NTech Blog

When the Graphics Department has the Last Word ...

2012-01-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

Search engines cannot read images or Flash. Search engines read text.

It's a fact that you have only about 7 seconds to capture a viewers interest when they get to your website so it absolutely has to convey what you have to offer as quickly as possible. It also needs to be professional and attractive, but it still needs to appeal to a search engine first and foremost.

Designers will forever struggle with the way different browsers, operating systems and graphics cards will render the same word in the same font and font size in slightly different ways. The fix is to type the content and create an image of it rather than typing it onto the page.

It looks great, but, because it is just another picture, it cannot be read by a search engine.

If it's worth saying, it needs to be in plain text.

Sometimes though the need for the latest in slick graphics and flash is critically important to your market segment. If you are a graphics shop, you'd better have lots of images. If you are a gaming website, you'd better have a flashy website that will appeal to a gamer and make use of their 1024 meg video card. If it's all text and static images, they are gone!

In these cases there are things you can do to keep it search friendly but this is definitely where you are going to need the help of a professional who can give the search engines what they want while protecting the look and feel that you need.

Read more here: http://www.ntechwebs.com/index.php?pagename=web-design-tips

NTech takes Senioropolis.com mobile

2011-03-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

This week we launched a mobile web for www.senioropolis.com. Using a browser sniffer we detect mobile browsers as they enter the site and offer a clear and obvious link to the mobile content.

Formatted with larger fonts and setup with just the basics of their site it gives handheld users the tools they need to find Senioropolis.com clients.

Handhelds are outselling laptops today so the need for a mobile component to your website is undeniable. Presently mobile devices make up 2.5% of the traffic to senioropolis.com which will translate to about 12-15,000 visitors this year.

Incoming Links and Search

2010-12-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

Incoming links will beat any strategy you could possibly implement.

Never, in the history of the internet has the value of incoming links been more important than now and that importance will continue to grow exponentially.

Once upon a time, this was not true. You could pretty much reverse engineer any search and see exactly what to do to your web page to make it vault up the rankings. What made it even more fun was that you could see results in a matter of hours! You could design your page, submit it to Infoseek, Excite, Alta Vista and a few other dinosaurs of the '90's and they would immediately crawl it and add it to their body of search results. In a matter of minutes, at worst hours, you could see how well you did and perhaps tweak it to gain a few more spots. Read More Here.

NTech Launches Content Management System

2010-12-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

In response to a growing need for website owners to manage their own content we have developed an new Content Management System that can be adapted to virtually any graphic layout.

The CMS can be entirely managed from a web interface and features a dynamic menu which allows drop down menus and unlimited sub pages. The menu works well in a hybrid environment where some pages are derived from the database and others are hand coded, allowing integration with shopping carts and other pages that require more than just images and text.

Implementation costs will vary with requirements but will start at just $250.00 for the source code and empty database. Adapting the page templates to your requirements will be by quote.

http://www.ntechwebs.com

The ONLY PHP install guide

2010-10-10T10:32:00.001-07:00

There is no better guide online to help with installing PHP. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

in reference to: Installing PHP 5 on IIS in 5 simple steps | IIS Aid (view on Google Sidewiki)

What a GREAT idea

2010-03-14T15:46:00.001-07:00

This is about the coolest trick I've ever come across. Way to think outside of the box!

in reference to: Elevated Program Shortcut without UAC Prompt - Create - Windows 7 Forums (view on Google Sidewiki)

Jayski Rocks

2010-03-13T19:36:00.001-08:00

Jayski is my hero. From nowhere New Jersey he has risen to be the best news source in NASCAR.

I've heard a lot of drivers and crew chiefs check in daily to see if they are still employed!

All hail Jayski at www.jayski.com.

in reference to: Jayski's® NASCAR Silly Season Site - NASCAR Sprint Cup News Page (view on Google Sidewiki)

MindYourMind.ca

2009-04-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

URGENT ACTION REQUIRED

mindyourmind.ca, the London, Ontario-based, internationally acclaimed Youth Mental Health Website, may be forced to go black and cease all youth engagement programs May 1, 2009. Click here to find out what you can do.

There is nothing more compelling than kids in need and this service is looked to around the world as a success story.

Please help if you can.

Yet another Domain Scam!

2009-04-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Using the same dishonest approach as Domain Registry of Canada, these dirtbags send out a notice that it is 'time' to renew your domain name search engine submission.

At the very top, in BOLD CAPS are the words DOMAIN NOTICE. That's their company name apparently. I wonder why they picked it?

If you bother to read it, they do at least state that it is an offer, not an invoice, but they could not have made it look more like a Domain Name Renewal invoice if they tried and they include this stupid warning.

Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web

Your only option is to return by fax to 1-646-385-7542 and the unsubscribe is an wdsrv850@operamail - obviously a throwaway email address.

Here is the text of the message - if you see it, delete it.

DOMAIN NOTICE
Attention: Important Notice
Complete and return by fax to:
1-646-385-7542
47-47 36th Street #16452
Long Island City, NY 11101
United States of America

ATT: BART GARNER
ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT
NTECH

LONDON , ON CA
Phone: 1.519686344
WWW.DRJACKNEWMAN.ORG
Domain Name: ___________.ORG
Search Engine Submission
Requested Reply
March 24,2009

PART I: REVIEW SOLICITATION
Attn: BART GARNER
As a courtesy reminder, we are sending you this notification for your business Domain name search engine registration. This letter is to inform you that it's time to send in your registration and save.

Failure to complete your Domain name search engine registration by the expiration date may result in cancellation of this offer making it difficult for your customers to locate you on the web.

Privatization allows the consumer a choice when registering. Search engine subscription includes domain name search engine submission. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated below unless you accept this offer. Do not discard, this notice is not an invoice it is a courtesy reminder to register your domain name search engine listing so your customers can locate you on the web.

This Notice for: WWW.DRJACKNEWMAN.ORG will expire on March 24,2009 Act today!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DETAIL OF SERVICE: ANNUAL WEBSITE SEARCH ENGINE SUBMISSION FOR DOMAIN NAME WWW.DRJACKNEWMAN.ORG

Detail of Service:
SEARCH SUBMISSIONS
Reply by Date:
3/24/2009
For Domain Name:
DRJACKNEWMAN.ORG

*100% SATISFACTION IS GUARANTEED OR YOUR MONEY BACK
Select Term Your Existing Domain Period Covered Price

DRJACKNEWMAN.ORG
[ ] 1 year 3/24/2009 - 3/24/2010 $75.00
[ ] 2 year 3/24/2009 - 3/24/2011 $119.00
[ ] 5 year 3/24/2009 - 3/24/2014 $199.00
[ ] 10 year 3/24/2009 - 3/24/2019 $295.00

Please ensure that your contact information is correct or make the necessary changes.
Full Name: BART GARNER Email: SUBSCRIBE@NTECHWEBS.COM
Today's Date: _______________________ Signature:: _______________________

PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN BY FAX: 1-646-385-7542

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By accepting this offer, you agree not to hold DN liable for any part. Note that THIS IS NOT A BILL. This is a solicitation. You are under no obligation to pay the amounts stated unless you accept this offer. The information in this letter contains confidential and/or legally privileged information from the notification processing department of the DN. This information is intended only for the use of the individual(s) named above. If you do not wish to receive further updates from DN send an email to wdsrv850@operamail.com to unsubscribe. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that disclosure, copying, distribution or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents for this letter is strictly prohibited. * 100% satisfaction guaranteed, you may request a refund within 30 days.

You've gotta feel sorry for people who have to stoop so low to make a living.

London Ontario Real Estate

2009-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Search London Ontario Real Estate. Get access to thousands of homes in the London Ontario Area.

Antivirus help

2008-12-10T20:38:00.000-08:00

First off, if you don't use AVG Antivirus you need to ask yourself why not?

It is free for home use (on one computer) and the licensed versions are half the cost of the 'leading' vendors. I wonder if they are half the cost because they only use half the RAM or half the processing power? No matter, it is light weight and it is rock solid. I use it to clean systems 'protected' by Norton and others regularly.

Now if you're REALLY in a pickle because you simply could not resist clicking OK on that wonderfully thoughtful offer you received as you browsed the web there is still hope.

You need three tools, all are free and all are indispensible. Download them now, BEFORE you need them.

Malwarebytes is an absolutely indispensable tool for cleaning infected machines.

ComboFix - For seriously compromised systems. ComboFix runs a battery of tests and will clean just about anything. It has not failed me yet. Don't download the product at the top of the page - it is just an advertisment. Scroll down to the link named bleepingcomputer.com.

Dial-a-fix - a collection of known fixes which addresses issues with Windows Update, Microsoft Installer, and more.

Don't be scared. These are great tools used by pros everywhere.

Tired of Waiting for Adobe Acrobat?

2008-12-04T16:01:00.000-08:00

With each release of Adobe Acrobat we wait longer and longer for it to actually start. Most of us will never dream of using the plugins and addons that they include so the wait is doubly annoying.

A quick Google search yielded several others sharing your pain. This one came up #1 and seems to have the answer.

http://jon.limedaley.com/plog/archives/2004/08/19/adobe-acrobat-slow-loading

The api files they talk about are typically at:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 8.0\Acrobat\plug_ins

Oh how I wish there were even just one programmer who worked on speed and efficiency rather than seeing how bloated they can make their package.

It's like my cell phone - they can keep the browser, texting, dayminder, calculator, games etc. if they could just make the damned thing ring when someone calls.

Outlook 2007 Grinding You Down?

2008-12-04T15:58:00.000-08:00

I found this great link to help.
http://slipstick.com/outlook/ol2007/slow.htm#more

When I tried to run the Outlook Performance Update it said that it did not find the expected version of Office. Not sure what that's about, but I did find that renaming the extend.dat sped it up considerably.

Wouldn't it be great if a software company released a piece of software that actually used less memory, less processor and worked faster?!

Unlimited incoming & outgoing calls to the U.S.A. & Canada

2008-11-27T21:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a great new tool for frequent international travellers or North American's working in Asia or Europe.

magicJack is a small, portable USB device that will turn any phone into an IP Phone. Simply plug the magicJack into your computer, plug your phone into the magicJack and dial like a regular landline. There are no special codes or numbers to remember or dial. Each magicJack comes with a US phone number. There are no monthly bills and no additional fees for the services like voicemail, caller ID, call waiting etc.

You can read all about magicJack now at the Amex Telecom site.

Domain Registry of Canada

2008-11-27T21:31:00.001-08:00

Beware this pack of bandits.

Domain Registry of Canada (DROC) is infamous for the way they hijack domains from unsuspecting owners. Their modus operandi is to mail (not email) an invoice to the domain owner about 4 to 6 months before the domain is set to expire. The only problem is, they send their invoices to people whose domains are not even registered with DROC. Unfortunately some owners actually pay the bogus invoice and then DROC uses that as a contract to transfer the domain to themselves. The practice is known as domain slamming and these creeps are the ultimate example.

It's a sad fact that this kind of fraud is apparently not illegal. It is most definitely immoral and you have to question any company whose growth plan relies solely on misleading the customer.

They are apparently owned by the same group that owns Domain Registry of America. If your domain is registered with either of these organizations I urge you to transfer it at the earliest opportunity.

I use mydomain.com as well as easydns.com and am pleased with both. I believe Dotster, Tucows and goDaddy are also good to deal with but I have never dealt with them. There are lots of good choices. Google any registrar before choosing to use them. If there is dirt to be found, it won't be hard to spot.

Real Estate in London Ontario

2008-11-26T22:23:00.001-08:00

I recently did a website for Vision Network Realty. Vision is a fast growing Real Estate Brokerage in London Ontario that is full of friendly people who are great to work with. The volume of traffic I see moving through their offices tells me that this is your source for homes for sale in London Ontario.

If you are selling a home in London Ontario, their site is full of helpful advice and tips that will help you sell your home fast and get maximum dollar.

Handy Outlook Tip

2007-03-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

I came across this today. You know how the drop down box in the email fields of your Outlook get cluttered with the name of every person you EVER sent an email to; even though you may NEVER send to them again?

I often get asked how to get rid of these annoying drop downs and I finally came across a solution today!

When you start typing in an email address and the drop down appears, simply ARROW down (don't click with your mouse) to the address you wish to remove and CLICK DELETE!. That's it, it's gone, never to reoffend!

Now, if someone can tell me how to wholesale remove them, let me know. I suspect it's somewhere in the Registry but I've never gone hunting yet. A good way to narrow the search would be to type in a bogus email address, then search the Registry for that entry. I suspect you'll find them all in one place.

Beware - Registry's can be scary - or fun - depending on your commitment to fixing what you break!