April 14th, 2008
by Gerrit Tebrake
At first what does Ajax mean?
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), is a web development technique used for creating interactive web applications. Ajax is asynchronous, in so far as extra data is requested from the server and loaded in the background. This is intended to increase the web page’s interactivity, speed, functionality and usability. Ajax function calls are usually made in Javascript using the XMLHttpRequest object. The asynchronous content doesn’t need to be formatted in XML.
Scripts for your Website
As quite every modern website makes use of at least a bit of Ajax you may want to have a few of those cool effects for your page. So I collected the best scripts for you. All of them are free to use and easy to install.
Lightbox 2 - Lightbox is a simple, unobtrusive script used to overlay images on the current page. It’s a snap to setup and works on all modern browsers.
April 6th, 2008
by Gerrit Tebrake
Talking from web2.0, you think of fade effects, live form validation and other nice and often practical effects. But how are these things realized? Is it something that only professional programmer can assemble?
The only thing that would be helpful is a general understanding of Javascript and HTML. Many of the effects you may have in mind are realized by using open-source libraries or other freely available code snippets. You just have to integrate a few Javascripts and call a few functions to have a beautiful web2.0-ish effect for your website.
In my view the best library is script.aculo.us in connection with prototype.js. They are easy to understand, have a large documentation and a good community. Other libraries worth mentioning are jQuery, Dojo, MochiKit, mootools and YUI. After installing the libraries, it’s so easy to create. Make a few Ajax calls, fall back on entire functions, get some groove effects - and your code is much lighter than before! So why not try to use one of these libraries, after a bit practice you will thank yourself for taking this step.
March 30th, 2008
by Gerrit Tebrake
Cool Wallpaper for your Mac, made by Ben Adamson. Available in 1024×640 and 1920×1200.
Conquer the Universe Background. A galaxy wallpaper with Apple logo to honor the great birth of Leopard. Offered in 1920×1200, with and without the Apple logo.
Stylish Simpsons Wallpaper with a hungry Homer and a sweet Apple.
Free and Customizable Leopard Wallpapers. The wallpapers currently come in the following dimensions: 1024×768, 1280×800, 1280×960 and 1600×1200. Each of them suits a different mood.
Leopard (Red) and Leopard Server (Blue) Aurora Wallpaper. Both come in 1024×640 and 2560×1600.
30 Apple related wallpapers (Apple logo, MacOS, iPod) that are definitely worth a look.
Retro Apple logo but with a glassy modern look. The Wallpaper comes in 3 big sizes (1280 x 1024, 1600 x 1200, 2560 x 1600) from which you can create all other common resolutions.
March 21st, 2008
by Gerrit Tebrake
Mark Zuckerberg did it and many others! They build successful websites and applications, and you can do the same! The first and most important thing is the idea. If your idea has potential then why not give it a try! Many people haven’t thought of becoming famous and rich by their websites but they were wrong.
What do you need to start your own website, blog or web application?
The idea - it’s the A and O to be successful! Are there already sites that do the same as yours? Is it possible to make money with your idea (sell premium content, banner advertising) or do you just want to be popular?
The website - do you master (x)HTML, PHP and JavaScript and maybe another language like Java? The point is - make yourself clear what is possible with your capabilities and what not. Maybe hire a professional programmer, but keep in mind that they are very expensive. Also nowadays it’s essential to permanently keep an eye on your sites’ security.
March 12th, 2008
by Gerrit Tebrake
This week I will present you 5 extraordinary fonts from deviantart.com, an outstanding community for art lovers.
Advent - This font features 7 weights (regular, light, extra light, regular oblique regular rounded, bold and extra bold) of advent along with carefully adjusted kerning. Unless written approval by the author Andreas Kalpakidis only personal usage of it is allowed.
Sliced AB - The typeface includes many of the key elements you need in a font, upper and lower case, as well as numerals and punctuation. Created by Alex Banks.
Bobel - by Chris Pitney. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
Manu - Both, Oktober and Manu, are fonts designed by Alen Stojanac. The author grants permission to use, alter and distribute them, either commercially or non-commercially.
Oktober
