Macromedia's New--And Evolving--Web Site

Macromedia recently posted a progress report on their new Web site, including changes they have made as a result of user feedback and reactions to the site. It is encouraging to see MACR listening to its site's users, and changing their site based on user feedback. This underscores the idea that a Web site should be seen as a work in progress. Developers should be willing to concede that ideas (page layout, navigation, controls, etc.) which look good on paper as the site is being developed may not work well or at all when the site goes live. Developers (and the clients they are developing sites for) should be flexible enough to allow for changes in the site based on things such as usability studies and user feedback.

Check That Code!

How do you know if the pages of your site contain valid HTML? Check out the W3C MarkUp Validation Service, where you can test the validity of any page on the Web.

Even Reuters Uses Flash

Reuters news service is using Flash to stream war video footage on their Web site. [Click the "Reuters raw video conflict in Iraq" link in the upper right.]

Software Security at Macromedia

What steps does Macromedia take to find and resolve security issues in its software? Macromedia chief product security officer Paul Madar answers this question in an article on Macromedia's Web site.

Win 2000 Security Alert

If you are running IIS on a Win 2000 box, be sure to check out Security Bulletin MS03-007 on Microsoft's Web site. According to Microsoft:

"An identified security vulnerability in Microsoft® Windows® 2000 could allow an attacker to take control of your computer. This issue is most likely to affect computers used as Web servers."

Would You Like An Email Message With Your Fries?

McDonald's has announced that they will be offering wireless Internet access in some of their stores. By the end of this year, access will be available in 300 McDonald's stores in New York City, Chicago, and a yet-to-be-named California town.

Hard Drives Lose Their Wires

It was bound to happen sooner or later...with all kinds of devices going wireless, Martian Technology asked--and answered--the question 'why not a wireless hard drive?' Their new NetDrive wireless hard drive adds 40 gigs of wireless storage to your network for US$399.