Month: December 2008

It never was my intention to attack anyone personally…. My sights were set on correcting some obvious misconceptions. It was a focused attack on ignorance but with some unsolicited commentary on a particular group.

Hello everyone. I just wanted to create a blog to share my knowledge about e-commerce with the rest of the world. I've been involved in e-commerce for about 5 years now, and I've learned quite a bit throughout the process. I'll get to that stuff later. For now, I want to give you a background of my experience of going from a small company to a large corporation. I started out working for a company called MonsterCommerce back in January of 2003. I started when they brought tech support in house, and was one of 13 people working there at the time. I have been through the struggles of a small company, and helped it develop into a medium-sized business with a couple hundred employees. I've seen all the growing pains associated with that development. For those of you that don't know, MonsterCommerce was purchased by the giant company of Network Solutions in 2006, and a lot has changed since then as well.

Who Watches the Watchmen?

The Spirit – In Theaters December 25 – Gabriel Macht as the Spirit – Eva Mendes as Sand Serif – Samuel L. Jackson as the Octopus

This blog is momentarily interrupted to bring you a snippet of recently received email.

reddit is a source for what's new and popular on the web — personalized for you. Your votes train a filter, so let reddit know what you liked and disliked, because you'll begin to be recommended links filtered to your tastes. All of the content on reddit is submitted and voted on by users like you.

Yesterday we dug out a cool slideshow which tries to tell us, in a mere 34 slides, everything there is to know about Google. It’s not the only Google-related slideshow out there, though; in fact, we’ve found dozens of them. Here’s a selection of ten we’ve found to be either very useful or interesting.

I've long been interested in the concept of A/B testing (Also called split testing). It's a simple concept that should sit will with most mathematically-inclined types: You have a baseline interface in which you adjust a single variable, at random, for each user that visits your application. After a given amount of time you should be able to see if certain variables affect how your users behave (either negatively or positively). A product was recently released called SnapAds which allows its users (advertisers) to permute different variations of an ad and display different versions to users, based upon how well they perform over time. But that's not what I was interested in, specifically (even though it is a cool idea). The team that created this also created another product a while back that never saw a full release: Genetify.

Convert PDF Document to Word

While Google has been tightening its belt in some areas, attempting to photograph every square inch of the world for its Street View product doesn’t appear to be one of them. The company pushed out a massive update today, doubling the amount of terrain covered in the US. In addition to incorporating street level photos from Memphis, Birmingham, and Charleston, Google added photos from several whole states that previously hadn’t been touched: Maine, West Virginia, and North and South Dakota. Here’s a look at Street View’s current coverage across America:

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online. How do we do this? Everything on Digg — from news to videos to images — is submitted by our community (that would be you). Once something is submitted, other people see it and Digg what they like best. If your submission rocks and receives enough Diggs, it is promoted to the front page for the millions of our visitors to see. And it doesn’t stop there. Because Digg is all about sharing and discovery, there’s a conversation that happens around the content. We’re here to promote that conversation and provide tools for our community to discuss the topics that they’re passionate about.

Microsoft develops open-source content-management system: This is probably going to be huge, just by having the stamp of approval from Microsoft. Microsoft is positioning Oxite as more than just a blogging engine, claiming it can support even large Web sites. The company also is positioning the platform as customizable, allowing users to swap out Microsoft technologies, like database and search providers — specifically, SQL Server and Live Search — for non-Microsoft ones. Notably, the platform is ASP MVC, not Web forms. Via Seth who notes: From poking around a bit, Oxite seems to be a project introduced by some MSDN developers who needed a platform on which to build MIX Online (Microsoft’s big developer conference. Here is their description of Oxite). We all know that Microsoft’s mainstream content management offerings would not be up to the task for this kind of open community site. I am guessing that the code was first re

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, is under attack by online pirates. An add-on for the Firefox browser called ‘Pirates of the Amazon’ makes it possible to shop at the Amazon store but leave without paying a dime. Instead, on Amazon product pages the add-on integrates links to ‘free’ copies on The Pirate Bay.

I changed the URL scheme of this Web site over the weekend. I had been meaning to do it for a while, but some problems with Movable Type 3.2 kind of forced the issue. (I have got to stop rushing into every beta that presents itself…) To make everything backwards compatible, I built a simple redirect system — I have a table in the database with every single permalink from the old site (all 9,000 of them — including entry RSS feeds and category pages) mapped to every single new URL. If someone looks for a page which has moved, the 404 page does a lookup on this table, “resolves” the old URL against a new one, then redirects with a “301 Moved Permanently.” It seems to work well. A side benefit of this system is that I can watch for “unresolved 404s,” meaning 404s that were not in my lookup table — a genuine 404, if you will. I’ve noticed some interesting phenomena

Many e-commerce sites aren’t the most attractive websites. There’s often a lot of clutter with little to distinguish the design from any other site. Of course, selling products is more important to an e-commerce site than having a pretty design, but these 50 examples show that some e-commerce sites display excellent design.

Free wordpress themes for everybody

Canon EOS Rebel XS (a.k.a. 1000D) SLR Digital Camera Kit (Black) with 18-55mm IS Lens & 75-300mm III Lens * 10 Megapixel * 2.5" LCD Monitor * Live View Function * 3.0 fps Continuous Shooting * High Sensitivity (ISO 1600) * Picture Style Settings * Uses Canon EF & EF-S Lenses * Integrated Cleaning System

Because if you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you've already lost.

"Beneath the burning rays of the crimson sun of Athas, a Mul gladiator; daughter of a human and a dwarf, fights for her life in the Arena against a lizard-like beast of the desert wastes." During my active years of playing Dungeons and Dragons, the world of the Dark Sun setting (called Athas) really appealed to me. It was kind of like "Lord of the Rings" meets "Dune" ^_^

Songbird turned 1.0 this week, and aims to do to iTunes what Firefox did to Internet Explorer. That is, it aims to take the basic design of something closed and proprietary, and turn it into something open and extensible and fun. Songbird aims to give the power back to the people. Appearing in February 2006, Songbird is five years younger than Apple’s iTunes, and does not yet match it feature for feature. iPod support, album artwork, podcast support and stability are considered beta features and need improving. CD ripping, watching folders for changes and video support are all still coming. However, Songbird’s unique features make it a great media player in the Web 2.0 world. It is a flexible tool that belongs in the toolkit of any musician who explores new music online. In particular, the way it works with music-related websites and blogs greatly interests me. Songbird has completely changed the way I think about discovering and playing music online.

The past ten years have completely changed the way we listen to music, watch movies and television, and take photos, and one thing is abundantly clear: The future of your media lies undeniably in the digital realm. Now you just need to find the perfect media center application to pull it all together. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite media center applications, and today we're back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a closer look at the favorites, then cast your vote for the media center app you count on to manage your digital media life.

Access to Google contacts and synchronize them with Thunderbird address books.

___A post-apocolyptic fantasy___

Imagine what it would be like if Star Wars had not been written 30 years ago.

You’ve got a chance right now. While everyone else has their eyes on celebrating the holidays and doing all their year end rituals, you can make a commitment. You can make your New Year’s resolution almost a full month early. Here’s what you can commit to for 2009: you’re going to have a killer blog. You’re going to write the kind of blog people post, tweet, link, and even print to stick up on their office wall. Your blog in 2009 is going to be the kind of blog that people use to power their own change. This is your chance to get out there and kick ass. You can do this. You can deliver with the impact you want, and build on the work you’ve already done. I don’t claim that I know every little secret, but I tell you this: I get a lot of decent results with what I’m doing so far. You want some ideas from my side of the page? Here: take 40 of them. And if you want, add to them in your own blog post (pointing back to here). Ready?

In recent years, advertising has become a major revenue source for many websites. Not too long ago, online ads were often met with disapproval from visitors, and advertisers were unsure about their value or effectiveness. Today, most visitors have come to expect ads on commercial websites, and advertisers have recognized the potential of various online ad opportunities. Ads have long been a part of print publications, such as magazines and newspapers, and now they essentially have the same role in online periodicals and publications. Although advertising is a concern for website owners and those pushing products or services, it is also has an impact on Web designers, because they have to be able to design and develop websites that can produce ad revenue and still meet the needs of visitors. Clients with websites that depend on ad revenue need a design that provides the necessary screen space and a proper layout for selling ads, and advertisers need placement that will get them

Grid 960 is a CSS Framework that enables developers to rapidly prototype designs. They are excellent tools for creating mock ups. Why? Because they do all the heavy lifting allowing you to get faster results.

If you've ever worked on a web app, you've invariable gotten to the point where a client asks for something that doesn't sound difficult, yet, because of the market share of certain browsers (despite their near total lack of technical fitness), the feature that the client is asking for is difficult. You may explain the situation, and the client may respond logically and remove the request, respond logically and insist that you move forward despite the time sink, or they might plainly give you the look of "This guy is feeding me designer bull-<expletive/>." A prominent web developer recently experimented with making life easier on this front, and he noted some limitations. I thought his approach was novel – if you can't beat 'em, join 'em – and I got curious about what more experimenting might yield. Criticism welcome. I don't claim to be a Javascript guru, and I'm surprised this works as well as it does!

A Practical Guide to Designing for the Web aims to teach you techniques for designing your website using the principles of graphic design. Featuring five sections, each covering a core aspect of graphic design: Getting Started, Research, Typography, Colour, and Layout. Learn solid graphic design theory that you can simply apply to your designs, making the difference from a good design to a great one.

In the world of web design, a good tutorial can literally be a godsend. But it’s often hard to find a suitable tut, and sometimes it seems like we’re just stuck reading the same stuff over and over again. When it comes to advanced design, finding the right stuff can be even harder. Advanced effects require a much more in-depth tutorial, and often writers aren’t willing to go into the detail needed. To help the situation, we’ve tracked down some of the best articles written by the web’s top designers. Here are 25 tutorials for advanced web designers:

Tired of those same old fonts and looking for some new custom and cool fonts? Then you have come to the right place! We have put together a great collection of cool fonts from freelance designers and typographers who were kind enough to take the time to create these fonts. Be sure to check the usage rights of these fonts before you start throwing them in your projects. If you have created any cool fonts yourself, be sure to lets us know about your font in the comments below. Enjoy the cool fonts!

YouTube is offering musicians around the globe the opportunity to join a symphony orchestra via video through the world's first collaborative online orchestra. This is a chance to perform alongside world-renowned conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, learn from composer Tan Dun and many members of the London Symphony Orchestra, and consult with pianist Lang Lang. All video entries will be combined into the first-ever collaborative virtual performance, and people around the world will select their favorites to perform at New York's Carnegie Hall in April 2009. If you're interested in auditioning, or would like more information about this program, head over to the YouTube Symphony Orchestra channel and the YouTube Blog.

A business plan is best described as a resume for your business. It provides a description of your business as well as identifying goals and providing a road map for the future. It can be used to help you get a loan or investors and can be a way of informing your personnel, suppliers and others about your company.1 This page gives information on the most essential elements of a business plan including:

In June 2005, a balding, slightly overweight, perpetually T-shirt-clad 26-year-old computer consultant named Dan Kaminsky decided to get in shape. He began by scanning the Internet for workout tips and read that five minutes of sprinting was the equivalent of a half-hour jog. This seemed like a great shortcut—an elegant exercise hack—so he bought some running shoes at the nearest Niketown. That same afternoon, he laced up his new kicks and burst out the front door of his Seattle apartment building for his first five-minute workout. He took a few strides, slipped on a concrete ramp and crashed to the sidewalk, shattering his left elbow. He spent the next few weeks stuck at home in a Percocet-tinged haze. Before the injury, he'd spent his days testing the inner workings of software programs. Tech companies hired him to root out security holes before hackers could find them. Kaminsky did it well. He had a knack for breaking things—bones and software alike.