The time has come the mac-expo shame I couldn't get to the rest of the event but Saturday should still be good. I will be posting some more stuff related to the Expo over the weekend. You have to love the free BT Openzone account I have.
It seems the web is becoming more and more obsessed with the new terms that pop-up everywhere 'web 2.0' , 'AJAX' , 'Rails'. Sometimes with little thought to what they actually mean to what is going on. Its all well and good providing a nice looking site to sit on but unless you have the content to work with it you may struggle getting the site off the ground.
What about web standard and accessibility, I know this site isn't perfect but I am always working on making it better for everybody to access (whether they will or not is neither here not there). Simple things like putting alt tags in images(at this moment only two images are missing this on the entire site) and titles in links can make a lot of difference, and if you design websites for a living it should be second nature. For me I have to work at although the developing side of things is getting a lot easier (so practice really does make perfect)
So I was talking about web 2.0, so back on topic. I think on the whole far too much on how people judge sites is now based on where are the fancy effects and wheres the 2.0 features (I have fallen pray to this with jacktams.co.uk) but it would be quite easy to go way overboard and just make it horrible to use, which leads nicely onto MySpace.
If you read deeper into my archives you will probably see my dislike for MySpace and it isn't because of what its for, but the way its done, everything seems to be half baked and saturated with ads (another pet hate) and instead of focusing on what they are good at and making that even better and easier to grasp (then reducing the ads) they diversify. We should have already learned from the likes of Sony that going out and trying to become everything to everybody doesn't work specializing on what you have got and your good at wins in the end.
Technologies are rapidly converging and creating new forms of media podcasting for example, the iPod is only 5years old, and video blogging even blogging, then you have blogging from a phone, PDA, just ringing a number and posting, but mistakes made the first time around (i.e. web 1.0) could happen all over again, if we don't start including the fixes now.
AJAX and web 2.0 aren't the be all and end all, good specialized and accessible content will always win, and a good design may come second to that and AJAX etc are just the icing on the cake.
Don't forget to put the google analytics code into the footer part of the new theme, else you think your site has had no hits for a week (might not be far wrong)
Techcrunch » Blog Archive » MusicNation: Major Labels Try to Buy Friends
Boing Boing: Boy Scouts of America Concerned About Copyright
The Corps are at it again, and so am I.
It seems now that the Labels can make up for the ground they have lost in the 'war against P2P' (I use the term loosely) By raising awareness and brainwashing they can make sure they do have a consumer base in the future, the only problem is the audience they are trying to pitch to have already had enough and are set in there ways, and the general feeling is that the labels stop creativity; Just look in the charts and find something that is drastically different to the one before it -done? Its damn hard isn't it.
I aren't going to ramble and rant -much- but the Labels and associated Corps must not be able to see there consumers on the pile of money the legitimately steal everyday. They also can't see that the people who are heavy downloads also buy more Music and DVDs etc from them. Its quite ironic that the money the labels to sue people is partly paid for the person being sued.
I aren't saying piracy isn't a problem it is, but the reason isn't being tackled. By trying to sway consumers to their way of thinking it is further gluing in the it cheaper to download and such ideology. The simple way to tackle it is make it easy and cheap to download and also stop suing because not all press is good press.
I have never really considered myself as a programmer, more of a shift and make the code work person. Having done a fair bit VB (gasp a mac user using windows) I am finding that I am picking up coding a lot quicker and also finding it easier to modify things mainly this website.
Whilst the theme itself is great there are things I want my way as such the theme your are looking at is a rapid departure from the original code in places and equally the same in others. I am about a quarter of the way through a book on AJAX and a third of the way through reading the Ruby on Rails books I bought a while back and will probably re-read them because I wasn't too sure about programming the first time around (and also because I tried to jump in the deep end)
I took me awhile to get the Portfolio image rotator to work properly on my server from the download, but something happened that never has happened before, I understood what the code was doing without reading into how it works in the first place I could see that it called a style-sheet that I didn't work so I modified it and it worked, it took all of 20 minutes, something that would usually take me a weekend to get my head around.
I have just completed the update to the theme on jacktams.co.uk, I am now running the latest version of K2 and Unsleepable with my mods on top.
And as you will probably see as you browse around there is some nice AJAX improvements that K2 brings to WordPress. I am still working on some finishing touches but I am very pleased with the new theme since I now have got it to work by deleting all the K2 records from the options database.
Larry Bodine's LawMarketing Blog: Mac Aficionados In Flames About Critical Article
I draw you attention to Mr Larry Bodine, who's supposed to be 'intelligent' his wonderful articles are floating around the internets right now.
I can honestly say without getting too mac fanboy like, he doesn't have a clue about anything with a microchip in it PowerPC, Intel, or otherwise. I aren't going go into specifics but the comments made and the justification that mac is the 'betamax' of the 21st century are unwarranted, unjustified and aren't backed up with an eloquent article in short, Larry You should be ashamed and also there are better ways to boost site traffic than flaming the mac folk around the world.
It amazes me that these people can actually make money.
I shall leave you with one last comment:
Regarding the inability to read Flash, I even telephoned Apple and asked about a plug-in for it. As I stated in the article, the Apple help desk said no improvements in Safari were planned
Hmm, need I say more. Flash not in safari, thats strange I was playing that game on miniclip with yes thats right Flash Player right in Safari (goody I have a special version of Safari)
I hope to update the sites theme with the new version of K2 as soon as a couple of bugs are squashed specifically the modules being un-editable and my archives not working. I have got the theme ready to go and will update when its fixed.
I decided since theres nothing majorly wrong with the site as it is, I will continue the current theme running the mods I have on it, but the newer version available from openswitch.org, admittedly I had already hacked some of the stuff into this version. It will be nice not having to do it again 
I'll keep working on it and it will be just a case of dropping it in when its ready.
So Apple have a new (Product) Red Nano, and there has been an uproar against the miniscule $10 apple is giving per iPod, without me getting ranting and annoying.
Where would the campaign be without Apple, fair enough it is a small amount but Apple is Cool and also everywhere, if you haven't got an ipod your nobody, so the upshot of that being free advertising. Its like FCUK putting slogans on the front of t-shirts that you need to read twice to make sure what they actual say. Red iPod, does good and also gives the publicity it needs to get more companies on board, in short never think one sided about these things.
My Dream App » Live Voting Results
College is really messing up my stream of incoming information, I have totally missed MyDreamApp Round 4. If you haven't voated already like me just until a minute ago then do it. Now!
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reports that the glass Cube Apple erected earlier this year on New York's tony Fifth Ave, dubbed Apple Mecca by many of the Mac faithful, is offensive to Muslims Muslim community offended by Apple's Fifth Avenue NYC Cube - The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)
We are fast becoming a world wide culture of everything that we do offends somebody or other and that if we moan it will change something. The simple fact is de-railing a project simple because it offends is not good enough.
Also the fact there are so many people/organisations that it becomes a vicious cycle. The internet has gave us many things a place to voice or concerns and a place were everybody is heard, but it also a place were disinformation and exaggeration is rife, using the example above when has any apple Genius Bar every served Alcoholic Beverages.
A Little Knowledge is dangerous. So is a lot. - Albert Einstein
Sony Warned on Future by ex-chairman
Ah, Sony my not favorite company of the world. You really do like rubbing in the fact Europeans "Historically don't mind waiting for new consoles" this is the europe known as the dark ages under the sea, because it certainly aint the europe I live in.
On top of that the PS3 will bring sony to its knees, its already in debt and is banking on far too many new and untested technology, if they pull it of I will be very surprised. They have become too big and lost sight of there goals, ambition and creativity, the corporation strikes again.
And in the meantime Microsoft have released revised and relaunched the xbox 360 twice; who's market leader now? and Nintendo just plod along doing there own thing and do it perfectly a bit like apple in more than just the design stakes.
Battlestar Galactica is about to start its 3rd series, I have just finished watching the second season, and all I have to say is its very good.
This weekend I got hold of the soundtracks to BSG, and they are fantastic, quite honestly one of the best soundtracks I have heard, and I think it is much like Doctor Who in the sense that the Music and Drama etc. makes each episode a small film in its own right. I cant wait for season 3.
Nine skills that separate good and great designers ~ Authentic Boredom
I never really took myself as much as a designer, I just know what looks good and what doesn't and what works and doesn't. I am starting to venture out into abit of web developing and learning a hell of alot along the way and really enjoying it.
I don't think I am at the stage were I could confidently create a wordpress theme from scratch but I aren't far off. Now, onto the link at the top of the page, I found it quite by accident (I can't remember now how exactly I didi find it) Its an excellent presentation, and has some interesting stuff for anybody in design, whether it be a beginner, semi-beginner (me) or Experienced.
I am going to post something but not an extended bit of writing because I do run the risk of ranting.
Today is the day against DRM, yes that little thing iTunes that limits the music you bought, not because iTunes wants to control the market, but because the labels want to control the market.
Yes, thats right. The Labels. Why? may you ask well its simple, they were too late to the game napster and kazaa had been and gone by the time the labels saw the internet as a revenue stream and now the labels control and sue the next generation of consumers, tell me how this helps them make more money?