Source code – Gabriel Catalano®

Our Top 5 Weird and Wacky QR Codes

QR Codes seem to be popping up everywhere these days, compelling passerby’s to whip out their phones and scan. As the QR code becomes more commonplace, we’ve also been seeing them pop up in some not so common places. We wanted to share our top picks for the wackiest QR codes we’ve came across.

1. QR Codes on Tombstones…

This is about as strange as it gets. For $10,000 the Japanese company Ishinokoe will sell you a tombstone with a QR code that when scanned can connect family members and visitors to photos and other content about the deceased. Check out the content from this code:

2. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a… QR code?!

This may be the most absurd QR code in existence simply because it’s the most difficult to scan. What were these marketers thinking? You can’t even tell who paid for the absurdity:

3. QR Code Crochet Leer más “Our Top 5 Weird and Wacky QR Codes”

Designing a Custom iPhone App Navigation Bar

By Jake Rocheleau | http://designm.ag
-.-

It can be tough to build an entire app from scratch and Xcode menus don’t make things easier. In this tutorial I’m hoping to introduce some bare-bones essential ideas for customizing an application’s top navigation bar. There is a bit of Objective-C code required but it shouldn’t be too overwhelming. It’s also worth noting that you will need a computer running Mac OS X in order to install Xcode and compile these apps in the first place.

Featured image – custom iPhone app navigation bar

Download Source Code

Getting Started

So without too much delay let’s pop open Xcode! From the main menu create a new project and a series of windows will appear. First you select the application template – I’ve chosen Master-Detail Application since this already includes a navigation controller.

When building iPhone apps you want to focus on your core functionality and build off the components already available. It’s pointless to reinvent the wheel and it just requires more of your time. So now hit Next and you’ll be prompted to give this project a name.

By Jake Rocheleau | http://designm.ag
-.-

App development for iPhone and iPod Touch has become a booming industry. Designers from all over the world are jumping at the chance to have their ideas published into the App Store. It’s no surprise more tech enthusiasts are moving onto Apple devices.It can be tough to build an entire app from scratch and Xcode menus don’t make things easier. In this tutorial I’m hoping to introduce some bare-bones essential ideas for customizing an application’s top navigation bar. There is a bit of Objective-C code required but it shouldn’t be too overwhelming. It’s also worth noting that you will need a computer running Mac OS X in order to install Xcode and compile these apps in the first place.

Download Source Code

Getting Started

So without too much delay let’s pop open Xcode! From the main menu create a new project and a series of windows will appear. First you select the application template – I’ve chosen Master-Detail Application since this already includes a navigation controller.

choosing the original project template

I set the name customNavBar with a company identifier of designmag. The identifier will not affect your application at runtime. It’s more like metadata to keep track of which applications are published under which developer or studio. If you are building for iOS5 make sure Automatic Reference Counting is checked as well as Storyboards.

Naming your new iOS5 Xcode project

Hit next, save your new project and we are good to go. Let’s start out simple by customizing the navigation bar’s color setting.

Custom Tint Colors… Leer más “Designing a Custom iPhone App Navigation Bar”

5 Biggest Copyright Pitfalls for Web Designers

3. Platform Licensing

The days of static websites went out nearly a decade ago. Most sites today are built on top of a platform of some variety or another, be it WordPress, Joomla, Presta Shop or some other software. However, many of these tools have strict and/or unusual licensing requirements and it is easy for designers to run afoul of their terms when setting up a new site.

The most common mistake is installing a purchased application on too many sites; for example, by buying a one-domain license on ThemeForest for an application, but using it with multiple clients.

However, even open source applications carry risks as many designers, in an attempt to keep the site clean, remove attribution lines in the code and files on the server that are required as part of the license.

When using any software to build a site, take a moment to read thorough the license and understand what it means. Follow those terms closely. Developers are constantly becoming more savvy about tracking down those who violate their licenses and even authors that license under the GPL are becoming more aggressive about enforcing their terms.
4. Open Source Blunders

A related mistake comes when web designers use and publish works based on open source code, particularly GPLed code (which includes many WordPress themes) and forget to either retain the license information and/or fail to donate their modified code back to the GPL.

If you create a derivative work of a GPL-licensed one, such as making a GPL WordPress theme a different color, the new theme has to be licensed under the GPL.

If you are unsure of whether your new work meets the requirement for GPL “inheritance”, this 2001 article by Lawrence Rosen (http://www.sitepoint.com/article/public-license-explained/) explains it quite nicely.

5 Biggest Copyright Pitfalls for Web Designers

Jonathan Bailey | http://net.tutsplus.com

When it comes to design, copyright is often a very muddled gray area. Just as the lines between plagiarism and homage are often confusing, so too is the line between infringing and non-infringing use of copyrighted material. Since it is natural and even expected of Web designers to incorporate elements from other sites and other creations, it is important to understand the risks and hazards when it comes to copyright in Web design. As such, here are five of the most common copyright pitfalls Web designers face and how to best avoid them. Leer más “5 Biggest Copyright Pitfalls for Web Designers”

The Case For Open-Source Design: Can Design By Committee Work?

In celebrating the merits of free software and the excitement over this radical networked production method, an important truth is left unspoken. Networked collaboration shines in the low levels of network protocols, server software and memory allocation, but user interface has consistently been a point of failure. How come the networked collaboration that transformed code production and encyclopedia-writing fails to translate to graphic and interface design?

The following is an investigation into the difficulties of extending the open-source collaboration model from coding to its next logical step: interface design. While we’ll dive deep into the practical difference between these two professional fields, the article might also serve as a note of caution to think before rushing to declare the rise of “open-source architecture,” “open-source university,” “open-source democracy” and so on.

By Mushon Zer-Aviv

In celebrating the merits of free software and the excitement over this radical networked production method, an important truth is left unspoken. Networked collaboration shines in the low levels of network protocols, server software and memory allocation, but user interface has consistently been a point of failure. How come the networked collaboration that transformed code production and encyclopedia-writing fails to translate to graphic and interface design?

The following is an investigation into the difficulties of extending the open-source collaboration model from coding to its next logical step: interface design. While we’ll dive deep into the practical difference between these two professional fields, the article might also serve as a note of caution to think before rushing to declare the rise of “open-source architecture,” “open-source university,” “open-source democracy” and so on.

Leer más “The Case For Open-Source Design: Can Design By Committee Work?”

jQuery Plugin Checklist: Should You Use That jQuery Plug-In?

jQuery plug-ins provide an excellent way to save time and streamline development, allowing programmers to avoid having to build every component from scratch. But plug-ins are also a wild card that introduce an element of uncertainty into any code base. A good plug-in saves countless development hours; a bad plug-in leads to bug fixes that take longer than actually building the component from scratch.

Fortunately, one usually has a number of different plug-ins to choose from. But even if you have only one, figure out whether it’s worth using at all. The last thing you want to do is introduce bad code into your code base.

Do You Need A Plug-In At All?

The first step is to figure out whether you even need a plug-in. If you don’t, you’ll save yourself both file size and time.

: Image via Wikipedia

By Jon Raasch

Do You Need A Plug-In At All?

The first step is to figure out whether you even need a plug-in. If you don’t, you’ll save yourself both file size and time. Leer más “jQuery Plugin Checklist: Should You Use That jQuery Plug-In?”

Mastering the 960 Grid System

Introduction

A 960 Grid System Master—that’s what you’ll be after you’ve gone through this article. And, although we’re going to use the 24-column variant of 960gs, you’ll completely understand how the two older types (i.e., 12- and 16-columns) work too, by applying the same principles you’ll learn here. But first, take a good look at the 24-column demo in the 960gs site, as it’s all we’ll need in our leap towards mastery of this popular CSS framework.
A Look at the 24-Column Demo

We first need to check the HTML code of the demo, so view its source—if you’re using Chrome, Firefox, or Opera, just press ctrl+U; if you’re using Internet Explorer, change your browser! 🙂 (on the Mac, use cmd+U for Firefox and opt+cmd+U for Safari and Opera; Chrome only does the right-click option). Keep the HTML source code window on your desktop, as we’re going to refer to it from time to time.

Next, you’ll need to download the 960.gs files (if you haven’t done so yet), and open the uncompressed CSS file 960_24_col.css. We must do this because the demo’s CSS is compressed, and will be difficult to inspect. (If you’re the masochistic type, feel free to use the demo’s CSS instead.

That’s pretty much all we need to prepare, aside from a semi-functioning brain. Now you’ll find that the demo page holds the key to completely understanding the grid system, and we’ll start by examining its three sections.

: Image via Wikipedia

Roydee

Tutorial Details

Program: 960 Grid System
Topic: HTML / CSS Grids
Difficulty: Beginner to Intermediate
Estimated Completion Time: One hour

Introduction

A 960 Grid System Master—that’s what you’ll be after you’ve gone through this article. And, although we’re going to use the 24-column variant of 960gs, you’ll completely understand how the two older types (i.e., 12- and 16-columns) work too, by applying the same principles you’ll learn here. But first, take a good look at the 24-column demo in the 960gs site, as it’s all we’ll need in our leap towards mastery of this popular CSS framework.

A Look at the 24-Column Demo

We first need to check the HTML code of the demo, so view its source—if you’re using Chrome, Firefox, or Opera, just press ctrl+U; if you’re using Internet Explorer, change your browser! (on the Mac, use cmd+U for Firefox and opt+cmd+U for Safari and Opera; Chrome only does the right-click option). Keep the HTML source code window on your desktop, as we’re going to refer to it from time to time.

Next, you’ll need to download the 960.gs files (if you haven’t done so yet), and open the uncompressed CSS file 960_24_col.css. We must do this because the demo’s CSS is compressed, and will be difficult to inspect. (If you’re the masochistic type, feel free to use the demo’s CSS instead.

Use the iPhone Icon Generator to Make a Custom iPad Homepage

If you want a start page for your iPad that blends in with the iPad’s interface, the iPhone Icon Generator combined with a tiny bit of HTML is the foundation for a customizable and eye-catching start page.

Use the iPhone Icon Generator to Make a Custom iPad Homepage

Lifehacker reader Jack Kennedy wasn’t impressed with available start pages so he designed his own, seen above.

I wanted it to look nice for my iPad, so after downloading the logos of my favorite sites, I converted them at iPhone Icon Generator and loaded the icons up in a simple html file.

I think it looks great on an iPad in landscape mode.

If you want a start page for your iPad that blends in with the iPad’s interface, the iPhone Icon Generator combined with a tiny bit of HTML is the foundation for a customizable and eye-catching start page.

Lifehacker reader Jack Kennedy wasn’t impressed with available start pages so he designed his own, seen above.

I wanted it to look nice for my iPad, so after downloading the logos of my favorite sites, I converted them at iPhone Icon Generator and loaded the icons up in a simple html file.

I think it looks great on an iPad in landscape mode. Leer más “Use the iPhone Icon Generator to Make a Custom iPad Homepage”

Is Google Watching You? New Plugin Will Let You Know [APPS]

Another rad browser plugin called Google Alarm hit the Internets this week, which alerts you every time your personal info is sent to Google’s servers. How? Via notifications, a running tally of dangerous sites and, naturally, a super annoying, vuvuzela-like alarm.

After seeing this new plugin — which works with both Firefox (Firefox) and Chrome (Chrome) — on F.A.T., I contacted the developer who made it: Jamie Wilkinson, who also created Know Your Meme and Mag.ma. Google Alarm, which was made during F.A.T.’s F*ck Google Week in Berlin, is supposed to make users aware of how much info they’re sending to the search giant.

According to Wilkinson, “Google (Google) makes great products and gives them all away for free, which has made them into a ubiquitous and omniscient force on the Internet (Internet). Google Alarm and F*ck Google in general are meant to illustrate how this single unregulated company now captures more information about us than any government agency ever could. When I started developing Google Alarm I was blown away to discover that 80+% of websites I visit have some kind of Google tracking bugs on them.”

Brenna Ehrlich

After seeing this new plugin — which works with both Firefox () and Chrome () — on F.A.T., I contacted the developer who made it: Jamie Wilkinson, who also created Know Your Meme and Mag.ma. Google Alarm, which was made during F.A.T.’s F*ck Google Week in Berlin, is supposed to make users aware of how much info they’re sending to the search giant.

According to Wilkinson, “Google () makes great products and gives them all away for free, which has made them into a ubiquitous and omniscient force on the Internet (). Google Alarm and F*ck Google in general are meant to illustrate how this single unregulated company now captures more information about us than any government agency ever could. When I started developing Google Alarm I was blown away to discover that 80+% of websites I visit have some kind of Google tracking bugs on them.” Leer más “Is Google Watching You? New Plugin Will Let You Know [APPS]”

Adobe Announces Open-Source Collaboration with Sourceforge

Today, Adobe announced an expansion of its open-source activities and a collaboration with Sourceforge, called “Open@Adobe.”

“Open@Adobe is a site aggregating Adobe’s openness programs, which includes source code hosting, such as the Adobe® Flex framework, and contributions from Adobe to standards organizations, as well as specifications.”

Dave McAllister, Director of Open Source and Standards (OSS) at Adobe Systems said the company’s “current repository was not meeting the desire to allow our projects to evolve in multiple directions simultaneously.” So the decision was made to collaborate with Sourceforge, which recently rolled out an open source forge development platform.

Written by Curt Hopkins

Today, Adobe announced an expansion of its open-source activities and a collaboration with Sourceforge, called “Open@Adobe.”

“Open@Adobe is a site aggregating Adobe’s openness programs, which includes source code hosting, such as the Adobe® Flex framework, and contributions from Adobe to standards organizations, as well as specifications.”

The Geeknet-run web-based source code repository acts as a central location where developers can manage and maintain open source software.

open@adobe.png

“SourceForge,” McAllister continued. “gave us the ability to support all of the things we needed and the flexibility to replace things we wanted to. SourceForge and the new development forge gives us the ability to connect our developer community to a global community.” Leer más “Adobe Announces Open-Source Collaboration with Sourceforge”