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“Business contact manager has encountered a problem and needs to close”

Don’t you just hate it when you computer goes wrong. I have had my fair share of computer glitches already this year. Maybe I am getting them all over and done with in January and the rest of the year will be plain sailing.

Yesterday I upgraded my version of Quick Books resulting in a complete melt down of Outlook. It would not open and every time I tried I was greeted with the message.

“Business contact manager has encountered a problem and needs to close”

It has taken me 5 hours to sort this problem out but only thanks to an excellent post I found on Google Answers

I was so thankful for the advice I thought it worthy of a link just in case anyone else is encountering the same problem. St Louis web designer tip of the day!

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Computer Problems Drive You Crazy?

About a month ago I needed to renew a subscription to Symantec for my Norton anti virus protection. When directed to the renew page the price to simply renew was the same price to upgrade to the latest and greatest protection, Norton Internet Security 2008. A no brainer ..I upgraded and spent the next 20 minutes or so downloading, installing and rebooting.

A week ago I get a message from the application telling me my product required activation but my current activation key has been used too many times and is no longer valid. I can connect to the internet but have no protection from all the nasties out there.

Time for a call to technical support …and the number of hoops to have to jump through before you reach the magic tech support number or the 20 minute queue before the phone was answered was enough to make even the most patient person crazy.

But I have to say once my call had been answered the service was amazing. The tech guy asked me a few basic questions and then asked if I would grant him remote access to my computer. He logged in and did lots of geeky test to figure out the problem. It took him 15 minutes and successfully sourced the problem and fixed it. There is no way this could have been accomplished the old fashioned way with tech support directing you to click here and there. Progress at last for technical support!

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Our first web site launch of 2008

The photographs of ancient Britain take center stage in the web site we created for Sharp Foto. The site features a fabulous collection Castles, from Windsor to a welsh fortress Carreg Cennen, ancient monuments such as Stonehenge and industrial monuments like Clifton Suspension Bridge.

The site features a full content management system allowing photographer Andy Sharp complete control of the site.

Visit the site at http://www.sharpfoto.com/

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Our approach to designing web sites

We follow a very methodical process in the creation of web site , here is a simple description of our process…what I like to call the 4 D’s

Phase 1 : Define
During this stage we learn from our clients the full scope of their project.

  • What do they want to achieve with the website?
  • Who is the target audience?
  • Who is the competition?

Armed with this information a tactical plan is developed and a full proposal produced to proceed with the project.
This phase of any project is always FREE

Phase 2 : Design
Keeping in mind usability and good web practices a polished concept design is created. This is a collaborative phase where client’s feedback is used to refine the design and helps us “home in” on the optimimal “winning” concept design.
Our tools of chice for the design phase are Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

Phase 3: Develop
The “pictures” created in the design phase comes to life in the development phase of the project. The designs are coded to be understood by web browsers and undergo strict testing to ensure cross browser compatibility. Any functionailty assocaited with a web site is added during this stage.

Phase 4: Deploy
Once the site is complete it is ready to be launched online. The site is uploaded to a hosting account and publicised to the world.

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St Louis Woman’s Exchange: web site in progress

I am currently working on a re-design of the web site for the St Louis Woman’s Exchange located in Ladue. I first worked on their site about 3 years ago and now they are looking for a face lift and the addition of some new functionality including the addition of an online catalog.

They have a fabulous selection of beatifully made childrens clothes.

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Color and Productivity

I recently experienced first hand how the color of your surroundings can affect your productivity.
My office is painted a soft pale green, “Adratic Mist” according to the paint pot, and creates a great relaxing enviroment where I can focus to my fullest.

In a moment of craziness a few months back I decided that a change was in order and I wanted to funk things up a bit with a jazzier more energetic color. As a graphic designer I love color, I selected a yellowish green ” Cabbage green” and got to work.

It took me just a day after I had finished to acknowlege what a huge mistake I had made. I was unable to concentrate at all and very distracted by the color bouncing around the room. I lived with it for about a week thinking I would get used to it … but no. The office got re painted the very next weekend.