February 12, 2012
Nice Things
LinkNice Things is a collection of beautiful things from around the world. From Luke's blog:
The idea is that when a designer is feeling like they need some inspiration, they can just hit the site and go click-happy. There’s no worry about navigating categories, using pagination or being distracted by a tonne of content.
February 11, 2012
Testing websites using the iOS Simulator
As iPhone and iPad sales continue to rise, it's becoming increasingly important to test websites on the iOS platform. Here is a quick and easy way to test your website on both the iPhone and iPad using the iOS Simulator.
These instructions work with OS X Lion. You can also use the iOS Simulator if you are using OS X Snow Leopard, you will just need to download Xcode from Apple's Developer website.
First, download Xcode from the App Store. It's free but might take a while to download. Then run the installer. Once installed, you will have access to the iOS Simulator.
Navigate to /Developer/Platforms/iPhoneSimulator.platform/Developer/Applications or search spotlight for iOS Simulator to launch it.
When you open it you should see a fully functional iPhone. Click the Safari tab and navigate to any website you want to test. You can also use localhost if you are working locally.
Use Cmd and left or right arrows to change orientation. To change device, click Hardware > Device > iPad. It's that easy!
February 05, 2012
When we build
LinkWhen we build is a talk by Wilson Miner. It's not any old talk though: it's one of the most inspiring and thought provoking talks I've seen.
If you build things, I can't recommend it enough. Go watch it now.
February 01, 2012
Beautiful web type with Google web fonts
LinkBeautiful Web Type is a collection of the best typefaces in the Google web fonts directory.
There are currently 404 typefaces in the Google web fonts directory. Many of them are awful. But there are also high-quality typefaces that deserve a closer look.
January 31, 2012
It's not the tools we use
A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said ‘I love your pictures – they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.’ He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: ‘That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.’
I love this quote. A classic reminder that it's not the tools we use, it's what we do with them.
January 27, 2012
deCSS3
LinkdeCSS3 is a handy bookmarklet which allows you to hide CSS3 on a given page. By hiding CSS3, you get a glimpse of what your site will look like on older browsers.
I discovered this tool while listening to ShopTalk, a new web design and development podcast by Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert. Worth a listen if you are into web development.
January 23, 2012
Huffduffing
I love a good podcast. There is a wealth of knowledge out there waiting to be listened to. For over a year I've been using Instacast to sync my favourite shows (mostly 5by5, it has to be said). I found that I was listening to the same old shows. What I needed was something new and fresh.
Recently I've started using Huffduffer. It's a tool that allows you to put together your own podcast of audio files. You can do this by using the Huffduff it bookmarklet or by exploring audio files other users have been listening to. For a better explanation of how Huffduffer works, check out this screencast.
The way I use it is simple: I collect the podcasts I want to listen to, either by using the bookmarklet or by browsing audio files from my collective. I then subscribe to my podcast RSS feed using Instacast which automatically downloads the audio files straight to my iPhone. That way, I always have an up to date collection of interesting stuff to listen to.
January 21, 2012
One space between sentences
LinkA pet peeve of mine is when two spaces are used between sentences. Matthew Butterick, on Typography for Lawyers, perfectly sums up the issue:
I have no idea why so many writers resist the one-space rule. If you’re skeptical, pick up any book, newspaper, or magazine and tell me how many spaces there are between sentences.
Correct — one.
As an aside, I have been reading Typography for Lawyers a lot lately. It includes wonderful articles such as "Why does typography matter?", "Why Google Web Fonts aren’t really open source" and "A brief history of Times New Roman".
January 18, 2012
SOPA and the blackout
I couldn't let today pass without writing a little about SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act). In some ways, it's the most important day in the history of the Internet so far.
Today, 18th January 2012, is the day when the world lost access to Wikipedia. They called it a 'blackout' which effectively meant the website was shut for business in protest against SOPA. Wikipedia's blackout page read:
For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia.
I've read reports that say around 100 million people will be affected by the Wikipedia blackout alone. Other sites that have taken action include Google, Reddit, Craigslist, Minecraft, Wordpress.org and many others.
Quora on their stance against SOPA:
...if these proposed laws are enacted, every site on the Internet where people exchange information would be threatened.
They go on to say:
SOPA and PIPA seem unlikely to do much to protect the rights of content creators and copyright holders, but even if they do, the collateral damage that these bills could have on services with noble missions of information exchange that have nothing to do with piracy makes them not worth it.
If you want to see how broad SOPA is, I recommend watching this video on the Khan Academy which explains what SOPA could end up enabling.
The Internet with SOPA is not a place I want to be.
January 16, 2012
SimpLESS
LinkSimpLESS is a localised LESS CSS compiler. That all sounds pretty complex but really it's very simple. Save a .less file and SimpLESS will compile it into CSS. It also minifies your code, removes comments and displays syntax errors. An ideal tool in any web developers toolbox.
January 15, 2012
Truncate long links in CSS
LinkDan Eden pointed out on Twitter that you can truncate long links using CSS.
The HTML:
<a href="#">Here's a link</a> and <a href="#">here's what happens when you insert a really really really really really long link</a>
and the CSS:
a {
text-overflow: ellipsis;
display: inline-block;
max-width: 275px;
white-space: nowrap;
overflow: hidden;
vertical-align: top;
}
January 14, 2012
The Pastry Box Project
LinkThe Pastry Box Project is a new site by Alex Duloz. From the about page:
Each year, The Pastry Box Project gathers 30 people who are each influential in their field and asks them to share thoughts regarding what they do. Those thoughts are then be published every day throughout the year at a rate of one per day, starting January 1st and ending December 31st. 2012's topic is "Shaping The Web".
There are some smart people involved so it's definitely one to be bookmarked.
January 13, 2012
Thirty Five
LinkSome cool quotes from Noah Stokes:
The smartest thing you can do is to surround yourself with people smarter than you.
Stressing about doing it the “right way” is what makes you better at “it”.
If you want to make something for yourself, work harder than everybody else.
January 11, 2012
Life of a Query
LinkFrom Google's Under The Hood page:
More than 1,000 man-years have gone into developing the Google search algorithm.
Every query has to travel on average 1,500 miles to get the answer back to the user.
(via Ryan Carson)
January 11, 2012
Going Baked
Over the weekend, I converted this website from Wordpress to Stacey. I wanted to move away from a database and use static files and Stacey provided an easy way to do that.
I first heard the term 'baked' on Marco Arment's podcast Build & Analyze. The idea is to serve pages as static files rather than building from a database on every request. By using static files rather than database calls, page load times are quicker and the site is less likely to go down during a traffic spike.
It's the first time I've used Stacey and I've been surprised at how easy it is to pick up. If you know a bit of PHP, it's well worth checking out.