Friedbeef’s Tech

Stuck at work, staring at the computer screen for long hours? What can you do to help soothe your tired eyes? Here is the 2nd installment of tips you can use to help with this problem.

(Read part 1 for more tips)

1. Use Microsoft Clear Type

2. Use Off White Window Backgrounds

3. Adjust Firefox Fonts

4. Try Big.com

5. Change Your Physical Surroundings

6. Try Internet Explorer 7 Page Zoom

If you’re on the latest edition of Internet Explorer you can try this new feature called Page Zoom. You will find the User Interface for it in the lower right of the window.

Clicking on the zoom button will allow you to choose from a variety of preset zoom states ranging from 10% to 1000%. Just like Firefox Font Control, There is also mouse wheel access using the Ctrl key as well as keyboard access using the Ctrl key along with the + and – keys.

7. Change Monitor Size

You’d be surprised how much more efficient you become once you have new found screen real estate at your disposal. Larger screens mean a more readable screen with less scrolling.

Not only that, usability guru Jakob Nielsen estimates you can increase productivity by 105% in some cases simply by increasing your screen size from 17 to 30 inches.

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If you’ve ever stared at a web page and wished you could just see it a little bigger, or a little clearer - you’re definitely not alone.

“Nearly 8 million Americans are unable to read regular print even with reading glasses, and the number is expected to grow as the population ages” - American Council of the Blind via Yahoo! Tech

Stuck at work, staring at the computer screen for long hours? What can you do to help soothe your tired eyes? Here is a list of 10 tools and tips you can use to help with this problem.

1. Use Microsoft Clear Type

If you are using Windows XP, this free tool changes the way fonts are rendered on your monitor, making the text appear “smoother” and more legible. While it works well on CRT monitors, this technology comes into it’s own when you are using an LCD screen - Check out the sample differences below.

2. Use Off White Window Backgrounds

Try adjusting your window backgrounds to be slightly off-white. While it may take some getting used to, you’ll start to feel the difference once the screen glare is gone. Go to Control Panel –> Display Properties –> Appearance –> Advanced –> Window –> Color –> Other , and then tweak it ever so slightly to a darker shade of white. This is one way to make the screen seem less intense, while still maintaining the monitor brightness.

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One wrong move, and you jeopardize your organizations entire online presence.

That is the unfortunate reality of making a mistake when picking a domain name for your business. Here are 8 critical considerations, which should cross your mind at least once when making that all important domain name purchase.

For illustration purposes in the examples below, we’ll be picking domain name portfolio for an imaginary web design company called ‘Cena Space’ .

1. Keep the name short and simple. Use as few words as possible

A fair amount of your customers are going to be typing in your domain directly into the browser and you need to make it as simple as possible for them to do so. Fail to do so, and customers may miss your page, or even worse, they may be redirected to a parked domain, and THINK they’ve reached your page!

Example #1: CenaSpace.com is a better than CenaSpaceWebDesign.com

2. Do not use separators in the domain name

Resist the temptation to use ’separators’ like underscores or dashes. Again, this becomes an issue when people directly type in your domain name, and forgets to include the dash. No, it’s not that much easier to read. It’s just harder to type, and way harder for people to remember in a casual conversation.

Example #2: CenaSpace.com is better than Cena-Space.com

3. Own your brand domains as well (in addition to your main domain)

Don’t just buy your company domain name and stop there. In most industries, you will be marketing your brands not your parent company. Hence, to establish a better web presence for those products, your domain portfolio should include your company brands as well.

Example #3: If Cena Space has a product called WebReader, it should also try to buy WebReader.com

4. Buy the generic product category names if you are a small business (in addition to your main domain)

If you are a small company, chances are people looking for information about your product category, not your company. Try to buy a name which relates to your business. You should be able to rank better with search engines, and it’s also been proven that about half of new Internet users actually type in the category they are looking for rather than search for it. e.g. They will type in Candy.com if they are looking for candy information.

Example #4: CenaSpaces should also consider buying related generic names like webdesign.com (Yes I know this is easier said than done as good generic .coms are are to find)

5. Buy a .com whenever possible

Try not to follow the urge to buy from any other TLD like .biz or .info. A .com URL is by far the easiest for anyone to remember. A .net or .org domain may be not as attractive as a .com, but they are at least common enough for the general Internet population to remember.

Example #5: CenaSpace.com is better than CenaSpace.biz

6. Buy domain variants (in addition to your main domain)

If you know for a fact that customers tend to spell your name wrongly, try to buy up the names of the top common spelling mistakes, so it gets redirected it to your proper site. Gogle.com is a good example of this (redirects to Google)

Example #6: XenaSpaces.com should also be considered for purchase (assuming you know customers tend to make this mistake)

7. Don’t infringe another company’s trademarks

The thing about trademarks is that according to American law, if you do not defend it, you will stand lose the trademark. So expect organisations to defend their trademarks in cyberspace well.

Example #7: If Cena Space develops up with Ipod software tool, buying a domain called IpodTools.com would probably get them in trouble with the Apple legal team.

8. Get it right the first time…

because if you try to fix it later, losing search engine result placement, splitting traffic, and confusing customers, just may not be worth it.

If the domain you want is already registered, you have a few options

1. If it infringes your copyright, you may want to consider legal action
2. If it does not, you may consider tracking down and contacting the owner and repurchasing it from him.
3. Choose another one. If your service is very local focused, you may want to get local domain names (e.g. .com.my, or .co.uk)

[tags] domain, domaineering, domain naming [/tags]

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