'Workaround' the Web the way you want it

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 02/12/2007 5:11 PM  |  Life

Arnawa Widagda, Contributor, Jakarta

With the recent Internet backbone problems and floods, accessing the Web became a problem for many of us. There are several reasons for this ""inconvenience"".

Because of power outages and degrading quality of services, most providers have to route their Internet traffic to alternative, slower backbone connections. As bandwidth has become scarce, access to most international websites slowed to a crawl.

Thankfully, you have several temporary fixes -- or ""workaround"" -- to speed up access. First of all, turn off those fancy Web graphics. Those cool backgrounds, funny emoticons and fancy buttons can quickly gobble up bandwidth without your knowing it.

Dynamic content such as ActiveX, Flash and Java Applets are also a no-no. Most browsers support turning off images and dynamic content, but some might find website navigation a little difficult because of this. The reason: bad website design.

Bad website developers seem to ""enjoy"" using graphics buttons and navigation tabs, often without offering an alternative text. This is more true for Flash-based Web designs.

Then there's the policy of ""Best viewed at"" a certain resolution or browser. These developers don't realize that everyone's desktop is not always set to 1024 x 768 pixels or use Internet Explorer. Fixed-width layouts based on pixel units are especially troublesome for users with large resolution desktops such as 1600 x 1200 pixels, or widescreen layouts such as 1280 x 960 pixels common in LCDs these days.

Browsers such as Internet Explorer 7 and Opera 9 do offer zoom capabilities, which make fixed-width layouts easier on the eyes with high resolution desktops. However, this zoom feature doesn't work well with flexible width layouts -- often content gets stretched outside the window.

Opera's zoom feature also seems to enlarge graphics as well, taking space away from other content. A much easier workaround is changing font size, but this workaround will not work with fixed width layouts.

Are we at the mercy of these Web developers? Thankfully, no -- or at least, not always.

Gecko-based browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, can iron out most of these problems with the help of their add-ons or ""extensions"". These are downloadable, free of charge, from the add-ons section of Mozilla's website. Some of these extensions allow blocking of website elements that you don't want to see.

Adblock and Adblock Plus will allow you to block most graphical and text ads. They also offer the option to subscribe to an online website that will automatically update your ad filter list to block newer ads.

Flashblock will stop the browser from automatically downloading Flash content, so you can choose which Flash you're going to view.

For more technically savvy users, extensions such as Remove It Permanently, Greasemonkey and Platypus offer the power to pound bad website designs into submission. As the names suggest, you can remove certain elements -- ads, banners, text even whole parts of webpages -- with Remove It Permanently. You can apply options to certain pages or to every page from a particular website.

Greasemonkey and Platypus allow you to do the same thing but take it a step further. You can force flexible width on fixed-width layouts, change text sizes, use different text and background colors, even change text alignment to your heart's content. Your option will be saved each time you visit the page or website. Greasemonkey's options -- called scripts -- for several popular websites are available on the Internet, so you can download them or share yours with other users.

These methods and tools do their jobs well, but they are not the solution to the problem. For example, most websites don't cater to PDAs'/smartphones' small screens and limited rendering capabilities. Since most websites encourage feedback from users, mail in your request for a better website design -- one that is accessible to all users and complies with the guidelines set by the World Wide Web Consortium.

Think of it as a your contribution to making the Web more accessible to everyone the world over. After all, that's the whole idea behind the Web.

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