A Tangled Web

Which of these platforms will dominate is a question of vital importance to
web designers. But the more critical question for most accounting firms is what
program will give them an easy way to create and update websites for the firm
or for clients or simply to have some working knowledge of how to get documents
online. A lack of knowledge in this area could brand an accountant as a 21st
Century Luddite — the kind of non-technical person stuck using an AOL
mailbox as that online service slowly dies.

There was a time when literally dozens of HTML editors were available for
little or nothing. Simply drop in the pictures and text, upload the file to
a website using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) application, and you were done.
But then the market for these programs largely died, FTP became a little-used
way of sending files, and life got complicated for small businesses. What then
to do?

The answer is and should be Microsoft Expression Web. The successor to the
popular FrontPage website management program, Expression Web 2.0 has improved
vastly since the first, less-effective versions. It offers simplified navigation,
strong tools and nearly painless website updating. But Expression Web also has
a drawback in that it has been designed for use by high-end web designers. It
competes well with design packages such as DreamWeaver, but the learning curve
can be steep and training tools are, at least to date, not up to the task.

For firms that can’t afford a full-time web manager, this is a major
problem. It’s a problem that will be solved eventually, when Microsoft
has time to develop better training or even a “light” version of
Expression Web for the novice. In the meantime, there are three work-arounds
that may help bridge the gap.

Use Microsoft FrontPage 2003
Though the FrontPage line of products is retired, the last version
of it is reasonably priced and very serviceable. And it’s easy to learn
and use, thanks to years of development work and a host of third-party tutorials
if you need one. The major drawback is that in order to use the built-in website
updating feature, the web hosting service must have “FrontPage extensions”
installed. Fortunately, nearly every ISP has done this, and it should not
be a hurdle. Eventually, these extensions will die out, but for today they
are not a major obstacle.

Use Microsoft Publisher
For about the same price, Microsoft offers its desktop publishing
program, which includes website design templates and automatic site updating.
The program is nothing to write home about. It’s kludgy, and has limited
templates with awkward use of graphic layers that make this an easy program
to use but one with fewer options than I like for artistic flair and panache.
Nonetheless, for offices already using Microsoft Office or those that want
to get up and running in a jiffy, this is a good place to start.

Use Microsoft Word
Sure, Word can create HTML pages … though with tons of caveats
involved. Uploading the pages will need to be done with the FTP software built
into your operating system, and this can sometimes be painful and difficult.
The pages themselves will be bloated with Word code. And it’s not easy
to string pages together in an elegant fashion, as you can with any of the
more advanced programs. But it will work in a pinch.

You’ll note that all of these solutions come from Microsoft. That’s
not because I have any inherent bias toward them. I actually really like Adobe
DreamWeaver as a higher-end solution and have played with other HTML
editing and design programs that offer features I like very much.

But for the typical small business or accounting firm, it’s best to
go with what is familiar. And though earlier in the year I panned Microsoft
Expression Web as a reasonable solution, a long search for alternatives has
not yielded much of value. So Expression Web it is.

A firm might also want to consider one of the many website builders made especially
for accountants. A review of such products is available at www.CPATechAdvisor.com/go/1833.

REALITY CHECK
The Garmin Zumo 550. Designed by bikers, this combination GPS/media
player/hands-free cell phone device is perfect for motorcycles. But you don’t
have to have a bike to enjoy the wide range of features in this high-end tech
toy, which includes built-in support for XM radio. Compact, portable and dropping
rapidly in price, this sub-$1,000 toy will make a nice stocking stuffer.

Cell Phone Applications. Cell phone usage in the United States
could expand more rapidly, and users would be happier if the cell phone companies
would loosen their strangle-holds on what apps are available and at what price.
That’s not my opinion, but the verdict of marketing research firms studying
options for the cell phone companies. They simply charge too much for add-ins
like GPS navigation, streaming radio and other features consumers want. Similar
applications for cell phones in Europe and Asia are priced as much as 70 percent
lower, leading to higher usage rates.

Invisibility. Interesting tech news from the world of physics
and bending light rays. Funded by the U.S. government, engineers at UC-Berkeley
have announced that they are closing in on a new fabric that will actually cause
light rays to bend around objects and humans, rendering them invisible to the
human eye. Similar work has already been done in microwaves. What does all this
mean to accountants? Hard to tell until the first blue pinstripe invisibility
suit hits the stores.

State of Fear. If the computer security pundits are to be
believed, any computer connected to the Internet without a firewall and anti-virus
software will be immediately infected with a virus or worm and its data plundered.
But is this real, or are they just drumming up business for their products by
fear-mongering. I’ve been running an office computer with a full-time
Internet connection for six months now with no protection other than common
sense and have yet to see a virus. I don’t recommend that to any accountant,
of course. But it does make you wonder how much of the fear of hacking is real.

GPS units. Here’s a solid advertisement for market
dynamics: As more consumers have adapted the idea of navigating via GPS, the
prices on these units have fallen dramatically. This week, the lowest price
to date for a decent GPS unit came in at just under $80. I predict a price war,
with units on sale for as little as $50 for the Christmas season. The caveat:
Watch out for exorbitant fees for updating maps and software.

A compendium of ideas, products, rants and raves from the viewpoint of the
author. Note that the author has no financial interests in any of the products
mentioned. Feel free to disagree, or to share your ideas by sending them to
davemcclure@cpata.com.