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Layers are a powerful feature of Photoshop that allow you to work on one part of an image without disturbing the rest of it. While the concept of layers may seem intimidating at first, once you get the hang of using layers you’ll wonder how you ever survived without them!

The transparent parts of any layer, shown by the checkered grid, allow the layers beneath that layer to show through. You can show and hide each layer in an image by clicking on its corresponding eye icon in the Layers palette.

To organize your layers, you can arrange them into layer groups by going to Layer > New > Group…. Each layer group displays in the same way as any ungrouped layers on the Layers palette. A layer group is signified by a folder icon. You can collapse or expand layer groups by clicking on the triangle to the left of the folder icon, and nest layer groups within each other by dragging one folder icon into another.

Here are 10 quick Layer Shortcuts.

1 - Rename layers by double-clicking on the layer name.

2 - Select a layer by using the keyboard shortcuts Alt-[ and Alt-] (Option-[ and Option-] on a Mac).

3 - Merge a layer into the one beneath it by pressing Ctrl- E (Command-E). If you have selected layers, this shortcut will merge those selected layers together.

4 - Change the transparency of a layer by changing its opacity with the Opacity slider, or typing a value into the Opacity box (which is visible when you have the Selection, Move, or Crop tools selected).

5 - Duplicate a selected layer by pressing Ctrl-J (Command-J on a Mac). You can also duplicate a layer by dragging it while pressing the Alt (Option) key.

6 - Select multiple layers by holding down Ctrl (Command on a Mac) and clicking the layer names. This forms a temporary link between the selected layers that allows you to move them as one unit, delete them all, and so on.

7 - You can also link layers together. Select layers by clicking on them while holding down Shift or Ctrl (Command on a Mac).

8 - To unlink all the layers, select one of the linked layers and go to Layer > Unlink Layers.

9 - To temporarily unlink a layer, hold down Shift and click on its link icon (a red “X” will appear over the link icon).

10 - Reactivate the link by holding down Shift and clicking the link icon again.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Philips

A brief history of domains

Domain name registration started in earnest in the early days of the Internet, when people started to cotton onto the fact that domain names could be used for something other than novelty or specialized technical duties.

There were heady growth levels as new domain name registrations expanded like wildfire through the available and common domain suffixes (.com, .net and local country domains such as .com.au and .net.au for Australia). Every man and their dog starting a business, registering a business or trying to capitalize on a new business concept was using everything from common names and brands, to locations, nouns, adjectives, fantasies and business concepts. If you multiply this by the number of people dallying in the Internet then one can start to appreciate the volume of new domain registrations that were occurring on a daily basis - the stuff of which Dot Com dreams were made.

Dot Com Crash

Everything that goes up must come down, as the saying goes… It started one morning in May in 2000, with colossal losses in listed stocks on Nasdaq, closely followed by each of the relevant local markets around the world.

One of the flow-on effects was one of massively reduced new domain name registrations, followed by a delayed but equally colossal fall in the number of domain renewals around the world.

According to sources within the domain name registration and renewal industry, this severly affected domain name registrations, domain renewals and domain redelegation to the point where domain companies were required to scale back their operations considerably, planning for survival rather than growth.

Domains Resurrection

When all the dust settled, people and business alike finally started to work out that the very same properties that had lead to the impressive growth in domains still held true, and slowly colour started to return to the cheeks of domain registration companies worldwide.

Domain name registration growth has reflected this overall mood and returned to healthy levels as users around the world both register and renew domains that are used for many different purposes.

Domains Dos and Don’ts

Many people have since realized that domain names can be used sensibly, practically, cleverly and creatively to deliver a clear and accurate branding message and facilitate business or even personal communications. Just in case people have missed all the fun until now, below is a list of some simple Dos and Don’ts that should enable an individual, whether it they are starting a new business, registering a business or business concept, or just improving the branding of an existing company to select an appropriate domain name.

Do:

- Keep your domain name as short as possible

- Try to avoid initials in your domain name (they mean nothing to people or search engines)

- Keep your domain as close to your company name as possible

- Look at your competitors’ domains to get a feel for how they have chosen them

- Make a list (you may find that your choices have already been taken)

- Bounce your domain name off friends and/or service providers you trust

- Keep your expectations realistic (one domain does not a fat bank account make)

Don’t

- Go for the record of the longest domain name unless that’s exactly what you intend to achieve

- Rush! No one is going to leap in and get that domain name that will make you a million overnight (and it won’t anyway – don’t blame me…)

- Give up. Online success takes perseverance and patience but the time and effort you put in should pay off

Copyright Notice This article is free for reproduction but must be reproduced in its entirety, including live links & this copyright statement must be included.

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This question is asked by people that are new to web hosting and web design every day. This question is the single most important decision you will make when looking to purchase web hosting. Unix (and Linux variants) and Windows are the two main operating systems powering web servers today, and each operating systems has its own unique features, and this brings their own advantages and disadvantages.

In this article I will outline the advantages of each operating system, and a short comparison of the two operating systems.

Before we get to the comparison of the two operating systems, you must know that the operating system you use on your desktop is not relevant to your choice of operating system used by your host to serve your website. Many people feel that if they use Windows on their desktop, they should also choose a web hosting provider that also uses Windows. This is simply not the case, for example if you used Microsoft Frontpage to design your website, typically Unix operating systems will have Frontpage Extensions installed to allow you to use Frontpage to its full potential.

Unix Overview

Today most web developers choose Unix systems to host their websites, everyday Windows loses more ground to Unix in market share in the web hosting market, why is this the case? The number one reason this is occurring is price. Web hosting providers typically use free editions of Unix based Linux operating systems such as Debian, Red Hat, or Free BSD, this alone reduces the end cost of a web hosting plan to the consumer due to there being no licensing fees incurred like there is with the Windows operating system.

The free editions of Linux are released under what is known as the GNU license, this license has no costs involved, and also allows access to the source code of the operating system to allow for modification and optimization which is very important, this allows the host to optimize the operating system to their hardware requirements, and also allows quick fixes for any security issues that may come up.

Typically Unix web servers are the most stable, with the flexibility required to allow upgrades and expansion. Almost always Unix servers that are setup for serving websites are configured in text mode which uses fewer resources, they do not run a graphical user interface which allows the server to devote as much of its own resources to the websites it is hosting. Unix based operating systems support the following. PHP, MySQL, PostgresSQL, Perl, CGI-BIN, Ruby on Rails and many more.

Windows Hosting Overview

This of course is the most widely known operating system, and as you know, you pay to use the Windows operating system on your desktop, and this is no different when it comes to using the Windows Server operating system. The Windows Server operating system does support some technologies that Unix currently does not. Only Windows hosting plans support scripting languages such as Active Server Pages (ASP), Cold Fusion, Active Perl, C++, C#, and Visual Basic.

Only Windows Server operating system will run Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Access Databases, Microsoft SQL Databases, IIS. If you are planning to use any of the above languages or database types on your website, you will need to purchase a Windows hosting plan.

The Comparison

Performance - In low server load conditions Windows and Unix have similar performance, but under high server loads, Unix is superior to Windows.

Stability - Unix copes much better than Windows with high server loads, this leads to less reboots required on the server to maintain optimal performance, and in turn increases your websites uptime.

Compatibility - If you develop a website under Unix, typically it will be easy to run on a Windows server, but the reverse is not as easy, especially if you have used a Windows based language. Avoid using a Windows programming languages if possible, in the long term you may wish to move to a Unix based server, and this will not be possible without a major redesign of the websites code.

Price - Any server hosting a website requires an operating system, and the associated licenses to use that operating system. Windows 2003 Server and applications cost a lot of money to run, typically the cost of the software is on a per user basis, and as the users on a server increase, so does the licensing costs. On the other hand, Unix and its Linux variants are freely available to download, and are also free to use and operate. This is why Unix based web hosting is almost always the cheaper option.

Final Words

Unix hosting typically offers more stability, better performance, more compatibility, and lower costs compared to a Windows hosting plan. I typically recommend Unix hosting for the reasons stated above, I only ever recommend Windows hosting if your website has been developed using ASP, .NET or another Microsoft application.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_J._Smith

A factor that is often overlooked when looking for a new web host is the control panel. A host can have great uptime, great disk space and bandwidth but if it has a bad control panel all of that is worthless.

Many of the bigger hosts will now come with their own custom built control panels, they may do this for branding purposes so that they stand out from the crowd but the vast majority that I have come across are not user friendly and are a pain in the backside to navigate through.

When recommending web hosts to my clients I always tell them to look at the type of control panel they will be given. The most popular control panel at the time of writing is the “Cpanel”; it is the most widely used, user friendly, featured packed control panel around today.

Not only is it feature rich but also it is also easy to transfer one site to another if you are indeed switching web hosts. If both of the hosts use the Cpanel then exporting a website from one host to another is as simple as clicking on the export/import buttons!

You can imagine the sort of headaches that many users come across when they try to transfer a site from one host to another and the two hosts don’t use the same control panel.

There are other hosting control panel’s available but in my experience nothing comes close to matching the Cpanel. If it’s great features and usability that you are after then go for a web host that uses the Cpanel.

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In this day and age of the Internet, the world of commerce and communication has changed drastically. Savvy businesses know that in order to be successful in this new world, they must take their place online with an effective and consumer-friendly website. And in order to make this online presence one that works most efficiently for your business, you must depend on an equally efficient web hosting company.

The vastness of the Internet is incomprehensible to most people. And while we know that the Internet itself is not a physical space, we still understand that its resources must be accessed in some way. A web hosting company accesses the Internet through a server – a high-powered computer that is set up to communicate – in the giving and receiving of information – with other computers. A web hosting company then “rents” space on their server to website owners. As a renter on this server your website is provided with unlimited access to the Internet and in this way visitors can access your website.

In some cases, a web hosting company will host your website but allow you to have your own domain name; or website address. This is considered to be a virtual web host. In other, lower priced services, a web hosting company will host your website but you are given a page within their domain name. This is considered to be a non-virtual web host.

For any website owner who is searching for a web hosting company, it must be understood that all web hosting is not the same. It is essential that website owners ensure that the web hosting company in which they are interested will provide a level of service in line with their price tag.

First and foremost, a web hosting company should offer consistent access to the Internet. We expect our web hosts to be online at all times so that our customers have instant access to our website. While a server may sometimes need to be offline for servicing, and not every technical difficulty can be avoided, you should expect an overall consistency in accessing the Internet from your web hosting company. You should also make sure that your web hosting company can handle the traffic that your website attracts on a daily basis.

But just as important are the security features that a web hosting company offers to its clients, especially if you own a website where customers frequently provide their personal information – such as an online store. A proper web hosting company should offer appropriate – and frequently updated – safeguards to ensure the security of you and your customers.

Ultimately, your web hosting company should offer you peace of mind on many levels – in easy access to the web, professional and courteous service, and top-notch security measures.

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