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links for 2009-12-12

  • With the Chrome Extensions gallery now fully up and running, the number of awesome extensions is multiplying at a rapid rate. What I've tried to do here is offer up the best, most useful and the must-have extensions for Google Chrome. To use the extensions you will need to install the Beta if you're under Windows, or the Developer build for Mac. Linux users will also need the Beta version. Google has a quick walkthrough that I suggest you read, if you're new to extensions — but mostly, it's just a matter of installing the Beta (30 seconds), clicking the links in this article and hitting 'yes'. Easy enough, right? Share8 The main thing you'll notice from this list of extensions is that all the big Firefox add-on developers are now on-board with Chrome. It's still very early days but the offerings are already surprisingly extensive. There's something for everyone in this list, I assure you.
  • Since previous article about CSS text effects got really big attention I decided to research and find more interesting articles and websites just focused on CSS3, teaching you how to use it, showing pros and cons and much more. To be honest it’s hard for me to keep up with technologies myself, but we really cannot not to use those new great selectors to make our designs even more beautiful, user-friendly and lightweighted. However since HTML5 is sort of tied with CSS3, I will soon continue with HTML5 article as well, so don’t miss it and keep coming back! Enjoy!
  • Smart webmasters do not work everything out from scratch; instead, we make good use of the free tools available online. There are tons of brilliant web tools available online – it’s a waste not to leverage these tools and save some working time (or, to have more time for beer). In this article, I’m going to share my must-have list of 30 web design tools, I hope you’ll find them useful. On the other hand, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the developers who had done some much and made our world better.
  • You spend your life fighting depression; it\'s the default human condition. The shit we buy, the people we hang around with, fuck and even love are just means to an end, a way to stave off the crushing loneliness that is to be alone and unloved. We buy into the idea of happiness as portrayed by the mass media, that happiness is found through social engagement, through the expenditure of the money we earn working for multi-millionaires that don\'t know us, don\'t care. If we live or die, we haven\'t made a mark on the world. We check Facebook compulsively, Twitter about our breakfasts and talk to our friends and coworkers about wild parties, prospective mates and expensive purchases: Attempts to show our sociability, our ability to fit in, our willingness to buy into this great corporate dream. If you want my advice, write something. Draw something. Tell someone something. Do something, ANYTHING, that will outlive this culture, that will transcend its boundaries and touch someone.
  • JAMES J. EAGAN CENTER ICE RINK – 2009-2010 SEASON
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    links for 2009-12-11

  • Web design is an increasingly important aspect of media and business. Because the Internet has become essential to the way we do business, find information and accomplish a number of other tasks, Web design truly is vital. And someone who understands Web design and can do a good job with it is valuable in a number of ways. If you are interested in improving your web design skills, here are 50 great open courseware classes for web designers: Computers and Computing 3484270250_0786d08606Understanding computers and computing is your first order of business. Here are some open courseware classes that can help give you a handle on computers:
  • Look, this may not be palatable, Gareth, and I keep trying to come up with a better way to put it, but the simplicity of things, at least from my perspective is this: George R.R. Martin is not your bitch. This is a useful thing to know, perhaps a useful thing to point out when you find yourself thinking that possibly George is, indeed, your bitch, and should be out there typing what you want to read right now. People are not machines. Writers and artists aren't machines. You're complaining about George doing other things than writing the books you want to read as if your buying the first book in the series was a contract with him: that you would pay over your ten dollars, and George for his part would spend every waking hour until the series was done, writing the rest of the books for you. No such contract existed. You were paying your ten dollars for the book you were reading, and I assume that you enjoyed it because you want to know what happens next. It seems to me that the bi
  • moosebutter is a four-man comedy a cappella group. They have won awards from the Contemporary A Cappella Society(Best Comedy Song, 2004), The Harmony Sweepstakes (2003 International Finals runners-up), had their music included on compilation albums (Doctor Demento Basement Tapes 2005, Sing II 2005) and played live shows in front of audiences around the United States. Their tight harmony and eclectic humor have charmed audiences through two albums and countless live performances. To handle all the performance requests they receive, moosebutter has several casts of performers. They perform with three, four, or five singers, depending on the show, and have done just about every kind of show you can imagine (Punk rock show? Check. National television? Check. Wedding reception? Check.).
  • Web Apps are hitting the internet by storm. There are so many around on the internet, running on many different frameworks. I have compiled a list of the top 10 web apps for web designers in 2009. They are ranked descending, so its saving the best until last. Remember that this is WebDesignDev’s opinion about what apps are the top 10. If you think another app should be number one, then we would love to hear it in a comment. Also, you may want to check out my very own web app called lushcloud that is currently being built for freelancers and small businesses. Anyway, enjoy the list and let me know what you think of our number one.
  • Our last top 10 list, titled “The Top 10 Web Applications For Web Designers In 2009” proved to be very successful, with over 450 retweets! So I have compiled another 2009 top 10 list. This time though, its Icon packs in the spotlight. Here is WebDesignDev’s top 10 free icon sets for web designers in 2009 list. Of course this is our own opinion, and not what web designers have voted on. If you think a different icon set deserves to be number 1, then feel free to drop us a comment telling us why. Anyway, enjoy the list!
  • Picture a world famous surgeon. Absolutely everybody has heard of this talented individual. She's performed countless surgeries, saved so many lives. She's renowned the world over for being a miracle worker. Now imagine she achieved this notable status while constantly making obvious mistakes with the scalpel. Would that happen? The equivalent of that happens in the world of web design every second. Spelling is one of the most crucial parts of writing, in fact it's one of the most crucial parts of any job that involves words! Thousands of web designers, in particular, make unforgivable spelling mistakes constantly. You can be the greatest designer on the planet, have the most intriguing concepts out there, create wonderfully thought provoking experiences for your users, but if you type something like 'I've been freelancing for a number off years', you honestly look like a five year old. To take that to an even further level of embarrassment, many of these same individuals can also
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    links for 2009-12-10

  • We will start a new set of posts that will demonstrate different way of creating and styling various design elements. Today our focus will be on “Post Headings“, how to style and markup this important block that comes before any post. Usually “Post Headings” consists of 5 essential elements: * 1- Post Title * 2- Publishing Date * 3- Author Name * 4- Post Category ot Tags * 5- Number of Comments What we are going to do is play around with these 5 puzzle pieces to get 5 different and pretty “Post Headings” for your blog posts. All the headings mentioned here actually need only couple of lines of CSS.
  • CSS has become the standard for building websites in today’s industry. Whether you are a hardcore developer or designer, you should be familiar with it. CSS is the bridge between programming and design, and any Web professional must have some general knowledge of it. If you are getting your feet wet with CSS, this is the perfect time to fire up your favorite text editor and follow along in this tutorial as we cover the most common and practical uses of CSS.
  • This is my no means a definitive list of the Top 10 Most Philosophical Movies of All-Time (such a task would be impossibly subjective). It is, on the other hand, a list of excellent movies that will make you think much more than the ‘ordinarily’ run-of-the-mill Hollywood garbage. So please, queue these in your Netflix, or run to your local video store, because these films are excellent mind candy for the starving intellectual within us all.
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    links for 2009-12-09

  • A mysterious light display appearing over Norway last night has left thousands of residents in the north of the country baffled. Witnesses from Trøndelag to Finnmark compared the amazing sight to anything from a Russian rocket to a meteor or a shock wave – although no one appears to have mentioned UFOs yet. The phenomenon began when what appeared to be a blue light seemed to soar up from behind a mountain. It stopped mid-air, then began to circulate.
  • Today we have a review of some of the additional design features you may wish to consider adding to your blog in order to make it visually more appealing and also to make for a better overall user experience. I get a lot of emails about design – it appears most people can install a nice wordpress blog – especially when using the easy install feature that is available on the Cpanel at Hostgator.com and adding themes such as those available at Woothemes.com However it appears a good number of you would like to Jazz up your Blogs – make them more striking and impacting. This post is for those people. For each feature we have suggested, we have also included a screen-shot of that feature in action on some of our favorite blogs. Just one word of warning here — we are presenting you with 20 different features to consider, but this does not mean you should actually use all 20 features. I am a huge fan of customizing your blog and making it as individual to you as possible (bearing in mind
  • Web designing is an art. It is always to learn from the best in the field especially in a dynamic world like Web Design where today’s design become anachronistic by tomorrow. Ergo, Here is a list of the best tutorials to implement latest trends among the web designing community to help you stay in sync with your web designs.
  • Here we go again … our latest list of the 100 best websites sees short attention spans, the rise of Twitter, more browser wars and celebrity gossip sites setting the news agenda
  • Recently I came accross various websites filled with quotes from designers & artists from around the world, insiprational quotes to get you thinking. In this article I have selected various top design quotes that apply to my experience and gives me power to be creative and think foward. I have also asked several fellow bloggers about their favourite design(ers) quotes and the feedback was a very positive and the inspiring list of quotes are embedded in this article. Please join in and add your favourite design(ers) quote in the comments, thank you very much!
  • In May, I wrote about how to negotiate your salary. I argued that following the advice in Jack Chapman’s Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute is one of the best ways to improve your financial well-being. I still believe it. If you’re looking for work or looking for a raise, you should absolutely read his book. But negotiation is a skill you can use in other parts of your life, too. In fact, in You Can Negotiate Anything, Herb Cohen says that we negotiate constantly with our spouses, our children, our parents, our co-workers, and our friends.
  • Every month we’re scanning the web for fresh blogs delivering quality content in the design-dev-freelance community, and these are the 10 entries for September. Yeah, I know, don’t have enough room in your RSS reader. Well, delete some old feeds :]
  • Speed Tracer is a tool to help you identify and fix performance problems in your web applications. It visualizes metrics that are taken from low level instrumentation points inside of the browser and analyzes them as your application runs. Speed Tracer is available as a Chrome extension and works on all platforms where extensions are currently supported (Windows and Linux). Using Speed Tracer you are able to get a better picture of where time is being spent in your application. This includes problems caused by JavaScript parsing and execution, layout, CSS style recalculation and selector matching, DOM event handling, network resource loading, timer fires, XMLHttpRequest callbacks, painting, and more.
  • Originally, I started a blog about Star Wars. Slowly it deviated out to other stuffs too and somehow turned into my mindless chatter,whatever comes to my mind. I enjoy collecting toys and collectibles. So this is still ultimately a toy blog! Aquarium Fish Keeping has been my longest surviving hobby. Enjoy playing RPG games on DS and PSP. Loves to photograph animals and nature. In love with dark mint chocolates and chilli crabs!
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    links for 2009-12-08

  • Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, post links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet.
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    links for 2009-12-07

  • Google is good for so many things, among which is searching for all sorts of files, including MP3's. Here's a quick primer: * -inurl:(htm|html|php) intitle:"index of" +"last modified" +"parent directory" +description +size +(wma|mp3) "Nirvana" Just substitute the term "Nirvana" for any band or singer you might be looking for, and your search will lead you to open indexes that contain downloadable music files.
  • Icon Fever is a gallery site that exists to showcase the best free and premium icons for designers. Here you will find single icons and icon packs that can be used in your own personal work or in commercial projects (always be sure to check the license and terms of use set by the designer). Folio Focus is part of the Inspiration Pulse Network that includes five other niche galleries: * CartFrenzy – Showcasing e-commerce websites * Folio Focus – Showcasing the best portfolio websites * Minimal Exhibit – Showcasing websites with a minimalist design style * Blog Design Heroes – Showcasing the best blog designs * TypeInspire – Showcasing typography in web and graphic design The Inspiration Pulse Network is created and owned by Vandelay Website Design. If you’d like to get in touch with us, please use the form below. If you’d like to submit a site for inclusion in the gallery, please see the Submit page.
  • Someone has brilliantly mashed up Star Wars and the Eddie Murphy movie Coming To America, which also stars James Earl Jones. If youve seen both movies youll like this A HA!
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    links for 2009-12-05

  • Find the software you're looking for at CNET Download.com, the most comprehensive source for free-to-try software downloads on the Web.
  • Theoretically a vampire, Edward has shown a startling ability to remain at high school for almost a century without getting laid.
  • Luke Skywalker – Jedi Knight Premium Format Figure – November 30, 2009 – Filed under: Ministry of Information / Star Wars
  • Capitalizing on media-business synergies can be tricky, no matter how evident the benefits appear on paper. Just ask Jerry Levin and Steve Case. But while the world waits to see whether Comcast’s just-inked deal for NBC Universal proves to be more than Son of AOL Time Warner, Walt Disney Co. has quietly found a way to inject a little cooperation into its operations—combining two of its most iconic, if culturally disparate, properties: the Muppets and Queen. The Burbank, Calif., entertainment giant bought the Muppets from the Jim Henson Co. in 2004, and now it is in the process of relaunching the fuzzy-puppet franchise in the run up to a coming feature film (release date TBA). As part of that process, the company created a clip of Animal, Gonzo, and other Henson-created favorites doing a Muppetized rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” video. Since it was posted on YouTube on Nov. 23, it’s become a viral sensation, with more than 8.8 million views. (The Muppets also recently got Fa
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    links for 2009-12-03

  • Writing for the web is a challenge. There are usually word length restrictions, the fact that users scan rather than read every word, and sometimes style guides to adhere to. There are enough writing tips online to keep you reading for longer than you probably desire. Here are 1o tips that have been the most useful to me: Know your audience This sounds obvious but is often taken for granted. The only way you can write relevant copy that is targeted at the right audience in the right tone of voice, is to understand who that audience is. Depending on where your audience are located, you may have to include local expressions or if writing for a wide audience be specific with things such as dollars. If it is US dollars then say so. If it is Cardiff in Wales then say so as there is also a Cardiff in New Zealand and other countries.
  • Colour is a powerful tool when it comes to design. It’s fun to work with and when you get it right it can really make a design. I’m no colour expert so I’m not going to bore you with any theory but having worked with colour for a long time I there are a few really simple tips I’ve picked up along the way. Editor’s note: We’ll be covering topics like Typography, CSS3, HTML5, Microformats and how to work with clients at The Future of Web Design Tour. Tickets are only £59.
  • When you type www.wikipedia.org into your browser's address bar, you expect nothing less than to be taken to Wikipedia. Chances are you're not giving much thought to the work being done in the background by the Domain Name System, or DNS. Today, as part of our ongoing effort to make the web faster, we're launching our own public DNS resolver called Google Public DNS, and we invite you to try it out. Most of us aren't familiar with DNS because it's often handled automatically by our Internet Service Provider (ISP), but it provides an essential function for the web. You could think of it as the switchboard of the Internet, converting easy-to-remember domain names — e.g., www.google.com — into the unique Internet Protocol (IP) numbers — e.g., 74.125.45.100 — that computers use to communicate with one another. The average Internet user ends up performing hundreds of DNS lookups each day, and some complex pages require multiple DNS lookups before they start loading.
  • Well, the latest installment of the Twilight series is breaking box office records all over the place. I contributed to that as I saw it with a packed house on Saturday afternoon. How could I resist, after having so much fun at the first one last year? It was an interesting experience, as my audience had a maniacal cackler who almost provided more entertainment than the movie itself. Before I get to my detailed review (I am educated in film so expect serious criticism), I want to mention the movie's soundtrack. I think a lot of indie rock fans were up in arms over some of the bands on there. I don't know, I don't put much stock in the whole "selling out" concept, and I've been listening to it and there really are a lot of great tracks. Thom Yorke, BRMC, Grizzly Bear, Editors…. um, uh… oh geez.
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    links for 2009-12-02

  • This is a blog for webmasters published by kpaul media. You can contact the publisher at kpaul.mallasch@gmail.com with any questions or concerns. Thanks.
  • When you run an online e-commerce store with a shopping cart, it’s quite easy for your architecture and URL’s to enter into territory that’s not friendly for search engines. Here are some basic tips I recommend for everyone working with an online shopping cart. Product Pages Your product pages are the money pages in your site architecture. They are the ones you want to be in the absolute-most-search-engine-friendly format. Many shopping carts will place them in a category directory like this:
  • I'm writing this post today because I truly believe that you haven't had enough facepalm moments in your life yet. I follow Cracked.com on twitter and jumped to the link immediately when I saw the tweet about 7 Inventors You Didn't Know You Wanted to Punch In the Face. I expected to see a list of gadgets or technology that end up being annoyances or death traps. But starting with #7 it seems the first winner was really just a jerk with some legal tricks. But since the jerk in question was Mitch Bainwol, CEO of the RIAA, a group I've written about before and follow with some modicum of enmity, I took careful notice. The article gives a bit of detail and some links about the history of the RIAA's legal campaign against individuals file sharing, the history of one of it's most important cases and Mitch's role in it. In regards to Cracked's article, it occurs to me momentarily that this does not make him an "inventor" but just a "suit". Still, the suggestion that someone (maybe me) would
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