Cross posted at Manifest Development
After several months of design and development, I am proud to announce the launch of Burke Catholic High School’s new website. Burke first came to me back in November seeking a new, more interactive, easier to update website geared towards current students, parents,and prospective families. In development, I created the first iteration of Minerva CMS, a content management system powered by WordPress and geared towards high schools.
My freelance company, Manifest Development, has a new face! Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working on a new website that accomplished a few specific goals: have a cleaner design that integrates the new logo, have a theme that is more general and easier to update, and be more blog friendly. I think I’ve managed to hit all of those goals.
With all the news in politics happening lately, I’ve almost forgotten why I started this blog: to talk tech. It’s what I know best. Well, here you go: My thoughts on Apple’s newest iteration of the iPod Shuffle.
I’ve posted thoughts on Apple and their precious iPod before, but this is pretty baffling. This shuffle is the smallest it’s ever been at 1.8″ tall and 0.3″ in thickness. That’s smaller than a key, which is pretty cool. However, when you need a guide to controlling the thing, there is a problem. 1 click to play/pause, 2 clicks to go forward, 3 clicks to go back. Other controls to traverse through playlists. I mean it’s cool that it talks to you and all since there is no screen on the device, but there is actually nothing on the device.
Right- the controller is actually on the headphones, and that is where my main problem lies. This new shuffle is limiting you to using Apple’s proprietary headphones or paying extra to buy an adapter to use your own. You need an adapter to use different headphones for your own mp3 player.
Apple touts all of this as innovative- small because it should be small; convenient, easy-to-use controls. But nixing a back and forward button is not innovative- it’s making something overly complicated and saying it’s innovative because no one has done it. And believe me, there is a reason.
A couple of months ago, I wrote about how I would redesign Fox News. Yesterday, they rolled out a new design, and I really think it looks great.
The first thing I notice is the use of much better colors- they are more neutral and not harsh on the eyes. Also, the navigation bar conforms with itself and the site, and they placed all the shows in an “On Air” drop down button, which I did in my design. The most important part is everything now looks like it belongs- In my last post on this matter I mentioned that everything looked like it was just thrown on the page. That is no longer the case.
The stock information is something CNN and MSNBC have front and center for the users to easily find, and I’m glad Fox News followed suit. Finally, a lot of their boxes with several types of information have moved to a tabbed interface, which is a nice touch.
All-in-all, it’s still a lot of information, but it’s definitely up to par with the other major news networks now. I’m glad the design will no longer be a deterrent for me visiting their site.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been working a lot with WordPress. Between a new job I started, Freelancing the Net, and converting Manifest Development over to WordPress (more on that later), I’ve set up or worked on between 6-10 blogs in the last 2 weeks. Over that time I’ve compiled a list of WordPress plugins I’ve used for all of them:
I will also be working on two plugins of my own this week. Maybe if I deem them good enough, I’ll release them here.
I am very excited to announce that yesterday I launched a new blog, called Freelancing the Net. It’s a blog I decided to start that chronicles my journey to becoming a freelancer.
I know that can come off as a little conceded; I will be the first to admit that while I am proud of what I have done thus far, I wouldn’t consider myself extremely successful. I do, however, have a fairly unique view. I started freelancing in high school and continued through college. I went through a lot of things in forming a business earlier than a lot of people. Plus, a lot of people to ask me questions, just as I had a lot when I was starting.
I want this site to be a unique resource for people. There are lots of sites out there (most notably FreelanceSwitch) that provide advice and resources for freelancers. But this site is my first hand account of what I went through and continue to go through. I hope you like it! As always, any feedback is appreciated.
After I got back from Google I/O, I mentioned Google Web Toolkit was something they showed off that I was very impressed by. It allows you to build complete AJAX applications using Java. In one of my grad classes this semester, we had the opportunity to use Google Web Toolkit (GWT) on a semester long project. After using it I’ve come to the conclusion that is it great, but I’m not sure I would use it for a normal web design project.
First, here is a sample GWT project I made called “The Decider.” It allows you to add items to a list and then the program will randomly select one for you. This is all done completely asynchronously. I was able to implement it completely in Java (which I think is easier than javascript) and then build the HTML around it using GWT’s ‘Widget’ classes. Again, you’re using Java to build the interface (without using Java Swing). This takes a little getting used to, but you can pick up pretty quickly after reading GWT’s documentation. A nice thing about the widgets is they all have their own CSS class assigned to them, and there are methods that allow you to add, remove, and override CSS classes. You can also build an HTML page with your own CSS id’s and dynamically add things to them with GWT.
GWT is great is you’re unfamiliar with web design and you want to showcase some project your doing on the web. Google’s default styles look nice and you can really focus on the functionality, especially if the scope of the project didn’t include a web based implementation. It’s also good if you want to roll out a completely asynchronous UI relatively quickly. With The Decider, I didn’t have to worry about the advanced javascript stuff, using something like Dojo or JQuery, etc. I just wrote in Java, which I am pretty comfortable with. However, if from the outset you know you want to make a web app, I’d recommend doing it the traditional way. Writing your own HTML and CSS is semantically correct and less bloated than a GWT project. But of-course, I’m a web developer first, and I just have my feet wet with GWT. I’m willing to bet with a little extra time, due to the freedom you have with GWT you can make that lightweight, semantically correct (tableless!) interface you want with the power of Java behind it. And you can probably get rid of some of the bloat before deploying your app.
All-in-all, GWT is really powerful and I think it will be a game changer. Next semester, another grad class I’m taking will be using it and I can’t wait to really get under the hood now that I have an understanding of how things work.
I’ve written before on how the differences between the designs of CNN and Fox News tend to make me go to CNN more often for news. Over the holiday I decided to do a Photoshop mock-up of what I think the Fox News’s site should look like. It still looks overloaded with content and a little crude, but I wanted to try and maintain everything that they present on the homepage. You can view the design here.
The most important thing about my design is that everything is modularized (a word I kind of hate but use anyway). The current design is pretty hap-hazard, with no real definition of boundary. Plus, with this design, it’s easy to see that we can make the page more dynamic, adding features similar to what MSNBC has, where the user can define the order in which he wants to see each content module.
I also cleaned up the header a lot. Right now, everything looks detached and kind of thrown in there. I made the logo blend with the rest of the header, fixed the navigation a bit, and confined the shows they had to one tab. When the user clicks on it, it would look like this. Similarly, the “Breaking News” bar looks like it fits, as seen here.
Overall, I think I did a pretty good job of getting rid of extraneous elements, text that looks like it doesn’t belong, and creating defined borders for each content module. Of course, this is just a quick mock-up and if given the time (or opportunity?), there is some refactoring that can be done. And hey, if you’re from Fox News and you like what you see, maybe we can talk- I do need a job after I graduate in May!
I could go on to talk about all of the nuances in Android, what I have seen and why I think it’s better than the iPhone, but I feel that would be an exercise in futility. Those in the iPhone camp will think what they want about the user interface (UI) and features no matter what. That goes the same for people in the Android camp. However, there is one very important thing Google did that Apple did not. They made Android completely and unconditionally Open Source (OS). What does this mean for the consumer? Well before I get to that, I want to talk about what it means for the developer.
As a developer, I really like ease of use and writing an application for the iPhone is anything but. I have to apply to the iPhone Developer’s program. I have to download a pretty hefty program (called a Software Development Kit or SDK) in order for me to write an application. And there are limitations as to what I can access on the iPhone to write my app. Then if I want to submit it to the iTunes App Store (the only place I am allowed to distribute my app), I have to pay the iPhone Developers fee. They will also take 30% of my asking price. Oh and by the way, I can only do all of this if I have a Mac. Then I have to hope Apple lets me keep my app in the store. While this is likely, there have been a few incidences where apps have been taken out of the app store with no reason given. My point is this: Apple holds a pretty tight leash on the entire development process. This is in stark contrast to developing for Android.
I was up and running in literally minutes with Android’s SDK. Download the fairly lightweight program, follow the direction on the Android SDK’s site, and moments later, I had the sample program running. I can write an app to do whatever I want; even replace the dial screen, address book, or anything. When the G1 debuts, developers will be able to add their app to the Android Marketplace at no cost. However, if you want to distribute your app via some other avenue, that’s fine too. The point: it’s all up to the developer. So back to the original question- what does this mean for the consumer?
There is more incentive to release free apps. iPhone developers face a higher financial risk because it’s costing them money right off the bat. Why should they write an app for free? With Android, there is no risk. The only cost to the developer is time. Plus, there are virtually no restrictions on developing for Android. I can write an app on any computer (PC or Mac), to do whatever I want, and distribute however I want. That’s convenient for the developer and therefore convenient for the consumer.
My bottom line is this- Android gives developers the power to do whatever it is they want to do with Android. That means the world’s first phone that can be tailored precisely to your liking. I think it was Morgan Freedman who said it best- “My my, isn’t that something?”
*This was originally published on Oct. 2nd in my school’s student run newspaper, The Aquinas.
Update: The G1 is out today! And, Google has released Android’s Source Code
Since August I’ve come up with or have launched a number of side projects in hopes of increasing revenue streams so I’m not as busy during the school year. Unfortunately, I’ve left out one “minor” detail with these- a business plan. This doesn’t have to be in the form of an official, written plan that you’d submit for funding (but I’m sure that helps). It’s more about making a plan and giving your side project some direction as opposed to just slapping together something and releasing it to the world.
I’m currently working on a presentation for one of my SE classes about Trade-off Analysis in Web Development. It mentions that a lot of web apps are rushed to the market with not quite perfect but present features, and that’s what’s more important. However, I’m the lone developer on most of these projects and that’s not necessarily the best course of action for me. For one, I don’t have a huge user base of people ready and willing to test for me. Second, while I usually come up with an idea, I don’t have foresight as to where the project would and could go. This is something I need to think about. And third, something I am going to elaborate on in another post, I don’t have the capital for marketing. So what do I do?
Well, I do have the advantage of being in an academic environment. I know a lot of people who are willing to connect me with the people I need to talk to. However, when I meet with those people I need to be ready and tell them what my idea is, how it will start, how it will make money, and where I want it to go 6 months, 1 year, 3 years down the road. It shows not only that I’m serious about pursuing the idea (as in I’m willing to invest that kind of time into it), but that I’ve taken the idea past the whimsical, “Hey, I wonder if this would work” phase.
So right now, some of my projects are in limbo until I can get them on an actual track. It’s a minor set back, but it’s something I’m glad I learned now, as opposed to when I am out of school and have so much more to lose.
(and use it to your advantage instead)
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