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I work in the child care industry. and we did a newsletter with Comic Sans body text for several years, it was a very friendly font to use, also quite readable. Our clients liked it.
Given what I see in publications, design books and sites that some professionals call 'good' or 'cutting edge' design I have see far worse issues in approachability/usability/readability than using Comic Sans.
The ones I've found that are good starting points:
Stylin' with CSS by Charles Wyke-Smith - its mainly a (good) CSS book but gives enough hints at good design so you don't go overboard.
Handcrafted CSS by Dan Cederholm with Ethan Marcotte - again CSS tutorial with emphasis on good design with CSS.
Once you get the handle on those (or before hand) check out the great examples in CSS Zen Garden. ( http://www.csszengarden.com/ ) Something you can pick apart and analyze. The cool thing about ZenGarden is the HTML is always the exact same file it's the CSS and graphics that make the designs different.
Beware web design books that concentrate purely on web design - some of them are trying to be too artsy and cutting edge, look inside the book before buying... also some may be specific for templates in WordPress, Joomla or some other CMS.
I find dokuwiki to be a great wiki - does not need a database if you don't want one. Stores data as text files and images, so easy to look at source data. The access system is nice, can set up access groups. With the right template you can make it into a nice little CMS. Have used it at work and Staff seem to be able to get a handle of it pretty easily.
Wiki
Yeah I looked, and they even have versions for Windows Mac and Linux. Once they add in mobile support they have it pretty well covered for all platforms. I don't think facebook/skype has the same support level.
Could do lookup tables like the old CADET system did. http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/IBM+16...
In some situations you may be data rich but function poor. Like embedded devices where you have a limited instruction set, 128bytes of RAM, but access to megs of ROM for program/data.
Programming PHP - O'Rielly its not the cutting edge book (2006), but it is by PHP founders and a good ground-start to get a feel for the language and what the commands can do. I learned quite a bit more on how many of the commands work than what other books covered. You will still need a good OOP book,
for OOP I've liked PHP Objects, Patterns and Practice by Matt Zandstra
Some Classic Computing Non-Fiction (circa 80s and earlier): * Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder * Fire in the Valley - Paul Freiberger and Michael Swaine * Hackers - Steve Levy * Commodore: A Company on the Edge - Brian Bagnall (get the second edition) * The Psychology of Computer Programming by Gerald M. Weinberg - for being written in 1971 (with an updated edition in 98) it is very interesting and still relevant. * Coders at Work: Reflections on the Craft of Programming by Peter Seibel - interviews of many luminary programmers, how they got stated and what they have done.
In case its a case of not 'getting' bitmap editing... You might consider a vector editor - like Illustrator or Inkscape. Works more like a programmer's mind; where you need to tweak elements and can always go back. Photoshop doesn't always give you that flexibility.
There are also tutorials on-line on doing buttons and such for inkscape/illustrator.
Think of errors I had probably missed before I started compilation. Just about any long process I think of the stuff I forgot to check before I initiated it. :-D
Other than that I get up, take a break, I deserve it.
Go to just about any programming language tutorial site, you will most likely see bad code.
Here are some nerdy ones:
"BBS: The Documentary" and "Get Lamp" by Jason Scott are a couple great hacker docs, about BBSs and Interactive Fiction Games (though I would have to say they have a more Apple/wintel PC bent over other computers, but still historically interesting). Both have many great interviews with BBS and interactive fiction luminaries.
Tilt - The Battle to Save Pinball, this one covers the trials and tribualtions of Pinball 2000 the development of a digital/analog pinball hybrid. There's also The History of Pinball, its not as fancy but it's interesting.
The King of Kong is slightly entertaining about the world of Donkey Kong high scores and a peek into competitive arcade game competitions.
Revolution OS - About Linux/GNU kinda dry but interesting interviews.
Deathbed Vigil...and other tales of digital angst. Documents the last days of Commodore when it went bankrupt in 1994. I think mainly interesting to Commodore fans or folks who enjoyed seeing commodore fail...
From my perspective it seems like Apple dropped FCP and is using the iMovie codebase. I don't think it is a matter of dropping Ancient technology more one of cutting production costs.
And the "Apple plans to have [that feature] in a future version" is a long standing practice... in a future version they will implement it, and then in a later version they will get it fixed so it is usable, etc.
From experience, I'd wait till FCP X.2 or something... when they actually get stuff complete and working.
Here are a few glimpses from my perspective of a long-time techie at an NPO.
Many NPOs can't afford having their staff "surf the net all the time." Those that have the most opportunity are usually managers or higher up which need to network more than support staff. So in that respect that cuts the number of participants quite a bit.
NPOs aren't the same, I went to a NP software development conference, I was from a private NP doing community services with state and fed monies. Many of the others were community/social/political NPOs that are more geared for advocacy, etc. So finding a common thread can be a challenge... and many NPs are in competition for similar funding or causes.
Of the social networks I've seen that mixes well is the forums etc. on TechSoup, the draw is everyone needs tech support and Tech soup has donated software/hardware for NPOs. I've seen others, like one on Ning but that fizzled when the costs went up - NPOs are really tight with their budgets.
Yep, on the California Tax form - called the Use Tax. I go through my eBay/Amazon/etc stuff and work up a total. I like having stuff like libraries and roads without potholes.
I think a lot of it is short development times and/or lack of code maintenance.
Programming is people coding upon the shoulders of others... or once the magician does his trick the trick changes from "impossible" to "there's a way to do it". Also some languages are better suited for some tasks than others.
Sounds like you want a path of least resistance, then look at what similar services are running on top of, if they pull off the features you desire those platforms would be something to take note of.
Next talk to the people who will be doing the work, see what they think, show them examples ("this is the magic I want on my site, can we pull it off with platform X? and can we do better by also implementing feature Y?") They know their tools and see behind the magic, they can tell you how they could pull it off with their tricks (some might even start their gears turning and give suggestions). Those that can see it and build upon it could be what you are looking for. Of course you want a team so get second and third opinions to build a consensus.
17? Take it from us old fogies - the older you get the more responsibilities you will have. You won't have the freedom to go to school and mingle as you do now. I'm not going to say go to college (never went myself) but you have way more opportunity now in your life to explore and learn than you will in 10 or 15 years when you are definitely in the working-age category.
Ticket Sales - http://www.eventbrite.com is doing similar, might want to see how they stack up to your ideas before going that route.
Definitely wasn't a laptop - back then the big thing was "Portable", no one considered doing stuff on the go. Once we got to the TRS-80 Model 100 (and its relatives) a couple years later then we were thinking laptops.
Learn what you need to get stuff done. Depending on what you are planning to develop and how you wish to approach it is how you choose the language(s).
ohhh, I just looked up the font, that is a challenge...
Don't call it a design issue, call it a technical or usability issue, show "technically" this font would not be good, see how it relates to menus, accents, etc. Illustrate the problems with menus, etc. and how you would have to have custom code for all this, in comparison to a non italic font.
A mock up helps, generate a comparison with standard fonts at real-world resolutions.
Thirdly, you should try to share their enthusiasm, grab some of their other materials and see what their standard designs have to offer that you could implement, then approach them and say "you know if I implemented this alternate font, color scheme, theme, or logo we could create an effect that better ties this into your business."
Nice try. The hardware and software is largely pain free. You install it it works, you upgrade it it works, you do work, it works.
Though as a techie supporting Macs at work for over 20 years, Apple has its flaws, sometimes it doesn't all work quite right. But for the staff - they normally don't see that, which is what works well for Apple.
Every time I hear a debate it boils down to issues of cost and compatibility - And that is always from people who don't use Macs or used them very little. All of that doesn't make the Mac people less wanting to get their stuff done by moving to Windows.
If you know what languages/skills you are looking for... http://www.amazon.com read the reviews. Second only to an actual bookstore where I can flip through the books and see if they are actually any good. And if you are in the Silicon Valley Area - thats the place to check - the bookstores there have excellent programming sections.
Code like a programmer, design like someone who will use it. The best approach is if you can get some test data, in order to directly experience using the system. If the user enters dates a lot, you better make the date entry method as painless as possible (no mouse popup on dates, maybe even allow for - or . as separators so operators can stay on the number pad, etc.).
Do they enter bulk records more than one-ofs then have it so they can bulk-enter a group of records, etc. If you were told to do the entry what would you want to make your life easier.
As a programmer we think of the computer and how it reacts when running our code, it also helps to think of the user and how they react when using the UI.
Of course I know a couple of the problems with this - frameworks and IDEs, some of which don't give the programmer easy access to custom interface elements (or by using such tools the programmer is never aware of other ways to implement a UI).
Frail body? Works for Stephen Hawking. I guess as long as you can entertain yourself/be useful in such a vehicle.
I do a lot of Computer History- Soul of a New Machine, Hackers, Fire in the Valley, Commodore - A Company on the Edge. I go to used book stores and check out the pre-PC computer books... here's a great one: The Psychology of Computer Programming from 1972 that really is interesting (most of it still applies today).
When I was learning to program in high school, I was thinking on how to do something ...to make the computer do subroutines, and and my brother told me about GOSUB (that hadn't been taught yet in the class), something clicked at that point.
After that moment I started looking for ways to do what 'I' wanted the computer to do instead of just what I was told the computer could do... and was then happily exploring stuff beyond what the teachers knew (which was not too much either, back then).
If its so awesome why didn't you mention it? You have to promote it, and you don't always need money.
The eat your own dogfood axiom is a good method for starting out. Post about your app on places where it is relevant, how it has helped bring about alignment of the planets and increased your bowling scores, etc. If it is highly interactive and fun to use or watch it being used, make a youtube video on "Get Ninja (insert category of app) Skillz With Easy App X"
If it is crowd sourced thing maybe run a contest to gather content/interest, don't have to blow ten grand on it, only a few hundred and some well placed shout-outs about the contest.
I myself like to look at videos and screenshots of apps (ohhh... shiny stuff!) You have a site with screenshots??
The Computer History Museum ( http://www.computerhistory.org/ ) is a great stop if you can't find any timely events. (it across from one of the Google buildings... though I think for Google you probably have to call and see if you can get an appointment to visit Theres also a couple others in San Jose, the Intel Museum and the Tech Museum of Innovation.
Heres a link for you... http://www.ageekstour.com/prologue.html
Oh and make sure to check out some bookstores, the computers and programming sections of stores in the area are usually quite... satisfying. :-)
Well to do stuff like Google maps does, you have to use javascript as a lot of the magic you want involves AJAX technologies. Sorry to say its probably something that going to take you at least a year to learn well enough to do it yourself. You need to partner up with someone into web development (especially AJAX) to get it going any quicker.