Websites

Ones I made or Like

  • April 21, 2006

    OMG MySpace!?

    OMFG

    As many of you might know, I was a big hater of MySpace. This was because of all the emo, 12 going on 20 year olds that infest its system, as well as the horribly (HORRIBLY) done layouts. I mean, they break every rule in the “Book on Good Design,” that is- picture as background, a million animated GIFs, embedded music, super wide layout, no color scheme. It’s all wrong!

    So, I was going to make it my undertaking to fix it up, and learn how to make it look awesome. However, Mike D. of Mike Industries beat me to the punch. Much thanks to Mike D. for the time he spent making it “web developer friendly,” if MySpace could be such a thing. What I hope to accomplish when I get some time (Lord knows when that will be…) is to make it real cool and add some of my own things to build on top of what Mike did.

    What I like about MySpace, after you get through lines and lines of CSS to make it look nice, is the social networking aspect of it that Facebook has. I figure it’s a good way to put my name out there. We will see what comes of it. You can check it out Here. Let me know what you think. Later!

  • April 18, 2006

    Another AIM virus

    I just got this one, so keep an eye out, and as always, make sure you ask the sender if it is lagit.

    would this pic of us be ok for myspace or facebook? http://dl2.filehd.com/1/66284…icture14.zip [part of link removed]

    The aimFix was updated last week- I will keep you posted if a new one shows us. Later

    As a Side note, if you do ever get an AIM virus, http://jayloden.com/aimfix.htm is always the link to check out.

  • March 26, 2006

    Fading Pages in Javascript

    I am not a huge proponent of Javascript. However, I recognize that it is becoming more and more powerful and used, especially since AJAX has become more popular. With a new redesign of one of my sites, I wanted to do something different and cool- so I looked to 24 Ways. There I found a nice tutorial on using the effects from Script.aculo.us. Using that tutorial and some extra programming, I was able to create fading “pages”, which are actually divs we fade in and out.

    First of all, you must follow the 24 Ways tutorial. I have made all of the javascript from that tutorial available in this post, and then my modified combo.js. All of my changes occur in that. Once you read that 24 Ways Tutorial, come back here.

    So by now, you are familiar with all of the files, and the main functions provided in the combo.js. I took combo.js and modified it a little here:

    JS Code

    Notice I added a few lines at the top of the function. On top of that I added this to my main page:

    JS Small

    These codes create and check cookies, which is what I used to check what “pages” were open. When a page is open (when the page is first loaded, it is welcome), a cookie created with the name of that page. When a new page is clicked on, my code checks the cookie to see what is currently open, then closes it. After that, the cookie is rewritten with the new page open. The cookie functions are included in my combo.js. When it is all said and done, we have this. Later!

  • March 5, 2006

    Newsvine

    Newsvine Logo

    Quite some time ago (January-ish?), I got an email saying that Newsvine, a very intrinsic project by Mike Davidson and Co. was in BETA testing, and I got an account. I wrote one article, and then stopped using it.

    However, It does seem like something I’d like to write for, if I have the time. I am faced with one problem, however. Since I write a lot on here, what do I write on Newsvine? Should I repeat myself? Should I keep it to one topic or area on Newsvine? Would that be worth doing? I also have to explore Newsvine more to see all of its features. Maybe there is a simple way to take care of my little problem. This is my main site and I would like all of my writings to be here. But I would also like to get some exposure on Newsvine. Then again, I would also like the time to write a regular piece for Newsvine…Later

  • January 31, 2006

    007: Golden Eye

    Golden Eye

    Since last Wednesday, until Wednesday, Tim over at Ctrl-Alt-Del is doing a tribute to his favorite games for their holiday, “Winter-een-mass”. He has picked some good ones- but today’s takes the cake so far. Here is his tribute to Golden Eye

    Anyone who was old enough played Golden Eye for N64- One of the best systems of all time, in my opinion. As Tim put it:

    It had a handful of games that stand out for me during that time period, but one of them above the rest was the king of the N64 for me.

    Golden Eye was king of N64. First Person Shooters were relatively new then and Rare did a great job in making this one- I even beat this game. (While I do play a lot of video games, it’s kind of rare the i finish one. I didn’t beat Halo until like a week before Halo 2 came out). The best part, I think, was the multiplayer.

    I remember especially on snow days, my friend Matt, my brothers Phil, Mike and Rob and myself would sit around in our playroom and play for hours on end. Matt and I were the best, and had some epic battles. While we would all usually argue over Bond, I would go for Jaws. OddJob was forbidden and if you used him you were ‘a bitch’. I’d like to thank Tim for writing about this game and allowing some of my fond memories to resurface about that game and N64 in general.

    It was the Halo of that generation. Not as large, but then, video games weren’t as large back then. It attracted people who weren’t gamers by nature, with indescribably elements that added to mechanics to make it perfect in nearly every way.

    Later.

  • January 27, 2006

    HipCal

    HipCal

    HipCal is a nice Web2.0 Calendar for anyone who is looking to use one. I have been using Yahoo! Calendar for a while, but that was mediocre. HipCal not only has a nice design and interface, but some great features.

    First of all, it uses enough AJAX to make me drool with excitement and awe. Second of all, it looks pretty. The layout is neat and organized, but still has the information you need and would expect from a calendar. My favorite feature is the reminder. Not only does it have a feature to send you an e-mail when an event is nearing, but it will also send a TXT MSG to your phone. A great feature if you know you won’t be need a computer to get the reminder. If you are looking for a nice calendar program that is free, easy to use, and web based, this is your best bet. Later!

  • January 26, 2006

    Version 4.0

    The New TehJoey is officially launched. You may have been noticing over the last few days, when layouts were switching back and forth. But this is more than just a layout change, which is what my last one and the one before that really was.

    For this I decided on something different. Recently I came to the conclusion that my programming skills are stronger than my design skills. I like the programming aspect better- functionality, performing certain tasks, etc. So that what I focused on here. The layout is simple, but I feel it is good. It’s clean and easy to read. However, the focus is on some new features. I am now coming close to 300 posts. With the way my category and archiving system is set up, finding stuff isn’t easy. So, taking a page from Del.icio.us, Flickr, and Binary Bonsai, I am going with ‘tags’ instead of categories. Really, they are kinda the same. But with tags, I can add more to each post, make it easier for users to find something by topic. I am currently going through my posts, adding more tags to each post.

    Secondly, after being allowed to post comments on LifeHacker, I found I REALLY REALLY like they way their comments were handled. Between them, and Mike Industries with the comment preview, I came to the conclusion I wanted that too. So with some AJAXness, I did. Maybe I will fill you in on how i did it at a later date.

    I will more than likely post again on the new layout. For now, if you have a suggestion or find a bug, you can report it on the About Page. Later!

  • January 11, 2006

    Good Design

    Mike over at Mike Industries recently wrote about a site that has poor design. It has sparked a lot of discussion. Most are saying that it is bad and they should have hired a professional. However some are playing devil’s advocate, saying that ‘it’s getting them attention, right?’

    As a web developer, I am often faced with stuff like this, and I am here to say that though they are getting the attention that maybe they wanted, it probably is not getting the business they wanted. Whenever I am designing something for a new client, I always, always tell them that the website is a reflection of how they run their business and their business’s image. I gave this example in the comments for that post:

    A business is represented by its presentation. If this store was in the slums of some run down city with a crooked sign and paint peeling, I have a feeling you wouldn’t go in there, because they don’t care about their appearance. It is the same with any website. If the website does not look good, the user will get the idea that this is the way they run their business: half assed and something that just gets the job done. And if that is how their business is represented how do they feel about their products?

    And it is not just design, but content. If a site is too cluttered, they are trying to throw too much in your face at once. People do not want to read a cluttered website. Websites do not need 100 bells and whistles for attention. It should have a nice looking design that makes them stand out (not something that looks the same as everyone else) and a good balance of text and images. The discussion on Mike’s page is bringing up a lot of good points, all of which you can read here. Later!

  • September 29, 2005

    WConroy.com

    WConory.com

    A new Featured Project. Bill Conroy is running in my district for Supreme Court Justice (of my district). He came to me asking for a site design for what he had already laid out page wise. After looking at some politicians’ websites, I noticed that a lot of these sites were simple, but not bad looking- they had a good balance of images and text. So I decided I would shoot for that too (considering that’s what I normally do). It was a little difficult to add a good mix of images, however, because he does not have photos from public events. That might change, and I would be glad to add them where I can, but back to the design.
    For the banner, I went with a serif text to give kind of the elegant look that said ‘Supreme Court’. To drive that home even further, I added Lady Justice. The other main component of the banner is a map of the counties he will represent. I felt that not only did it look good, but it was also informative. The client also wanted the American Flag, which I added in the background at an opacity of 75%.
    Getting to the layout, I wanted something, as I mentioned before, simple and informative. The information was not a problem, as all of it was provided to me. I decided to go with a left side navigation in a Georgia font keeping with a serif theme for something elegant. On the right I added a header to each page- and to make it better the image is just a background with a hidden header. I did this for 2 reasons. If someone has CSS disabled, they will not see an image block, they will see an actual header. Also, this is for Search Engine Optimization. Google does searching based on headers. So adding hidden headers allows me to add the design I want, but still makes the site come up in a google search. I also used only divs- no tables, all divs. Tables are slowly being phased out of web design, so I’m trying to employ new ways of organizing data. With CSS it’s very easy too.
    After doing that, I did my normal design routines. PHP template, ul for navigation, verdana font for easy readability, etc. I’m glad to say the client is very happy with the site, as am I. Visit the Site

  • June 1, 2005

    Casabona.Org

    The Official Launch! Im excited to announce, on June 1st, 2005- the official launch of Casabona.Org– a website I have been working for a few months now. It is teh culmination of my PHP/MySQL skills up to this point. You can read the Site Schematic here to get an idea of how i did it all (or most of it). The idea behind the site besides incorporating my new skills is to inform people of the different services I offer and a place to post my resumé. I will also be posting different projects there ready for testing/downloading. Very soon: a Resumé Creator. Fill out a form, and boom- your resumé ready to print. The beta version will be out as soon as I work out a couple of bugs. The site will be updated every monday and/or friday with new links, stories, project updates ect. One thing I plan on adding soon is a contact me page- a form you can fill out with suggestions for the site or projects, or general questions or comments. I hope you all like the site! Let me know what you think!! Later.