I run this site on Wordpress but a small project came up where I wanted to research some database-less CMS / blogging alternatives (still need PHP, just no databases to store the content).
After researching this a bit, the two I’ll be trying first are:
And some others I came across and may try next:
I use Gmail Notifier on my desktop PC so that Gmail handles all mailto: links, but I don’t really care for it as a notifier. But if you do install it and get the error message ”Cannot connect to your mailbox”, it may be because you’ve set your Gmail account to only use https, which the notifier is incompatible. So Google has a Windows registry fix/patch for that. Problem solved.
In most cases when I start brainstorming on a web site design in Photoshop, I begin with the “960 grid system“. It’s a good framework and starting point for those familiar with doing CSS. Look into it if you’re looking to step up to more custom site designs beyond just using Wordpress templates or something like that.
And here’s a great video introduction to the concept from NetTuts.com
For years I’ve been using Bandwidth Monitor Pro but for whatever reason it became buggy when I upgraded to Windows 7. It wasn’t correctly detecting my network cards and interfaces and rather than troubleshooting I decided to look for a free alternative and finally chose NetWorx (free, PC-only). Somehow, I had overlooked this particular bandwidth monitor in my searches the last couple years. And all the other apps that were coming up in my searches were inferior
NetWorx actually has more features than Bandwidth Monitor Pro, but most important to me is it’s simple and straightforward graph. I almost always keep this graph up because it helps me avoid getting frustrated over browsing and downloading slowdowns or videos buffering. This way, if I see no obvious drops in the visual graph of my connection, I get to more accurately place the blame on YouTube’s slow servers or slow torrent seeders.
Screenshots below of how I like my graph and of one of the settings tabs.
If you have a site or blog site, don’t forget to add a custom favicon. Go to the web-based favicon.cc, draw your icon in a 16×16 grid, preview in real time, and export your finished favicon.ico. Or search the pre-existing database for some icon that fits your site’s topic. Then just upload it to your site’s root directory. In most cases, your browser will automatically find the favicon.ico. Otherwise you can just add this line of code to your site’s <head>: <link rel=”Shortcut Icon” href=”favicon.ico”>. Done!
The downright coolest desktop wallpaper site is InterfaceLift. But then again, my desktop is rarely ever visible. I just multitask and layer too many windows all the time, and I just go for practical solid colors, like grey.
The one wallpaper I do come back to time after time is below. It’s good advice to myself. Click the image to download it from InterfaceLift.
Here’s a few tools I’ve found the most useful when trying to think of domain names:
But one of the most useful things I’ve done is kept an excel file (or text file also works) of cool sounding words and ideas that I’ve been brainstorming with for over five years now. Unfortunately for you, I consider that document too ripe with fresh ideas to give away.
“Sign up for Mint to help track your finances” — This is one of the most “successful” recommendations that I’ve been making in the last couple of years, ever since Mint.com came out of beta. By that I mean, almost every one I’ve recommended it to absolutely loves it, especially if they were too lazy to do so in the first place. It’s definitely been the best single tool for making me more financially responsible. So consider this post as a nagging reminder in the hopes of getting a couple of you to finally get around to signing up.
My first choice for remote controlling my main home desktop/server (running Windows 7) is Windows Remote Desktop Connection. As a backup I also have that computer running LogMeIn for when firewalls block RDC or if I want to log in via a browser. And while those two have replaced VNC which I used exclusively years ago, I still use VNC for when I want to log in and remotely control a computer as is… without it having changing resolutions or desktop settings the way it would to accommodate LogMeIn or RDC. For example, I use it when I am watching a movie or playing music from on the main computer and want to change something in the media player without interrupting whatever is playing.
In those cases, my preferred choices are UltraVNC as the PC server, and Chicken of the VNC as my VNC viewer from my Mac notebook.
One of my long time sources for web site design inspiration come from Webcreme. Simple screenshots and links of great looking sites.
