Web Compatibility:
Since last month our content has been valid for XHTML 1.0. Today I’m glad to announce that the same applies to CSS 2.1. That won’t mean much to the average user, but it’s a step to keep within the web design guidelines. Our databases got refreshed, images optimized, and scripts compressed meaning things should load a lot faster than before. We try to make sure compatibility with every browser, but these browsers will render Skatter Tech properly: Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome. (If want to help us throw in support for Opera, please feel to give us a hand. We might need it!)

Social Networking:
We launched a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter Account last month. It’s been a great source of traffic and letting new readers know about our site, we plan to keep those going strong. We also added easier methods to share reviews on Skatter Tech with some of the most popular sites including Delicious, Digg, LinkedIn, MySpace, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Yahoo Buzz. You can find those icons conveniently placed below each article. We encourage you to share the stories you enjoyed most with your friends!

Advertisers:
We kept hearing about irrelevant and the occasional “spam nature” of the Ads on Skatter Tech. Unfortunately we can’t entirely get rid of ads since that’s our main source of income, but have taken steps to change what’s seen. The majority of Ads are now hand selected and approved by us. Same rules applies to sponsors. If it’s inappropriate or shady, no one will ever have to see it here. Ads that are generated for relevance, now are targeted and optimized to help you find relevant deals.

Author Info & Contact
Although we’re still updating it, you can find out more about me and the rest of Skatter Tech’s authors on the Author Page. And did you know that you can call us if you have a question instead of email? (No, we do not offer tech support!) Just visit the Contact Page to find out how!

2006 was an amazing year for Skatter Tech. I thought I’d let everyone know some interesting statistics about our site. Last year alone, we had about 1.12 Million visitors from all 193 internationally recognized countries in the world. The most popular Operating System is still Windows XP and Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser. About 80% of our readers are now using Cable or DSL, while 8% are still on Dial-Up. There are many more interesting statistics below such as popular ISPs, Keywords, Screen Resolutions and so on… (P.S. The data provided is not 100% accurate!)

Total Visitors for 2006: 1.12 Million
Average Per Day: 2,100
Countries Visited From: 195 (thats all of them!)

Popular Posts:
1) Stream iTunes To PSP
2) Soda Machine Hack
3) Russell Peters Video
4) Motorola KRZR Review
5) Sony Pocket Station
6) How To Block Fasterfox
7) Royale Theme For XP
8) LG VX9900 Review

Top Web Browsers:
1) Internet Explorer – 55%
2) Mozilla Firefox – 36%
3) Apple Safari – 5%
4) Opera – 2%

Popular Operating Systems:
1) Windows – 90%
2) Macintosh – 7%
3) Linux – 2%

Network Connection Type:
1) Cable/DSL – 79%
2) DialUP – 8%
3) Others – 12%

Geographical Location:
1) USA – 56%
2) Canada – 10%
3) U.K. – 10%
4) Australia – 4%
5) Remaining 20%: Singapore, Germany, Netherlands, India, France, Sweden and so on…

Referring Source:
1) Google.com
2) Direct Access (skattertech.com)
3) Digg.com
4) Yahoo.com
5) CollegeHumor.com

Top Search Keywords:
1) PSP
2) KRZR
3) Fasterfox
4) iTunes
5) enV

Top Internet Service Providers:
1) Comcast – 9.5%
2) SBC – 5.6%
3) Verizon – 4.5%
4) Road Runner – 3.9%
5) Other ISPs – approx. 74%

Screen Resolutions:
1) 1024×768 – 46%
2) 1280×1024 – 19%
3) 1280×800 – 7%
4) 800×600 – 6%

For the past few months we have been running off our new new servers hosted by MediaTemple and the results have been extremely satisfying compared to 1and1. If you haven’t already done so take a look at our new “Tag Browsing” feature,the new Skatter Tech Mobile, and our Message Boards. We’d also like to let everyone know that we will be getting new authors soon, therefore increasing the content on our site. Also check back next week as we will have heavy duty MacWorld 2007 Coverage.

And Finally, Happy New Year!

After 5 long years, yesterday Microsoft finally announced Internet Explorer 7.0. Other than the thousands of security and stability patches that have been applied to IE6, this is by far the largest update since 2001. Microsoft has new built in security tools to supposedly make IE7 much safer than its predecessor. The final edition has been available for download from Microsoft’s website since yesterday, however it won’t appear in the “Windows Update” check until later next month.

Although IE7 is a major improvement over IE6, most Firefox users who upgrade will definitely not find any specific features as strikingly innovative. Microsoft’s IE7 page (hilariously) proudly presents the following as their browser’s new and innovative features:

• A New Theme & Layout
• Tabbed Browsing
• Better Printing
• RSS Feed Support
• Instant Search Box
• Improved security

The initial feature everyone is guaranteed to notice is tabbed browsing. Ignoring the other features, this is probably the most powerful addition to IE7. There is not much new it will bring for Firefox or Opera users, since they already have tabbed browsing, custom themes, search boxes, rss feeds, and are already much safer. The new layout will take quite a while to get adjusted too, since items such as the refresh, stop, and go buttons are now placed in quite awkward locations.

Despite the lack of new technology, this was a much needed and necessary update for Microsoft Internet Explorer. It is still hard to believe; disregarding the internal technical improvements, that this is all Microsoft could come up with over the last 5 years. If you wish to upgrade you can download it from microsoft.com/ie or wait until it is pushed out through Windows Update sometime next month. Whether you like it or not you better get used to it since it will be the default browser on all Windows machines for at least the next few years.

Links: Microsoft Internet Explorer 7
Related: IE7 Fact Sheet | Microsoft’s Announcement

On Wednesday (04/13/06) Google unveiled their latest product, Google Calendar. The new web-based application is open to the public, but is expected to remain in beta temporarily. Google Calendar, code-name CL2, helps track events, schedule appointments, and share them with others. This new service is completely intergraded with Gmail, allowing users to add events mentioned in messages to their calendar or emailing scheduled events to contacts. Google Calendar will also notify the user by email and/or SMS notifications if requested. Since Google Calendar supports iCal standards, it can import content from applications such as MS Outlook.

Main Features:

• Gmail Intergration – send events to contacts or save mentioned events
• Calendar Sharing – create public calendars or grant users permission
• Data Importing – import data from other applications (Outlook, etc.)
• Multi-Calendars – manage seperate calendars for work, home, etc.

Any calendar can be easily shared among others by either giving specific users access or by making it open to the public. The application will even schedule appointments with others not using Google Calendar through email. This new service is amazingly better and faster than both MSN’s and Yahoo’s services, which have existed for many years. Google Calendar will work in both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox, but not in Safari. I suggest trying or at least testing this new service, as it is completely free.

Links: Google Calendar | Press Release
Related: MSN Calendar | Yahoo Calendar
Coverage: BetaNews | Weblogs Inc | TechCrunch