NOTE: You will require an emulator to run a DOS based game. Read the “Before You Begin” section carefully before you start downloading DOS based games.

Before You Begin

DOS games won’t run with just a double-click even when they are executable (.EXE) files. The best way to run a DOS based game is to download an emulator as they are designed especially for this purpose. DOSBox is by far the best emulator for Windows machines. Once you have downloaded DOSBox and it is running on your machine then you will have to mount your game directory on which you have the executable game files. Follow the below steps:

• Type the following in your DOSBox window: mount C C:\games. This will tell DOSBox that you want to use the games directory as the source to run all your DOS based games.
• Now CD (change directory) to C: drive – cd C:
• Place all the executable DOS game files in the games directory and now hit the DIR command.
• You will notice that from C: drive itself the DIR command gives you the list of executable files that are actually placed in games directory. Just type the name of the file like turbo.exe and hit enter to start your DOS game.
• You can create multiple directories inside this directory to categorize your games.
• Have fun!

Mac users can use Boxer as the emulator to run DOS based game while DOSEMU is the emulator for Linux users. Now that we know how to execute a DOS based game, here is the much awaited showcase of DOS games.

Prince of Persia

The good old prince is back to save his princess. Although we have the latest versions of this game already available, playing the same in a DOS console will always bring back old memories. You get three lives for each game which is actually a tad better than the real world where we get one life to save our girl!

DOOM

Ahhh! Doom is here to bring back your killer instincts. You haven’t yet grown old and this game will help you revive your old self. Also, this time you have many weapons in hand to help increase your comfort level against the enemy.

Genius’s Puzzle Pack

You got an iPad? Now you can play your favorite puzzle games while seated at the back of your classroom. Have fun and make sure to avoid your teacher’s attention. To be precise, this is a bundle of six puzzle games namely Scary Nightmare, Part Time Job, Cubby Hole Trouble, Marbles, Detention Tic Tac Toe, and Blitz Tac Toe.

Pac Man

Does this bring back some memories? Well, it surely will if you have lived in the days of DOS games. Pac-Man is here to revive old experiences and take you back to those good old days of DOS games. This version is your own Pac-Man with an all new female star with the original hero making occasional appearances.

Supaplex

Another DOS based puzzle game with pretty decent graphics and sound. The game is more like the retro Boulder Dash that most of us might have played. It is a freeware with a couple of cheats to make life easier.

Mario

If you don’t know what Mario is then you better stop reading this article. You aren’t a computer kid if you haven’t played Mario on your laptop and I mean it. I have spent months playing Mario and I know the love for this game. Those who always loved Mario and want to bring back those memories must download this game ASAP. Let me know about your experiences with Mario (and his girlfriend) in the comments below.

3DCube

Raise your hand if you have ever been able to arrange this 3DCube puzzle in order without any help whatsoever. I did it once after years of patience and I am proud of that! And, if you haven’t done so yet, then here is the DOS version of 3DCube to keep you busy. Give yourself a chocolate if you can arrange this back in order within a day. Let me know how long it took you in the comments at the end of the article.

CHAMP Kong

Wasn’t Donkey Kong a famous protagonist in most of the DOS games back then? DOS game designers had a thing for monkeys I guess. Anyways, here is your chance to live the Donkey Kong days all over again. Kong wants to save his girlfriend and you can help him do that. Don’t let the Kong down, please!

Bat ‘n Ball

Though Bat ‘n Ball is based on an old concept, hitting a bouncing ball, it has been optimized so as to keep your interest levels high. Here, you get to save a castle against a bouncing ball which will break your castle one after the other if you miss to hit the ball back. The bouncing ball will help your reflexes and probably improve them too.

Alone in the Dark

It is tough to get 3D based games in the DOS games family but somehow there are a few for us to enjoy. Alone in the Dark is a 3D adventure game with plenty of action to keep you busy. In this game you get to play a character that will investigate a suicide in an old Louisiana mansion. Be quick and don’t take years to solve the case like it happens in our real life judicial system.

Presenting sumptuous and refreshing foods and beverages gives eCommerce owners much to work with when it comes to website design. Tantalizing images and a showcase of the associated benefits work well to draw customers in to the purpose behind the website and lead their clicking fingers all the way to checkout.

As you will see from these examples, a great image can go a long way. Warning: Some of these food images are so tantalizing you may find yourself reaching for a snack before the article is through.

1. 4^th Street Cookie Company

The 4th Street Cookie Company sells cookies as a supplementary income source to their physical store. The success of their web design is evident in the eye-catching images of their cookies (makes you want to reach right in to the screen and grab one!) and their easy navigation. Their clever call to action is strategically placed next to the cookie with an arrow. If you click to see the actual site, you will notice a slider that showcases five different varieties of cookies, all with images just as tantalizing as this one.

2. Black Estate Vineyard

Simplicity is the name of the game for this website and simplicity is often very effective if done right. This website nails it with its beautiful, elegant typography against the rich, black background. The design just beckons wine lovers to take a closer look.

3. Sanctuary T Shop

Though this site has a few “faux pas”, overall it organizes information well and draws the visitor in. The color blocks on the navigation offer a creative style to what could be a boring menu. The navigation also shows that square-edge elements can be effective if done creatively. The products are showcased in the slider and right below the main graphic to grab visitors’ attention at every turn.

I also like the “Bestselling teas” which is a great way to keep potential customers on the website. People love to read reviews or look at highly-rated products.

Two things I would adjust in this website are the logo (it’s somewhat lacking) and the main graphic image that mentions the season “autumn”. Using the seasons is a great marketing ploy which I will show you in another example, but it ceases to work if you do not update the graphic. This can actually work against you.

Do you see any other possible improvements?

4. Marie Catrib’s

Again, I love the mouth-watering images that make you want to research the site more. Also, the typography is a nice addition to the overall light and fun attitude behind this website. It’s simple design is effective and the products are showcased well overall.

The product pages are also designed well with ingredients displayed prominently, an important addition for the healthy-conscious customer who visits this store. Also notice the context-sensitive navigation options “More info” and “+ Cart” that appear when users hover over an item on the home page.

The only element I would change is to make the image on the home page “clickable” to direct customers to the order page for that particular item

5. CellarThief

This website is very creative and for that reason it is often showcased on many blogs as an example of the best eCommerce website design. The designer’s use of textures and color is superb and the associated content (tell your friends, choose a wine, feel good) is displayed with right-aligned text to remain secondary but also pop on the page.

The creative background brings the brand to life and the “wine of the day” is an effective call to action expressing urgency for customers to take action before the day is over. If you click to the product pages you will see a well-organized layout that focuses a lot of copy in well-defined areas.

6. Gevalia Coffee

The font on this website may appear a little larger than most, but some newer sites are using these fonts along with grand logos and images to nail their message right from the start. The size of every element works well together. If the logo were smaller or the font any larger, it may have thrown off the whole appeal of the site.

7. Ghirardelli

I am showing this website because I liked the images on the slider and the concepts behind them. They not only showcase Ghirardelli chocolates as ultimately decadent, but they also display images of the benefits of the product and how it can be used. The slider shows images of Valentine’s Day recipes and also urges the customer to buy the chocolate so the recipe turns out exactly as shown.

8. Teasta

The choice of bright color works well for this brand and it captivates the customer. The “Buy Now” button is prominently displayed in the center graphic and the secondary content works well with this clean design.

Social interaction is also important for this brand and the use of the Twitter bird with clever content entices customers to follow the brand to land extra coupons and discounts.

The navigation is well thought out, although I would change it up a little so it stands out more.

9. Nuts in Bulk

Apart from some extra clutter, I chose this site for many reasons:

• Creative, eye-catching logo
• Nice, easy to locate navigation menu
• Content segmented into separate blocks to streamline the design and make it appear clean.
• Green call to action buttons in each block which stand out from the page
• Slider showcasing products with enticing copy and images
• Phone number displayed in orange color to pop out from the background but not overtake the design.

10. Snapple

I am showing this website for creative inspiration. It is not a design I would recommend for all eCommerce stores but it works for the popular brand Snapple. Since Snapple is already a worldwide brand, it was a good idea to take the web design out of the box and create something unique.

The design offers visitors a chance to connect with Snapple on Facebook, Twitter, or via email. The website contains interesting, interactive elements that will keep visitors on the site. The site made me wonder around a little even though I don’t drink Snapple.

11. Purdy’s

I like the simplicity of this site and how all the elements pop against the purple background. I am a strong believer of the “less is more” approach for eCommerce stores and I think this strategy is displayed here nicely. The subtle leaf design in the background is also a nice touch. Also, pay attention to how the website uses the season to stay relevant and interesting. The New Year is showcased to entice visitors to stay and shop.

12. Mom & Pop Corn

This site is a little grunge for eCommerce but I wanted to show off its creativity. This design style would most likely appeal to a younger population with an artistic bent.

I can appreciate the creative logo design and placement as well as the fun font and eye-catching navigation. If you look closely, the design still follows a typical layout with the main image followed by three sub-sections; however, it has been injected with a lot of personality that will appeal to a particular demographic.

13. Chocomize

Though there are some design elements I would change, I liked the color scheme of this site. It is also great for conversions to display any noteworthy clients as this site did below the main slider. I would have showcased them a little differently, but the strategy is a good one nonetheless.

It should also be noted that this site does a good job at passing the 6-second test. Show your website to people for six seconds or less (anywhere from 4-6 is good) and then ask them if they know what the site is selling. This site was successful at making a complex and new concept like customized chocolate easy to understand and grasp within the first few seconds.

Now that you are probably running to the cupboards to fill your mouth with some chocolate, hold on for just a few more minutes…

I chose this website to show how you can change the area around the slider to showcase more products. The orange call to action buttons are also popping out from the design. Additionally, the BBB logo is displayed but not obstructive to the overall design.

15. Cheryl’s

A few reasons why this website design is successful:

• Free shipping prominently displayed
• Side navigation well-defined and catches the eye
• Large banner displays advertising and draws the eye there while separating content nicely.
• Font is easy to read and scan and separated from design elements well

A few negatives:

• Cart symbol small and lost on background
• Contact information not visible
• Search bar is very small

When it comes to website design, sometimes two or three or even four eyes are better than one. Do you like these eCommerce website designs? What improvements or design changes would you make to these sites, if any? We would love to hear your opinions!

Introduction to Background Pattern Designs

Background Patterns are a set of cells, templates or tiles arranged together to form a visible background for a website’s design. Most of the time these backgrounds are designed so that when repeating the image it doesn’t actually look like the image is repeating . Rather, it would look like one large image covering the background of the very website.

The image below is obviously a single image tiled five times to form one large image. You can see the borders because I used a paint brush. You don’t even see those when used wisely.

These days background patterns are being used (over and over) but with a touch of innovation. Instead of flowers, blocks or circles (like in the image above) design patterns have come a long way (and we will see that in the rest of this discussion.)

Why Blabber? Can’t You Just Discuss the Trends?

Okay! Why hurry? We are discussing an important part of a website’s design. Background patterns (as I said before) have come a long way. The trends have changed and the change (in this case) was for the better. Let us analyze the trends (before you close this browser window) that have given design patterns a lot more importance than usual.

The Audience is “Still” Important

That doesn’t change, ever! Designers create websites for visitors. What is the meaning of a religion without followers? Similarly, what is the meaning of a website without any visitors? For example the background pattern of The Boring Machine compliments its audience which will be the ones looking for shirts.

So, next time you opt for a background pattern for your next website design remember to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the demographic of your audience?
• What will be female to male ratio of your audience?
• Is the website’s niche overly flashy and is the simple design pattern appropriate?
• And most importantly, does the website really require a background pattern or will minimal design be just as good?

Also, Content Holds Equal Importance

It is disappointing to see a background design pattern killing the content’s aesthetics. No matter how much we experiment in our designs, we must keep in mind that content was (and will always be) the king. If our background outshines our content then we might attract visitors in the short term, but the design is bound to fail in the long run. Remember, background design patterns are made to watch the website’s back. They must add to the visuals of the website and not overpower or distract from the content.

The example of Dribble’s Error Page seconds my thoughts.

Minimalist Background Pattern Design

Using a background pattern for a website does not mean that we are planning a colorful website. Design patterns with minimal usage of colors exist and they add to look of the minimal design. Henceforth, if you get to designing a minimal website and if you feel the twitch to use a background pattern then do not hesitate. There are loads of minimal background design patterns and they are very appealing. A quick example is Icon Moon.

The Patterns Do Not Stand Out. They Stick In!

I have been putting emphasis on patterns-not-popping-out as that might kill a visitor’s experience. It is important to design a background pattern keeping in mind the website’s requirements. The background design pattern must gel effortlessly with the rest of the design instead of outshining it. I really don’t think that I will stress this anymore because the message should be clear. They must be fully integrated with the website’s design. The effortlessly designed background pattern of Amazee Labs is a great example of this.

Patterns Need not be Used for the Entire Page in all Cases

An agile notion that comes with background design patterns is that they cover the complete background of a website. If they are small then they are used as tiles and the large image covers the website’s background. Times have changed and so have the trends. Background design patterns can be used for the entire background of the website or just a section of the website. It really depends on the requirements and making a decision against the complete background filled with design patterns must not be that difficult. See WoWo Designs for inspiration.

The Showcase

Enough with words. I think it is time to pump you up with some very exciting background design patterns. Let me know your experiences in the comments below.

Redifine

Cake Sweet Cake

Play Ground Inc.

Loyel’s Toy

Squared Eye

Moos Cup Cakes

Island Creek Oyster Bar

Ad Packs

Tapp 3

wakWAW

Neave

Paul Neave seems to have worked hard to come up with his share of amazing flash websites which is a collection of unique flash games to keep you engrossed.

Papervision3D

Tickle the fishes and they run away. Enjoy the under water life in this flash-based website and remember to tickle the shark out there. You might not get such a chance in real life.

Bio-Bak

One of the most bizarre ideas that could have hit a web designer. This website is the result of lots of hard work and planning. For you it will surely be fun and nice way to kill time.

Donnie Darko

You must have seen plenty of movie websites but none would have been planned the way this one was. The website is full of mysterious stuff and attracts the visitor. Though you might find it a bit slow when compared to the rest in this list but I guess that the movie was also mysterious and slow!

Google Gravity

This website does not have much to have fun with but it must be visited once. Especially those who always wanted Google to fall once. See your dream come true, almost!

Ball Droppings

Ball Droppings is an unusually engrossing flash-based game where you get to save lot of balls that keep popping up. I was lost in the website for almost 15 minutes when I realized that I have to wrap up this list.

Bank of Imagination

Bank of Imagination is a unique flash website where one can leave his/her own idea of what the world could be or anything else. Really, check the portal to see what all the world is imagining.

Salt Films

Salt Films had their website full of salt and still it tastes delicious. The creative animation and plenty of options will keep you busy for long.

Forgotten Bookmarks

Forgotten Bookmarks isn’t one of those flash-based web games but it surely has enough to keep you engrossed. See how far human imagination can go when it comes to designing bookmarks.

Bean Crusher

Did you ever think that crushing beans could be fun? Well, it will be once you visit this flash-based website. These beans will surely become tough to hit once you start moving ahead in-game.

Why Do You Stay Up So Late?

The question is obvious. Why do you stay up so late? The flash-based website is a blend of poetry and flash animation. Something that makes you fall in love with it.

The Infinite Oz

You know, I had this website open for almost an hour and it kept showing something or other that was of interest. The flash, the planning and the execution of this website is by far the best I have seen till now. Surreal.

Neon Bible

The interactive video can be attractive and might just catch you staring at it for long. Be warned!

Incredibox

Bored? How about you launch your own band. I mean, just for fun and just for sometime you surely can enjoy your own band. Right?

Conclusion

As a wrap-up, let me warn you that internet is full of stuff that can be interesting but of no use. These websites can be good for sometime but don’t spoil the important things that matter to you the most just because you were lost in these weirdly amazing websites.

In no particular order, I give you a handpicked collection of jQuery plugins and some CSS3 tricks to top it off. Surely, with these in your designer arsenal, your creations will stand out more than ever before.

jQuery

1. Fly-out menu

Excellent when using enlarged text for emphasis along with visual content.

2. Grid portfolio

A very elegant way of displaying items with the possibility of quickly previewing the content.
Suggestion: use with other resizing elements so that the user can see them rearrange.

3. Slide out contextual tips

Expanding tool tips with a smooth animation, revealing extra content only when the user wants it.
Suggestion: use with images that display several products (e.g. furniture) or when explaining the highlights of a design in your portfolio.

4. Quicksand – reorder and filter

Organise and reorder items to make it easier to find exactly what you need. Click once and just watch everything slide into place.

5. Sunday morning – translation plugin

A little old, but still awesome. It adds a simple and appealing way of translating a website or just parts of it.

6. jVectorMap

Interactive map with the possibility of expanding for other uses. Includes the world map, US, Europe and Germany.

7. Shuffle letters effect

An interesting effect that can be added to make text elements more eye-catching. Basically, it shows random characters as it reveals the actual text.
Suggestion: use sparingly so as not to make everything confusing.

8. Mosaiqy – picture shuffle

Display pictures in a simple grid that shuffles the elements in a Rubik’s cube fashion.

9. Sponsor wall flip

Although the title says “sponsor wall flip”, that’s just one of the many uses for this plugin. Show visual elements and put bite-sized information on the back.
Note: contains a little PHP.

10. Colourful jQuery clock

Add a colourful and modern clock to your design or perhaps even adapt it into a countdown for when launching a new website!

11. MopTip2

MopTip2 is a plugin that lets you add customizable tooltips to various elements. The tooltips can close automatically or be manually closed and they may also display images.

12. Grumble

Another tooltip plugin with the added bonus of being able to use virtually any CSS styles and transform them into whatever you may want.

13. jQuery Timelnr

Timelnr is a stylish timeline gallery with the option of placing it horizontally or vertically, and having it play automatically.

14. Flexible nav

By just marking certain elements in the HTML, this plugin will automatically create a navigation menu for you, acting like small bookmarks placed neatly on the side of the window.

15. Deck – HTML presentations

Ever thought PowerPoint or Keynote presentations were cumbersome? Then look no further! With Deck you can create online HTML presentations with a multitude of uses, perhaps enhancing an e-learning product.

16. Apple-like Retina effect

Enhance your content by letting users see the finer details with this Retina-like plugin.

17. jQuery pageSlide

Simple and effective, pageSlide reveals information by pushing the entire page to the side, thus not disrupting the positions of other elements.
Suggestion: it could be used to hide a vertical navigation, leaving room for full-page content.

18. jqFancyTransitions

A simple and sleek gallery with strip transitions and several formats.

19. Panning slideshow

A more interesting slideshow which pieces together the slides and pans through them with a slightly elastic effect.
Suggestion: given the effect, the slides could actually be parts of one big image for something more special.

20. jqZoom

Similar to the Retina plugin, jqZoom can be customized in more ways and has more zooming options, such as drag-zoom or through simple mouse-over.

21. 3D tag cloud

Add a little creativity to your tag cloud by turning it into a tag sphere! Just click and drag to rotate it and use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out. The plugin simply transforms all divs that have the class “tags” and contain an unordered list with links inside.
Suggestion: since all it needs is a div, why not be creative and apply it to a navigation?

22. JEffects

JEffects is a plugin containing more effects that can be applied to various elements within your website. For instance, it can be applied to input fields to create a very pleasant effect.
Note: not free.

23. PhotoShelf

PhotoShelf is an elegant gallery that allows you to scroll through a collection of images and zoom in on portions of the selected image. It can also add separators in the stack to organise your items.
Note: not free.

24. Grid accordion

A double accordion, if you will. It smoothly expands to an easier to read width and makes room for subcategories, also displayed inside an accordion.

25. Latest tweets tooltip

A very interesting plugin that lets you display the latest tweets about a certain topic inside a resizeable tooltip.

Bonus: a few CSS tricks

1. CSS3 Transitions, Transforms and Animations

Everything you wanted to know about CSS3, plus some tutorials on how to create some nifty enhancements.
Note: some tutorials contain some JavaScript.

2. Pure CSS Accordion

As the title implies, this simple but versatile effect is made with pure CSS transitions, taking advantage of anchors.

3. OS X dock

Create an OS X dock with CSS3 properties, including reflections to make your design stand out.

4. CSS media query

Learn how to hide and display elements according to the size of the screen. A step towards responsive web design.

5. CSS3 multi column

With just one line of code you can split a text container into columns, lending itself nicely to dynamic content.

P.S. You will notice how by the end of the article I slowly drift into the favor of WordPress (even when I won’t mention this openly). After all, WordPress rocks!

So, What is Pligg?

I know, I ended up pushing all my energy into my introduction which resulted in the major question being left unanswered. So, let me bite my tongue and introduce you to the definition of Pligg.

Pligg is an Open source Social Networking Content Management System (CMS) Combining social bookmarking, blogging, and syndication and a democratic editorial system enables users to collaboratively submit and vote articles. It was influenced by the extremely popular English technology site Digg, where when a user submits a news article it is placed in the “upcoming” area until it gains sufficient votes to be promoted to the main page. – Wikipedia

The above definition of Pligg really wraps up everything that can be said about Pligg. While WordPress was solely launched as a CMS for blogging purposes, Pligg on the other hand was launched as a social networking Content Management System. It has been designed to handle multiple authors who can be registered users controlling the website’s content. Those who know Digg (almost all of us do) might have already figured out Pligg’s initial purpose. Although the uses of Pligg have evolved in recent years yet the voting system remains the backbone for Pligg.

Features of Pligg

There isn’t much about Pligg so I don’t want to push lot of useless content in this article. Pligg is still growing. Their Wikipedia Page isn’t complete yet! To give you an example - Pligg.in is a news site which nowhere deals with Pligg although it uses Pligg as its backend.

Let us go through the features of Pligg before we jump over to the Pligg Showcase:

• Voting - Well, that is the obvious feature of Pligg so I do not need to discuss more of this. Although I will like to specify that Pligg also offers “5 star” voting system other than the Digg like voting system.
• User Profiles - Pligg lets users create their own profiles thus giving them the much required personal feeling. One can view other profiles, add others as friends, check what others are voting for and a lot more.
• Private Messaging - One can use the private messaging feature of Pligg for private communications.
• Groups - Like minded people can create groups where they can share stuff that will be appreciated by all.
• Module System - Like WordPress Plugins feature, Pligg has Module System which can be utilized by users to add extra features to their Pligg based websites.
• Smarty Templates - Website designed can be changed by using Smarty Templates which are more or less like WordPress templates. They won’t affect the backend of your website and will just change the front look of your Pligg based website.
• Easy Upgrades - Like WordPress, Pligg offers automatic upgrades and easy installation features thus making it more user-friendly.
• RSS Feeds – I guess I don’t need to explain this. Pligg offers its own RSS Feeds system which can be used by visitors of that particular website to keep themselves updated with latest updates from that Pligg based website.
• Multilingual Support - Pligg supports multiple languages thus making it widely available for users from other countries. Also, you can join the Pligg Translator Group to help them add your country in Pligg if it isn’t already present.

Suggestions for Pligg

Although Pligg seems to have some future, they still have a lot of room for improvement. The below suggestions are solely my thoughts and must not be misunderstood.

• I am not sure why this exists but Pligg’s About Page has “Advertise Here” sections just above the footer. I mean why is a Content Management System looking for ads like a regular blog would? Also, they charge only $70 per month. Well, does this mean that they aren’t famous? Really, Pligg, remove these “Advertise Here” images right away.
• Free up some of the modules. I was checking out the Pligg’s Pro section and there were modules that just amazed me. Don’t get me wrong. They didn’t amaze me due to their features. They did so because they were charging for modules that only offered basic functions. Like the Twitter Module is worth $23.99! I mean why would I spend that amount of money for Twitter integration. If Pligg wants to stand against the best CMS then they got to give away stuff for – FREE!
• Expand yourself, please. Pligg, as a community, needs to start working in order to expand their reach. I have so many webmaster friends who know nothing about Pligg. Why is that? They are failing somewhere for sure. They must re-think their marketing strategy to improve their reach.

I have a lot more to tell them but I would rather give them time to improve. They still have a lot to learn and a long way to go.

The Showcase

As is the case usually, I cannot let you guys go away without an inspirational showcase of websites that run on Pligg. Believe me, there is lot of niche Digg like websites that have a stronghold in their regions. Here we go …

1. Ball Tribe

2. Biz Sugar

3. Blog News

4. CG Digg

5. Community Radar

6. CSS Leaf

7. Cute A Holic

8. Dealigg

9. Design Float

10. Design Poke

11. FAQPal

12. Furryne

13. Fuze News

14. FWISP

15. Graphic Design Links

16. Mascota Tube

17. Motatagz

18. Open Faves

19. Snoogle News

20. Sphinn

Although the hotel industry is already flourishing, there is still a lot of room for improvement. Most hotels do not understand the importance of their online presence. Having a website is not the only solution. It is about a riveting website just like it is about riveting service within hotel premises. I thought that it was time for me to study the latest trends on hotel web design and help you gauge a few real-time examples. Time to check-in!

Mobile Compatibility

Technically speaking, I should discuss the obvious trends in hotel web design and later on jump onto the mobile world but I have to start with Mobile Compatibility and I have my reasons. The hotel industry is such that people want to access the related information from anywhere. Usually, rooms are booked on the fly and information downloaded directly onto a customers cell phone. This is when a hotel web design must be mobile compatible so as to mesmerize the customer on every visit.

Be it collecting information, searching for deals or even booking rooms – mobile compatibility is a must!

High Quality Maps

No hotel targets local customers. Usually the customers are from outside the local area and have spend considerable time before ending up at your hotel. A hotel website must have the best possible maps. Also, make sure that you have updated your details in Google Maps and other local online map services. Do not leave one reason for your client to show dissatisfaction. None!

Appropriate Contact Information

Contacting the support desk of a hotel must be a cakewalk. I visit a hotel website and if I have to spend two minutes looking for contact information then there’s a good chance I’m not even going to bother, if you don’t make it easy for me to give you my money, why would I want to?

Nothing is more frustrating then when I dial a hotel’s number and it’s busy! If a hotel doesn’t have open phone lines, how will they have time to serve my needs?

Socialize Day and Night

Having a website is not just the only solution. The reach of the web (and the people using it) has increased exponentially in recent years. If you have to run a business then you have to be where your client is. Famous hotels tend to keep staff solely for the purpose of optimizing their online presence. A Twitter account and a Facebook page is a must for every hotel. Also, these should show up on the hotel website so as to keep these in sync and interconnected.

Multilingual Support

Guess what, your visitor isn’t necessarily from the U.S. or other English speaking countries. One might pop up from Indonesia and will end up leaving the respective hotel website if he finds no support for his language. If a hotel is targeting the international market then multilingual support is a must for every hotel web design.

Vibrant Colors

Remember something. You get one chance to catch the attention of your reader and you cannot afford to lose them. I am not asking you to include a combination of pink and orange in a hotel web design but it is suggested that you make use of vibrant colors so that they pop out of the visitor’s screen.

Detailed Service

I should not be telling you this as inclusion of service details is a must for every hotel web design. It is suggested that you include every possible details and do not expect the visitor to contact you personally to know such details. Relevant price details and any discounts must be updated continuously as I have seen occasions where hotels do not update prices in their websites. This is surely a turn off for the visitor and shows the seriousness of the hotel towards their business.

Optimize for Search Engines

If you are good at what you do then you will face stiff competition. Having a search engine optimized hotel web design so that you sit on the top on Google’s SERPs can be the difference between a hotel being booked up or empty. Also, remember not to overdo it in order to get to the top of search results. A balance of good web design and perfect SEO is what makes a true hotel website.

The Showcase

As is the case with all articles of mine, here goes the super inspirational showcase to keep your adrenaline pumped up.

1. 41 Hotel

2. Banyan Tree

3. Bellagio

4. Christophe Harbour

5. Conrad

6. Hotel Arcaluinoe

7. Hotel Grand Pacific

8. Hotel Hiranoya

9. Hotel Terra Jackson Hole

10. Jumeirah

11. Kahal Resort

12. Kiwi Collection

13. Lancemore

14. Leonia

15. Narutis

16. Palazzo

17. Peninsula

18. Raffles

19. Ritz Carlton

20. Sanderson London

21. Shangri-La

22. The Dorchester

23. Trump Las Vegas Hotel

24. UMA

25. Wynn Las Vegas

This is where free software takes the spotlight. While it aims to provide functions similar to those of its more expensive counterparts, it shouldn’t be regarded as a complete replacement. Though users constantly bicker about which is better, the answer couldn’t be more obvious: it all depends on what you use it for.

One thing that should be kept in mind is that these tools are generally developed by communities, so naturally it shouldn’t be expected of them to evolve in the same way as Adobe (for example). That doesn’t mean that it’s better or worse; it just means different. Of course, since the projects all started from different platforms and under different licenses, they can have a very alien look and interfaces can and most definitely will vary between programs. Since it’s not uncommon for those who work with graphics to use several tools, having workplaces set up in a similar manner is one of the reasons why a proprietary suite is more attractive.

GIMP

Right off the bat, it should be mentioned that GIMP, short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is small, fast and portable, but packs a wide array of tools. It is a raster graphics editor with functions similar to those of Photoshop, so it shares some of its versatility; it has also been endlessly compared to it. True, overall it does have fewer features than its counterpart, but that may or may not be a problem, depending on what you plan to use GIMP for. Perhaps for those who switch to this tool, the most frustrating thing is the fact that it is still very familiar, but everything behaves slightly differently.

Note that the developers never intended it to take over the market, but to offer a free alternative for those who, for whatever reason, can’t or won’t make a huge investment. That is to say, the industry still relies on the coherence brought by PSD files, allowing designers to collaborate. Just imagine if everyone used a different program or file type.

In a nutshell, it’s great for those who don’t need very advanced features or who just don’t need all the features offered by proprietary software (3D tool for photographers?).

PROS: lightweight, fast, has all of the basic tools and more
CONS: lacks advanced features, no native CMYK or LAB support (not intended for print), limited compatibility with PSD files

Inkscape

Moving on to vector graphics, we find Inkscape. The first, and possibly the most intriguing aspect is the fact that it doesn’t use a special file type. Instead, it saves directly as SVG, with the option to export as EPS (among others), meaning that you don’t need to worry about compatibility issues. Moreover, SVG is a standard developed by the W3C, making it a prime choice for web.

Although very neatly organized, the interface can seem very messy and chaotic, but after poking around for a little while, everything should be fine. The overall learning curve isn’t very different from Illustrator, as most of it stems from vector graphics, not the program that handles them.

It does have a few quirks, like having to perform an extra step to achieve something when it could be done automatically. Perhaps the most irksome is the inability to change the name of gradients, leaving you with a random number instead. On the topic of gradients, unfortunately Inkscape does not have gradient meshes, which Illustrator users might find crucial.

Still, it is a powerful tool that can create amazing results, provided you have the patience to work around some of its weak points.

PROS: uses SVG natively, clones, lightweight
CONS: interface could use a little more polishing, no gradient meshes, many filters aren’t so effective

MyPaint

Lastly, for the more artistically inclined, comes MyPaint which, as the name would suggest, is designed with digital painting in mind. It serves as a very light version of Corel Painter, great emphasis on “very lightweight”; the program takes up only 13 megabytes, 15 if you want all the translation files.

MyPaint does away with complex tools, busy interfaces and complicated features. This little gem has a limitless canvas, an incredibly minimalistic interface and greatly reduced number of tools. It doesn’t even have a selection or cropping tool, but it can manage layers and merge them. Corel Painter uses different engines to render the different types of brushes, so that the effect is as close to real life as possible, but MyPaint only uses one. The engine is also used to detect things like pressure and speed when using a graphic tablet.

As mentioned, there is great emphasis on brushes and the ability to customize them for whatever you may need. Overall, it is a very simplistic tool and user-friendly. True, it’s not nearly as powerful as its “competitor”, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any use.

PROS: small, simplistic, user-friendly
CONS: perhaps too simplistic, not as powerful as other similar software

In closing, I hope to have sparked your interest in free software, graphics or otherwise. It really is a fascinating movement that is growing continuously as more and more people join the projects and contribute.

To answer your burning questions:

Are the programs good? Yes.

Can they replace proprietary software? Not yet, or at least not entirely.

Inspirational: 20 pieces of artwork made with free software

I now leave you with a selection of 20 portraits done with the above-mentioned tools, to see what they are actually capable of. Enjoy!

1. Nixie Pixel by TheShock (GIMP)

2. PP3 Portrait 2 by Scheherazade2c (GIMP)

3. Enya by LopezLorenzana (GIMP)

4. PP2 Portrait 1 by Scheherazade2c (GIMP)

5. Castle by Toramarusama (GIMP)

6. Masha by andreasbianco (GIMP)

7. Self-portrait by KittyElektro (GIMP)

8. Will Turner by Angela-T (GIMP)

9. Princess Mermaid by darkimagimp (GIMP)

10. Keira Knightley by thubakabra (GIMP)

11. Ziyi Zhang by tkc-art (MyPaint)

12. Serverus Snape by artsymptom (MyPaint+GIMP)

13. Leliana Fire by firefly-wp (MyPaint+GIMP)

14. Seven of Nine by scheherazade2c (MyPaint+GIMP)

15. Inkscape Girl by imppao (Inkscape)

16. Quorra TRON by Cid-Moreira12 (Inkscape)

17. Busto de mulher by maddrum (Inkscape)

18. Inkscape Portrait by firefly-wp (Inkscape)

19. Megan Fox by maddrum (Inkscape)

20. Buffy: She’s like Madonna by happyline (Inkscape)

From “and, per se and” to “ampersand”

Instead of making this discussion a chapter eligible for history books, let me cut things short:

• 63 B.C. - Marcus Tullius who was Cicero’s slave started the tradition of including ampersand in his literature. Reciters would pronounce it as “and, per se and” which meant “and by itself [means] and”.
• 79 A.D. - The city of Pompeii showcases the symbol on its walls as part of city graffiti.
• 775 A.D. - The letters E and T (where “et” is Latin for “and”) were being usually written together (shown in image below) to form a ligature. The symbol used for this would soon become our very own ampersand.

Image from Wikipedia

• An interesting fact is that if ampersand was not available to be used, usually due to cost involved in designing the same, writers would use the combination of 8 and c as replacement for ampersand.

• 1111 A.D. - The symbol was unofficially included in the character set by an Anglo-Saxon monk, Byrhtferð.
• 1499 A.D. - Aldus Manutius prints Francesco Colonna’s Hypnerotomachia Poliphili using 25 ampersands on a single page.
• 1837 A.D. - It was the 17th and the 18th century when some primers started to include ampersand as the 27th character of the English alphabet. It was in the year 1837 when dictionaries officially started to include the word ampersand in their list.

How to Draw Ampersand?

I am not kidding. There are people who get confused when it comes to drawing ampersand. When you look at the symbol Ampersand and compare it with Treble Clef then you might not find much differences.

Please understand that Ampersand is a character used in English Sentences while Clef is a music symbol and Treble Clef is part of the same set of music symbols.

Now, back to drawing an Ampersand symbol. If you see the image above (Ampersand on the left section of the image) then it should be pretty clear as to how you can draw the same. Let me explain the same in words and see if you are in sync with me:

• Start from the lower right corner
• Go up and slightly to your left
• When at the top, move towards right and loop downward towards your left
• Now curl under up to your right going up.
• Continue till you cross your original stroke.
• Practice again!

Usage of Ampersand and Important Rules

While the most important usage of Ampersand is in our cell phone SMSes, there is a lot more to it that we can learn. You might already be aware of what I tell you but I assure you that you might be committing silly mistakes just because you overlooked the rules.

• Never replace “and” with & – Usually we make this mistake. While writing English sentences we tend to use “&” symbol whenever we want to use the word “and”. This is the most common and the laziest of mistakes that humans commit. I don’t because my beautiful English teacher scolded me a lot for such mistakes. *blushes*
• FACT – Did you know that “&c.” can be used as replacement for “etc.”? Well, it can be. Although, I will suggest you to avoid this in your daily life as half of the readers might not understand it.
• Addressing a couple – Mr. & Mrs. Smith! If you use “&” instead of “and” while addressing a couple then, somehow, it won’t be considered a mistake.
• Firms dealing law, stock markets and architecture – This is one usage of Ampersand which has kept it alive on the official front. Otherwise by not it might have been limited to SMS language only.
• Used to indicate a two-part name – Ampersand can be used to indicate a two-part name. An example would be – James, Mr. & Mrs. Jackson, and John.

Ampersand for Webmasters

We (the webmasters) know this already. Right? After all this is part of our bread and butter. Anyways, let me go through the same all over again. You know, just in case.

HTML Ampersand Character Codes are usually used to depict symbols that are impossible to type otherwise. See the image below to get a clear understanding of what I mean:

You can get a detailed list of abbreviations here and here.

The Showcase

Well, that was lot of information for us to consume in one go. Let us ease out our minds by admiring some of the neat ampersand designs.

1. Papyrus Handwriting

2. Regency Script

3. Caviar Dreams

4. Scriptina

5. Hill House

Thankfully, there are plenty of Mac apps out there to keep you in check. Here are our top 20–to do lists, documents, spreadsheets, task management and other productive office applications. The Macbook is a great innovation (thanks to Apple and the late Steve Jobs, bless him). Many of these applications aren’t free though, but we know that good things are never free these days although these apps are worth more than what you pay for.

1. Apple iWork

This is the first Mac App (or Apps, for that matter) you should purchase. It’s the Mac version of Microsoft Office, albeit cheaper and more ‘Mac’ compatible. iWork includes the following apps:

• Pages – a text editor with rich word processing and page layout features. The app has hundreds of templates to create newsletters, stationery, invitations and resume. A helpful tool for both students, teachers, professionals and everyone in between. Export files into doc, pdf, and ePub files.
• Numbers – a spreadsheet app that can organize numerical date to tables, charts and graphs. It can perform various calculations with mathematical formula
• Keynote – an application to create and play professinal presentations. It has plenty of beautiful and professional templates, transitions and effects to choose from. Best of all, it supports many file formats, and can be exported to Powerpoint, Quicktime (iPod, iPad and iPhone), HTML and PDF. It can be opened directly to iTunes, iWeb, iDVD and YouTube.

Price: US $79.99 (or $27 each for Pages, Numbers and Keynote when bought separately)

2.PDF Pen

Probably one of my most favorite apps in the list. I’m a frequent user and reader of PDF files, so the PDF Pen is a great tool when reviewing and taking notes for PDF text. Make corrections, edit scanned documents, erase information and so much more. You can even scribble your singature on a PDF contract via the PDF pen.

Price: $59.95

3. 1Password

Have you ever forgotten a password? Now you’ll never have to again. 1Password is a password manager, that’s both secure and convenient. It provides maximum anti-phishing protection via a web form filling and automatic strong password generation. Keep all your confidential information of your online accounts, credit cards, ATM cards and other identities.

1Password is the best password manager out there–take our word for it. 1Password is available for your Mac, iPhone, iPad and even your PC and Android phone.

Price: $49.99

4. Paperless

In today’s highly digital world, everyone is going Paperless. Today’s generation rely on digital documents, because it is faster, more efficient and more economical. You need an app of the same name to manage your digital documents. Paperless is a great productivity app, and it’s good for the environment too. It’s a win-win situation here.