April 19, 2007

Joomla Templates for Web Design

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I think I’m finally convinced that I need to start working on Joomla. I’ve seen too many Web 2.0 websites that have been very successful using Joomla. Plus, an open source content management system is the future of creating cool websites where the content needs to be easily updated. I have one website that I’ve created called Spoil My Spouse which was coded by hand. That’s great and all, but I really think that was a mistake. I’m really considering taking Spoil My Spouse and converting it to Joomla so that it is much easier to expand. The key will be taking the current design and creating Joomla Templates to match the look and feel. Luckily there are lots of nice resources online like the 5 Easy Steps to Make a Joomla Template or the 100k registered users in the Joomla Forum.

The next problem after Joomla templates is trying to figure out which Joomla extensions are useful. There are way too many and I don’t know how you start to figure out which ones are good and which ones you need. Regardless, as a web designer it’s so much nicer to be able to let someone else code something nicely and then I just need to integrate it. That’s perfect for the hack of a web designer that I am.

Oh yea, and Joomla can integrate WordPress. Always a good thing if it involves WordPress.

This post Sponsored by Club TVK.

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Man Survives 2 Weeks Underwater

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Technology will never cease to amaze me. Can you imagine someone living underwater for 2 weeks. Ok, so the title is a bit deceiving. He was in a sub for 2 weeks. Which for anyone that knows about subs, knows that 2 weeks in a sub is something pretty incredible.

Godson used a system of solar panels and a pedal-powered generator to create electricity and recharge his laptop, and kept an algae garden to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen for breathing.

“It’s nice to feel the sunshine on the face and the breeze here,” Godson told reporters after emerging from the 10-foot-long sub, which was submerged in a lake in the eastern Australian town of Albury. “You start to get a bit of cabin fever, but … I thought it was going to drive me a bit more nuts than it did.”

Godson had to recycle his own urine and waste, but a team of divers delivered food and drinking water to the sub, including fruit, nuts and a homemade lasagna. An “Easter shark” swam by with a supply of chocolate eggs, according to local media reports.

For entertainment, Godson watched videos on his laptop and used a wireless Internet connection to communicate with schoolchildren from around the world.

I’m not sure about this guys motive, but he definitely taught me something about what is possible.

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Free Web 2.0 Austrailian Real Estate Website

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One of my biggest addictions lately has been checking out all the Web 2.0 websites that have been popping up all over the place. I guess I’ve been even more focused on the subject since the Web 2.0 conference has been going on in San Francisco this week. I sure wish that I could have been there, but I digress.

Today I came across the most Google like real estate website I’ve ever seen. Most real estate websites are chock full of crap. They have every piece of information displayed on every page. Most the time you’re just overwhelmed and don’t know where to start clicking and all you want is to be able to browse through the housing listings. Well, this Austrailian website has free share house, rental property and real estate in a real Google style. If you don’t know Google style it’s basically a Very fast loading page, it’s Super easy to use and is so simple it looks great. That’s what this website has gotten right.

The key for this website is going to be what they do next. Google has been able to really add to their content without compromising their principles of simplicity and user experience. I’d really like to see some more loan and mortgage information available on the site. However, they’ll have to avoid cluttering the page, slowing it down and making it look like crap. That will be a definite challenge, but will be important for the site to maintain its cool Web 2.0 feel amidst growth of the website.

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