Why Experimenting with Designer Fonts Help your Web site
Have you ever wondered about the readability aspect of your website? What do you think makes readers wish to come and read your content? While the design and layout are definite crowd pullers, the typography you use make sure viewers are not repulsed and stay on to read your content. Going by the latest reports, the trendier the font, the better it is for your website ratings. If you are yet to realize this, then it is time you did because playing around with typography is probably the latest design trend of 2014.
Know your Type Basics
To begin with the basics, you design an individual Typeface but you use the whole font. It is similar to the situation when you wish to read a story and buy the whole book that includes that specific story. Typeface, therefore, forms an individual design element within the font package.
As with all your website design decisions, it is essential to identify the correct font that will accentuate your need the best. There are two things that are usually considered:
- The specific reason why you chose the font so that you are able to justify your choice to clients, team members and most importantly to yourself;
- The ability of the font you choose to be easily modified
The latter in this case is the most essential characteristic in a font in order to help in experimentation. CSS is often the preferred choice to facilitate manipulation of individual aspects of the font anatomy. For example, increasing or decreasing the font weight, case, and of course altering the letter or word spacing. Each of these has a definite impact, positive or negative, on the readability of your website text.
CSS is also an effective mechanism to define the font-stacking. This is another way of defining your preference for the way the browser should read your text.
In the league
The cue has been well taken, and companies today are rushing in to fill in the much required need to design and experiment with website fonts. Google’s Monotype Typecast application, built in association with Monotype Inc., is fast gaining popularity amongst a whole range of amateur and professional designers. It claims to add that unique touch of independence enabling users to experiment with design and fonts in real time. The best part of the deal being that Google has made the fonts absolutely free. This encourages more and more designers to avail the benefit of exploring the gamut of possibilities in enhancing the readability quotient of their website manifold.
Google realizes that every website helps to announce the perspectives of individuals and companies to the world. It is, therefore, imperative that they should express it in their own unique way. In fact, using a well-designed Typeface positively accentuates the appropriateness of the message being delivered. It is, therefore, very important to add that personal touch through the use of the right font.
Define your style
Websites help you to define your style. Fonts are an essential aspect of that style. As experimentation with font styles gain more ground, the scope for better and more refined expression of your intent increases. Ordinary is boring. Go for the exclusive and let the World awaken to your brand avatar in 2014.
Visit: – http://www.viziononline.co.uk
Cases cause confusion surrounding fingerprint scanner on Galaxy S5
Apparently there is some confusion going around the Interwebs regarding a couple of cases that were just listed by renowned accessory maker Trident. The Trident Aegis and Trident Kraken, as seen above, have recently been listed on Mobile Fun for preorder, however, there appears to be some angst as to why a fingerprint scanner cannot be seen anywhere on the cases themselves. So where could the fingerprint scanner on Galaxy S5 possibly be?
Well, to add some logic into the mix, the most recent two examples of fingerprint scanners that have been released are the Apple iPhone 5S and the HTC One Max. The iPhone 5S’s scanner was embedded in the home button, whereas the One Max had the scanner mounted just below the camera. From the cases above, assuming they are real, I think it’s safe to say the scanner on the Galaxy S5 will not be on the back. That leaves two possible options: the scanner could be embedded in the home button, or the other possibility is for the scanner to be in the screen itself; this is based on a rumour that we heard only a few weeks ago.
This is of course if you believe there is a fingerprint scanner on the S5 at all, which does leave a lot of ‘if’s up in the air, but we’ll only have to wait a few weeks to find out the truth at the Samsung Unpacked event at MWC 2014. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is shaping up to be quite a formidable device, particularly with the suspected hardware that leaked out just a few days ago. Where do you think the fingerprint scanner on Galaxy S5 is going to be located? Do you think there will be one at all? Let us know what you think.
Source: MobileFun via Phones Review
Ricoh’s rugged WG-4 and WG-20 are its first cameras to drop the Pentax badge
Ricoh acquired the Pentax brand over two years ago, but you almost wouldn’t know it when the badging has largely remained the same. However, that’s changing today — Ricoh’s new WG-4, WG-4 GPS and WG-20 compact cameras are its first to ditch the Pentax name. From now on, you’ll only find the label on interchangeable lens cameras and their accessories. These rugged point-and-shoots haven’t seen dramatic changes beyond the corporate logo, mind you. The WG-4 and its GPS-equipped variant add user-programmable and shutter priority modes to the WG-3′s basic formula, which includes a 16-megapixel sensor, a 4x lens and a body that’s waterproof to 45 feet. The WG-20 (shown below) is very similar to the WG-10, sharing its 14-megapixel sensor, 5x lens and 33-foot waterproofing. All the new models ship in March; the WG-20 will be available for $200, while the WG-4 and WG-4 GPS will respectively cost you $330 and $380.
Filed under: Cameras
Lyft joins new alliance seeking to clean up ridesharing’s insurance mess
Although there’s now some legal groundwork in place for ridesharing companies, insurance remains a gray area — witness the Uber driver who was involved in a fatal accident while off work. How do you cover a car that’s both personal transportation and a source of income? We may soon have a clearer picture thanks to the newly created Peer-to-Peer Rideshare Insurance Coalition. The alliance between government, insurance firms and transporters will set guidelines for insuring ridesharing services. Only Lyft and the California Public Utlities Commission have announced their membership so far, but a full roster should be coming later in the week. A first meeting, meanwhile, is due later in February. Not that Lyft is waiting to take action; it’s adding coverage beyond drivers’ personal insurance while they’re on duty.
Filed under: Transportation
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Lyft Blog
Your car’s computer system can be compromised with off the shelf parts
Unless there’s an electric vehicle parked in your driveway, you probably don’t think of your car in a computer – but a pair of Spanish security researchers sure do. In preparation for next month’s Black Hat Asia security conference in Singapore, Javier Vazquez-Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera have assembled a small electronic device that can leave a vehicle’s computer system open to attack. “It can take five minutes or less to hook up and then walk away,” Vidal says. It can also be built from off-the-shelf components for less than $20.
What the gizmo can actually do depends on the car. The team says that they’ve wired the CAN Hacking Tool (named for the Controller Area Network bus it exploits) into four vehicles, and have used it to wirelessly manipulate lights, set off alarms, control power windows and even activate the vehicle’s breaks. By the conference starts they hope to outfit the prototype with a GSM radio, making it possible to control vehicle systems from virtually anywhere. Still, Vidal says they don’t want to enable people to hack their neighbor’s vehicles – the device’s source code is going to remain unreleased- – but they hope their demonstration at Black Hat Asia will get the attention of automakers. “A car is a mini network,” Illera said. “And right now there’s no security implemented.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: Forbes
Square-Enix Launches ‘Final Fantasy VI’ for iOS Devices [iOS Blog]
Following the release of Final Fantasy IV: The After Years last November, Square-Enix today launched Final Fantasy VI for iOS devices. The game’s story centers around rebels Terra and Locke as they battle an evil force known as The Empire, with gameplay centering around the series’ fast-paced “Active Time Battle” system. Recreated graphics and a touch-optimized battle interface are also present in the release as well, as the game also supports iCloud data syncing across devices.
Features
• Game data saved with iCloud can now be shared across devices! At home or away, on your iPhone or iPad, pick the play style that’s best for you.• All graphics have been painstakingly recreated, bringing the world of FINAL FANTASY VI to your mobile device for the very first time! Kazuko Shibuya, one of the graphics designers involved in the FINAL FANTASY series from the very start, personally worked on the main characters and supervised the recreation of the game’s graphics.
• Square Enix’s vast experience in A-list smartphone RPG titles has been harnessed in implementing intuitive user-friendly controls that make the game easy to play on touch screens. The battle interface has received particular attention, with a complete overhaul for use on your smartphone.
• This smartphone release includes the new magicites and events that were introduced in the 2006 remake.
• Some events have been optimized to be played with user-friendly touch controls.
Final Fantasy VI was originally revealed to be coming to iOS devices last October in an interview with longtime Square-Enix producer Takashi Tokita, who also teased a potential release of the mega-popular Final Fantasy VII for mobile devices. However, the producer later clarified his comments about a potential Final Fantasy VII mobile release five days later, stating that the game’s appearance on iOS devices is “years away” because of the space limitations on the platform.
Final Fantasy VI is available on iOS devices for $15.99 and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]
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Sony sells its VAIO PC business, makes TV arm its own subsidiary
Sony said it was “addressing various options” as recently as yesterday when it came to its VAIO PC and laptop arm, and while announcing its financial results for Q3 2013, it’s apparently come to a decision. Amid reforming its TV arm (and splitting it into a standalone entity by June 2014), it’s going to sell its PC business and VAIO brand to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), with the final deal set to be done by the end of March 2014. The company has reported a drop in demand for its PCs in prior financial statements, and (barring the VAIO Flip 11A), Sony didn’t really have much to show from its VAIO range at this year’s CES.
The company says it’s no longer designing and developing PC products, while manufacturing and sales will wrap up after the company’s final VAIO range goes on sale globally. It has decided to focus on those post-PC products (yep, smartphones and tablets), meaning that it had to make some big decisions with less successful parts of the business. During Q3 2013, Sony saw year-on-year sales increases from its mobile arm, but still forecasts an annual loss of around $1.1 billion (110 billion yen) for the full year: it had previously projected a 30 billion yen profit. The blame is leveled at the businesses its now looking to change. Other highlights include the PS4, which sold 4.2 million units and 9.7 million games in its first six weeks. The games arm also saw a “dramatic increase” in PlayStation Plus subscriptions — something that’s mandatory for multiplayer on the company’s new console.
Sony will cut a total of 5,000 jobs worldwide (1,500 in Japan) by the end of the 2014 fiscal year, while the new PC company has stated that it will hire around 250 to 300 Sony employees, encompassing design, development manufacturing and sales, and will be based in Nagano — where Sony’s current VAIO HQ resides. The company is promising to fulfill all its aftercare warranties. Sony is signed up to invest 5 percent of the new company’s capital to support its launch and smooth over the transition. Restructuring costs across both the TV and PC segments are now set to cost an extra 20 billion yen. Sony is now set to focus on its high-end sets and 4K screens, and hopes that changes will ensure the TV business returns to profitability within the next financial year.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Laptops, HD, Mobile, Sony
Mozilla reveals an adaptive Android home screen built around Firefox
We hope you haven’t had your fill of adaptive Android home screens, because Mozilla is throwing its hat into the increasingly crowded ring. The company has just offered a sneak peek at Firefox Launcher for Android, a front end that revolves around its mobile browser. The upcoming software mates Firefox with EverythingMe’s context-sensitive app search, personalizing both your web surfing and your software in one shot. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a while to know exactly how this combination works; Mozilla doesn’t plan to reveal more details about Firefox Launcher until it’s ready to start beta testing at an unspecified point in the future.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
Source: Mozilla
The science behind having two cameras in the HTC M8 i.e. a dual-sensor camera
A lot of noise was made yesterday when we spotted an alleged leaked photo of the HTC M8‘s backside. The contention arose, not only due to claims of ‘photoshopping’, but the back of the HTC One’s successor was adorned with what appeared to be two cameras, raising questions of why this would even be necessary. Even if the HTC M8, or HTC One 2, or whatever it will be called, does not eventually release with two cameras on its back, I thought it would be insightful to take a look at the science behind having two cameras in the HTC M8, or more accurately, why a dual-sensor camera is preferable to the standard one camera affair.
To understand why you need two cameras at all, we must first take a look at the Lytro Camera. The Lytro introduced in 2011 a type of technology that would change photography as we know it; in standard photography, your camera focuses on one object and once the picture is taken, the focus of the photo is unable to be changed. The Lytro is able to get around these restrictions by capturing the light field around the entire designated photo area. What this means is that photos from the Lytro can be examined later on and refocused at the users discretion. That a look at what the results can be:
Both images seen above were taken at the same time; the only difference is that instead of being restricted to focusing on one object, which can potentially be the wrong object, the Lytro allows you to retrospectively change what you are focusing on. As you can see, the Lytro Camera technology is something that can potentially revolutionize photography as it reduces the need for specific apertures.
Along these lines of developing a mobile camera with comparable capabilities, Toshiba actually announced the TCM9518MD module last year which they said would be capable of Lytro-like photography, allowing you to refocus your pictures after taking them. While the module isn’t quite in mass production yet, it looks like plenty of phone manufacturers, like Apple and Nokia, have been hot on Toshiba’s tail trying to develop similar technology, and you can probably see why.
Which brings us to the rumour that the HTC M8 will have a similar dual-sensor camera. If a dual-sensor camera does make it into the new HTC flagship smartphone, it would be a definitive step in putting the Taiwanese manufacturer back where it wants to be: back at the top of the Android charts after an extended hiatus.
Would you like to see a dual-sensor camera in the HTC M8? Was yesterday’s leak was actually real? Let us know what you think of the technology in the comments below.
Source: Digital Trends (1), (2) via The Phoblographer
Apple Removes Bitcoin App ‘Blockchain’ From App Store [iOS Blog]
Blockchain, a wallet app that allows users to send and receive the digital currency Bitcoin, has been removed from the App Store, according to Bloomberg.
Blockchain.info, the developer of the software, received an e-mail from Apple saying that the app was withdrawn “due to an unresolved issue,” Nicolas Cary, chief executive officer of the London-based company, said.
Cary told Bloomberg that he didn’t understand the timing of the removal of the app, as it has been in the App Store for two years.
Late last year, Apple removed Bitcoin buying and trading platform Coinbase from the App Store and, more recently, Apple required the developers behind Gliph, a secure messaging platform that allowed Bitcoin transfers, to remove the transfer feature in order to keep its app on the App Store.
Blockchain‘s removal is another chapter in Apple’s tumultuous relationship with Bitcoin apps. The company has told developers behind Bitcoin-related apps that they may not include content that “enables, facilitates or encourages an activity” that some countries deem illegal. App Store Review Guidelines require that apps be legal in all locations in which the app is available.
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