Getting Started with iOS Web Applications: <head> Block Best Practices
Being relatively new to building Web applications for iPhone, iPad and other Webkit/iOS browsers, I’ve been spending more and more time searching through the Apple Developer Safari Reference Library.
Getting More Done, Mac Edition
Lately, I’ve started implementing David Allen’s GTD framework for “Getting Things Done.”
I’ve never been a huge fan of life coaches, “creative visualization to get what you want in life,” and all the touchy-feely “my parents didn’t give me ice cream once when I was five, so now I can’t have a serious relationship” communities led by “life gurus.” Mostly, I think they’re frauds that prey on the weak and vulnerable.
However, David’s GTD framework is rooted in practicalities, simple ideas and easy ways to think about getting what you need done, done. I highly recommend reading his book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Although I’ve just got started using the organizational thinking and processes, I’ve found a couple of software tools that really help me stay focused on “what’s next.”
Click through to the following pages below to see how I’ve set up my system.
- Introduction
- Calendar, E-Mail & Address Book – Microsoft Entourage
- “Task” and “What’s Next” Tracking – OmniFocus & OmniFocus for iPhone
- Lists, Notes & Files – Evernote, Google Docs & Dropbox
Getting Boxee and XBMC Back after the Apple TV 3.0.1 Update
The Apple TV has a lot of potential. Unfortunately, it has some “features” that limit its usefulness out of the box. Thankfully, some really smart people have stepped in to leverage third-party components, extending its capabilities that bring it one step closer to being a fantastic HTPC.
Please Note: These instructions will wipe your Apple TV completely clean. Anything you have stored previously on it will be erased. Be sure to backup before playing. You have been warned.
Be sure to read everything (including the disclaimer at the bottom) before doing anything with your Apple TV.
Usability & the NYC MTA MetroCard
Not that the MTA is known for providing a good experience… but…
I purchase a pre-tax monthly MTA MetroCard through a program at work, and I’ve noticed something inconsistent. When I drop my card in the machine on an MTA bus, it let’s me know the date that my card will expire. However, when I swipe my card in the subway, it just says “Go.”
Wouldn’t it make sense to make these two experiences consistent? The great thing about being reminded of the expiration date on the bus is that I’m prompted to bring my new card on the day after the old one expires. This prevents me (most of the time) from holding up the line swiping the expired one, waiting for it to tell me it is expired, and then fishing around in my wallet for the new card.
One would think that the difference in software would be a simple one. After all, both systems are able to tell you your balance on a non-unlimited card when you swipe it.
Though minor, it would be a vast improvement on the subway where, in the heat of catching the next train waiting behind someone to swipe a second card through the turnstiles is a huge, frustrating length of time (says something about perception over reality, doesn’t it?).
Enabling Flash Video (FLV) Playback on Windows IIS
Here’s another “gotcha” courtesy of Microsoft: by default, IIS doesn’t include a MIME type for Flash Video (FLV) files, resulting in a 404 Not Found error whenever you try to access the file. One would think that they would deliver a 401 Unauthorized error, but hey… what do I know?
Right click on either the individual site or the full server, and then click “Properties.”
1. Click on the “HTTP Headers” tab.
2. Choose “File Types” and click “New Type.”
3. Add “.flv” for the associated extension, and “video/x-flv” as the content-type.
4. Click OK to save the addition, and close out.
Like everything with IIS, you may need to restart the service to see the change.
This is just one more reason to use Apache on Linux.
Opt-Out of “Interest Based Ads” from Google and Other Ad Networks
Google's Ad Preferences Screen
While I don’t consider myself to be paranoid about being tracked around the Web, I still value my privacy. I also don’t like companies making money off of me (unless I’m getting a cut, of course) — and behaviorally-targeted ads have a higher value to advertisers, so DoubleClick (Google’s ad serving platform) and the other networks can charge more money.
So, this is why I “opt-out” of Google’s “Interest-Based Ads” and 28 other ad networks that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative. Conveniently, they have a tool online that allows you to do this fairly easily.
According to NAI:
“The NAI Opt-out Tool replaces a network advertiser’s unique online preference marketing cookie on your browser with a general opt-out cookie. It does not delete individual cookies nor does it necessarily replace other cookies delivered by network advertisers, such as those that are used for aggregate ad reporting or mere ad serving purposes. Such cookies allow network advertisers to change the sequence of ad banners, as well as track the aggregate number of ads delivered (impressions).”
Currently, you can opt-out of the following networks via NAI’s tool: aCerno, Advertising.com, Akamai, AlmondNet, Atlas, AudienceScience, BlueKai, BlueLithium, Collective Media, Dedicated Networks, eXelate Media, FetchBack, Fox Audience Network, Google, interCLICK, Lotame, Media6degrees, Mindset Media, NextAction, Safecount, SpecificMEDIA, Traffic Marketplace, Turn, 24/7 Real Media, Undertone Networks, [x+1] (formerly Poindexter Systems), Yahoo! Ad Network, TACODA Audience Networks, & Tribal Fusion.
You will still see ads wherever ads are served, but you won’t be tracked (usually, “anonymously,” which to me is a bit of an oxymoron). You will need to use this tool anytime you clear the cookies from your browser (you do this occassionally, don’t you?). You also need to do this for every Web browser that you may use. Just because you opt-out in Internet Explorer doesn’t mean that you’ve opted out in Firefox.
Opt-Out with the NAI Tool. There is a security issue that prevents Safari and IE7 users from being able to use the tool in some cases (it deals with third-party cookie permissions). View their FAQ for more information.
Troubleshooting jQuery in WordPress Themes
Here’s another “oh yeah, I always forget about that” geek item.
I spent a few hours today going nuts trying to figure out why the jQuery Cycle plug-in wasn’t working in a new theme I’m working on. The code ran great outside of WordPress, but the minute I placed it inside the theme, it broke.
Then I realized: when using jQuery in WordPress you always have to remember to explicitly call it by name rather than use the handy-dandy $(“#identifier”) short-cut that every example and demo online uses. The long-winded reasoning (as I discovered thanks to Techxplorer’s blog entry) is that the bundled version of jQuery built into WordPress since version 2.2 is initialized with jQuery.noConflict. The upside is that this keeps the jQuery library from crashing into other bundled libraries (like Prototype). The bad news is that it breaks support for the $ shortcut.
I came across an simple solution via Chris Mellon:
Instead, for interoperability, be sure to use
jQuery()instead, which should accomplish the same thing.A bad example:
var username = $('#username').val();If Prototype were to be loaded on the page this snippet of JS is running on, it would throw an error, since it uses a different pattern for selecting DOM elements.
A good example:
var username = jQuery('#username').val();This line should work on any page, regardless of library conflicts. It’s a couple extra characters to type, but in the end it’s really for the best – you get portability, and it’s more self-explanatory which library is being used when you go back to look at this code in 6 months.
WordPress Theme Check List/Cheat Sheet
Stefan Vervoort over at WPToy.com has published a great cheat sheet for developing WordPress themes. It’s available in PDF format, so as he suggests, if you build themes print it out and put it on your wall. When I’m building a WordPress theme, I always forget something along the line (when I go into “programmer mode” I get a little lazy sometimes, alright?) — this makes sure I cover off on all the elements.
Back in 2008, I announced the WordPress Theme Development Checklist on DivitoDesign. The Checklist with many small tips, code snippets and checkpoints you usually forget about was a success.
Today it is time to release an improved official PDF version of the Checklist for the WordPress crowd. This PDF version is clean and easy to print, which makes it an excellent checklist when you are developing your new WordPress Theme.
Great work, Stefan!
[Via WPToy.com]
WordPress Best Practices for the Newbie – Part 1: Before the Blog
Introduction
After performing countless installs of WordPress, I’ve learned a few things about how to make it work more effectively, and how to avoid some common pitfalls that I’ve never seen in any of the documentation. This is part one of three; it deals primarily with the decisions you need to make before you write your first post. Subsequent posts will discuss different aspects of WordPress and the “Best Practices for Non-Geeks.”
White House to Ask for $50M for Social Innovation Fund
First Lady, Michelle Obama at TIME 100 Most Influential People Event in NYC
This past Tuesday, the White House announced it’s intention to ask Congress for $50 million for seed capital for the Social Innovation Fund. At the TIME 100 Most Influential People event in New York, First Lady, Michelle Obama described it as:
The idea is simple: to find the most effective programs out there and then provide the capital needed to replicate their success in communities around the country that are facing similar challenges. By focusing on high-impact, result-oriented non-profits, we will ensure that government dollars are spent in a way that is effective, accountable and worthy of the public trust.
I’ll be interested to see who ends up leading the pack here. Who has been the most innovative? The larger, more established non-profits or the smaller under-funded ones like the Medicare Rights Center? Although organizations such as Habitat do some great work, my money is on the smaller non-profits and individual entrepreneurs.
- Read the White House Blog Post “What is the Social Innovation Fund?”
- Read the White House Briefing
- More Details via AmericaForward.org
[Via DesignMind]
Andrew Marconi is a technical project manager and digital producer who helps global advertising agencies and brands design enterprise- and consumer-quality Web applications. He acts as the bridge among the stakeholder, the software development team, and the end users — providing a common language to deploy solutions that meet the business need.
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