Jun/090
FireFox 3.5 – What does it mean for Web developers?
FireFox 3.5 has been released! Along with a long list of new features and faster browsing, FireFox 3.5 also implements the latest Web technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3. Here is an overview of some of the more interesting features...
New in FireFox 3.5
- HTML 5 features:
- audio and video - These elements provide native support for embedded audio and video, which means supporting browsers won't require any 3rd party plugins.
- Drag and drop - API that allows dragging items within or even between websites.
- CSS3 features:
- @font-face - Allows you to use fonts without requiring the user to have them installed. Fonts are downloaded from the server as needed!
- Media queries - Allow you to specify different CSS rules based on different media types, or even a wide range of specific features (such as screen size).
- text-shadow - Applies shadow effects to text.
- -moz-box-shadow - Applies shadow effects from almost any element!
- -moz-border-image - Specifies an image to use for an element's border.
- JavaScript features:
- Native JSON support
- trim(), trimLeft(), and trimRight() String methods.
See the full list of developer features available with FireFor 3.5.
Jun/090
Upgraded to WordPress 2.8
We've upgraded to WordPress version 2.8! Many improvements have been made in this release, as well as hundreds of bug fixes. Along with overall speed and optimization in the admin interface, the major improvements are:
- Ability to browse the theme directory and install themes directly from the admin interface
- Further customization of the admin interface such as changing the number of columns and items
- New Widget interface that allows you to save the settings of inactive widgets
- Code syntax highlighting and function reference in the theme and plugin editors
- Support for timezones and DST adjustments
- And much more!
Feb/090
Playing Sounds With SoundManager
Playing sounds on a webpage can be challenging since different browsers use different HTML elements that handle embedded sounds, and using them all breaks standards compliance. Fortunately, Flash can play sounds and is widely supported by all modern browsers. Even better, you don't even have to own Adobe Flash or know how to use it to take advantage of its sound-playing ability.
SoundManager 2 is "A Javascript Sound API supporting MP3, MPEG4 Audio and Video." Basically it's a JavaScript package that uses a small Flash file to stream audio and video to the browser. It gives you full control over the Flash functions via JavaScript, including but not limited to: load, play, stop, pause, seek, and volume. It also supports ID3 tag parsing and more advanced features like displaying peak and spectrum data.
Jan/090
Saving Time With jQuery
jQuery is a popular JavaScript library that greatly simplifies developing advanced JavaScript applications. It is extremely powerful and lightweight at the same time. I've been using it for the first time on a current project, and I really like it.
jQuery supports all major browsers, has a small file size, and is used by major websites such as Google! Here is the description from their website:
"jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development."
Dec/080
WordPress 2.7 Released
WordPress has been upgraded to version 2.7! The biggest improvement is the administration panel, which is now more efficient and extremely customizable.
Read more about WordPress 2.7 "Coltrane" or download it here
Dec/080
ISPConfig – Open Source Web Hosting Panel
ISPConfig is an Open Source software package for managing shared web hosting. It is a free alternative to software like Plesk and CPanel, and supports all major Linux distributions (no Windows support). It provides a web-based control panel interface for managing all the hosting services including the Web, FTP, DNS, and mail servers. This basically eliminates the need to know how it all works (though it doesn't hurt to know).
Installation is completely automated, and takes only a few minutes if you are installing on a clean system. Keep in mind, however, that troubleshooting can be difficult if something goes wrong. Paid installation service is also available.
If you are looking for an alternative to expensive hosting control panels, this is it. You may also be interested to know that this website (and others hosted at UltraMega) is managed using this software. It really makes things much easier.
