Early in the development process we decided to use MySQL to run our databases. MySQL is a popular open source relational database management system which is used by many companies in the LAMP configuration. MySQL was originally developed in Sweden and was recently purchased by Sun Microsystems.
In general, we support the open source movement and community. We also liked several of the MySQL features, such as cross platform support, multiple engines (MyISAM, InnoDB) and, of course, the LIMIT query.
However, after conducting extensive speed and performance testing we found that MySQL was just too slow. We host and serve huge datasets including census demographics, professionals directory and recent sales data – each of which has tens of millions of records. We needed our database to be big and fast.
In the end, we turned to Microsoft SQL Server for our database solution. During side by side testing, SQL Server was approximately 7-9 times faster than MySQL during an initial query. Even with caching and indexing, SQL Server was still over twice as fast as MySQL.
We spent many, many hours trying to fine tune and speed up MySQL. However, we realized there were basic flaws with MySQL, including the inability to run a query on multiple CPU cores. We are now using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and are very pleased with the speed and performance. Now if only it had a LIMIT function...
An important part of branding is having a consistent "look". Have too many font styles, and you look unprofessional, but it is nice to have options. Brokers and owners of commercial real estate should bear this in mind when creating a website or promotional materials.
For RealUp, we decided on Book Antiqua for the logo and slogan font. Book Antiqua is a serif font, meaning it has semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols. If your capital "U" has small lines capping the top of the upstrokes, you have a serif typeface.
Serif fonts are widely accepted as being easier to read and more formal than fonts without serifs (sans-serif fonts). As such, serif fonts are typically used in long books and print newspapers. We liked the formal feel of the serif and decided it made a powerful, traditional statement.
Book Antiqua is a font created by Microsoft and is considered to be a ripoff of the Palatino typeface created by Hermann Zapf. This was a way to imitate the Palatino font without having to buy the license for it. In 1999, Palatino was finally licensed for use in Microsoft applications with a variation called Palatino Linotype.
For RealUp's website text, we wanted to go with a sans-serif, because it is less formal and more typical for the web. Some screens distort the fine details of text, and the serifs just don't look right on-screen. We chose Verdana, which is a font which is easy to read at small sizes on a computer screen. This typeface was also created at Microsoft by Matthew Carter in collaboration with Virginia Howlett.
The name Verdana is a mixture of the word "verdant" and the name Ana - Virginia Howlett's eldest daughter. The typeface was nominated for Best of British Design Award in 2006. We liked it so much we are using it for the blog you are reading!
How can 256 pixels be such a big deal? Favicons are those tiny square icons that appear to the left of the URL on most modern browsers. Favicon is a shortened version of "favorites icon" and is used to represent a website.
At 16 x 16 pixels, these little images are becoming a really big deal. When Google changes its favicon, it makes news around the world! And if you are looking to create your own favicon, there are sites that can help such as DynamicDrive and Favicon.cc.
The favicon was originally developed by Microsoft for Internet Explorer 5.5 and was used to display an icon for bookmarked websites. A favicon image is traditionally formatted as a Microsoft Icon File (.ico) although newer browsers can support other file formats such as .png and .gif. Now used on every page of a website, this tiny signpost builds big brand recognition.
For our favicon, we chose to use the rising sun and high-rise building from our logo to reinforce our bright new commercial real estate brand. Check out our favicon – we are sure it will be your favorite icon!
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Early in the development process we decided to use 
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An important part of branding is having a consistent "look". Have too many 
How can 256 pixels be such a big deal? Favicons are those tiny square icons that appear to the left of the URL on most modern browsers. Favicon is a shortened version of "
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