CSS, Image Sprites, Background Images and Website Optimization

A little recap

The idea of placing multiple states of buttons and other elements that are used in background images took its roots, I believe, from Pixy's Fast Rollovers. The CSS Zen Master extended this to another purpose in CSS Sprites: Image Slicing’s Kiss of Death. Didier Hilhorst came up with a nice application of this method, and I worked it backwards in Responsible CSS - Recycle your background images.

The idea behind the 'sprites' method can obviously be extended to any html element, and there are tangible benefits for doing this, just as long as the designer does his or her usual homework.

Benfits of using the 'sprites' method

What are the possible the benefits of using this method? Essentially it lies in faster download times for your web content.

Readers of Andy Kings book, Speed Up Your Site: Web Site Optimization will notice that this method reduces http requests and makes more efficient use of the data packets used to transfer files to the users computer, and that that is a good thing.

Packet size and http requests
From Web Page Design and Download Time, by Jing Zhi of Keynote Systems (seen here - pdf), cited in Andy's book:

The basic performance principle is therefore to make fewer requests and transmit fewer packets. From this principle, we can derive two basic design rules for wellperforming Web pages. First, reduce the overall size of the page, thereby reducing the number of bytes (and packets) to be transferred over the Internet. Second, limit the number of embedded objects on the page, such as images, each of which must be requested and transferred separately from server to browser.

They also found that it was the number of packets and not necessarily the overall size of the page that was important. If a packet could hold 1460 bytes (the figure given in the article) and your object was 1600 bytes, it would require two packets. They found that this object would transfer at the same speed as another object that was greater in size but still fit in two packets.

Potential payoff
The potential payoff for using this method versus individual images, then, is a faster download time due to reduced number of packets and fewer http requests.

Reducing http requests is easy. One file instead of two or three etc. is simple. But packet requests? That depends...

An example
The number of packets sent will depend on the size of the file and the users internet connection.

As an example, lets look at the fiftyfoureleven.com logo at the top of the page. When this design was first being coded, that link consisted of two 3.34kb images, one for the link state and one for the hover state. Now, by using one image that contains both states and simply bumping it back and forth depending on the hover state, that has been reduced to one 5.35 kb image. Right there is a savings of 1.33 kb. Good news.

Now, for arguments sake lets say that a packet can hold 1460 bytes (packet size for connections greater than 128kb/s = 1500 bytes -40bytes for tcp/ip headers). The two image method used 6 packets, 3 for each image (3.34/1.46, rounded up). The single image method uses 4 packets (5.34/1.46, rounded up).

Things are looking good.

How to optimize
In his alistapart article, Dave refers to the image that holds all of the sprites as his 'master image'. The key to benefitting from this method is to ensure that the file size of your master image isn't a bloated equivalent versus the sum of its pieces.

Conclusion
Great benefits can be realized when combining a master image from slices that fall well below the size of one packet, as that unused packet space goes wasted.

After doing a little more research, it seems that packet size can vary depending on the connection rate. That being said, it may be rather difficult to come up with a firm rule here. To play it smart and safe, try and:

build master images that are smaller then the sum of their collective slices (by combining images of similar colors, for example) or
rather than use a different distinct image for a certain element, reuse one that you already plan on using elsewhere.
This isn't exactly groundbreaking advice, however having seen the results acheived with the logo on this page, it can be seen that using the sprite method versus individual images at minimum does reduce http requests and even further it can reduce file size which in turn can reduce the number of packets sent.

Microsoft release Windows 8.1 preview for free download

According to my previous post Microsoft will release newest Windows 8.1, and they put it to download for free, so every windows user can download it to use for free with Preview version of windows 8.1.

Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview are pre-release versions of Windows 8.1. They build on Windows 8 and bring you more ways to stay productive, have fun, and do all the things you need and want to do on your PC. Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview include enhancements in personalization, search, apps, the Windows Store, and cloud connectivity, and have the security and reliability features you expect from Windows. They're fast, and made to work on a variety of form factors—especially the new generation of touch devices.

Here’s your chance to be one of the first to try out the preview. We'll use your feedback to make the final product even better.

Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview are stable and have been thoroughly tested, but aren't the finished product. Your PC could crash and you could lose important files. You should back up your data and you shouldn't test the preview on your primary home or business PC. You might also encounter problems like:

• Software that doesn’t install or work correctly, including antivirus or security programs.
• Printers, video cards, or other hardware that doesn’t work.
• Difficulty accessing corporate or home networks.
• Damage to some of your files.

You should carefully balance the risks and rewards of trying out the preview before you install it.

Windows 8.1 Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows 8:

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
• Free hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• Graphics card: MicrosoftDirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Windows RT 8.1 Preview requires that you have a PC already running Windows RT with 10 GB of free storage space.

To Download Windows 8.1 Preview click on the link bellow:

Windows 8.1 Preview 32 bit

Windows 8.1 Preview 64 bit

Use this  product key: NTTX3-RV7VB-T7X7F-WQYYY-9Y92F for ISO file only

Download product guide 

Enjoy the new release products. 

Microsoft is giving people to upgrade to Windows 8.1

Microsoft is giving people a peek into Windows 8.1, a free update that promises to address some of the gripes people have with the latest version of the company's flagship operating system.

Although the preview version of Windows 8.1 is meant for Microsoft's partners and other technology developers, anyone will be able to download it for free starting Wednesday, exactly eight months since desktops, laptops and tablets with Windows 8 went on sale. The version of the Windows 8.1 update meant for the general public will come out later in the year, though a specific date hasn't been announced.

Many of the new features have been shown off already. A three-day Build conference, which starts Wednesday in San Francisco, will give Microsoft developers a chance to learn more about the new system and try it out. It also will give the company a chance to explain some of the reasoning behind the update and sell developers on Microsoft's ambitions to regain relevance lost to Apple's iPad and various devices running Google's Android software.

There's also speculation that Microsoft could show off a new, smaller version of its Surface tablet computers. One of the new features in Windows 8.1 is the ability to work well on smaller-screen devices.

Windows 8, which was released Oct. 26, was meant to be Microsoft's answer to changing customer behaviors and the rise of tablet computers. The operating system emphasizes touch controls over the mouse and the keyboard, which had been the main way people have interacted with their personal computers since the 1980s.

But some people have been put off by the radical makeover.

Although Microsoft has said it has sold more than 100 million Windows 8 licenses so far, some analysts have blamed the lackluster response to the operating system for a steep drop in PC sales in the first three months of the year, the worst drop since tracking by outside research firms began in 1994.

Among the complaints: the lack of a Start button on the lower left corner of the screen. In previous versions of Windows, that button gave people quick access to programs, settings and other tasks. Microsoft replaced that with a tablet-style, full-screen start page, but that covered up whatever programs people were working on, and it had only favorite programs. Extra steps were needed to access less-used programs. Settings, a search box and other functions were hidden away in a menu that had to be pulled out from the right. How to do that changed depending on whether a mouse or touch was used.

And while Microsoft has encouraged people to use the new tablet-style layout, many programs — including Microsoft's latest Office software package — are designed for the older, desktop mode. People were forced into the tablet layout when they start up the machine and had to manually switch the desktop mode each time.

Windows 8.1 will allow people to start in the desktop mode automatically. In that mode, it is restoring a button that resembles the old Start button. Although the Start button will now take people back to the new tablet-style start screen, rather than the old Start menu, the re-introduction of the familiar button may make it easier for longtime Windows users to get accustomed to the changes.

Other new features of Windows 8.1 include more options to use multiple apps. People will get more options to determine how much of the screen each app takes while showing up to four different programs, rather than just two. The update will also offer more integrated search results, showing users previews of websites, apps and documents that are on the device, all at once.

Although Microsoft is addressing much of the criticisms with Windows, it is positioning the update as more than just a fix-up job. From its perspective, the tuneup underscores Microsoft's evolution into a more nimble company capable of moving quickly to respond to customer feedback while also rolling out more innovations for a myriad of Windows devices — smartphones, tablets or PCs.

It's crucial that Microsoft sets things right with Windows 8.1 because the outlook for the PC market keeps getting gloomier. IDC now expects PC shipments to fall by nearly 8 percent this year, worse than its previous forecast of a 1 percent dip. IDC also anticipates tablets will outsell laptop computers for the first time this year.

The growing popularity of tablets is now being driven largely by less expensive devices with display screens measuring 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally. Microsoft built Windows 8 primarily to run on tablets with 10-inch to 12-inch screens, an oversight that Microsoft is also trying to fix with Windows 8.1.

Microsoft has said the company was working with other manufacturers to make smaller tablets, but it has yet to confirm reports that it is making its own. A smaller Surface with an 8-inch screen would be significantly smaller than its current, 10.6-inch models and would put the Surface in closer competition with Apple's iPad Mini, Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HD.

Such a device would coincide with Intel Corp.'s recent release of a new chip line called Haswell. The company says Haswell chips offer a 50 percent improvement in battery life over the previous generation when playing back high-definition video.

In an indication that Microsoft Corp. is clearing out inventory of a Surface tablet running the lightweight Windows RT operating system, the company is effectively cutting the price of that by including a keyboard cover for free. The cover sells for $120 or $130 on its own.

Microsoft also said this month that it would give buyers of the RT version of Surface the Outlook email and calendar program at no extra charge — joining other Office freebies Excel, Word and Power Point — and sweetening the offer for the device that is priced starting at $499. That will come as part of the Windows 8.1 update.

Source: From AP.

How to Access Windows 8 Action Center

Hello everyone!! Today i will show you one more tips for user using Windows 8!

Windows 8 was release in 2012 as Windows preview and bring new exxperience go into New Technologies today. In this tips i will show how to use Windows 8 Action Center. There two ways to access Windows 8 action center:

1. Access Windows 8 action centers through Control Penal.

2. Access Windows 8 action center through Flag on the tast bar Icon.

Ok i will show you step by step from the first until second ways, now let do it.

1. Access Windows 8 action centers through Control Penal:

Go to => Control Panel by click on windows Key + c to open Charm Bar panel then => Setting​​( show pic1)

then on the top of Setting panel Click on Control Panel to Open Control Panel Setting Windows Box​(show pic 2)

On the Control Panel Windows Click on System and Security then System and Security open up and on

the top of System and Security click on Action Center (show pic 3 & pic 4).

In Action Center click on Maintenance it will show up you many setting for you to chose and change 

what ever you think it best for your windows 8 ( show pic 5).

2.  Access Windows 8 action centers through Flag on the tast bar Icon.

The Second ways just easy to Access Windows 8 action centers then First way, but setting are follow

 the first Method because all setting are the same to each other. See Screen bellow for Access

 Windows 8 action centers through Flag on the task bar Icon. (Show pic 6). 

Enjoy my Tips, thank you. :)

4 ways useful in Windows 8.

Microsoft has been release New Windows with New Interface and Features,call windows 8. Windows 8 was born with many new features one of them is Metro style. Windows 8 was build in 3 ways to clean your hard drive in deep and effective and 1 ways search bar.

The three ways to clean your hard drive is the best tools for windows 8 and it come with windows 8 ready when your Computers install windows 8 on your hard drive. It

call drive tools. Drive Tools was provides three sub tools to user use to optimize , clean up, and format your hard drive. As show in the pictures: 

1. Optimize: When user click on optimize the pop up windows will appear and show with new windows (see picture), in the new windows will show you about all your hard drive was install on your computer. In the status box they are three type of your hard disk and they show 4 type of the information on your hard drive as drives, Media type, Last run, and Current status. Under the status box you will see Analyze and Optimize, now let me tell one-by-one:

-Analyze: before you can optimize your hard drive you need your computer to do an analyze your size of the Hard drive first, so now let click on analyze (see picture) the result will show in different it depend on how your drive has fragment  the picture show the result of my drive is 10% of fragment so mean that the windows has 10% fragment need to optimize, than let click on the Optimize and watch your Windows work and wait until your windows finish it, and you also can make it to fragment your drive daily, weekly, or Monthly just click on Change setting, (see picture)

2. Clean up: Now let me show you one more tools, clean up is the powerful and useful, with Clean up tools will let all user to clean up any files that you want to delete it from your computers such as Download files, Temporary internet files, Recycle Bin, Temporary files, Thumbnails, Per user achieved windows report., you can  clean up these files whatever you can by click and tick on the files you want and than click on Clean up files system and click ok. (see picture)

3. Format tools: Format Tools will let all user can format their hard drives except Drive C, because the windows can not format itself. You can format like memory cards or Flash drives and any externals Hard disk with those tools because it provide you a completed features. (Please see picture)

4. Search Tools: Microsoft was build new feature Search tools with kind of windows, but for Windows 8 the Search tools was up to date like windows 8 too. Now let watch what new with new windows search tools. They was provide 4 type also,such as Date Modified, Kinds, Size, and Others Properties. I will describe one by one in the follow:

- Date Modified: Date Modified it can use when you want to search your files and make a specific on the date of your files, so just click on the date that you think it was create on the specific date or the date that u use to copy from your friends than hit. (See picture bellow).

- Kind search: It refer to kind of files (extension) or document like Words document files type (exe, cap,.etc,), Music and Movies (mp3, mp4, avi, Dat, etc,) you just types the kinds of files and extension you want to search in search bar, for example i use kind of movie and extension.mp4 than hit search all files which has extension .mp4 will show up. (See Picture for the result of your search).

- Size of Search: You can use specific size of file for your search result, for example if you want to search one file and it contain file size large (1MB-16MB) than just click on the size of the search tools and the files will show up in the windows Search result, (see picture bellow)

- Others Properties Search: In Others Properties Search you can use like Folder path, Name, Tag, and extension, so in this types you can use one that you like and than hit search so all the files will show up follow your method you use, (see picture).

I hope you Enjoy my tips. :)

Password Replication Policy in Windows Server 2008.

In the previous lesson we installed an RODC, to continue we will create a branchofficeusers security group and populate it with users. We will then create a password replication policy, monitor credential caching, and prepopulate credentials on the RODC.In this scenario we will create 3 users Jim Bean, Paul Gray and Mike Stand.

Jim and Paul will become members of the branchofficeusers group, Mike Stand will not be added to the group;his credentials will be prepopulated later. All three users will be added to the print operators group in order to allow them to logon to the Domain controller locally. This action is not recommended in production environments and is only used for testing purposes.

On DC1 open Active directory Users and computers. Right click Builtin and select New>Group. Group name branchofficeusers, click OK. On DC1 open Active directory Users and computers. Right click Users and select New>User. Fill in User’s details and click Next. Type in password and confirm password and click Next. Repeat process for other users, Paul Gray and Mike Stand. Click finish to complete.

Select users Jim Bean and Paul Gray – Right click and select add to a group. Specify branchofficeusers and click OK.

Add to group

All three users will be added to the print operators group in order to allow them to logon to the Domain controller locally. This action is not recommended in production environments and is only used for testing purposes.

Right click branchofficeusers group and select Add to a group. Specify the Print Operators group and click OK.

Configure RODC-Specific Password Replication Policy

To facilitate the management of PRP, Windows Server 2008 creates two domain local security groups in the Users container of Active Directory. The first, named Allowed RODC Password Replication Group, is added to the Allowed List of each new RODC. By default, the group has no members. Therefore, by default, a new RODC will not cache any user’s credentials. If there are users whose credentials you want to be cached by all domain RODCs, add those users to the Allowed RODC Password Replication Group.

The second group is named Denied RODC Password Replication Group. It is added to the Denied List of each new RODC. If there are users whose credentials you want to ensure are never cached by domain RODCs, add those users to the Denied RODC Password Replication Group. By default, this group contains security-sensitive accounts that are members of groups including Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, and Group Policy Creator Owners.

The two groups described in the previous section provide a method to manage PRP on all RODCs. However, to support a branch office scenario most efficiently, you need to allow the RODC in each branch office to cache user and computer credentials in that specific location. Therefore, you need to configure the Allowed List and the Denied List of each RODC.

In the Domain Controllers OU, right click branchrodc, Select Properties. Select Password Replication Policy. Click Allowed RODC Password Replication Group. Select Members. By Default the group is empty. Click Denied RODC Password Replication Group. Select Members. By default, this group contains security sensitive accounts that are members of groups including Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, and Group Policy Creator Owners. In the Allowed Password Replication Group Properties Members Tab click Add. Specify branchofficeusers and click OK. Branch office user’s credentials will be cached by the server.

Monitor Credential Caching

The 3 users we created previously will logon to the RODC so we can monitor the caching. Remember Mike Stand was not a member of the branchofficeusers group, his credentials should not be cached by the RODC. We will use his account to prepopulate his password to the RODC.

After the users have logged on and off, on DC1 open the Domain controllers OU. Right click the RODC and select Properties. Select Password Replication Policy. Click Advanced. Note the two members of the branchofficeusers group, passwords are stored in Accounts whose passwords are stored on this read-only domain controller. Mike Stand’s password has not been stored. Mike Stand’s password  is in the Accounts that have been authenticated to this read-only domain controller. Mike Stand’s password can be prepopulated to this RODC. Click Prepopulate Passwords. Specify Mike Stand’s account and click OK. Click Yes. Mike Stand’s password cannot be prepopulated because we did not add him to the allowed list. Return to the Password Replication Policy box and select Add. . Then select Allow passwords for the account to replicate to the RODC. Click OK. Specify Mike Stand’s account and click OK. Mike Stand’s password can be prepopulated to this RODC. Click Prepopulate Passwords. Specify Mike Stand’s account and click OK. Click Yes. Click OK. Mike Stand’s password is now stored on the RODC. Click Close. Click OK.

Remember in order for a user to logon when no Writeable domain controller is available, both the User’s and the Computer’s passwords must be stored on the RODC. Enjoy your reading.

Configuring a Read-Only Domain Controller in window Server 2008.

Consider an enterprise that is characterized by a main site and  branch offices. The branch offices connect to the main site over WAN links that might be congested, expensive, slow, or unreliable. Users in the branch office must be authenticated by Active Directory to access resources in the domain. Should a DC be placed in the branch office?

If a DC is not placed in the branch office, authentication and service ticket activities will be directed to the main site over the WAN link. Authentication occurs when a user first logs on to his or her computer in the morning. Service tickets are a component of the Kerberos authentication mechanism used by Windows Server 2008 domains.

If a DC is placed in the branch office, authentication is much more efficient, but there are several potentially significant risks.

A DC maintains a copy of all attributes of all objects in its domain, including secrets such as information related to user passwords. If a DC is accessed or stolen, it becomes possible for a determined expert to identify valid user names and passwords, at which point the entire domain is compromised. At a minimum, you must reset the passwords of every user account in the domain. Because the security of servers at branch offices is often less than ideal, a branch office DC poses a considerable security risk.

A second concern is that the changes to the Active Directory database on a branch office DC replicate to the hub site and to all other DCs in the environment. Therefore, corruption to the

branch office DC poses a risk to the integrity of the enterprise directory service. For example, if a branch office administrator performs a restore of the DC from an outdated backup, there

can be significant repercussions for the entire domain.

The third concern relates to administration. A branch office domain controller might require maintenance, for example, a new device driver. To perform maintenance on a standard domain controller, you must log on as a member of the Administrators group on the domain controller, which means you are effectively an administrator of the domain. It might not be appropriate to grant that level of capability to a support team at a branch office.

Read-Only Domain Controllers

The RODC is designed specifically to address the branch office scenario. An RODC is a domain controller, typically placed in the branch office, that maintains a copy of all objects in the domain and all attributes except secrets such as password-related properties. When a user in the branch office logs on, the RODC receives the request and forwards it to a domain controller in the main site for authentication.

You are able to configure a password replication policy (PRP) for the RODC that specifies user accounts the RODC is allowed to cache. If the user logging on is included in the PRP, the RODC caches that user’s credentials, so the next time authentication is requested, the RODC can perform the task locally. As users who are included in the PRP log on, the RODC builds its cache of credentials so that it can perform authentication locally for those users.

Because the RODC maintains only a subset of user credentials, if the RODC is compromised or stolen, the effect of the security exposure is limited; only the user accounts that had been

cached on the RODC must have their passwords changed. Writable domain controllers maintain a list of all cached credentials on individual RODCs. When you delete the account of the stolen or compromised RODC from Active Directory, you are given the option to reset the passwords of all user accounts that were cached on the RODC.

The RODC replicates changes to Active Directory from DCs in the main site. Replication is one way (from a writable domain controller to a RODC); no changes to the RODC are replicated to any other domain controller. This eliminates the exposure of the directory service to corruption resulting from changes made to a compromised branch office DC. Finally, RODCs, unlike writable DCs, have a local Administrators group. You can give one or more local support personnel the ability to maintain an RODC fully, without granting them the equivalence of domain administrators.

Installing an RODC

An RODC must replicate domain updates from a writable domain controller running Windows Server 2008. It is critical that an RODC is able to establish a replication connection with a writable Windows Server 2008 domain controller. Ideally, the writable Windows Server 2008 domain controller should be in the closest site to the main site. In the following lesson we will create an RODC called Branchrodc attached to the Es-net domain. We will create a branch office security group and users, then configure a Password Replication Policy (PRP)

Type dcpromo in the run box and click OK. Check if Active Directory binaries are installed. Active Directory installation wizard starts. Click Next to continue. Operating System compatibility page click Next. Ensure add a domain controller to an existing domain is checked and click Next.

Enter domain you wish to join and specify credentials, then click Next. Select domain then click Next. Select site for new domain controller and click Next. Ensure Global Catalog and Read-only domain controller (RODC) are checked and click Next. Click Next. Type in and confirm restore mode password and click Next. Review selections and click Next. Installation of Active Directory begins. Installation completed. Click Finish. To complete the install click Restart Now. Enjoy your reading :)