Onbuddy’s Blog of tips and tricks.

Do you ever think of sufing net or using instant messenger (IM) at home, school or workplace without being noticed by your parents/teacher/boss?

Here, I would like to recommend a great ebook from e-junkie:

Surf net and use IM (occasionally) unnoticed.

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Here are the website design mistakes

1. Using Frames

Splitting a page into frames is very confusing for users since frames break the fundamental user model of the web page. All of a sudden, you cannot bookmark the current page and return to it (the bookmark points to another version of the frameset), URLs stop working, and printouts become difficult. Even worse, the predictability of user actions goes out the door: who knows what information will appear where when you click on a link?

2. Gratuitous Use of Bleeding-Edge Technology

Don’t try to attract users to your site by bragging about use of the latest web technology. You may attract a few nerds, but mainstream users will care more about useful content and your ability to offer good customer service. Using the latest and greatest before it is even out of beta is a sure way to discourage users: if their system crashes while visiting your site, you can bet that many of them will not be back. Unless you are in the business of selling Internet products or services, it is better to wait until some experience has been gained with respect to the appropriate ways of using new techniques. When desktop publishing was young, people put twenty fonts in their documents: let’s avoid similar design bloat on the Web.

As an example: Use VRML if you actually have information that maps naturally onto a three-dimensional space (e.g., architectural design, shoot-them-up games, surgery planning). Don’t use VRML if your data is N-dimensional since it is usually better to produce 2-dimensional overviews that fit with the actual display and input hardware available to the user.

3. Scrolling Text, Marquees, and Constantly Running Animations

Never include page elements that move incessantly. Moving images have an overpowering effect on the human peripheral vision. A web page should not emulate Times Square in New York City in its constant attack on the human senses: give your user some peace and quiet to actually read the text!
Of course, is simply evil. Enough said.
4. Complex URLs

Even though machine-level addressing like the URL should never have been exposed in the user interface, it is there and we have found that users actually try to decode the URLs of pages to infer the structure of web sites. Users do this because of the horrifying lack of support for navigation and sense of location in current web browsers. Thus, a URL should contain human-readable directory and file names that reflect the nature of the information space.

Also, users sometimes need to type in a URL, so try to minimize the risk of typos by using short names with all lower-case characters and no special characters (many people don’t know how to type a ~).

5. Orphan Pages

Make sure that all pages include a clear indication of what web site they belong to since users may access pages directly without coming in through your home page. For the same reason, every page should have a link up to your home page as well as some indication of where they fit within the structure of your information space.

6. Long Scrolling Pages

Only 10% of users scroll beyond the information that is visible on the screen when a page comes up. All critical content and navigation options should be on the top part of the page.

Note added December 1997: More recent studies show that users are more willing to scroll now than they were in the early years of the Web. I still recommend minimizing scrolling on navigation pages, but it is no longer an absolute ban.

7. Lack of Navigation Support

Don’t assume that users know as much about your site as you do. They always have difficulty finding information, so they need support in the form of a strong sense of structure and place. Start your design with a good understanding of the structure of the information space and communicate this structure explicitly to the user. Provide a site map and let users know where they are and where they can go. Also, you will need a good search feature since even the best navigation support will never be enough.

8. Non-Standard Link Colors

Links to pages that have not been seen by the user are blue; links to previously seen pages are purple or red. Don’t mess with these colors since the ability to understand what links have been followed is one of the few navigational aides that is standard in most web browsers. Consistency is key to teaching users what the link colors mean.

9. Outdated Information

Budget to hire a web gardener as part of your team. You need somebody to root out the weeds and replant the flowers as the website changes but most people would rather spend their time creating new content than on maintenance. In practice, maintenance is a cheap way of enhancing the content on your website since many old pages keep their relevance and should be linked into the new pages. Of course, some pages are better off being removed completely from the server after their expiration date.

10. Overly Long Download Times

I am placing this issue last because most people already know about it; not because it is the least important. Traditional human factors guidelines indicate 10 seconds as the maximum response time before users lose interest. On the web, users have been trained to endure so much suffering that it may be acceptable to increase this limit to 15 seconds for a few pages.

Even websites with high-end users need to consider download times: many B2B customers access websites from home computers in the evening because they are too busy to surf the Web during working hours.

11. No options to turn off background music of a web.

12. Sites that have more ads than content.

13. Sites that only work best in Internet Explorer, not in Firefox.

14. Backgrounds that make the text hard to read.

15. Sites with long blocks of text, especially without frequent paragraph breaks.

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Multiple sources are reporting serious remote vulnerabilities in Windows Media Player 6.4, Windows Media Player Classic 6.4 and Winamp 5.32 with proofs of concept publicly available.

It’s not likely that you’re running Windows Media Player 6.4. The original Windows XP shipped with Windows Media Player 8, so you’d have to be running Windows 2000 or an earlier product, which means you’re running a very old operating system that you haven’t bothered to update much. Still, there are such people out there. The version of Winamp is much more recent; the current version is 5.5.

The public PoC generates files with this type of name: SYS_49152_MP4_for_mplayer2.mp4. It’s no big trick to modify the PoC to generate a different form of file name, but it’s still worth looking for.

The vulnerability is a stack-based buffer overflow that could grant the attacker complete control of the system, depending on the permissions of the user running the player.

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Do you dream of a job promotion, yet somehow it never comes? Perhaps it’s because you’re dreaming too much and not taking initiative. If you want to get promoted, you’ve got to take action. Here are 7 action steps to help turn your dream promotion into a reality.

1. Be on time all the time

It may seem like a no-brainer, but how can you expect a promotion at work if you’re consistently late? Employees who squeak in even a couple minutes late are sending signals to the boss that work is where they’d rather not be. Show your boss you’re eager to begin your day by showing up at least 10 to 15 minutes early, with time to spare to make your coffee and get settled before working.

2. Work extra hours

This, of course, is a tricky one. While you don’t want your job to dominate your life, you do want your boss to see you as someone who will give a little extra to the organization, and that includes offering to stay late if needed.

3. Dress for success

Image is everything. If you want to be seen as a professional, then you have to start dressing like one. While this may seem shallow, your appearance is a visual cue to the boss of what type of employee you are. Will you be one who slaps something on in the morning for your dead-end position, or are you one who dresses like you already are a professional?

4. Learn something new

Go the extra mile by learning new skills. Find out about the technical knowledge required in the position you’re aiming for and then learn about it, either by enrolling yourself in training programs provided by your employer, or enrolling in classes in your community or online. Nowadays it’s important to have some knowledge about computing, and you should learn it even if the company doesn’t provide it or tell you to do so.

If your company has offices in other countries, you may consider learning a new language, specifically one that is used in one of your major offices. This means that you can function wherever you may be assigned. Just in case your company needs a new manager in Tokyo or Paris, they’ll know who to promote.

5. Ask for more responsibilities

Asking for more responsibilities signals to the higher-ups that you may be ready to move up the company ladder. You’re no longer the average Joe or Jane who’s just putting in time, but rather someone who has initiative and cares about the success of the company.

6. Learn public speaking

This may not be necessary for some positions, but often when you move up in a company, you may be called upon to give a presentation, or address a group of people. Be ready for it by acquiring some public speaking skills. This will not only help in giving presentations to groups of people, but will also help with small group interactions, where you might be called upon to present an idea to your boss and other leaders of the company. You can take public speaking courses at the community college level, or join a Toastmasters group, where you will receive much needed practice giving speeches.

7. Make yourself known to the Human Resources Department

No one knows the staffing needs of the company better than the Human Resources Department. Get to know members of that department so you can stay informed of future job openings. Make it a point to let them know who you are, and that you’re interested in moving up. That way, when a position does become available, you will be among the first people they consider. Of course, this also can be a bit tricky. The last thing you want is to be phony and pushy. Try to make your presence known without becoming that annoying person they all try to avoid.

These are just some of the ways to go the extra mile to move up at work. Yes, it all takes effort. But, hopefully, the rewards will be great.

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Filed under: Employment

Acronym Genie is a searchable database of acronyms and abbreviations from various areas, including Computers, Internet, Information Technology, Programming, Networking and many others. It includes more than 17000 acronyms and offers an easy-to-use interface with simple and advanced search options. In addition to acronyms, it also offers anagram lookup. The program includes an offline database and does not use the Internet to perform searches.Very useful program for finding list of acronyms and abbreviations, especially for IT related terms.

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Filed under: Software