how to create and add a favicon in WordPress using Photoshop

As described in the relevant wikipedia article, a favicon (short for favorite icon, sometimes understood as favorites icon), also known as a website icon, shortcut icon, url icon, or bookmark icon is a 16×16 pixel square icon associated with a particular website. The browsers that provide favicon support typically display a page’s favicon in the browser’s Address bar and next to the page’s title on a tab.

We’re going to create our favicon example, using Photoshop CS3. The favicon needs to be in .ico format and since Photoshop doesn’t have a build-in way of saving an image in .ico format, you have to download this freeware plugin from Telegraphics (supports all versions of Photoshop). After downloading the plugin, you need to place the .8bi file in Photoshop’s plugins folder and restart Photoshop (if already open).

In Photoshop, create a new 16×16 RGB 8-bit image. There is the option to resize an existing image or to create a new one pixel by pixel. As an example, i created pixel by pixel an “E” character using the pencil tool.

favicon example

When you’re done, save the file as favicon.ico and upload it to your root WordPress folder. If you are not using WordPress, upload it wherever you want.

save as .ico

To use it, insert the following code in the head tag of every page that you want to display the favicon. If you are not using WordPress, make sure that the path to the image corresponds to the uploaded directory.

The most common way is

<head>
[...]
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" />
[...]
</head>

while the W3C way is

<head>
[...]
<link rel="icon"
type="image/png"
href="favicon.ico" />
[...]
<head>

As far as i know, both ways work correct in every browser that displays favicons. Here’s an example of how the example favicon looks on a firefox tab:

favicon@firefox tab

Enjoy!

 

Blackle tells the truth or it is another Urban Legend?

Photo by Habter on deviantART
Photo by ~Habter on deviantART

Early in 2007, Mark Ontkush wrote on his blog that a Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year. Almost instantly, Blackle appeared among similar projects and soon became the most popular of them. Blackle’s creators are basing Ontkush’s theory on this research paper. Google on the other hand doesn’t seem to agree with the theory, based on this post on its official blog. Blackle and the whole theory have received (as expected) strong criticism. I hope they figure out soon which theory is correct, so i can change my background! :)

In the mean time, take a look at some things you can do now to reduce the energy used by your computer as proposed by the Official Google Blog. It’s on the same article as before, so you don’t have to click again. :P

  • turn on the power management features. Virtually all computers today have the ability to switch into low-power modes automatically when they’re idle; very few computers have this capability enabled! Here’s how to do it on computers running Windows XP.
  • turn off your monitor and computer when you’re not using them
  • turn down the brightness on your monitor
  • make sure your next computer meets the efficiency standards of Climate Savers Computing (an efficient computer uses up to 50% less energy than a conventional one)
  • to find the most efficient PCs available today, look for the words “EnergyStar 4.0 compliant.”
 

Do you still use Nero to burn a single DVD? Discover 3 free alternatives

Photo by Nilington on deviantART

For many years now, Nero is one of the most known solutions to burn CDs/DVDs. In its latest versions it can do a lot more, like play your video and music files or help you to share your photos/videos in online communities. But how many of its users actually use all those features? For anyone who just want a quick and reliable way to burn CDs/DVDs, those are the best 3 free alternatives:

InfraRecorder “is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features; all through an easy to use application interface and Windows Explorer integration”. Try It!

ImgBurn “is a lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application that everyone should have in their toolkit”. Try It!

CDBurnerXP “is a free application to burn CDs and DVDs, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs. It also includes the feature to burn and create ISOs, as well as a multi-language interface. Everyone, even companies, can use it for free. It does not include adware or similar malicious components”. Try It!