When developing web sites, it is essential that the developer supports as many browsers and operating systems as possible. Some companies are ignorant to the wider audience and simply create web projects which only really work in Internet Explorer. Whilst this suits the slim majority of users, consumers using other browsers such as Firefox, Opera, and Safari are left with poorly created web sites that appear broken.

If your development environment of choice is Linux, you might have experienced the painstaking task of dual-booting into Windows, then going back to Linux, and so forth. You might have a separate testing machine running Windows… or, you might just neglect to test fully and risk facing the consequences of lost business.

We test all of our projects across multiple platforms and browsers to provide a consistent and accessible experience for as many web site visitors as possible. We achieve this by creating accessible XHTML web sites using CSS which gracefully degrades.

Additionally, we use Virtual Machine software to increase our productivity and work rate during cross platform testing. The software we run is called Qemu, which runs on Linux systems. Qemu can be used to install various operating systems which will then run from within your Linux operating system, removing the need for you to change computers, reboot into another operating system, etc. All you need is the free Qemu software, and the installation CD/DVD of the operating system you wish to install.

The link below will help get you started with your own Linux and Windows Qemu setup:

Instructions for installing Windows XP with Qemu on Ubuntu Linux

If you installed Windows XP or Windows 2000, you may receive the error message “a problem is preventing windows from accurately checking the license for this computer”.

If so, the problem can be rectified by following our guide to running Windows XP on Qemu under linux with error “a problem is preventing windows from accurately checking the license for this computer”.

As mentioned in my previous post explaining why customers now expect businesses to have a website, I promised to cover the shifting patterns of internet usage in the workplace, and how you could harness the marketing potential of people in the workplace.

So many employees are stuck in an office from dawn till dusk, unable to break away to look through the phone book (if they can find one in the office) to find a plumber, search for guides to completing the local golf course, or leaving work too late to make their way to the shops to buy presents.  It’s so much easier to call up a website and look for what you need online, and quite often the only way the poor souls can do anything for themselves during the long hours tied to their desks!  Okay, they’re being paid to work, but the fact of the matter is that a high ratio employees do use the internet in work for personal activities, so why not make the most of it as a business?

The main benefit is that you can target otherwise inaccessible customers without doing a thing.  You can’t rely on these potential customers looking for you when they get home; the chances are strong that they would be on the phone as they’re leaving the office to someone they found earlier in the day on the internet.  You’re not likely to catch them flicking through the phone book in the evening as that’s even on the internet now.  It seems logical that you should join the growing number of companies pitching their services to this new target audience, right?

As I touched on earlier in this article, and in the previous article, many directory listing services are now offering the same paper book service online.  Such services include: Yell, 192, 118, The Phone Book (BT), Thomson Local.  Just getting listed on those sites could benefit you greatly, although getting your own website would be even more fruitful.

It’s definitely food for thought.  If you would like any information or advice regarding the points raised in this article, please get in touch.

We’ve reached the stage in UK where the modern generation of consumers and house owners have grown up with the internet.  Technology is becoming second nature to people’s everyday lives, which can mostly be attributed to the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, and previously MySpace and Bebo.

As much as these sites generate mass popularity and incite loathing in equal measure, there’s no denying that they are raising awareness of the internet and making it as much a part of the UK’s morning ritual as a good old cup of tea.

With the boom in social internet usage comes a sort of expectation that everything else can be done on the internet too.  It’s becoming increasingly common for me to wake up in the morning, put the kettle on, have a shower, then sit down at my laptop with a cuppa and check my emails before browsing the internet to order golf equipment, cds, presents… even to find a plumber when the shower packs in.  This pattern is commonplace these days and with lives becoming more hectic, people often don’t have time to flick through the Yellow Pages and ring around - A quick search on Google, a check of prices on a couple of websites, and a phone call or email to place an order/book a plumber is all that’s needed.

It is because of the above that many people now expect a company to have a website, and can immediately rule them out of a sales decision if they can’t find a website for the company.  It’s almost like having the shutters down on a shop front.  If people can’t see what a company has to offer, it is likely to negatively affect business.

Companies such as Yellow Pages have picked up on the trend and made a move to internet services and even include website listings for businesses.  The internet really is becoming an essential marketing and sales tool.  If your company doesn’t already have a website, it might be time to consider it!

All this and we’re still sat down having breakfast!  I’ll delve into the truth about internet in the workplace in the next post, and explain how you could achieve better business online during business hours rather than conventional directory and telephone enquiries.