal.nyrodev.com to learn more.

• Fancy box

It is a part of jQuery plugin with good resizing and easing effects. The dialog box can combine images in the gallery and excellent ease out back effect when the modal window is closed.

The plugin is downloaded, unzipped and then files copied in the initial steps of using fancy box. The style sheet and fancy box script should be included in the documentation. The js files and CSS should be on the server and the paths in the link tag and script adjusted. The jQuery library should also be loaded.

More information is available at http://fancyapps.com/fancybox/

• Lightbox

It has revolutionized the image previews and image galleries because of numerous copies and imitations.It is suitable for basic html projects where the customer's needs are simple and the image galleries just requires some few improvements.

The lightbox.js should be included in the header. rel="lightbox" is added tom match with any link tag so as to activate the light box. In customization, the CSS can be used to modify the image gallery. The location of a loading graphic can also be shown at the top of lightbox.js.

Find more on http://lokeshdhakar.com/projects/lightbox/

• jqModal

It is a jQuery plugin that facilitates display of modal windows, dialogs and display notices in a web browser. It is tiny, flexible and creates a strong foundation for universal purpose frame work of windows. The dialog box is easy to customize and can be used in iFrame box, confirm box, modal box, notice, dialog or display of inline divs on modal windows.

The image caching is used to add windows, frames or pop up dialogs while parameters enable easy manipulation of the jqModal to suit your desires.

The source is at http://dev.iceburg.net/jquery/jqModal/

Image source
 

The world of information technology has undergone major revolutions since its discovery. Today millions of people all over the world are connected and they are the e able to communicate though the internet.

But one of the most significant changes in the world of computing is the rapid growth of mobile computing.

According to research carried out in 2011, of 4 billion phones in use, 1 billion of them are Smartphones.

This means that out of every 4 people who possess mobile phones, one of them has an internet enabled phone. Of the other 3 billion mobile phones, 2.5 billion phones support SMS.

The data also shows that around 50,000 new Smartphone users are registered every day. Of one billion Smartphones, 20 million are used for accessing the web and other internet access applications. This corresponds with Google’s reports that of all the searches conducted, 50% come from mobile phone users.

This means that with the world of mobile computing growing at a rate of 50 % per year, it is expected that the use of mobile phones to access the internet has surpassed the use of desktop to access the internet in the year 2012.This trend is expected to continue. From these statistics, it is evident that the future of the web is mobile.

However the growth of mobile computing has been influenced by the following factors.

1. Mobile operating systems that support web browsers

All mobile phones operating systems support mobile browsers. This means that the mobile browsers can read HTML content in various web pages and present it in an understandable form to the user.

Also the introduction of a special markup language for modeling mobile phones websites XHTML, has helped web developers develop WebPages adaptable for mobile internet users.

2. Social networks

The rapid use of social networks has resulted in people becoming addicted to the constant connection and updates they offer. Facebook has reported that over 40% of their users are mobile.

3. Mobile cloud computing

Another factor that has helped the growth of mobile internet access is the invention of mobile cloud computing.

Mobile cloud computing enables internet users to access cloud computing services using their mobile phones – such as email and Google market places, among other cloud computing applications.

4. Rapid development of Android and other mobile operating systems

Mobile operating systems such as Android and iPhone have also released their reports about the rapid growth of mobile computing. The Android mobile software company has experienced an 866% growth in its production. Almost the same statistics also applies to other mobile operating systems.

As we move towards a globalized world, mobile computing will one of the factors contributing to this goal.
 

Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net

For many business owners, mobile apps have become a popular business promotion tool.

App downloads for Google Android, Apple iPhone and BlackBerry are growing rapidly each day, with Apple having over 15 billion iPhone app downloads since its launching date.

Many other big companies such as Amazon are also recording huge profits from these custom mobile apps.

Business owners are now are realizing the need to create mobile apps for their businesses as effective marketing tools to attract more customers.

With the market for mobile apps growing so rapidly, creating a mobile app for your business can become increasingly important in helping your business to stand out from the rest.

However, if you want to make your business more competitive and draw in more customers from your competitors, the mobile app for your business has to be unique and outstanding in terms of functionality, creativity and the accessibility.

Functionality

The main reason why mobile apps are becoming so attractive to many mobile phone users is that they have the ability to offer a more customized internet experience. Instead of opening a new web browser and typing in a particular web address, mobile apps will give you quick access to any website or even application you choose at the touch of a button.

The level of functionality is what sets a great mobile app from the rest. In order to keep in touch with users, mobile app for your business must have the ability to offer useful and interesting features to the clients.

With lots of apps available to choose from, potential users are likely to overlook mobile apps that are not able to offer necessary and direct benefits. So, before investing your time and money in creating a mobile app for your business, you need to ask yourself whether the services offered by your business through mobile app are valuable to users.

Creativity

The design of the mobile app for your business is equally important as its function. If the appearance of your app is not appealing to clients, it may not attract as many users as you would expect. First of all, the icon of your mobile app must be visually appealing and easy to identify.

Actually it should act as an extension of that company's brand. An eye-catching and well-designed mobile app with "cool factor" is likely to attract more potential clients and they will become interested in learning more about the business and the products offered.

Therefore, when it comes creating a mobile app for your business, make sure you choose the perfect design. Your mobile app icon, appearance and layout are crucial in presenting the image your business, so you must be creative enough to present a positive image for your business through the mobile app.

Accessibility

Functionality and creativity determine how great your mobile app is. However, these qualities may not matter if your mobile app is not easily accessible to users. Thus, you have to make it easy to find among the other countless apps available.

You can do this by selecting a relevant name for your app that will include keywords for the geographic area where your business is located, as well as the type and name of your business. Keyword-based title will make it much easier for new and existing customers to find you.

As the number of mobile apps keeps increasing and more people becoming accustomed to using them, creating a mobile app for your business can be an effective way of promoting your business and approaching new customers worldwide.
 

Free images from FreeDigitalPhotos.net