General
September 29, 2008
Hi,
I’m a big fan of the Firefox browser; it’s fast, nimble and has a great plug-in architecture, that has made Firefox into a true tool for web designers. That said, Firefox has one big failing – it sucks on the Mac.
Yes, for reasons beyond the comprehension of this humble nerd, Firefox crashes like crazy on the typically ultra stable Mac OSX.
… It’s so bad in fact, that sometimes it feels like I’m using crash-crazy Mac OS 9!
What is the source of the Firefox problem?
I haven’t done any thorough testing, but it seems to me that the constant crashing has to do with the Firefox Javascript engine – it only seems to crash when I’m on a page that uses Javascript.
So if any of your Firefox developers happen to come across this post, please take a closer look at this glaring problem. Believe me, I am not the only one who has seen this.
PS: The Flash player also doesn’t work properly in Firefox on Mac.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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August 14, 2008
I recently got a phone call (wow, actual voice communication!) from a member of the killersites.com forum, where he was anxious to delete his account from the system because he had used a celebrities first name as his user name. Harmless, right? No, wrong!!
Apparently he was contacted by one of this celebrities minions, where this minion-of-celeb, demanded (under threat of legal action!) that the member terminate the account!
… Yes, threats from a looser celebrity because someone was using their name as a user name on a web design related forum!!
I changed the user name because I don’t want to stress out any member of our community here. But I have to tell you, this really pisses me off.
.. Or better yet, I’m a minor nerd-celebrity of sorts, maybe I should go around the Web threatening to sue people who use my first name on a message board!
Yes, it’s official, no one can use the name: Stefan
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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August 4, 2008
Hi,
Over the years, I’ve found that every time that I come across the AOL browser … trouble starts.
Just today, someone was having problems watching Flash FLV based videos, where the videos would just stop half way through for no apparent reasons.
As it turned out, it was the AOL browser (a modified version of IE, so I’m told) that was screwing up. As soon as he switched to Firefox, everything worked fine.
The AOL browser isn’t the only bad actor – many micro-niche browsers are often times the source of strange problems that you don’t get using the major browsers out there. So do yourself a favor, stick to Firefox or IE.
… And keep up to date, they are free after all.
Ciao,
Stefan Mischook
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August 2, 2008
This is the first of a new series of podcast that I am creating called: ‘Ask a web nerd.’
Not the greatest title, but I hope it tells something about this series; I will be answering common questions put to me by people everyday. Questions about anything regarding web design, web programming, getting into the web design game etc …
In this podcast, I will answer a common question put to me every so often:
Do you need to go to web design school, or college, to become a professional web designer?
Check out the podcast in the killersites.com web design magazine:
web design school?
If you have any comments or any new questions you would like answered, just post a comment here or on the magazine and I will do my best.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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July 15, 2008
This article is targeted at web designers and business owners who are considering an investment in social networking.
Let me just first say, that I have invested in it personally, where I created a video sharing system to help distribute my own content.
… I had other ideas beyond that, but I soon discovered that:
1. It would require a huge investment (millions) in capitol to just get it off the ground.
2. That most user contributed videos are just terrible. I deleted most of them.
You can read the rest in the magazine.
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June 27, 2008
I just wanted to announce that my video tutorials on installing and using WordPress are being featured in the latest edition of Web Designer Magazine.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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June 21, 2008
I’ve been a professional nerd for many years now, and over that time I’ve learned to use many different technologies including 8-9 programming languages, a few operating systems and a whole bunch of frameworks, database programs etc …
… The sad truth
Recently, I was challenged with some tech problem, and to be honest about it, I forgot the specific steps to solve it!!
🙁
This always bothers me – when you forget how to do something you once knew so well.
I am now resigned to the fact that I’ve probably forgotten more than I now remember. I guess there is only so much room in your brain ..?
You can’t know it all
This brings me to my larger point: as a professional nerd, it is not realistic to think you will learn everything that is out there. There is simply too much and you have to pick your battles.
That said, that doesn’t mean you should learn one or two things and then just rest on your laurels. No, you have to keep learning otherwise you will fall behind and you won’t stay competitive.
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June 21, 2008
The web design magazine is slowly taking off.
… We have our first article from John Beatrice who has given us a sneak-peek at the new IE8:
Internet Explorer 8 is Microsoft’s response to the growing interest in interactive web services and rich online experiences. This is Microsoft’s second attempt to build a browser that follows standard compliant HTML and CSS. So, will designers and developers embrace this new Internet Explorer?
You can read more about the Internet Explorer 8 beta in the magazine section of the website.
I hope you’ll find it interesting.
Stefan Mischook
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June 17, 2008
It is rare that I go into anything off topic, as I promised in one of my earliest post – there will be no discussions about what my cat is up to.
That said, I am compelled to comment on a couple things that the recent death of Tim Russert, has brought to the fore.
Issue number one: Where societies spend their money.
Mr. Russert apparently died of a heart attack … the way you are most likely to die. From the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute:
Each year, about 1.1 million people in the United States have heart attacks, and almost half of them die. CAD, which often results in a heart attack, is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States.
Given that so many people die from heart attacks, I was wondering how much money is spent on researching ALL disease.
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June 9, 2008
Hi,
I just wanted to announce a new section on killersites.com: the Killersites.com Magazine.
Why another section?
I wanted a place where I could include other people articles and tutorials and I wanted a place where we could keep you up to date with the latest news on new products, technology … whatever on all things web design and web programming.
… I did this a little on my blog, but I felt a needed a more author neutral location.
Anyway, it sports a brand new layout, gravatars (Globally Recognized Avatars) and a way to subscribe to the magazine’s RSS feed through email.
We are just starting and so there is much to do … but I kicked it off with a great video on Actionscript 1, 2, and 3.
I hope you find it useful.
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
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