Dive into the archives.
How to display html or javascript code in a Wordpress entry
You don’t think about it until you have to do it, but it’s difficult to print HTML code in a webpage (or blog) as actual HTML code. The solution? More HTML code, of course.
Javascript to hide email addresses from crawlers (and spammers)
There are of course many ways to do this… One way is to always use an image to display the email address, so a user has to manually type it into their email client. An easy way to hide email addresses, while still using a mailto: link, is to use a simple javascript function.
The XO free laptop program (one laptop per child)
The much-fabled $100 laptop is almost ready to go into production. The plan was to create an inexpensive laptop, rugged and resilient to heat, cold, humidity, and tumbling about, and get governments to pay to distribute them to children in the world’s poorest nations, so that they could access the education that the internet provides.
Disaster! Blank page when I log in to Wordpress
It’s fixed now, thankfully, but last night I had a blogging disaster! I was changing the wp-config.php file, and started getting errors — and was unable to log in to Wordpress — I just saw a blank page without any error messages. I was installing the WP-Cache plugin, to improve performance…
Stay updated on Ebay auctions with a Firefox plugin
I’ve found a Firefox plugin that lets me see my auctions all day long, displayed in the sidebar of my browser. I can work AND obsessively check my auctions at the same time! Hooray for multitasking.
Synchronize your bookmarks on multiple computers
Your bookmarks on your laptop can be the same as the bookmarks on your work computer, which can be the same as your home computer. How? Foxmarks - a cool plugin for Firefox. It synchronizes your bookmarks on 2 or more computers (you can combine your existing bookmarks, or choose to have one set override another). Foxmarks also has an online component - myfoxmarks.com - that allows you to log in and view your bookmarks from any computer, in any browser (no plugin required). You can organize, modify, add, and delete right from their website.
How to find out if a website URL is available
I have a lot of clients who are unsure of how to check if a URL or domain name is available for their new website. They type different URLs into the location bar of their browser, and if no website appears, assume that its available. This is often incorrect — domain parkers buy domains and hold them to resell at a profit; it could also be that someone has purchased the domain name and simply not set their website up yet.
Free high-res image sources on the web
You generally get what you pay for. The best images are purchased from a photographer, or high-end stock houses like Gettyone, Corbis, or the like. For many lower-budget projects, though, or for more general images (I need a photo of the sky), you can find what you’re looking for at a much lower price — sometimes free.
How to take (and save) a screenshot on Windows or Mac
Screenshots, also called screen dumps, or screen captures are useful for showing a problem you’re having with your computer, saving images of websites for archiving, for demonstration, and many other instances when you need to simply show someone else what’s on your screen. Taking these has become second nature to me, but I had a client last week who had never done it before. I walked him through it over the phone, and he was amazed at how easy it is. No special software required.
Test Credit Card Numbers
These came in handy when testing an e-commerce website a few weeks ago. Obviously, the numbers below won’t work for acutally purchasing anything; they’re just for testing the verification process, etc.
