So you think your site could use a little movement. It's just a little too static. "Computers," you think, "are interactive, my site should be too!” After all, this isn't a still life painting. Viewers are encouraged to reach out and touch anything they can click their mouse on. Maybe they'll find something they didn't expect. Maybe that unexpected, or perhaps expected, change will thrill and excite them. It may not, but it will certainly draw their attention. So, how might you present this immersive experience to a visitor of your site? Why, Adobe Flash of course!

Omnitech utilizes Flash to create anything from a simple photo slideshow to fully interactive sites. We have the expertise needed to provide flash implementation that is both engaging and intuitive. Want to put a movie on your site? Flash is the tool to use. "Why not use Windows Media Player or Quicktime?," you might ask. Sure, those players present excellent quality video over the web but they often require a first-time user to download a plugin to view the video. On the other hand, the appropriate Flash plugin comes prepackaged with all current browsers; so you won't have to worry about downloading an application, just the occasional update. You don't want to keep your often impatient visitors waiting (or going somewhere else) because the plugin they need is still downloading.

Adobe Flash keeps things interesting with animation and interactivity. Can too much movement overwhelm the viewer and distract from informational content being provided? It can, and that is why Omnitech ensures that Flash components we implement will enhance the users’ experience and guides their attention to the information you want to communicate.

Due to the enthusiastic responses Flash receives, it was only a matter of time until other companies started throwing their hats in the ring. Microsoft recently announced the launch of their own cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in known as Silverlight. Microsoft Silverlight brings .NET-based interactive applications to the next generation of web viewers in much the same way Flash does. Please feel free to visit again as we will be getting more in depth regarding Microsoft Silverlight, its capabilities, and how Omnitech can make the right technology work for you.

So what is AJAX and why do you want it? The word AJAX is nothing more than an acronym for Asynchronous Javascript and XML. If you are from Brazil, AJAX could stand for the Associação de Jogadores Amadores de Xadrez. However, we are not speaking of the Brazilian Chess Fans Players Association. When we talk about AJAX, we are discussing a technique used for creating highly interactive web applications. No one owns it and neither is it a technology, as such. Rather it is a new and growing approach for architecting web sites and web applications using several classic technologies:

• Standard Presentation (X)HTML and CSS
• The Document Object Model (DOM)
• Server Data Exchange via the XMLHttpRequest Object
• Javascript (which binds it all together)

If you are unfamiliar with the world of IT (Information Technology) and find some of the terms confusing, the following site is quite helpful. Webopedia is “the only online dictionary and search engine you need for computer and Internet technology definitions”. Some terms we recommend reading up on include: .NET, AJAX, ASP.NET, PHP, JavaScript, Flash, WPF/Silverlight, Intranet, Extranet, Wikiblog, and Web 2.0. Omnitech uses the aforementioned technologies on a daily basis. A better understanding of the technologies used at Omnitech will provide you, the client, with the opportunity to make informed decisions and help us make your business as effective as possible.

In the upcoming months, we will be digging deeper into each of these technologies and explaining how we implement them in our work and how they affect your business environment.