So running the calibration tool is pretty easy, just follow the included directions but note, on a dual monitor setup run it on your primary monitor first. The one marked “1” in the display settings. After the tool completes its going to install an application that runs on startup and makes sure the correct profile is loaded. This profile will be put in the directory I stated above. Now after this is done, go into that directory and rename the profile. I renamed mine from Spyder2Express.icm to Spyder2Express_right.icm and when I do the left monitor I will rename that one ‘_left’.

After this you’ll want to take your monitors and switch the primary monitor to your secondary. This way you can run the software on the other monitor now. Restart the machine and once the new primary monitor is set run the Spyder2Express again. This profile will be in that same directory with the default name again. Rename this one to something, i.e. “_left”. And you’re done with the calibration tool.

Now after this I go into our color control software, be it Vista’s built in software or our downloaded applet for XP, and I select one of the monitors listed (if you have different makes and models this will be easy, if they are the same it’s a bit of guesswork) and associate it with one of the profiles made, either the _right or the _left profile. Now select the other monitor and associate with the other profile. After applying these changes restart your machine. When the Spyder2Express Software loads up you *should* see a message on each screen where it is loading up the color profile. Now in the silly case where you have two of the same monitor and the color profiles have switched ( you see the _left profile loading on the right) go back into the applet and switch the profiles.

TADA…your done ....email me or post comments on any problems/questions

After buying a second 22”Samsung LCD 226BW. I bought the first one around a year ago, right in the middle of the big panel debate (if you don’t know what I’m talking about search for that model monitor and “S panel”.) Basically Samsung outsourced its panels to a few other manufacturers and while they weren’t “bad” monitors, the Samsung made panels were far better. I got lucky and my original monitor turned out to be a S panel and I have been insanely happy with it.

Flash forward to now, I order a second monitor and receive an “A panel”. While the monitor is very good quality, no stuck pixels, etc there is one problem. The monitor has a SEVERE blue tint to it under normal setup. Using the built in color adjustment I robbed the monitor of almost all blue color, from a setting of “50” to a setting of “5” and there was still a pronounced blue tint. Doing what any normal person would do I decided to spend more money and get a monitor color calibrator.

I wasn’t aware they had dropped so greatly in price, and after searching Amazon.com I ordered this Spyder2Express.

Now after ordering I noticed a serious problem, this product only works on a single monitor. You need the $160 device to support dual monitors. So after a little searching and a little playing I figured out there are ways around it. So here I’m going to outline how to use this with dual monitors on Windows Vista and XP.

PreReq’s :

Windows Vista comes with a built in utility to manage color profiles where as Windows XP does not. Usually color profiles end with a *.icm file extension. These are stored in x:\WINDOWS\System32\Spool\drivers\Color on both a Vista machine and an XP machine.

So if you have windows XP grab the “Microsoft Color Control Applet”, it can be found here Microsoft Color Control Applet and its provided straight from Microsoft. With this applet you get the same control that they now built into Vista. This applet gets installed into the Control Panel. So before you go and run a Spyder2Express there are some things you should know. First uninstall Adobe Gamma, or any type of color profile management software. Including the monitors software i.e. Samsung. After this you’re ready to run the color calibrator.

No plugin needed, you can list however many recent posts by title using the wp_get_archives function. Insert this code into your sidebar.php

<ul> <?php wp_get_archives(’type=postbypost&limit=10'); ?> </ul>

The limit can be adjust to any number of posts.

The letter-spacing is treated differently on OSX than Windows XP. This can cause problems if you basing a design off text-based CSS. This fix works perfectly if you using a simple dropdown menu that uses absolute positions and auto margins, so its not a child of the initial menu you made, an example can be seen here: www.cmcri.org

A simple javascript code can detect a MAC platform with an IF statement, IF it is MAC then write to document a style. This code must be inserted after your initial call for your style sheet so it overwrites the original CSS code.

if(navigator.userAgent.indexOf('Mac') != -1)

{document.write ('<style type="text/css">#header ul li a{letter-spacing:.025em;}</style>');}

Easy fix!

“Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect”
—Tim Berners Lee of W3C

President Clinton passed the Rehabilitation Act Amendments in 1998. The newly amended acts holds Section 508, which refers to the web. Section 508 stated that in 2001 those with disabilities must be able to access all federal electronic documents and information. The amended law effectively limits the options and tools used by designers and programmers when designing websites. The law has its pros and cons, but positively forces the web to be accessible to those with blindness, color blindness, or motor skill disabilities. The law currently applies to only federal or federal supported websites. Section 508 enforcement cross web is inevitable in years to come. We as designers should be aware of the negative and positive affects that spawn from this law. Understanding ways to satisfy this law will prepare us for the future and help those the law was intended for.

The law focuses on making content understandable and navigable, assigning alternate text to describe images, functioning resizable text, and providing content that can be presented to the user as audibly or visually. Satisfying these parameters takes a bit of know how and organization. HTML markup must be error free and hierarchically correct. This means denoting headers before paragraphs and using objects like lists and blockquotes appropriately. Along with HTML, CSS must be properly marked. There are software, browser add-ons, and websites that can be used to check both HTML and CSS code for errors and warnings. All images can be Section 508 compliant
by adding a description of the image in the alt attribute in the image tag. Using an image map for navigation is poor technique, but can be used in conjunction with CSS or a secondary text based navigation. Technology like Adobe Flash or Javascript can create great visual enhancements but do not satisfy Section 508 Standards. When using these technologies be careful to properly tag your Flash document to explain its purpose and do not rely on Javascript to create your main navigation. If a site is all flash, there should be an optional text-based version of that site to satisfy Section 508. Sitemaps are a great way to provide alternate navigation with titles. There are free sitemap generators that will scan your site and create a list of links by page titles in a neat Section 508 compliant XML based code. Most validation and web tools are free; web sources are located in the left column.

Having a site that is Section 508 compliant makes it easier to find for indexing services like Google or Yahoo. Indexing services use coded robots that are programmed to search the web for new links or content. Like the individuals Section 508 accompanies too, the robots cannot process animated flash, sound, video, or images. By properly tagging these objects your site will be easier to find and navigate for both parties. Better SEO page rankings awarded to Section 508 compliant sites with proper valid markup, a bonus reward for the extra work done and a great selling point to clients.
Guidelines from WC3

Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content
Don’t rely on color alone
Use markup and style sheets and do so properly
Clarify natural language usage
Create tables that transform gracefully
Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully
Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes
Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces
Design for device-independence
Use interim solutions
Use W3C technologies and guidelines
Provide context and orientation information
Provide clear navigation mechanisms
Ensure that documents are clear and simple

Developer Resources 

Web Developer Tool Bar
http://chrispederick.com
Google Sitemap Crawler
http://gsitecrawler.com
Web Content Accessibility Validation Tool
http://www.cynthiasays.com
Web HTML and CSS Validation
http://validator.w3.org
Content Sources

Cohen, Daniel J., and Roy Rosenzweig. Digital History: A Guide to Gathering, Preserving, and Presenting the Past on the Web. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006. p. 137-40
“Section 508: The Road to Accessibility.” Section508.gov 27 Nov 2007
“W3C’s Section 508 and UAAG Requirements Mapping Suite.” W3.org 27 Nov 2007
“Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.” W3.org 5 May 1999