No More, thanks to KnowMore.org

When non-profit organizations and foundations made the realization that, despite their limited budget and resources, they could reach their target audience effectively (all thanks to the web), their objectives suddenly became much more attainable. Carrying out the tasks of a given development program might be costly, but at least spreading awareness of the issue, and reaching out to volunteers and doners, has become significantly easier.

KnowMore.org is a community-driven wiki that aims at aggregating corporations and entities to a publicly-accessible database to raise awareness about human-rights violations. It does so by researching and finding the companies and multi-nationals that are responsible for “attacks on democracy, worker’s and human rights, fair trade, business ethics and the environment.” It’s a brilliant initiative that brings valuable information in a centralized location for everyone to benefit from.

Not only is KnowMore.org impressive because of the initiative and online presence, but also  because of the way in which they’ve exploited the web (no pun intended). First of all, the look and feel of the website puts it way ahead of the rest (including many corporate websites). Secondly, the fact that it’s very easy to use (spin off from the widespread Wikipedia) inevitably encourages anyone with interest in the field to take part and add to the extensive database.

That’s not all. They’ve actually taken it to the next level by offering a Firefox add-on called KnowMore Extension. What this does is bring up a notification underneath the toolbar of Firefox whenever you are visiting a website of a company that has violated human rights one way or the other. And in order to avoid being what opposition would rush to claim generic, or over-generalizing, they actually indicate the exact rights that have been violated, as well as providing the link to learn more about the illegal activities of that particular company.

KnowMore.org notification bar

It’s like having the community do all of the work for you while you’re browsing.

There are many organizations and non profit entities out there that are striving to make this world a better place. KnowMore.org is like many of them in principle, but far more effective in practice. That is because they have managed to reduce their costs by making the entire platform online, engaged with visitors via the attractive interface and the easy, familiar wiki system, and reached out to many more via the effective Firefox plugin.

If you are part of an NGO or a social development initiative, then the standards set by KnowMore.org should be your immediate goal. That is partly why our beautiful web is power to the people.

Share this post:

Avoid Waiting on Downloads: SkipScreen

I had previously discussed the 7 must-have Firefox add-ons for web developers and designers. I had also spoken about AdBlock Plus, which is, at times, the most downloaded Firefox extension out there. Now I think it is important to bring up an add-on that revolutionizes the way many people exchange files via bulk storage and sharing websites such as RapidShare and Megaupload.

SkipScreen is a seemless addition to the world’s best browser that automatically skips tedious and frustrating intermediate pages preventing you from reaching the file you are trying to download. Whenever someone wants to share a large file (regardless of its nature) and chooses to do so via a file-sharing online service, he or she saves the hassle of having to own web space accessed via an FTP client, and it’s free. The problem, however, is that the recipient has to pass by at least three or four ad-flooded pages before reaching the point of having to wait for a timer to finish because he or she has done the blasphemous move of refusing to sign up for a “premier” account.

Not anymore. Not with SkipScreen:

Click on the link and start the download immediately. No more torture.

Regardless of how often you come across files hosted on any of the numerous supported websites, this add-on is golden like the oldies. Install it directly from the Firefox Extensions page, and forget that it even exists, just like it’ll make you forget about painful intrusions ruining the otherwise beautiful and seamless web experience.

Share this post:

Firefox 3.5: Big Improvements

On June 30th, the Mozilla Foundation released the latest version of the world’s best web browser: Firefox 3.5. The original plan was to bring out Firefox 3.1, but as the developers realized that the changes and enhancements were significant, it was given the honorary title of 3.5. As always, there are load of new features incorporated, but let’s talk about the most important ones:

1. Performance: Much faster than before, and even more secure
2. HTML 5: Always way ahead of the rest, FF 3.5 now offers features such as embedding videos natively using Ogg Theora, without needing plugins (such as Flash Player)
3. Private Browsing: Google Chrome introduced it, but FF took it to the next level. Now you can have the browser automatically forget about certain websites that you visit, and can clear browsing history going back a few hours only.
4. Location Aware Browsing: Now you can choose to show your exact location so that websites can use it in their online applications. This opens the door to endless opportunities for online services.
5. CSS rendering, downloadable fonts: There are many new web technologies introduced. CSS renders even more accurately than before, and now we can break free from system fonts and take web design to the next level

Here’s a video that illustrates what’s new in a couple of minutes (I would’ve embedded it using the native Ogg Theora format, which would’ve been incredibly exciting, but many haven’t upgraded to FF 3.5, so I’m sticking to the old-fashioned YouTube):

As soon as you start browsing, you’ll feel an even better internet experience. All my add-ons are still compatible (and those that aren’t, had released updates that are applied the first time you open FF 3.5). The one thing I noticed, however, is that the ColorTabs extension isn’t showing the selected tab the way it used to (but I’m sure it’s a matter of a soon-to-come update). Other than that, the Mozilla Foundation have outdone themselves with a state-of-the-art web browser.

It is moments like this when shear joy turns into depression when you realize that 14% of the internet users are still running Internet Explorer 6.

Share this post:

When Will IE6 Come To An End?

As a web designer, it’s quite a task to explain to a regular user the disadvantages of Internet Explorer 6.0. Mostly because there are so many reasons to hate the Microsoft browser, that anyone who has to deal with its annoyances will rush into yelling and swearing, and would never be able to make a rational argument. But generally speaking, this is why no one should even consider using IE6:

1. It does not comply with web standards
   That basically means that web designers and developers have to spend an extra 40% of the time of the project just to make the website look acceptable on it. In many cases, developers give up because you can never make it render the website properly. But unfortunately, that does not change the fact that there is still a significant number of users that continue to stick with it.
2. It does not support .png with transparent  backgrounds
   This is just appalling. There are numerous designs that rely on images with a transparent backgrounds, while using alpha. This means that images that have a shadow, for example, or any sort of gradient, while being on a transparent background will not show up correctly in IE6. The .png format is the only common one that supports those features, and it cannot be rendered by the disgraceful browser. There are some hacks and work-arounds, but they don’t always work, and are inefficient.
3. It is insecure
   The number of security holes and vulnerabilities is yet another impressive achievement by Microsoft. When browsing the web, it is extremely vital to be safe from potential threats, and with IE6, you are far from that.
4. Its performance is really sad
   While there are unlimited browser tests out there that would prove this point, it doesn’t take much to realize how much slower IE6 is compared to any browser, on any operating system. It’s slow, it’s sluggish, and just ruins the experience that is normally enjoyable.
5. Lacks many features
   Who can browse without tabs? How can you surf the net without your favorite Firefox add-ons? After a while, we become used to certain features and certainly cannot live without them. Since IE6 is outdated, users are limited and cannot take advantage of the true beauty of the Internet.

With all of those problems, IE6 continues to be a popular browser. In fact, 14% of the browser market share belongs to IE6. If you haven’t heard, there are strong movements across all corners of the Internet to wipe IE6 off of the world map:

• RIP IE6
• Bring  Down IE6
• IE Sucks
• Dear IE6, please leave

RIP IE6

Despite the aggressive campaigns and awareness techniques, Internet Explorer continues to have a significant market share. Ironically, that is mainly Microsoft’s fault. Firstly, IE6 comes pre-installed with Windows XP. And since many users do not allow automatic updates, they remain using this primitive tool. To make it worse, Microsoft released Windows Vista, which was a complete failure, thus forcing users to downgrade to XP, and not not even upgrade their browser. So not only do they produce the worst web browser to date, they reassure it’s prolonged existence with an even worse operating system.

However, there is reason for optimism. The awareness campaigns are reaching more and more users and the Firefox add-ons are catching on by word of mouth. Much more importantly, the official release of Microsoft Windows 7 is just around the corner (ETA: October 2009), which will either ship with Internet Explorer 8, or with nothing at all. It’s simply a matter of time.

To all of the web designers and developers out there, I tell you: hang in there, this will all be over soon.

UPDATE: YouTube will soon be dropping support for IE6. Read about it here, or here.

Share this post:

Adblock Plus

At 747,978 download a week, Adblock Plus is the most popular Firefox extension. It is an absolute must have for anyone, regardless of how you use Firefox, or how you surf the web. Despite it’s overwhelming popularity, I was surprised to see that many people aren’t aware of this revolutionary invention, which is way I’d like to discuss it.

Adblock Plus is an add-on to Firefox that automatically detects advertisements on a given web page and completely blocks them, thus giving the user a much more pleasant, ads-free experience. Upon installing, you will find the “ABP” icon on the top right corner (next to the search field), giving you access to all of the options if and when needed. It works based on a long list of online advertisement suppliers and therefore immediately recognizes them and omits them from rendering in the first place. Moreover, you can keep adding filters for those advertisements that are not already predefined.

For example, if you visit masrawy.com (one of the most popular Arabic websites dedicated to news), you will notice that they are so desperate for advertising, that you can hardly read the text without feeling this constant, irritating pressure. Besides the fact that the design and layout is a catastrophe, the ads are quite intimidating:

Masrawy.com with irritating ads

However, by installing the Adblock Plus add-on, the page actually focuses on the content for a change:

Using the AdBlock Plus Extension

Needless to say, there are thousands of ad-driven websites that would be much more enjoyable without the adverts. And if the add-on doesn’t automatically detect and ad, you can always right-click on the object, and choose the option: “Adblock image”. After that, you are left with several options regarding the filter that you will apply. The most appealing of which allows you the automatically block anything from a chosen directory. And since many websites place advert-related files in a single directory, blocking it entirely is easy and effective.

Ethical Issues

There have been arguments made against the Firefox extension, claiming that it prevents the ad-driven sites from supporting their cause, and will therefore eventually become extinct. I’m don’t really agree with such arguments, so I wouldn’t be able to speak on behalf of those who do. You can find an elaborate article from Beep.name about using Adbock Plus. While there are some interesting points on the table, I personally stand by my motto of the free internet, and all the power to the user.

We have already seen that the most important websites are community-driven, and take an open-source approach to sharing the information. Websites owners will have to be a bit more creative with their source of revenue, and perhaps look into other options that are geared towards the user. Without a doubt, it has now become blasphemous to not make the user the center of every decision taken in a website or online application.

So if you do not have Adblock Plus installed, you need to do right away – you’re missing out on a lot of painless web surfing.

Share this post:

7 Firefox Plugins For Web Designers

There is absolutely no doubt which browser we all should be using, regardless of the OS of choice. The beauty of Mozilla Firefox lies in the ability to customize it and extend it to fit your needs. While there are thousands of free plugins out there, I’ve complied a list of the seven add-ons that I believe any web designer or developer cannot live without.

1. Web Developer
   As one of the most popular add-ons in general, Web Developer is an essential tool, or rather, series of tools. It gives you the ability to break down the CSS of any website, dig into the code, or disabling it altogether. It also gives you control over forms and images across the websites. For example, you can disable all images, view image paths, hide background images, and much more. One of the neatest features, in my opinion, is the resize option, which allows you to automatically resize your browser to predefined dimensions. That way you can check to see how people of different resolutions view the web page. And if you’re anal about your valid XHTML and CSS code, Web Developer comes packed with validators that can check the code for you, even if it’s on your local machine.
2. Firebug
   Ever had to switch between the browser and your HTML editor dozens of times for small changes in your code? Well, whether you want to test out small amendments or drastic changes, Firebug makes it extremely easy and saves you a lot of effort and time. The icon stays at the bottom right of the browser, and all you need to do is click to view the entire code of the page your on, ready to be edited. Any changes you make are immediately reflected on the page, so you can try out all you want and not worry about making permanent changes, or having to switch back and forth. For any HTML element you select, Firebug will list all of the CSS classes affecting it, and you can easily add, remove, or edit the attributes.
3. ColorZilla
   If you’re a designer, and recognize color codes easier than people’s names, then you definitely need ColorZilla. When you’re on a web page and see a color that you need, you either dig into the code and search for it, or take a screen capture and open it in Photoshop or GIMP to use the color picker to identify it. Thanks to ColorZilla, you have the color picker right in your browser and it will recognize all the colors and give you the codes associated. It also allows you to zoom in and out.
4. IE Tab
   We all hate Internet Explorer. It doesn’t take a genius to see what a horrible invention it is. Unfortunately, though, IE6 still represents more than 12% of the market share, and there’s no use in denying it. If you’re running Windows, IE Tab allows you to open the Internet Explorer on your PC as a tab in Firefox. This way, you won’t even need to open the program (and can happily remove all shortcuts), and it has become easier to switch between tabs to see how the page renders on both browsers.
5. Measureit
   Sometimes you need to know sizes of different components on a given page. Or you might want to see what the actual width of a div is, as oppose to what it’s coded to be. Measureit is a neat tool that allows you to take measurements of anything on the page you’re on – could you save you a lot of time and effort.
6. StumbleUpon
   This is an extremely popular plugin amongst Internet users in general. But as a web designer, StumbleUpon could be a very convenient way to surprise yourself with inspirational websites, free design tools, and tons of useful information out there. If you’re taking a break from a task, but want to explore the design globe, then set up your account to show you those kind of websites, and stumble away for a while.
7. Flagfox
   It’s always important and interesting to know where the website you’re visiting is hosted at. Flagfox places a flag of the country hosting the website in the address bar, and by clicking on the flag, you can see all the details, including the Whois information.

That completes my list. Feel free to share your thoughts, and leave a comment to let me know if there is any plugin that I’ve missed.

Share this post: