Below the navigation bar he uses mouse-over images to help with the navigation.The is a mouse over element begins at the scrolling text in the bar. The site used the alt tags also for accessability. Both used tables and inline graphic links and lists.
Vince Gill's site was completely different than it was a year ago. The colors are different and not fancy like his last site.I think that he is trying to target a different type of audience by the look and the feel of the site. The logo was linked to the home page on each of the pages. He also used icons as well as text for his header logo.
Aerosmith's site targets an entirely different group of fans. Aerosmith's Website is very impressive. It is best viewed using a fast Internet connection. The elements that differ between the two sites is that Aerosmith.com uses Frames. Java and CSS were used on both sites. Each had forms used to request updated news through an email account.
My browser had no problem with the accessibilty of the Aerosmiths site, however this could be a problem to some of their visitors that only have a dial-up connection. There is a 3D World that you can interact in. Really cool, but takes a lot of work to get set up. There are four interactive world that you can visit while there and interact with others on the site. You pick out an avatar of your choice to use as your virtual being. You can go to the world and communicate with others that you see on the screen. Really cool, it is very trippy.
There is a special browser download that is necessary and other elements must be added that allows a vistor to go to other links on the Aerosmith site as well as areas to download videos and music. I also visited Metallic.com and I found it not a browser friendly site for those with dial up connections.They do supply the pluggin that you may need to add to the browser, but who wants to wait for a download, then install it.
I clicked a link to see some of the free clips that were included in one of their DVD's. It required a media player for viewing that I was not using. After I installed what was required, it was not worth the time I had spent so I could view it. In my opinion the space it wasted on code to add this viewing was a waste of money. You could not hear the sound very well and the clip was not worth the wait. There was also too much flash going on all over the site pages.
Both sites (Aerosmith's and Vince Gills) used the 'alt' attribute where there were graphics or inline images. Aerosmith's site's second page had a width of 597 pixels where the information was centered. The background appears stationary, while the center of the page scrolls.
b.) Which features do you prefer? Why?
The features that I prefer using are tables, alt tags, CSS, inline graphics, forms for emailing or sign up for, and lists. I would use tables for the purpose of manipulating my data on the Web page. Alt tags are important to use so that the user knows what the graphics are in cases where the user does not support graphics.
Alt tags are also good to use in cases where the user does not have a browser that supports graphics, but mostly for those who chose not to view the graphics. I also prefer using the CSS to specify the font and the properies such as the color and size of fonts. This will reduce the size of the HTML files and make them easier to maintain compared to using <font> elements.
c.) Can any of the features from these sites be incorporated into the Catalyst Web site? If so, which features?
Yes, there are several features that can be added to the Catalyst site. At this point the Catalyst site doe not have any pizzazz. Some of the pages do not have graphics and in its entirety is only writing. The site could be much better by adding Web style. Tables would be helpful for manipulating the information and graphics. The site should have an email area and more images. Not to mention a better navigation.
