Jill, Thank you for the MS Tag/QR website. I am still thinking about what benefits a QR would have for genealogy purposes. If I come up with anything, I'll post my ideas. To answer your question about the difference between a favicon (.ICO) and a QR tag.... 1. A favicon is a 16px by 16 px that is loaded into your page with a code line. -- It then appears in your browser at the beginning of the URL when on that website. -- It provides a way to visually ID that "yep, this is the website I want". -- It is a visual "branding" Internet tool. For examples: Google Mail uses a red envelope; my GenWeb site uses a tiny old bell. The idea is people begin associating the icon with "this website". -- Favicons contain no information in the icon, except by its association with xyz website. A favicon is seen when you open your Bookmarks and look at the list. Some have no favicon; others have one. A favicon, in a sense, is likee the visual-aid provided by programs. As an example, open your My Pictures or My Documents folder and right-click to get to the Properties/Associations--- each program has it's own tiny image that identifies that program. A favicon looks nifty--- but-- eh-- doesn't do much other than creating a visual ID. http://www.addicottweb.com/2009/01/why-use-a-favicon-on-your-website/ 2. I've learned a QR tag is 2 or 3 dimensional. "Inside" the tag, the creator can type a web URL, a physical address, or a whole nunch of info, etc. -- QR was started in Japan, I think, where it has been used for over 10 years. But the inventor deliberately did not exercise his patent rights because he wanted it to spread, so the technology is free-use for anyone. -- A QR can be a basic black and white tag. Or, a creator can upload/design his/her own creative QR tag in color(s). -- The creator uses a QR generator to make the tag and embed info (like a web URL). The user needs to download an App on a camera-enabled, i.e. Internet-enabled cell phone to use the QR. -- The primary QR generator and primary QR Reader App is NOT Microsoft; MS is actually used less than another common App (I forget the name of the more widespead App). -- A QR is used primarily for marketing, but creative people are expanding its use. -- A QR can be saved as an image/picture, or copied onto paper (ex. a flyer), plastic (ex. store bag), fabric (ex. a T-shirt), or used in manufacturing (ex. incoporated into the plastic on a drinking mug, pencil, etc.) Some businesses create a coupon or a special sale for QR users. -- Some people are putting the QR onto their business website, or at the end of a blog message, an article, etc. Similar to RSS feeds, facebook, and the other "share" icons shown now on websites. -- A QR tag can hold a bunch of code in a tiny square. The viewer can watch a video or see typed info by clicking the QR. -- Since the QR is visual, it becomes a brand association marketing tool. Images are recognized by humans before anything else. -- The embedded info in QR can be re-done at will. So a business might offer a coupon today; next week a special sale; a video next time; or a highlight of a certain product, etc. The QR image stays the same unless the creator wants to change it. But the info can constantly change-- or remain static. That's about all I've learned so far. Judy On Fri, Jul 22, 2011 at 1:39 AM, Jill Muir <jill@shottle.plus.com> wrote: > Judy, Does this help? > http://tag.microsoft.com/what-is-tag/benefits.aspx > > > I had thought that you meant favicons at first. What is the difference > between favicons and tags then? > > Kind Regards, Jill
Very true Ralph I have a Nokia classic - small screen - small data plan - when away I tried to access Gmail and it was hard work and I managed to answer one email. Maybe iPhone with the larger screen and virtual keypad. I am thinking of a Tablet but the OS are evolving. A low cost one with Android 2.2 was said to really need 2.3. Banks want us to do banking on mobiles. Looking at iPads etc the browser seems to handle web pages ok - just keep them slim Maybe I need to re-hash mine Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds Bush/Chiswick) try my links http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/ On 2011-07-22 6:10 AM, Ralph Taylor wrote: > I'm not an expert; I use my cell phone only to make and receive calls. I > can't answer Lorrie's technical questions, except to observe that the entire > industry seems in great flux. New devices, with new operating systems, are > appearing every day. My guess: W3C can't keep up with the technological > changes.
Before I leave this topic... Since I don't have a cell phone and never used one to go onto the Internet, could someone tell me -- 1. Besides font size issues etc with the tiny screen, do Internet enabled phones allow a user to click links on a regular/ordinary/html webpage. 2. Is cell phone Internet just used primarily to play games and get addresses? 3. If cell phones can't really see the Internet content very well, what's the purpose of Internet-enabled phones? One person said they managed to do one E-mail on a cellphone---that seems (to me) like little productivity for high cost. Judy On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 4:10 PM, Ralph Taylor <rt-sails@comcast.net> wrote: > Both Judy & Lorrie wondered about issues involved in developing website for > new devices like smart phones. > > I'm not an expert; I use my cell phone only to make and receive calls. I > can't answer Lorrie's technical questions, except to observe that the > entire > industry seems in great flux. New devices, with new operating systems, are > appearing every day. My guess: W3C can't keep up with the technological > changes. > > My wife, though, has gone through a series of "smart phones" -- most > recently a Blackberry and an Android. She recently switched to the > Android's > larger screen, because the Blackberry's screen was too small to read the > Google calendar & maps she needs for a new job. > > So, that brings up the screen size issue. By the time you get down to a > 4-inch diagonal, you're talking pretty small and there are only two ways to > show a page designed for an 11-inch (or larger) diagonal: (1) Shrink > everything down to an unreadable size or (2) Show only part of the page at > a > time. I vaguely recall that some sites have "Lite" versions designed for > these devices. > > The "tag-readers" referred to are, I think, called "QR codes"; they're > graphic images. They can, of course, be used as links like any other image. > They are roughly analogous to bar codes, but bar codes are one-dimensional > and QR codes are two-dimensional. QR codes are the hot new thing; they can > automatically charge your card for a Starbucks coffee. > > I'm fairly sure I will NOT be redesigning my websites to fit on 3- or > 4-inch > screens for these reasons: > 1. It's a lot of work -- a total re-thinking of layouts and designs -- even > before getting to implementation. > a. You'd need an image for the code; it would need to follow the > protocols. > b. An app for the QR code would need to be built or obtained. > c. A means of getting the image & app on viewers' phones would be > needed. > 2. Detail would be lost; there just isn't room for everything. Do I want to > sacrifice content? > 3. Would anyone want to see what I could produce that would fit on those > devices? > 4. People interested in genealogy tend to be older, with lesser eyesight > than 20-somethings. Could they read the product? (My eyesight, for > example, > won't let me read my wife's laptop.) > 5. I don't have a profit motive; I'm not expecting income from the sites. > If > viewer traffic is less than maximum, so be it. > > I'm not sure I completely agree with McCluhan's "The medium IS the > message.", but certainly the medium controls the message. Just as the World > Wide Web is a very different medium than print on paper, the new > Web-enabled > smart phones are a different medium than the Web seen on a laptop or > desktop. > -rt_/) > >
Answered between your questions. On 07/22/2011 07:47 AM, J.A. Florian wrote: > Before I leave this topic... > > Since I don't have a cell phone and never used one to go onto the Internet, > could someone tell me -- > 1. Besides font size issues etc with the tiny screen, do Internet enabled > phones allow a user to click links on a regular/ordinary/html webpage. Smart phones have touch screens. You just tap the links with your finger and you go there. Normal, human readable, links are a better idea on your web pages than QR Codes. You can't point the phone at it's own screen to "scan" the code. > 2. Is cell phone Internet just used primarily to play games and get > addresses? Smart phone are hand held computers. They can do just about anything your desktop computer can do and a few more things besides. > 3. If cell phones can't really see the Internet content very well, what's > the purpose of Internet-enabled phones? One person said they managed to do > one E-mail on a cellphone---that seems (to me) like little productivity for > high cost. There are some people that can make them jump through hoops. Even before the newer smart phones I saw young people talking and sending text messages at the same time. "Typing" on the number pad with one hand without looking at the phone. I think it's a matter of familiarity. As you become more familiar with something you find it easier to do things. Then you have that segment of the population that just has to have the newest "toys". I'm ashamed to admit that I have WAY to many toys. > > Judy > -- "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb." - Benjamin Franklin - _ _... ..._ _ _._ ._ ..... ._.. ... .._
I have an android based cell phone with a 4.3 inch screen. I installed Families on it to always have my tree with me, but I also use it to view and share my website (which has no special css for such devices) and my RootsWeb tree (no mobile css that I can detect) and my Picasa web albums (which come in on a mobile version). The freepages website resizes for either vertical or horizontal view to fit the screen (without any html or css there to let that happen) and so does the RootsWeb. My css specifies a minimum width of 704px but it resizes in vertical view to fit 540px on my cellphone screen. I suspect the android system browser does the work. Smart cell phones let you share internet with older relatives and not tech savvy others anywhere. It's not just a toy. It's more like a miniature purse sized computer. Also all the links are working well in mobile format. Text entry in search boxes also works well. Multitouch screens also allow the user to zoom in on a page which is sometimes necessary for fine details. Rose Lee Wall -----Original Message----- From: freepages-help-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:freepages-help-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of J.A. Florian Sent: Friday, July 22, 2011 7:48 AM To: rt-sails@comcast.net Cc: freepages-help@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] FREEPAGES-HELP Need feedback about "Tag Readers" and web Before I leave this topic... Since I don't have a cell phone and never used one to go onto the Internet, could someone tell me -- 1. Besides font size issues etc with the tiny screen, do Internet enabled phones allow a user to click links on a regular/ordinary/html webpage. 2. Is cell phone Internet just used primarily to play games and get addresses? 3. If cell phones can't really see the Internet content very well, what's the purpose of Internet-enabled phones? One person said they managed to do one E-mail on a cellphone---that seems (to me) like little productivity for high cost. Judy On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 4:10 PM, Ralph Taylor <rt-sails@comcast.net> wrote: > Both Judy & Lorrie wondered about issues involved in developing > website for new devices like smart phones. > > I'm not an expert; I use my cell phone only to make and receive calls. > I can't answer Lorrie's technical questions, except to observe that > the entire industry seems in great flux. New devices, with new > operating systems, are appearing every day. My guess: W3C can't keep > up with the technological changes. > > My wife, though, has gone through a series of "smart phones" -- most > recently a Blackberry and an Android. She recently switched to the > Android's larger screen, because the Blackberry's screen was too small > to read the Google calendar & maps she needs for a new job. > > So, that brings up the screen size issue. By the time you get down to > a 4-inch diagonal, you're talking pretty small and there are only two > ways to show a page designed for an 11-inch (or larger) diagonal: (1) > Shrink everything down to an unreadable size or (2) Show only part of > the page at a time. I vaguely recall that some sites have "Lite" > versions designed for these devices. > > The "tag-readers" referred to are, I think, called "QR codes"; they're > graphic images. They can, of course, be used as links like any other image. > They are roughly analogous to bar codes, but bar codes are > one-dimensional and QR codes are two-dimensional. QR codes are the hot > new thing; they can automatically charge your card for a Starbucks coffee. > > I'm fairly sure I will NOT be redesigning my websites to fit on 3- or > 4-inch screens for these reasons: > 1. It's a lot of work -- a total re-thinking of layouts and designs -- > even before getting to implementation. > a. You'd need an image for the code; it would need to follow the > protocols. > b. An app for the QR code would need to be built or obtained. > c. A means of getting the image & app on viewers' phones would be > needed. > 2. Detail would be lost; there just isn't room for everything. Do I > want to sacrifice content? > 3. Would anyone want to see what I could produce that would fit on > those devices? > 4. People interested in genealogy tend to be older, with lesser > eyesight than 20-somethings. Could they read the product? (My > eyesight, for example, won't let me read my wife's laptop.) 5. I don't > have a profit motive; I'm not expecting income from the sites. > If > viewer traffic is less than maximum, so be it. > > I'm not sure I completely agree with McCluhan's "The medium IS the > message.", but certainly the medium controls the message. Just as the > World Wide Web is a very different medium than print on paper, the new > Web-enabled smart phones are a different medium than the Web seen on a > laptop or desktop. > -rt_/) > > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
On 07/22/2011 05:20 AM, Jim Loudon wrote: > >> [re: QR codes] it looks like a good use would be on a brochure at the >> library or local society. Someone could just scan the QR Code and their >> device would take them to your site. > > One of the groups to which I belong is having that discussion right now. > QR codes can be especially useful in cases where a long or > unusually-spelled URL is involved. > > An obvious negative is that a QR app has to be installed on the user's > smartphone, as it isn't clear that the adoption level at the client end is > high enough to justify consideration of this technology. It's also not > clear whether this is just a passing fad. > > jim If I were designing a brochure, or even a sample newsletter, for a group that would be available for free pickup at a library, or anyplace, I would certainly include one. It's not going to cost you anything to include a QR Code. There are free sites on the internet that allow you to create the tag if all you need is one tag. There is even free software that can be downloaded if you think you may need many different tags. Most of the time one is all that is going to be needed. Why worry about the adoption level. Would you rather come back a year from now and redesign the brochure [ which you will probably do anyway to keep it fresh - but that's not the point ] when you decide there is enough penetration or just jump right in. Many of the newer cell phones/small device operating systems are coming with the reader preinstalled. Others will most likely follow suit. After all, they don't want to be behind in anything another system uses. Also, more and more people are becoming aware of those silly looking box's on thing and know what they are now. If someone is picking up your brochure at the library what gives them the best possible experience. Typing out out even a short URL or point and click to be taken to your website. If it turns out to be a passing fad, it hasn't cost you anything. If it turns out to be a big deal, your ahead of the curve. Go for it. -- "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb." - Benjamin Franklin - _ _... ..._ _ _._ ._ ..... ._.. ... .._
Judy, Does this help? http://tag.microsoft.com/what-is-tag/benefits.aspx I had thought that you meant favicons at first. What is the difference between favicons and tags then? Kind Regards, Jill -----Original Message----- From: freepages-help-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:freepages-help-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of J.A. Florian Sent: 20 July 2011 19:09 To: LIST_freepages-help@rootsweb.com; LIST: pagenweb@yahoogroups.com Subject: [FreeHelp] Need feedback about "Tag Readers" and webdesign/usability potential issues A business friend who has a Smart-Phone told me about tag readers. A tag reader is a small image embedded (I think) with a website address that any webmaster can set up. The cell phone owner just needs to download a tag reader app. When the tag reader image is placed on a website, a person with a camera-and-Internet enabled phone can hover over the image with the phone, tap the image, and be able to view the website on their cell phone through the app. With a cursory look at the topic, it seems like it might be a good idea. And it is free for webmasters to use. Within discussions about monitor sizes, page/code design, page size, image sizes used on websites, etc., I'm wondering if a tag reader would be an asset or a detriment to put onto a genealogy/histoy website? Do webpages look on a cell phone app just like they look on the Internet, or would webmasters first need to re-do their webpages (and, how)? Would tag readers reach more people interested in genealogy research? Would an on-site Google Seach Box be able to be used when a person views the website through a tag reader app? If not, how would the user find content? Could someone list the major reasons that a tag reader would NOT be a good idea to place on the kind of websites all of us create? I don't own a cell phone and have rarely used a friend's phone (to make a call), so please be detailed when talking about the cell phone side of this question. Judy ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message
unsubscribe ----- Original Message ---- From: "freepages-help-request@rootsweb.com" <freepages-help-request@rootsweb.com> To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com Sent: Thu, July 21, 2011 2:00:26 AM Subject: FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 129 When replying to a digest message, quote only the specific message to which you are replying, removing the rest of the digest from your reply. Remember to change the subject of your reply so that it coincides with the message subject to which you are replying. ***FREEPAGES HELP & FAQ*** <http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/FAQ/fpindex.html> Today's Topics: 1. Need feedback about "Tag Readers" and web design/usability potential issues (J.A. Florian) 2. Re: Need feedback about "Tag Readers" and web design/usability potential issues (lrlaskey) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:08:48 -0400 From: "J.A. Florian" <cageycat@gmail.com> Subject: [FreeHelp] Need feedback about "Tag Readers" and web design/usability potential issues To: "LIST_freepages-help@rootsweb.com" <freepages-help@rootsweb.com>, "LIST: pagenweb@yahoogroups.com" <pagenweb@yahoogroups.com> Message-ID: <CAE5hz-BU0FHscxNZdqGG6LaqEQaBJ6fC-oMvptYraf921EP8+w@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 A business friend who has a Smart-Phone told me about tag readers. A tag reader is a small image embedded (I think) with a website address that any webmaster can set up. The cell phone owner just needs to download a tag reader app. When the tag reader image is placed on a website, a person with a camera-and-Internet enabled phone can hover over the image with the phone, tap the image, and be able to view the website on their cell phone through the app. With a cursory look at the topic, it seems like it might be a good idea. And it is free for webmasters to use. Within discussions about monitor sizes, page/code design, page size, image sizes used on websites, etc., I'm wondering if a tag reader would be an asset or a detriment to put onto a genealogy/histoy website? Do webpages look on a cell phone app just like they look on the Internet, or would webmasters first need to re-do their webpages (and, how)? Would tag readers reach more people interested in genealogy research? Would an on-site Google Seach Box be able to be used when a person views the website through a tag reader app? If not, how would the user find content? Could someone list the major reasons that a tag reader would NOT be a good idea to place on the kind of websites all of us create? I don't own a cell phone and have rarely used a friend's phone (to make a call), so please be detailed when talking about the cell phone side of this question. Judy ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 13:45:37 -0500 From: lrlaskey <lrlaskey@gmail.com> Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] Need feedback about "Tag Readers" and web design/usability potential issues To: freepages-help@rootsweb.com Message-ID: <4E272251.1010303@gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Judy, I would like some answers, too. I have often wondered how our RW sites behave on mobile. Having no mobile devices I have had to rely on online mobile emulators. My experience won't answer the significant questions posted by Judy but will help understand the mobile situation, some what. I recently had to opportunity to build a business website and one of the requirements was that it display on mobile devices. So my search started. Which ones? Which platforms, devices and sizes? And, more are emerging into the market. Displaying a web page on mobile meant that I had to make decisions. For instance, which screen size to support, which devices, to the exclusion of others, and so on. Some technologies are better supported than others. There seems to be a lack of agreement on which mobile standard to support, too. W3C supports one, over another. While that group supports the opposite. And to make the job harder, not all mobile browsers behave the same nor do they support the same styles or even recognize that a page should access a mobile css sheet. Mobile seems to be where desktop technology was several years ago, a mix of new technologies with few standards. What I ended up doing was choosing some of the more popular, more used, screen sizes and brands. It is a mess just right now. I look forward to someone answering Judy's question. Lorrie On 07/20/11 13:08, J.A. Florian wrote: > A business friend who has a Smart-Phone told me about tag readers. A tag > reader is a small image embedded (I think) with a website address that any > webmaster can set up. The cell phone owner just needs to download a tag > reader app. When the tag reader image is placed on a website, a person with > a camera-and-Internet enabled phone can hover over the image with the phone, > tap the image, and be able to view the website on their cell phone through > the app. With a cursory look at the topic, it seems like it might be a good > idea. And it is free for webmasters to use. > > Within discussions about monitor sizes, page/code design, page size, image > sizes used on websites, etc., I'm wondering if a tag reader would be an > asset or a detriment to put onto a genealogy/histoy website? Do webpages > look on a cell phone app just like they look on the Internet, or would > webmasters first need to re-do their webpages (and, how)? Would tag > readers reach more people interested in genealogy research? Would an > on-site Google Seach Box be able to be used when a person views the website > through a tag reader app? If not, how would the user find content? > > Could someone list the major reasons that a tag reader would NOT be a good > idea to place on the kind of websites all of us create? > > I don't own a cell phone and have rarely used a friend's phone (to make a > call), so please be detailed when talking about the cell phone side of this > question. > > Judy > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the >quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------ To contact the FREEPAGES-HELP list administrator, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-admin@rootsweb.com. To post a message to the FREEPAGES-HELP mailing list, send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP@rootsweb.com. __________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the body of the email with no additional text. End of FREEPAGES-HELP Digest, Vol 6, Issue 129 **********************************************
From what I'm reading at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code it looks like a good use would be on a brochure at the library or local society. Someone could just scan the QR Code and their device would take them to your site. I don't know that there would be a big need for one on a website. You can have human readable links there. On 07/21/2011 06:10 PM, Ron Lankshear wrote: > Very true Ralph > I have a Nokia classic - small screen - small data > plan - when away I tried to access Gmail and it > was hard work and I managed to answer one email. > Maybe iPhone with the larger screen and virtual > keypad. > > I am thinking of a Tablet but the OS are evolving. > A low cost one with Android 2.2 was said to > really need 2.3. > > Banks want us to do banking on mobiles. > > Looking at iPads etc the browser seems to handle > web pages ok - just keep them slim > > Maybe I need to re-hash mine > > Ron Lankshear -Sydney NSW (from London-Shepherds > Bush/Chiswick) > try my links > http://freepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~lankshear/ > > On 2011-07-22 6:10 AM, Ralph Taylor wrote: >> I'm not an expert; I use my cell phone only to make and receive calls. I >> can't answer Lorrie's technical questions, except to observe that the entire >> industry seems in great flux. New devices, with new operating systems, are >> appearing every day. My guess: W3C can't keep up with the technological >> changes. > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for dinner. Liberty is a well-armed lamb." - Benjamin Franklin - _ _... ..._ _ _._ ._ ..... ._.. ... .._
As an additional question QR tag readers... What if I put the tag on a County research aid which is a PDF? Would that make it easier when cellphone folks are in the city and wanting to know where to find records? (Our county's records are spread hither and yon due to lack of court house space.) Like Ralph and others have said, I don't want to bother with QR tags on a website if it wouldn't help anyone. Judy On Wed, Jul 20, 2011 at 2:08 PM, J.A. Florian <cageycat@gmail.com> wrote: > A business friend who has a Smart-Phone told me about tag readers. A tag > reader is a small image embedded (I think) with a website address that any > webmaster can set up. The cell phone owner just needs to download a tag > reader app. When the tag reader image is placed on a website, a person with > a camera-and-Internet enabled phone can hover over the image with the phone, > tap the image, and be able to view the website on their cell phone through > the app. With a cursory look at the topic, it seems like it might be a good > idea. And it is free for webmasters to use. > > Within discussions about monitor sizes, page/code design, page size, image > sizes used on websites, etc., I'm wondering if a tag reader would be an > asset or a detriment to put onto a genealogy/histoy website? Do webpages > look on a cell phone app just like they look on the Internet, or would > webmasters first need to re-do their webpages (and, how)? Would tag > readers reach more people interested in genealogy research? Would an > on-site Google Seach Box be able to be used when a person views the website > through a tag reader app? If not, how would the user find content? > > Could someone list the major reasons that a tag reader would NOT be a good > idea to place on the kind of websites all of us create? > > I don't own a cell phone and have rarely used a friend's phone (to make a > call), so please be detailed when talking about the cell phone side of this > question. > > Judy >
Both Judy & Lorrie wondered about issues involved in developing website for new devices like smart phones. I'm not an expert; I use my cell phone only to make and receive calls. I can't answer Lorrie's technical questions, except to observe that the entire industry seems in great flux. New devices, with new operating systems, are appearing every day. My guess: W3C can't keep up with the technological changes. My wife, though, has gone through a series of "smart phones" -- most recently a Blackberry and an Android. She recently switched to the Android's larger screen, because the Blackberry's screen was too small to read the Google calendar & maps she needs for a new job. So, that brings up the screen size issue. By the time you get down to a 4-inch diagonal, you're talking pretty small and there are only two ways to show a page designed for an 11-inch (or larger) diagonal: (1) Shrink everything down to an unreadable size or (2) Show only part of the page at a time. I vaguely recall that some sites have "Lite" versions designed for these devices. The "tag-readers" referred to are, I think, called "QR codes"; they're graphic images. They can, of course, be used as links like any other image. They are roughly analogous to bar codes, but bar codes are one-dimensional and QR codes are two-dimensional. QR codes are the hot new thing; they can automatically charge your card for a Starbucks coffee. I'm fairly sure I will NOT be redesigning my websites to fit on 3- or 4-inch screens for these reasons: 1. It's a lot of work -- a total re-thinking of layouts and designs -- even before getting to implementation. a. You'd need an image for the code; it would need to follow the protocols. b. An app for the QR code would need to be built or obtained. c. A means of getting the image & app on viewers' phones would be needed. 2. Detail would be lost; there just isn't room for everything. Do I want to sacrifice content? 3. Would anyone want to see what I could produce that would fit on those devices? 4. People interested in genealogy tend to be older, with lesser eyesight than 20-somethings. Could they read the product? (My eyesight, for example, won't let me read my wife's laptop.) 5. I don't have a profit motive; I'm not expecting income from the sites. If viewer traffic is less than maximum, so be it. I'm not sure I completely agree with McCluhan's "The medium IS the message.", but certainly the medium controls the message. Just as the World Wide Web is a very different medium than print on paper, the new Web-enabled smart phones are a different medium than the Web seen on a laptop or desktop. -rt_/)
A business friend who has a Smart-Phone told me about tag readers. A tag reader is a small image embedded (I think) with a website address that any webmaster can set up. The cell phone owner just needs to download a tag reader app. When the tag reader image is placed on a website, a person with a camera-and-Internet enabled phone can hover over the image with the phone, tap the image, and be able to view the website on their cell phone through the app. With a cursory look at the topic, it seems like it might be a good idea. And it is free for webmasters to use. Within discussions about monitor sizes, page/code design, page size, image sizes used on websites, etc., I'm wondering if a tag reader would be an asset or a detriment to put onto a genealogy/histoy website? Do webpages look on a cell phone app just like they look on the Internet, or would webmasters first need to re-do their webpages (and, how)? Would tag readers reach more people interested in genealogy research? Would an on-site Google Seach Box be able to be used when a person views the website through a tag reader app? If not, how would the user find content? Could someone list the major reasons that a tag reader would NOT be a good idea to place on the kind of websites all of us create? I don't own a cell phone and have rarely used a friend's phone (to make a call), so please be detailed when talking about the cell phone side of this question. Judy
Judy, I would like some answers, too. I have often wondered how our RW sites behave on mobile. Having no mobile devices I have had to rely on online mobile emulators. My experience won't answer the significant questions posted by Judy but will help understand the mobile situation, some what. I recently had to opportunity to build a business website and one of the requirements was that it display on mobile devices. So my search started. Which ones? Which platforms, devices and sizes? And, more are emerging into the market. Displaying a web page on mobile meant that I had to make decisions. For instance, which screen size to support, which devices, to the exclusion of others, and so on. Some technologies are better supported than others. There seems to be a lack of agreement on which mobile standard to support, too. W3C supports one, over another. While that group supports the opposite. And to make the job harder, not all mobile browsers behave the same nor do they support the same styles or even recognize that a page should access a mobile css sheet. Mobile seems to be where desktop technology was several years ago, a mix of new technologies with few standards. What I ended up doing was choosing some of the more popular, more used, screen sizes and brands. It is a mess just right now. I look forward to someone answering Judy's question. Lorrie On 07/20/11 13:08, J.A. Florian wrote: > A business friend who has a Smart-Phone told me about tag readers. A tag > reader is a small image embedded (I think) with a website address that any > webmaster can set up. The cell phone owner just needs to download a tag > reader app. When the tag reader image is placed on a website, a person with > a camera-and-Internet enabled phone can hover over the image with the phone, > tap the image, and be able to view the website on their cell phone through > the app. With a cursory look at the topic, it seems like it might be a good > idea. And it is free for webmasters to use. > > Within discussions about monitor sizes, page/code design, page size, image > sizes used on websites, etc., I'm wondering if a tag reader would be an > asset or a detriment to put onto a genealogy/histoy website? Do webpages > look on a cell phone app just like they look on the Internet, or would > webmasters first need to re-do their webpages (and, how)? Would tag > readers reach more people interested in genealogy research? Would an > on-site Google Seach Box be able to be used when a person views the website > through a tag reader app? If not, how would the user find content? > > Could someone list the major reasons that a tag reader would NOT be a good > idea to place on the kind of websites all of us create? > > I don't own a cell phone and have rarely used a friend's phone (to make a > call), so please be detailed when talking about the cell phone side of this > question. > > Judy > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FREEPAGES-HELP-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >
At 11:16 AM 7/14/2011, Harlan Rosacker wrote: >When I have the time and patience, I'll go back another step to see if >there's something in the FTM file which prompts the multiple Note entries >when exported as a gedcom. But for now, I have a way of fixing the gedcom >manually. If you import your manually edited GEDCOM back into FTM as a NEW database, you can then compare it against the old one containing the duplicates notes. That might give you a clue. Pat Asher
Thanks for very helpful suggestions. Pat Geary explained that I could open gedcom files with Notepad. Based on Pat Asher's additional observations, with Notepad I opened the gedcom I had uploaded on WorldConnect, deleted the extra Notes for a couple of key people as a test, saved it as a new gedcom and then uploaded it as an update for my tree on WorldConnect. It worked. When I have the time and patience, I'll go back another step to see if there's something in the FTM file which prompts the multiple Note entries when exported as a gedcom. But for now, I have a way of fixing the gedcom manually. Thanks again!! Message: 8 Date: Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:29:11 -0400 From: Pat Asher <pjroots@att.net> Subject: Re: [FreeHelp] Duplicate Notes in WorldConnect tree To: Freepages-Help <Freepages-Help@rootsweb.com> Message-ID: <178646.6271.qm@smtp104.sbc.mail.ne1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed At 06:56 PM 7/13/2011, Charles Dobie wrote: >I think a safer method (but more time-consuming) is to search for >duplicate notes in the GEDCOM file in Notepad and when you find one >then manually fix it in your genealogy database using your genealogy program. It does depend somewhat on whether your program supports, and you use, non-standard GEDCOM tags. However, if you are importing your GEDCOM back into the same program that created it, it should recognize all of the non-standard tags that it created in the first place :) Pat ***************
At 07:29 PM 7/13/2011, Pat Asher wrote: >At 06:56 PM 7/13/2011, Charles Dobie wrote: > >I think a safer method (but more time-consuming) is to search for > >duplicate notes in the GEDCOM file in Notepad and when you find one > >then manually fix it in your genealogy database using your > genealogy program. > >It does depend somewhat on whether your program supports, and you >use, non-standard GEDCOM tags. However, if you are importing your >GEDCOM back into the same program that created it, it should >recognize all of the non-standard tags that it created in the first place :) > > >Pat > Pat -- good point. And I guess the operative phrase is "SHOULD recognize". Anyway, I hope I never get into that situation. Chas. Dobie.
At 06:56 PM 7/13/2011, Charles Dobie wrote: >I think a safer method (but more time-consuming) is to search for >duplicate notes in the GEDCOM file in Notepad and when you find one >then manually fix it in your genealogy database using your genealogy program. It does depend somewhat on whether your program supports, and you use, non-standard GEDCOM tags. However, if you are importing your GEDCOM back into the same program that created it, it should recognize all of the non-standard tags that it created in the first place :) Pat
Note to Pat Asher -- I would do what you describe only as a last resort. I don't know what genealogy program you use but many if not most programs don't stick religiously to the GEDCOM standards. So when you export your database to a GEDCOM file, some of your data is bound to be "left behind". Then when you replace your database with the fixed GEDCOM file, that non-standard info is lost. Maybe I'm concerned about this because my genealogy program is Brothers Keeper which has served me well for about 15 years, but one of the no-nos mentioned on the BK mailiing list is to replace your whole database with a GEDCOM file, just as you described. I think a safer method (but more time-consuming) is to search for duplicate notes in the GEDCOM file in Notepad and when you find one then manually fix it in your genealogy database using your genealogy program. Thanks, Charlie Dobie. At 04:29 PM 7/13/2011, Pat Asher wrote: >At 12:09 PM 7/13/2011, Harlan Rosacker wrote: > >However, the tree which appeared on > >WorldConnect - entitled "Rosacker Roots in Schleswig-Holstein" -- has > >repeated duplicates Notes. See for example: Rosacker, Wulf. The Notes on > >Wulf are repeated four times. It may result from multiple exports and > >merges over many years, so there is no pristine backup somewhere. At this > >stage, can anyone suggest an easy way of getting rid of the duplicates? > >As you have guessed, and others have confirmed, multiple NOTE tags in >your GEDCOM usually result from importing GEDCOMS which also have >notes. Each time a NOTE is imported, it is given its own NOTE tag >which then appears in any GEDCOM you export. > >IMO, the easiest way to clean up is to export a COMPLETE GEDCOM of >your database. Be sure you do not clean the living or mark any tags >as not for export. You want a complete copy of everything you have >entered in your file. > >Now open that GEDCOM file using Notepad or the equivalent and start >looking for duplicate NOTES. NOTE is a top level tag and will be >preceded by the number 1 in your GED. Additional lines in the same >NOTE will be preceded by 2 CONC or 2 CONT. > >Identify the first (1 NOTE) line, and all secondary lines (beginning >with 2) for one note entry and delete them. Save. >Find the next duplicate and repeat. > >Once you have deleted all or most of the extra copies of the notes -- >you will probably miss a few the first time through -- Import that >GEDCOM into your genealogy program as a new database. Double check >to make sure everything looks as it should, then export a new GEDCOM >for upload to WC, using whatever filtering options you usually do >when uploading to WC. Check your display at WC. If you missed a few >of those pesky duplicate notes, repeat the process. > > >Pat Asher
At 12:09 PM 7/13/2011, Harlan Rosacker wrote: >However, the tree which appeared on >WorldConnect - entitled "Rosacker Roots in Schleswig-Holstein" -- has >repeated duplicates Notes. See for example: Rosacker, Wulf. The Notes on >Wulf are repeated four times. It may result from multiple exports and >merges over many years, so there is no pristine backup somewhere. At this >stage, can anyone suggest an easy way of getting rid of the duplicates? As you have guessed, and others have confirmed, multiple NOTE tags in your GEDCOM usually result from importing GEDCOMS which also have notes. Each time a NOTE is imported, it is given its own NOTE tag which then appears in any GEDCOM you export. IMO, the easiest way to clean up is to export a COMPLETE GEDCOM of your database. Be sure you do not clean the living or mark any tags as not for export. You want a complete copy of everything you have entered in your file. Now open that GEDCOM file using Notepad or the equivalent and start looking for duplicate NOTES. NOTE is a top level tag and will be preceded by the number 1 in your GED. Additional lines in the same NOTE will be preceded by 2 CONC or 2 CONT. Identify the first (1 NOTE) line, and all secondary lines (beginning with 2) for one note entry and delete them. Save. Find the next duplicate and repeat. Once you have deleted all or most of the extra copies of the notes -- you will probably miss a few the first time through -- Import that GEDCOM into your genealogy program as a new database. Double check to make sure everything looks as it should, then export a new GEDCOM for upload to WC, using whatever filtering options you usually do when uploading to WC. Check your display at WC. If you missed a few of those pesky duplicate notes, repeat the process. Pat Asher
At 12:09 PM 7/13/2011, Harlan Rosacker wrote: >The FTM 2010 file which I exported as a gedcom file to WorldConnect displays >no duplicate Notes for individuals. However, the tree which appeared on >WorldConnect - entitled "Rosacker Roots in Schleswig-Holstein" -- has >repeated duplicates Notes. See for example: Rosacker, Wulf. The Notes on >Wulf are repeated four times. It may result from multiple exports and >merges over many years, so there is no pristine backup somewhere. At this >stage, can anyone suggest an easy way of getting rid of the duplicates? ============ I don't use FTM but after looking at the options on PAF, I am not sure there is an easy way to get rid of the duplicates notes. I would think the cause is not so much exporting to the GEDCOM as it is with importing into your current GEDCOM and perhaps merging individual duplicate records. If no one who uses the program has any suggestions, I would probably start with those individuals who I know have duplicate notes and do some editing. I've done it in the past for making changes to notes and it is not a quick fix but at least I know they are fixed. Then I would be very careful in merging records that notes are not duplicated. Better a database of only 742 entries than one with 12122 which is what one of mine has. Hopefully someone will have a way that might be easier. pat Pat Geary Working With Rootsweb FreePages Accounts EBook (free) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gearyfamily/rootsweb-freepages-ebook.html