Two of the top uses of our digital catalogs are research and discovery! Our dynamic development team has created an enhanced search along with superior navigation allowing your sales team to quickly pinpoint an inquiry. This ensures your sales team can quickly meet the needs of customers.

• Enhanced search
• Custom table of contents
• Cross-reference linking
• Multiple page-turning mechanisms

Compass’s enhanced search features a filtered search to narrow down the results. Simply click on the filter options and you’ll get refined results. The results section provides nifty page thumbnails with a quick click or touch to get to the final page. Search and custom navigation gives your users the ability to find that needle in your stack of pages.

The ‘flat UI’ trend emerged a little over a year ago. You may have heard people speak about it, or maybe glanced at a blog post that mentioned it, but you may be wondering what it is and how it became so popular?

Don’t get me wrong I love the 90’s, but the ‘has been’ flashy illustrations and animations are overkill and long loading. Next came skeumorphic design, design that is taken from the real world, a good example of this is iOS6’s bookshelf. I mean, Apple’s bookshelf has woodgrain, shadows and looks like a bookshelf you would see in your neighborhood book store. And just like most trends, this one hit the skids when Apple released iOS7. They introduced the concept of a flat user interface. A simple and effective technique, that literally flattens the image and uses bright, solid colors.

Flat Design is pure and simple. It’s easier on the eyes, but more importantly, it’s responsive, and can be easily seen on a range of computers and devices.

In keeping with the trends, you’ll notice that our Compass Solution utilizes flat design. It emphasizes usability with clean open space, crisp edges and a two-dimensional illustration. The rich mobile user experience tops the charts! We’ve incorporated a new mobile menu, allowing room for more buttons and features to appear on a smartphone. This is just a small snippet of our new powerful Compass Solution. One of our first customers to take advantage of all the new features is Ballard Designs. From here I’ll let the experience take you away.

Our Digital Publishing Consultant’s can help guide you in the direction that best fits your companies needs. It’s easy to get a hold of us, email us at sales@dirxion.com, call 888.391.0202 or fill out our contact form.

New York Times reports that a number of banks in the United States were hacked the other month and now, Home Depot is investigating a possible credit card breach. Several weeks ago there was another major hack. This time it affected Community Health Systems Inc. customers. Over four million records stolen, including names, social security numbers, addresses, birthdays and telephone numbers. This attack follows two other high-profile companies having data security problems, eBay and Target.

Data theft is when information is illegally taken from a business or other individual. Usually passwords, social security number, credit card information or other personal information. A retailer’s legal responsibility is only to report the data loss to credit bureaus, state regulators and consumers. They aren’t required to offer credit protection services. These kind of security problems are beyond your control. Since you can’t rely on the security of big box retailers how do you stay protected?

Use your debit card as a credit card. Using your card as a credit card requires a signature and it’s processed by the credit card company. Most credit card companies offer some anti-fraud protection. For example, if you use a debit card, the money is immediately taken out of the account, but if you use a Visa debit card as a credit card it takes a few days for the transaction to hit your account and the transaction is offered protection by Visa.

If you’re going to withdraw money, try to always use an ATM at a bank, they are less likely to be tampered with. ATM’s at convenient stores or casinos are more prone to skimmers. (A skimmer is a device used on ATM machine’s to steal personal information stored on your card and record your pin.) If you’d like more info about how skimmers work, the article at KrebsonSecurity is pretty detailed.

Here are a few basics to always remember: Shred bank and credit card paper statements; go through your bank statements line by line; be smart about choosing passwords and have virus-protection on your PC. Check your FICO scores three times a year. There are three credit bureaus – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. All of them should have the same information about your credit. You can get one free report a year from each company. Every four months pick one of the bureaus to get a free credit report and make sure everything looks legit.
These are just a few ways you can stay protected. We can’t guard against every scenario, but we can try our best to stay protected!

Thumbnail originally uploaded by http://bit.ly/1wg1lEq

We’ve incorporated three of the largest sites that boost your visits into your digital retail catalog! Pinterest, Facebook and Houzz are three of the biggest sharing sites with invaluable backlinks. Here’s the scenario — a designer is flipping through your catalog on any platform (yes, even smartphones), they see an item they want to share, they simply use the improved crop tool, share on Pinterest, Facebook, Houzz or by email. From that point, the designer can create Idea Books on Houzz or Galleries on Pinterest.

It’s simple yet powerful! Dirxion’s crop tool opens the door for catalogs to extend their reach. Houzz gets 16 million monthly visitors, 300 million monthly page views and 15 million downloads of their apps. Those are IMPRESSIVE numbers! Now with just a quick crop and share, your products can be a part of this number. Get more traffic and make it easy for users to buy your products through Dirxion’s digital publication solution.

Great Idea!
This feature will help with creating vision e-boards in a shorter and more efficient manner. Many of my clients prefer seeing conceptual ideas through email and the internet. Sharing concepts and images easily helps to jump-start the design process and the less time spent means more profitability, from the designer’s standpoint.

Hilary Machovina | Interior Designer, NCIDQ, LEED AP
Remiger Design

USB drives are handy! We use them every day to transfer family photos, plug-in your mouse or keyboard, or play MP3 music. They are super convenient especially when you have files that are too large to email or when you end up with no internet connection (no internet? What a crazy idea!). A USB stick has become so commonplace, we forget about the security risks.

A USB stick can carry important documents but it can also carry malware or an automated hacking tool [insert scary music]! Lately the big risk is BadUSB, which is a malware that can be installed on a USB device that completely takes over your computer. The BadUSB malware resides in the firmware that controls your basic functions. It can replace software with a corrupted version or it can imitate a USB keyboard and start typing. According to researchers there is no easy fix. Another concern is that the malware can travel from the USB device to the computer and vice versa.

There are a few ways to protect yourself from such vicious malware. Be careful with who you let use your USB drive and what computers you put your USB drive in. Turn off ‘auto-run’ on your computer, that way if the USB drive does have malware it won’t automatically be transferred to your computer. Use security software that not only scans your computer, but also scans any drives that are attached. We want you to be safe!

Originally uploded by http://bit.ly/V29MD8

Thumbnail originally uploaded by http://bit.ly/UXG56o

With the holiday weekend and vacation season here, we thought we could provide some helpful tips to keep your mobile devices safe.

Uh oh, did you drop your phone in pool? Don’t grab for that bag of rice idea that’s floating around the internet! STEP 1 Get that phone out of the water. STEP 2 Don’t power down, don’t send a text, go straight to taking the battery out! Wipe down your device, don’t use a blow dryer or any heat, as that could cause damage to the electronics. Now, we need to get the moisture out of the phone. The cheapest and easiest option is to start hoarding desiccant packets (or purchase them from Uline). Put your phone and desiccant packets in an airtight container. This could potentially save your phones life, but if it had a really bad spill you might be out of luck!

The water and extreme heat are no place for smartphones. Leaving your devices in a hot car or directly in the sun, can fry the processor and/or lower your battery’s life. If you live in a humid area, this can also lead to condensation build up on the inside (see the paragraph above if you suspect this). The max temperature to expose your phone too is 90-95 Fahrenheit.

Cracking a firecracker — GOOD! Cracking your smartphone screen — BAD! Leave it to the pros to fix your cracked screen, especially if it’s an iPhone.

Holiday weekends usually mean you’re on the go, carrying more devices than ever. We’ve found on-the-go chargers to be extremely convenient. My personal favorite is the MyCharge Peak 6000. It’s a little bulky, but it’s got built-in connectors for iOS, Android and several other products. It’s been labeled as the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of portable battery chargers.

If you want to eliminate all of this possible nonsense, go phoneless for the weekend! I triple dog dare ya.

Until next time, cheers!

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Thumbnail attribution goes to Joe Wilcox http://bit.ly/1o9M3JX

Masterful MSC

MSC is one of the largest distributors of metalworking, repair and operations (MRO) products and services for manufacturers worldwide. They are all about efficiency and technology, and have over one million items available. You’ll be pleased with the quick delivery!

MSC’s objective in their business strategy is great customer service. They ensure supply purchases are fast and easy! In keeping with this theme, they’ve incorporated their Big Book as a simple tab on the homepage of their website.

This snappy trigger allows immediate access to over 4,000 pages in the master catalog! From here, you can search for specific items, add to cart and check out. If you need to come back to a page, simply bookmark the page!

MSC knows what is important to their customers, they are forward thinkers and help customers improve their bottom line. Between their superior quality products, knowledgeable customer service associates and easily accessible digital catalog, you can count on MSC to deliver!

Since this weekend is Memorial Day and May is National Safe Boating Week (May 17-23, 2014) it felt appropriate to offer some helpful tips for a safe weekend!

After researching boat safety, I had NO IDEA there were so many types of life jackets! Did you know the type of life jacket you should purchase is determined by the length of a boat and the type of boating you’re doing? West Marine has the best selection and Chuck Holly, from West Marine, breaks it down with a very informative video for choosing the right life jacket; from day sailing to canoeing. This video is a must much watch, they even have life jackets for your furry friends! http://youtu.be/NNFbCLBsavw

If you have all of your life jackets, but just need to check a few items on your boat; West Marine has prepared a Safe Boating Checklist. Print it and double check it.
http://newcontent.westmarine.com/content/documents/pdfs/WestAdvisor/Safe-Boating-Checklist.pdf

One thing we don’t always think about is carbon monoxide poisoning. It’s scary because it’s colorless and odorless. Symptoms can be very similar to sea sickness such as headache, dizziness or nausea. Here’s a few simple prevention measures. Never block outlets, it can cause CO to build up. Swim and play away from areas where engines vent their exhaust. Educate your passengers about signs and symptoms of CO poisoning. Purchase and install a detector. http://catalogs.westmarine.com/app.php?bookcode=wma14&pagelabel=194

Don’t forget the basics! Wear sunscreen, stop to rehydrate, and keep a first aid kit close at hand. Have FUN and enjoy the 2014 Boating Season!

Does the digital industry have a fashion sense? You bet! Digital trends change every year just like the Vogue runway shows. As we enter the second quarter Digital trends for 2014 are going in the direction we thought they would go; a simplistic clean look targeting smaller screen sizes. This minimalistic design that emphasizes usability is also known as Flat UI. Flat UI removes 3D elements such as shadows, bevels, gradients and effects. The big names leading this venture are Twitter, Apple’s iOS7, Tumblr and Google Play Store.

What makes this design so popular? It’s catchy style is visually appealing and the minimalistic interface is friendly on all device sizes! Here is a great example. The icon on the left is the old Safari icon, the icon on the right is the new Safari Flat UI icon.

If you are wanting to catch up to 2014 design trends here are a few tips to start with. One of the most important parts of designing a Flat UI interface is defining the color palette. Flat UI color schemes tend to be brighter and bolder. Use your brands main color, but don’t overuse it. Buttons should be easily clickable for touch screens and when viewing on a mobile device the website should be viewed in full width. The typography should be clear and legible text. Remember to leave out the gradients and include as many css based shapes rather than relying on images for loading.

In late 2013 our website was redesigned to the Flat UI. A good visual representation is our website dirxion.com.

Recently, I stumbled upon this article ‘To Free or Not to Free E-Newspaper’ http://bit.ly/1ebaZyM by Ken Blum. (Ken is the publisher of Butterfly Publications. He also puts out a free newsletter, Black Inklings. You can subscribe by emailing Ken at blummer@aol.com.)

The article discusses the options for online subscription prices, subscribers inside and outside the market, and the format in which the e-Newspaper is delivered and preferred. For this article, I’m going to focus on the importance of the delivery format, plain text and ‘look-and-feel’. Plain text is simply just text and personally, I can’t imagine a newspaper without the ads or pictures, especially in the comic and sports section!

Newspaper print still rules, but as technology continues to grow, more and more people are switching to the e-Newspaper. To ensure a smooth transition for the user, the digital edition should have the same look-and-feel as the print. You still get that ‘ink on your fingers’ feeling, only you aren’t leaving newsprint smudges all over the house. That’s not the only reason the look-and-feel is the better option. From a business stand point, it makes sense, “70 percent to 80 percent of a paid newspaper’s revenue comes from advertising in print” (http://bit.ly/1ebaZyM) which makes going with the look-and-feel e-Newspaper a wise investment.

Whether you charge for the e-Newspaper or allow subscribers to have free access, the user experience will determine if the reader comes back. The customer already loves the print version, why not provide digital news delivery through an interactive presentation of your printed publication? Find out more and receive a free Dirxion demo by going to www.dirxion.com/newspapers or you can contact us at sales@dirxion.com.