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Useful links: Responsive bookmarklet, JAWS11, Sony Bloggie, Fluid Grid, Twitter in HS

vdebolt — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 14:45:16 +0000

There’s a tool for a simple responsive design test that works in your browser. It’s also available in a bookmarklet.

Sony Bloggie Live. Take your video and broadcast it live via wifi. Imagine what we will see coming from tech conferences now . . .

If your fluid grid was 1000px, the math for a responsive design would be a whole lot easier. You can download the PSD file.

20 Innovative Ways High Schools are Using Twitter. Some of these ideas are very interesting.

QR codes resources

vdebolt — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:31:39 +0000

The Daring Librarian has a lot of material about QR codes on Flickr and her CC license allows for use with attribution. Check it out.

Useful links: top 25 books, edu conferences, blue beanie day, semantics, Think Up

vdebolt — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:23:57 +0000

The top 25 books for web developers and designers from .net is a good list to check to see if you’re keeping up with the latest. I noticed that several of the 25 are from A Book Apart. That led me to tweet this:

Is there some sort of brain implant that would directly feed every publication from A Book Apart into my brain?Sun Nov 13 17:26:02 via TweetDeckVirginia DeBolt
vdebolt

Oddly, there were people on Twitter who didn’t see the humor in that and suggested I should read the books. With my eyes. Because I don’t want you to worry about me, you should know that I am reading them. With my eyes.

Conferencepalooza suggests some good conferences for high ed folks. Check it out, there might be a great one there. You do know that SXSW is holding a special pre-conference for EDU this year, don’t you? It’s SXSWEDU.

Get out your blue beanie and join Chris in giving thanks for web standards on Nov. 30, 2011 – Blue Beanie Day. Why should we give thanks, Chris asks? Because the bums lost!

Installment 3 in a round robin of posts about semantics. This one from Paul Irish explains enough about the first two that you can follow even if you haven’t read them. (Why haven’t you read them!)

Think Up is new software that Gina Trapani announced was out of beta yesterday. It does all of what I was wishing Twitter would do plus more with Facebook and Google+. It’s installed or your server or can run from the Amazon cloud for a monthly fee. I think Think Up is going to be big.

Useful links: Git links, HTML5 Readiness, Responsive Design, HSLA, Responsive Content

vdebolt — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:30:25 +0000

Git link roundup from Tiffany B. Brown.

HTML5 Readiness is an infographic site, showing adoption of various HTML5 features by the major browsers.

21 Top Tips for Responsive Web Design at .net has tools and links and great resources.

HSLA Color Picker from Standardista is a really nice tool that lets you see your color as you’re working on it.

Here’s a new idea: How Responsive Web Design Becomes Responsive Web Publishing.

Review: Moodle for Dummies

vdebolt — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:16:25 +0000

Moodle For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech), written by Radana Dvorak is aimed at the institutional user who is required to use Moodle instead of one of the education management systems like Blackboard. It is not meant for the individual user who might want to set up Moodle on his or her own server.

The book consists of screen by screen and menu by menu explanations of Moodle and its capabilities. It covers creating and managing courses, adding modules to courses, administering courses, setting up questions, grading, and more. There are explanations of how to add chat, blogs, and wikis to a course, and of using databases to share material with your students. You can learn how to set up for different languages, set security, and change the appearance of your course. There’s a chapter on getting reports and statistics and viewing your logs.

The last chapter talks about ways to keep your learners involved, but the suggestions are pretty mundane.

There’s nothing very exciting about Moodle for Dummies, but if you need to learn to use Moodle, this book will get you there.

Summary: A utilitarian explanation of absolutely everything you can do with Moodle.

A review by Virginia DeBolt of Moodle for Dummies (rating: 4 stars)

Questions about Flickr, Picasa, iPhoto and Google+ Photos

vdebolt — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:23:24 +0000

What are Mac users doing about photos since Google+?

My current status is to use iPhoto and upload what I want to share to Flickr.

Whether Flickr is going to fade away due to neglect on Yahoo’s part, or whether Google+ is going to take over the world – it looks to me like it might be wise to think about an alternative to my current status.

Which brings up the question above. Here are some questions I have.

Google+ Photos only work with Picasa. Are Mac users installing Picasa in addition to iPhoto?
Can Picasa import photo albums, modified photos, and folders from iPhoto?
Is there a way to upload to an online Picasa space from iPhoto?
Does Picasa import photos from Flickr?

Have you seen posts that answer these questions? (Links welcome, but only one per comment will be allowed by the spam filter.) Are you a Mac user? How are you doing it?

BlueGriffon

vdebolt — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:48:15 +0000

A new web standards compliant WYSIWYG web editor is now available at bluegriffon.org. Features include that it’s open source and free, plus it does:

HTML5 – including forms, video and audio
CSS3 – including D Transforms, Transitions, Shadows, Linear/Radial Gradients and Repeating Gradients, Border Images, Columns, Flex Box Model
SVG
MathML
a user interface to work with some important ARIA attributes

It’s based on the Gecko rendering engine and works in Linux, Mac and Windows. Although the software is free, they are selling add ons for a few Euros each. The MathML, for example, is an add on.

You can, of course, toggle between code and design views.

A hat tip to @mollydotcom who tweeted the news.

Proud of @glazou – he made a very sweet WYSIWYG editor. x-platform, HTML5, CSS3, SVG, MathML – very cool! http://t.co/qnoV3CeWed May 11 11:54:36 via Tweet ButtonMolly E. Holzschlag
mollydotcom

Blogger gets a makeover

vdebolt — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 12:32:08 +0000

[Ed.: This article was cross-posted at BlogHer.]

At SXSW Interactive this week, Google announced a refresh of the interface for its popular Blogger blogging platform. The software hasn’t been updated in years, although it remains one of the most popular blogging tools on the Web.

Blogger Product Manager Chang Kim calls the refresh “our next-generation user interface.” The changes will roll out over 2011 in stages, so don’t expect to open up your Blogger blog and find it completely different in one big step. The user interface is the big news, but there are several improvements, among them new mobile themes and something Blogger is calling a ‘content discovery engine’ that “that lets you uncover interesting and related content based on the topics of the blog you’re currently reading.”

On the geekier side, the new changes will incorporate the Google Web Toolkit. This may not matter much to you if you’re using a blogspot URL, but if you hosting a Blogger blog on your own server, this will mean you have more control over the features you can manipulate.

For everyday use, the interface will change to a sleeker and more up-to-date look. Here you see a new blog post screen showing the familiar older interface at the top, with the new look in front near the bottom.

The Dashboard will change as well. Here’s the new Dashboard.

At Free Technology for Teachers, the comment was made,

The new editor looks a lot like the Google Docs document editor.

Anna Leach at Shiny Shiny said,

They are smartening up the back-end of the site – making it easier to see what you’re doing, and giving users a more intuitive preview of their work.

Google released a promotional video about Blogger.

Sarah Gooding at WPMU very helpfully listed the new features mentioned in the video.

The ability to easily customize templates without any CSS knowledge

Access to real-time stats

Improved spam filtering

Continued stability (The Blogger service has had zero downtime, according to Pingdom)

Inclusion of web fonts

A sleek mobile experience of the platform

Smart content discovery

Integration of the Google Web Toolkit

In an era when sites we’ve come to depend on (like Flickr) are being neglected or abandoned by their owners, it’s great that Google is stepping up to keep Blogger competitive and on the cutting edge.

HTML/Text editor recommendations

vdebolt — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:36:58 +0000

I got this email the other day:

I have a rather odd request to ask. I am trying to learn how to write web pages for fun and maybe more down the road. At present I have several different editors to choose from, and was wondering if you could give me some advice as to which one I should use as my primary editor. I have: Dreamweaver CS4, Notpad++(sic), TopStyle Pro 4.0.0.85 and UEStudio ’10 as my potential editors. The thing is I really want to learn hand coding from the ground up. I have both of your books, Intergraded (sic) HTML and CSS and Mastering Intergraded (sic) HTML and CSS for my learning the basics. I also have PDF books on learning JavaScript and HTML5, more books than I know what to do with.

I haven’t seen anyone talking about editors on a blog for a long time. Because of that, I thought I’d give a rather lengthy answer. And a lengthy answer sounds like a blog post, does it not? Here’s how I answered the email.

Each of those tools has its own pros and cons. If you are serious about hand coding, you might find UEStudio, with its excellent HTML text editor UltraEdit as a good choice. Coupling that with TopStyle Pro for help with writing CSS and you have the basics covered.

UltraEdit beats out Notepad in my book because you have color coding, search and replace, FTP, and much more that isn’t available with Notepad.

Dreamweaver – which can be used as a text editor in Code View – adds another dimension you don’t get from other tools. If you aren’t great at typing or spelling, which your email hints might be the case, using Code View in Dreamweaver to type code is pretty typo-proof. There are many site management tools in Dreamweaver: link management, validation tools, site-wide search and replace, built in JavaScripts, FTP, CSS tools, image editing and more. Plus you have the WYSIWYG view if you want it.

Any one of these tools can get the job done. Which do you feel most comfortable working in? Which one makes the most sense to you? That one is probably the right choice for you.

I have dozens and dozens of web design books at my house, too. I’ve read them all. I’ve given away sacks and sacks of them to Freecycle folks. There are more books to come. In this field, there’s always something new, always something more to learn. Get the basic building blocks of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript under control and that gives you the foundation to build on.

10 Ways to Save Money on Gadgets for the Holidays

vdebolt — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 12:19:56 +0000

Gadgets are one of the most popular shopping categories that people go for when doing their Christmas shopping. Small gadgets make great stocking stuffers. Bigger gadgets are suitable for people of all ages. However, you can quickly exceed your Christmas spending budget if you’re buying a lot of gadgets. Even small gadgets, like smartphones and iPads, cost in the hundreds of dollars each.

Follow these ten tips to save money on gadgets this holiday season:

Buy used or refurbished. There is nothing wrong with buying gadgets used. Many people are first adopters, which means that they buy new gadgets as soon as they are available. These people often end up selling their gadgets as soon as something new comes out even though the items are in perfectly good working order. You can spend a lot less by purchasing these gently used items. Of course, use common sense when buying used items to make sure that you don’t get conned.
Buy gadgets that will actually save you money. If you are buying items for someone that you live with then you can make smart purchases on gadgets that actually save money. Efficient new showerheads, for example, are a lovely spa bathroom gift that will also reduce the home’s water bill. Battery chargers, flash drives and even fuel-efficient scooters have money-saving potential and make good Christmas gifts. Energy-saving kitchen gadgets are yet another good example.
Make a list and check it twice. In other words, think carefully about what gadgets you want to buy for the people in your life. Don’t go overboard buying all of the trendiest gadgets. Get one gadget per person on your Christmas list and choose one that really suits him or her.
Get a big gadget as a “family gift”. Consider getting the entire family a shared gift such as a new video game system or other big gadget. Individual family members can get smaller, more affordable low-tech gifts and everyone can enjoy the big gadget.
Take advantage of Cyber Monday sales. Many people do their Christmas shopping on Black Friday. However, online shopping on Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving) can be a better choice for people who are seeking great deals on gadgets and consumer electronics. Start early in the day because many sites fail due to high traffic flow and you may need to try the site more than once to get a good deal. Use coupon codes and look for free shipping deals to save the most money.
Buy a gadget from an “open box”. Local stores reduce the cost of items that have been on display or that are in damaged boxes. Many people don’t want to get these at Christmas because they don’t make pretty presents. However, if you open up the damaged box and place the gadget into a pretty Christmas bag then you’ve still got a great gift at a more affordable price.
Get an accessory for an existing gadget. Instead of paying a lot of money for a brand new gadget for someone this Christmas, consider getting them a low-cost add-on for an existing gadget. For example, get them new headphones for their mp3 player or a new game controller for their video game system or new speakers for their computer or an iTunes gift card for their phone.
Go retro. If you get a gadget that has been out for a long time then you can save a lot of money. You want to make sure that it’s not out of date in terms of being functional, of course. Consider favorite old video games, fun kitchen gadgets and other retro gifts.
Skip the gadgets that have an ongoing cost. Many people get tempted to get gadgets for others that require a subscription. Phones and Internet TV are examples of 2010 gadget ideas that are popular. However, type of Christmas gift means that either you or the recipient will have to pay an ongoing cost throughout the year. That can end up being a problem for everyone. Think ahead and get a gadget that will be paid for as soon as you buy it.
Gather up your old gadgets. You can offset the costs of this year’s new gadgets by selling off the old gadgets that you aren’t using in your home anymore. This gives you extra spending money for Christmas that you can put towards gifts.

About the author of this guest post: Mitch has been blogging about saving money for over 5 years. Currently he is helping corporations save money by providing dell coupons and other technology provider discounts and savings advice.