Favicons are those eye-catching little pictures that appear in your web browser’s address bar, favorites list (hence the name favicon, short for “favorites icon”), and, with modern tabbed browsers, on tabs.
Instantly recognizable when designed well, favicons represent the brand identity of sites that use them.
Examples
Wikipedia uses the “W” from its logo:
Digg’s favicon represents a person holding a shovel, an image that seems to have been created especially for the favicon:
Usability in a tabbed, multitasking world
Tabbed browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer 7, can show many page-tabs at once, squishing a site’s descriptive text.
Below are examples of tabs without favicons. What sites are they? I don’t know.
These have favicons. At a glance I see a seated robed figure (meditation site), a stylized “Ti” that I recognize as my private TikiWiki site, and a picture of me, which (if I can stop admiring its beauty for a moment), I know represents my blog.
Create your own mini work of art
Favicons are ordinary graphics, generally 16×16 pixels in size, named favicon.ico. How to make them? I found an easy method that even non-artists can use.
The free site Favicon Generator allows anyone to convert a normal-sized graphic into a favicon. Instructions:
- Go to Favicon Generator.
- Click the “Browse…” button to select an image from your computer’s hard drive.
- Click “Create Favicon.”
- When it’s ready, click the “Download the generated favicon” link to get the files.
- Download the zip file and extract favicon.ico to your computer. Then transfer that file, via FTP or your preferred method, to your website’s root folder (often /public_html or /www).
- View your website with its new addition! (You might have to press the refresh button to make the favicon appear.)
Show your art
If this article inspired you to create a favicon, please add a comment here with the link to your newly enhanced site.
My first open-source project: Mantis/400
/0 Comments/in PHP /by Alan SeidenMantis/400 adds DB2 support to Mantis, the popular PHP-based bug tracking application. I programmed the upgrade with Ira Chandler of Curbstone Corporation, personnel from IBM and Zend, and Mantis’s Victor Boctor.
Mantis/400 runs on IBM System i (formerly AS/400), using Zend Core for i5.
Even before we got involved, Mantis supported several databases, thanks to the ADOdb Database Abstraction Library for PHP (and Python). ADOdb’s support of DB2 needed help, though, so we improved it, particularly for System i’s version of DB2.
I recommend the open-source process to anyone who enjoys learning a lot and meeting good people. Our team zestily shared knowledge and discoveries.
More information is available in Alex Woodie’s story in IT Jungle: Mantis Bug Tracker Ported to i5/OS.
Brand your site with a favicon
/5 Comments/in Web development /by Alan SeidenFavicons are those eye-catching little pictures that appear in your web browser’s address bar, favorites list (hence the name favicon, short for “favorites icon”), and, with modern tabbed browsers, on tabs.
Instantly recognizable when designed well, favicons represent the brand identity of sites that use them.
Examples
Wikipedia uses the “W” from its logo:
Digg’s favicon represents a person holding a shovel, an image that seems to have been created especially for the favicon:
Usability in a tabbed, multitasking world
Tabbed browsers, such as Firefox and Internet Explorer 7, can show many page-tabs at once, squishing a site’s descriptive text.
Below are examples of tabs without favicons. What sites are they? I don’t know.
These have favicons. At a glance I see a seated robed figure (meditation site), a stylized “Ti” that I recognize as my private TikiWiki site, and a picture of me, which (if I can stop admiring its beauty for a moment), I know represents my blog.
Create your own mini work of art
Favicons are ordinary graphics, generally 16×16 pixels in size, named favicon.ico. How to make them? I found an easy method that even non-artists can use.
The free site Favicon Generator allows anyone to convert a normal-sized graphic into a favicon. Instructions:
Show your art
If this article inspired you to create a favicon, please add a comment here with the link to your newly enhanced site.
Protect Your Eyes Against Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS)
/0 Comments/in PHP /by Alan SeidenEye strain is a common complaint from computer users, but eyes aren’t the only part of the body that can hurt. Neck pain and backaches can also result from poor visual ergonomics.
In my latest article, Protect Your Eyes Against Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) (requires free registration after about May 18, 2007), I show several ways to keep your eyes comfortable at the computer.
People who wear bifocals or trifocals should consider occupational progressive lenses, glasses that are made especially for daily computer use. These special glasses can resolve painful postural problems.
Money-saving tip: if you need to buy special (occupational) glasses for computer use, you may not need to buy new frames. Your optician will be happy to use old frames that you might have saved from old prescriptions.
New York Software Industry Association writes about my work with System i/PHP
/2 Comments/in News & Events, PHP /by Alan SeidenMy work to foster PHP on IBM System i was noted in the Feb. 21, 2007, edition of buzz@nysia, the New York Software Industry Association’s weekly news report. I am delighted that buzz@nysia columnist Donna Bogatin chose me as a featured “mover and shaker.”
Arrange Your Workstation to Protect Yourself Against Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)
/0 Comments/in PHP /by Alan SeidenIf you’re reading this blog, you need to protect yourself against Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). As we work and explore the internet, we accumulate little stresses and habits that can hurt us over time.
MC Press just published my piece on how to arrange your computer workstation to avoid injury.
For my research, I interviewed Steve Shostack, former ergonomics consultant to NASA, and Paul Linden, Ph.D. Paul, an aikido teacher and Feldenkrais practitioner, wrote Comfort at Your Computer. I also recommend Paul’s free e-book, Reach Out: Body Awareness Training for Peacemaking, downloadable from www.being-in-movement.com.
Space did not permit me to write about my conversation with Mary Barbe, Ph.D., a researcher at Temple University. According to Dr. Barbe, recent human studies show that repetitive work causes the release of cytokines, proteins that trigger inflammation. The inflammation is not limited to the local area of overwork, but spreads throughout the body, potentially exacerbating conditions such as heart disease. The cytokines also help the body to rest by causing sensations of lethargy or even depression. Not good for productivity! In future articles, I will write about such hidden effects of RSI.
Meanwhile, read how to arrange your computer workstation to avoid injury. Stay healthy!
PHP mail() on IBM System i
/1 Comment/in PHP, Web development /by Alan SeidenMy new article about mail() is available at MC Press Online. The article covers:
(This article is no longer available.)
Site Upgraded to PHP 5
/0 Comments/in News & Events, PHP /by Alan SeidenEarly this week I called my web hosting provider, BlueHost, to ask to be upgraded from PHP 4 to 5. They graciously offered to move my files to a PHP 5 server at no charge. I was warned, though, that my site might be inaccessible during the move.
Later that day, I saw that the site was running on PHP 5.
One problem: my custom MX records, pointing to the wonderful FastMail email host, were reset to their defaults. People who wrote to me the morning of October 3 had their email bounced back to them.
BlueHost corrected my MX records quickly once I told them. Email flowed properly within an hour or so.
Lesson: anyone with custom MX records should, if altering web host settings, check the MX records immediately thereafter. Easy way to check: MX Lookup Utility.
“Internet Options” Window Does Not Open
/1 Comment/in PHP /by Alan SeidenWhen my friend reported that her Internet Explorer 6 browser crashed repeatedly, I suggested she delete temporary internet files by clicking Tools/Internet Options. She said, “Nothing happens when I click Tools/Internet Options.”
Tools/Internet Options did not work. No window appeared. Other features, such as Edit/Find, also didn’t work, or didn’t work consistently. I could eventually make these windows appear by clicking various options over several minutes.
I eventually discovered the pattern.
No web page loaded: Tools/Internet Options & Edit/Find did not work.
Any web page loaded: Tools/Internet Options & Edit/Find worked properly.
My PC, which runs the same version of IE (6.0.2900.2180) and Windows (XP Service Pack 2) as my friend’s, does not show the odd behavior described above. My Internet Explorer is willing to show Internet Options and Find any time, even when no web page is loaded.
I’m glad to have found the pattern. We can delete temporary internet files using Tools/Internet Options (after loading a web page). Still, IE’s inconsistent behavior from PC to PC puzzles me. Any explanation from my readers?
Javascript Debugger for FireFox: FireBug
/0 Comments/in Web development /by Alan SeidenPowerful yet unobtrusive, FireBug, a FireFox Extension by Joe Hewitt, runs in a frame that pops up only when requested or when an error occurs. It helped me solve two javascript problems today.
Thanks to Dell Sala, who told me about FireBug at Tuesday’s New York PHP meeting.
Welcome to alanseiden.com
/0 Comments/in News & Events /by Alan SeidenI plan to share all my writing here. My existing articles will appear first, followed by original content.
Readers will find articles about about information technology, including topics such as IBM System i (AS/400, iSeries, i5), PHP, and usability. Personal-computing tips will also abound.