m <2 2a aS == OF foche 3 = = ao = Ey) BUSINESS Oe) YOUR WEBSITE MULTI- OCREEN READY BY ANTHONY CARUANA Back in the old days, when you created your company’s website you only had to really worry about making it work on a desktop or laptop computer. In most cases, the biggest decision was how wide to make the page in order to accommodate the limited screen resolutions of the time. Today, your website needs to be multi- device ready. Think about it. Don’t you get frustrated when you visit a website only to find it’s completely dependent on Flash so you can’t read it on your iPhone or iPad? Or, when you go to the site, it’s all designed for a desktop browser, so it’s impossible to read or the menu options are hard to find and tap? Your potential customers will be coming to your website using a multitude of different devices. They may have a laptop for work, a desktop at home, a tablet for when they’re sitting on the couch and a smartphone when they’re travelling. That presents website developers with a E% Srie’s iPad Liomety Pas Hath Caan: challenge – how do you make a website that looks great and is functional on every different device? The good news is that it’s relatively easy to direct customers to different versions of your website based on the device they are using. That way they get the best possible experience whether they’re on a computer, tablet or smartphone. What you need to realise is that your website’s content is completely separate from the look and feel. On modern websites the content is separated from how it’s presented. All of your page content, images and blog posts are stored in a database. When someone visits your website, the content they want is pulled out of the database and fed into a template that defines the appearance. That means you can customise how the data is presented on different sized screens. You may choose to offer different functions for customers on different devices. When a web browser visits your site, it actually tells the site what web browser you’re using and, potentially, what device you are using. Web developers can use that information to dynamically tailor the appearance of your website to suit the device. tresagoey Fastocst Mask fuses, Sngret Fasuase Cedine ? at roge This doesn’t always need a software developer. For example, you could build an attractive and functional website using open source applications such as WordPress (wordpress.org), and something like TomatoCart (www.tomatocart.com) for your shopping cart solution. Each of these offers the ability to tailor the look and feel depending on the device that is used to access your site. With WordPress, you can use a plug-in that will detect what browser your visitor is using and then reformat the page so your content is displayed appropriately. You may even choose to only show certain content when users come to your site with particular devices. For example, you may choose to not show high-resolution videos or images to mobile users. Our advice is to think like your customers. Are they likely to be using the same computers, mobile devices and browsers as you? Once you’ve developed the multi-screen version of your website, test it thoroughly. If you don’t have access to lots of different devices, ask some friends and family to visit the test site before making it live so that you get lots of feedback from people using different devices. BUSINESS SLOzZ AMWANYT VIDEO-CONFERENCING AND THE PATH TO UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS AND COLLABORATION BY ANTHONY CARUANA Between Skype, FaceTime and lots of other video-conferencing tools, you’d think we’d be living like The Jetsons or : the crew of the Enterprise, quickly starting . C) a video call whenever we wanted to chat oo with someone. And while it’s true that the hardware, software and bandwidth are all there, video-conferencing is still seen as a second or third choice, behind the phone or face-to-face meetings when it comes to business communications. at our data recovery ‘super lab’ in North Sydney, NSW. @ Damaged Apple iPhones. LEARN HOW gj Damaged hard disk drives. WE RECOVER VY} Damaged SSD. DATA FROM: @ Lost or deleted data on hard disk drives and iPhones. MW We will teach you how to fix a ‘clicking hard drive’. For Employees of Anole or Apr WHEN IS THE WM) Every month on the Ist Monday TRAINING? of the month. Custom, private . training in groups is available. Provided by Australia’s biggest, oldest Bee ele S lab in North Sydney with our cl 100 clean room re ee our super lab in Nor ydney with our class- eee teed specialising PAVAVT = : and training room dedicated to training worldwide law enforcement hina shebraail ie A a and government agencies computer forensic teams. Come along from Apple devices. for a free tour. Apple employee ID required to gain access. TO REGISTER: EMe 1ining@payam.com.z hone 2) 995722 See: WWW.payam.com.au BUSINESS Communication isn’t just about the words we use. Our gestures and how we move our body when we talk, speak volumes. There are sciences such as neurolinguistics that analyse and quantify the importance of our entire physiology in how we communicate and react. When we make a phone call, the person on the other end of the line doesn’t just respond based on our words. They hear our tone, recognise sarcasm and pick up many unspoken elements of our communication. Video conferencing takes that a step further. In addition to the audio, people see each other. So, while on a phone call you can sit back and relax, perhaps even multi-task and check a few emails on your laptop or tablet while on the phone, video-conferencing directs both parties to be more attentive. It creates a far more personal and rich connection between parties in conversation. If you’re a frequent traveller, the ability to make a video call is a great way to keep in touch with the office and family. One of the things I do when I’m travelling is use my smartphone or tablet to take my family on a tour of my hotel room and the nearby facilities. Although it’s not the same as being there, they can get a feel for where I am. I can also look at my children’s homework and continue to participate in their life in an, albeit, limited way. In business, we’ve all become dependent on the phone and email. Those media are critical but they do have limitations. With email, many of the nuances we have in conversation are missed. For example, it’s not easy to convey sarcasm or humour over email. Similarly, with telephones we can’t convey facial expressions. Video-conferencing overcomes these challenges. All the people on the call – most video-conferencing systems allow you to have several parties on the line at the same time – can see each other. If you’re a manager, it also helps to know who is actually paying attention during remotely conducted team meetings. FileMaker. An Apple Subsidiary BEYOND VIDEO Once you get your staff engaged with video-conferencing, you can move on to the next stage – unified communications and collaboration. This is where people can see each other, talk to each other and collaborate using desktop sharing apps, instant messaging and other tools. Think of it like this. You are part of a team of people working on a report. There’s a document and spreadsheet you’re all working with as well as a presentation to create that supports the report. With the right tools, the team members can work together on the files, see each other so they can discuss the work and bring in other experts, when they’re needed, using instant messaging or some sort of telepresence tool that tells them who is available. That sort of collaborative environment doesn’t need everyone to hop on a plane. By having a solid toolkit that includes video, audio, collaboration and other tools, it’s possible to save on travel costs and bring remote teams together. & PROUDLY SUPPORTING MAC IN BUSINESS The home for business-minded Apple users on macworld.com.au While many Mac, iPhone and iPad owners use their devices for purely personal pursuits, there are those who document, record and share as part of the their day to day work. What are the most efficient and effective hardware and software options for your needs? How can you start using it immediately to drive sales, connect with colleagues, create powerful presentations, reduce communication charges? We examine the latest technology for enterprise users to help you make the best use of your time and resources for your business. Jonathan Stewart – Editor of Macworld Australia We started this section as we appreciate that technology is a critical foundation for the success of your business. APPLICATIONS PIXELMATOR PHOTO & VIDEO Pixelmator Team iPAD $6.49 From cropping and straightening to colour correcting, retouching and painting; from creating selections to combining imagery; from blending layers to adding slick effects, shapes, layer styles and highly customisable text, Pixelmator for iPad truly does it all… The whole program is layer-based (think stackable transparencies) So you can resize, reposition, retouch, paint or add an effect to something on one layer without affecting the content of other fora mere $6.49. layers. This makes for an extremely forgiving editing environment that gives you truly creative compositing and photo painting or tracing opportunities. All files can be saved to iCloud Drive or your Photo Library and can easily be read using Pixelmator 3.3 for the Mac. You’d be hard pressed to find a more powerful iPad image-editing app than Pixelmator for iPad. MNIFOCUS 2 v4 FOR iPAD pODNCTATY The Omni rou a S/ a — in you ‘need more power or ~ sub-tasks, contexts and weekly provides, you cant go wrong with _OmniFocus. Despite being much investment in learning to use it. But if your life is sufficient! best use OmniFocus will be time well lise House of Fire IPHONE & iPAD FREE eer eeeeUT ee eee eeee eee eee rer ere eer rere reer rUrere eevee rer sue ere rec ere sre ver reese er eu reese ee eee eee eee eee ee eee eee Eee C ese e ee eure See eee eee seer e ry _ ihe Sient Age ‘ : two-part, point-and-_ tap adventure game different eras — your to the post-apocalyptic 2012. Each episode is anited into five ¢ chapters, and the writers do a great jot throughout the entire storyline, ee is a $6.49 in-app Ta “reviews than your typical to-do list simpler to use, it still takes a certain y complex, the time you spend ee out how to that takes place in two te Spm) eeping you interested and on your toes. – Retry | is a madder ng retro- styled – side-scroller from juggernaut mobile
Originally published in Macworld Australia on 1 January 2015: https://archive.org/details/macworld_au-2015_01#page/n27