Top 10 Web Design Tools Every Web Designer Needs

Building websites for yourself or your clients is necessary to remain competitive in today?s online market place.? I have compiled the top ten basic web design tools everyone needs to get started.? Whether you?re an advanced web designer looking to double check you have all the fundamentals or you?re new to web design and want a comprehensive list of the necessary tools ? this article is for you.

1)? Text Editors for Web Design

No matter how much you hate it, at some point building a website will require you to edit some code.? Make sure to have a text editor.? For PC users NotePad is the best, free choice.? Microsoft Word doesn?t work because it formats text automatically.? For Mac users you can use TextEdit.

ProTip:? Try Adobe Dreamweaver to professionally edit code.? It has great features that make life simple, such as Live Preview, numbered lines, and layered settings? displays.

2)? An Internet Browser

Pretty obvious.? However, the choice of browser that you use is important.? There are a total of four fundamental browsers, Safari, Internet Explorer, FireFox, and Chrome.? Make sure to have them all installed on your computer and use them each to check that your website looks the same.? Different browsers can sometimes display websites differently if they are not coded according to best practices.

ProTip: Professional web developers know to use FireFox. The FireFox browser has an open source community of add-ons and plugin applications specifically geared towards web designers.

3)? FireBug

I already said you should be using FireFox because of it?s add-ons, and without a doubt the most important add-on of all is FireBug.? This add-on allows you to click on an area of a webpage in your FireFox browser and view the code operating behind the specific element.? I can?t stress enough that this is the most useful tool for web design you?ll ever find.? That website you like so much, how did they do it?? Use FireBug to inspect the CSS and HTML to reverse engineer it.? FireBug also helps you troubleshoot issues on your own website, by easily allowing you to check what code is operating behind particular elements of a webpage.

4)? A Web Host

All websites need a Web Host in order to get online and go public.? Popular web hosts include Blue Host, Host Gator, GoDaddy, Media Temple, and literally hundreds more.? They all offer fairly inexpensive monthly rates for their services.

ProTip:? Use Blue Host.? A little more expensive than the others, but the number of free tools they offer and their excellent 24/7 support is unmatched.

5)? FTP Client

In order for a web designer to move their website?s files to their web host, and thus publish the website to the internet, they need an FTP tool.? There are many out there and most web hosts offer a browser-based FTP tool for free.

ProTip:? Try out FileZilla, an easy to use and powerful File Transfer Protocol (FTP) tool.

6)? A Domain Name

Every website needs an address on the internet for their website.? Usually, your web host will offer a domain registration service that enables you to buy the domain name you want.

ProTip:? Choose a domain name with SEO in mind.? You want one that is short, easily remembered, and includes a keyword such as the name of your business or a qualitative term that describes what you do.

7)? Image Editors

Image editing software ranges in price from free to hundreds of dollars.? Windows comes with Paint which is an OK free image editor.? Mac users can try out iPhoto.? There are also a number of free programs you can search for and download from the internet.

ProTip:? While expensive, Adobe Photoshop is the standard professional image editor you?ll want to use.? It is a true powerhouse program that enables you to create the stunning visuals you?ll need to make gorgeous websites.? Adobe Fireworks is another great program that enables you to design images with transparent elements.

8)? Content Management System (CMS)

Very few people build websites from scratch anymore.? Most use free, open source, CMS software to get started.? Using a CMS allows you to build websites faster and they come prepackaged with back-end administrator functionality to help you or your clients manage the content of the website.? There are many out there, but you?ll want to use Drupal or WordPress.? Personally, my favorite is WordPress.

ProTip:? Never go with a web design shop that offers a ?proprietary? CMS.? These are never as powerful as the free, open source options such as WordPress and they become obsolete in a very short time.? They are also susceptible to hackers and malware because small web design shops can rarely keep their software updated fast enough to keep up with threats.

9)? Google Keyword Tool

Every one wants their website to rank high on search engines like Google.? The Google Keyword Tool allows a web designer to research the competitiveness of keywords when planning what text to place in their website and what keywords to target.

10)? Getty Images

Getty Images is an online repository of stock, professionally created photographs and images.? Web designers can purchase these stock images for use on their websites for a small fee.? There are vector based graphics, professional photographs, and even videos!

These ten basic web design tools will help you get started!? Have a great tool in mind that?s not shared here?? Let us know!

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Source: http://www.e3corporate.com/web-design-2/web-design-tools-every-designer-needs/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=web-design-tools-every-designer-needs

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The Freedom of Living Simply | Life Beyond Sport

The past few months have brought a ton of change to my family. In August, I sold my home and moved to State College, PA. Blessed by finding a furnished guest house to rent, I left most of my belongings back in Ohio.

This past weekend my parents downsized, selling the place our family called home for over 30 years to move into a retirement community. My mom and siblings spent hundreds of hours the past few months deciding what to keep, sell or give away.

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A week before moving into their new home, they removed much of their furniture to sell at an auction. I worried that my parents would grow depressed living in their beautiful home for that week without most of their familiar surroundings. But, much to my surprise, my mom said she felt ?liberated? by the empty house!

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I?ve found the same to be true as I live here in PA without most of my ?stuff.? It?s incredibly freeing! Looks like I?ll need to sort through it again before my next move to sell or give some more away.

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Don?t get me wrong, I?m not against owning material possessions. I have realized, however, that the more I own the more complicated life becomes. I?m doing just fine without all the stuff in all those boxes back home! Simple living has become a stronger value each day.

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What about you? What stuff are you holding on to that you don?t need? Who might you be able to bless with it?

Source: http://lifebeyondsport.com/2012/11/the-freedom-of-living-simply/

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Carving a niche in Nigeria's legal landscape | World Finance

Nigeria has long been touted as one of Africa?s most attractive destinations for investment, with an emerging financial sector and a manufacturing industry that has the capacity to fuel economic growth. At $415bn, the country is currently the 30th-largest in terms of GDP, and has the third-largest manufacturing industry in Africa.

However, the country has been blighted by political mismanagement and corruption, which has caused caution and pessimism from global investors. A recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) placed Nigeria at 134th in the world in terms of global competitiveness, just ten places above the bottom of the list.

Although many reforms have been implemented over the course of the last decade and opportunities abound in Nigeria,? there are still a number of pitfalls facing investors looking to develop businesses in Nigeria. Having a trustworthy and reliable onshore law firm to help guide businesses is therefore essential. Detail Commercial Solicitors was launched to address these concerns and offer in depth knowledge of this delicate market.

The firm is the first to specialise exclusively in non-courtroom commercial law (something that differentiates it from other legal practices in the country) to spend ample time navigating clients in Nigeria. Lead Partner Ayuli Jemide, with over two decades of experience in Nigerian law, as well as partners Dolapo Kukoyi and Aderemi Oguntoye, spoke to World Finance about how their firm is carving an important niche for itself and what they offer clients.

What is peculiar about Detail?
Ayuli Jemide (AJ): Detail Commercial Solicitors is the first Nigerian commercial solicitor firm to specialise exclusively in non-courtroom practice. The decision to move to a niche and stay there was founded on two key objectives: ?Differentiation? ? we determine exactly what we do and do it in a distinct manner; and ?Value? ? our clients enjoy the tangible benefits of our unique business model. Simply put ? the value is in our differentiation.

How did the firm start?
Dolapo Kukoyi (DK): Detail is a product of the founding partners? experiences as young lawyers. Ayuli Jemide started out as a non-court room commercial lawyer; however, under pressure from a few blue chip clients, he veered into litigation. Wearing these two hats (litigator and commercial counselor) led him to some discoveries: first that he was more enthusiastic about the business side of law and he brought greatest value to clients when he had his commercial lawyer hat on. Second is that the clients complained that he was ??no longer available?? as he spent more time with courtroom work.

Jemide saw that many business law clients were not happy with full service multi-tasking law firms. These clients were demanding full attention and nothing less. By 2003, he thought: ?There is a vacuum in the legal landscape that presents itself as an opportunity ? Nigeria needs a corporate and commercial boutique ? a firm that makes itself exclusively available to business clients who need their transactions and advisory work handled with deserved promptness and focus. Detail Solicitors (later Detail Commercial Solicitors) was therefore launched in March 2004.

What were the major challenges with this new business model?
AJ: In putting together the business plan for a totally new concept, we faced many challenges. First was negative perception to a new idea ? why do you want to reinvent the wheel? Second was the thinking that a diversified income base, a mix of litigation and solicitors work, was necessary to survive as a law firm in Nigeria. Third was the strong feeling amongst a majority that if your transactions become contentious the litigator hired by your client will steal the client. Fourth was the challenge of looking for people who fit into this new culture of a corporate and commercial boutique in an environment where all the other known firms are full service firms.

So what has been your experience after seven years? How have you navigated these challenges?
AJ: We have methodically dealt with the challenges over the years. Today lawyers and clients have come to respect our business model and the Detail brand. We have successfully reinvented the wheel with legal practice in Nigeria and continue to reinvent ourselves. The fear that we would only survive with a diversified income base has proven to be a myth because our revenue has grown year-on-year. We knew that clients were willing to pay for value, and it was just a matter of time before we hit the top of the value chain.

Regarding the false but popular opinion that we would lose clients to litigators once a matter became contentious, it has actually been the other way round for us ? many of our clients have left full service or litigation firms to engage us for their commercial work; they value our services and also see us as their proactive mechanism for staying out of court. The statistics from our clients actually show that their litigation reduces after a few years of working with us.

On the people side, we pay particular attention to who we hire and how we empower them. We have set up a strong mentoring and training mechanism that has organically grown a crop of great minds with a distinct culture of efficiency and responsiveness ? the Detail culture. The interesting thing about challenges is that as the market develops there would always be new challenges requiring new strategy. It is so dynamic.

What services do you offer clients?
Aderemi Oguntoye (AO): At Detail we would typically be found advising on specific transactions, helping businesses with start up or immediate strategic objectives, hand holding clients through a project, advising clients on day-to-day decisions, or whatever the client requires.

What sectors do you specialise in?
AO: Our key areas of expertise are: corporate, commercial, capital markets, real estate, oil and gas, infrastructure, public private partnerships, power, project finance, media and entertainment.

How do you like clients to view you?
DK: We hate to be seen as typical because we are not.
AJ: We would like clients to see us as commercially savvy and innovative solution providers ? not? as hirelings who are not in tune with the larger picture. If we are working on a deal and the client has a business plan, we would request to read the business plan ? and we have had to explain to several clients that if we understand the plans and objectives, we tend to provide better service.
AO: People tend to think that lawyers are not good project managers; we would like clients to see us as project managers and trust us to lead transactions. We want their experience to be that we are professional and process driven. In designing our project management and communication tools we prefer to emulate and compete with the investment banks and consulting firms. For example, all our lawyers have been trained to use MS Projects and we use it often.

What is the firm?s culture?
AO: In terms of how we work, constructive collaboration amongst us and also with the client and entire advisory team is an important attribute for every lawyer at Detail. We have a team that is responsible and responsive, yet relaxed and cordial.
DK: Thought leadership in our core practice areas is an essential aspect of our culture ? we are a major hub for information via our monthly newsletters, articles, website postings, newspaper columns, contributions to journals and periodic events.
AJ: Externally, we believe in a high level of client intimacy, knowing the client and the business ? being in touch with each goal and aspiration. Internally we are wired to think things through ? our brainstorm sessions and methods bring out the collective results that satisfy the client.

What type of experts do you have in your office?
DK: We have lawyers with knowledge cutting across all of the sectors we work in. Oguntoye is the oil and gas specialist, I am the power expert and Jemide is the leading infrastructure and PPP lawyer. We have also won an award for the best real estate team in Nigeria for the year 2010, and are recommended by the International Financial Law Review in the areas of capital markets, project finance and M&A?s. Underpinning our practice is the fact that we are all first and foremost thorough corporate and??????????????? commercial lawyers.

How do you help businesses gain a strategic advantage over competitors?
DK: The slogan on our website says: ??We mind your business??. This simply means that we graft and immerse ourselves into the minutia of the client objectives, and partner with them until we get there. Engaging Detail is like hiring a few non-executive directors for the price of one.

Who would be a typical client?
AO: We like to work for organisations that are responsible and have a path worth pursuing. For us, beyond getting paid, we want to see tangible results from the engagement. We are selective about who we work for, ethics and values being a key determinant. We are known for showing clients the door when their ethical standards have dropped below par. We have clients that range from small start ups to large multinationals.

How do you pitch your firm to clients?
AJ: We sell them ?proactive pills? ? that we are the lawyers who keep them out of trouble because it is cheaper to dot your i?s and cross your t?s from the onset ? it reduces your litigation risk. We explain to them that full service firms are conflicted and have no incentive to sell you our proactive pill product because they still get paid even if the matter goes to litigation and they are often too quick to advise litigation rather than a consensual process. For us it is a loss when our client ends up in litigation since we do not do litigation.

We sell them complete ?nursing care? ? that since we do not multitask (hopelessly devoted to the business side) we are available to attend their needs and have all the time in the world to think for them. We sell them our ?intellectual base? ? bringing depth and experiential knowledge garnered from being focused on limited areas and swimming in similar waters over and over again.

What do you consider to be Detail?s highlights over the last few years?
Oguntoye: The hallmark of our practice is finding practical solutions and breaking new grounds. This year, for example, we found a novel way of transferring real estate in the REITs market to avoid transfer taxes and successfully convinced the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the transaction on that basis. This will change the entire REIT market in the years to come.

Do you expect to expand over the next few years?
AJ: Numerical expansion is not our set objective ? that will naturally happen with an increase in client demands. We also do not plan to expand to other cities or countries unless there is a strong business case. Our planned expansion is more about right sizing: the right people at the right level with distinct skill sets; improving client service with information technology; and visibility and positioning.

One of our strategic goals is to be the best place to work amongst law firms, so putting the right things in place to achieve this is more important than creating new offices or growing numerically. In all it should be about constantly finding ways to do it better and exceeding client expectations.

Source: http://www.worldfinance.com/strategy/legal-management/carving-a-niche-in-nigerias-legal-landscape?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=carving-a-niche-in-nigerias-legal-landscape

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User Manual: Don?t Instagram Natural Disasters By Sam...

User Manual: Don?t Instagram Natural Disasters

By Sam Biddle

Instagram is a nice thing. It?s fun to peek at the lives of others, and it?s fun to make our photos?look fun. But there?s nothing fun about a hurricane people are dying in, and scenes from a horrific crisis don?t deserve to be drenched in your sepia.

Brazil's World Cup transparency push falls short

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By Andrew Downie

updated 10:11 a.m. ET Oct. 31, 2012

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - When Brazil won the right to host the 2014 World Cup, officials vowed it would be the best and most transparent tournament ever and that hardly a cent of taxpayer money would be spent on stadiums and infrastructure.

Today, with the opening match less than two years away, those claims look shaky.

Organizers have set up websites where the public can monitor construction work and cash outlays, an exercise in transparency that officials say is new in Brazil.

But critics say the information is often contradictory or out of date. The cost of stadiums and public transport projects has spiraled and authorities have yet to disclose the budget for key areas such as telecommunications and policing.

Officials boasted that tracking spending would be "so easy that any citizen could sit on his sofa and see where the money was being spent," said Gil Castello Branco, the secretary general of Contas Abertas, a non-profit group that monitors public expenditures.

"But it doesn't matter if you're on the sofa, in the kitchen, or at the office, no one knows how much this is costing," he added.

Cost overruns are not unusual for nations preparing to host events like the World Cup and Olympics. But some say that issues of transparency and accountability are particularly worrying in Brazil, which has a long history of corruption and poor planning.

"The World Cup reflects the state of the country where it happens," said Christopher Gaffney, an American professor of architecture and urban planning who lives in Rio and is studying Brazil's preparations for the big events. "And the Brazilian government doesn't have a strong record of transparency."

Brazil is also hosting the next Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

The cost of stadiums and transport infrastructure for the World Cup is officially put at 27.1 billion reais ($13.3 billion), almost half of which will go to public transport. Most of the rest will be split almost evenly between stadiums and airports, which are in desperate need of an upgrade.

The majority of the cash is coming from public coffers, with three different websites monitoring construction and spending. One is run by the sports ministry, another by the Senate and a third by the Office of the Comptroller General, or CGU. The TCU, a government agency that audits public spending, also issues periodic reports.

The problem, critics say, is that the sites are unreliable.

"The information we get is incomplete, contradictory and late," said Castello Branco. "And frequently misleading."

'COMMUNICATION COULD BE BETTER'

The data for stadiums, for example, is different on the three sites. The sports ministry says the Amaz?nia Arena in Manaus will cost 532.2 million reais; the CGU site says it will cost 515 million reais; the Senate site says 505 million reais.

The Senate site says Rio's Maracan? stadium will eventually hold 79,378 people; the sports ministry put the number at around 79,000; the CGU gives no number at all.

In others, the information appears deliberately opaque.

The sports ministry site says the Itaquera stadium in Sao Paulo will have 65,000 seats and cost 820 million reais. That price tag, however, is for a stadium of 48,000 seats.

An additional 20,000 seats will be added for the tournament and then removed. The Sao Paulo state government is paying for the seats to be installed and removed, but more than a year after the contract was signed it has yet to say how much that will cost.

The state government said it was "studying several ways to resolve the issue" but declined to make an official available for an interview.

"Communication could be better," said Luis Fernandes, the executive secretary at the sports ministry.

Still, Fernandes defended the federal government's attempts at transparency and said it relied on construction companies, as well as municipal and state authorities, to keep it -- and the public -- informed.

CONFUSION IN RECIFE

The disconnect over the cost of the Arena Pernambuco is a case in point. The stadium near the northeastern city of Recife was originally slated to cost 532 million reais and be ready six months before the World Cup.

But authorities decided to build the 46,000-seat stadium in 26 months rather than 36 so it could host games in next June's Confederations Cup, the warm-up to the big jamboree in 2014.

A year has passed since that decision, and authorities still have not said how much more it will cost to build at a faster pace, nor is an estimate available online.

"If there is an increase in the cost of the job it will be immediately communicated and put online at the transparency site," Fernandes said.

Odebrecht, the company building the stadium, acknowledged that costs will go up but could not specify by how much.

"I can't say how much," said Marcus Lessa, the managing director of Arena Pernambuco, a consortium headed by Odebrecht. "But it is not a lack of transparency, the costs will be audited."

Fernandes cautioned that only changes amounting to more than 20 percent of the total cost are immediately registered on transparency sites. It would be too time consuming to update with every minor tweak to each project, he said.

CGU officials acknowledged that some of the information is outdated or contradictory and said they are discussing streamlining the system by acting as a clearing house for transparency-related World Cup information.

Under the proposed system, the CGU would receive data on spending and progress from states and municipalities and pass it on to government ministries and agencies. That would mean the different sites will all have the same information and also reduce the burden on states and municipalities, which currently have to report several times a month to different institutions.

"In addition to making that information available on our portal we will put in a data bank and anyone can have access to it," said Fabio Santana, who advises the CGU on transparency.

Whatever the discrepancies, officials say they are happy with the sites and the advances they represent. Just introducing such systems in a nation known for its lax oversight of public spending marks a change for the better, Fernandes said.

"It is a positive step forward and I'd even say it is one of the legacies of the World Cup," he said.

($1 = 2.03 reais)

(Editing by Kieran Murray, Todd Benson and Dan Grebler)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/49622092/ns/sports-olympic_sports/

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Amy Winehouse wedding dress stolen: family foundation

LONDON (Reuters) - Two dresses worn by late British singer Amy Winehouse have been stolen from her house, her family's charitable foundation told Reuters on Thursday.

The two dresses were due to be auctioned as part of charity events later this year and next in London and New York to raise money for The Amy Winehouse Foundation, which funds a number of concerns including children's hospices and drug counseling.

One of the Back to Black singer's stolen frocks was the dress she wore to marry Blake Fielder-Civil in 2007 and the other was a newsprint cocktail dress. Both were taken from a cupboard in her house after they had been catalogued alongside other items.

The foundation said the house had not been broken into and that a formal complaint to police was forthcoming.

The workers who catalogued the dresses after Winehouse's death had packed them away in a cupboard and discovered two were missing when they later returned to check on the wardrobe.

"It's got to be someone with access to the house," a spokesman for the foundation said.

Amy's father Mitch Winehouse was quoted in London's Evening Standard newspaper as saying that he was "baffled" why thieves had not gone for her designer dresses.

"It's sickening that someone would steal something in the knowledge of its sentimental value," he said.

Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London home on July 23, 2011, at the age of 27 from what officials later determined was accidental alcohol poisoning. There were no illicit drugs in her system.

Fielder-Civil and Winehouse had a turbulent relationship, punctuated by violent fights and reports of heavy use of cocaine, heroin and ecstasy. They were married for about two years until 2009. He also served six months in prison stemming from an 2007 assault on a London pub landlord.

The "Rehab" singer's ex-husband was put on life support in a British hospital in August after an apparent drink and drug binge.

Winehouse's family have said that their daughter beat her drug dependency about three years before her death.

(Reporting by Paul Casciato, editing by Jill Serjeant and Patricia Reaney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amy-winehouse-wedding-dress-stolen-family-foundation-180222367.html

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Court cuts prison term of Khodorkovsky's partner

MOSCOW (AP) ? A Russian court has reduced the 13-year prison sentence of jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky's business partner by three years.

Platon Lebedev is now set to be released in July 2013, 10 years after he and Khodorkovsky were arrested.

They were convicted in 2005 for evading taxes. The two were tried again in 2010 and convicted of stealing oil from their own company and laundering the proceeds. Their case was widely seen as President Vladimir Putin's punishment for Khodorkovsky's political ambitions and support to the opposition.

Khodorkovsky, who was Russia's richest man at the time of the arrest, had funded political parties and civil society initiatives widely seen as challenging the Kremlin.

Amnesty International has declared Khodorkovsky, whose new book is currently leading Russia's non-fiction bestseller list, and Lebedev as prisoners of conscience.

The Kremlin has long insisted the case was not politically motivated. Putin has gruffly dismissed accusations that Khodorkovsky is a political prisoner, claiming that he was "up to his elbows in blood" and saying "the thief should rot in jail."

A court in the northwestern town of Velsk ruled Thursday that Lebedev's sentence should be shortened. Earlier this year, the same court reduced the sentence by a few months, but both sides appealed and a regional court asked for another ruling.

It was not clear whether Khodorkovsky's sentence would be shortened as well. He would need to appeal to a separate court near where he is imprisoned in Karelia, also in northwestern Russia.

Russia's human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said both men should be released immediately, telling the Interfax news agency they had "served the time you get even for the nastiest crimes long ago."

Khodorkovsky was denied an early release in 2008 after a judge cited his refusal to take part in sewing classes in prison and other alleged misdemeanors.

Khodorkovsky is due to be released in 2016.

Last year, then-president Dmitry Medvedev said Khodorkovsky "poses absolutely no danger to society" if released early, but did not seek to commute his sentence.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-cuts-prison-term-khodorkovskys-partner-132704693--finance.html

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