Web Design and Development

Wednesday November 11, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:38:51 -0500

Wednesday November 11, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip

Monday’s [Insert Joke Here] update - Unexpected Effects of...

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:02:00 -0500

Monday’s [Insert Joke Here] update - Unexpected Effects of the Recession.

Friday November 6, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip featuring Bob...

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:25:00 -0500

Friday November 6, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip featuring Bob the Medical Examiner.

Wednesday November 4th, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:37:00 -0500

Wednesday November 4th, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip.

Monday’s [Insert Joke Here] strip.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:34:00 -0500

Monday’s [Insert Joke Here] strip.

Friday’s [Insert Joke Here] strip.

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:31:00 -0500

Friday’s [Insert Joke Here] strip.

Wednesday October 28, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:32:00 -0400

Wednesday October 28, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip

October 26, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:27:00 -0400

October 26, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] strip

October 23, 2009 [Insert Joke Here]

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:10:00 -0400

October 23, 2009 [Insert Joke Here]

If FB had expiry dates… Thursday edition of [Insert Joke...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:57:00 -0400

If FB had expiry dates…

Thursday edition of [Insert Joke Here]

October 21, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] comic

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:51:00 -0400

October 21, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] comic

October 20, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] Comic

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:15:00 -0400

October 20, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] Comic

October 19, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] Comic Strip

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:13:00 -0400

October 19, 2009 [Insert Joke Here] Comic Strip

Here is an easy step by step JavaScript tutorial I wrote on how...

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 18:00:00 -0400

Here is an easy step by step JavaScript tutorial I wrote on how to make simple animations.

Twitter in plain English

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:21:00 -0400

Twitter in plain English:

Nicely done animated explanation of how most people use Twitter.

Gotta love (well, some of them) the Google Chrome themes. This...

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 22:55:00 -0400

Gotta love (well, some of them) the Google Chrome themes. This one is Star Gazing. (yes, fwiw, that is “I’m MG Siegler” on YouTube open in one of my tabs)

Freemind - Free mind mapping software

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:11:00 -0400

Freemind - Free mind mapping software:

Mind mapping is a good way to refine your thinking on a subject. There are many software options available. Freemind is a Java based program with an intuitive interface. It’s a good starting point to introduce yourself to the family of mind mapping programs, since it is both free and relatively sophisticated.

The keyboard shortcuts I find most useful are Insert and Enter for child and sibling nodes respectively, Ctr + Up and Ctr + Down for ordering sibling nodes, Ctr + Click for selecting multiple nodes, and Shift + Insert for inserting a parent node. Alt + E lets you edit the edge colors.

(Of course pen and paper is an option as well)

Vista style glass border effect in XP

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:17:20 -0400

Vista style glass border effect in XP:

Neat little program. Some bugs, but it works.

In spite of its color scheme selection, Facebook is now more...

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:20:00 -0400

In spite of its color scheme selection, Facebook is now more popular than MySpace.

How much more popular than MySpace would Facebook be if it would not have used blue and white as its main branding colors?

Both the Facebook and MySpace logos are blue and white. When Facebook was starting, it should have have picked a different color for its branding. Orange would have been a good color to go with, since it’s complementary to blue, so it stands out and contrasts to it well in the eye and mind.

You generally want to differentiate yourself from the established competition. MySpace was already going strong as Facebook began. This means that initially the color blue, in the context of social networking, meant MySpace to most people. Now it means Facebook…. or MySpace.

It appears Facebook is doing fine as is, but you have to wonder how much stronger the brand would be with a logo that’s not mostly blue?

Bonus Video: MySpace vs Facebook by CNET

Tagging your files

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:41:00 -0400

While there are some clunky workarounds for tagging files on PCs, it’s not really integrated into Windows.

Tag2Find is working to solve this problem. I’ve found the program useful, though it has a ways to go before it becomes a polished software package. Taggtool is another option I’ve heard about for PCs, but I have not tried it. Tags by Gravity is the main Apple solution, as far as I can tell.

While tagging lets you find files quickly, it is not a completely intuitive solution. The way we remember things is a combination of what they are (tagging) and where we put them (folders). So, eventually there will be a solution that is an intuitive combination of tagging and folders.

I could imagine a program that lets you store tagged files in a virtual physical world. Maybe you could build a “house” for your files. The problem with folders is that one folder looks like another, so they are difficult to remember. If you could custom create virtual rooms that have shape and color attributes, where you can store tagged files, it would make remembering where you put a file that much easier and more fun.