Archives
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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July 2, 2008
Hi,
I just released a 10 minute video blog talking about the three critical aspects of a web site.
So what are the three critical aspects of a web site?
- Content
- Ease of use
- Design aesthetics
I go over what each mean and I also give you a few hints and examples that you can use in your own web design work.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com
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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 23, 2008
From the killersites.com magazine:
In a nutshell, webslices are an IE8 specific feature that allows the web designer to tag part of a webpage as a ‘webslice’. By tagging sections of a web page, users of IE8 can then subscribe to it, much in the same way that they can subscribe to an RSS feed.
Read the full article about webslices.
Thanks for reading,
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 17, 2008
Microsoft recently released Expression Web 2, their new web design program.
Frontpage is old news:
For those of you who don’t know much about it, Expression Web replaces Frontpage and as such, you won’t be seeing any new versions of Frontpage.
… You can read more about Expression Web 2 in the magazine.
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
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June 12, 2008
What is a gravatar?
Let’s take it from the source:
A gravatar, or globally recognized avatar, is quite simply an avatar image that follows you from weblog to weblog appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar enabled sites. Avatars help identify your posts on web forums, so why not on weblogs?
From a community members point of view, what’s cool about gravatars is that you don’t have to upload your avatar image on every blog, forum or community that you are a member of. And from the community owner’s point of view, you can now add a little pizazz to your blog or forum with your members gravatars.
You can read more about gravatars in the magazine.
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June 11, 2008
What is the difference between a CMS (content management system) and a Wiki?
In a nutshell:
Both are web based applications/software designed to allow many people to contribute content (typically articles … but podcast and videos are becoming more common) to a website.
I would say the basic difference is that a CMS (Ex: Drupal) is a closed system where only certain people can add or edit content to the website/cms.
On the other hand, a wiki is an open system where anyone can edit and add content. The idea behind a wiki is that the masses will eventually correct any false information – with the help of editors.
My thoughts:
I’m no wiki expert, but I see wiki’s being more suitable to general encyclopedic information. If you need a tighter structure and control over what is being posted on your site, I would be leaning towards a CMS rather than a WIKI.
That said, I am sure that the differences between the two types of software has room for a lot of gray area – I’m sure some CMS software have WIKI like functionality and vice versa.
How about blogs?
Blogs are kinda like a CMS for one person. One other distinction would be that the blog traditionally is date driven – where newer articles are posted to the front page of the blog. As with the WIKI/CMS blurring of the lines, you see the same with blogs and CMS software.
For example: WordPress (a popular blog program) has CMS like features:
- Multiple users can post articles.
- You can have static non date affected pages. WordPress call these ‘pages’.
Beyond the CMS-like features built into the core WordPress package, WordPress has a huge number of plug-ins out there that extend it’s capability considerably … bringing it even closer inline with a true CMS.
A few links:
WordPress home page: www.wordpress.org
Drupal home page: http://drupal.org
Another popular CMS – Joomla: joomla.org
Wiki software: Media Wiki
Ciao,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
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