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G-Plus
I know I haven't posted much lately, but you can find more of my involvement on G+.
Here is my account.
Enjoy,
Scott Easterday
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HowTo: Website Layout Part 2
Welcome to part 2 of website layout. If you have not read Website Layout Part 1 yet, I recommend that you do. Last time we talked about the general layout with no html code. Now we will put on our boot straps and get started coding.
I keep teasing you but, let’s talk about aesthetics. There once was a time you mixed design with content. This time is over and we keep them as separate as possible. For now we keep all the content of the site in HTML and we keep all the design into CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). A great site to show how these two work is CSS Zen Garden.
Starting with HTML is extremely easy and you can do it with a simple text editor. It is actually almost too easy and can create interesting situations. HTML is a hap-hazard xml document with keyword tags. Don't worry It’s not as scary as I may have put it. The first tag is the Doctype, and to make things simple we will start with the XHTML doctype. <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> should be the first line in the document. Notice the angle brackets; these brackets are what create a tag and needs to be ended with a closing tag. Don’t worry about anything after html, it is superfluous at the moment. Notice html in the tag which means we need to close it with </html>. The forward slash shows that we want to close it. The second thing is there can only be one root tag, which means everything else has to fit inside of the html tag. Next is the <head></head> tag which contains <title>The Title</title>. Next is the <body></body> tag and this is where you will put all your content (text, images, etc…) in. As with all beginners programming, we start with a <h1>Header 1</h1> tag that says Hello World! Let’s see what this looks like in a file.
Code:
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <head> <title>Hello World Title</title> </head> <body> <h1>Hello World!</h1> </body> </html>
See that wasn’t too hard. I am not here to teach you all about html, there are plenty of sites that can do this for you. I recommend going to W3Schools and click on XHTML tutorials; they provide the most accurate and latest information on how each tag works.
If you haven’t already look at <div>Division</div> and <span>Span</span>, there have been so many confusions over the two of these tags. To alleviate the confusion a bit, the <div> tag is specifically for grouping elements together like a bunch of <p>Paragraph</p> tags. The <span> tag is for formatting a small amount of text or an image <span>Accent</span>. Let us hope that clears up some of the confusion.
Now we will layout a simple design. We will be using <div> tags. <div> tags can also be looked at like layers. Every time you nest a div tag it is like putting it on top <div><div></div></div>. That looks a little confusing and we don’t know what they are for. That is why we need to use the attribute id, this is also used for formatting and style example: <div id=”header”>. Let’s create a simple layout, with a header, navigation, content, and footer. First thing I do is encapsulate everything in the document with a container. <div id=”container”> (hint: an id can only be used once in an html doc). Then I can put everything else inside.
Code:
… <body> <div id=”container”> <div id=”header”><h1>My Sample Site</h1></div> <div id=”navigation”> <ul> <li>Home</li> </ul> </div> <div id=”content”> <p>Some Sample text</p> </div> </div id=”footer”> <ul> <li><a href=”about.html”>About Me</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </body> …
We have not used any tables and we have created a simple layout. Now if you actually leave this code as is, it may not exactly look like you want it to look. In the next tutorial we move into CSS and modify it to line up the way it should.
Part 3: Modifying content with CSS...soon
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HowTo: Google Maps 3D
Yes I said it Google Maps in 3D, I couldn't believe what that option said. The first thing you are going to need is a pair of 3D sunglasses. It is the red and blue type of 3D, sorry Sony or Samsung.
Now head over to Google Maps and select a location or place you want to see in 3D.
Last thing is to right click on the image and set to 3D mode.
Depth Perception,
Scott Easterday
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Firefox 4
If you thought the Firefox browser was this old dog, that ran like a turtle. I want you to try the new version. Firefox 4 official release, has turned into a speeding rabbit. With its unique new design and JägerMonkey speeds, it is the hot new browser hitting your desktop.
Download Firefox 4 and experience the smooth, sleek, re-design that will redefine your web experience.
JägerSpeed,
Scott Easterday
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Nostalgic Internet
I think I may be just a little sadistic today, with my internet going out at my house, people blaring music in Starbucks (has he heard of headphones), and can't wrap my head still around Gizmodo's new layout. The layout just makes me want to shake it back to the way it was.
Which makes me think of all the sites that have changed themselves for better or for worse. Sometimes I wish I could just go back to the version that I liked so much. Some more examples of this are Facebook and Digg. That either added or removed certain features to what they believe were better.
Its like you want to go to http://OldVersion.com/ and just click on the website you want to go back in time with. This is only a dream and we are forever stuck in their new crappy layout and features.
FML,
Scott Easterday
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FourSquare Next Big Thing
Remember how Facebook just came in and dominated the social networking space or how the Twitter universe came alive. Well it has been a while and nothing seems to compete with those two. It could even make you think, what is next?
With the latest update of FourSquare, I think we are going to see a revolution. FourSquare is an app available on most phones that allows you to do mobile check-ins. What was neat is you could see other people in the area as well as tips they might have in the particular area. That was great and all but they need something more to get the major influence.
Think of that friend that keeps telling you about the GroupOn deals in your area. FourSquare has made it even better by giving you deals around the area you are checking in to. Now you can instantly see where you can save money with the stores around your area. This is great and definitely going to make me check more to see if I check in to place, I could even get a discount or deal.
So if you haven't started using FourSquare yet then I recommend checking it out and see if you could find any deals coming your way.
FourSquare
Next Thing,
Scott Easterday
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HowTo: Website Layout Part 1
So I am starting an ambitious how-to on web layout. Notice how I said "layout", because really I am not a great designer but give me a design and I can build it for you. So before I start you in the crazy world of website and their idiosyncrasies let talk a little about how things are put together. There are several rules you need to follow in order to have a good layout and understanding of how things are.
First thing you need to do is find out what type of site are you designing. Is it a blog? Are you selling something? Are you creating new web services? What is the purpose of the site? If you don't know what you are creating how are you even going to start designing? So the obvious thing is find other similar sites and see what they have done. Look at the layout and look at how many columns they have and what menu items do they show. Look at the navigations and see if they drop down, move or if they cover certain items. Look at how they implement links to other sites and do they underline them on hover. There are all things to look for and notice when looking at different designs.
The next thing to decide is if you want a fixed layout or fluid layout. A fixed layout allows you to specify exactly how many pixels you have and how big you want the content. It is a lot easier to deal with how content will look on any computer. A fluid layout is a lot trickier because the size of boxes and the content will change depending on the user's browser size. If this is your first website, I would recommend using a fixed layout as it makes things a lot easier.
Even if you use a fluid layout it is good to know what the users screen resolution will be on their computer. The width is key to look at rather than height of their screen. People tend to handle height easier than width since scrollbars take care of this. A long time ago people still had a monitor 800x600 resolution. This made designing sites tricky but today most people have 1024x768 or higher. A lot of sites now even are heading towards the 1280x1024 resolution size as the normal. One last piece on resolution is with mobile phones the smaller resolution is something to worry about again. Since it such a difference, people have a whole different layout to handle mobile devices.
It is best to think of a website as a live document. There are typically 4 things on any particular site. The header is the top part of the site and usually contains a logo or some sort of login to the site. Usually is the best way to bring someone back to the home page. The navigation lets the user browse the site and a way to find things connected to the site. The content as you might have guess is where the majority of your site will live. This is the place where the content will change by the navigation. Last is the footer this place is where you will have the sitemap and other information about the site. Usually more about yourself or other that have created the site.
There are about 4 uniquely different layout of the items listed above and a picture is a good way to show them:
The first the Nav on the top, second the nav is on the left, third (aka: holy grail) has left and right nav, fourth two navs on the right. There are more combinations but this makes the majority types of layout.
As you can see we haven't even touched html code. This is crucial because it is possible to spend many hours creating a layout, then not even use it. Notice I am not talking about design, that is up to the web designer but I would recommend them designing with photoshop or illustrator, even powerpoint could work to help get a feel of how the site will look.
Part 2 will talk about html, divs, and how to create a table-less design.
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iPhone: App of the Week
I am going to start a new segment on suggesting a new app every week. Since a good app is sometimes hard to come by. Then there are some apps that don't do what you want to do.
Pick of the Week goes to: Tiny Wings $.99
This game is a fun time waster, it is so simple a kindergarten can easily master the controls. It begins with a bird that has tiny wings and wants to fly, but with his extra weight he can't seem to sustain his flight. There are lots of hills in his area so he uses his extra weight as an advantage to reach the skies.
Pros:
Fast & Easy to Learn
Addicting Gameplay makes you want to be a master
Achievements are great
Cons:
Repeating the same islands can get annoying
Hard to tell exactly how much time you have left
Tiny Wings on iTunes
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iPad2 Revolution
Originally I wasn't that impressed with the iPad. It simply lacked to many features to even closely be something worth carrying around. Here are a few so those naysayers don't beat me down:
No Camera
No Video Out
Outdated iOS
Heavy
Some even personally I didn't say because it doesn't follow the common person needs. iPad 2 I want to say fixed all of those problems. Here are a few of the features:
Camera
Video Out
New iOS
Lighter
This actually makes me want to get one now. I'm excited.
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Get ready for your Questions to get Answered
Hey everyone I know it has been a long time, but I have been working hard on a new website that I hope everyone will like. This is my Question & Answer site now renamed as Answerists.com The old name I had to sadly depart with, but on with the new and hoping to get it out soon.
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Best Step Forward
Now that the midterm elections are over and everyone can stop watching those political ad commercials and everything is back to normalcy. I can talk about politics again. Yes and your person won right? Well even if they didn't, did it really matter? Are they going to live up to there expectations?
Well here is my problem with the election process. As I have stated before in my article Jon Stewart Party? What really makes the other candidate different than the other? They are both fighting for that swing voter. Therefore how do we really know what they are willing to do.
The underlining problems that tend to plague California is school funding and state budget. I don't think anyone knows the answers to these problems and seems like they just try different things to see if something works. We expect change and we want it now, and in our minds we just want to rid our problems. Last time I dealt with the government it was the slowest process possible. Taking months to do one thing, and we expect them to change overnight. It seems a little ridiculous to consider these changes and have them remedied immediately.
Taking the depression, yes depression because to call it hard times or deficit is not genuine, if you know depression it's not something that is not going to be fixed over night. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifices for people. It is not an easy process where you can wave you wand and everything is back to normal.
I say give the officials time to work and the things they accomplish may not be what they ran their campaign on. If I told you to run in a campaign to be sales person of a company and you have not had that position before. Then you walked into a storm where people were slow, profits were disastrous, and people betting against you. Doesn't seem like that much fun and will take a great person to lead. Chill and relax because you got to vote and that person may or may not have won.
Ultimately my advice is do what you need to do and fight for what you need to fight for, because whiners don't make it in the real world. One of the best sayings I have encountered is from Russell Simmons, "I knew it was unrealistic to think I could build an institution overnight. But if I took baby steps, eventually it would happen." Therefore, make a goal and set a time, and slowly step towards that goal.
Best Wishes,
Scott Easterday
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Case Study: Positive Comment Spam
By the title you are probably thinking of the spam that you get that try to push a link or make you want to go kill yourself. No I am talking about positive spam. I know sounds odd and disturbing that I call it positive spam.
In the internet world we have come accustomed to websites having comments. From YouTube, news agencies, and places like reddit and digg. We often think that if they have a coherent thought they are not considered spam. Well what I see as a new emerging technique, websites create preset comments. In our mind we automatically think those are real people making those up. Here is a weight loss article that initially talks about how so many weight loss products are a waste, but then goes on to sell another product. This seemed weary to me and I started reading the comments to see what people think. They seemed way to positive and even suggesting a second product. Then even giving a link to where you can get the product as well.
So my advice before you believe the commentors take a step back and try to figure what the article is about. Is it about a story or is it about a product you can buy and consume. Are all the comments fairly positive or are they intermittent. These are things to look for and please be weary on the internet. If its too good to be try it usually is.
Don't Trip,
Scott Easterday
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Logic Problem 1's & 0's
I ran into a good logic problem. It is a little difficult but with a little effort its not to bad. The problem deals with the binary system and simple arithmetic of 1's and 0's. In a binary system there are only 2 numbers, 1 and 0. Combining them is really simple. For this logic problem you will need to know how to & two numbers together and it goes as follows:
0 & 0 = 0
1 & 0 = 1
0 & 1 = 1
1 & 1 = 0
Ok ready for the problem here it is;
1 - 1010100
2 - 0100101
3 - 1010010
4 - 0101010
5 - 0001101
6 - 1100010
7 - 0011011
Using the binary numbers come up with a combination to make all the numbers 1's, so you would end up with 1111111. So together 2 & 4 would be:
2 = 0100101
4 = 0101010
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= 0001111
(hint: My solution took up 4 numbers)
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HowTo: 3D Floor Plan using SketchUp
Time: 3-4hrs
I am excited to show you my new fun program to create stuff. Usually you look at the 3D modeling programs and get so confused. This one I had working in no time and once you get the basic, it is lots of fun. I will be using the free program created by Google called SketchUp and I decided to create a 3D model of where I live.
#1
First thing I did was create a rough sketch of my place with all the measurements. One thing I noticed later was the idea to get more square measurements. Once you have the basic blocks you can create the angles.
#2
If you have already download the program listed at top and install. I highly recommend going through the video tutorials. It helps a lot to get some of the basics controls, there are 4.
#3
Create a new SketckUp and I started with the top view (Camera->Standard View->Top). Then using the pencil tool started drawing the lines. Using the measurement guide presented in the tutorial is a must.
#4
I wanted to do an inside view of my place so I created the mock walls on the outside. This made the next step easy.
#5
Using the concepts in the tutorial you can easily pull the height of the walls up.
#6
Use the paint tool to color the walls and make any other extrusions you want. It really is that simple. You can see the advantages of how you can choose colors and where to put things. Here are some more examples and a link to my final project. Also check out the free models other people have created here to import into your project.
Tips:
Measurements don't have to be exact, just close.
Save the floor to last, unless its a specific area.
Look for the colors when trying to line up things.
I had a lot of angle walls I found it easy to find which ones were parallel to each other.
Enjoy,
Scott Easterday
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Jon Stewart Party?
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert rally for Sanity and/or Fear, that occurred at the national mall drew in thousands and thousands of people. CBS aerial estimated 215,000 people may have attended the event. Which brings us to what the event was really about or not about. Do you understand what may have happened? Does bringing that kind of crowd mean something? If there was a party for the everyday person would this be it?
I don't think it is that far of a stretch. If you look at politics right now with the Republicans and the Democrats you see constant bicker and this person is that. Take these two ads.
It is even further complicated when they talk about them in the debate. They tell us they can change this and change that, but why haven't we done those things already? If they tell us how simple it is to make these changes and hold them accountable if it doesn't happen. Why hasn't it happened now?
Lets step back and look at logistics, who really is their target audience? I ask this because Republicans are going to vote Republican and Democrats are going to vote Democrat. The people who are left, are the people stuck in the middle. These are the people who could go either way and most of the time make up the sway in the polls.
Now let me interject Jon Stewart into the mix and see how this stuck in the middle fit this model. Jon Stewart shows us his ideas, ever so gently. It is not about politics its not really about any particular media organization. It is about the everyday common person who has a 9-5 job keeping America alive. These are the people that are being left out and Steward brought 215k with him. That is not including all the people that were watching on the internet live.
At first the rally seemed more of an entertainment situation, where they play off of different themes and such. When it really hit home was Jon Stewart's speech at the end.
This couldn't be setup better, one of the quotes being, "it is an insult not only to those people but to the racists themselves, who put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate". This reminds me in school when you run for student body, you get in major trouble slamming the other party, but in the real world that is what it's all about. That shouldn't be what it is about, and the slam against other people is a form of insecurity. I am not saying there is a new party, but in the grand scheme of things we keep living and keep trucking along and we don't want that to end. I want a party for me and I want it to be sane just as Jon Stewart puts it. I don't want to vote for the lesser of two evils, but what is going to be best for me.
Keep Trucking,
Scott Easterday
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HowTo: CCleaner 3.0
There is only one program, I recommend to remove un-needed files and data that is lurking on your computer. It is known as Crap Cleaner or CCleaner if you don't want to use that word, created by the company Piriform. This program is the best for removing invalid registry and web data on your computer.
Warning! Use at your Own Risk!
If you don't have a backup solution I would not recommend using this program, because the first thing I am going to tell you to do is Backup.
Backup your data.
Create a restore point
Download & Install CCleaner
When starting the program I recommend un-checking the boxes for cookies, sessions, History, Empty Recycle Bin (Checking session or cookies will make you login to sites again)
Close all your running programs and hit Analyze, once complete you can view the summary and hit Run Cleaner
(optional) Next click on the Registry, this part is why I have the big warning and the backup/restore point.
(cont. 6) Click the button Scan for Issues and once performed hit Fix selected issues and hit Yes to backup and save, lastly hit Fix All
Reboot the computer to make sure everything starts up again.
This program is great and the only one I recommend for this type of cleanup. If you venture in any of the tools don't do anything with them unless you know what you are doing. This program has a possibility to break something, that is why I make sure I have something to fall back on if something does happen.
Squeaky Clean,
Scott Easterday
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