Should we call it Desktop2.0?
Traditionally Web2.0 Apps are based on the internet, however today’s technology has increasingly blurred the lines between the internet and the desktop. Think Google Chrome OS where the entire “desktop” is based online.
The most notable by-product of a web2.0 environment being merged with a desktop environment is the number of Apps being made with API (although the number of online Apps using API’s is also prolific).
What is an API?
API stands for Application Programming Interface.
A program can follow a set of predefined rules in order to access and utilize services and resources provided by another software program … Read the rest
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Is Data the Next Intel Inside?
Several years ago Intel launched an advertising campaign that essentially stressed that their hardware was the most powerful part of the computer as it was able to interact with data. Have you seen the Intel Advertising Campaign video?
There is nothing more important in today’s society than data.
A user will willingly explore a badly designed website if it contains the information that they need.
Website owner’s stress the importance of subscribing to feeds and becoming members – all for the sake of gaining data from the user (such as email addresses, names, postal and billing addresses, and a lot … Read the rest
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Inspiration and Sketches for KatSkinner.com Design
A couple people have asked me, “how did I come up with my new site design”? What was my work process, inspiration and thoughts as I was creating my current website theme?
I thought I would share them with you.
Know Your Topic
I didn’t just dive straight into the design and coding to be honest. A few times I had tried coding straight away, but without any real thought as to where I was going with a design I often gave up.
Prior to this site I actually had very few skills. This was the first major project I … Read the rest
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Harness Collective Intelligence
Many websites today consist of a simple idea of community – users upload, download, share and discuss content. Over the last few years in fact these types of websites have exploded with popularity. The very principle of an online “community” at its very core is the principle of collective intelligence.
Many businesses and corporations are now harnessing collective intelligence to drive informational and interactive websites. Diverse, varied and often high quality content is created at lower cost by thousands of people than a website controlled by a smaller number of employees.
One example of a website harnessing collective intelligence is … Read the rest
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How To Install The Carrington Theme Framework
Today I will provide a short step-by-step tutorial (with screenshots!) on how to install the Carrington Theme Framework.
What you will need:
- WordPress. At time of writing this article the current WordPress version is 3.1.
- Your own hosted server and domain name.
- FTP Program, such as Filezilla, to upload the Carrington framework.
- Carrington theme framework.
Step One (1): Install WordPress
WordPress has a famous five minute install.
Unfortunately I won’t be providing the step by step details of how to install WordPress. If you haven’t set up WordPress before, I suggest you read the official documentation on … Read the rest
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Principle of RADITM
When designing any computer program (or doing any coding what so ever), some basic principles apply. One of these principles is known as RADITM.
RADITM represents each stage of a project. It is a waterfall model (which in simple terms means that each stage can be followed downwards or upwards in the chain depending on necessity).
R – Request
This stage is where a prospective client asks for a particular project to be completed.
A – Analyse
The analysis stage is where the developer and/or designer must determine what the client wants the system to do.What are the constraints of
History of Computing and Common Terms
Computing dates back over 5000 years – in fact many people believe that the first computing device was the abacus (for adding and subtracting).
In 1642 the Pascaline was created. It allowed users to calculate sums up to eight (8) figures long. However this device still only could perform addition and subtraction.
In 1830′s the first general purpose computer was created (the Analytical Engine). This computer included input devices (a way of getting content/data into a computer – such as keyboard, mouse or disk drive), memory storage, a control unit that allowed processing instructions in any sequence and output devices
Evolution of Ethics
Ethics are often an oversight to novel development. However, they are an important part of any novel; a character will be guided by their morals, businesses and governments will generally reflect the holistic moral views of society, and the way large groups interact will reflect society’s norms.
This article will analyze the history of ethics, and outline the different view points that can be taken (many of which will be analyzed in more depth in later blog articles).
Ethics have been recorded for thousands of years: many ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Aristotle and Confucius have shown the study of
Basics of Egoism
Understanding people is a major step towards creating realistic characters in your novels, this includes how people think, talk, act and what they believe. This post considers the psychological principle of egoism, and how you can use this principle to create a believable character.
What is Egoism
Egoism looks at the outcome of a decision in terms of the effect it has on an individual.
Different Types of Egoism
There are two types of egoism commonly discussed:
- Psychological egoism suggests that everyone is motivated by their own self-interest. They perform actions that ultimately gain them benefit (even if undergoing short-term discomfort).
Deal With Mental Blanks, Inspired By Computer Games Part 2
In Deal With Mental Blanks, Inspired By Computer Games I looked at how you can find inspiration from a computer game. It focused upon step by step what may occur within a novel, with lots of examples.
This post is designed to teach you to question yourself – an essential tool to move past any mental blocks.
We know that our hero named John will be going on a quest. What we don’t know is who John is or why he is going on the quest.
Create A Wide Variety of Races and Cultures
John will pass through several cities, or … Read the rest
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