360 degree cameras and virtual reality are the future of immersing us into new fascinating worlds. While this particular camera is attached to the Mars Rover nearly 141.6 million miles away, consumer models a little closer to home allow you to capture images around town and in the backwoods using revolving tripods and even drones. Can you see how this technology might benefit your products of business? If not, here’s an example link from a local tavern we enjoy frequenting after long days of code grinding…. They have great pizza too!
Click, drag, and scroll in the image.
Virtual private networking should be a standard connection type offered by internet service providers. The reasons behind this seem appalling.
Think about that statement for just one second… any longer, and you might develop a small migraine. Why would decision makers from companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Time Warner, and Comcast want to know what moves across their network from your home, work, small business, or home office? What do they gain from knowing what websites you’ve visited, what search engine key prompts you’ve entered and what applications you’re using and at how much bandwidth? It doesn’t appear to be due in part to security reasons and that’s why perhaps we’ve reached a far more consequential and grim reality in terms of what web security and online privacy means for us as the end user.
Online security and privacy are the responsibility of the end-user. Simply put, If you don’t protect yourself or just don’t know how to, we’re sorry, but it’s your fault.
This means the internet service providers offer services geared towards increased revenue through advertising while data mining the feedback you blindly provide to them with a day full of browsing habits.
Don’t get us wrong… They’ll protect a designated email so long as it’s a service they offer or you pay for, but what happens when there’s a compromise on their end? What is actually happening?
Well, you’ll likely receive an email from a CEO who admits the vulnerability exists or existed, then recommends that you change your password all while providing assurance that the vulnerabilities will be or have been fixed… As for the data compromised… Well, it’s complicated…
What data was actually collected? Seeing how the company is sending you an email, one can only assume that your message log and provided contact information could likely be a factor. This could include correspondences saved, sent, and received, flagged messages, and saved contacts.
Meanwhile the party or parties responsible for using said vulnerability are nowhere to be found, and seeing how they were smart enough to cloak their activities, it’s hard to hold someone, much less some thing, accountable.
Your web browser right now, even as you read this blog page, is compiling site traffic that builds up lists and charts of analytical data which gives us perspective on your browsing habits while you engage and navigate through our website. Everything from what pages you’ve looked at, to how long, to even what kind of device, and operating system you’re using is included.
Should we go further or are you thoroughly freaked out yet?…. Let’s go further, because…. why not….
Since you’ve read this far, we’ve discovered the web browser your using. We even know what service you’re using to connect to the web. Additionally the resolution of your computer screen(s), and even a location based on a recorded Internet Protocol, (IP address) from your Internet Service Provider (ISP), or cellphone provider.
Heck, we even know how long you’ve been here, how you arrived, and what website you will navigate to as you leave ours.
Before you have a panic attack, keep in mind, we’re web designers that have a devotion to helping small businesses and entrepreneurs succeed. Also, at no point is any of our analytical info shared or relayed to third parties.
VPN is your friend
Assuming we still have your attention thus far, encrypting a data signal between our laptops, pc’s, and tablets protects the consumer from third party products handled by internet service providers? It also assures any company you wouldn’t want involved in your business fails to intercept any readable data through an unsecured connection, add-on, or third party app. In the event that there is a security compromise, data retrieved by the third party, in theory, would be incomprehensible due to encryption.
Another reason for encryption is freedom. As seen in countries where internet service providers are run strictly by their governments; virtual private networks (VPN’s) can mask an ip address location which can provide the user access to sites that they would otherwise be restricted or blocked from. The user can then browse and communicate online anonymously.
In a small business setting, a dedicated IP address that people access from devices from a remote location, it imperative that those devices are secured from outside vulnerabilities, yet are they?
And by them, I mean site trackers:
Update: People have asked if we have a recommended VPN service… We’ve found Nord VPN to be the fastest with the best annual price subscription-wise
Most users that have VPN, like those using the browser TOR, report reduced performance and speeds. We too saw an observably drastic reduction as well with speeds dropping from 38mbs to 2.1mbs (Megabytes per second). Over the next 5-10 years however, data transfer speeds are expected to approach near light speed as fiber optic connections become a standard. Both VPN software and TOR will likely evolve with theses technologies.
Secure Site License = Safer Online Shopping Experiences
Don’t buy from websites that do not have a Secure Site License or SSL! That little lock icon at the top left of the browser address is important! This dedicates the website to an encrypted server and routes data you send thru website forms through an encrypted connection. This means no compromises to your name, email, contact address, credit card, but most importantly, your identity. An example of what a secure site with a valid SSL looks like is below:
Good Luck, and browse safe….
If you’ve ever been interested in using your computer to record, modify and layer sound, this little gem is a producer’s dream.
You have to respect open source software that not only competes with big market brands such as Adobe and Apple, but does so with little if any price. A program that does just that without any limitations to CUT-PASTE audio editing is Audacity. The software was built by communities of computer gurus who wanted to improve computers for the better of mankind at little to no cost. Audacity is portable, runs on little memory, has a pleasant user view, is easy to understand, allows you to edit on single and/or multi-tracks in stereo or mono modes, and, did we mention, yes, it’s free!
The quick help guide and online forums provide a library of information and how-tos in addition to feedback from other users. If you have experience with recording instruments and vocals you’ll be amazed to see the plethora of audio editing plugins, processors, and effects that are included.
Something to keep in mind however is that there is a learners curve. If you’re used to keyboard shortcuts and menu interface functions of other audio editing suites you have to forget what you know and start fresh.
Audacity Features
Let’s take a hypothetical scenario that’s all to familiar in the office environment. You woke up, turned on your outdated 2008 computer terminal, poured a hot cup of coffee, stretched, sat down once you finally saw the desktop, opened the browser, downloaded a file you needed from email and clicked on it only to read the message prompt, “Please update your software.”
It’s that time where your computer, or computers for that matter, are long overdue for software updates. Perhaps one of them crashed and you, who we’ll start formally referring to as “The I.T. Guy,” has the task to replace the hard drive along with drivers, operating systems, and of course, office software. Maybe you’ve just purchased a new computer and found it sans any word processing or presentation software.
The greatest drawback to office suite programs that hold word processors bundled with billing, invoicing, drafting, and presentation software is cost. Buying office suite package software for your small business from big companies name such as Corel, Amicus or Microsoft, potentially costs hundreds, if not thousands. If you’re looking to fix a computer on a budget, the purchasing of a single license might not be feasible either.
In an era of open-source software, another office suite software program that stands out, aside from Apache’s OpenOffice is Kingston’s Free Office Suite. The program’s interface is modernized and functions well for a small 60 mb program when compared to the 3.0 GB behemoth that is Microsoft Office 2013.
Features:
If you’re struggling to understand your website traffic, or your Facebook insights, Social Media Examiner is a great place to start. In the year 2000, social media sites existed, but weren’t as popular and as centralized as they are today. Social Media Examiner is a business blog that examines website and social media traffic to provide recommendations for companies, both large and small, as well as industry professionals. SME posts helpful articles explaining ways to improve social media marketing while boosting web traffic at no cost. They also conducts case studies, feature podcast episodes with interactive professionals all while providing free e-mail updates with the latest marketing news. Their articles cover a variety of subjects in today’s interactive world including browser-web tools, analytic data, and widget reviews.
While content is important, imaging and branding are essential for any website. Everyone wants a design that is unique and one of a kind to their business, however not everyone is a graphics designer. In the next decade, Digital Bricklayers has no doubt that the next group of successful artists, branders, architects, and programmers will more than likely come from a much younger demographic than what’s seen in traditional marketing today.
Concept art from Feng Zhu, Click on the image to see the entire article at PSD TUTS +
The reason why is due in part to an impressive age and learning gap. Multimedia platforms, in addition to their availability and lower costs, have aided in giving students as young as middle school access to very powerful software tools. The software itself has made leaps tenfold in comparison to what was available 15+ years ago as well.
Photoshop is also now a part of grade school curriculum in many districts. For years, Photoshop has given students, corporate branders, and freelance artists the ability to create unique one of a kind designs that also reflect that artist’s personality and mood. If you’re looking to improve and dial into your design potential, PSD Tuts + is a great place to start regardless of skill set. They have step by step instructions making their tutorials easy to follow and informative. You’ll also come to find that these learned techniques are nearly identical in retrospect to what students in design and art schools are learning today.
If you have an image that is 3 feet by 5 feet in terms of size, how can we display that entire image on a 4 inch wide smartphone screen?
Technology never ceases to amaze us here at Digital Bricklayers. We’ve gone from being wired to computers in an office, to having almost everything in that office, the e-mail, our social feeds, and documents readily available at a moments notice. New electronic devices have given the consumer instant gratification as well as accessibility.
“Day by day, the number of devices, platforms,
and browsers that need to work with your site grows.
Responsive web design represents a fundamental shift
in how we’ll build websites for the decade to come.”Jeffrey Veen (author of “The Art and Science of Web Design”)
Tablet and smartphone technology is constantly evolving. It gives the entrepreneur, businessman, store-front owner, consumer, and web surfer the ability to do almost anything they need to in order to get work done on the fly.
Below is an example of how websites adjust when built with responsive web code:
Photo courtesy of:
John Polacek at github. Click on the image to see his responsive theme along with the article.
As you can see in the image above, the website has a fluid layout in terms of how it’s displayed on different devices. There is no scrolling left to right, only up and down. This prevents images as well as your brand from having anything cut off and out of the viewer’s sight. Another feature with responsiveness is the images ability to adjust to the screen size as well.
Our recent updates at http://www.HappyLittleBrush.com and Get-Fit-Together.com are great examples of an responsive builds maximizing convenience not only for the potential art buyer, but the client as well.
Contact us to improve your online image across all digital devices today!
Small businesses are reaching out to their audience with online newsletters and they can do it without having to pay a marketing firm. Online newsletters, are one of the many essential ways of keeping your business happenings fresh and interesting by introducing new topics, news, and product updates directly from your website to visitors through a compiled list e-mail address.
MailChimp, allows you to build your email list, create a template, test-send your campaign prior to publishing, while tracking the results of prior email newsletters sent. You can also import your contacts list from other outlets such as Constant Contact.
Visitors also subscribe through your small business website which loads into it’s own email list into mailchimp for quick contact updates. MailChimp also makes it easy for your subscribers to share the sent newsletter on their social feeds such as facebook and twitter directly from their email.
You can also relax knowing there’s even an opt-out link that’s attached to every newsletter that will automatically update your contacts list for those who no longer wish to subscribe to your online newsletter. Try MailChimp out today for free!
Instagram is one of the first Android and Iphone applications that gives users the ability to edit pictures effortlessly using smartphone touch technology. Within months of the apps release, Facebook bought the small development for a staggering 1 billion dollars making the developers and staff of the small firm instant millionaires almost overnight in April 2012.
Instagram allows you to take pictures with your smartphone or Ipad, apply filters and blurs to create moods, and then renders the final product for sharing your digital creations with your online community in a matter of seconds.
With the attention Instagram received as the result of Facebook’s acquisition of the firm, small companies and ap developers world-wide are chomping at the bit with hopes of replicating the company’s success.
The (non-responsive) image gallery below incorporates simple web code that displays images you take, edit, and post from your smartphone utilizing the FREE instagram picture ap. We highly value this application for it’s friendly usability as it gives our clients the freedom to create unique branding images without ever having to touch a personal computer or graphics editing program. It also automatically updates the images section of the webpage it’s tied into without ever having to make any site uploads or changes with a personal computer or laptop.
The goal(s) – To give the store owner, media manager, or promotional hands, the freedom to post images into a small business website platform without ever having to understand web code or needing access to a primary website. Imagine how this simple website modification could benefit your business, product, or brand? The possibilities are endless!
Contact Digital Bricklayers today for pricing and details.
How many websites do you visit in a day’s span? Getting sick of your browsing routine? Looking for a new idea whether it’s in the garage, in the computer lab, at the garden or in the kitchen?
Pinterest is a website for sharing creative recipes, crafty ideas, tips, tools, and images that you and your friends find online. The site promotes the idea of sharing mutual interests between you, your friends, and family with hopes to drum up site traffic that’s relevant based on new interests.
By “pinning” photos, you save them to your online profile so that you and others can view them later. You can also setup your images into custom categories. From there, your friends and family can jump on the band wagon to re-pin what you’ve shared which gives the site hosting the initial content greater exposure which yields a higher potential of site visitors based on new interests.
Additionally, friends can follow and pin ideas from websites that they enjoy based on common interest which will appear in your pinterest feeds.
Imagine a gourmet cook sharing their new recipe with an attached picture. Hungry yet? Regardless if you are or not, perhaps you see this recipe and like the idea… You can simply hover over the image, and press “pin” once logged in. From there, you can also hyper-integrate the site to tie into your social profiles such as twitter and facebook. Artists and big corporations alike are jumping aboard pinterest as greater exposure leads to a higher volume of site visits based on what the site provides. Start pinning today and see what the excitement is all about.
The prolific Stephen King is known for his extra-long novels, but the exit message he posted Thursday on X was short and sweet. "I'm leaving Twitter. Tried to stay, but the atmosphere has just become too toxic," the horror author wrote, using the platform's former name, reports the Bangor Daily... [...]