CrossSlide
I really love Slideshow 2! JavaScript class for creating slideshows. It is super easy to use and customize. The only thing I wish it was based on jQuery instead of MooTools.
Well, I just found CrossSlide. I have not actually tested yet, but from the demo it has the basic functions of Slideshow 2! except the navigation bar. The better thing of course because it is based on jQuery, so I am happy to have this option. I am sure over time more feature will be added.
My full support for Tobia Conforto, the creator for this cool jQuery plugin.
75 (Really) Useful JavaScript Techniques
I love the guys at Smashing Magazines! I have been collecting and indexing the coolest scripts I find for months, if not years. Now they just posted an article with 75 (Really) Useful JavaScript Techniques. Almost all the ones I like are there and so many more. Thanks!
Read their article here.
CSS Reference
There are too many good CSS out there, possibly thousands, but I still want to share my most useful links. I always look that these sites first whenever I need something new or face some problem and need solution.
- Listmatic - Using CSS and a simple list to create radically different list options
- CSS Table Gallery - A showcase of how CSS and data tables can work together to create usable and pretty results
- Position Is Everything - Explain some obtuse CSS bugs in modern browsers, provide demo examples of interesting CSS behaviors, and show how to “make it work” without using tables for layout purposes
- A List Apart - Explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices
- CSS tests and experiments
You can share yours too..
SSH Cheatsheet
Funny, I never really took any use SSH until recently. So I have a whole lot of commands to learn and remember, and I am lousy at remembering! Good thing I found this Common SSH Commands page. All the basic commands and short description for each of them. Definitely helpful!
Review: Shopify
Website: www.shopify.com
Rating: 
A shop in minutes, a business for life. JadedPixel, developer of Shopify, is certainly not exaggerating its tagline, you really can set up your online store in minutes.
It all started a year ago. I had zero experience on working with e-commerce system. I always thought it had to be customized by someone who had absolute knowledge of programming that supports the system, whether it was PHP, ASP, anything. Surprisingly, it only took a few days to fully understand how the themes work and I could create a customized theme in a few days. Note, you can start building your online shop using the provided default themes.
Customization
Just like stated above, it is super easy to learn and create a new theme. It uses its own Liquid templatling system for dynamic content, but believe me it is easy to understand. Of course you still definitely need to have at least an understanding of (x)HTML, CSS and basic programming algorithm.
You only need to modify 6 or 7 theme files and one CSS file, compared to dozens on most of other similar systems. Worth to note, it is also convenient to add a customized JavaScript modules without interfering with the rest of system most of the time
Backend Admin
This is also one of the biggest point why we love it so much. The look and feel is very clean. AJAX support makes it possible to drag and drop to sort your products.
Shopify's Admin interface screenshot
Support
The first place you need to go when you are experiencing any problem or bug is their forums which can be a good or a bad thing. The good thing is there are so many nice and skilled people on the community that will gladly share their knowledge and help you out. The bad thing, you just sometimes need a direct respond and explanations from the developers and it may take a while to get their attention.
Improvement
Shopify is growing along with your business. There are countless updates and new features that have been added since the first time we use it, and they plan to keep on doing it. Although there are some features that we wish they should have added, but not yet. They listen to their customers, so I am sure one day they will be added.
Price
Shopify offers a very unique pricing. You only pay a very reasonable monthly fee plus a small percentage of your transaction fee (ranging from 0.5% to 2%). This makes sense, if you want to start your first online business you possibly do not want to spend hundreds or thousands of dollar each month. You can check their detailed pricing plans here.
Final Words
I have worked partially with other systems since then, nothing is as simple as Shopify. It really stands with its concept, to make everything as easy as possible. For a small and medium business, Shopify is perfect! But if you need more detailed features like bulk shipping update, more flexible coupon code creation options or customer membership, you might have to wait until they include them to the system.
Hocus Focus Website Launched!
Hocus Focus is a photo studio located in Senayan City, Jakarta. They offer new concept of children photography, babies, toodler, family picture, maternity and pregnancy.
Their site includes a gallery of their portfolio, contact info and promotions. Check it out: http://www.hocusfocuskids.com.
NetRenderer: IE/Win Website Preview for PPC Mac
You are a website developer, use Mac and have not switched to Intel based one. Probably you are having a hard time to check how your websites look on Internet Explorer on Windows.
Every web developer knows that IE has not been too much a follower of the web standards, so any site that looks good in every other browser may not be the same on IE. So how to test this with your machine limitation?
If installing VirtuaPC software is not an option, here is another good alternative: NetRenderer. It is a web based IE previewer for IE 6 & 7. All you need is inputting your site’s address and click ‘Render’, then it will give you the result as if it is seen from IE.
This site really helps me a lot and quite fast doing its job. So, kudos for the developers!
Flash and Database
Flash does not give native support for connecting to database (DB). There are many variations of how to do this, especially to MySQL. The most simple is by using XML and PHP. I always prefer to use the most easy one (as I’m not a real programmer) even it would add the server requirements.
Amfphp is the answer for me. It is a remoting service, a term which I did not understand at all at first. To make it simple, it translates all the hard coding into very short lines in your ActionScript and PHP files.
This is all what you need to know/have to start learning:
- Intermediate knowledge in Flash ActionScript
- Basic knowledge in PHP (know the syntax and how to initialize connection to MySQL)
- Can set up MySQL DB (I use PHPMyAdmin)
- Know basic SQL queries
Then go download the files on their site. They also provide nice to tutorials on how to install and set it up for the first time.
Tips: You might also want to google around to look for some example of using it. Here’s one site that I remember: www.flash-db.com.
Browser Statistics
Designing and developing websites needs a lot of knowledge in browser compatibilities. Knowing a list of most popular browsers is mandatory, so you you can know which browsers you have to do the testing on and make sure everything goes well.
Here is the link I used to monitor the ‘competition of popularity’ of different kinds of browsers: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp
Creating a website that can work flawlessly on every type of browser is very hard (sometimes impossible), but make sure it works on major browsers and at least 90% of overall browsers available.
Switching to XHTML/CSS
After spending years of layouting using tables in HTML, I decided to start working on my coming web projects using full XHTML/CSS. This would be a big step to keep up with the dynamics of WWW. I know it’s old news and kind of a bit late, but better than never.
For the others who are also interested with this new web standard, I recommend Professional CSS: Cascading Style Sheets for Web Design as a reference book. Of all the books I’ve read about XHTML and CSS, this one gave me the best view and understanding as the writers give real life example with very detailed descriptions for implementing them. Even for non-experienced web designers or people who just started learning about web design, I would still recommend it as the first chapter explains all the basics to create a web project.
The other problem that has been holding me back to start was the supporting application. As powerful as Macromedia/Adobe Dreamweaver can be for a WYSIWYG HTML editor, it still lacks the support for full XHTML/CSS layouting. Finally, after months of searching and trying, I found West Civ’s Style Master (available for both Win and Mac). I have only tried it for a few hours, but already find almost all of the required features for the transition. Hope this is the app I’ve been looking for, or hopefully Adobe make a new breakthrough when they release the next version of Dreamweaver.
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Checking Regularly
BlueloungeBluelounge: <http://rss.bluelounge.com/bluelounge/feeds> Smashing MagazineSmashing Magazine: <http://feeds.feedburner.com/SmashingMagazine> Mashable!Mashable!: <http://feeds.feedburner.com/Mashable?format=xml> Webware.comWebware.com: <http://feeds.feedburner.com/webware> ActionScript.orgActionScript.org: <http://www.actionscript.org/resources/articlerss.php> MacworldMacworld: <http://rss.macworld.com/macworld/feeds/main> MacRumorsMacRumors: <http://www.macrumors.com/macrumors.xml> Macworld UKMacworld UK: <http://feeds.feedburner.com/idg/uk/MacworldUk> iLoungeiLounge: <http://feeds.feedburner.com/ilounge> Inside Mac GamesInside Mac Games: <http://www.insidemacgames.com/news/rss.php> MacUpdate - Mac OS XMacUpdate - Mac OS X: <http://www.macupdate.com/mommy/macsurferx.xml> GizmodoGizmodo: <http://feeds.gawker.com/gizmodo/full> EngadgetEngadget: <http://feeds.engadget.com/weblogsinc/engadget> UncrateUncrate: <http://feeds.feedburner.com/uncrate> CNET News.comCNET News.com: <http://news.cnet.com/2547-1_3-0-20.xml> Wired NewsWired News: <http://www.wired.com/rss/index.xml> The RegisterThe Register: <http://www.theregister.co.uk/headlines.rss>
