LoudStyle Links 70

• Admiring the amazing laser-etched moleskines on Etsy via friendfeed.com/kfury
• Awesome, Barack Obama dedicated a song to me, barackobamaisyournewbicycle.com
• Listening to the funky perfection of Jamiroquai. A live show from 2003 is playable on Stage6
• Resisting the urge to dive into the freshly published panel schedule for SXSW Interactive
• Listening as "Thom Yorke shares some of his favorite music with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen" on NPR
• Bookmarking the videos from Interaction08 "geared at anyone who practices Interaction Design"
• Thinking Zero 7's "In The Waiting Line" sounds nice live

As seen on Twitter.

LoudStyle Links 60

• Giving permission for one of my photos to be used in an online Austin guide (the photo) #
• Impressed by the online editing options available inside Flickr with Picnik. Just click "Edit Photo" on any of your Flickr photo pages.
• Bookmarking the PolarClock screensaver to try later. The colorful and swirly display looks neat.
• Received an alert that Amazon had the Wii in stock @ retail price & put 1 in my cart successfully. It was stolen from cart during checkout.
• Activating photo statistics on Flickr (thanks @garrettdimon).
• Flipping through Stephen's slides from his Refresh Dallas presentation on Star Wars & User Experience Design.

LoudStyle Links 59

• @cgriego It is always fun to make changes to a site with shuffled, non-semantic classes (i.e. p.green is red & div.rightCol is on the left). #
• Listening to Dev/Null spin a high bpm "oldskool-rave set at a Beat Research party" tinyurl.com/yq3ngg #
• Bookmarking the Flickr set of Ralph McQuarrie Star Wars Concept Paintings, tinyurl.com/34n8no (thanks @stephenanderson & @Kraemer) #
• Starting to think that if you add the words Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger to a song (any song), I will like it, tinyurl.com/2g88g3 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

LoudStyle Links 58

• Reading about Georges Seurat's 19th century drawings (tinyurl.com/yq4cnj) & viewing the online exhibition (tinyurl.com/yw3b5y) #
• Listening to Girl Talk live with "completely new remixes and mash-ups alongside his officially released material" tinyurl.com/23cmka #
• Realizing that to open animated GIFs in Photoshop CS3, I have to Import > Video Frames to Layers > File Name *.*, tinyurl.c ... #
• Realizing I can't cleanly import animated GIFs with transparency into Photoshop CS3. I'm opening with Flash first to export as movie frames. #
• Switching to Fireworks to perform animated GIF hocus pocus since there is no ImageReady CS3. #
• Bobbing my head to DJ Z-Trip, a mashup master before they were called mashups. Lots of free downloads: djztrip.com/downloads.html #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

LoudStyle Links 56

• Listening to DJ Vin Sol mash 'em up (tinyurl.com/3bf6tp) after seeing him on Mahalo Daily w/ Veronica B (tinyurl.com/2f93ws). #
• Watching the history of evolution according to Fatboy Slim, AKA the big beat hit "Right Here Right Now" tinyurl.com/3xl5vz #
• Preparing my acceptance speech after being appointed "Prince of Edgy Arts, Entertainment & Music" in the Rohdesign Facebook group. #
• Jamming to "Pet Sounds: In The Key Of Dee" from Bullion, who cut up the Beach Boys with beats inspired by Jay Dee, tinyurl.com/2jfhoc #
• Listening to Spoon perform at the 2007 Treasure Island Music Festival - a free download from BayTaper, tinyurl.com/2wcfhb #
• Facebook's Rock Your Firefox app detects most add-ons, so I was able to list all of mine except Google Browser Sync, apps.facebook.com/add-ons #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

LoudStyle Links 54

• Watching Jared Spool in an excerpt of "Delight by Functionality" from User Interface 12 Conference, tinyurl.com/3aa2fh #
• Bookmarking Jared Spool's 45-minute Google TechTalk video "Strike Up The Brand: How to Design for Branding" tinyurl.com/2o369d #
• Posting an image of my overhauled Windows desktop to Flickr. I swapped the XP taskbar for a Mac-ish ObjectDock, tinyurl.com/2va6jl #
• Listening to Spoon on Sound Opinions. They played a couple songs in between talking about the band & their music, tinyurl.com/2qb3b4 #
• Trying out drop.io for retrieving a large file (a mixtape) from a friend. The site is clear & easy to use. #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

LoudStyle Links 37

• Looking forward to the long awaited return of Photoshop Tennis, AKA Layer Tennis, layertennis.com. Friday's match is online. #
• Wow, the Hampton is already sold out for SXSW Interactive, Film, and Music, tinyurl.com/2l5odx (glad I booked for Interactive early) #
• Watching artist Phil Hansen create a portrait of Bruce Lee with karate chops of black paint, tinyurl.com/37qvl2 #
• Looking through Time Magazines's list of the 100 Best TV Shows of All Time (many with clips), tinyurl.com/2mzqkm #
• Listening to Electrocast 504 with Gorillaz, Daft Punk, Le Tigre, and LCD Soundsystem, tinyurl.com/yu2l38 #
• Subscribing to the Radio Lab podcast. "What is music? How does it work? Why does it move us?" http://tinyurl.com/3b4ud4 (via @hotdogsladies) #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 36

• 12:56 Khoi describes icon creation skills as "a special combination of artistry, patience and visual economy" tinyurl.com/2hoacx #
• 13:34 Amazed by Josh's Star Wars collection and its documentation (via SimpleBits), www.joshuabudich.com/SWCollection/ #
• 21:01 Looking through an awesome set of images of tattered posters in Paris, tinyurl.com/ys54m5 #
• 21:05 Favorite quote from Letterman while he interviewed Kevin Smith, "When you're operating in the world of blogs..." tinyurl.com/22ese5 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 35

• 11:03 "Well, perhaps Amazon can find a book or something about how to build a successful high-volume online store." tinyurl.com/2wd6wc #
• 11:52 Considering the Geek Entertainment video podcast - I'm currently subscribed to CommandN, GeekBrief, Jetset, Mobuzz, and WebbAlert. #
• 21:08 Loving the mixed media paintings of Nina Bovasso, tinyurl.com/23g6sa #
• 21:25 Reading about new IT support, "The expertise you have as a 9-year-old may be obsolete by the time you're 12 or 13" tinyurl.com/2dqaex #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 34

• 14:33 I'm optimistic about Amazon's new music download store with DRM-free MP3s at 256kbps VBR, tinyurl.com/yruhvk #
• 15:05 Sonny J's "Can't Stop Moving" reminds me of the infectious tracks put out by the Avalanches a few years back, tinyurl.com/yt7tl7 #
• 17:17 Reading Jeff Croft's summary of the Webmaster Jam Session this past weekend, tinyurl.com/32anqu #
• 17:20 Digging Helen Durant's mixed media goat (third image down), tinyurl.com/2rubny #
• 20:18 Watching John Maeda's Ted Talk, Simplicity Patterns. Rather than call his work "Eye Candy," he prefers "Eye Meat" tinyurl.com/3xh9wy #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 33

• 11:07 Reading Eric's Top 10 ways to NOT be a Web Designer Rockstar, tinyurl.com/2k66az #
• 13:14 Noticing that admission to the Nasher sculpture museum is free from 10a-2p on the first Saturday each month, tinyurl.com/3446cy #
• 13:20 Great design-related quote from Hans Hofman: "The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak." #
• 16:01 Agreeing with Rands' First Law of Information Management, tinyurl.com/2kq3ya #
• 17:27 Checking out Stephen's poster "Getting from Tasks to Experiences: What's Next in Interface Design" tinyurl.com/2lvx7y #
• 18:13 Reading that Nick Finck (@nickf) gives the Webmaster Jam Session a thumbs up, tinyurl.com/ysqljv #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 32

• 15:52 Following along with Jeff Croft's presentation slides on typography at tinyurl.com/2wws8o #
• 17:10 Attending Molly's presentation on browsers and standards. The slides are online (from an earlier conference), tinyurl.com/22eggc #
• 18:12 Great quote for design: "Make all visual distinctions as subtle as possible, but still clear and effective." Edward Tufte (via Jeff Croft) #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 31

• 09:11 Looking through Griego's iPhone photos from the Sabre Usability Labs on Tuesday night, tinyurl.com/ynqw84 #
• 14:31 Listening to a big fave, Depeche Mode's Black Celebration, after seeing it at #3 in TMN's Top 10 Albums of 1986, tinyurl.com/254j8o #
• 17:46 Flipping through all of the record sleeves on Record Envelope, "A reference for vinyl geeks and graphic artists" tinyurl.com/yr5xp4 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 30

• 16:50 Love this low tech video of the high tech features in Google Docs, tinyurl.com/yqebxa - More on www.commoncraft.com/show #
• 21:01 Watching the video for "The Girl Who Fell Through The Ice" by Aim featuring Kate Rogers (via @stoplookingswan), tinyurl.com/3xa3lp #
• 21:11 Considering paying way too much for a dozen black on black Faber Castell design pencils ($28 w/ S&H), tinyurl.com/24ssyv #
• 21:25 Recommending a couple web books to a friend from the review list on 456 Berea Street, tinyurl.com/29roz8 #
• 21:28 Liking the coloful patterns in this colorful bedding collection, boodalee.com/spacecollection.html #
• 22:58 Really digging this ISO50 turntable poster, tinyurl.com/3cgb3h and a t-shirt there too, tinyurl.com/2lkhbn #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 29

• 22:03 RSVPing for Tuesday night's Usability Professionals Association tour of the Sabre Usability Labs, www.dfw-upa.org/ #
• 22:05 Pleasantly surprised to find a couple new Photoshop shortcuts I had not see before, tinyurl.com/22yu56 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 28

• 20:49 Watching Good Copy Bad Copy, a great (so far) documentary on sampling in music, on Google Video, tinyurl.com/32bj3o #
• 21:03 Listening to Girl Talk mash up Elton John's Tiny Dancer with Biggie's Juicy. It starts at 4 minutes - pure magic, tinyurl.com/36jww2 #
• 21:37 The documentary Good Copy Bad Copy covers the affect of copyrights in music and film throughout the world, tinyurl.com/32bj3o #
• 21:39 Thinking these would be interesting questions to ask candidates being considered for your web team, tinyurl.com/2k7daq #
• 21:47 Loving the abstract art of Jennifer Sanchez, tinyurl.com/3d7cha. A print is available here, tinyurl.com/358pky #
• 22:40 Watching John Stewart, "Dave Petraeus, Dave Petraeus...Iraq Me Dave Petraeus!" & the finale "It's a worm hole!" tinyurl.com/2l7djw #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 27

• 14:28 Disabling Firefox extension Firebug to slow any memory leak (right click on its icon). I can re-enable it for use, tinyurl.com/2caxvn #
• 13:03 Thinking I'd rather update Twitter from my browser sidebar & not in a slick standalone app line Snook's Snitter, snook.ca/snitter/ #
• 13:05 Reading "25 Art Forms to try and Artists who already use them" and thinking I have a lot of catching up to do, tinyurl.com/ytc7q3 #
• 13:09 Listening to the latest CMG Podcast that includes tracks by Spoon, Coconut Records, Wheat, and Vampire Weekend, tinyurl.com/yu4pa8 #
• 13:15 Reading "Beyond The 'T' - Coordinating Realistic Design Teams" www.peterme.com/?p=580 via www.xplane.com/xblog/ #
• 16:10 Digging this typographic collage print by Enja Wong, tinyurl.com/25f996 #
• 22:25 Buying a pack of Moleskine Cahiers - small journals for notes or sketching, tinyurl.com/25hpzb #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 26

• 19:18 Watching a narrated slideshow about Zhang Huan's massive art studio in China, tinyurl.com/2s5r88 #
• 19:23 Contemplating the Deborah Kass painting of colorful rings on ArtCal, tinyurl.com/35rpwz #
• 20:57 Subscribing to the @media 2007 podcast feed. There are 16 sessions online for your listening pleasure, tinyurl.com/33ory8 #
• 20:58 Listening to Tegan & Sara on Jared's post, tinyurl.com/37hzdk - I had only heard a rad T & S mashup prior, tinyurl.com/38apgg #
• 21:03 Changing my USB drive's assigned drive letter after reading the first response on an existing Metafilter post, tinyurl.com/29tyy4 #
• 22:55 Reading a new site from Khoi & Liz featuring "design opinions expressed in short form - 200 words or less." abriefmessage.com/ #
• 23:01 And the winner for the most crazy long URL is . . . httpcolonforwardslashforwardslashwwwdotjenniferdanieldotcom #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 21

• 20:51 Flipping through the latest favorites of my Flickr contacts in an RSS feed created with Yahoo Pipes, tinyurl.com/2co2y5 #
• 20:55 Thinking this island near New Zealand would be a nice place to spend a few days (via Google Sightseeing), tinyurl.com/yorox2 #
• 20:59 Reading the WSJ: "the IN UR phrasing is a recurring source of riffs and references within the lolcat community," tinyurl.com/2xocrl #
• 21:28 Accepting the productivity loss caused by resubscribing to Dooce's RSS feed because of posts like this, tinyurl.com/27v6n9 #
• 22:01 Realizing I had never seen the video to one of my favorite songs from the 80s, Inner City's Good Life, tinyurl.com/2zc653 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 20

• 12:44 Reinstalling the GreaseMonkey script that shows TinyURL targets and adding "link.href = match[1]" per comment 3, tinyurl.com/mgd2g #
• 16:28 Rocking to DKR's "old school mix tape" that includes Cloud Cult, The Lodger, and The Cribs, tinyurl.com/yw7xgu #
• 19:23 Admiring the vintage watches on www.watchismo.com/gallery.htm #
• 20:51 Reading a comparison of poor audio quality in compressed MP3s to that of cheap transistor radios in the 50s & 60s, tinyurl.com/3d39yp #
• 20:58 Looking at a photo of the wildfires in Greece w/ an ancient statue "appearing to gasp for air through the smoke", tinyurl.com/2xfx7u #
• 22:36 Listening to great 2004 releases from MIA & Diplo. They're reviewed & available for download on Coke Machine Glow, tinyurl.com/7e2wt #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 18

• 09:15 Checking the browser war stats as Firefox continues to expand. It will soon pass IE6 & is still ahead of IE7, tinyurl.com/yoxq8r #
• 19:39 Looking at a cool painting/drawing/collage piece called Fluctuation by Lisa Carney on Boundless Gallery, tinyurl.com/24tkgf #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 17

• 11:42 Refreshing the CSS Sculptor page to hear Eric Meyer say "Rock!" one more time, tinyurl.com/354z9f #
• 14:52 Listening to Refinery29's late summer playlist, which is "smoother than our third afternoon mojito." tinyurl.com/2gwkze #
• 15:39 I'm mesmerized once again by the work of Charley Harper, tinyurl.com/ys8m2p which I blogged about recently, #
• 21:24 Listening to a classic from 1988 - the Jungle Brothers "I'll House You" #
• 23:14 Listening to an industrial track from 1988, Front 242 "Headhunter" #
• 23:20 Posting a third song I liked in 1988, "What's On Your Mind (Pure Energy)" by Information Society #
• 23:33 Thinking some may not like the 1988 song by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, "And This Is What The Devil Does" #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 15

• 13:59 Planning to attend the DFW Usability Pros 8/21 meeting on rich internet applications, dfw-upa.org/ #
• 14:06 Loving the events calendar treatment on FOWA. Past events have check marks and links to Flickr, tinyurl.com/ypzwse #
• 22:57 Watching crash test videos for a couple cars on the Consumer Reports site, tinyurl.com/3ylz4j #
• 23:19 Resisting the urge to buy a Ryde "Everybody Wants To Be In A Band" t-shirt . . . for now, www.theryde.com #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 14

• 08:56 Laughing at the definition of interweb in Neil's photostream, tinyurl.com/2fmt2g #
• 12:21 Annoyed that "preschoolers say food tastes better when it comes in a McDonald's wrapper," tinyurl.com/2wonlw #
• 16:15 Bookmarking the online version of the accessibility book "Just Ask" reviewed on 456 Berea Street, www.uiaccess.com/accessucd/ #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 9

• 12:38 Finishing Merlin's Inbox Zero presentation he gave at Google recently and thinking I need to tighten my process, www.inboxzero.com #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 8

• 09:36 Wondering why I should add the Rock Your Firefox application to Facebook, tinyurl.com/2y46ts #
• 11:10 Testing pages with the unofficial standalone Internet Explorer 7 (which will run side by side with IE6), tinyurl.com/eb37c #
• 19:21 Laughing about how jealous Eric is going to be when he sees my Pandora t-shirt, tinyurl.com/3xbojd #
• 23:33 Setting up OpenPandora, a standalone version of Pandora's music player w/ global shortcuts and Last.FM reporting, tinyurl.com/2guhcp #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 7

• 08:52 Registering for the 2008 SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin and booking a room at the Hampton, sxsw.com/interactive/ #
• 12:56 Gawking at Fichey: it visually flips through full-size screens from the top links on delicious, digg, stumble, etc, www.fichey.com #
• 23:35 Spoofing an iPhone with Firefox just to see if I could, tinyurl.com/38wmw5. Testing it with free magazines: tinyurl.com/39e9dm #
• 23:52 Watching Kevin Rose and Jason Calacanis discuss Digg, Netscape, Pownce, and Mahalo on the GigaOM Show, revision3.com/gigaom/seconds #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 5

• 11:09 Admiring the beautiful design of the Web Designer Wall site by Nick La (via ThinkVitamin), tinyurl.com/2qfwah #
• 16:29 Grooving to the music and creeped out by the video, Hawker Beat, with cameos by Richard Simmons and Bart Simpson, tinyurl.com/34wj39 #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Twitter: LoudStyle Links 3

• 12:38 Trying XRAY, a cross-browser bookmarklet that exposes web page element attributes, westciv.com/xray/ #
• 14:26 Watching the World Clock increment births & deaths versus cars and bikes produced in the world among other stats, tinyurl.com/2yp2dr #
• 15:09 Subscribing to only the best posts of a blog by using aideRSS, a service that filters feeds by ranking posts, tinyurl.com/29ju73 #
• 21:56 Watching a couple Kanye videos with farmers and robots (thanks Merlin and Eric). #

Automatically posted by LoudTwitter.

Web: Twitter

After all the exposure during SXSW Interactive, I joined Twitter and have been posting short messages there for a couple weeks. No, I don't plan to Twitter about what I'm having for dinner or which couch cushion I selected as the best vantage point to view 24. I've been trying to stick to topics like music and the web and I often include links when they fit within the 140 character limit.

Join the conversation: twitter.com/jabbott.

Category: Web

Web: Firefox Extensions I Use

Updated December 18, 2006

Firefox extensions allow us to add great functionality to an already great browser. I'm currently using Firefox 2.0 and the following extensions (listed with each author's description). Click the links to read more or install.

• 1-ClickWeather 1.1.4 - Instant local weather, alerts, radar in motion, satellite maps, and forecasts.
• Adblock Filterset.G Updater 0.3.0.4 - Synchronizes Adblock with Filterset.G
• Adblock Plus 0.7.2.3 - Ads were yesterday!
• All-in-One Sidebar 0.7.1 - Sidebar control with award-winning user experience!
• Answers 2.2.21 - Alt+Click on any word or term for quick info (definitions, up-to-the-minute reference, and more). No selection is necessary!
• Autofill 0.3 - Automatically fill out HTML forms
• Bookmarks Synchronizer SE 1.2.0 - Bookmarks Synchronizer SE is a Mozilla Firefox extension that let you connect to an FTP/WebDAV server and synchronize your bookmarks that are stored in an XML file. Setup is easy: just write in your FTP/WebDAV server address, username, password and a name for the XML file (by default called xbel.xml). To start, press Upload to create the file on the server and set if you want to automatically download the file on startup or upload it when you close your browser.
• BugMeNot 1.3 - Bypass compulsory web registration with the context menu via www.bugmenot.com.
• ColorZilla 0.8.3.1 - Advanced Eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer and other colorful goodies.
• CSSViewer 1.0.2 - A simple CSS property viewer
• del.icio.us Complete 1.3 - del.icio.us is a social bookmarks manager. It allows you to easily add sites you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those sites with keywords, and to share your collection not only between your own browsers and machines, but also with others.
• DOM Inspector 1.8.1 - Inspects the structure and properties of a window and its contents.
• Drag de Go 0.2.5 - This extention allows you to execute several commands using Drag and Drop Gesture.
• Firebug 1.0b4 - Web Development Evolved
• FireFTP 0.94.6 - FTP Client for Mozilla Firefox.
• Flat Bookmark Editing 0.8.1 - Edit bookmarks in the bookmark organizer, without opening the properties window.
• Greasemonkey 0.6.6.20061017.0 - A User Script Manager for Firefox
• Hide Tab Bar 0.2.2 - Toggles the Tab Bar via chosen key.
• Html Validator 0.7.9.5 - Adds HTML validation to the View Page Source of the browser. The validation is done by Tidy from W3c.
• IE Tab 1.2.0.20061120 - Enables you to use the embedded IE engine within Mozilla/Firefox.
• Link Alert 0.6.1 - Changes the cursor to indicate the target of a link.
• MeasureIt 0.3.6 - Draw out a ruler to get the pixel width and height of any elements on a webpage.
• Mouse Gestures 1.5.2 - Allows you to execute common commands using mouse gestures.
• MR Tech Local Install 5.3.2.1 - Local Install power tools for all users. (en-US)
• OpenBook 1.3.4 - Allows for customization of the Add Bookmark dialog
• Pearl Crescent Page Saver Basic 1.3 - Save an image of a web page to a file.
• Print/Print Preview 0.4 - Replace the default "Print" button with the Mozilla Suite style "Print/Print Preview" toolbar button/menu. Adds new options to context menu as well.
• QuickNote 0.6.0.2 - A note taking extension with advanced features
• Sage 1.3.8 - A lightweight RSS and Atom feed aggregator.
• Searchbar Autosizer 1.3.1 - Expand the searchbox as you type
• ServerReplace 1.1 - Replaces the server in an open URL with a bookmark if you hold ALT+CTRL.
• Tab Mix Plus 0.3.5.2 - Tab browsing with an added boost.
• Tiny Menu 1.4 - Replace the standard menu bar with a tiny menu popup.
• TinyUrl Creator 1.0.1 - Convenient tool to create small url redirects from longer ones.
• Update Notifier 0.1.5.2 - Notifies you when updates are available for your extensions and themes.
• Uppity 1.4.11 - Navigate up one level (directory).
• Web Developer 1.0.2 - Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

Additional customizations and software I use with Firefox:

• The Inline Mp3 Player script with Greasemonkey
• BackupFox saves a profile containing my extensions and preferences

Category: Web

Web: Finding the Right Book Cataloging Application

I definitely appreciate having a nice collection of books about the web, art, and graphic design along with many other topics that inform and inspire me as an artist, web designer, and person. I recently decided to post a list of my books online so I ventured off into evaluating the different options:

• I used a trial of Collectorz to create a book list a couple years ago. I entered 75 ISBN numbers and it pulled up the data on most entries. I would need the full version ($40) since my collection exceeds the trial limit of 100 books. It isn’t web-based but I could export the list and post it to my site.
• I thought MediaMan used to be free but it is now also $40. I’m not sure if the export will generate as clean a list as Collectorz did but I like that MediaMan has tagging rather than just categories. It is not web-based.
  
• LibraryThing has import and export features and is web-based. It also has a very engaged developer who appears to listen to the users and upgrade the application frequently.
  
• Listal is web-based and looks great but doesn’t have import functionality. I don’t really want to start over entering books manually. There is no export either so the data would not be portable.
• I've heard good things about Delicious Library but it is Mac only and therefore not for me.
• Reader2 doesn’t have import or export.

I decided to go with LibraryThing and have been very pleased with the application. It imported my existing book list quickly and it is easy to add more books. The web interface and tagging work great. There are even a couple RSS feeds for recent additions and reviews of books in my collection. I highly recommend LibraryThing. Here is my collection and the tag cloud to click directly to each topic (I still have more tagging to do!).

Category: Web

Web: Desktop Zen

I followed the instructions on AJ's Blog to achieve "Desktop Zen" by ditching all of the icons from my Windows XP desktop. They're still accessible from an organized taskbar menu rather than all over the place.

Next I grabbed an ocean view photo from my Flickr favorites to use as the wallpaper (click through to the photo page and then select "All Sizes" to get the large version). Now it is nice and calm.

[via Digg]

Category: Web

Web: SXSW Interactive Schedule

Here is my optimistic schedule for SXSW Interactive - we'll see if I can squeeze it all in. See you there.

Friday, March 10th

• 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: Friday Night Mix

Saturday, March 11th

• 10:00 am - 11:00 am: Traditional Design and New Technology
• 11:30 am - 12:30 pm:How to Be A Web Design Superhero
• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Jim Coudal / Jason Fried Opening Remarks
• 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: How to Bluff Your Way in DOM Scripting
• 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Web Business for the Rest of Us
• 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm: frog design SXSW Opening Party
• 10:30 pm - 2:00 am: South by Northwest

Sunday, March 12th

• 10:00 am - 11:00 am: Design and Social Responsibility
• 11:30 am - 12:30 pm: Tagging 2.0
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Conversation with Henry Rollins (joint session)
• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Keynote: Heather Armstrong / Jason Kottke
• 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Web 2.1: Making Web 2.0 Accessible
• 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Holistic Web Design
• 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Yahoo! Happy Hour
• 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Adobe 9th Annual SXSW Web Awards Ceremony
• 9:30 pm - 12:00 am: Web Awards After Party

Monday, March 13th

• 10:00 am - 11:00 am: CSS Problem Solving
• 11:30 am - 12:30 pm: Standard Deviation: Hacks and Dirty Tricks
• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Craig Newmark Keynote Interview
• 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: WaSP Task Force Panel
• 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Design Eye for the List Guy
• 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm: Blogger Party

Category: Web

Web: Freeware File Manager ExplorerXP

I thought I'd share a great little program I've been using.

ExplorerXP is a very fast, small, compact and innovative FREEWARE (for non - commercial use) file manager for Windows 2000/XP.

Here are my favorite ExplorerXP features:

• Displays the size of each folder
• Tabbed interface to open multiple locations
• Batch renaming of files
• Batch copying of file or folder names
• Splitting and merging of large files
• A small 410KB download

Categories: Web

Web: Firefox Extensions I Use

Update: This post is out of date. Please read the newer post.

Firefox extensions allow us to add great functionality to an already great browser. I'm currently using Firefox 1.5.0.6 and the following extensions. The creator's description follows each name. Click the link to read more or install.

• 1-ClickWeather 1.1.2 - Instant local weather, alerts, radar in motion, satellite maps, and forecasts.
• Adblock Filterset.G Updater 0.3.0.4 - Synchronizes Adblock with Filterset.G
• Adblock Plus 0.7.1.2 - Ads were yesterday!
• All-In-One Sidebar 0.6.4 - Quickly switch between sidebars, view dialog windows such as downloads, extensions, and more in the sidebar, or view source or websites in the sidebar. It includes a slide-out button and a toolbar, all of which can be extensively customized.
• Answers 2.1.12 - Alt+Click on any word or term for quick info (definitions, up-to-the-minute reference, and more). No selection is necessary!
• Autofill 0.3 - Automatically fill out HTML forms
• BlogThis 0.3 - Adds right-click access to Blogger's BlogThis popup.
• Book Burro - Remixing the bookstore 0.27 - Find the cheapest books
• Bookmarks Synchronizer 1.0.2 - Bookmarks Synchronizer is a Mozilla Firefox extension that let you connect to an FTP/WebDAV server and synchronize your bookmarks that are stored in an XML file.
• BugMeNot 1.3 - Bypass compulsory web registration with the context menu via www.bugmenot.com.
• ColorZilla 0.8.3.1 - Advanced Eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer and other colorful goodies.
• CSSViewer 1.0.1 - A simple CSS property viewer
• del.icio.us Complete 1.1 - del.icio.us is a social bookmarks manager. It allows you to easily add sites you like to your personal collection of links, to categorize those sites with keywords, and to share your collection not only between your own browsers and machines, but also with others.
• Flat Bookmark Editing 0.7.5 - Edit bookmarks in the bookmark manager, without opening the properties window.
• Greasemonkey 0.6.5.20060727 - A User Script Manager for Firefox
• Highlighter 0.1.3 - Select some text, right-click on it, and choose Highlight.
• Html Validator 0.7.9.4 - Adds HTML validation to the View Page Source of the browser. The validation is done by Tidy from W3c.
• IE Tab 1.0.9.5 - Enables you to use the embedded IE engine within Mozilla/Firefox.
• IE View 1.3 - Open pages in IE via Firefox menus
• MeasureIt 0.3.5 - Draw out a ruler to get the pixel width and height of any elements on a webpage.
• Mouse Gestures 1.5.1 - Allows you to execute common commands using mouse gestures.
• MR Tech Local Install 5.2 - Local Install power tools for all users. (en-US)
• OpenBook 1.3.4 - Allows for customization of the Add Bookmark dialog
• Pearl Crescent Page Saver Basic 1.2 - Save an image of a web page to a file.
• QuickNote 0.6.0.2 - A note taking extension with advanced features
• Sage 1.3.6 - A lightweight RSS and Atom feed aggregator.
• Super DragAndGo 0.2.4d1 - Drag a link or anything like a uri (e.g. "abc.com" ), and throw it to anywhere blank on the webpage to open the it in a new tab.
• Tab Mix Plus 0.3.0.5 - Tab browsing with an added boost.
• TinyUrl Creator 1.0.1 - Convenient tool to create small url redirects from longer ones.
• Update Notifier 0.1.4 - Notifies you when updates are available for your extensions and themes.
• Web Developer 1.0.2 - Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.

Additional customizations and software I use with Firefox:

• The Inline Mp3 Player script with Greasemonkey
• The slick Crystal Dream theme
• BackupFox saves a profile containing my extensions and preferences

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: Join Refresh Dallas

Refresh Dallas is a community of designers and developers working to refresh the creative, technical and professional aspects of new media endeavors in the Dallas area.

The first meeting is November 10^th with Garrett Dimon and Stephen P. Anderson speaking about Information Architecture. Head over to the new website for more information or jump into the Refresh Dallas Forum.

Categories: Web

Web: Treehouse Magazine

The first issue of Treehouse, a PDF magazine dedicated to web development, is now available. To celebrate the creation of something new and good, the Particletree team is giving away the inaugural issue for free.

Looks like Treehouse is trying to pick up the PDF magazine baton from Design In-Flight. Here are a few of the article titles:

• The Brief History of Javascript
• Inheriting Expectations
• The Enterprise Mentality
• The Hows and Whys of Degradable Ajax
• An Argument for Small Business Blogging
• How to Stop Talking About the Future

Categories: Web

Web: The Label Tag

I definitely need to start using the label tag in my HTML forms. Garrett states his case for the label tag over on YourTotalSite.com:

With forms, there seems to be one basic tag that is either overlooked or not common knowledge. That would be the label tag. Unfortunately, there are still many major sites that don't use this simple and powerful tag.

Categories: Web

Web: Find And Replace With Dreamweaver

Jonathan delves deeply into the Dreamweaver Find and Replace tool:

After seeing Dreamweaver pulled through the mud by people who deem it a poor tool for development, I’ve decided to shed some light on features that I feel have saved me countless time and may help you in your quest to produce better web sites faster. One specific feature that stands out for me is the Find and Replace tool.

Categories: Web

Web: Firefox For Developers

The Rapid Web Development and Testing with Mozilla Firefox presentation highlights ways developers can utilize Firefox in their work. Here are a few extensions in the presentation that I have not posted about before:

• The ColorZilla extension captures color codes from any element on a page. Selections can be added to the color favorites palette or adjusted in the color picker window. The color codes can easily be pasted into Photoshop or a style sheet.
• LinkChecker checks every link on a page, highlighting broken links and other issues. You can run LinkChecker on your bookmarks after exporting them to HTML.
• MeasureIt allows you to draw a box across a web page to check height, width, and alignment of elements.
• The Screen Grab! extension captures an entire web page (not just the visible window) and saves it to a PNG image. Requires Java.
• Here's the current list of Firefox extensions I use.

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: Goo Goo Google

Here are several of the amazing sites and services that leverage Google Maps along with a story about Google Maps testifying in court:

• Gmaps Pedometer
• Google Sightseeing
• Google Moon
• Housing Maps
• How Google Maps Got Me Out Of A Traffic Ticket
• Hurricane Data Maps
• Workout Tracker

Category: Web

Web: Ten CSS Tricks

Pick up some tips in Webcredible's Ten CSS Tricks:

1. CSS font shorthand rule
2. Two classes together
3. CSS border default value
4. CSS document for printing
5. Image replacement technique
6. CSS box model hack alternative
7. Centre aligning a block element
8. Vertically aligning with CSS
9. CSS positioning within a container
10. Background colour running to the screen bottom

Categories: Web, CSS

Web: Firefox Throws and Finds

There are a couple nice Firefox tips in Jason Sweeny's Tips Towards Faster Web Browsing:

5. The SuperDragAndGo Extension allows you to select a link or a piece of text and "throw it" (drag it slightly) to open links or Google searches in a new tab.
   
6. Activate Find-as-you-Type to perform quicker word finds on web pages.

[via Lifehacker]

Here's the current list of Firefox extensions I use.

Categories: Web, Firefox

Design: The Principles of Design

Digital Web Magazine's The Principles of Design is the first of three articles that look like a great foundation for web designers without a graphic design background:

Let’s begin by focusing on the principles of design, the axioms of our profession. Specifically, we will be looking at the following principles:

• Balance
• Rhythm
• Proportion
• Dominance
• Unity

Categories: Design, Web

Web: Multiple Homepages in Firefox

How to set up multiple homepages in Firefox:

If there’s more than one site you always visit after starting up Firefox, you can set your homepage to open several tabs of different web sites at once automatically.

[via Lifehacker]

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: Aardvark Firefox Extension

Aardvark Firefox Extension:

As you glide the mouse over the page, you will see a red rectangle framing each element under the cursor. You will also see a little yellow caption showing the HTML element type and its class or id if they exist.

You can then press certain keys on the keyboard to do various things, such as delete the selected element from the page, isolate the element, or move the selection rectangle outward to the containing element.

Aardvark is a firefox extension that we made for our own use, while developing AJAX-type applications. While we made it for helping with web development, it's actually shown itself to be really handy for "regular folks" for cleaning all the extraneous crap off a page prior to printing it.

[via Blogdex]

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: Firefox Tweaks

Here are a couple recommended tweaks on Secrets of Firefox that worked for me:

• Speeding up the maximizing of Firefox
• Fix a memory leak

I can't link to the items directly but you can hit CTL-F to search for the text above.

[via guinn9]

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: Color Combos

ColorCombos.com:

Built to help web developers quickly select and test color combinations.

Also features a number of color palettes in the Combo Library that you can view and adjust in the Combo Tester.

[via Lifehacker]

Categories: Design, Web

Web: April Issue of Design In-Flight

It's time to go purchase and download the new issue of Design In-Flight:

From tutorials to case studies, Design In-Flight seeks to share useful tips for designers and developers of every skill level. Regular features such as Design Q&A and Design Insider will offer a look at common problems and solutions faced by today’s designers and developers. With Design In-Flight you’ll also be able to keep abreast of recent trends, new technologies and the latest design software releases – all in a print friendly, professionally-produced, accessible PDF.

You may purchase this issue for $3 or add the previous 3 issues for $10 total (the volume one set).

Categories: Design, Web

Web: CSS Tips and Tricks

Roger over on 456 Berea Street posted a couple nice CSS articles:

• CSS tips and tricks, Part 1
• CSS tips and tricks, Part 2

Here are a couple more CSS articles you may have missed:

• Making Simple Work of Complex CSS Layouts
• Molly's Untold Mysteries of CSS

And here are a couple javascript/CSS techniques that may come in handy:

• Tabtastic (via SimpleBits)
• Nifty Corners

Categories: Web, CSS

Web: Magazine for Web Developers & Designers

I highly recommend Design In-Flight: Issue Three: January 2005. It is well worth the $3 to download.

The January issue of Design In-Flight is here, with over 30 pages of tutorials, articles and commentary.

Design In-Flight is a PDF magazine targeted to graphic design professionals and web developers. Design In-Flight strives to both educate and entertain and is recommended reading for anyone currently involved in – or looking to enter – graphic design, web design and web development.

Categories: Design, Web

Web: Overhauled

I redesigned this site over the weekend. The header was influenced by a few episodes of TLC's Overhaulin'. I created the stop sign shaped bullets with SimpleBits' The Anatomy of an Icon in mind. And I added some quick links to posts about CSS, art, & Firefox to the sidebar.

After I make a few more adjustments here, I'll migrate this design over to my portfolio site too.

Category: Web

Web: Smooth Flash Headlines with sIFR

• sIFR: The Healthy Alternative to Browser Text: Learn how to implement smooth Flash headlines that display CSS styled text if Flash is not installed. Release Candidate 2 is now available.
  
• View an example page using sIFR.
  
• Originally developed for ESPN and also in use on ABC News.
  
• How and when to use sIFR is a great set of guidelines to keep developers from abusing sIFR.

Category: Web

Web: Free PDF Creator

CutePDF Writer installs as a virtual printer and works great for quick PDF creation. I use it mostly for converting Word Docs and web pages.

Create professional quality PDF files from almost any printable document. Free for personal and commercial use. No watermarks. No popup Web advertisements.

The download is 4MB (1MB PDF writer plus a 3MB converter).

Category: Web

Web: Thoughts After Web Design World 2004

Molly has some interesting points in her web design world cool-down:

Thinking over my experiences at Web Design World 2004 in Boston last week, I’m compelled to write about some of the hot issues and areas of concern I see for the contemporary web designer.

Category: Web

Web: More Extensions for Firefox

Here are several more recommended extensions to add to the Firefox browser:

• CTC: Adds "Close Tab" option to the right-click menu.
  
• ieview: Allows a link or the current page viewed in Firefox to be opened in IE.
  
• Linky: Allows users to open or download all or selected links or text web addresses in new tabs or windows.
  
• Web Developer Extension: This is the biggie. Adds a nifty toolbar of options for web developers. Here are a few highlights:
  
  • Display, disable, or edit stylesheets.
    
  • Disable JavaScript.
    
  • Display image dimensions, filesize, or path.
    
  • Outline tables, table cells, or block elements.
• Here's the current list of Firefox extensions I use.

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: 'Google Suggest' Beta

Try out the beta for Google Suggest:

As you type into the search box, Google Suggest guesses what you're typing and offers suggestions in real time.

[via WebmasterWorld]

Category: Web

Web: Photo Fades Without Flash

Couloir fades in photos very smoothly without Flash. This effect would look great in anyone's photo gallery. Clagnut posted the code for an accessible cross-browser version of the technique.

Update: Couloir added a version with photo resizing and Clagnut issued a response to make it more usable and accessible.

Category: Web

Web: Gmail Doesn't Dig CSS

ClickZ.com confirms my assumption:

Gmail strips virtually all CSS code out of HTML messages. If you rely on CSS to correctly format and display your content, the message arrives as an unreadable mess. At minimum we've noticed lots of messages with the text font size appearing nearly twice its intended size, but the rest of the message appears normal. To address the lack of style-sheet support, make sure you use inline HTML formatting (such as font tags) to build messages.

Category: Web

Web: Firefox Browser

Let me be the latest to rave about the Firefox browser. I've been an Internet Explorer guy for years, but no more. Firefox really "empowers you to browse faster, more safely and more efficiently than with any other browser." It earned CNET's Editor's Choice designation and is just 4.7MB. Download extensions to add features:

• Bookmarks Synchronizer: Synchronize your bookmarks on multiple computers via FTP. This works great and is an essential extension for me. Activate automatic download on startup and upload on exit once you get both computers synched.
• BugMeNot: Bypass required free web registrations (used on some news websites) via BugMeNot.com.
  
• Mouse Gestures: I haven't installed this one yet but Eric tells me it is great.
  
• Right-click Enabler: Defeat most web sites' right-click prevention scripts (sometimes needed with the BugMeNot extension above).
  
• Sage: An RSS and Atom feed reader - loads linked titles in the Firefox sidebar.
  
• Many more are available.
  
• Here's the current list of Firefox extensions I use.
  

ActiveX and other common plugins come in handy. I also use the TinyURL Creator to convert long URLs into short ones more easily emailed.

Categories: Web, Firefox

Web: Creating a Web Page with HTML

Jeffrey Zeldman strongly recommends the book Creating a Web Page with HTML: Visual QuickProject Guide for folks looking to build their first website:

With simple language and clear illustrations, Castro teaches budding web producers the basics of HTML and CSS in the context of a simple, hands-on project.

Find your copy on Amazon or Overstock for about 10 bucks.

Category: Web

Web: CSS Resources

• 456 Berea Street: Articles and demonstrations of CSS, web standards, accessibility, usability, etc.
  
• CSS Zen Garden: A wide variety of submitted stylesheets used with the same content, demonstrating the power of CSS. Select a design from their right column.
  
• Holy CSS Zeldman!: A ton of CSS, accessibility, and color links.
  
• HTML Utopia: Designing Without Tables Using CSS: The first 4 chapters of Dan Shafer's CSS book on Sitepoint.
  
• Style Gala: A CSS and web standards resource.

Categories: Web, CSS

Web: Usability Resources

• ChickenSkinners.com
  
• Digital Web Magazine
  
• Human Factors (training I attended)
  
• LucDesk Blog
  
• Sitepoint
  
• useit.com
  
• UIE.com
  
• UIE Roadshow

Category: Web

Web: HTML Email Newsletters

I haven't found much good information about coding HTML email newsletters - learning has been mostly through trial and error. Testing can be a pain for Hotmail, Yahoo! mail, and now Gmail. This looks like an interesting Sitepoint article on How To Code HTML Email Newsletters and I need to check out EmailUniverse too.

Category: Web

Web: Using Patterns in Web Design

I enjoyed 37signals' An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design and will follow it by digging into a ton of related resources on IAwiki.

We have to break our design problems up into small independent chunks based on the real issues within our requirements. Christopher Alexander, who came up with this stuff, calls these chunks patterns.

Category: Web

Web: Media Ratings

I'm a fan of Metacritic:

Metacritic® compiles reviews from respected critics and publications for film, video/dvd, music and games. Our unique Metascores® show the critical consensus at a glance by taking a weighted average of critic grades.

Lists Of Bests is fun too (I should update my list):

A one-stop shop to find all the "best of" books, music, and movie lists . . . also providing a way for you to keep track of the books you've read, the CDs you've listened to, and the movies you've watched from the lists.

And I'll be checking out All Consuming:

A website that watches weblogs for books that they're talking about, and displays the most popular ones on an hourly basis. You can also use this site to add a list of books to your own weblog.

Categories: Music, Web

Web: Search Sites

I've been a dedicated Google user for a while, but there are some other interesting search sites to try:

• Amazon's A9.com
  
• The clustering Clusty.com
  
• Metasearching ez2Find.com
  
• Dallas-based and Mark Cuban recommended Icerocket.com
  
• Recent changes at Yahoo! look great

Here are a couple search resource sites:

• Google Help Cheat Sheet
  
• Search Engine Watch

And a couple shopping search sites:

• Google's Froogle.com
  
• eBay's Half.com
  
• PriceGrabber.com

Additional recommendations are welcome.

Category: Web

Web: Table-Free CSS Layouts

I found a nice selection of table-free CSS layouts and may adapt the one I'm currently digging through from the Max Design Presentations. They're beautifully made with DIVs and LIs.

I've also finally purchased Zeldman's orange book that includes this topic among many others related to designing with web standards:

For every web professional who wants to reach more users on more browsers, platforms, and devices – including wireless and hand-held devices – with less work, less maintenance, and at lower cost.

Categories: Web, CSS

Web: Please Make Me Think!

Here's an interesting take on what some consider the over-simplification trends in website usability:
Please make me think! Potential dangers in usability culture.

I see my goal first to make a product work as efficiently as possible for the repeat, more experienced user, then for the novice and then finally for inexperienced or infrequent users. Many times though, I’m asked to reverse my approach, to make everything obvious so inexperienced users are appeased first.

Category: Web

Web: CSS Stuff On A List Apart

• Accessible Pop-up Links: "Make them more accessible and reliable while simplifying their implementation."
  
• Zebra Tables: Get alternating colors without all the maintenance headaches. The article's code works in IE6, Nav6, and Mozilla browsers. Follow the suggestion on page 2 of the comments to get IE5 compatibility as well.
  
• CSS Sprites: Image Slicing's Kiss of Death: Allows you to have all button images in one GIF, with both mouseover on and off states. Happy Cog Studios uses this method for their nav buttons.

Categories: Web, CSS

Web: Some Blogs I Frequent

• 43 Folders: Tricks, Hacks, & Getting Things Done
• xBlog: The Visual Thinking Weblog
• Kottke: Media, Design, Hypertext, Etc.
• Blog Maverick: The Mark Cuban Weblog
• Gizmodo: The Gadgets Blog
• Blogdex: The Weblog Diffusion Index

Category: Web

Web: Trade This Site

Blogshares claims this site is worth $1000 and that shares are available to trade.

BlogShares is a simulated, fantasy stock market for weblogs where players invest fictional money to buy stocks and bonds in an artificial economy where attention is the commodity and weblogs are the companies.

Category: Web

Web: Site Pairs

A couple quick links for inspiration:

• Digital Thread Web Design Gallery
  
• Cool Homepages Gallery

And for instruction:

• A List Apart Magazine brought to you by Zeldman
  
• Evolt.org

Category: Web

Web: Defensive Design for the Web

I'm currently reading the 37signals book Defensive Design for the Web: How To Improve Error Messages, Help, Forms, and Other Crisis Points. It provides a bunch of helpful examples in plain language. They offer a sample chapter on 37signals.com. Overstock has a great price on it.

Category: Web

Welcome

I'm just getting started here. I'm a website designer, artist, and music fan of many styles: rock, hip hop, house, jazz, funk, latin, and turntablist DJs. On this site I'll be covering music and design and whatever else comes up.

My web portfolio is viewable at LoudStyle.com and a few of my abstract paintings are on Absolute Arts.