Google take on Firefox and Internet Explorer with Google Chrome

Google have joined the browser wars with the beta launch of their first ever browser.

Download Google Chrome and take it for a spin - let us know what you think.

Google Chrome features:

Incognito mode

Google Chrome offers an incognito browsing mode for when ever you want to browse in stealth mode. This sounds alot like the ‘porn mode’ in Internet Explorer 8, which I haven’t had a chance to review yet. When you browse the web in incognito mode nothing will be logged in your browsing and download histories; all new cookies are deleted after you close the incognito window. You can also browse normally on another window while browsing in incognito mode.

Any changes to general settings or bookmarks while browsing in incognito mode will be saved.

New Tab page

When ever you open a new tab, Google Chrome preloads it with the web resources you use most often. To open a New Tab, click the + icon next to the last tab or press Ctrl+T to quickly open the New Tab. Here is a list of the Google Chrome keyboard shortcuts.

The New Tab page provides image thumbnails and links for websites you visit on a regular basis.

Right-click a website to access options to open it in another new tab, in a new window, or in incognito mode. Click the Show full history link at the bottom of the page to see your entire browsing history in Google Chrome.

Address bar

By far one of the best features in Google Chrome is the address bar.  The address bar doubles as a search box, you can also use it to bookmark websites and keep informed of the security of any website you’re about to visit. Type your search query in the address bar, and it automatically suggests related queries and popular websites, based on your input.

Begin typing a website URL and as you type, Google Chrome automatically searches your browsing history and shows you the number of matches at the bottom of its drop-down menu.

Final thoughts

Google Chrome is a lot faster than the other browsers. looks very nice and the UI is great. I believe Google are onto a winner with this browser. They have a massive following and are so popular on the internet; that will see a huge number of users adopting Google Chrome. This shows how popular Google is at the moment. I found out about Google Chrome on the same day they leaked a comic book to the world, yet I have only just found out Internet Explorer 8 has been out for over a week as a Beta 2!

I only have one question for Google - when will the Mac version be available?

As soon as the Mac version is available I will make it my main browser for a few weeks to see how it compares with Firefox 3 on the Mac. Until then I will just have to use it on my PC at work. Ohh that reminds me, today I found out you can install Google Chrome even if you don’t have admin rights on that PC - let me know if anyone else comes across that. I’m currently doing some work for a big UK bank and I know I don’t have admin rights on my PC, but somehow it allowed me to install it. Weird but very cool.

Recently we had to move a clients Joomla! website from one host to another. We were not looking forward to doing that because we have never done it before. The website in question is LIVE, so if we messed up, our client, obviously, would not be very happy as you can imagine.

We’ve decided to document the process so that we have this as a guide for future use and decided to share it with you.

What you will need:

Access to your websites Control Panel
Windows computer - For testing the backup
WampServer - Installed on a local computer
PhpMyAdmin - Accessed via your websites Control Panel

Important: Please not that we are not responsible for any loss you may encounter as a result of following this tutorial - this process worked for us - BUT we thoroughly tested the website before we switched web hosts.

Let’s start.

Step 1. Backup your website files

So the first thing we need to do is to backup our website files - basically all the files that make up the website. Using an FTP client, like FileZilla for Windows or CyberDuck for Macs, log in to your websites ftp. Select all your website files and download them to a backup directory for example: My Documents/example-website/backups. This may take a while.

Step 2. Backup your database

Once all your website files have been backed up it’s then time to backup your MySQL database. To do this you will need to log in to your websites Control Panel (CP). Most CPs are different but you should have a Databases section,  go to it and locate your Joomla! websites database. My CP has a Backup function to backup and download the database. If you don’t have this then you need to manage the database and then export all the tables.

Step 3. Install WampServer on a local machine

WampServer will turn your chosen computer into a web server for testing purposes. Download and install WampServer. Follow the on screen instructions and keep the default options.

Step 4. Move the website files

Now that you have installed WampServer, your computer has been turned into a web server. You now have to move the website files to a another folder. Navigate to: c:\wamp\www\ and create a new folder, name it anything you like. For example: c:\wamp\www\testbackup1. Moving the files here means that the site will be accessible to the web server, and you via your web browser.

Step 5. Restore the database using PhpMyAdmin

We now need to recreate the Joomla! database for your website to open PhpMyAdmin from the WampServer icon on your taskbar. Click the WampServer icon and then click on the PhpMyAdmin shortcut.

First you need to create a blank database. To do this enter a name for it in the input box for Create new database and on the drop down list leave the default selection of Collation then click on Create. If successful you will get a message telling you that the database has been created.

Now to import your database click on Import tab, then at the import page select Browse and locate your websites database file and click Open. Now click on the Go button.

If the import was successful, let’s move on to the next stage.

Step 6. Modify the configuration.php file for local use

In order for your Joomla! website to work locally, instead of your domain name, we need to make some changes to the configuration file so it looks for you website locally.

First make a backup of the file and rename it to configuration_backup.php. Open the configuration.php which will be located in the folder you created in c:\wamp\www\.

Find this line: $mosConfig_absolute_path

Change the value to: $mosConfig_absolute_path = ‘c:/wamp/www/testbackup1‘;  - (Replace testbackup1 with your chosen folder name)

Find this line: $mosConfig_cachepath

Change the value to: $mosConfig_cachepath = ‘c:/wamp/www/testbackup1/cache/‘;

Find this line: $mosConfig_db

Change the value to: The name of the database you created in PhpMyAdmin in Step 5. It should look like this: $mosConfig_db = ‘databasename’;

Find this line: $mosConfig_live_site

Change the value to: $mosConfig_live_site = ‘http://localhost/testbackup1‘; - (Replace testbackup1 with your chosen folder name)

Find this line: $mosConfig_password

Change the value to: Leave this blank. $mosConfig_password = ”;

Find this line: $mosConfig_user

Change this value to: $mosConfig_user = ‘root‘;

That’s it for this step.

Step 7. Delete the cache

Now before you open your favourite browser to test your now ‘local’ Joomla! website, we need to delete the contents of the cache folder. You will find this folder inside: c:\wamp\www\testbackup1 - (Replace testbackup1 with your chosen folder name). This caused some issues, as this contains information relating to your website when it was hosted online - so it will get all confused.

Also, watch out for any .htacess files lurking around - if you have a .htaccess file you will need to either move it somewhere safe or rename it. This caused issues for us.

Step 8. Test website

Finally we can test the website to make sure it works as it should, so open your favourite browser (Firefox!) and type http://localhost/testbackup1 in the address bar - remember to replace testbackup1 with your chosen folder name.

Thoroughly test your website; click every link - check absolutely everything. The contact form, if you have one, wont work as we didn’t configure a mail server.

Step 9.  Upload files to new host

If you are happy that your test website is working as it should, you can then begin the moving process. At this stage you should have your new host account all setup and ready to go.

Let’s start - first we need to replace the configuration.php file we modified for our local test version, so replace it with the backup you made. Now launch your favourite FTP client and login to your domain on the new host and upload all your files. Time to get a cup of coffee as this might take a while.

Step 10. Recreate your database

While the files are uploading, we can recreate the MySQL database for your website. Login to your web hosts’ Control Panel and go through to the MySQL or Databases section. Create a new MySQL database - keep the same username and password as in the configuration.php file.

Once you have recreated your database you need to upload the content of your database. Your host should allow you to Manage or Edit your database - so click on the option you have. Most web hosts use PhpMyAdmin to manage databases.

Now that you have uploaded your website files and recreated the database - you are ready for the final step - testing!

Step 11. Testing the website

So before you pat yourself on the back for a job well done, you need to test the website thoroughly - this means checking everything, every link, your contact form. Make sure that everything works as it did before the move.

If your happy that everything works - then you can go ahead and pat yourself on the back. Well done!

For any piece of artwork or imagery, the standard resolution (or DPI - Dots Per Image) for any scanned piece of work is 300 DPI.

This will ensure a good quality print out.

Then do it already!

Download Firefox 3 now and enjoy increased security, blinding speed and cool new features that will change the way you use the Web!

Ever needed that little bit of extra help solving a design/implementation problem?

Fear no longer, for here are a few helpful sites for you to get those all important answers you crave.

Kirupa.com

An online Flash/CSS/PhotoShop resource that provides useful tutorials, links, downloads, and support for all levels of expertise. The tutorials are very educational although personally, the forums, which are worth a try, aren’t the most welcoming for beginners of the ‘noob’ kind. Be prepared to bump your thread up until you get what you need!

The Ultrashock Forums

A great resource site for Flash Professionals. The forums are great, with many a helpful members willing to take time over any questions/problems you have.

PC Mech Forums

Wonderfully helpful forum. Any computer hardware issues and you’ll be sure to find help here. If we had a badge of approval we’d pin it here.

Joomla! Forums

This is the best place to find information about Joomla and solutions to any Joomla related problems you may have. The forums are massively popular and if you follow the forum rules you will find someone who can help solve your Joomla problems. But be sure to do a thorough search of the forums before you post a new topic - you will almost always find that someone has already solved your problem!

We’d not only like to detail more advance tutorials here, but also post a few tips to help the website design beginners amongst us. After all, we all had to start somewhere ourselves.

A Favicon is a small image (usually a logo) which shows up beside your bookmarked website as well as in your browsers location/address bar.

1) Before we begin, you will most probably need to download the Windows Icon (ICO) file format Photoshop Plugin in order to export the .ico file format required to create your favion. The plugin can be downloaded here. (Note: you will have to move the downloaded plugin to the correct location on your computer; it’s usually: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop\Plug-Ins\File Formats.)

2) Once that is done; open Photoshop > File > New and create a document of 64 x 64 pixels.

3) Now either create your image, or drop and drag a pre-designed image into the newly created document. Scale the image down as you see fit in relation to the files 64 pixel size.

4) When you’re happy with your image, go to Image > Image Size. Make sure the Constrain Proportions box is ticked.  Alter the width size to 16 pixels. The height should change automatically to 16 pixels also. Click Ok. You now have your Favicon size.

5) File > Save As. Name your file ‘favicon’. Be sure to change the file format from the drop down menu to: ICO (Windows Icon). Click Ok.

6) Now place your favicon.ico file into the root directory of your website - the same directory as your website’s index file. Open the index file and place the following code between the < head > </ head > tags:

<link rel=”Shortcut Icon” href=”favicon.ico” />

7) That’s it! Upload your site and view it, your new stylish favicon will now be evident from this point on. Congrats!

Recently whilst tweaking a project outsourced to us we came upon a problem with a Flash gallery. The gallery in question was an external movie loaded into the main ‘holder.swf’ when called upon.

The gallery worked fine when previewed seperately. Only when it loaded as an external movie, into the holder.swf did the gallery refuse to work. By this, I mean, the thumbnails, and the scroll bar they were placed in, would not respond to the mouse.

Now, theres possibly a few things to do at this point, but when working to a deadline, obviously, the quickest choice is the best choice. The ActionScript for the thumbnails worked with ‘_root.’ instructions, and appeared to be becoming confused with the holder.swf mistaking that as the main ‘_root.’ file.

Adding this: this._lockroot = true;

To the main timeline of the ‘gallery.swf’ corrects this confusion by making the timeline on the external movie the actual ‘_root.’ for the entire time the external movie is open.

This solution is quick, involves minimal coding and is easy to implement.