K1VRA Website Info
K1VRA.com uses the latest website coding techniques (including HTML5, CSS3, & PHP) wherever possible. I hand-code using simple text-editing software which allows me to keep the code compact and fast. An unfortunate side-effect of using the latest web-standards is that sometimes it takes a little while for the browsers to catch up. For example, at the top of the page above the navigation, in addition to the title text you should see two large radio towers, two yellow and black Amateur Radio symbols and, as you browse the website, you should notice that the background behind the towers changes from time-to-time. Some older browsers or browser versions will only show one of each, and there are some (un-patched Avant & versions of Internet Explorer older than IE9 to name a couple - there are others) that may show no graphics at all! If you don’t see all the images as described put your mouse here for a preview of what you are missing. Do you really need any more proof that you should update your browser? It’s getting a little long in the tooth and in the case of websites using the most advanced techniques, you will actually miss seeing some content.
I have kept the use of Javascript to a minimum, but there is a tiny bit. Because Javascript is a client-side language, it depends on your computer to run the code, which takes time. In the dim, dark, pre-historic Internet past, it may actually have had an impact on the performance of some older computers and for that reason a few people still actually disable it! There’s no point in using it if you’re going to turn it off on me, is there? Today, many, many websites use it to good effect. The fact is, except in extreme circumstances (or in the case of very old / very slow PCs), these days there’s absolutely no need to disable it, but you just can’t reason with some people (you ARE using an anti-virus program, right?) 
If you’re like more than 99% of web users, Javascript is already enabled in your browser (it comes that way by default).
On the other hand, EVERY page on this website uses php in one way or another. The beauty of php is that it is a server-side language, which means the web-server actually runs the code and delivers the result to you in the form of a web page, a search result, etc. And because your computer doesn’t do any of the work there is no performance impact. PHP also allows me to use some website “shorthand”, so my web pages are smaller (and therefore easier to maintain), have a more consistent look, and take up less space on my server. But as far as your browser is concerned it doesn’t know the difference. In fact, the only reason you’ll ever know that I’m using it is because I just told you. Here’s a hint: on web pages that show a date (like this one), if you look at the code and see more code, it’s likely Javascript but, if all you see is the date in plain text, it was generated by code such as PHP running on the web-server. Go ahead - look at my source code - just pure html5, baby. Nice!
One of my pet peeves is un-dated webpages. Have you ever read an article on a website about the latest widget or trend, only to realize well into the article that what you are reading is 3 years old? If the author doesn't insert the date the article was written (or last updated) right in the article, you have no way of knowing that what you are reading has gotten stale! Later on, when you find that out (usually the ‘hard way’), you feel let down. And who could blame you? Your time is as valuable as the author’s, right? Anyway, I have included a snippet of code on every one of my webpages that will tag each page with the date it was written (or last updated). It’s automatic, it costs me nothing, and you are the winner. I have chosen to insert the date at the bottom of my pages, but could just as easily have put it at the top - either way, it just happens.
Because I like to tinker with new stuff, I actually have a web-server in my basement (known as an “internal server”) so I don't have to make design changes or do testing “Live!” But being human, I might miss something and, every once in a while my website might look a little messed-up. Sorry. Please check back in a little while, or maybe even tomorrow. If it still looks funny, please let me know (use the email link below). I may have broken something without realizing it. Oops! My bad. I promise I’ll fix it quickly. By the way, if you see something interesting and want to know how (or why) I did it, drop me a line and I’ll try to help. I WON’T design or redesign your website for you - sometimes people actually pay me to do that - but I certainly don’t mind giving you a tip or two.
Speaking of which, many people (especially those in the tech world), have no idea what goes into the creation of a good website. Those people are usually shocked when they find out what a top-notch, functional website actually costs to produce. Here’s how one web techie describes the process in an article directed at the un-initiated client.
Anyway, do yourself a favor. Upgrade! You won’t see any “Best viewed with whatever browser” warnings here*, nor will I recommend one over the other. All I will say is, “Use a modern standards-compliant browser for best results!”. Web browsers are like people - some are better at handling certain situations than others - and I know that liking one over the other is a personal thing. In order to make sure my websites have a consistent look in any browser (including yours), I do rigorous code “validation” testing and actually test my designs in the latest versions of more than a dozen different browsers! I know, not everyone does that. But you’ve got to meet me halfway by using the latest version of whatever browser you prefer - come on, they’re free! If you ever encounter a website that doesn’t render correctly in your (now up-to-date) browser, do the webmaster a favor and let them know. He / she really does want everyone to see their websites exactly the way they were designed, regardless of which browser their audience is using, especially since they have no control over that. I know I do. I don’t just create websites for certain people - I create them for YOU!
* Users of IE older than Ver. 10, or other browsers which do not properly display K1VRA.com. IE 10 (or later) is the ONLY version of Internet Explorer that actually implements HTML5 / CSS3, but it is not available for any Windows O.S. older than Ver. 7. Because of this, I will make a ‘suggestion’ for you - I know you love your IE but if you want to view modern websites correctly (and you’re NOT using Windows 7 or later), you MUST use another of the Fab 5 Browsers. IE versions 9 or older (as well as a few others), just can’t cut it in the world of modern browsers, and Microsoft refuses to provide updates for them.
