Happy Holidays

Season’s greetings to all.  MB Productions 2000, Inc. would like to remind you that the holiday season is a time for giving and a time for sharing.  We can’t think of a better time to support your local small businesses. Often times the items found in your local shops are one of a kind and of higher quality than those goods founds in national chains. What’s more, you’ll be supporting your community’s economy.

So, spread the cheer around your community and tell them that we sent you!

Happy Holidays from our small business!

The DO’s and Don’ts of creating a web site from scratch...

We're still getting questions from our last blog, located here.  So, as a follow-up, we're posting this:
The DO’s and Don’ts of creating a web site from scratch...

First and foremost, let me tell you that these recommendations come exclusively from my own personal experience. That being said, if they help just one person build a better web site, then my job here is done.

I get asked, more often than not, about tips for building web sites, landing pages, and other web interfaces.  Normally, I’d suggest that you ask me to do it for you.  But, there are those out there that want to learn and be able to do it themselves.  To which, I reply, “Good For you!”

Web development is a fun, exciting and rewarding experience. True, at times, it can be a bit tedious and seem like a chore.  But on the whole, in the end, it’s worthwhile to learn the ins and outs of building a web site.

So, for those self do-ers, I created this wonderful list of practical Do’s and Don'ts for creating web sites.

DO #1)  Know what your end result should be.  If you know this, then you’re already half way there.  Knowing the general purpose of your site will invariably help you along the way.  Some of the simpler questions to ask yourself are, “What’s the point of having it?  What message or messages are you trying to convey?  Are you selling something?  Are you only doing it for a blog?”

Make a list of the things you minimally need on your site.  Then make a list of things you would like to see with it (things like navigation functionality, image gallery, shopping cart, etc.).  These two lists will be the basis for your site’s purpose.

DON’T #1) Don’t switch gears.  Changing direction in the middle of the site will confuse users.  Don’t start off with one purpose and suddenly create a whole new one.  Keep it uniform and stick to the plan across the board.  The end result should be the same on every page.

 DO #2) Know your design.  If you already know the functionality of your web site – the purpose, then you should know how you want to lay it out for the best user experience.  Take the time to sketch your layout; Navigation (menu) – if applicable, body (content placement), footer – if needed.  With these in mind, you can begin to understand the basics of how your site will flow.

DON’T #2) Don’t wander off the beaten path.  Once you have your design, stick with it – and if you must vary a page from one to another, make it only slightly different for you specific needs, and not change it too much that it looks like another site.  Keep the design from page to page as similar, if not identical (in design) to the one before it.

DO #3) Keep it simple.  Sometimes less is more.  Too much clutter can kill a website; not only in design, but load time, as well.

DON’T #3) Don’t complicate things.  While using high quality images enhances the user’s experience, sometimes the size (kilobytes vs megabytes) of an image can really slow things down.  It’s best to use Web Optimized images (example).

DON’T #4) Don’t flash the users.  While flash animations are a nice feature, and often times enhance a site, too much can slow down load times and keep users waiting for up to 60 seconds (dependent on connection speed).  If you can avoid it, do so.  There are many alternatives to flash animations, by use of various JavaScripts and third party script libraries (like JQuery) to achieve a very similar, if not the same effect.

DO #5) Knowledge is key.  Make sure you, at least, understand the basics of HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).  There are plenty of tutorials, downloads, print outs, and demos out there that can help people learn, relatively quickly.  The more you understand the basics, the better your site will be.

DON’T #5) Don’t give up.  I know, sometimes, that it can be a little overwhelming at first, but in the end, it will be worth the effort.  However, if you are, indeed, lost and in need of assistance, MB Productions 2000, Inc. is only a quick phone call or email away.

December Video Spot

This is our December Promotional Video.  Feel free to share it with others, like us on facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

How do I know what computer is right for me?

Dell? Asus? HP? Acer? Alienware? Mac?

So, your old computer from 2001 finally bought the farm-ville and you're in the market for a new one...  With technology moving at the speed of light and with all the technical jargon and advertising assaulting you from every angle, computer shopping can be a daunting task.  That's why we’ve come up with this helpful guide to choosing a computer that's right for you.  This guide will hopefully lessen the pain of having to compare the Gigabytes to the Terabytes and the quad-cores to the duo cores and the flux capacitor to the dilythium crystals of the warp core. (Yes. We’re funny.)

So, the first thing you need to ask yourself is, "What will I be doing with this machine"?  If all you want to do is to surf the web and read emails, then you really don't need anything fancy.  However, if you want to be able to:

                -Do your budget (in Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Works, Open Office, iWork, etc.)

                -Do Web Development or Programming (in Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Visual Studio, iWeb, NetBeans, etc.)

                -Do photo editing (in Photo Editor, Photoshop, MS Paint, GIMP, Apple Aperture, etc)

                -Do Video editing (in Adobe Premiere, Movie Maker, iMovie, etc)

                -Do Serious Gaming (World Of Warcraft, Minecraft, Halo, Crysis, Starcraft, minesweeper, solitare, etc.)

You need a machine that's going to do everything you want it to - and still be able to handle some things you didn't realize you wanted.  Now, we're not saying you should get a gaming computer just for you to do your taxes on.  That would be overkill.  You need to make sure it can handle the things you want it to, regardless of the brand name you decide to go with (as that is personal preference and cost preference).

Let's break this down.

SURF'S UP! 

You want to surf the net, read emails, check into Facebook, and play bejeweled.  You don't care about saving pictures, or doing anything fancy - you just want to surf the net.  Then for you, we recommend a notebook computer or even a "netbook" computer.  You can find relatively inexpensive "netbooks" starting at around $250 (Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3 0647-2FU).  They come with a 160 Gigabyte hard drive (for any storage you may or may not need to use), 1 Gigabyte of memory (RAM) and is ideal for just surfing the web.  However, you could always go with a MACBook Air (starting at $999), or even a Mac Mini (starting at $599)

Numbers and Letters, Oh My!

You want to work your budget, balance your checkbook, check your email, and surf the web.  <OR>  You are an author, a journalist, a technical writer, or an avid blogger.  You need a system that can handle the Microsoft Office Suite, the Free Open Office Suite (openoffice.org), Microsoft Works (standard on every Windows machine), or iWork (on a Mac).  For Windows users, an HP Pavilion p7z series (starting at $449.99 BASE MODEL) is simple, but it can handle what you need, and help you define what you don't.  For Mac users, a Mac Mini (starting at $599 BASE MODEL) would work as well.

Bits and Bytes

You want to build web applications, desktop programs, design newer and better social networks and communicate with the world.  While you don't need a truly sophisticated machine to handle the programming needs, you do need a lot of space and a lot of memory to run the software development environments needed for web and application development. (utilizing: Microsoft Visual Studio, Adobe Dreamweaver, Sun Microsystems' NetBeans - not to mention some photo editing programs that may or may not be included with some web design packages from selected companies).  

Here, the previous category can be used, but with more drive space (probably at least 500 gigabytes of storage) and at the very least 2 Gigabytes of memory.  (For desktop development, a Windows machine would be better - however, on a Mac, you can develop in Java, using NetBeans from Sun Microsystems.  On the flip side, you can do web development on both - Adobe Dreamweaver runs on both platforms, and Microsoft Visual Studio runs on Windows Only.)

Say Cheese!

You want to edit photos and be creative with logos and photo manipulation.  You're in luck!  Both platforms support some of the best software available.  A recommended windows machine for creativity would be a Dell XPS 8300 (starting at $699 BASE MODEL) supported by a 1 Terabyte Hard Drive, a 64 Bit operating system, and 6 Gigabytes of memory  That's more than plenty to handle the creativity in you.  

A recommended Mac machine would be the 21.5 inch iMac (Starting at $1,199) supported by an upgradeable 500 Gigabyte Hard Drive, 4 Gigabytes of memory and is wrapped up in a 1920 X 1080 Resolution Monitor with the Apple Magic Mouse, and a Wireless Keyboard.  The best part is, BOTH Support Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and the entire latest collection of the Adobe Creative Suite - Design Premium package.

On The Scene

You want to handle small time – personal (or small home business) video editing and movie making - and in some cases, you want to handle special effects, motion graphics, and possibly even 3D modeling.  With that in mind, you need something with an obscene amount of hard drive space – probably even a secondary hard drive to hold all of your video files, preview files, rendered files, project files, photo files, plug-ins, ad-ons, and more.  You will need at the very least 8 Gigabytes of memory – of which 2 gigabytes will need to be devoted to Video Memory for faster video processing and rendering. 

You’re in luck!  The HP z800 workstation is perfect for video work (starting at $1,813.00) and can be upgraded to the amount of memory and hard drive space needed to get started.  It comes with 12 memory slots, Windows 7 Professional (64 Bit), 4 internal drive bays, an HD audio card, and an ATI FirePro graphics card. 

Now for the Mac user, a Mac Pro is ideal for the video and graphics generator (Starting at $2,499) and can be configured to match your needs – from Quad-Core to 12-core, you can add memory, hard drives, displays, and more.

Both systems support the Adobe Creative Suite – Production Premium, along with Maxon Cinema 4D (3D Modeling), Autodesk’s Maya (3D Modeling), and each comes with their own movie suite for the amateur editor.

Mario Meets Master Chief!

You want an ultimate gaming machine!  You want fast!  You want furious!  You want storage... and you want to play as many games as your parents or significant others will allow!  If you Google “Gaming PCs”, the first link that comes up, every time, is Alienware.  

Alienware computers are custom built specifically for gaming.  I encourage each and every one of you to at least check out the website (http://www.alienware.com).  While it is not the only choice out there, it is the choice of many gamers out there.

The next high quality gaming machine is the Dell XPS High Performance Laptop.  It’s built not only for gaming, but for some of the other purposes listed here – like the creativity category, and the video category. 

While most of these listed are just suggestions, we encourage you to find what’s right for you.  Do a little digging.  Find out what consumers say – not through certain magazines that have paid reviews – but use the tools at your disposal.  Google is a great place to start.  But also keep in mind that we are one of your resources, too.  You can talk to us.  We’ll be glad to help you find a solution that’s right for you. 

November Video Spot

This is our November Promotional Video.  Feel free to share it with others, like us on facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

Welcome!

Welcome to our all new News!

Greetings and welcome to our brand new blog and news feed!  We’re currently in the process of revamping our online digital media methods.  For starters, we came to the conclusion that our old news was, well, just that; old.  As such, we decided that it was high time we start a company blog. So… voila!

Now we don’t want to overstate the importance, but today is kind of a big deal.  Today we revolutionize the way we impact our little corner of the online world.  Today our footprint has increased. Significantly.

Not only will we be posting our own company news, we’ll also be posting the latest industry news, technology updates and the best tech world “how-to’s” we can round up.

However, our most important update, our main focus, is our new stance on education.  We aim to be an indispensable resource to you, the end user.  The worlds of technology and development are vast, confusing and ever changing.  Remaining current in trends and methods is a daunting task.  One we hope to simplify.  So go ahead, lean on us.  We’re here for you.

Thank you and, once again, welcome.