Tag Archive for 'Internet'

Pixelpost

Published
by
djaef
on July 7, 2008
in Blogging, Software Discussion and photography
. 5 Comments

My other blog, my photoblog, runs on Pixelpost v 1.7. I’ve been using Pixelpost for nearly two years now, but have only recently upgraded to the newest version. As far as photoblogging applications go, I think it’s the best one out there (certainly the best one I’ve found.) It’s free, there are a lot of templates to change the design, and there’s a great community of users.

But that’s not to say I don’t have issues with it. I do. I simply don’t understand why it has to be so difficult. The answer to that may simply be ‘because it’s free’, and if so, then fine. But maybe that’s not the entire answer…

I have been dabbling in web design for a few years now, and while I’m not a born coder (never will be) I can write html and have a decent understanding of css. I’ve even managed to design and make several really nice looking standards compliant web sites. But Pixelpost is not a simple website - it’s complex. It’s a mixture of html, css and php, running on a MySQL database. I imagine most people can get it up and running, and even change templates, but modifying it is not for non technically minded people.

And that’s where a few interesting questions pop up. Who is this application designed for? Photographers is the obvious assumption I make. And I don’t make a distinction between amatuer and professional, as a photographer is a photographer. But it would almost appear, looking at the application from a technical perspective, that it has been made for ‘code heads’ instead of photographers. Even my most generous interpretation is that it has been made on one level for photographers (the basic out of the box experience) and has a whole lot of extra functionality possible to those that can get really techy with code. And that’s why I think it’s frustrating.

I want a photoblog that doesn’t require I have a PHD in php, javascript and CSS, but I also want one that’s easily customisable. Maybe I just want too much. That’s the most likely truth. Especially as it’s free. But I wish that the code head developers would realise that most photographers are not necessarily good at coding, and that an application that was easier to customise would attarct a better level of photographer, and increase the market share. In my browsing, I have certainly found a large number of fabulous looking sites with pretty ordinary photos, and also a whole lot of sites that needed some design and attention, but that had great photos. It’s not until you put both together, like J.R Photoblog that you really get a fabulous product.

I know that I’m mostly jealous. It blows me away what some people can manage to master. That’s why I want Pixelpost to make it easier for us lesser talented mortals to compete.

Net Neutrality

Published
by
djaef
on April 29, 2008
in Internet
. 0 Comments

Net neutrality is on the agenda. BIG TIME!

ISPs are already making decisions in their daily practices that completely go against the principle of net neutrality. For a couple of years now they have been throttling torrent and other P2P traffic. And I can almost understand their point of view. Internet piracy is rampant, and the amount of traffic from P2P apps must be very large indeed and overloading their networks. But ISPs generally charge people for a fixed amount of data per month, and why should they interfere in how we as use that data? Why do they think they have a right to control our use of the Internet. It’s not really their job is it…

The basis principle of net neutrality is that ‘Internet users should be in control of what content they view and what applications they use on the Internet.’ It’s the one thing that makes the Internet free. We can choose our own content. It’s the only antidote to the corporatisation of the Internet. And it’s a free choice. As it is, Surfer A can hang out at MSN, Facebook and eBay, while surfer B can visit torrent sites, alternative media sites and blogs. If someone wants to expose themselves to corporate sites and mass advertising, well go for it. Personally I’m more interested in what Joe Blog has to say, as opposed to what the corporate world is trying to sell me, but that’s my perogative and freedom.
Continue reading ‘Net Neutrality’

Joomla

Published
by
djaef
on April 1, 2008
in Internet
. 0 Comments

Joomla is a CMS (Content Management System) that I’ve known about for over a year but never really explored. Until the weekend. I downloaded the latest version (1.5) and within an hour or so had installed all the neccesary components for an offline installation and got my first web site up and running. Cool. Configuring the design seems to be the part that’s not straight forward, but I’m sure I’ll get my head around it in time. I love the basic idea, although coming from a guy whose first introduction to web design was hand coding a html document, this is taking things a long way from home. But productivity is king, and this collection of technologies (Joomla, MySQL, Php etc) serves up one amazing little database driven website in a hurry. AND it’s open source!

It’s not for absolute amateurs, but for anyone with a grounding in web design, wanting to take the next step, this is likely to be it. Check it out!

Stumble Upon

Published
by
djaef
on March 21, 2008
in Internet
. 4 Comments

In the last two days I have discovered more cool web sites than I have in the previous six months. If you haven’t already stumbled upon it, stumble upon is a great way to discover new sites. I am a regular net user, and I spend a lot of time trawling the web, but it’s easy to get bogged down in habit and routine. Stumble Upon breaks the habit, and throws you out into the universe to discover sites that fit with your specified interests. User rankings also strengthen the system. Of course you also get sent to some sites that are less than amazing, but with a few hours of stumbling, you’ll have enough interesting sites bookmarked to spend the next month looking at. Truly inspiring stuff.

Photoblog Awards

Published
by
djaef
on July 15, 2007
in Internet
. 6 Comments

Not that I have any chance at all, but if you stumble across this post and have a kind heart, could you consider voting for me at the current Photoblog Awards? You need to register, but as long as you are not a total technophobe, it takes about 1 minute. Recognition of having a good blog is one thing, but more importantly for me at this stage is the encouragement to keep it going. I get lots of visits, but hardly any comments on my blog, which is at times quite discouraging. I could have used Flickr instead I suppose if comments was everything for me, but if you know my opinion of Flickr, you understand why. The idea that people are keeping an eye on my work is something that motivates me. SO any publicity is good isn’t it. It gets more bums on seats and hopefully more comments.

Anyway, if you have time, give me a vote!