New Theme

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I’ve installed a new theme and will be working to customize it. iNove was pretty cool, but I feel the typography could have used a little more work. I’m trying the “Elegant Grunge” theme now.

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thickbox alternatives

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While Thickbox had its day, it is not maintained any longer, so we recommend you use some alternatives.

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Flickrshow

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A really cool javascript based (slider) type of flickr integrated gallery is Flickrshow.

http://www.flickrshow.com/

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Did you know? – Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman

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3.0 for 2008 – Newly Revised Edition Created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod; Globalization & The Information Age. It was even adapted by Sony BMG at an executive meeting they held in Rome this year. Credits are also given to Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman

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XHR error code 0 – iStockPhoto

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Looking like iStockPhoto is having some issues on their website.

What is an XHR error?

This is an acronym for XHTML-HTTP-Request. In short, AJAX. Istockphoto upgraded their website without much field testing (bad practice) and something has obviously become overloaded.

How can I fix this?

This problem is on their server side. After logging in iStock should be redirecting you to an unsecured HTTP connection instead of HTTPS, but they are not and this causes this problem.

So, since the problem is in your hands, actually all you need to do is go back to their homepage by typing in http://www.istockphoto.com (withouth the S after http) and then find the photo you want to download.

Send a message to @iStock on twitter and complain about this glitch. Or branch out to other services:

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Your tech lesson of the day: 301 Redirects

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What is a 301 redirect?

The HTTP standard defines several status codes for redirection:
* 300 multiple choices (e.g. offer different languages)
* 301 moved permanently
* 302 found (originally temporary redirect, but now commonly used to specify redirection for unspecified reason)
* 303 see other (e.g. for results of cgi-scripts)
* 307 temporary redirect

Why do you want to use 301 redirects when possible?

Google will transfer your existing search rankings and good keywords. Users will arrive at the new site seamlessly.

How to do you create a 301 redirect?

What is different about a meta refresh tag or javascript redirect


A meta refresh tag or ( <meta http-equiv=”refresh” content=”0;url=http://www.google.com/”> ) a javascript redirect (window.location = http://google.com) waits for the window content to load, then tells the browser to go to the new location.
A 301 redirect will send the user along to the new location before any content is served by using http headers.

Why should you avoid meta refresh / javascript?

Googlle bots don’t have javascript enabled. They don’t follow meta refresh pages. And your users will actually see the old page load, depending on how quick their browser is. It’s just not a great way to do a redirect, but sometimes the server doesn’t have the capability to give a 301, or you don’t have admin privileges to set one up.

Can you give me an example of a .htaccess file redirect?

The file will look like this:
RewriteEngine on
RewriteRule (.*) http://www.newsite.com/ [R=301,L]

What does that mean?


  1. turn on the apache rewrite module
  2. (.*) is a regular expression which means any character, any number of times, or basically, everything
  3. followed by the site it should go to
  4. and R=301 sets the 301 code. L means it’s the last rule that applies, don’t look for any more rules

Why are we getting rid of GoDaddy?

In addition to being a slow host for wordpress, GoDaddy only reads the .htaccess files once every few hours. This makes it VERY difficult to know if your .htaccess file has errors, and if it does have errors you site may not work for a few hours. By comparison, other hosts read the .htaccess file on every page load. This is the way it’s supposed to be done.
Hostnine has a lot better control panel for managing all of the domains. In addition, they have the cPanel which makes maintaining individual domains a lot easier.

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Graphic Design – How to be Creative

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Here are some thoughts on ways to find inspiration for design:

  1. Think about what your message will be – what do you want to accomplish
  2. Who will you audience be?
  3. Are there any traits, or anything specific which is appealing to them you can use?
  4. Come up with a few elements or icons which can be repeated
  5. Pick a color palette (or palettes)
  6. See what letters and words fit together.
  7. Think about negative space.
  8. Get some photos to use
  9. Pick one serif, and one sans-serif font to start working with
  10. Alternate serif and sans-serif between headings, body, etc as you move down the hierarchy
  11. Collect some stock photos / drawings / vectors
  12. Try some filters: negative, desaturate, pixelize (large pixels, too) – combine these with a shape, icon, symbol
  13. Zoom in on one area of something larger, emphasize it
  14. Don’t forget about contrast. Try making your small fonts smaller and your headlines bigger. Or make your hues more vibrant and your grays more subtle.
  15. See what others in your industry are doing.
  16. Come back to it later when your imagination runs dry.
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Segway x2

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDgvBfppnMk]

  • With the x2, you can chart your own course. Its innovative design moves you over a variety of terrain, be it the grass in your backyard or the gravel and dirt in your favorite off road spot.
  • Enjoy the road less traveled with the Segway x2. It’s rugged, tough, and designed to take you places.
  • And with the unmatched performance of Segway’s LeanSteer technology, your body will anticipate and conquer the trail ahead.
  • Deeply treaded tires, scratch resistant fenders and higher ground clearance give you a smooth, stable ride, and the durability you’ve come to expect from Segway.
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2009 Honda U3-X Personal Mobility Concept

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuIJRsAuCHQ]

The Honda U3-X is a self-balancing one-wheeled electric vehicle similar to the Segway PT. It was unveiled by Honda’s CEO on September 24, 2009 and it was announced that it would be shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show. Time Magazine called it one of the 50 best inventions of 2009. In April 2010, Honda engineers did a short demonstration of two of the devices in Times Square, New York City. In May 2010, Honda representatives demonstrated the U3-X at the Honda Collection Hall in Motegi, Tochigi, Japan. Honda developed the U3-X with technology originally developed for ASIMO the bipedal human robot project. Honda states that the “U” stands for unicycle and for universal. It weighs 10 kg (22 lb) and travels at 6 km/h (3.7 mph), a similar speed to the Toyota Winglet.

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ASIMO Serves First FCX Clarity Customers

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTiZYFrWP8A]

Watch multiple ASIMOs serving the very first FCX Clarity customers at Honda’s Head Office in Aoyama, Tokyo.

American Honda Motor Co., Inc., recently announced five of the first customers for its advanced new FCX Clarity hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicle and also provided details of the world’s first fuel cell vehicle dealership network in the United States. The announcements were made during a ceremony for the start of FCX Clarity production at the world’s first dedicated fuel cell vehicle manufacturing facility in Japan on June 16, 2008.

Film producer Ron Yerxa will take delivery of the first FCX Clarity in July. The remaining four early adopters for Honda’s next-generation fuel cell vehicle are author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her filmmaker husband Christopher Guest; business owner and car enthusiast Jim Salomon; actress Laura Harris; and Jon Spallino, already the world’s first retail fuel cell vehicle customer, who has been leasing the current generation FCX since 2005. Yerxa, Harris and Spallino attended the event in Japan.

More about ASIMO at: http://www.asimo.honda.com

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