Visual Overhaul of Learn Firefox

I suggest Firefox at any opportunity that I get and I actually know a few people that have just started using it. Sometimes starting out with a new browser can be a bit tricky. Not only that to really take advantage of Firefox you will want to get into a bit of customizing and installing a few extensions. Knowing where to start or a bit of a how to with simple tasks can be hard to find. But there is one site that I know of that fits all this and more, and it just had a bit of a face lift.

I have previously talked about Learn Firefox and recommend it as a good place to start. Being a regular reader of CyberNet I noticed that they announced a redesign of Learn Firefox. So I took a look, Wow! Guys, the new design looks fantastic and very simple to use. Aimed directly at the new user or the experienced tweaker needing some info. You can do a lot worse than Learn Firefox and now it is even easier.

I like the one page navigation from the front, no scrolling (on my screen at any rate 🙂 ). Plus a lot of time put in designing easy to understand buttons, making site navigation a breeze. Mainly a visual upgrade, but it is just that: an upgrade. All this info was there before, but now it might just be easier to find.

Nice job guys, keep up the good work!

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Secret Mikons Business

Mikons have just added comment functionality to individual Mikons that you create. If you happen to see a Mikon that you think comment worthy then why not share your thoughts with the creator. They even get a nice email letting them know that someone has made a comment on their mikon, nice.

Mikons that I wrote about some time ago now is a site that allows you to create and share what they call “mikons”. Mikons for everyone else could be called avatars or a logo. Indeed you could use their “mikon machine” to produce a personalised logo just for you or your blog or anything really. Read all about Mikons either on my post dedicated to the site or take a visit, register and start creating, sharing and now commenting on your own mikons!

This is another piece at mikons that will make for a more enjoyable user experience. The development team are working hard to give users a solid platform. Not a gigantic leap for them but a step and I really believe in mikons as being a unique site offering something that people really want. I have created a number of logos on the site and I think that is a powerful direction they could go. One of them is this blog’s mascot the beloved Rooster! Well I like him.

Spsst… Hey you, yes you… There is something very exciting about to happen at mikons.com. Sorry but I am not allowed to say anything yet. But it is big, yup really big! As soon as I can I will let you know. Hopefully you will hear it here first. It is even better than being able to comment. I hate it when I have to keep secrets, but then again I could just drop a hint… no no no, damn it. More soon!

What would make your mikons better?

The Rooster’s Rail in .net Magazine

A while ago I wrote a post about a site called Mikons. The post remains one of the top posts on this blog. Mark Smith the founder of Mikons and myself have traded emails a bit since I posted the article. So today I get this nice surprise in my inbox.

Mark writes to tell me that .net magazine has done a piece on Mikons and interviewed Mark. So I thought that was cool because I still maintain that Mikons is a great site that has a huge amount of potential and it was as is unique. It deserved the exposure in the magazine. It turns out that Mark thought the Rooster’s Rail deserved a mention as well.

Thanks again Mark and I sincerely wish you and the Mikons team all the success in the world. The T-Shirt is worn proudly and gets a lot of questions!

So if you live in the U.K then check out the article that is in the November edition of .net Magazine starting on page 58.

 

Page 59 November .net Magazine

Great New Features for Mikons

Some time back I reviewed a site called Mikons. At the time I did not know how popular this story would be. If my memory recalls correctly it remains the top post on this blog for hits. I touted the site as a great place to make your own logo or avatar, which I would still maintain. I am in the process of “colourising” my own logo which I am hoping to use in some way shape or form, I also added extra text and formatting. (don’t worry Mark I am getting to it!). But that is the serious side to the site for me and that is but a small part.

As I said then this really is a service that people are looking for and are excited about. Since that post I have spoken with the owner of the site, Mark Smith and I can tell you that there is more install for this great site in the way of features and function in the near future. Which leads me to this post. Mikons have launched some great features that are worthy of mention.

For a start the site has had a bit of an overhaul as far as layout. The new layout looks good and is functional. This to me is not the big feature that is now available. Now you have the option to “Visit the Mikon’s Store”. The link is on the right hand side of the web site. I would suggest to Mark that even knowing the site I do not think this is as prominent as it could be. When I originally set eyes on this new layout and looked for the link I found it hard to find, I was looking for it in the top menu. You do have to be logged in to take advantage of the shop!

Click the link and you will be prompted to log in, once logged in you will have the option to buy T-Shirts and Stickers in various configurations, shipped to your door. Still only offered in the black and White variety, but stay tuned on that front. I say no more than that. But the interface to make your purchase is very slick and easy. Although I did think that the description of the presentation for the print being square or contour needed a bit more explanation – I actually thought that an image would be great here, nothing like a visual to help out. So in just a few minutes, following the steps you can order your mikon or logo or whatever you wish it to be called to be plastered on a T-Shirt to wear around town.

I encountered a bit of a problem at this point. For this review I was wanting to check the ordering and security. But the Shopping cart did not like the fact that I was an Australian and I did not have a U.S. post code or “zip”. So it would not let me continue. It is Okay I put in a bogus zip for me – New York for test purposes! So I can tell you that the checkout is over a secure SSL encrypted web page. Good. Fill in your details and I am assuming that is all there is to it. Phew! The process is nice and uses an Ajax interface which is smooth, although the prompts “fade away” a bit quickly. It would be good to have the checkout link near the “buy” button as well. Minor gripes though.

The same process applies to order stickers that come in two sizes. Black and White affair. The ones that Mark has sent me are excellent quality as well. They look like they would stick to just about anything. The ute will be get the treatment when I next get the motivation to wash it! Which I could send into Mikon Sightings! Yep not only can you order stuff, you can take a picture of any Mikon you see in the wild and send it in to the crew at Mikons and they will post it on the site! Nice feature and fun!

However, it would appear that at this time overseas ordering is not available. I will discover when it will be and let readers know.

So get into the Mikons scene visit the site, sign-up and start making your own to wear or plaster the walls with stickers and have fun being an individual. I still maintain that this is a great site with a load of potential and future. I think it is great that the web2.0 concept is begining to go beyond the web and make an impact where you least expect it – your wardrobe!

Make Your Own Logo With Mikons

I have been really frustrated lately due to the fact that Sebastian and I have struggled to either find or create a logo for Global Geek Podcast. I have even considered buying a logo but it would not be an original and it would not be exactly what we wanted. Not to mention expensive for what you get. Then I found a great site called Mikons.

Mikons is another site based on a Web2.0 philosophy. That is users come together with a common purpose, to meet, interact, share and in this case create. With what is dubbed on the site as the “Mikon Machine” you can create your own logo’s, emoticons, or visual “tags” that are unique to you; the creator. The Mikon machine is in fact a Shockwave flash application that allows you to create vector graphics on a WYSIWYG interface. I actually do not know of any other website that offers such a service as this.

The editor also offers pre-designed pictures that you can put into your own design. Once you have created an account you can then save your design, edit it later, export them and share them with other people. If you want you to keep them all private you can do that too. The “machine” has absolutely heaps of options, such as copying images, resizing, resizing to scale, fill, custom shapes, group, hide, bring to front and many, many more. My only criticism would be that there are not enough fronts to choose from, there are only three at this point in time. I hope that there will be more in the future.

Having said that I actually exported my created Mikon, put it into Paint Shop Pro and add some of my own text and saved it in a different format. I also added colour to the logo that I have done for the Global Geek Podcast, and it looks awsome. But you will have to stay tuned for that one. The logo or Mikon that you see at the start of this post is as it was when I finished it on the site. A nice feature that is built in is the fact that all your original work is copyrighted for you being part of the site under a Creative Commons Licence. Nice touch.

There are some exciting things that you could use your Mikon for are endless in my opinion. I am thinking of things like an avitar, logo, mood message for your blog. Lots of things.

So please check out Mikons.com it is a very cool site and it is fun as well. I could not do it the justice that it deserves here so please check it out, in beta as usual with everything on the net these days so it can only get better. People have created some great mikons that you can download and use yourself if you are not too creative.

Note: This site is untested with “Site Advisor” that great Firefox extension that tells you if a site is nasty. That is that it is a grey site. But I did give it the thorough going over, there are no pop-ups or nasty code to worry about, I am sure that it will get the green light eventually. I have registered for the site and it comes highly recommended.