Web Development Resources

One of the things that I found extremely difficult to adapt to and learn was when I was challenged to built a website for the podcast when it first started. Sure the page had a theme, but it was limited and there were heaps of other features that I wanted to include and the template was very hard to manipulate. There are some great on-line resources popping up that I wish I had then and this is another one.

Free Layouts.com is one of the better sites that I have found for heaps of resources related to building your web site. What’s more it is all free and from a green site. There are a number of dodgy sites out there and I am sure their resources come with a few “extras” that you were not counting on. Not so with Free Layouts.com who offer a great array of layouts, tools and templates including:

• Website Templates
• Flash Templates
• MySpace Layouts, Templates and Generators
• CMS Templates; including WordPress Themes and Text Pattern Templates
• Website Generators and Tools
• Articles and Tutorials

Sure you need a bit of knowledge, however this is where I was at when I was battling the template and the HTML. In the end the code looked like a train wreck. According to a web page developer friend of mine. With these resources you might just be able to put something out that will look great. At the very least it is a shortcut to the inclusion on your page of some complex elements that you probably would not attempt, like flash.

The site looks to be under constant development with new material added often. If you are even thinking of building a website and have never attempted it before then this is definitely worth checking out. Especially for you MySpace junkies out there , there is some great looking layouts here. For the rest of you this looks to be a worthwhile resource that may hold a few gems that you did not know about.

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Microsoft Internet Explorer Seems More Broken than Ever

I know that I rant about the uselessness of Internet Explorer and the virtues of Firefox. That has not changed but it would seem that Internet Explorer is more broken now than it ever has been.

You might be wondering why I have said that. Since my discovery of Firefox I have not used Internet Explorer, for anything. I mean nothing, if a site does not let me view their content in Firefox; I don't bother. Or if I really have to I use the IETab extension for Firefox. So lately I have had cause to test a webpage using Internet Explorer and a few other things, much to my disgust. What I have noticed is that there are so many images, icons, logos, pictures and other elements that just will not load in Internet explorer, they display the box with the red X in the top. The big one being the cool new player we have on the podcast homepage fails to load! When the majority of people surfing the web are doing it in IE that's a big deal!

Is this because the Microsoft boys are concentrating on the up and coming release of Internet Explorer 7 and neglecting this version. Or perhaps it is the fact that the sites that I frequent are sites that "geeks" use and therefore the sites are optimised for Firefox. I just have no clue really. I will say that when I was writing the Global Geek Podcast Homepage, it was much easier to code it for Firefox than Internet Explorer, by a long shot. We are currently doing a rebuild of the site and that continues to be the case. Suffice to say that the site will be optimised for Firefox, yes you will be able to load it in IE but it will not be as pretty.
Having said all that the things that refuse to load in IE are not critical to the site but eh, it is a browser; it is supposed to do it! This is however what we have com to expect from this browser.

So to this just adds to reasons not to use IE, along with the fact that Firefox is a superior browser, both for functionality and form. In addition to the fact that it is highly customisable and is more secure.

Be smart, make the switch.

Podcast Player Found! No Help from LibSyn…

Well I am as happy as a pig in poop! Yesterday I blogged about the LibSyn Player malfunction and the fact that I was not getting any help from Liberated Syndication with the problem. The no help thing has continued, step in the wonderful blogging community.

Yesterday I recieved a comment on the post that was an answer to my prayers. Rob from New York Mets Baseball Podcast put me onto Big Contact's Feed Player. To say that it is unreal is an understatment. It is feature packed and the main thing is: It Works!

In actual fact this player has more features and more options than the LibSyn did! Features like having a list of previous shows as well as the most recent show to play is great. In addition to that there is the function of being able to see the show notes from the player! There are also instructions on how to "subscribe" to the show… AND Adam has just assisted me to make the player "detach" from the page, allowing visitors to surf the web or work elsewhere and listen to the show. Very cool. There is more but I think you get the picture. Oh and did I mention it is free?

Please head over to the Global Geek Podcast Homepage and check it out, especially if you are looking for a player. There are many other customisable features that podcasters may want to modify to suit their needs and the very fact that you can is another big plus.

Many, many thanks to Rob again and hey Rob I have talked to Sebastian and we are only too happy to plug your show on ours so if you would like to send us a promo we will slot it in. Because that's how the world should work.

Stay on the look out for more changes to the Global Geek Podcast Homepage… woot this is going to good…

Global Geek Podcast #004 Recorded

Another one down and recorded reasonably successfully. Although due to my state of health at the moment I am not sure about the speed at which I will have it out this week. For that I apologize in advance but I will do my best.

A few surprises this week. There is a special appearance by a young listener and we run our first promo slot!

Sebastian and I had a blast recording this show. We did a lot of work leading up to the show and we are refining our communication in the lead up to the show. To not give anything away we are utilizing RSS to "feed" each other links and information. I know we could just use email but the problem with email is that we would have to write it in HTML to put all the links in and the stories from web pages would not work unless they were in HTML. To top it off I never use HTML for email. We both use FeedDemon more than we use email so it makes sense. If anyone wants to know exactly what we do I am happy to give you details if you contact me.

I think that Sebastian and I are starting to work more effectively together, utilizing each others strengths and making fun of our weaknessess, as usua. But that said I think that we have put together a great show. We will leave the final judgment to out listeners.

Keep an eye out on the RSS or the web site for when it is published.

Nice Blog

Thomas Marban; who I can only assume is the author of POPURLS left a comment on my last entry. I went and checked out his blog, amazing.

Thanks Thomas for the comment, nice to know my ranting is being read by someone. I took a look at Thomas' site and it is very nice. Think minimal, 2.0 niceness. It is simple and yet functional. On first glace I thought "what the?", I actually thought that I had a bit of comment advertising. But I stayed and clicked a few of the headings, while obscure I found the blog easily enough and found it easy to read. The thing I like about the whole site is that it is unique and not your average blog. I would not expect it to be given he wrote POPURLS! He is also obviously heavily involved in web design. Perhaps the reason I thought it was a bit of corporate work is the fact that the world is not used to seeing a blog that is as polished as this one and perhaps I will not make assumptions in the future.

I urge you to go and have a look at what the future of Blogs might be like and have a poke around, I liked it but it might not be everyone's "cup of tea". Nice work Thomas. That's if you want the opinion of a small time blogger! I could only dream of a site that went anywhere near the quality!