http://www.mid.co.uk/blog en zack@mid.co.uk Copyright 2012 2012-04-10T17:05:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/responding_to_the_eu_e_privacy_directive/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/responding_to_the_eu_e_privacy_directive/#When:17:05:00Z The deadline for compliance with the EU e-Privacy Directive is fast approaching. For those not familiar with the ‘EU Cookie Law’, here’s a brief, non-technical introduction: A more complete explanation is available from the Information Commissioner’s Office: ‘Guidance on the rules on use of cookies and similar technologies’ (PDF). The ICO acknowledges that compliance will not be straightforward, and in fact their own site has been criticised both for its lack of compliance, and the clunkiness of its attempted ‘cookie consent’ solution. So although most websites will strictly speaking be illegal after 25 May, there is no need to panic, unless (perhaps) your site is flagrantly abusing the privacy of its users. For now, the common-sense approach seems to be, update your privacy policy to make sure it explains what cookies you use and what they are for — and work towards full compliance, i.e. not setting cookies at all until visitors have understood the implications and explicitly accepted their use on your site. For us, and most of our web design clients, this will mean upgrading to the next version of our favoured content management system, ExpressionEngine, which will allow visitors to opt in and out of cookies, as the e-Privacy Directive requires. If you are updating your privacy policy on an ExpressionEngine-based website, you'll want to let your visitors know about the following cookies. exp_tracker: this cookie temporarily keeps track of the last 5 pages you visited on the site. This information allows the site to redirect you to the page you were on before activities such as submitting a comment or sending an email through the contact form. It is a ‘session’ cookie, meaning it expires as soon as you close your browser. exp_last_activity and exp_last_visit: these cookies store the dates of your last activity on the site. exp_last_visit is only relevant to registered users — if you’re browsing the site as a guest, this cookie will be set to a date in the past. These are ‘persistent’ cookies, which do not automatically expire when you close your browser. exp_css_skin: if you have made any display choices (for example to select a high-visibility layout for visually impaired visitors) this persistent cookie is used to remember your choice next time you visit. If you are allowing a third-party site to set cookies, which will be the case if your website uses Google Analytics, YouTube videos, or sharing/bookmarking services such as AddThis, then a link to their privacy policies would probably be a good idea, too. Ironically there is so far no sign of the Internet’s big data collectors updating their policies or practices to conform to the Directive, despite the fact that they are likely to be amongst its primary targets. If you have any concerns about your website’s compliance with the EU e-Privacy Directive, please feel free to get in touch. 2012-04-10T17:05:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/websites_from_the_90s_part_2_from_the_mid_portfolio/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/websites_from_the_90s_part_2_from_the_mid_portfolio/#When:14:51:00Z Following on from my last post, Websites from the ‘90s, here’s what MID was up to back in 1997. 2011-09-29T14:51:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/websites_from_the_90s/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/websites_from_the_90s/#When:14:21:00Z Serge K. Keller’s album of screenshots from the early days of the web took me right back. Remember when all web pages were grey, with Times New Roman stretching from one side of the screen to the other? Most of the sites in Serge’s collection are from the first generation of sites where the word 'design' could be used in the same sentence as 'web'. And at the time, they seemed great— wow, look at those colours. But, looking back... well, what do you think? Here are a few more screenshots, from my own internet archives. Can you guess the year? Apple Boston.com Chicago Tribune CNet Cool Site of the Day Labour Party Yes, those are some of the better-looking sites from 1997. None of our own work here—that’ll be another post. 2011-09-29T14:21:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/rightsnet_shortlisted_nominet_awards/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/rightsnet_shortlisted_nominet_awards/#When:09:48:00Z The rightsnet website we developed for Lasa has been shortlisted for the Nominet Internet Awards 2011. The awards highlight UK companies, charities and individuals who are making a difference on, or through, the internet. Shortlisted entries highlight ‘phenomenal work’ using the power of the internet to have a positive impact on society. Lasa Chief Executive Terry Stokes said, “We are delighted that Nominet has recognised our work in using the internet to ensure advisers across the UK have access to the most up-to-date information on the latest developments in social welfare law, and, in these difficult economic times, helping some of the most marginalised communities across the country to have access to the advice they need.” Update: the results are in, and rightsnet has won. Congratulations to the rightsnet team! 2011-06-23T09:48:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/domain_name_research_tools/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/domain_name_research_tools/#When:11:29:00Z It's been a while since I dipped a toe into the domain name market. Naturally, it hasn’t got any easier. I spent a few days researching potential names for a new venture recently, and found a few domain name research tools worth noting. For made-up web 2.0 domains wordoid.com domai.nr For dictionary keyword combinations namestation.com nameboy.com Good luck with your domain name research! A word of warning Before doing any domain research, it’s worth taking note of the advice in this article at domaintools.com. Any site you use to research domain names could be passing the information on to datamining firms who will then register the domains before you. And typing the potential domain into your browser address bar is a very bad idea. As Jay Westerdal of Domain Tools says, “It is such a strong urge to type the domain name into the address bar and see what website comes up. Most users think perhaps there is already a company using the name and this will be a quick end to the question. Wrong! This is the most dangerous thing to do. Internet Service Providers (ISP) sell NXD data. You may be asking yourself ‘What is NXD data and how does that effect my domain research?’ Non-eXistent Domain (NXD) Data is a response the DNS system tells the asking computer if resolution on an IP address fails because the domain doesn’t exist. Yes, ISPs sell this data.” Domains 2011-04-06T11:29:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/new_js_office_environments_site_launched/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/new_js_office_environments_site_launched/#When:15:43:00Z Our latest site launch is a revamp of the JS Office Environments website, featuring an extensive furniture catalogue as well as a project portfolio. More details shortly. In the meantime, visit the site at www.jsonline.co.uk. Update: Now added to our web design portfolio. 2011-01-31T15:43:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/two_new_sites_promo_store_and_eave/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/two_new_sites_promo_store_and_eave/#When:09:58:00Z We’ve launched a couple of new sites in the last week or so. Promo Store is a catalogue of promotional items, where you can buy personalised products, from mints to mousemats. EAVE is a training and networking association for European film and TV producers. Both sites will make it on to our portfolio shortly, but in the meantime, if you are looking for the latest examples of our web design work, why not pay them a visit? Update: Both sites now have a brief write-up in our web design portfolio, along with very flattering testimonials from both clients. 2010-12-01T09:58:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/the_island_of_tuvalu_is_sinking/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/the_island_of_tuvalu_is_sinking/#When:11:31:00Z The Libyan domain registry has been in the news recently, after deleting the vb.ly domain without warning, and announcing that they'd rather keep their short domains to themselves. (See benmetcalfe.com/blog/2010/10/the-ly-domain-space-to-be-considered-unsafe/ for the full story.) Other URL shorteners such as bit.ly claim not be panicking, but it's hard to see how sending all those links through Libya makes sense. Of course that's not the only domain space in trouble. I've never been a fan of the way the .tv domain is used either. OK, so there used to be something called TV, which we watched before the Internet took over our screens, but what do most .tv sites have to do with Tuvalu? I was reminded of this today while checking out some domain names on Go Daddy. Of course the one I wanted was taken — but the .tv version was available. 'Why choose .tv?' asks the Go Daddy blurb. Because 'The island of Tuvalu is sinking'. Terrible for Tuvalu, but this isn't a global warming blog post. Where will all those .tv sites go when the water rises? 2010-10-13T11:31:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/blekko_for_web_site_designers/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/blekko_for_web_site_designers/#When:09:28:00Z I just got my invitation to the beta for Blekko, the latest challenger to Google. First impressions: fantastic. While most searchers may accept the default settings and features that a search engine offers, Blekko goes out of its way to inspire power users with creative ways to ‘slash the web’. I have to admit I haven’t yet properly compared the usefulness of the results — it’s only a beta after all — but have already spent far too much time trying out the tools that Blekko offers webmasters. Briefly, Blekko allows you to set up (and share) your own ‘slashtags’, which can be used as filters for your results. So I created a ‘/clients’ slashtag, which allows me to search though our web design clients’ sites. And Blekko read my mind, offering me a customised search form to embed on our site, where visitors can do the same, as well an RSS feed of the results. Even more interesting to those involved in the search engine optimisation of their sites, Blekko claims to be fully transparent with its ranking data. Search results come with an ‘SEO’ link, leading to a goldmine of ranking data for each site in the list. Of course a lot of similar stuff is available from Google — but only to the webmaster or owner of the site. Blekko allows you to see everyone else’s data as well. This could change things. 2010-08-04T09:28:00+00:00 http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/web_design_chart/ http://www.mid.co.uk/blog/web_design_chart/#When:10:46:00Z A useful chart to take to website planning meetings. Ah yes, “virtual tour” or “usable campus map” — what web designer hasn’t had that conversation? From xkcd.com 2010-08-02T10:46:00+00:00