Archive for August, 2011

If you’re interested in playing computer games but you don’t want to invest too much in buying expensive equipment or actual consoles, you can always go online and search for miniclips. The great thing about these games is that you can still keep track of your score and play campaigns, but without the stress of having our computer crash when the graphics are too much for the processor.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes web page designers make is to misuse or overuse graphic images on web pages. Designers become so enthusiastic about using new technology that they tend to focus on “look what we can make for you” rather than a web page’s functionality.

Web page graphics must serve a function. If a graphic image’s only function is “to look cool,” you are unnecessarily increasing the download time of your web pages. “Looking cool” can ultimately cost you more money and make you lose potential customers.

The following list is a summary of the types of graphic images that are acceptable on a web page: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Before discussing the differences between the two graphic standards for the web, GIFs and JPEGs, we will elaborate on what each does:

GIF is short for Graphics Interchange Format. GIF’s advantages is that it is supported by practically all web browsers, can include transparent backgrounds, supports interlacing (providing a low-resolution preview of the graphic to the viewer while it downloads), and can be used as an image map (allowing the viewer to click on the graphic as they would a regular link to another site.) GIF’s disadvantages are that it can only support 8-bit color (or a palette no greater than 256 colors). It may also handle dithering poorly, which is the result of pixels in a graphic that try to mix themselves up to emulate different colors. Photographs saved as GIFs can also lose their detail and a wide range of values.

The following photograph was saved as a GIF instead of a JPEG. Notice how the fine gradients do not display well: Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,