by Robert Wang Created by Lunascape, Inc. in San Jose, CA, the Lunascape browser allows users to incorporate the functionality of three of the world's most popular web browsers into a single versatile shell. New users will find that they can not only instantly toggle between the Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Chrome browsers, but also customize their browsing experience from a huge database of plugins.Lunascapers can pick and choose from their favorite extensions for BOTH IE and FF, which is one of Lunascape's handful of truly unique and innovative functions. If you're anything like me, you've been waiting for browsers to develop the ability to tile, cascade, and arrange multiple tabs within the same window. Downloading and running multiple browsers simply for the sake of comparison was always a hassle, but invariably necessary as part of any good web development or design job. If you're still running to and fro across your office, looking for a computer with an old version of IE to test your new layout, your days of involuntary exercise are finally over.Lunascape provides a service much like BrowserShots, in that it allows you to view a page across multiple concurrent browsers, however where BrowserShots falters, Lunascape rallies--granting users some much needed interactivity. Thanks, San Jose. The software is still beta testing, so naturally there are a few kinks to be worked out. For instance, the browsing experience can get a little unstable when running multiple browser types on particularly media heavy sites. Despite its shortcomings, Lunascape 6 already shows vast improvements in speed, reliability, and function compared to its predecessor—and if it continues to evolve at the impressive speed it’s currently maintaining, we’ll be the first in line to make the switchover. The thoughtful design and versatility of the software are what really help it shine. Lunascape enables any page in the net to be associated with any of the provided browsers, allowing you to fully optimize your web experience such that you'll never need more than a single browser ever again. It even comes pre-programmed to support mouse gestures to make your browsing experience seamless and streamlined like never before. The Lunascape browser shows a lot of promise, and we eagerly await the final product.If you're itching to test a fresh copy, free downloads are available on the company's homepage!

Google has taken into account the mobile-friendliness of web sites in search rankings for years. Google also refines the search algorithm hundreds of times a year, in an attempt to understand users and retrieve the highest quality search results for any given query.  Yet on April 21, Google will release one of the biggest algorithm updates in history, one that has the potential to drastically change current search rankings. The update has been coined Mobilegeddon for the heavy emphasis the new requirements will have on the mobile-friendliness of websites. This has the potential to cause webpages currently well ranked to plummet in rankings or even disappear from search results. “This change,” wrote Google back in February, “will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results.” Basically, if your website isn’t mobile friendly - you’re in big trouble. Don’t worry, there is something you can do about it, but you need to act fast. We’ve put together a few tips for how you can pick up your proverbial sword and fight in this year’s mobilegeddon, and battle for a decent search ranking. Test the Mobile-Friendliness of your Website  “But, guys, I can see my webpage just fine on my phone. I’m good to go!” If this is you and you’re not sure, it’s a good idea to check and see how Google views the mobile-friendliness of your site. Here is a handy tool that will help you do so. All you need to do is enter your company’s website URL, and Google will let you know what they think of your site. If your site is rated as mobile-unfriendly, they’ll give you reasons why as well as some suggestions on how to improve. While this is not as comprehensive of an analysis that a hired professional could do - it’s a start. Feel free to use the tool for other parts of your business, or even for your competitors to see how you match up. If only dating were this easy.  Know Google’s Criteria Google and other search engines consider many factors when ranking websites. One known factor is the quality and quantity of both written and image-based content. Others include how many websites point to your webpage as a reference, or how frequently your website is mentioned on social media. How your website is constructed, what platform your website is constructed on, and many other considerations are made in how your site is generally ranked.  Now considering mobile-friendliness alone - that’s its own set of factors. How large the text is, too many or unclear images, and site responsiveness overall. Go ahead and take a look at your site on your own mobile phone - do all of the elements reformat automatically, or do you end up with “floating” images that move to different parts of the webpage when zooming in or zooming out. While the Google algorithm is as unknown as who will win the Game of Thrones, here are a few things we know that Google will ding you for in terms of mobile-friendliness: Text too small to read Links too close together Mobile viewport not set Uses incompatible plugins Content wider than screen Sources on page can’t be loaded  Those are just a few but good places to look yourself and fix right away.  Be the Best on Mobile  If your site is mobile friendly, good for you. But like everything else it’s a sliding scale, and better looking sites on mobile will on April 21 get priority. Now if your website isn’t mobile friendly, the obvious answer here is to do everything you can to update your website as soon as possible before your site gets dinged so badly it will take you months or even years to recover. Even if you are a little behind today that’s alright, so long as you’re making changes as soon as possible to catch up. Search engines are only going to get more sophisticated and complex when it comes to query results. It’s more important than ever to pay attention to what the search engines are looking for and now we know that mobile-friendliness is paramount. If you still aren’t sure where to start, we can point you in the right direction.

I had the opportunity to attend the Connect Sport Innovators Capital Forum on June 16th to meet with some of the industry leaders and up-and-comers in the traditional and action sports industries. Connect SI is "an accelerator for emerging action sports, sporting goods, and traditional sports companies focused solely on developing and sharing strategies for growth and success. " They provide mentoring, networking opportunities, and access to venture capital sources to entrepreneurial endeavors in these huge, high-growth industries. This particular event was a capital forum which involved eight startups pitching to a room full of angels, VCs, and sports industry executives. Some attendees of note included Andrew Kline, the Founder & Managing Director of Park Lane Investment Banking Services, and Tony Finn, the Founder of Liquid Force, a wakeboarding and kiteboarding brand based in Encinitas. Two presentations of interest were the Loop'd Network and SportsForce. San Diego based Loop'd Network, a portal and social network for action sports athletes and enthusiasts, spent some time explaining their plans to expand the merchandising and eCommerce functionality of their network. Now that they have built a network of some 500,000 registered athletes and 400 sports related brands, they have decided to focus on targeted advertising and sales. It seems they are attempting to round out the $800,000 they have already raised this year through the newly involved Tech Coast Angels and other existing private investors. These new eCommerce features will go a long way in really rounding out the network to make it a complete experience for their users. SportsForce (full disclosure: they are a web development client of my company) is a startup with offices in Solana Beach that will be offering a sports platform for high school athletes to build their athletic profile and connect with college coaches and recruiters in hopes to play at the collegiate level and possibly secure a scholarship. Born out of SportsTV, a company that produces recruiting videos and sponsors a variety of sports combines and events, this platform will host a suite of tools to add value for any athlete hoping to play at the collegiate level. Think LinkedIn for athletes. Heavy on premium and user-generated video content, look for SportsForce to make some aggressive moves in the next 12-16 months. All eight presentations were interesting in their own right, and Connect continues to do a great job promoting the entrepreneurial spirit in San Diego. -- Hunter