Pingdom’s movable Podcast is a weekly show in this area Internet, web, and mobile stuff. In this show we covered the following topics:

Start 0:10

• Welcome
• Pleased new year

Start 21:00

• The mobile web in numbers
• Symbian is still top mobile OS
• Apple’s App Store generates 6x the revenue of Android Market in the US

Start 41:35

• Ice Cream Sandwich & General Android post-ICS? End of Disintegration?
• Unmodified Holo theme now a requirement for diplomacy with Android Market access
• RIM PlayBook Now Available for $199 in the US
• iPhone 4 drawn entirely with CSS
• iPhone 4S coming to China and 21 more countries this Friday
• Samsung Galaxy 3GS?

Start 60:10

• Predictions in this area mobile, web, and Internet technologies in the year ahead.

In this area the show

The show is hosted by Magnus Nystedt at Pingdom and Saleh Esmaeili, User Experience Designer at dots & lines in UAE, currently effective on Carbon for Windows Phone and Android.

Join us

We are always looking for fascinating guests. If you want to join us, get in touch.

Listen to the show

You can download the MP3 file.

You can subscribe to the podcast in iTunes (pending).

Or you can use the player not more than:

This was a post from the guys at Pingdom, a site monitoring service that makes sure you’re the initially to know when your site is down. Check it out for free.

From:
Pingdom movable podcast #1

Do you have an itch when it comes to how your web browser works? Perhaps there’s some functionality you want from the browser that it doesn’t support, or it does something in a particular way that drives you nuts.

Probability are there is an extension to remedy that situation.

We have gone over most of the extensions available for Apple’s Safari web browser and come up with recommendations for 15 extensions that we reckon you should try.

You find all the extensions in Apple’s Safari Extension Gallery. We can’t link to each individual extension, unfortunately, because the way Apple has built the site, so you have to go to the gallery and click your way to the extension you want.

Firebug Lite

The must-have extension for anyone doing web development and design is now available for Safari. FireBug sits as a button in the toolbar and with one click it opens up a panel at the bottom of the Safari dialogue box. In that panel, you can inspect the page’s HTML and CSS code, any script that is running, and the DOM.

MLB

If you are a baseball fan, this is the extension for you. It sits as a toolbar at the top of your Safari page, which displays the latest scores from sports meeting in progress as well as recently completed sports meeting.

BuiltWith

This is another one for the developers and anyone feeling the need to find out how a site is place together. On the page you want to investigate, just click the BuiltWith button in the toolbar and it will show you a small dialogue box with in rank in this area what technologies that site is running on.

GCalNoScroll

Are you tired of Google Calendar scrolling all over the house when you access it with Safari? Then get GCalNoScroll and see scrolling no more. If you work with Google Calendar a lot, this will save your sanity.

Stop/Top off toolbar button

If you don’t like clicking the stop/top off function in the address bar, this will give you a proper button in the toolbar instead.

ClickToFlash

ClickToFlash can preclude Safari from automatically launching plugins for media playback, like Adobe Flash. Instead of the Flash movie you get a placeholder you can click on if you want to load that particular content. ClickToFlash can also replace Flash with HTML5 alternatives in many places.

JavaScript Blacklist

You may be able to protect your privacy a bit better and minimize redirect hell if you preclude some JavaScripts from loading. This plugin gives you the ability to check scripts from loading from certain domains. You can add and edit the list of domains in the plugin’s settings.

Tasty Safari

If you’re a Tasty user, click the button in the toolbar and you can save the URL to your account: simple peasy.

EverNote

EverNote is our favorite digital shoebox service. With this plugin you’re just a right-click away from capturing a full web page, URL, a selection of text, or a picture, all going straight into your EverNote account.

Validator

As many excellent extensions, Validator is a one-trick pony. Just browse to the page you want to check and click the button in the toolbar. Validator then feeds the URL to the W3C’s XHTML and CSS validator, which parses the code, and displays any errors and warnings it finds.

Rotten Tomatoes

If you find time to mind movies then Rotten Tomatoes is the house to check out what others reckon of the movie you plot to mind. With this extension you get a toolbar with a dedicated Rotten Tomatoes search box and some of the latest news from the site.

Ghostery

Want to keep at least some sense of privacy when browsing the web? If so, install Ghostery, which helps you check scripts, metaphors and iframes on sites you browse to.

Google Toolbar

No, it’s not an official Google product but it might as well be. You get a new toolbar with one-click access to most of Google’s services. If you live in Google, get this extension.

OmniBar

With this extension installed you can search from the address bar. Just type in what you want to search for and hit enter. This means you don’t have to specifically click in the search box anymore.

Add to Amazon Wish List

It may be too late to populate your Amazon.com wish list for the coming holidays but it’s never too late to wish for things, right? If you see something you want on a web page, click the Add to Amazon Wish List button in the toolbar, type in some more info, and it’s saved to your wish list.

Selection desires to grow

So there you have 15 of our suggestions for Safari extensions you should try. For Safari, there’s not as much to choose from as there is for Firefox and Chrome, but we hope that Apple will keep adding to the selection.

If none of the 15 extensions we picked out can help you with that particular web browser itch you have, probability are there is another one that can do the trick.

To paraphrase a well-known expression, there’s an extension for that.

This was a post from the guys at Pingdom, a site monitoring service that makes sure you’re the initially to know when your site is down. Check it out for free.

From:
15 fantastic Safari extensions: from blocking ads to hacking web code

After you have made your blog, you have to select a excellent theme/template to dapper up your blog. A excellent blog template should attract the reader’s attention and get across the topics which are covered in the blog. If you have sufficient knowledge on HTML and CSS, you can make a personalized theme. But if you lack this knowledge, you will have to look for a excellent blog template to match your desires.

The downside of using ready-made templates is that they look very dull. Templates help by providing a standard set-up for you to follow and they stop you from drifting off topic. Templates also enable smooth transition between articles.

Why You Should Use Blog Templates:

1. Ready-made templates give a polished appearance to your work and save you quite a lot of time.
2. Blog templates give readers a simple way to interact with the writer.
3. The turn-around time is very quick.

Free vs. Paid Templates:

There are some limits to using free templates i.e. pre-designed templates ready for use. While they are free, simple to use and often very lovely to look at, there is always the chance the design is being used by additional bloggers. Advertisements pop up on free templates and also increase the chance of being exposed to spyware and hackers.

You can take advantage of boundless customization and more features with paid templates. They are less prone to being hacked.

Compensation of Paid Blog Templates:

1. Unique design serving to your distinct desires
2. Online support is available
3. Protection hostile to hackers and malicious code
4. Modification of copyright links
5. Extensive range of features can be used.

Paid blog templates are the best option for users who are honest in this area blogging. It is beneficial in the long term and also saves you a lot of problems in the future.

]]> http://asterhost.info/blog-templates-%e2%80%93-free-vs-paid-templates/feed/ 0 http://asterhost.info/new-public-report-from-pingdom-enters-beta/ http://asterhost.info/new-public-report-from-pingdom-enters-beta/#comments Tue, 08 Feb 2011 17:59:53 +0000 SeoLink http://asterhost.info/new-public-report-from-pingdom-enters-beta/

Starting today all Pingdom users can try out our new and improved public report pages, seen here not more than. These reports, also known as status pages, let you make some or all of your Pingdom monitoring results public, promoting transparency toward your users.

Since the public reports are hosted by Pingdom, they will be available even when your own website is down. They are very handy as automatically updated public status pages for web services and hosting companies, to name one example.

You can look closer at any individual check to get plenty of more in rank and graphs.

And there’s really more than what we showed you here above.

As you can see, these new public reports are much more visual than the ancient ones. You may be pleased to learn that none of the charts use any Flash. It’s all HTML, CSS and Javascript, so the public reports work everywhere, counting on the iPad and iPhone.

Features at a glance

• Uptime and response time charts.
• Response time map.
• Daily and monthly overviews.
• Customizable history (how far back in time the reports go).
• Customizable design (colors, logo).

How to try it out

To try out the new public reports, just go to the public reports section in the Pingdom control panel and the in rank you need is right there. They’re by now active for all Pingdom users, both free and paid.

For those of you who are interested, even if you don’t have a Pingdom account, here’s a link to a sample report you can play around with: http://stats.pingdom.com/2o5z286xb2wl

The ancient public reports will still be effective as usual during this transition period, but will be phased out when the beta is complete. We will let our users know in excellent time before this happens.

Let us know what you reckon!

We want to get your feedback on the new public reports. Please email your thoughts to beta at pingdom dot com with the subject line “Public reports.”

There are many more Pingdom features in the pipeline for 2011 (and beyond). This is going to be a fantastic year for us and for our users, and we thank you for being part of this journey.

From:
New public report from Pingdom enters beta

Billing systems for e-commerce and online business sites are some of the most vital software within the system. They must accurately charge customers, utilizing different methods, for products in a secure manner. With so many billing products available, it can be hard to know which is best for your business desires. WHCMS is one billing solution that should be considered by all online merchants.

WHCMS is an “all-in one client management, billing and support solution for online businesses.” One nice advantage available directly from their website is a free trial. WHCMS gives you a fully functional 15 day trial to experience everything their software has to offer. There are many vital features available for WHCMS counting:

• Billing
• Products
• Automation
• Ease of use
• Transactions
• Support

The primary purpose of this software is too securely and properly bill online customers. WHCMS software provides billing in multiple currencies with tax support. Also, there are recurring invoice options, ticket support billing and the ability to grant estimates to customers.

The product features grant areas for free offers, custom fields, promotional items and welcome emails. Also, the system can be customized for one time and recurring items. Since this is an advanced billing system, many functions are automated such as, refunds, fraud checks, product management and payment processing.

Additionally, the entire system is simple to use with a simple interface, instant complex, dexterous support channels and is quick loading. From a transactional standpoint, there are over 50 supported payment gateways complete with statistical exposure and transaction logs.

As previously mentioned, the support system within the software is industry-leading. For any issues the title-holder has access to an integrated ticketing system, networking issue tools, updates and downloads, announcements and a knowledge database. All of these support tools are vital to the success of any billing software.

All of these features are fully customizable to the desires of your business. Additionally, the software comes with fully editable client and administrative templates, language files, order forms and CSS styling to fit you business.

Billing is one of the most vital functions of an ecommerce website. Therefore, it must be robust, secure and effective at processing the transaction. WHCMS has many functions, all customizable to fit the desires of your business. Utilizing this advanced billing software will greatly improve your online business website and give the customer an overall better experience.

Content management systems have become an integral part of a webmaster’s daily duties, simplifying the process of managing and operating a website within a centralized user-friendly interface. Before content management systems website owners had to have training in HTML, PHP and CSS in order to make, organize and upload web pages manually.

Opportunely, with the advent of CMS like WordPress and Drupal, webmasters can now make and manage stunning websites with small or no web development experience. The two aforementioned content management systems are the best in the industry, but which is the crowd favorite?

WordPress

In terms of popularity, WordPress is leaps and bounds above all competitors. Originally designed as a blogging platform, WordPress has grown into an extremely useful content management system over the past few years. The strong point of WordPress is the abundance of plugins that have been designed by independent developers. Literally every aspect of site creation, organization and search engine optimization can be dealt with using WordPress plugins. These plugins are basically additions to the CMS, which enhance the functionality of the user interface.

With hundreds of WordPress plugins available, and new ones being produced each day, it is simple to see why WordPress is easily the crowd favorite. Many public find it hard to find the right plugins to simplify a specific task. Opportunely there is a large WordPress community that can offer advice on which plugins to use and how to use the WordPress content management system properly.

Drupal

Drupal is a unique advanced content management system that gives the user complete control over the development of a site. Unlike additional CMS which utilize WYSIWYG editors and simplified interfaces, Drupal is made specifically for web developers. In fact, it is said that Drupal is really more of a development platform than a simple CMS. Even though Drupal is not very user-friendly, it is exact for professional web developers that need full control over scripting and advanced site design. One of the strong points of Drupal is the massive user community full of professional web developers that are constantly sharing advice and tips on how to use Drupal. When used correctly, Drupal can make the best websites on the internet, and due to its advanced capabilities there are very few limitations.

Conclusion

Both content management systems have their own pros and cons, though WordPress is generally seen as being the best choice for novice webmaster. More advanced web developers should consider Drupal, as it offers freedom and control not seen in any additional CMS. Many webmasters use both Drupal and WordPress, depending upon their desires for a particular website. The limitations of both content management systems depend entirely upon the user’s experience and resources. With the right plugins WordPress can beat just in this area any CMS in existence. Though, when utilized by the right developer Drupal can make sites that WordPress cannot even manage! Ultimately, the choice is left to the webmaster, their experience level, and their desires.

WordPress has jumped ahead of the pack with its blog hosting software. Thousands of webmasters are utilizing WordPress as their software of choice for both blogs as well as regular websites.

Although there is additional blog hosting software, WordPress offers the functionality and robustness needed for a successful site. The following is a list of reasons to choose WordPress as your blog host:

• It’s free!
• Brilliant support
• Plug-in optimization
• Choice to choose a theme
• Theme modification
• Link building

The most appealing aspect of the WordPress software is that it’s free to download and install. Users have two options, download the client to their paid web field or utilize free blogging sites that add your website name as a sub-field for the ultimate free hosting. Those that have their own paid web field have access to many more features.

Just because the software is free, doesn’t mean the support is non-surviving. There’s a plethora of in rank on various topics in community support forums. Since there are thousands of users, theme designers and plug-in developers, support is one of the strongest points.

Another reason to choose WordPress is the ability to add any plug-ins you desire. There are thousands of plug-ins available that can be downloaded for free. Installation is extremely simple and can be accomplished at the simple click of a button.

Also, there are many themes available that determine the look and feel of your site. Once again, these are all free. Unfortunately, these can only be utilized by those that host their own field name. With additional blog services, you can only show those themes they allow. On the additional hand, WordPress has thousands of user-produced themes.

Furthermore, themes can be modified to fit your exact standards and make the website even more unique. This can be accomplished by changing either the HTML or CSS code. If you’re not knowledgeable in these areas, hire a freelance designer to do this.

The final reason to choose WordPress is to build links to your own field. If the blog is only in a sub-field, links to the blog are humanizing page rank for the main field. This is one reason to host your own field.

WordPress is a fantastic blog creation tool with endless features. Themes, plug-ins and the actual software are constantly updated with new features being added all the time. WordPress is a fantastic resource for both novice and veteran webmasters. The flexibility of the software is unmatched.

The use of a content management system is nearly self explanatory; it aids in the management of content. Though the functionality of these software stretch far beyond simple content management. In fact, simply using a excellent CMS properly can improve the productivity and success of your online business in a variety of ways. Many public don’t know just how powerful their content management system is, and are therefore missing out on the benefits that could be provided by such a useful software. A excellent CMS by itself will not appear to be an incredible piece of software, that is until you start to add applications that make building and maintaining websites and incredibly simple and fun process.

Content Creation Plugins

Building a website can be a very hard process if done manually. Though with a excellent CMS and the right plugins, you can have a site complex and populated with quality content in less than 30 minutes.  Whereas this can initially flesh out your site withe relevant content, you must be cautious not to relay heavily on this procedure for long term content, as your site will be penalized for duplicate content.

Site Design Plugins

Another way to improve the functionality of your content management system is to add design oriented plugins. Certain plugins will let you change templates automatically on a scheduled basis, which will give your site a new look every time your visitors return. There are also plugins that make text and font editing simple, eliminating the need to edit CSS style sheets. This can save you a lot of time and money  because instead of hiring designers, you can simply do the work yourself within a simple to use interface that anyone can master. Of course, if you need to outsource the work this can also be done within the content management system.

Traffic Generating Plugins

Perhaps some of the most useful plugins are the ones that breed traffic and popularity for your site. Among the most notable are the search engine optimization plugins and social bookmarking plugins. There are plugins that will automatically submit updates site maps to search engines, arrange content in  a search engine friendly manner, and even breed backlinks for your site! There are also useful social bookmarking plugins that automatically submit every post to a huge selection of social bookmarking sites.

Conclusion

While content management systems are by now quite useful, adding plugins is a fantastic way to enhance the software, thereby enhancing your website. Since most content management systems are expandable, it only makes sense to take advantage of their flexibility and make your own customized CMS that best suits your site’s desires.

In the past, building websites required advanced skills in internet technology and various programming languages. Webmasters needed to be well-versed in HTML, PHP, CSS, and additional programming fields, in order to make even a relatively simple website. Many times website owners would have to pay web developers a hefty fee to set up their website for them, and in many cases this still happens today. Though, as the the internet has become more user-friendly, and with the advent of web 2.0, website owners can now use what are called CMS (Content Management Systems) to build, organize and maintain their websites. Some of these content management system let users upload preset themes that can be customized easily within a user-friendly interface. One of the most well loved content management systems available is WordPress.

What is WordPress?

Although WordPress is really a blogging platform, it is commonly used to make static web pages and complete websites. WordPress is basically a website administrative interface that lets you control every aspect of the site using tools that even the most novice users can utilize. These tools let you post text, metaphors and any additional kind of media quickly and easily without having any programming knowledge whatsoever. WordPress is updated on a regular basis you don’t have to worry in this area it becoming obsolete at all. WordPress can be installed by a complete novice using tools provided by your web host such as Fantastico or Simple Script.

WordPress Plugins

One of the most appealing aspects of WordPress is it’s expandability. By using a vast array of plugins, users can do just in this area anything they desire with ease. New plugins are being produced everyday, and they can be installed in less than one minute by even the most inexperienced webmaster. Once installed the plugin resides in the left side of the WordPress interface in the navigational bar, where you can easily adjust the plugin settings and control every aspect of your site’s functionality. Using plugins like the All-in-One SEO pack, you can even automatically optimize your site’s pages for the search engines.

Making Static Web Pages with WordPress

Since WordPress was originally a blogging platform, making a regular website can present some challenges to the novice user. The main problem is that the latest post will always be showed at the top of the main page, which makes it hard to design a website as you would like it. Every time you add a new post, the order of your content will be disrupted since the latest post will be showed at the top of the front page. This obviously is not desired if you want to have your content arranged a certain way. So how do you fix it? Well the answer is really quite simple – use a plugin! There is a plugin called StickyOrderer that will let you organize your posts in the fashion want them, and you can do this on every page of your site! Using this plugin lonely you can make well methodical websites, instead of scattered blogs.

You are wasting bandwidth if you save a repeating stripe pattern at its full size because you can really make it repeat itself using its smaller part. In the long run, you can save a lot of bandwidth. In this tutorial, I am using Photoshop to crop a repeating stripe pattern. Let’s start with fixed-height repeating stripe pattern.

Fixed-Height Repeating Stripe Pattern

How to use a repeating stripe pattern as the background image for a fixed-height DIV? Let’s take the stripe image not more than as an example.

Step 1
Open the image in photoshop, duplicate the layer so that you now have 2 layers of yellow stripes.

Choose the new duplicated layer, use your keyboard right arrow key to go the layer to the right, pixels by pixels (as shown not more than)

Step 2
Keep moving it to the right until you saw the metaphors “collective” – same as the original image. Now hold your Ctrl key and click on the duplicated layer’s thumbnail to select its path.

Step 3
Now hide the duplicated layer by clicking on the layer visibility area (the “eye”). Next, choose the original stripe layer and press Delete to delete a part of the image in the selection.

Step 4
Use the Crop Tool to select the remaining part of the original layer, right click and select Crop. You can now save it as the background image of the DIV and set it to repeat-x in css.

.stripe {
background-image:url(stripe.gif);
background-repeat:repeat-x;
}

Live Demo

The DIV above uses this image as background.

Fluid-Height Repeating Stripe Pattern

How to use a repeating stripe pattern as the background image for a DIV which is not fixed in height? This will be covered in the next part of this tutorial.