Blog
Introducing Internet Explorer 8
Posted Fri, 27 Mar 09
By Kyle
March welcomed in the new Internet Explorer 8. After 2½ years of development IE8 has gained a few new tricks up its sleeve, such as improved speed, numerous security and safety additions, and better tabs where if one crashes, the others won't crash with it. Other new features such as Accelerators allow you to quickly get a map of an address, or translate parts of a page as you browse.
One of the best features for us at NBM is IE8's full support for web standards. Web standards ensure that if a page sticks to them, it will display correctly on any modern browser. Many high profile websites are embracing web standards, such as Facebook and Twitter. This means designers and developers can start designing highly functional websites with more creative layouts. There's just one slight problem, Internet Explorer 6.
IE6, released back in 2001, has poor support for web standards. Developers often have to work around its countless bugs and limitations, wasting time and hampering innovation. Unfortunately 20% of all web surfers still use IE6. Many of these users are businesses which are forced to use IE6 due to various reasons. As you can see, developers are left with a dilemma. Drop support for IE6 and alienate 20% of their users, or struggle on.
Bring Down IE6 has set out to resolve the current stalemate by encouraging users to upgrade from IE6 to a modern browser of their choice. Also, all hope is not lost for businesses or Windows 2000 users stuck with IE6. Firefox can be run side-by-side with IE6, so you can have support for your intranet applications (in IE6), and browse the web in all its glory using Firefox.
We would encourage everyone to get involved and "Bring Down IE6"?. Try out the new Internet Explorer 8 if you haven't already (there's download links below), or if you're stuck with IE6 or Windows 2000 try downloading Firefox.
Internet Explorer 8 - Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/internet-explorer/default.aspx
Bring Down IE6
http://www.bringdownie6.com/
Mozilla Firefox
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox
Getting the most out of your IP
Posted Wed, 25 Mar 09
This month guest post is from Jamie White. Jamie is an Intellectual Property Lawyer, Registered Trade Marks Attorney and Managing Director of Expand IP.  As a special offer for NBM clients Expand IP is offering a  free offer for a Website Legal Audit which is valued at $595. It's limited to only the first 5 NBM clients so get in quick, we highly recommend Jamie and his service. Click here for more info. Â
As business owners become more familiar with intellectual property (IP) and the potential value that it can bring to their business, it becomes increasingly important to ensure that IP is identified
and protected upon its creation.Â
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However, business owners do not always have the necessary skills to identify the IP in their business, know how to protect it, or know how to exploit its potential value.
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There are 3 main stages in turning the IP of a business into profit.
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Identification
Due to the intangible nature of IP, many business owners are not aware of what constitutes IP and will often seek the services of a professional to undertake an IP audit. An IP audit is a review of
business structures and activities within a business with the objective of identifying existing IP assets.
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Upon completion of an IP audit, a business owner should have:
- valuable information about the IP assets that the business owns;Â
- identification of any risks to the IP or title defects;Â
- an outline of any other risks such as infringement of third party rights; andÂ
- a developed IP register which can be used to identify the IP of their business and implemented in business strategies.Â
An IP audit will also identify the importance of the IP to the current and future profitability of a business, through proper management and exploitation of commercialisation opportunities.
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ProtectionÂ
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Sound protection of IP will afford a business owner the exclusive legal right to commercially exploit their IP for a certain period of time. Some forms of IP are automatically protected upon creation,
such as copyright and circuit layout rights. Others, like trademarks, patents, confidential information and designs require practical steps to obtain protection.
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Securing IP rights can create lucrative business opportunities for business owners. This is because IP ownership provides unique rights of commercial leverage and affords protection against
competitors. An owner of IP can create relationships with other parties to commercialise it and prevent others from exploiting their IP without consent.
Once a business's IP is adequately protected, strategies for commercial exploitation of the IP are considered.
CommercialisationÂ
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Commercialisation is the process of turning an idea or invention into a marketable product or service. The commercialisation of a business owner's IP can lead to new business opportunities and increased profitability. There are many ways to commercialise IP, the most common being via licensing and franchising arrangements, or a complete assignment of rights.
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Alternately, a business owner may develop their IP into a marketable state without external involvement. This means taking on the entire workload and risk associated with launching new
products and services derived from their IP. Despite such inherent risks, a business owner will enjoy all the rewards and benefits if the commercial exploitation of their IP is successful.
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The commercialisation strategy which best suits your business will depend on your IP, existing core business capabilities, understanding of the market, ability to secure finance and other ircumstances
that are inherent in your business. Personal and professional circumstances should also be taken into account to ensure the preferred option enables maximisation of potential profit. A commercialisation strategy determines how the exclusive rights associated with your IP can be commercially exploited best.
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So, are you ready to cash in on your IP?
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Jamie White is an Intellectual Property Lawyer, Registered Trade Marks Attorney and Managing Director of Expand IP.
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For further information visit www.expandip.com.au
How to Get Easy Traffic From Search Engines
Posted Wed, 18 Feb 09
Search engine optimisation is not as tricky as it sounds. Often times it's just finding time to write an article on your blog that your customers will find useful. While at NBM we focus on optimising competitive keywords, you can easily get similar results targeting less competitive keywords.Â
Long Tail Vs Short Tail
You can break keywords down into two groups long tail and short tail. While a short tail keyword might be "real estate" a long tail keyword might be "spring hill real estate".
You can bet that every man and his horse are trying to optimise for "real estate", which makes it ultra competitive, where as perhaps only a handful of sites are competing for "spring hill real estate".
While "spring hill real estate" may deliver only a fraction of traffic that "real estate" delivers, people coming to your site through that keyword are substantially more qualified. Add to that the fact that you can optimise for all the different suburbs in Brisbane, you can have just as much traffic, without the need for an expert!
Some of our latest sites at NBM
Posted Fri, 28 Nov 08
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- Doggy in the Window
- Puppia Harness
- Presence on Palmerin
- Rugs a Million
- ANCA
- Right Man
- Companion Wear
- Prograss
- Ideal Bride Redesign
- 2Gen IT Management
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Stress less with an empty inbox
Posted Mon, 3 Nov 08
by: Wez
My inbox is a major part of my daily work life as I send and receive heaps of emails each day. If I don't keep on top of it a dreaded backlog builds up quickly. So lately I've been trying a new method that's working well so far. Â
It's basically keeping my inbox empty all the time. Easy right? It's a great stress reliever opening outlook and having a clean inbox.
So here's my system:
1) Don't constantly check your emails, only at set times during each day.
2) When you do check your emails deal with the whole inbox and deal with each email straight away.
This follows a similar time management technique I came across at the National College of Business for dealing with paperwork. You should only deal with one item once, either:
Delegate it – forward/schedule it with someone else and file it. The best way to file email is to just move it from your inbox to another sub-folder.
Action it – If you can respond quickly, do it immediately and then file it.
Schedule it – If the email requires additional work or follow up, schedule it for later and move to a folder called 'Follow up' .
Or file/trash it – Any email that doesn't require a response , file it or if it's junk delete it.
Following the above you can go through your whole inbox quite quickly and actually empty it completely every day. So I'll see how I go, already I feel much more organised, let me know your thoughts in the blog comments.
Google Chrome, new web browser
Posted Fri, 24 Oct 08
by Adam
We are almost at the end of the second month of Google's shock release of its own web browser. And looking at a few of our sites that attract 20,000+ visitors a month its certainly made dent in the browser space. As you see below, almost 0.5%.
Built for speed and reliability on good old Google Simplicity!
Here are some of the cool features of Chrome:
- Very easy to use interface with minimal buttons, allowing for full screen
- New window tabs along the top. We've all experienced, having multiple Internet Explorer windows opened and all of a sudden, bang, crash! "IE has stopped working etc..." And you lose all windows. With Chrome if one tab goes down the rest power on!
Built for the future
"A browser that runs today's complex web applications much better" - Sundar Pichai from Google said. A lot of businesses are make the switch to web based applications (SaaS), such as CRM's system, online accounting programs etc... You can see what Google's got in mind with this one, giving the existing browsers a kick up the butt!
The Beta version
It's not all smooth sailing, as it's only the Beta release you are bound to run into minor problems when browser some sites. But trusting Google that its only going to get better from here! For us web agencies it's yet another browser we need to test in!
Future (1 year) prediction of Market share:
Internet Explorer:
70%
Chrome:
12%
Firefox:
10%
Safari:
5%
I'm interested to know what you think?
You can download Google Chrome from http://www.google.com.au/chrome
Our feature story in the XL Magazine
Posted Thu, 3 Jul 08
Aldwyn Altuney from XL Magazine (world's largest entrepreneur's network) has written a feature story on the outlook of the web and New Business Media...
“The web is fast becoming the most powerful marketing tool for Australian business and it’s only just getting started.�
So, too, it seems are the young dynamic founders of Gold Coast web development agency New Business Media (NBM).
The quote comes straight from NBM’s stylish website, and with 25-year-olds Wez Bryett and Adam Pasfield at the helm, the company is onto a winning formula. In just three years it has more than 150 clients and a business that has doubled its turnover each year since inception...
The old web is dead
Posted Thu, 3 Jul 08
Article by Wez Bryett
Welcome to the next generation of the internet. The old web is dead, it had slow dial up connections, dotcom crashes and inexperienced web developers. This new generation is dubbed Web 2.0 and is being driven by the increase in broadband access and new web technology.
By the end of last year, 11.5 million Australians were active users of the internet either at home, at work or both, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. Australians spent 20% more time online in 2006 and in the younger demographics internet use will exceed TV viewing time in 2007.Â
So what does this mean for business? Basically the internet shouldn't be ignored. By clinging to old business models many businesses will miss the opportunities the web has to offer. It is currently estimated that 5% of business is organised online. That doesn"t necessarily mean e-commerce or selling products online, more automation of business such as sales, advertising, ordering, communication and systems. In the next 5 then 10 years this figure is predicted to move to 60% then 80% as again the technology and number of people accessing continually increases. Â
