Computers and Technology
Tutorials
Mobile Websites (tips)
Jan 11th
I’ve recently started working on some mobile websites. You’ll notice that davepcguy.com has its own mobile alternative as do some other sites. Mobile devices are growing in number and gone are those days when internet was viewed only on the computer screen. WAP is not even used either so that old school coding is gone too.
These days, almost everyone has an iPhone or a BlackBerry, or a Palm device. Some of us even have other devices like PSPs, tablets, and others that require quite a bit different formatting. Here’s how to go about making your mobile website.
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Bit.ly API and adding URLs to your MySQL database
Dec 21st
In my last tutorial, I’ve touched on how to use the to.ly API and how to make automatic “Tweet it” buttons with a relevant message.
Well, this can get problematic if with every page refresh, your server sends out a request to the to.ly server for a short link. Pretty soon, you’ll be getting “Too Many Connections” and you’re screwed. Just like I was, so here’s an idea. How about we store those links in a database….automatically?
You see, it’s much easier to create a script that will request a shortlink, adds the link to the database, and then just call it up whenever you need it. It works perfectly well on my quote site. Basically, whenever you create a website with get-requests, tons of pages, and all that. You can use the following script to make it all work, automatically (again).
“Tweet This” and URL shortening API
Dec 19th
Alright, you’ve all seen those CRAZY “Tweet This” buttons on so many websites, (mainly wordpress). You may have also noticed that some just send you to twitter and you have to manually input the twitter message. Well, how about we just make a button that will automate all this for us?
I really do love it when I click on that button and twitter pops up with a pre-written message like “Check out this site : URL GOES HERE” or “Crazy CSS tutorial on backgrounds. Check it out: URL GOES HERE”, it makes it much easier for me to share my finds. Here’s a great demo.
Okay, I’m working on a new website and it has various posts on it that I want the readers to be able to automatically share on twitter. I also want to include a backlink so that their twitter followers can visit the actual article. Basically, here’s a tutorial on shortening URLs using API and for creating a twitter button.
CSS3 Lesson 3: Background Information is Essential
Dec 16th
Let’s have a look at backgrounds. In the previous two tutorials, I’ve covered borders and opacity. In this tutorial, we’ll cover some of the basic CSS3 additions to the background properties. If you have no idea how to deal with backgrounds in CSS, read my tutorial on backgrounds pre-CSS3. CSS3 is gaining momentum in the Web development world and many properties are already supported by most browsers (Firefox, Konqueror, Safari, and Chrome) as well as some minor browser (Opera). If you want to stay on top of the game, you have to learn the new stuff and employ the new techniques you’re presented with.
In this tutorial, I’m going to cover:
- background sizes
- multiple backgrounds
- background origin/clip
CSS3 Lesson 2: All About Borders
Dec 3rd
Okay, I’ve noticed some REALLY cool stuff on CSS3 online, so I thought to myself, how about I make my own experiment and teach you all about how to use this stuff?
Here are a couple of resources I’m using to learn about CSS3:
I’ll start with the topic that everyone is concerned about. BORDERS! Okay, why are borders so important? Well, In the Web 2.0 design standard, it’s all about opacity, rounded corners, shadows, and everything else that’s just super awesome looking. I’ve already explained the rounded corners and opacity previously. So, I’ll skip that part. If you’re this far, you should probably learn the basics about CSS standards of borders and the markup.
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CSS Lesson 7: Border Radius and Opacity
Nov 19th
Border Radius and Opacity
I’ve noticed some hundred tweets on CSS3, every day. Check out the CSS3 Watcher for random updates. They actually mention really awesome and useful tutorials. So now, let’s look at some basic features that actually work cross-browser (with some tweaks). You can check some of the usage on two version of one of my projects: the alpha, which utilizes rounded corners, and the beta, which utilizes a lot of opacity features.
I’ll show you some fun features as well as ways to get around them.
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CSS Trick: Disappearing Textbox
Oct 30th
Remember that trick to show a sub-menu using CSS in my older tutorial? Well, I had an idea for a project of mine, and with a little help from my dear friend Raphael. Last night, I launched my little website project called “A Night Story” and made some tweaks. Ignore the story, it’s just a concept. If you hover over the word “city” in the text, you’ll see another textbox appear with more information about the word.
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CSS Lesson 6: Intro to Divs
Oct 25th
Alright, alright. So I skipped all that fuss with horizontal navbars but that stuff is easy so I’ll create a short article on it later.
Let’s start with the <div> tag. It’s what I’ll be covering. Making use of div’s with CSS. You’ll need to know the following before we start the lesson:
- CSS Lesson 2
- CSS Lesson 3
- as well as basic HTML knowledge
If you don’t how to add CSS to your website, check out my CSS Intro tutorial and CSS Lesson 1.
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Slap some DD-WRT on that Asus WL520gU, will ya?
Oct 23rd
DISCLAIMER: Yes, one of these, but I have to. I am not responsible for any of your actions, or if you harm yourselves (wonder how), break the router, void the warranty, make your mom mad or dad. Do this at your own risk; I have.
Just so you know its very hard to brick the ASUS WL-520gU, thats why its so Read the rest of this entry »
Custom E-mail Form
Oct 15th
AH! So I have to create a custom e-mail sending form. He wants me to create a webform that will ask for a person’s name and e-mail address. Once those are input, an e-mail will be sent to the person’s e-mail account with a thank you message. Meanwhile, the website will reload with a custom coupon that bears their name. I’ll need it printable so I’ll have to add a print button as well.
Sounds simple enough, right?.. right?
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