Month: July 2005

Dynamic Text Replacement: A List Apart

Dynamic Text Replacement: A List Apart

Text styling is the dull headache of web design. There are only a handful of fonts that are universally available, and sophisticated graphical effects are next to impossible using only standard CSS and HTML.

Short version, take normal boring text, as limited by the narrow range of available fonts (see earlier blog entry regarding this), and making images that can use any font and virtually any type of styling to make things a bit more interesting…all on the fly with very little effort.

Coming to a blog near you very soon. smile

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]WebDEV[/tag]
[tag]Thoughts[/tag]
[tag]Life[/tag]

A + Freeware

A + Freeware

There are a lot of great freeware programs out there. Many are as good or even better than their shareware or commercial alternatives.

Useful if you don’t want to pay for expensive software. As the website states, chances are you’ll find something here that is as good if not better than the expensive commercial software alternative.

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]Software[/tag]

Font guide for webmasters

Font guide for webmasters

Until font downloading technology is perfected, Web designers must normally restrict themselves to fonts that are available on most users’ computer systems.

There’s no choice but to use these fonts…It sucks because there are so many other cool fonts that I wish I could use.

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]WebDEV[/tag]
[tag]Thoughts[/tag]
[tag]Life[/tag]

Google Map Hack for Large Maps

Google Map Hack for Large Maps

Don’t you love the quality of Google Maps? Ever wish you could create a giant one (2048×1792), bigger than your screen? They’re great for making posters, or art. You could do it the hard way, by pasting together screen grabs, or you can use this free software!

Useful if you need to do something like this…

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]Software[/tag]
[tag]WebDEV[/tag]

St Paul’s | clagnut/blog

St Paul’s

So thanks then, terrorists. You’ve just succeeded in bringing the families of millions of Londoners that bit closer together, giving them an increased love of their city and an enhanced appreciation of their way of life. You might have destroyed the lives of several hundred people, but – and this is stating the bloody obvious you fuckwits – you’ve achieved nothing.

Very well said. Everyone should read this. Now.

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]Thoughts[/tag]
[tag]Life[/tag]
[tag]Personal[/tag]

One Last

If my eyes had one last sight,

I hope it would be your smile

If my ears heard one final sound,

I hope it’s your gentle laugh

If my lips kiss one final time,

I can only hope it is your lips

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Thoughts[/tag]
[tag]Life[/tag]
[tag]Personal[/tag]

BetaNews | Google Opens Maps API to Developers

Google Opens Maps API to Developers

Since its launch earlier this year, Google Maps has drawn immense interest from outside developers who have extended the service for applications such as finding the cheapest gas to locating apartments for rent. But these add-ons, or hacks, were never officially sanctioned by Google – until now.

On Wednesday, the Google Maps API was unveiled to developers looking to embed Google Maps into their own Web pages using JavaScript. The toolkit also enables users to build their own map overlays, such as markers and shadowed “info windows” just like those used by Google.

I know this is old new by now, but I have been slow at actually blogging this. I have this working if you want to see, on a very basic level, what’s possible using these API’s…I have just started to play around with this.

My Custom Google Map

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]Software[/tag]
[tag]WebDEV[/tag]

del.icio.us direc.tor | sYp

del.icio.us direc.tor

This script is very neat. Setup a bookmarlet. Visit del.icio.us. Click on the bookmarklet, and it instantly transforms your ugly del.icio.us web interface into a fancy AJAX-driven DHTML interface.

This is an amazing example of what AJAX can do. If you don’t know what del.icio.us is …well think of it as a way of storing a list of interesting links at a website that is accessible from anywehre.

del.icio.us direc.tor: Delivering A High-Performance AJAX Web Service Broker

del.icio.us direc.tor is a prototype for an alternative web-based rich UI for del.icio.us. It leverages the XML and XSL services of modern browsers to deliver a responsive interface for managing user accounts with a large number of records.

This delves a bit more into the actual code behind how this thing works. Not exactly reading for the light-hearted.

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]Software[/tag]
[tag]WebDEV[/tag]
[tag]Windows Modding[/tag]
[tag]Visual Modding[/tag]

Aero UX: What is coming to Longhorn?

Aero UX: What is coming to Longhorn?

Aero is primarily the name for Longhorn’s User Experience. The final look of Longhorn has been said to be called the final Aero UI. No one really knows (apart from those in Microsoft Design) what the Aero UI will look like once Longhorn ships but by Beta 2 we should have a strong idea.

I gotta give my boy a shout out. Check out his blog, his article, and his funny British quirks.

[tag]Chaos[/tag]
[tag]Tech News[/tag]
[tag]Internet Related[/tag]
[tag]Software[/tag]
[tag]Thoughts[/tag]
[tag]Windows Modding[/tag]
[tag]Visual Modding[/tag]