Sony Tablet S

When Sony passed off its Tablet S to us for review, I was more than a little excited. While the company has been a bit slow on getting into the tablet game, the two devices we’ve seen (the Tablet S and the odd, folding Tablet P) have sparked quite a bit of curiosity. It’s not just about the unique designs, either. Sony is one of the few companies with a footprint and ecosystem big enough to potentially take on Apple in this one-horse game. The $499.99 (or $599.99 32GB) Tablet S is the more familiar of the pair, though with its folded-book styling, it stands out amongst a sea of tablets that look depressingly similar to Apple’s entry. Inside, the S is driven by a Tegra 2 chipset, meaning more than enough power to take on heavy gaming duties (good news for the PlayStation certified device) or help you work through gargantuan spreadsheets (if you’re the spreadsheet type). The Tablet S is also blessed with a handful of unique additions to Android 3.1, including a suite of Sony applications as well as a home theater remote app which takes advantage of the device’s built-in IR transmitter.

So, does Sony’s first move in this space change the game or move the ball forward? Or is the company dealing out another familiar entry into an already-crowded space? Read on for my full review and find out.

Hardware / design


There’s no questioning that Sony has come up with a stand out look for its first tablet. From the second you see the S, it’s clear that the company is making a statement about how you’ll live and work with the device. The basic shape calls to mind a folded-back book or magazine, and should immediately get you reminiscing about the days when humans used outmoded and environmentally damaging products made from paper. The device sports a 9.4-inch screen and weighs in at 1.33 pounds, though Sony claims it feels lighter in your hands than other tablets on the market because of the way the shape allows weight to be distributed. It’s hard to say if that’s true or not, but the mostly-plastic device definitely felt light in my hands. In terms of actual thickness, the tablet is nearly as hefty as a MacBook Pro at its largest point, but tapers down to a narrow 0.3 inches. If you set it side-by-side with an iPad 2 or Galaxy Tab 10.1, the difference will be shocking. It’s not the kind of the device you can discreetly slide into a small bag.

Whether or not you warm up to this design is probably a matter of taste, but I found myself liking the fold, in both two-handed and single-hand settings, as well as on a flat surface. The beveled shape makes for slightly easier typing when you have the S on a desk.




















Besides that big screen up front, the Tablet S features a power / sleep button and volume rockers on the right side, along with a notification light that I found to be annoyingly bright. For some reason, Sony has disabled the option to switch it off, so I found myself placing the tablet against another surface at night, as the pulsating LED was a bit distracting in a dark room. On the left side is a headphone jack, Micro USB port, and SD card slot. Along the bottom of the device is a proprietary charging jack; the plug Sony includes feels incredibly cheap, and was difficult to get connected to the device. I’m not sure if the company is trying to out-Apple on weird, non-standard connections, but the inclusion of this plug over a standard Micro USB port for charging struck me as unnecessary and bothersome. All of the buttons on the device feel awkwardly placed and difficult to find, making for a lot of missed presses while using the tablet.

In all, the Tablet S is a distinct device with a lot going for it in terms of industrial design, but there are also some missteps here that make the device feel somewhat underwhelming. Had Sony gone with a higher grade of materials, or made any attempt to make the buttons and connections more accessible, I think I would have walked away more impressed. I added points for originality and functional design on the shape, and then subtracted half of those points for the cheap build quality and odd choices on interaction with the hardware.
Internals / display


Inside the Tablet S, you’ll find a healthy dose of familiar Android guts. The device is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 chipset, meaning you’ll not only get solid performance on standard apps, but access to customized apps that take advantage of the CPU’s increased horsepower. Those apps number in the low double digits however, so don’t get too excited. The Tablet S has 1GB of RAM onboard and 16GB or 32GB of storage hardwired (I tested the 16GB version). The device also sports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and an array of sensors (gyro, light, accelerometer, etc.). Overall, performance seemed relatively snappy, though there were some odd hiccups and stalls during regular use. It’s hard to say if that’s the fault of the hardware or software. I’m hoping it’s the latter.

The Tablet S has stereo speakers (if you’re holding it in landscape, that is), which produced a remarkably tinny, unsatisfying sound. You would think the people who brought you the Walkman would cook up something a bit more accomplished in the audio department… but you’d be wrong.

The display itself is a fairly standard 1280 x 800, and there are two cameras on the device: a 3-megapixel shooter on the front, and a 5-megapixel model on the backside.
Cameras


The back camera does a fine job of capturing images — if you’re into holding a nearly 10-inch tablet up while you snap away. As I’ve said in many other tablet reviews, rear cameras on tablets are completely silly to me, and I have yet to see anyone put them to use in public. I certainly won’t. On the other hand, the front-facing camera here is a step up from most other models, and I’m happy to see Sony trying to improve the specs on what is normally an afterthought. Just know this: neither of these cameras are excellent shooters, and neither will replace a real camera or decent smartphone option — mostly due to the size of the device and awkwardness in use.

You can also capture 720p video with the Tablet S, though this seems even more bizarre to me than snapping photos. Quality was solid, though the device’s awkward size made it tough to get steady content. The glossiness of the screen also made it hard to capture both video and still shots when outside.
















Software


Note: The software on the device was not final as of this writing, and many of the custom applications for the device will not be available until launch.

Most tablets these days must be judged on their software. In the case of Android Honeycomb tablets, that’s not exactly a Herculean effort, as nearly all of our most recently tested devices are running extremely slight variations on a theme. Literally.

Sony is no different in the sense that the company has opted for slight tweaks in the software rather than a major overhaul (a la Samsung’s TouchWiz or HTC’s Sense). The Tablet S utilizes largely the same build of Honeycomb as other tablets (like the Galaxy Tab 10.1), though there are a few notable differences.

For starters, Sony provides (or will provide, rather) a set of customized applications geared towards its ecosystem and playing to its strengths — namely, entertainment and gaming. The device I tested is still using pre-production software, so many of the new titles were missing. In particular, the company’s Video / Music Unlimited services, Reader Store, and SelectApp marketplace won’t be available until the launch of the device in September. The company has also struck launch deals with Foursquare and Crackle for exclusive tablet launch titles, though I didn’t have a chance to test those apps either.

Still, I had a chance to play with some Sony-exclusive apps and content, like the company’s custom remote control for home theater equipment (which utilizes the tablet’s IR transmitter), and Crash Bandicoot, one of the gaming titles ported directly from the original PlayStation version. The remote app was easy to set up and painless to use, and I could easily see tablet owners reaching for the S over their Harmony One. On the flipside, while Crash Bandicoot does a faithful job of replicating the graphics and sound from the PSone, the controls left something to be desired. Quite a bit, actually. It’s clear that the game was never meant to be controlled via touchscreen, and trying to grapple with the on-screen d-pad and buttons was less than fun. A tablet like the S is capable of great gaming experiences, but trying to dupe the controls of a multi-buttoned joypad seems like a recipe for disaster.

There are other missteps in the OS that left me scratching my head as well. For instance, Sony has replaced the standard application browser with its own take. The new variation looks cheap and cartoonish, replacing Honeycomb’s sleek, Tron-ish black and blues with a white background and somewhat campy icons and animation. You’re able to create groupings of apps and give them custom names, which is nice, but adding those applications to your homescreen has been turned into something of a multi-step mess. Instead of the simple hold and drag of stock Honeycomb, you have to press down on an app, move it up into a “place on homescreen” box (which is tiny). Then once it’s placed on the homescreen (in the first available slot), you have to further rearrange its position. Why anyone thought this was superior to Google’s scheme is open to guesses, but it made simple management of icons a frustrating pain.

Additionally, the company added a kind of quick access launcher — a strip of small icons — to the right of the Google search box located on the upper left side of the screen. It’s a fine addition, but now instead of interacting with the bottom left corner, upper right hand corner, and homescreen group of icons, you’ve got another far away area to consider. It makes what is already a confused user experience even more confusing.

Sony has also altered the stock Android keyboard, adding a numeric keypad to the standard QWERTY layout. That’s all well and good, except when it isn’t — it changes on the fly while you’re typing depending on the field you’re working inside of, which can make for missed letters. This happened to me on a variety of occasions while using the Tablet S. The design of the icons on the device have also been altered to match Sony’s familiar style, though the like-minded coloring and concept of each one makes it difficult to find what you’re looking for by scanning. I found myself actually having to read labels on icons.

Sony also added Chumby functionality to the Tablet S, but I’m at a loss to understand why. There doesn’t seem to be a single piece of Chumby functionality that couldn’t be handled better by something in the Android market. I get that the natively passive quality of Chumby apps might make sense if the tablet were docked, but I think there were better ways of handling this idea than resorting to the dated, low-resolution, and frankly clunky Chumby programs. This seems more an afterthought than anything else.
Battery life / performance


Battery life on the Tablet S seemed solid to me, but slightly less impressive than other tablets I’ve recently tested. In particular, I noticed a more pronounced drain on the battery when the device was sleeping, and I felt it fell short of competitors like the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in terms of overall battery longevity.

I wasn’t able to run our standard suite of battery tests on the device because Sony has limited the screen timeout on the Tablet S to just 30 minutes.

In terms of general performance, while the device seemed speedy running graphically intense games, I found the general experience with the OS to be a bit start and stop. This may be due to unfinished software on the device, or it might just be a symptom of Honeycomb, which increasingly strikes me as a sluggish and overcomplicated tablet OS. Regardless, the experience of using the device compared to the iPad 2 is night and day — it never feels completely pleasant or responsive.
Wrap-up


Lately I feel like I’m banging my head against a wall when working with Honeycomb tablets. Google released an OS that never felt completely finished, and it still lacks much in ease of use and cohesion. Little details like sometimes not being able to properly select text or the scattered layout of navigational items make it a generally more harrowing experience next to the iPad 2 or even the TouchPad. In Sony’s attempt to alter (or improve?) the experience of the OS, the company has simply made it more messy. I didn’t feel like I wanted to pick the device up and work with it — I felt like I wanted to avoid it.

The company is capable of making some very nice and handsomely designed hardware, and I would say that they’ve accomplished that with the Tablet S. But as in past efforts, Sony seems to struggle on the software side, and that makes this device harder to recommend even against other Honeycomb tablets. There’s no question that Sony has the raw materials — hardware know-how, a big ecosystem, great brands like PlayStation — to deliver a serious competitor in the tablet space, but that competitor is not the Tablet S.

Note: As stated earlier, the software on the device was not final as of this writing, and many of the custom applications for the device will not be available until launch. We may revisit the device and score when Sony issues the promised updates.

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Advanced Shellcoding Techniques

Introduction

This paper assumes a working knowledge of basic shellcoding techniques, and x86 assembly, I will not rehash these in this paper. I hope to teach you some of the lesser known shellcoding techniques that I have picked up, which will allow you to write smaller and better shellcodes. I do not claim to have invented any of these techniques, except for the one that uses the div instruction.



The multiplicity of mul

This technique was originally developed by Sorbo of darkircop.net. The mul instruction may, on the surface, seem mundane, and it's purpose obvious. However, when faced with the difficult challenge of shrinking your shellcode, it proves to be quite useful. First some background information on the mul instruction itself.

mul performs an unsigned multiply of two integers. It takes only one operand, the other is implicitly specified by the %eax register. So, a common mul instruction might look something like this:

movl $0x0a,%eax
mul $0x0a

This would multiply the value stored in %eax by the operand of mul, which in this case would be 10*10. The result is then implicitly stored in EDX:EAX. The result is stored over a span of two registers because it has the potential to be considerably larger than the previous value, possibly exceeding the capacity of a single register(this is also how floating points are stored in some cases, as an interesting sidenote).

So, now comes the ever-important question. How can we use these attributes to our advantage when writing shellcode? Well, let's think for a second, the instruction takes only one operand, therefore, since it is a very common instruction, it will generate only two bytes in our final shellcode. It multiplies whatever is passed to it by the value stored in %eax, and stores the value in both %edx and %eax, completely overwriting the contents of both registers, regardless of whether it is necessary to do so, in order to store the result of the multiplication. Let's put on our mathematician hats for a second, and consider this, what is the only possible result of a multiplication by 0? The answer, as you may have guessed, is 0. I think it's about time for some example code, so here it is:

xorl %ecx,%ecx
mul %ecx

What is this shellcode doing? Well, it 0's out the %ecx register using the xor instruction, so we now know that %ecx is 0. Then it does a mul %ecx, which as we just learned, multiplies it's operand by the value in %eax, and then proceeds to store the result of this multiplication in EDX:EAX. So, regardless of %eax's previous contents, %eax must now be 0. However that's not all, %edx is 0'd now too, because, even though no overflow occurs, it still overwrites the %edx register with the sign bit(left-most bit) of %eax. Using this technique we can zero out three registers in only three bytes, whereas by any other method(that I know of) it would have taken at least six.


The div instruction

Div is very similar to mul, in that it takes only one operand and implicitly divides the operand by the value in %eax. Also like, mul it stores the result of the divide in %eax. Again, we will require the mathematical side of our brains to figure out how we can take advantage of this instruction. But first, let's think about what is normally stored in the %eax register. The %eax register holds the return value of functions and/or syscalls. Most syscalls that are used in shellcoding will return -1(on failure) or a positive value of some kind, only rarely will they return 0(though it does occur). So, if we know that after a syscall is performed, %eax will have a non-zero value, and that the instruction divl %eax will divide %eax by itself, and then store the result in %eax, we can say that executing the divl %eax instruction after a syscall will put the value 1 into %eax. So...how is this applicable to shellcoding? Well, their is another important thing that %eax is used for, and that is to pass the specific syscall that you would like to call to int $0x80. It just so happens that the syscall that corresponds to the value 1 is exit(). Now for an example:


xorl %ebx,%ebx
mul %ebx
push %edx
pushl $0x3268732f
pushl $0x6e69622f
mov %esp, %ebx
push %edx
push %ebx
mov %esp,%ecx
movb $0xb, %al #execve() syscall, doesn't return at all unless it fails, in which case it returns -1
int $0x80

divl %eax # -1 / -1 = 1
int $0x80

Now, we have a 3 byte exit function, where as before it was 5 bytes. However, there is a catch, what if a syscall does return 0? Well in the odd situation in which that could happen, you could do many different things, like inc %eax, dec %eax, not %eax anything that will make %eax non-zero. Some people say that exit's are not important in shellcode, because your code gets executed regardless of whether or not it exits cleanly. They are right too, if you really need to save 3 bytes to fit your shellcode in somewhere, the exit() isn't worth keeping. However, when your code does finish, it will try to execute whatever was after your last instruction, which will most likely produce a SIG ILL(illegal instruction) which is a rather odd error, and will be logged by the system. So, an exit() simply adds an extra layer of stealth to your exploit, so that even if it fails or you can't wipe all the logs, at least this part of your presence will be clear.



Unlocking the power of leal

The leal instruction is an often neglected instruction in shellcode, even though it is quite useful. Consider this short piece of shellcode.

xorl %ecx,%ecx
leal 0x10(%ecx),%eax

This will load the value 17 into eax, and clear all of the extraneous bits of eax. This occurs because the leal instruction loads a variable of the type long into it's desitination operand. In it's normal usage, this would load the address of a variable into a register, thus creating a pointer of sorts. However, since ecx is 0'd and 0+17=17, we load the value 17 into eax instead of any kind of actual address. In a normal shellcode we would do something like this, to accomplish the same thing:

xorl %eax,%eax
movb $0x10,%eax

I can hear you saying, but that shellcode is a byte shorter than the leal one, and you're quite right. However, in a real shellcode you may already have to 0 out a register like ecx(or any other register), so the xorl instruction in the leal shellcode isn't counted. Here's an example:

xorl %eax,%eax
xorl %ebx,%ebx
movb $0x17,%al
int $0x80

xorl %ebx,%ebx
leal 0x17(%ebx),%al
int $0x80

Both of these shellcodes call setuid(0), but one does it in 7 bytes while the other does it in 8. Again, I hear you saying but that's only one byte it doesn't make that much of a difference, and you're right, here it doesn't make much of a difference(except for in shellcode-size pissing contests =p), but when applied to much larger shellcodes, which have many function calls and need to do things like this frequently, it can save quite a bit of space.



Conclusion

I hope you all learned something, and will go out and apply your knowledge to create smaller and better shellcodes. If you know who invented the leal technique, please tell me and I will credit him/her.

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A Web Standards Checklist, How to make a proper website

A Web Standards Checklist, How to make a proper website

A web standards checklist

The term web standards can mean different things to different people. For some, it is 'table-free sites', for others it is 'using valid code'. However, web standards are much broader than that. A site built to web standards should adhere to standards (HTML, XHTML, XML, CSS, XSLT, DOM, MathML, SVG etc) and pursue best practices (valid code, accessible code, semantically correct code, user-friendly URLs etc).

In other words, a site built to web standards should ideally be lean, clean, CSS-based, accessible, usable and search engine friendly.

About the checklist

This is not an uber-checklist. There are probably many items that could be added. More importantly, it should not be seen as a list of items that must be addressed on every site that you develop. It is simply a guide that can be used:

* to show the breadth of web standards
* as a handy tool for developers during the production phase of websites
* as an aid for developers who are interested in moving towards web standards

The checklist

1.Quality of code
1. Does the site use a correct Doctype?
2. Does the site use a Character set?
3. Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
4. Does the site use Valid CSS?
5. Does the site use any CSS hacks?
6. Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
7. Is the code well structured?
8. Does the site have any broken links?
9. How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
10. Does the site have JavaScript errors?

2. Degree of separation between content and presentation
1. Does the site use CSS for all presentation aspects (fonts, colour, padding, borders etc)?
2. Are all decorative images in the CSS, or do they appear in the (X)HTML?

3. Accessibility for users
1. Are "alt" attributes used for all descriptive images?
2. Does the site use relative units rather than absolute units for text size?
3. Do any aspects of the layout break if font size is increased?
4. Does the site use visible skip menus?
5. Does the site use accessible forms?
6. Does the site use accessible tables?
7. Is there sufficient colour brightness/contrasts?
8. Is colour alone used for critical information?
9. Is there delayed responsiveness for dropdown menus (for users with reduced motor skills)?
10. Are all links descriptive (for blind users)?

4. Accessibility for devices
1. Does the site work acceptably across modern and older browsers?
2. Is the content accessible with CSS switched off or not supported?
3. Is the content accessible with images switched off or not supported?
4. Does the site work in text browsers such as Lynx?
5. Does the site work well when printed?
6. Does the site work well in Hand Held devices?
7. Does the site include detailed metadata?
8. Does the site work well in a range of browser window sizes?

5. Basic Usability
1. Is there a clear visual hierarchy?
2. Are heading levels easy to distinguish?
3. Does the site have easy to understand navigation?
4. Does the site use consistent navigation?
5. Are links underlined?
6. Does the site use consistent and appropriate language?
7. Do you have a sitemap page and contact page? Are they easy to find?
8. For large sites, is there a search tool?
9. Is there a link to the home page on every page in the site?
10. Are visited links clearly defined with a unique colour?

6. Site management
1. Does the site have a meaningful and helpful 404 error page that works from any depth in the site?
2. Does the site use friendly URLs?
3. Do your URLs work without "www"?
4. Does the site have a favicon?

1. Quality of code

1.1 Does the site use a correct Doctype?
A doctype (short for 'document type declaration') informs the validator which version of (X)HTML you're using, and must appear at the very top of every web page. Doctypes are a key component of compliant web pages: your markup and CSS won't validate without them.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/doctype/


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/QA/2002/04/valid-dtd-list.html

CODE
http://css.maxdesign.com.au/listamatic/about-boxmodel.htm

CODE
http://gutfeldt.ch/matthias/articles/doctypeswitch.html


1.2 Does the site use a Character set?
If a user agent (eg. a browser) is unable to detect the character encoding used in a Web document, the user may be presented with unreadable text. This information is particularly important for those maintaining and extending a multilingual site, but declaring the character encoding of the document is important for anyone producing XHTML/HTML or CSS.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/International/tutorials/tutorial-char-enc/


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/International/O-charset.html


1.3 Does the site use Valid (X)HTML?
Valid code will render faster than code with errors. Valid code will render better than invalid code. Browsers are becoming more standards compliant, and it is becoming increasingly necessary to write valid and standards compliant HTML.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/sit2003/06.htm


More:
CODE
http://validator.w3.org/


1.4 Does the site use Valid CSS?
You need to make sure that there aren't any errors in either your HTML or your CSS, since mistakes in either place can result in botched document appearance.
CODE
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/articles/webrev/199904.html


More:
CODE
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/


1.5 Does the site use any CSS hacks?
Basically, hacks come down to personal choice, the amount of knowledge you have of workarounds, the specific design you are trying to achieve.
CODE
http://www.mail-archive.com/wsg@webstandardsgroup.org/msg05823.html


More:
CODE
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=CssHack

CODE
http://css-discuss.incutio.com/?page=ToHackOrNotToHack

CODE
http://centricle.com/ref/css/filters/


1.6 Does the site use unnecessary classes or ids?
I've noticed that developers learning new skills often end up with good CSS but poor XHTML. Specifically, the HTML code tends to be full of unnecessary divs and ids. This results in fairly meaningless HTML and bloated style sheets.
CODE
http://www.clagnut.com/blog/228/


1.7 Is the code well structured?
Semantically correct markup uses html elements for their given purpose. Well structured HTML has semantic meaning for a wide range of user agents (browsers without style sheets, text browsers, PDAs, search engines etc.)
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/benefits/index04.htm


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/2003/12/semantic-extractor.html


1.8 Does the site have any broken links?
Broken links can frustrate users and potentially drive customers away. Broken links can also keep search engines from properly indexing your site.

More:
CODE
http://validator.w3.org/checklink


1.9 How does the site perform in terms of speed/page size?
Don't make me wait... That's the message users give us in survey after survey. Even broadband users can suffer the slow-loading blues.
CODE
http://www.websiteoptimization.com/speed/


1.10 Does the site have JavaScript errors?
Internet Explore for Windows allows you to turn on a debugger that will pop up a new window and let you know there are javascript errors on your site. This is available under 'Internet Options' on the Advanced tab. Uncheck 'Disable script debugging'.

2. Degree of separation between content and presentation

2.1 Does the site use CSS for all presentation aspects (fonts, colour, padding, borders etc)?
Use style sheets to control layout and presentation.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-style-sheets


2.2 Are all decorative images in the CSS, or do they appear in the (X)HTML?
The aim for web developers is to remove all presentation from the html code, leaving it clean and semantically correct.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/benefits/index07.htm


3. Accessibility for users

3.1 Are "alt" attributes used for all descriptive images?
Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-text-equivalent


3.2 Does the site use relative units rather than absolute units for text size?
Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values'.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units


More:
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-relative-units

CODE
http://www.clagnut.com/blog/348/


3.3 Do any aspects of the layout break if font size is increased?
Try this simple test. Look at your website in a browser that supports easy incrementation of font size. Now increase your browser's font size. And again. And again... Look at your site. Does the page layout still hold together? It is dangerous for developers to assume that everyone browses using default font sizes.
3.4 Does the site use visible skip menus?

A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
CODE
http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12


Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10-TECHS/#tech-group-links


...blind visitors are not the only ones inconvenienced by too many links in a navigation area. Recall that a mobility-impaired person with poor adaptive technology might be stuck tabbing through that morass.
CODE
http://joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter08.html#h4-2020


More:
CODE
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/websmith/508/o.htm


3.5 Does the site use accessible forms?
Forms aren't the easiest of things to use for people with disabilities. Navigating around a page with written content is one thing, hopping between form fields and inputting information is another.
CODE
http://www.htmldog.com/guides/htmladvanced/forms/


More:
CODE
http://www.webstandards.org/learn/tutorials/accessible-forms/01-accessible-forms.html

CODE
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessible-form-builder.asp

CODE
http://accessify.com/tutorials/better-accessible-forms.asp


3.6 Does the site use accessible tables?
For data tables, identify row and column headers... For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-table-headers


More:
CODE
http://www.bcc.ctc.edu/webpublishing/ada/resources/tables.asp

CODE
http://www.accessify.com/tools-and-wizards/accessible-table-builder_step1.asp

CODE
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/tables/


3.7 Is there sufficient colour brightness/contrasts?
Ensure that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having colour deficits.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-colour-contrast


More:
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.asp


3.8 Is colour alone used for critical information?
Ensure that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour, for example from context or markup.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-colour-convey


There are basically three types of colour deficiency; Deuteranope (a form of red/green colour deficit), Protanope (another form of red/green colour deficit) and Tritanope (a blue/yellow deficit- very rare).

More:
CODE
http://colourfilter.wickline.org/

CODE
http://www.toledo-bend.com/colourblind/Ishihara.html

CODE
http://www.vischeck.com/vischeck/vischeckURL.php


3.9 Is there delayed responsiveness for dropdown menus?
Users with reduced motor skills may find dropdown menus hard to use if responsiveness is set too fast.

3.10 Are all links descriptive?
Link text should be meaningful enough to make sense when read out of context - either on its own or as part of a sequence of links. Link text should also be terse.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-meaningful-links


4. Accessibility for devices.

4.1 Does the site work acceptably across modern and older browsers?

Before starting to build a CSS-based layout, you should decide which browsers to support and to what level you intend to support them.
CODE
http://www.maxdesign.com.au/presentation/process/index_step01.cfm



4.2 Is the content accessible with CSS switched off or not supported?
Some people may visit your site with either a browser that does not support CSS or a browser with CSS switched off. In content is structured well, this will not be an issue.

4.3 Is the content accessible with images switched off or not supported?
Some people browse websites with images switched off - especially people on very slow connections. Content should still be accessible for these people.

4.4 Does the site work in text browsers such as Lynx?
This is like a combination of images and CSS switched off. A text-based browser will rely on well structured content to provide meaning.

More:
CODE
http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview


4.5 Does the site work well when printed?
You can take any (X)HTML document and simply style it for print, without having to touch the markup.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/goingtoprint/


More:
CODE
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign/css.html#print


4.6 Does the site work well in Hand Held devices?
This is a hard one to deal with until hand held devices consistently support their correct media type. However, some layouts work better in current hand-held devices. The importance of supporting hand held devices will depend on target audiences.

4.7 Does the site include detailed metadata?
Metadata is machine understandable information for the web
CODE
http://www.w3.org/Metadata/


Metadata is structured information that is created specifically to describe another resource. In other words, metadata is 'data about data'.


4.8 Does the site work well in a range of browser window sizes?
It is a common assumption amongst developers that average screen sizes are increasing. Some developers assume that the average screen size is now 1024px wide. But what about users with smaller screens and users with hand held devices? Are they part of your target audience and are they being disadvantaged?

5. Basic Usability
5.1 Is there a clear visual hierarchy?
Organise and prioritise the contents of a page by using size, prominence and content relationships.
CODE
http://www.great-web-design-tips.com/web-site-design/165.html


5.2 Are heading levels easy to distinguish?
Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification.
CODE
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/wai-pageauth.html#tech-logical-headings


5.3 Is the site's navigation easy to understand?
Your navigation system should give your visitor a clue as to what page of the site they are currently on and where they can go next.
CODE
http://www.1stsitefree.com/design_nav.htm


5.4 Is the site's navigation consistent?
If each page on your site has a consistent style of presentation, visitors will find it easier to navigate between pages and find information
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/accessibility/navigation.asp


5.5 Does the site use consistent and appropriate language?
The use of clear and simple language promotes effective communication. Trying to come across as articulate can be as difficult to read as poorly written grammar, especially if the language used isn't the visitor's primary language.
CODE
http://www.juicystudio.com/tutorial/accessibility/clear.asp


5.6 Does the site have a sitemap page and contact page? Are they easy to find?
Most site maps fail to convey multiple levels of the site's information architecture. In usability tests, users often overlook site maps or can't find them. Complexity is also a problem: a map should be a map, not a navigational challenge of its own.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20020106.html


5.7 For large sites, is there a search tool?
While search tools are not needed on smaller sites, and some people will not ever use them, site-specific search tools allow users a choice of navigation options.

5.8 Is there a link to the home page on every page in the site?
Some users like to go back to a site's home page after navigating to content within a site. The home page becomes a base camp for these users, allowing them to regroup before exploring new content.

5.9 Are links underlined?
To maximise the perceived affordance of clickability, colour and underline the link text. Users shouldn't have to guess or scrub the page to find out where they can click.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040510.html


5.10 Are visited links clearly defined?
Most important, knowing which pages they've already visited frees users from unintentionally revisiting the same pages over and over again.
CODE
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20040503.html


6. Site management

6.1 Does the site have a meaningful and helpful 404 error page that works from any depth in the site?
You've requested a page - either by typing a URL directly into the address bar or clicking on an out-of-date link and you've found yourself in the middle of cyberspace nowhere. A user-friendly website will give you a helping hand while many others will simply do nothing, relying on the browser's built-in ability to explain what the problem is.
CODE
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/perfect404/


6.2 Does the site use friendly URLs?
Most search engines (with a few exceptions - namely Google) will not index any pages that have a question mark or other character (like an ampersand or equals sign) in the URL... what good is a site if no one can find it?
CODE
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/search-engine-friendly-urls


One of the worst elements of the web from a user interface standpoint is the URL. However, if they're short, logical, and self-correcting, URLs can be acceptably usable
CODE
http://www.merges.net/theory/20010305.html


More:
CODE
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/search-engine-friendly-urls

CODE
http://www.websitegoodies.com/article/32

CODE
http://www.merges.net/theory/20010305.html


6.3 Does the site's URL work without "www"?
While this is not critical, and in some cases is not even possible, it is always good to give people the choice of both options. If a user types your domain name without the www and gets no site, this could disadvantage both the user and you.
6.4 Does the site have a favicon?

A Favicon is a multi-resolution image included on nearly all professionally developed sites. The Favicon allows the webmaster to further promote their site, and to create a more customized appearance within a visitor's browser.
CODE
http://www.favicon.com/


Favicons are definitely not critical. However, if they are not present, they can cause 404 errors in your logs (site statistics). Browsers like IE will request them from the server when a site is bookmarked. If a favicon isn't available, a 404 error may be generated. Therefore, having a favicon could cut down on favicon specific 404 errors. The same is true of a 'robots.txt' file.

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Accessing The Entire Internet On Your 3 Phone, U8110, E616 etc.

If you have a phone thats with the provider 3 theres a simple trick to allow you to access the entire internet on its browser without having to go through 3 services and only what they want to allow you access to view.

Simply do the following.

Menu - 9 (for settings) - 5 (for access points) - Edit the 3 Services
Change the APN (down the bottom) from 3services to 3netaccess
Restart the phone
And you can now access the entire internet through your phones browser.

Remember you'll have to change it back if you want to access 3 services.
Changing it in the browser doesn't seem to work.

I have tried this on my U8110 and it worked perfectly

Things to note:

* Remember that you are charged for all downloads (.4c per kb on most plans) so if your cautious about your phone bill id advise staying away from sites with loads of pictures.
* Also, some people have had trouble where they have accessed a site with too much information on it and the phone has either froze or reset. The phone is not harmed by this but its advisable you dont go to large sites on it for this or the above reason. If your phone freezes and you cant turn it off simply take the battery out and put it back in.

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20 Great Google Secrets

Google is clearly the best general-purpose search engine on the Web (see

www.pcmag.com/searchengines

But most people don't use it to its best advantage. Do you just plug in a keyword or two and hope for the best? That may be the quickest way to search, but with more than 3 billion pages in Google's index, it's still a struggle to pare results to a manageable number.

But Google is an remarkably powerful tool that can ease and enhance your Internet exploration. Google's search options go beyond simple keywords, the Web, and even its own programmers. Let's look at some of Google's lesser-known options.

Syntax Search Tricks

Using a special syntax is a way to tell Google that you want to restrict your searches to certain elements or characteristics of Web pages. Google has a fairly complete list of its syntax elements at

www.google.com/help/operators.html

. Here are some advanced operators that can help narrow down your search results.

Intitle: at the beginning of a query word or phrase (intitle:"Three Blind Mice") restricts your search results to just the titles of Web pages.

Intext: does the opposite of intitle:, searching only the body text, ignoring titles, links, and so forth. Intext: is perfect when what you're searching for might commonly appear in URLs. If you're looking for the term HTML, for example, and you don't want to get results such as

www.mysite.com/index.html

, you can enter intext:html.

Link: lets you see which pages are linking to your Web page or to another page you're interested in. For example, try typing in

link:http://www.pcmag.com


Try using site: (which restricts results to top-level domains) with intitle: to find certain types of pages. For example, get scholarly pages about Mark Twain by searching for intitle:"Mark Twain"site:edu. Experiment with mixing various elements; you'll develop several strategies for finding the stuff you want more effectively. The site: command is very helpful as an alternative to the mediocre search engines built into many sites.

Swiss Army Google

Google has a number of services that can help you accomplish tasks you may never have thought to use Google for. For example, the new calculator feature

(www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator)

lets you do both math and a variety of conversions from the search box. For extra fun, try the query "Answer to life the universe and everything."

Let Google help you figure out whether you've got the right spelling—and the right word—for your search. Enter a misspelled word or phrase into the query box (try "thre blund mise") and Google may suggest a proper spelling. This doesn't always succeed; it works best when the word you're searching for can be found in a dictionary. Once you search for a properly spelled word, look at the results page, which repeats your query. (If you're searching for "three blind mice," underneath the search window will appear a statement such as Searched the web for "three blind mice.") You'll discover that you can click on each word in your search phrase and get a definition from a dictionary.

Suppose you want to contact someone and don't have his phone number handy. Google can help you with that, too. Just enter a name, city, and state. (The city is optional, but you must enter a state.) If a phone number matches the listing, you'll see it at the top of the search results along with a map link to the address. If you'd rather restrict your results, use rphonebook: for residential listings or bphonebook: for business listings. If you'd rather use a search form for business phone listings, try Yellow Search

(www.buzztoolbox.com/google/yellowsearch.shtml).




Extended Googling

Google offers several services that give you a head start in focusing your search. Google Groups

(http://groups.google.com)

indexes literally millions of messages from decades of discussion on Usenet. Google even helps you with your shopping via two tools: Froogle
CODE
(http://froogle.google.com),

which indexes products from online stores, and Google Catalogs
CODE
(http://catalogs.google.com),

which features products from more 6,000 paper catalogs in a searchable index. And this only scratches the surface. You can get a complete list of Google's tools and services at

www.google.com/options/index.html

You're probably used to using Google in your browser. But have you ever thought of using Google outside your browser?

Google Alert

(www.googlealert.com)

monitors your search terms and e-mails you information about new additions to Google's Web index. (Google Alert is not affiliated with Google; it uses Google's Web services API to perform its searches.) If you're more interested in news stories than general Web content, check out the beta version of Google News Alerts

(www.google.com/newsalerts).

This service (which is affiliated with Google) will monitor up to 50 news queries per e-mail address and send you information about news stories that match your query. (Hint: Use the intitle: and source: syntax elements with Google News to limit the number of alerts you get.)

Google on the telephone? Yup. This service is brought to you by the folks at Google Labs

(http://labs.google.com),

a place for experimental Google ideas and features (which may come and go, so what's there at this writing might not be there when you decide to check it out). With Google Voice Search

(http://labs1.google.com/gvs.html),

you dial the Voice Search phone number, speak your keywords, and then click on the indicated link. Every time you say a new search term, the results page will refresh with your new query (you must have JavaScript enabled for this to work). Remember, this service is still in an experimental phase, so don't expect 100 percent success.

In 2002, Google released the Google API (application programming interface), a way for programmers to access Google's search engine results without violating the Google Terms of Service. A lot of people have created useful (and occasionally not-so-useful but interesting) applications not available from Google itself, such as Google Alert. For many applications, you'll need an API key, which is available free from
CODE
www.google.com/apis

. See the figures for two more examples, and visit

www.pcmag.com/solutions

for more.

Thanks to its many different search properties, Google goes far beyond a regular search engine. Give the tricks in this article a try. You'll be amazed at how many different ways Google can improve your Internet searching.


Online Extra: More Google Tips


Here are a few more clever ways to tweak your Google searches.

Search Within a Timeframe

Daterange: (start date–end date). You can restrict your searches to pages that were indexed within a certain time period. Daterange: searches by when Google indexed a page, not when the page itself was created. This operator can help you ensure that results will have fresh content (by using recent dates), or you can use it to avoid a topic's current-news blizzard and concentrate only on older results. Daterange: is actually more useful if you go elsewhere to take advantage of it, because daterange: requires Julian dates, not standard Gregorian dates. You can find converters on the Web (such as

CODE
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/JulianDate.html

excl.gif No Active Links, Read the Rules - Edit by Ninja excl.gif


), but an easier way is to do a Google daterange: search by filling in a form at

www.researchbuzz.com/toolbox/goofresh.shtml or www.faganfinder.com/engines/google.shtml

. If one special syntax element is good, two must be better, right? Sometimes. Though some operators can't be mixed (you can't use the link: operator with anything else) many can be, quickly narrowing your results to a less overwhelming number.

More Google API Applications

Staggernation.com offers three tools based on the Google API. The Google API Web Search by Host (GAWSH) lists the Web hosts of the results for a given query

(www.staggernation.com/gawsh/).

When you click on the triangle next to each host, you get a list of results for that host. The Google API Relation Browsing Outliner (GARBO) is a little more complicated: You enter a URL and choose whether you want pages that related to the URL or linked to the URL

(www.staggernation.com/garbo/).

Click on the triangle next to an URL to get a list of pages linked or related to that particular URL. CapeMail is an e-mail search application that allows you to send an e-mail to google@capeclear.com with the text of your query in the subject line and get the first ten results for that query back. Maybe it's not something you'd do every day, but if your cell phone does e-mail and doesn't do Web browsing, this is a very handy address to know.

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#DataVault, Irc Warez (Ty 4 Moving X)

Once Downloaded And Installed.. Next Step Is To Get Yourself Connected To The Datavault Network..

Step 1 :- Open irc, Goto Tools,Options. Then Servers, Click Add
Under Description Type : DataVault
Under IRC Server Type : irc.addictz.net
Under Port(S) Type : 6667-6669

Now Click Ok..

Step 2 : Connecting To Irc.Addictz.Net

Goto Tools/Options/Servers
Select Datavault From Drop Down Menu
Tick "New Server Window"
Then Click Connect

A New Window Will Open Telling You That You Are Connecting To Irc.Addictz.net

Step 3 : Now You Have To Register YourSelf.

In The Window Type /msg nickserv register "your Password" "Your Valid Email"
Next Type /msg NickServ IDENTIFY "The Password You Just Entered"

It Should Now Say Your Registered!

Now Type /J #Datavault

Step 4 : The Bots In DataVault Spam What They Host Every 1 Hour, Becareful Not To Spam These Or Else You Will Be Banned..

Every Hour You Will See What Looks Like Below :-

** To request a file type: "/msg slut02 BITCH send #x
#1 392x [0.7G] Torque.DVDRiP.XviD-BRUTUS
#2 1509x [0.7G] The.Butterfly.Effect.DVDRip.XviD-DMT

It's Simple To Request A Download Now..

There Are Different Bots With Different Names, Ie Slut02 Is Just One Bot, There Are More Called Dv44, Dv33 Slut03 Etc.. However The Trigger Principle Is The Sa,e

Now If For Example You Wanted To Download "The ButterFly Effect", In The Main Chat Window You Would Type or Copy /msg slut02 BITCH send #2

Let Me Explaine.. /msg Is The Trigger, Slut02 Is The Bot BITCH and Send Are Both Triggers #2 Is The File Number You Want. Each Bot Can Host Numerouse Files, Ie #1 Being Another Film, #3 Also Being Another Film.

Once You Have Done That And Press Return, Just Sit Back And Wait.. Either The Download Will Start Straight Away, Or You Will Be Qued (*Cough Dodgy Spelling*)

Right Now To The Benifits Of #Datavault..

1: The Latest Release Of Most Films And Games.
2: 99.99% The Time You Get To Download At You Max BandWidth No Matter Your Connection (Either 56k (Omg Dont Download A 3 Gig File On That!!), Or A T1/OC3 Connection))

I Hope Someone Finds This HelpFull, If It's In The Wrong Place/ Or Inappropriate Then Plz Delete And Serve Me The Warning I Deserve....

Edit : It's A Good Idea To Have Auto Accept Dcc On, Incase Your Away When You Come InLine For Your Download, Generally Even If Your 20th In Que And It Says 3 Hours Wait, Your Prolly Looking At Around 30 Mins Waiting Slot..

Any Problems Please Let Me Know.. NN Peeps..

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