- TimesMachine – New York Times – TimesMachine can take you back to any issue from Volume 1, Number 1 of The New-York Daily Times, on September 18, 1851, through The New York Times of December 30, 1922.
- SuperLame! Comic Word Balloon Engine – Simply add speech bubbles to photos you upload. Useless? Sure, but fun.
- Introduction to CSS3 – Part 4: User Interface – CSS3 brings some great new properties relating to resizing elements, cursors, outlining, box layout and more.
- Introduction to CSS3 – Part 5: Multiple Columns – CSS3 introduces a new module known, appropriately, as multi-column layout. It allows you to specify how many columns text should be split down into and how they should appear.
- Design Critique: Blog Platforms – Most designers are familiar with the relative pros and cons of different publishing tools – but what about the websites of the blog platforms themselves?
- TinySong – type a song, get a link, share the full song with your friends. It’s really that simple. Works great for those “have you heard this song?” moments.
- Adobe Labs – Adobe has released the first betas for Dreamweaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, and Soundbooth CS4. Note: betas only work for 2 days unless you have an existing CS3 serial number.
- Fixing Twitter – I am getting sick of talk about twitter and it’s scalability problems and also frankly unqualified people slagging the service for it’s unreliability and also coming up with stupid ignorant answers to how it should be fixed.
- Read at Work – it looks like you’re being productive, but you’re definitely not. Kind of funny, but I can’t imagine actually using it.
Category: CSS
Interesting Links 5.16.08
- picasa2flickr – A simple “plugin” that allows Picasa users to upload their photos to Flickr.
- Pimp my Outlook Today – I’m a big fan of TiddlyWiki so it seemed an ideal candidate for integration with the Outlook Today screen.
- CSS Attribute Selectors: Built-In Classes – Classes and IDs aren’t the only ways you can describe the elements in your website in order to style them. You can also make use of attribute selectors.
- Introduction to CSS3 – Part 1: What is it? – This first tutorial will give you a very basic introduction to the new possibilities created by the standard.
- Introduction to CSS3 – Part 2: Borders – CSS3 takes borders to a new level with the ability to use gradients, rounded corners, shadows and border images.
- Introduction to CSS3 – Part 3: Text Effects – CSS is already reasonably versatile in the way in which text can be displayed, but still constricts design in quite a few areas. CSS3 goes some way towards removing those limitations.
- 15 Great Examples of Web Typography – It may be that not all the sites listed here are to your taste, but it’s hoped that something will inspire you.
- Web Based Workflow: Tale of the $0 Studio – In the past few years we’ve seen an explosion of free, web and open source alternatives to popular, often expensive, design programs. With this workflow it’s all pure profit!
- 10 Things I Learned from Mental Detox Week – Getting rid of technology (or most of it) for one week.
- 5 Psychological Experiments That Prove Humanity is Doomed – A number of psychological experiments over the years have yielded terrifying conclusions about the subjects.
- Ad*Access – The Ad*Access Project presents images and information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
Interesting Links 4.4.08
- Extensible CSS Interface I: The Foundation
- Extensible CSS Interface II: CSS Selectors & jQuery
- Extensible CSS Interface III: Adding Ajax Interactivity
- Extensible CSS Interface IV: Testing for Extensibility
- Windows Live Folder Share
- 10 Important Differences Between Brains and Computers
- 9 Techniques for CSS Image Replacement
- The 6 Most Important CSS Techniques You Need To Know
- Powerful List of WordPress Lifesavers Plugins
An interesting collections of links, primarily aimed at CSS this time. I can’t wait for this semester to be over with so I can get back to some web design. I am so behind in terms of things I want/need to read at this point.
Interesting Links 1.25.08
- PDF Hammer – PDF Hammer is a website that allows you to edit your PDF files online for free.
- Beyond DOCTYPE: Web Standards, Forward Compatibility, and IE8 – When a new version of that browser comes along and fixes bugs or misinterpretations of the spec (or introduces new ones) or in any way changes behavior, sites break and our clients, bosses, and users get very unhappy.
- From Switches to Targets: A Standardista’s Journey -This actually makes browser vendors more susceptible to pressure to fix their bugs, and less fearful of doing so. That’s huge, as fundamentally game changing as was DOCTYPE switching, but on an ongoing basis.
- Better Email Links: Featuring CSS Attribute Selectors – We can use this similarity between links to our advantage, so that we can apply CSS styling to only email links.
- Understanding CSS Colour modes – CSS 2 and 3 offer a number of different ways to pick colours. While everyone knows the hexadecimal notation, fewer people know the RGB notation and colour keywords, and the new colour modes that CSS3 introduces are still a riddle to most.
- Draft of HTML 5 Hints at a Brave New Web – HTML 5 presents a major change from HTML 4, and it will still be a long time before you’re likely to see HTML 5 markup in your browser.
- HTML 5 – W3C Working Draft 22 January 2008. This is the draft straight from the W3C. Not the easiest thing to read/understand, but certainly a great resource (obviously).
- HTML 5 differences from HTML 4 – HTML 5 defines the fifth major revision of the core language of the World Wide Web, HTML. This article describes the differences between HTML 4 and HTML 5 and provides some of the rationale for the changes.
- HTML5 Shiv – Assuming that it’ll be a while before most browsers attempt to implement most of HTML 5 we need to start thinking of ways to tackle the creation and rendering of HTML 5 components in the meantime.
Perhaps you figured out the pattern for these links (except for the PDF hammer link)? The HTML 5 draft was finally released on the 22nd of January. The web has been a twitter with this and the fact that Microsoft has said that Internet Explorer 8 will include a “super standards” mode. The key is that this standards mode will require a particular META tag to enable this type of rendering. This has also sent the web into a frenzy because people are claiming that this will destroy progressive enhancement. The truth of the matter, as Eric Meyer points out, is that this will not be a detrimental change. The key moving forward will be that your websites will theoretically continue to work exactly how you coded them for the foreseeable future. In theory, even if we’re all using IE10 your website that was designed for IE6 will still render just fine. The other point that Eric makes is that browser vendors will be able to implement new web standards much more quickly now that they’d no longer need to fear breaking millions of websites. Essentially current websites would remain untouched by new changes to IE’s rendering engine. Unless the developer specifically codes the website to use the new render engine, which we can assume means that the developer has tested the page for issues, it would default to the legacy rendering engine that has proven to work. This is really a good thing for web designers, web standards supporters, and browser vendors.
Interesting Links 12.9.07
- My DebugBar for Internet Explorer – If you’ve ever tried Firebug for Firefox you’ll like this. It’s like Firebug-lite for Internet Explorer.
- http://www.zml.com/ -Download movies -Semi-legal. Movies are playable on various devices including iPod, PDA (HandHelds), PC, DVD & DivX players. Lowest prices on the web ever. $1.99 each, no DRM.
- Leopard Tweaking – Terminal Codes: All kinds of little tweaks (using the terminal) for Leopard.
- Head First Labs -Learning isn’t something that just happens to you. It’s something you do. You can’t learn without pumping some neurons.
- URI vs. URL: What’s the Difference? – What is the difference between a URL and URI and why does it matter? This topic is confusing to some (myself included) and I thought I’d share my understanding of the two concepts.
- Fix Your Home and End Keys on your Mac with KeyFixer -The default behavior for the Home and End keys on the Mac can be very annoying—particularly for Windows-to-Mac switchers.
- 24 ways – 24 days of updates…web design tweaks/hacks/cool stuff. Web design nerds love this site each year!
- A Preview of HTML 5 – Work on HTML 5, which commenced in 2004, is currently being carried out in a joint effort between the W3C HTML WG and the WHATWG.
- HTML vs. XHTML – WHATWG Wiki -Although HTML and XHTML appear to have similarities in their syntax, they are significantly different in many ways.
- Rattlebox– e-cards that don’t suck. ‘nough said.
- CSS-Tricks – CSS-Tricks is a home for examples, tutorials, tips, tricks, and news regarding Cascading Style Sheets. Topics sometimes go beyond CSS to include larger web design issues and other languages like Javascript, PHP, and perhaps a little Ruby
Yeah, it’s been a very long time (nearly a month) since I last posted a non-automated-Twitter update. School has been insanely busy, work has been insanely busy, and…well, I like sleep so I picked sleep over updating my blog. I don’t explain all of the links because most are pretty self explanatory, but a few are worth mentioning. ZML.com is a semi-legal way to download movies without any DRM, but it won’t probably won’t be around for all that long considering it’s sort of in a “grey area”. The HTML 5 article and the HTML vs XHTML articles really make my little nerdy brain so giddy. I can’t really explain why, but I am really excited for HTML 5 and XHTML 2. Expect updates more often now that this semester of school is essentially over with.
Interesting Links 11.10.07
- To WWW or not and how to redirect your blog – WWW can make all the difference in the eyes of Google
- Top Firefox 2 config tweaks – Beyond the extensive options available in its menus and dialogs, there’s a lengthy set of advanced Firefox preferences that can customize the browser to your specific needs.
- APML: The Next Big Thing or the Next FOAF – The concept of APML is that it allows you to share your “attention profile†data with other users, organisations or programs in the same way you might share your OPML file with someone.
- Source of ‘optimism’ found in the brain – The act of imagining a positive future event – such as winning an award or receiving a large sum of cash – activates two brain areas known as the amygdala and the rostral anterior cingulated cortex (rACC).
- Explaining semantic mark-up – One problem is that some people don’t understand the difference it makes, so therefore let me humbly make an attempt to explain why semantics is important.
- POSH – Plain Old Semantic HTML – POSH, in case you haven’t heard of it already, is short for “Plain Old Semantic HTMLâ€, and is obviously much quicker and easier to say than “valid, semantic, accessible, well-structured HTMLâ€.
- YouGetSignal.com – Open Ports Tool: The port forwarding tester is a utility used to identify your external IP address and detect open ports on your connection.
- 25 Photographs Taken at the Exact Right Time – Timing is everything, particularly in the case of amazing photography. Sometimes that means waiting through a whole sports game and getting lucky to catch just the right shot.
- USB Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon install – This tutorial enables you to install, boot and run Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) from USB.
- Top 100 Mac Apps – I’ve compiled a list of my top 100 Mac apps for your perusal, since so many people have been asking for it.
Sorry, too many links and too little time to talk about all of these individually. I’ve amassed this list over the past 2 weeks. Enjoy.
Interesting Links 10.19.07
- A beautiful mind – Schizophrenia is potentially a very creative tool which, as yet, has not been understood or recognised and is mistreated and so its powerful symptoms manifest as confusion and destruction.
- Schizophrenics gain by practice, not meds – A U.S. study suggested cognitive gains in schizophrenic patients treated with newer antipsychotic medications are due to practice effects, not the drugs.
- How schizophrenia develops: Major clues discovered – Schizophrenia may occur, in part, because of a problem in an intermittent on/off switch for a gene involved in making a key chemical messenger in the brain, scientists have found in a study of human brain tissue.
- Brain cell growth diminishes long before old age strikes – While other research groups have made similar observations in the brains of rodents, this is the first time the decrease in new cell growth, known as neurogenesis, has been noted in a primate, the biological order that also includes apes and humans.
- Light shone within brains of mice reveals secrets of sleep-wake cycle – By flickering a special light inside the brains of sleeping mice to wake them up, Stanford researchers have shown that they can induce behavior in a living mammal by directly controlling specific neural cells.
It’s been a crazy week between papers, quizzes, work, running 5 sessions of my independent research…Needless to say, I haven’t had an opportunity to post any of the links before now. The first group is entirely psych related links (mostly Schizophrenia), and it’s very interesting stuff that is worth the read. The article that I thought was particularly interesting/sad was the one regarding individuals with Schizophrenia showing progress based on practice effects, not the wonderful meds everyone thought were so effective. That would really suck if that’s true (which it seems like it probably is).
- 250+ Tools and Resources For Coding the Web – We’re all living on the web, and we all seem to be starting our own websites, so it’s time we all learned the languages that make it run.
- CSS Vertical Bar Graphs – Eric Meyer has been keeping a secret since 2005 about CSS Vertical Bar Graphs. Well, not really, but it is good that he has come out with a nifty demo on how to do this.
- A List Apart: Findings From the Web Design Survey – In April 2007, A List Apart and An Event Apart conducted a survey of people who make websites. Close to 33,000 web professionals answered the survey’s 37 questions, providing the first data ever collected on the business of web design and development as practiced in the U.S. and worldwide.
- 21 Facts About The Internet You Should Know – You probably use it every day but how well do you know your Internet?
- Verizon Wireless: If you don’t opt out, we get to share your CPNI call data – Over the weekend, a small storm erupted over new legal language that Verizon Wireless is passing quietly on to its subscribers. It appears as though the cellular provider is changing its terms of service to give the company the right to share sensitive calling data with third parties.
- BitLet – the BitTorrent Applet – download a torrent without using a desktop application. perfect when you’re at work…
The second group is the normal miscellaneous tech links. The ALA Web Design Survey is worth the read if you’re a web designer. If you are a Verizon subscriber be sure and read the article linked above. Verizon sucks my ass. There I said it. I can definitely see BitLet being very useful. I could have used it a few times in the past…
Interesting Links 10.9.07
- Interactive design: the next step for the CSS guru? – But RIAs are becoming more open and more standards based, so I think interactive design is a natural next step for the CSS ninjas out there.
- 20 Proxy sites to browse the net anonymously – There are several reasons why you want to browse the internet anonymously.
- 10 Terrific Troubleshooting Tricks and Tools – The bad news: PCs have been around for 30 years, and they still find in new and unusual ways to break.
- Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age – pretty self explanatory.
- Microsoft Windows Home Server OEM – Microsoft Windows Home Server OEM is now on sale at Newegg.com
- How the RIAA tasted victory: a perfect storm which might not be repeated – In the aftermath of the case, it’s important to look at why the jury came to the decision it did, and why other cases may not play out the same way.
This is definitely an eclectic collection of links. I won’t talk about all the links. I’ll just say that Windows Home Server is one of the best things to come from Microsoft in nearly 10 years (since Windows XP). If you have ever downloaded any music *cough* illegally you will definitely want to read the article about how/why the RIAA won this particular trial. It could be very important for you in the future.
Interesting Links 9.30.07
- CSS Sprite Generator – a CSS Sprite is a single image file which contains several graphics. Using CSS background positions it’s possible to display any one of the graphics. By using a sprite you save on multiple http requests which helps speed up the rendering of your page.
- How To Do How to Block your Cell Phone Number -There might be many reasons why you want to block your cell phone number from showing up on other people’s caller IDs. Whatever the reason is, it’s very simple to block your cell phone number.
- Touchdev -This website is dedicated to finding additional uses for the iPod Touch by (legitimately) enabling its potential capabilities.
- iPhone and iPod touch Application Gallery – AppSafari.com is a gallery of over 500 applications built for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch with new apps added daily.
Just a few quick links, including several related to the iPod touch that I acquired recently. I am still holding out hope that hackers will figure out how to jailbreak the iPod touch in the near future. I know I mentioned that I’d write up this interesting article about neuron communication, but I got lazy…hopefully Tuesday night things will calm down in my schedule.
Interesting Links: 8.12.07
- The absolute bare minimum every programmer should know about regular expressions: Regular expressions are strings formatted using a special pattern notation that allow you to describe and parse text. Many programmers (even some good ones) disregard regular expressions as line noise, and it’s a damned shame because they come in handy so often.
- Power replacements for built-in Windows utilities: Power users need power utilities, and Windows’ default system programs barely get the job done. Over time third-party developers have stepped up and built superior replacements to programs like Notepad, Paint, Windows Explorer and the Command Prompt.
- Introduction to Cygwin, part I – Introduction and setup: Cygwin is a Windows command line on steroids which runs tons of well-known, age-old, useful Linux Unix commands.
- Introduction to Cygwin, part II – More useful commands: This installment will continue the Cygwinnery with some more useful commands at the trusty green shell prompt.
- Introduction to Cygwin, Part III – Scripts, packages and more: This third and final installment will tackle adding packages to your Cygwin installation, creating scripts from a set of commands, and a few Cygwin and Unix resources.
- CSS Layouts: The Fixed. The Fluid. The Elastic. : Which Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) layout is best? Is one more accessible than the other? More usable? What are the drawbacks and how are they dealt with?
- New elements in HTML 5: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 5 introduces new elements to HTML for the first time since the last millennium.
It’s been another one of those weeks where way too much is going on during the week so I collect bookmarks to read and post about individually, but we know that doesn’t happen. So here is a week in review:
- Regular expression can seem scary, but they can be very useful in the right situation.
- If the default system applications in Windows can’t do something that you’d like to do then look for alternatives. You will find a plethora of great alternatives (and they are usually free too).
- Cygwin is an interesting thing, and I won’t lie: I still don’t think I have quite got my head around when/why I’d use it. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve tried to do a “ls” at the Windows
craplinecommand line. - CSS layouts can be an easy thing to code, but the initial planning to decide which type of layout to use is always the biggest challenge. This is a great summary of the trade offs for each type of layout.
- HTML 5 is still a ways off in the future, I realize that, but I am still intrigued by the possibilities that it
mightwill bring when it’s ready. Mark my words, Microsoft will join the development effort eventually.