New Logo Images

In coordination with the effort to modernize the logos of our member assets, as well as the FreddyWare Solutions Enterprise Network, we are adopting a few newer logos.

Firstly, Geekie.org Apps, with the older logo of:

has now gotten the new design:

which reflects the capabilities of Geekie.org Apps, including 5+ GB webmail, calendar, documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, as well as text/audio chat using Google Talk.

A note about the new logo (above): we have no non-transparent version of the logo, so it will not display properly in Internet Explorer due to the alpha transparency issue in PNG. Additionally, it IS transparent, so what you are seeing on a browser like Firefox is the black-background view of the logo (and it doesn’t look that much worse); simply click on the image to see it on a white background.

(If you haven’t signed up for Geekie.org Apps yet, now is a good time to contact us and get an account.)

We will also use a new favicon for Geekie.org, based on a set of graphic designs called Crystal.

Clearly, our new designs will be more modern and suitable for our organization as we proceed forward in time.

One more thing: if you haven’t done so yet, you can check out our new FreddyWare Toolbar, which has built-in search of our network sites, integrated search capability with Geekie.org’s search, menus with links to our sites, integrated feed reader, and one-click access to Geekie.org Apps. (Available for Firefox and Internet Explorer.)

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Yet more changes

Today marks a very important hallmark in the revisions to Geekie.org’s design. The Vistered Little theme has been used for many months, since the creation of Geekie.org, but went relatively unmodified until recently. Today, I have made changes to the theme that could justify its independent release as a WordPress theme.

Geekie.org’s theme is now no longer regarded as the Vistered Little design for several reasons.

Wallpaper

• the wallpaper switching functionality has been disabled (there is no option for the user to change the visual design)
• the default background will be switched every once in a while from our repository of royalty-free images
• all background images designed for 800 x 600 and above, preferably 1024 x 768
• all background images optimized for fast loading, especially on a broadband connection

Sidebars

• there are now two sidebars (left and right) rather than the original one (right) and the choice for a left sidebar
• each sidebar is now also widgets-compatible
• fully coded in VALID CSS
• new sidebars not dependent on location
• all sidebar locations compatible with Firefox 2.0+, IE 7, on Windows XP/2003 at 1024 x 768
  • if you have problems, please comment or e-mail us
• the sidebars are now loaded AFTER the main body (posts)
• enhances the loading time (delays in loading the sidebar do not prevent the user from reading the page)
• search engines pick up new content before considering the often-useless links of the sidebar
• some shifts between where widgets are displayed have occurred

Advertisements

• after some experimentation and research, leaderboard ad units (top of page) have been removed
  • they prevented more content from being shown
• a sidebar ad (skyscraper) unit has been added on the right side
• we will experiment with in-post ads and banners after the first post
• the rotation of ads has been temporarily halted for performance reasons

Other

• faster loading time with compression
• now fully VALID XHTML 1.0 Transitional
• CSS & JavaScript in process of being optimized
• no more waiting for the main content - the posts are always shown first, followed by the sidebars, and lastly the ads
  • before this change, ads would need to load first before the sidebars, followed by the content (we’ve switched it around entirely)
• less distracting advertisements
• more useful content viewable before scrolling
• users with JavaScript disabled or ad blocking can still enjoy full benefits (this was somewhat lacking before my modifications)
• font design experimentation is still ongoing

In summary

Users will find the newer interface a whole lot easier to navigate and use. It has been optimized for efficiency, not necessarily performance on our server, but ease for the client. There is now compatibility (full) for Internet Explorer as well as other major browsers.

Although the site has been designed for Windows XP & above, Gecko browsers, and the 1024 x 768 resolution, I am confident that a few minor changes can easily make the site compatible with other platforms and resolutions. It is not my intention to make this site backwards-compatible with Firefox 1.5, Internet Explorer < 6, or Opera.

If you have any comments, please feel free to leave them.

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More changes

Over the past few days, I’ve developed a few more ideas for Geekie.org that are being implemented. In addition to the obvious switch in wallpaper — from now on I’ll be swapping the background every once in a while — I’m also experimenting with fonts.

A user using the default theme on our web site can click on “Opt in to the Arial font beta” beneath the header title. Doing so will reload the page, and create a session variable that will show you the Arial design for as long as your session lasts. I didn’t use cookies for this particular feature, but it is a possibility. You can click to opt out if you don’t like it.

The Arial font beta will make most text a bit smaller. This usually isn’t a problem, but if it is for you, drop us a line (leave a comment) and let me know. Remember, you can always switch back.

I’ve also decided to start optimizing the site’s CSS and JavaScript files for efficiency. In the past, the site loaded way too slowly — even on a fast connection — but with the implementation of compression, and optimization, we should be getting better.

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