Little Asterisk

Naah, I didn't get the impression you dislike Linux or Microsoft, I just got the impression you like Apple. Obviously, I was wrong. But at least I know now we both like innovation in software I know the myCENT system acts kind of different (like a drunk boxer ) now, but at least it's back on. We'll drop the discussion HERE.

Depending on your "geekyness" and knowledge of PHP and similar programming languages, I suggest you not to pick neither a database-driven CMS nor a flat-file system, but Stacey ( that's staceyapp.com ). It's relatively easy to use, very, very easy to setup (you only need to upload files to your server), and it's extremely lightweight. You don't have a regular back-end (like Wordpress, for instance, does), but you simply upload folders to your /content folder of your website. In the /content folder, you keep both your pages and blog posts, which you can sort by number (the higher number being first on the list). For instance, at the beginning you receive this layout: 2. contact-me 3. about 4. projects 1. project-name-10 2. project-name-9 etc., these are the blog posts feed index sitemap I've only listed the subfolders of the "4. projects" folder, but you get the logic. A sample blog post looks like this: title: The Test Project 10 - date: 2009, Jun– - content: Blog post content goes here, you get the deal, I think. I haven't yet researched everything Stacey (the app, not my friend ) can do, but from the looks of it, Stacey is a very powerful tool. If you know PHP, you can even extend it easily because it isn't put into too many files. Just reading this now, made me realise I'm actually starting to like *her*. And, unfortunately, no one's paying me for advertising *her*.

OK, I think we've chatted enough on this matter now. We wouldn't want to turn this topic into a discussion about... Ehm, we already did, didn't we? :)To summarize; I still dislike Apple's philosophy of work and the "War" against Adobe, you still like Apple, we haven't achieved much with our discussion, but what can you do? :)The "byproduct" will be us making a few MyCENTS more, I hope, and enlightening someone who will visit the topic later.Cheers!

Which applications? I haven't heard about that. Apple banned Adobe Flash from its platform just shortly after CS5 has shipped, which had integrated the possibility to directly export Flash applications from the Creative Suite. Google's Android devices support Flash, which basically means it's not a smartphone-wide thing, but more of an Apple vs. Adobe fight. Not even I am sure what was I thinking of with the rest of the post. I'll inform you if I do remember. And now, a slight digression... But anyhow, as far as we're talking about Flash on the iPhone and iPad and other devices, here's an interesting infographic that tells us the story from the beginning (it was a bit big to embed it in the post: http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2010/5/10/apple-adobe-flash-and-h264-an-infographic-explanation.html Another interesting news I've found out just now is that EU could force Apple to "unban" Flash from the iPhone ( http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ and http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=18915 ). And, finally, I don't know what happened to the lawsuit that was supposed to happen, since I follow the hardware market sporadically - http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Wait, I don't get you here. You're saying Adobe's product's aren't released for Linux, and that's not good but at the same time you say the fact Microsoft doesn't release Office for Linux is OK? I'm not following you here. Linux is equally unprofitable for both Adobe, Microsoft and Apple. (P.S. The open-source debate was just a sidenote, not really related to Apple but more to the programs offered) If they're programming on Windows, they're (according to Apple) violating the terms of agreement. If they're using Mac OS, that means Apple is doing the same thing they claim Adobe for. Android is much more flexible on this area, where basically anyone can make programs for the platform. Plus, all developers (except for universities) pay $99 yearly so they could make applications for the iPhone, versus the $25 or so one-time payment for Android. Gotcha.

Huh? Sorry, but if I don't agree with you on one point here than that's this one. In the entire letter "Jobs" (probably a bunch of people from Apple) has written against Flash, not one (as I've skimmed through it now again) is made against Linux. Android runs on Linux, and Flash player exists for Android devices. Moreover, a lot of the other points from the "love letter" were made false when Adobe showcased Flash working on Nokia devices (I think it was Nokia, but there were also a couple of other) and when it was made clear rollovers do work on mobile devices. If you think about the Flash development environment, I know that there are some third-party sites which offer such things for Linux (I don't know how often is which updated, but one of them is on SourceForge - http://f4l.sourceforge.net/ ). That reminds me a bit of the development situation for the iPhone. And also, does Microsoft make Office for Linux? Does Apple make their software for Linux? As I recall (and don't take my word for it, but I think it's somewhere in the Terms of service or something similar), iPhone applications "...Must be produced on an Apple-branded computer". Even if it means you only have to put an Apple sticker on your PC, that doesn't sound very... Hmm, *un-proprietary* to me. P.S. Here, on the official developer page for the iPhone ( http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ )they actually state: "Can I develop iOS applications on Windows?" No. iOS applications can be developed only on Mac OS X. and "What are the minimum hardware requirements for iOS development?" A Mac with an Intel processor. I meant in a hardware sense (hence the "for aesthetic purposes). I did not know that. I'm basing my fact about free software for Macs from a NetTuts article ( https://code.tutsplus.com/articles/one-developers-switch-from-pc-to-mac--net-11831 - search for "The software catch" without the quotes ) and my own experience. If you say Linux programs do work on Apple computers, great! Again, I understand Apple makes some good stuff and all, but some of their statements really get on my nerves more than anything.

Hey, the forum currently won't allow me to edit my post (strange), so I wanted to warn you about a thing I noticed: Every link which ends with a bracket (this: ) adds the bracket to its address. So if a link doesn't work, just look at the address bar and remove the bracket (again, this part: ). And, so this post doesn't look like it's out of place, here's another cool link I have to share with you: The Bold Italic ( https://thebolditalic.com/?gi=e45016b2b1ed - I hope it won't add anything after the link now) has some very interesting effects implemented; like, for instance, the huge picture which indicates the featured post of the week/month, and the links (look under the "Events" section), which can be added to the sidebar (called the "Clipbook"), so you can remember what events you wanted to visit in New York. The site itself, as you might have figured out, writes about (I love ) New York and has some stories of the "bold locals", as they call them. Just look at some of the backstories, and how nicely they were styled ( I like the story of "Capuccino Perfetto" on https://thebolditalic.com/?gi=24c8e901378b ). Okay, so I hope you find this useful, web_designer. No Georgia this time!

So, I've also checked out the current version of Google search, and my feeling is both good and "bad", but I still think they've made a great job with it. At first, the search seems a bit slower since they need to load at least two pages of images (as it seems to me) and prepare the neat effects, but after that it's excellent! Pages after that load very fast, images become a bit bigger upon scrolling, and the information also appears when you hover.It's cool that it shows the page number above the images, and the effects are neat (not that the overall feel wouldn't work without them). I don't know about someone who has a faster internet connection, but now it seems as if the "next step" (the "between-image") loads a bit slower, but perhaps it's because of my internet speed (slowness).As I said, I'm having mixed feelings about this and I'm going to have to start using it for some time to make a final decision.

Okay, you're probably using one of Apple's products. I respect that and I admit that I would like to use their products, too, if I didn't have to order them from outside my country (where we don't have these damn computers, and I would have to pay huge amounts of money from ordering from outside the country). And the products aren't necessarily bad, but I kind of hate their statements which go against any common sense in this world. The following list indicates where I have most problems with Apple: They say Adobe is "proprietary" and "evil" with Flash, when HTML5's video element is actually in their (amongst others) ownership, and will be free for only a short time now (I think I've read 20102). To me, it's obvious they're trying to push Flash away so they can make more money. Maybe not, but that's my opinion. There is so much boundaries for iPhone developers they put on them; for instance, you HAVE to have a Macintosh in order to do programming for it. You have to pass their *hard* criteria before uploading an app, which is sometimes unfair (I know times when they rejected applications which were virtually the same as some other that already exist). Again, tell me that's not proprietary. Their (great, as I've stated a couple of times before) computers have too little room for upgrades and too little conenctions. I guess it's for aesthetic purposes, but still... The same way as my previous point goes, their tablets (iPad) and smartphones (iPhone) have un-replaceable batteries. Actually, as I realise it; if you send them an iPad, they take it and fix the problem for the fee of the replaced hardware and send it to you EMPTY (that is, with no programs or documents). How can you know it's your iPad?! The last point is not on them, but I wanted to have five items . Here it goes: The fact is there is much more free software for Linux and Windows than there is for Apple. Just a remark which might bother some users, but isn't directly associated with Apple "per se". You know, I like some of their software and Macs (laptops especially) but some of these really, REALLY get on my nerves. I mean, come on Apple, give us a break! P.S. No hard feelings, mahesh2k, just my look on the things.

I'm going to answer mahesh2k's question(s) from the bottom upwards: Tata NANO is the car which is available for 2000$. You can search for it the google. I think cost approximately goes for 2300$ or so. Well, you know... We pay iPads for double their actual price (which can grow up to triple in some countries, source: http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/02/10/ipad-costs-only-229-to-produce) - some of it being the design (and the god-awful typography), some of it the iOS and a bunch of other small things that look nice, but really don't serve a USABLE purpose (they look nice, though, and that's why we buy them). If they lower production costs (in, for instance, screen resolution/quality, the OS, RAM Memory, disk size, and the fact they're not Apple) and don't charge double the value, anything is possible. Kindle is not a tablet. It's only meant to serve the purpose of reading books. Its only "advantage" to the iPad is its display (some "real ink" or something). I would, too, however, buy the iPad rather than Kindle if I was in a dilemma. iPad restricted multitasking because Jobs (or whoever decided that) is an *bottom*-hole (sorry all the Apple fans here). I mean, neither the iPhone 3GS didn't have multitasking, while my old (and I mean oooold like in "prehistoric"...) Windows 6.5 cell had this option. You can't tell me I had a phone better than the iPhone years before it was published? The same thing is with Flash and the iPhone/iPad here (it alegedly "slows down stuff" on the iPhone, while all other smartphones don't have a problem with it), but I'm not going to argue about it now. Multiple applications shouldn't be a too difficult job, if the guys who produce the tablet concentrate on handling threads well, which is to say not allow them too many memory usage. I don't think that should be a problem with only internet and PDF reading and such tasks. As for the quality, I don't expect it to be iPad range (it's still Apple versus -Well, whoever makes these) but I do expect it to handle simpler tasks with ease (2 Gigs of RAM should suffice), which means I would gladly buy it if I had the chance. It's thirty bucks, it's not like they'll rip me off...

Yeah, it's not like I don't like Apple "per se", but they really get on my nerves a bit with their "Let's ban Flash and make millions off of our HTML 5 Video element" talk. Microsoft was the leader in security issues a few years ago, but it would seem now as if times are changing. As for the remark on viruses; I believe there aren't that many Antiviruses out there for Apple computers (Macs), so they're a perfect match for the attackers. Not completely sure, though.

I'm opening two consecutive topics in a row, but this is definitely interesting HOT news! India has unveiled a Tablet PC resembling the iPad, only thing different being from Apple's product is the Operating System (Linux, as it says) and the price - only $35! They hope to start producing it by 2011. The tablet can be used for functions like word processing, web browsing and video-conferencing, but the most interesting part for me is that it can also use solar power for its battery usage! They even hope to bring the price down to only $10. Some sites report that it'll be packed with 2GBs of RAM memory (!), and also that it will come in 5, 7 and 9 inch displays. And I'm not really sure if "Linux" means perhaps "Android", like Androidos (on http://www.androidos.in/2010/07/35-android-tablet-is-here-in-india-price-can-go-down-to-10/) reports. It'd be great if it did, though. I don't know about you, but if this ever happens to appear in Europe (for me) or in USA (for some of you - that's right, anwii, I'm talking to you ), I'd sure like to try it. Sure, I don't expect it to be a top-class product (what can you expect from a $35 tablet?), but for that amount of money I'd be willing to take a shot. After all, it's cheaper both than Apple's iPad (and other similar devices), and Amazon's Kindle. I suppose reading texts (and PDF's, if possible) is a simple enough task. According to Androidos, these are the early images of the device (up). More on the topic: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ https://www.slashgear.com/indian-governments-35-tablet-unveiled-2395068/ http://www.androidos.in/2010/07/35-android-tablet-is-here-in-india-price-can-go-down-to-10/ http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

Yup, ladies and gentlemen, Apple has become the world leader in unstable software, according to Secunia (link). You can read more about it on Arstechnica (link), but in short the deal is this: Apple had more reported flaws than any other vendor, Microsoft still third Top ten vendors account for some 38% of all flaws reported. Five years ago, there were more first-party flaws (in Windows and Microsoft's other software) than third-party, from 2007. that's not the case anymore.

I didn't notice that the links were broken... I copied them straight from the address bar... Anyhow, here they are (I hope they work this time ): http://www.narrowdesign.com/ http://www.nickad.com/ Now looking at the before/after links, I think they are the same. Perhaps the fact this forum adds external links to its own domain (I think), maybe that's the problem. You could try copy/pasting these in your address bar if it doesn't work now. So, one nice magazine (and it's actually a website of a magazine) is Scroll magazine. You can read about the process of designing the actual magazine on Veerle Pieter's former blog (http://veerle-v2.duoh.com/blog/comments/scroll_magazine_design/, http://veerle-v2.duoh.com/blog/comments/logo_design_process_of_scroll_magazine/). Jax Vineyards' site, I think has what you're looking for. A lot of nice jQuery/JavaScript effects are going on there, and the site itself looks very elegant. "Heart directed" is a listing of "Art-directed" sites, but it also has some nice jQuery effects you can use if you find them attractive. I think "The Design Cubicle" (http://www.thedesigncubicle.com/) does also some neat effects with JavaScript with link color changes, and the overall layout is pretty good, too. Brian Hoff also made a nice effect with jQuery, Flash and HTML 5 on the site over Design Swap (http://design-swap.danielmall.com/, http://design-swap.com/2010/07/06/a-day-in-the-life/). The Search bar also appears quite nice upon clicking. Yaron Schoen (http://yaronschoen.com/) also did a "Design swap" recently with Trent Walton (http://design-swap.com/2010/06/28/inaugural-swap/), and his site does some nice and sweet jQuery effects. Okay, so that's it for now web_designer. Sorry if any of my writing was hard to understand, and I hope you make use off of some of these sites. There's much more to find in my bookmarks, but I'll post them later if you'd like to. EDIT: I adore Georgia as a font, you might have noticed from this post

Okay, so there are a few things I would like to say about this news, and I see no better place to discuss it than on a forum (here, of course ). It was expected for Microsoft do drop XP users. After all, Vista and Seven have been out there for years now and they want XP users to buy these. It's not a big thing that will make ALL users switch, but most web developers still on XP are going to have to make that. Internet Explorer 9 might actually turn out a pretty good browser, but it's still 90 percent certain that it won't overcome any of the current popular browsers (especially Chrome and Firefox, I think). It's admirable, however, that Microsoft decided to take a step in this direction. Another expected thing is the fact they decided to upgrade Internet Explorer 9 to become a better browser. After all, they're losing their part in the browser usage cake and that's not good for the sales. In Eurpe (I'm not sure about America) they've even been punished with a pretty big fee (because they were offering only Internet Explorer with Windows), and now have to offer different browsers to the users of Windows Seven. I'm sure there were a couple of more points I wanted to make, but I cannot remember right now. I'll be sure to edit if it comes to me later.

You're welcome, web_designer. I also think this will improve Google search.

Maybe you could turn the .mkv to .mp3 using this (http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/) tool, and then edit it in Sony Sound Forge. There was this plugin for Sound Forge which existed, but in my (honest) experience these are all mostly crap . Maybe I didn't try enough.

Yeah, I kind of just glanced (I hope that's the correct word) over the title, and I saw only "How do u put a count down..." because it was in the "Last post info" category. Anyway, good thing I caught that. Think of the embarrassment... Whoops, I guess I should have thought of that earlier.

Information from Google's Blogspot blog indicates that there'll be some cool improvements in the Google Image Search showcase. Firstly, we won't be looking at ugly text anymore, but the images will be presented in the form of a nice grid, which in turn allows for more images to be displayed in a single page. They say that they'll also be utilizing keyboard shortcuts in the new layout (like Page Down/Page up keys), probably for faster scrolling through pages. The full list of new stuff follows: Instant scrolling between pages Larger thumbnail previews A hover pane, which gives you a large preview upon mouse hover A new landing page, which means no more click-click-get to image. Now you only have to pick the image once. Dense tiled layout There'll also be some new kind of image advertisement, but you can read all about it on the Google blog.

Whoops... Just now, I have noticed you've specified the software in the title. Huh... Ummm... Why isn't the edit button working when you need one? Anyhow, I don't know how to do that in RPG Maker 2003, BUT these guys might: http://www.gamespot.com/rpg-maker-xp/forums/ Hope that helps and sorry I haven't read the title thoroughly...

Yeah sure, you just type in the following code: when(user.enters(map)) : timeLimit.Start(2000); if(!timeLimit.solved) { getOut(); } I hope you can tell there's a reason I didn't wrap these words above in code tags. It would be of much help if you told us which programming language you use, which software, blah, blah, blah... ANY kind of information would be much appreciated. Until then, don't expect much help. We can not help you until you tell us what we need to know...

You are totally right. That's why I question the practical use of a sort of a "life elixir". Soon enough, Bono Vox and U2 will be holding concerts to save countries in big debt; just think about it: "Help the Greeks! It's not their fault! Help, we need... um, 288 302 000 US dollars more!" As I said (well, as I read on the blog): Like our old pal Steve Jobs there got a colonoscopy. Minimal is nice, but I personally agree with the Avoid contact with eyes blog, where the guy says he would be checking under his bed for aliens all the time. However, as a short-time hotel vacation it's perfect. Yeah, this is really a topic to debate about. I'm kind of on the line, since I tend to always leave some room for various theories to be true. Then again, when we start producing robots like these chances are both of us will probably be long dead. P.S. A robot getting close to the final "ultimate" goal might be IBM's computer, which will (or already did, I don't know) compete in the TV show jeopardy (http://www.thetimes.co.uk/).

A little note before you start reading: I decided to kind of "chapterize" (yes, that is my word for adding chapters to a post) this post, so you can easily see what I'm yabbing on about here. Also, all of the pictures I've found don't have much to do with the text right next to them, but rather connect to the entire vision of the future. After searching for this term on the forums, I haven't had much of luck finding the exact topic that interests me. And I don't want to talk only about cars (flying, or not), but about the entire lifestyle that we'll develop by then. It was a big change for the people during the industrial revolution, but how will we react? After all, will the world (as we know it, at least) end in 2012? I like to think not, but no one really knows. But let's not think about the possible bad sides of our future lives; why not concentrate on the good stuff that might happen? Everyone, including big companies like Microsoft (In this short video, you can see all about it), are thinking about what might happen in the years to come. They're often even made fun of (A parody on the same video from above) because, let's face it; some of these do make unrealistic and absurd points of what might happen. Traffic That means we obviously must think what can be improved and built upon. For instance, traffic signalization. I know what you're all thinking; I've gone mad. Really, traffic signalization?! But yes, if you look at it. As the world population becomes bigger, we are all in hurry sometimes to get to another place, and we can't afford to waste any more time. And better control over traffic is a must. Why doesn't every parking lot have a signal in front of it so we can instantly know if it's full? That's one that we could try to achieve. Also, while thinking about traffic, we should really do something about cars in terms of pollution. Sure, everyone tries to push this "electric car thing", but the guys who sell oil aren't really going to surrender just that easy. So we should all try to do something in order to help the Earth. In my opinion, "flying cars" aren't going to and shouldn't exist until we solve this rudimentary problem. Design (or, how is everything going to look like) You might think it's absurd I am talking about design in a topic that should concentrate on the future, but that's not actually the case here. Have you not noticed how much design and beauty affect us every day? Why do you think (well, at least some people I know) some buy Apple iPhones and MacBooks? Sure, they're great and all but let's face it; many other products out there do the same even better, but don't look as good (http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/) and that's why people buy the other choice. But I'm diverting from the topic... There is this scary (at least to me) vision of a future hotel running around the interwebs nowadays, about which you can read more on "Avoid contact with eyes" blog (http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/). I don't know what do you think about that, but I am terrified that we might be living in these plain white rooms ("Like Steve Jobs got a colonoscopy" ) for more than a week or so. As the guy from the blog stated, "I'd be checking the bed for aliens constantly". As a hotel concept, however, it's a pretty cool idea. If it gained some color and "home-sweet-home feel" to it, I'd sure as hell like to live there. Robots? Don't laugh at me for saying that, but I think robots will be a regular visitor in our houses very soon. Well, not the kind of robots you'd expect (walking and talking and all), but small things that'll make our lives easier. For instance, a cleaner that exists even today. I think these types of robots will be improved upon and that they'll do very much good to our own well-being. But I also, at the same time, hate the idea of building ethics and stuff into them. What if they realise they're... *Different*. Not only will we have depressed robots, but they'll also want to get paid and such, and they maybe start a war against humans once they realise we're treating them like crap. Did you know a military robot has recently killed eleven (I believe) people, when he got out of control during a simple test in a military base? I'm scared of what might happen if there was no one to stop him (well - it's technically *it*). Day-to-day living Finally, how is all of that going to affect our "normal" day-to-day lives? Will we become lazier and fatter than ever, because we won't have to move almost at all? Even now, we see what obesity does to people, but what's going to happen then; if we will have even less physical tasks to accomplish? And; what if we invent a drug to extend life, a "life elixir", as many have called it during the years? What, we are going to live 500 and more years, and the Earth will become overcrowded? Will we then continue on to the Moon and other planets of our solar system (well, the Moon is not actually a planet)? We have been known to adjust many places to our liking (just remember the air condition ), so are we going to do the same with the Moon? When will we make contact with possible other species? I know I am not providing any answers here, but that's because I've got almost no idea of what might happen. After all, what if the world as we know it DOES end in 2012? Why, we don't have that much time to accomplish all of our ideas about "future living". And I apologise for the bit longer posting, but I've been feeling especially creative after reading some articles on what people imagine the future life will look like. A couple of useful links (some are from the article): http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/- Avoid contact with eyes, where the article about the "hotel of the future" is. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/- An interesting blog, follows some trends and isn't 100% related to the future, but still has some interesting points. http://www.pcworld.com/article/111042/article.html- PC World spend a night in "the hotel of the future" http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/- Wikipedia article on the future So, what do you think? Am I an idiot or not? Are my points valid? Is the article too long? And don't say yes to numbers one, two, and four. P.S. (Not related to this text): How can you simulate the effect of "float: left" or "float: right" on these forums? In other words, I want for the text to "sit" right next to images. Is that possible to do?

Hello everyone! How are you, did you have enough sleep? You did your homework? Are you ready to answer my question?(I am very sorry for this intro, but I've been watching Family guy (http://www.fox.com/family-guy/) for some time now and I can't seem to get rid of the "Peter Griffin talk - all (yes, both) of you watching the cartoon will understand )But enough chit-chat, because I've got a very serious question for Xisto members, which must be answered. The thing is, I started kind of making my own "font-stack" for Microsoft Office Word during the last couple of... Minutes? You know, it's the little "styles" panel in the upper-right hand corner of the infamous ribbon that has been introduced with Word 2007.The problem lies in the fact I'm using "Adobe Fangsong Std R" (I guess R is for regular, I just copied it from the text box), which looks quite nice in various situations. Quite nice, that is, until I start using apostrophes. The spacing between a *normal* letter and an apostrophe is just huge, as you can see (I hope the bug has been fixed): To cut directly to the problem; I want to decrease letter-spacing only between apostrophes and the letters that come after them. Is it possible to do that and implement it to a quick style?Just to be clear, I do not want to go in my text and manually correct the spacing, since that would be just plain crazy. I guess that does sound a bit like me, but I still wouldn't do that under any circumstances. And I would like to use Adobe Fangsong for my body copy.Thanks for the answer!

I have no idea whatsoever about what Dr. Pepper is, so I can't objectively judge. I'm not from America, you see (and if it exists outside of the States, I have never seen it in my life). I can stand water usually, but during the summer it's like I lose the taste that makes water feel good. But I still drink it, though. Strange.