Pete's Blog » design

Picking a new theme

Pete — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:30:42 +0000

Is like pulling teeth. I’ve been sitting on the current theme for a few years now and I’m having a hard time parting with it. Sooner or later a new WordPress theme will come, along with a post with resources … Continue reading →

Steve Jobs Macworld Keynote in 60 Seconds

Pete — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:46:24 +0000

Done by Mahalo Daily, this shows the recent Keynote in 60 seconds. I think I like the Apple TV (take 2) with the combined rentals, very cool!

Also the new Macbook Air - Wow!

Best of – Adobe Photoshop Tutorials

Pete — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:43:29 +0000

An amazing resource for anyone who uses Adobe Photoshop.

When it comes to graphic design, Adobe Photoshop is usually the first option to consider. However, the software itself is a quite tough nut to crack — and definitely extremely hard to master. For instance, the concepts are not always intuitive and it’s not always clear when to use what tool and how to use it effectively. In fact, in Photoshop it usually takes pretty much time to achieve something you have never done before.

However, you don’t need to muddle through numerous Photoshop features and extensions for every design problem. You can use professional suggestions instead, e.g. professional step-by-step tutorials which provide excellent results and thus can save you a lot of time.

View list of Adobe Photoshop Tutorials (Best Of)

Just an entertaining link.

Pete — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 02:32:14 +0000

Click here: http://producten.hema.nl/

And wait about 10 secs.. (or until something happens). You won’t be disappointed!

It was brought to my attention by Chris Pirillo, thanks!

100 Fantastic High Resolution Photoshop Brushes

Pete — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 11:05:00 +0000

Here’s a great list of photoshop brushes that should be a part of everyone’s arsenal. As every photoshop user knows, you could never have too many brushes.

Check out 100 Awesome High Resolution Photoshop Brushes

** Update **
Google cache link

Tattoo that will change your life forever!

Pete — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 13:31:33 +0000

I saw this over the weekend and couldn’t imaging the life that follows after getting a tattoo like this. I was thinking about getting a new tattoo myself, nothing like this but something cool on my arm. Looking at this pic below makes me feel a bit ill to my stomach just thinking about what this guy just did. Let’s hope he never regrets it!

Just wow!

More pics and comments about this death mask tattoo

WordPress and Joomla themes tampered with?

Pete — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:17:33 +0000

Looks like some themes were tampered with and being re-distributed by Templates Browser which are modified in such a way that it is exploiting the end user by inserting hidden spam or malware links. If you have downloaded any recent theme for your WordPress or Joomla site, I would check the code to see if it’s legit!

The links are inserted via an additional functions.php file which is included with the theme downloads. If you’re shopping around for public themes, I strongly recommend that you download directly from the original authors website.

Google Docs and Spreadsheets gets a new facelift!

Pete — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 12:35:50 +0000

Google Docs and Spreadsheets just got a new look. I like it this time around, it’s loading faster for me, and you’re now able to see all the documents right there in front of you. I wasn’t a big fan of the “out of sight out of mind” from the previous setup.

Outside of the new look, they did add some new things, now they have folders. Folders seems to work the same way as tags, but more like gmail where organization seems better with the traditional folder view. Also, they have Google Suggest like features for searching through your documents.

All in all, I think it’s a nice improvement.

Google Docs and Spreadsheets gets a makeover

Microsoft’s new toy – Surface

Pete — Wed, 30 May 2007 11:05:28 +0000

Microsoft launches their newest innovation called Surface. It’s their first surface computer providing interaction with digital content using hand gestures, touching and physical objects.

There are some more video examples on the use of it on Microsoft website, really cool stuff, although I think its target right now are commercial applications.

Microsoft launches Surface

iGoogle launched – make your own gadgets too!

Pete — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:13:36 +0000

Google Personalized Homepage renamed to iGoogle!

– a name that connotes interactivity, the Internet, and personalization all at once.

Also with this new name, comes new gadgets, well.. it’s a bit more than that. Now anyone can create their own gadgets (no experience necessary)! You don’t need to know any HTML or have super programming skills to make your own gadget.

Now you can make your own, because starting today, without having any programming or web design experience at all, anyone can create Google Gadgets for iGoogle and send them to friends.

New WordPress Theme Generator

Pete — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 00:18:44 +0000

WordPress theme generator seems to be hitting the main channels today. This new tool enables anyone to create a wordpress theme on the fly (within minutes) with customized options like colors and such.
It makes it really easy to pick out your favorite colors and see the theme change in real time. It claims that you’ll be able to whip out a new theme without any experience in HTML, PHP, CSS, etc…
So when you are done with your masterpiece, just click download and it’s all yours.

This online generator creates your own custom unique WordPress Theme. Without any need for HTML, JS, PHP, or CSS knowledge.
Change the colors, settings, layout, preview live, click “save” and download your unique WordPress theme zip-file. Extract, upload, set, and you are done!

I haven’t used it, but it looks like it gets the job done quite well! Mark also makes some valid points about past generators phasing out.

Check out the new WordPress Theme Generator

Thunderbird 2 RC1 released

Pete — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:05:47 +0000

Thunderbird 2.0 RC1 released yesterday!
I use it on my laptop and the improvements include easy account setup for Gmail and .Mac accounts, smoother looking interface, tags (like gmail labels), new and improved search, support for Vista and more!
I like the new interface and it was practically a one click setup for my Gmail account. Here is what’s new in Thunderbird 2.

Best part about it is it’s free! Download Thunderbird 2!

Five GOOD Reasons to turn down a potential client

Pete — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:18:57 +0000

Tyler Lemieux explains some of the complications that comes with the business of web design. Knowing where to put on the brakes when the client tries to spin things around on you is important, because it can cost you in the end.
I enjoyed the article, as I’ve run into some of the same situations.

I’ve been through my fair share of clients, well over a hundred successful transactions in the past two years for that matter, and I’ve come to know when a project is worth taking on or not. As a freelance designer, I know that time was of utmost importance. Knowing when to drop a potential project can mean hundreds (and in some cases, thousands) of dollars, not to mention precious time.

Five Reasons to turn down a potential client

Google Personalized homepage now has themes!

Pete — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 19:11:24 +0000

Google just added 6 themes to the personalized homepage!
Looking forward to seeing more of them, but I really like the subtle themes they have available! All themes available are dynamic! They change with the time of day and weather in your area. Really cool!

Today we’re releasing six themes for the personalized homepage that try to solve these challenges: a city, a teahouse (super cute — this one is my favorite), a winter scene, a sky, a beach and a bus stop. All of our themes are dynamic: they change with your own local time of day, current weather conditions or season. If you add the beach theme, for example (changes with time of day), it will ask you for your Zip code and adjust itself to match your local sunrise and sunset times. So if you happen to be stuck in a windowless office, you can at least crack open a cold one and watch the sun set over your desktop.

phpBB with a new design!

Pete — Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:02:38 +0000

phpBB community has redesigned their site and are also utilizing their new 3.0 beta. Nice to see them finally put out a release for 3.0, I’m guessing they’ve decided this because of stability on their new version. Time will tell.
I’ll be setting a few of these up on my other sites to see how it compares to the 2.0+ series.

Since its creation in 2000, phpBB has become the most widely used Open Source forum solution. Like its predecessors, phpBB 3.0 “Olympus” has an easy to use administration panel and a user friendly installation process, which allows you to have a forum set up in minutes.

Check out phpBB’s new website

WordPress is sporting a new Plugins directory!

Pete — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 21:23:09 +0000

WordPress has added some great functionality to their new plugins directory, including a ratings system, comments, and more! Developers also have a new set of rules for compatibility and some great features as well.
It looks a lot cleaner featuring the new plugins submitted along with the most popular downloads and Recently updated plugins.

I’ve said this plenty of times already, but you really can’t beat a wordpress blog. It’s truly a great tool for blogging AND other site applications.

Ubuntu.com gets a facelift!

Pete — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:27:07 +0000

Ubuntu is sporting a new design on it’s main site and I think it looks great!
They really put together a nice collection of colors and the style is smooth like buttah!

I use Ubuntu on my laptop (dual-boot) and I rarely choose the Windows OS. I find that it covers my everyday activities just fine. This includes email, web browsing, instant messaging (skype, google talk, aim), listening to music, and the list goes on and on. It’s one of the easiest installs to date and I’m loving it! You should give it a try if you’re feeling like you need a change for the better.