The world wide web and in particular the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) have done a pretty good job in developing standards by which the developers of browsers such as Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mozilla’s Firefox are gradually dragging themselves towards compliance. The benefit to website developers is enormous and we have all but said goodbye to the days of having to build different versions of a website so it will appear the way we want in the different browsers. (more…)

Whilst I endeavour to avoid using Microsoft software, preferring open source options wherever possible, when Microsoft offers a free tool that’s useful and easy to use, then I have to give in. Windows Live Writer is a case in point. It is (relatively) easy to configure for the blog software of your choice and, once running, offers a wider range of text formatting, tables and image manipulation than the standard Wordpress admin provides.

The photo shown here is an example of the photo-paper effect that adds a border and drop shadow to the picture. I rather like that.

Some months ago I had a call from a client asking for help fixing their blog as the guy who had created it had disappeared off to America. “What’s a blog?” I asked myself (not out loud of course) and realised that the client was talking about some sort of content management system. (more…)

Yes, it’s true, Keith Reeves at Weavers Way Wine is blogging courtesy of yours truly. His family (and probably most of his clients too) can’t quite believe it. But already he has got a site with loads of really interesting information about the wine world. For instance, did you know that the new James Bond is drinking a) a different Champagne, and b) a different cocktail?

No more “shaken not stirred” it would seem.