What little I've learned so far

Dear Other Half of 2 Dudes 1 Blog,

I am writing to inform you that I'm making a blog post.

More seriously, I am writing to save you time. Your time is valuable to me. Like gold; it mysteriously appreciates.

Based on a conversation we had earlier today, I thought I'd take the time to share with you what I have found to be a useful setup when making websites by hand.

FileZilla
When I first started, I did everything through our hosting service's WebFTP (for the nosy, yes we share a web hosting service). That was fine until I started working with PHP and many files. I had to step up my game. Also, don't be a fool like I was and just let it save your log on credentials. Save time, be happy, live longer.

Useful things I like about FileZilla
- synchronized browsing
- set files to open in notepad++ - go to Edit > Settings > File editing > Filetype associations paste something close to this (your setup might need minor changes--I have faith you can make it work):

php "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"
html "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"
txt "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"
css "C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\notepad++.exe"

Things I wish it could do
- useful file compare - you can compare by size or time, both of which will be slightly different between your local copy and server copy.
- Automatic upload of Changed files - When you open a file through FileZilla and save your changes in Notepad++, FileZilla is smart enough to say "Hey dude your file changed, do you want to upload the new version?" This is cool, until you are making a lot of minor changes to a file to see the differences. You'll have to hit save, alt-tab to FileZilla, click okay, alt-tab again to your browser, hit F5.

Notepad++
I know you already know the wonders of Notepad++, but for our eavesdroppers I'm going to include it in this letter.

One thing I do like about Notepad++ is it's ability to change the Language (of the code not to Russian). I've started the bad practice of using PHP files as style sheets, and it's nice to be able to tell Notepad++ I want to see it as a CSS instead of what it is.

Websites
http://htmledit.squarefree.com/ - I like to use this if I'm trying to make a site look right. I'll copy and paste the css inside some <style> tags, and paste the code at the bottom. Once I get what I want out of it, paste it back into Notepad++.

http://jsfiddle.net/ - Just discovered this one the other day. It's a lot like the first one, but lets you do more. You'll see.

http://www.w3schools.com/ - Almost every Google search result of "html + something I want to use" begins w3schools.com. I follow that link because they are most likely the have what I am looking for.

Browsers
They don't display the same (despite the plethora of standards available). I blame Lamecrosoft, but it doesn't matter. It is something that has to be dealt with even though we know who to point fingers at.

Curvy Corners - You may have noticed in my webdesign I'm a big fan of border-radius. Who's not? Really? Because if you're not you're wrong. This script allows border-radius to work on browsers that don't support CSS3.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://yoursite.com/where/you/stash/scripts/curvycorners.js"></script>

JQuery - While I'm on the scripts and making browsers work subject, let me include this one. I'm not smart enough yet to know all about it, but I know it's a good thing.

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.4/jquery.min.js"></script>

F12 - While you are viewing your masterpiece through Chrome or IE (can't speak for others), hit this button to make magic happen. It will show you a number of things. So far I've found it most useful for tweaking margin and padding settings, but I am sure it can do more.

That just about covers what I've learned about setting up to make websites the hard way. Hopefully it gives you a little bit of a jump start, you will surpass me, and write me a letter that kindly explains how I'm doing it wrong. It will be great. We'll share the things we learn and be better for it. Might even help out some of these lazy eavesdroppers.

Thanks,
Other Half of 2 Dudes 1 Blog

Life Rules: Manage your tank

Manage your tank.


This life rule I came up with the other day while getting gas. It started out as "Fill up your tanks", but as I extrapolated the hidden meaning in the wisdom I made up at Bucee's, I realized this was too specific.

Image courtesy of a clever guy with a dollar.

When applied to your gas tank, yes, it should be filled. When you refer to your stomach, fill it for sure. But what about tanks that should be empty? Looking at you bladder! Then there are the tanks that have to be between certain levels like oil and coolant. Clearly this rule can apply to more than anatomy and automobiles, but at the gas station this is all I could think about.

Want me to bust out some economics that validate my rule (at least at the pump)? The gas you buy now, no matter what it cost, is cheaper today than at any point in the future because of inflation. Therefor, when you are at the tank fill it up all the way. No pansy $15 now and the rest on pay day.

Another Letter to my Buddy

I don't know what it is Micheal, but I haven't been able to psych myself up for the final dungeon of Zelda. I'm going to try this weekend.

I don't remember what song I shared with you in my last letter, but this is what I'm listening to right now. And I mean right now too. I've actually loved this song for a long time, just wanted to share. As much as I don't like music these days, Google Music and OCremix has inspired me to listen.

I originally came here to write a real post. Another rule of life actually. Then I started just writing and this is what came out. Let me go try again.

Sincerely,
James

Some things to share with Michael... but I guess both of our blog followers can see too

Dude,

So I've spent a ridiculous amount of time working on geekwagon.net. It has been my goal to code it 99% by hand. The only part I didn't do was the adsense script and the java that updates the date for the last update. Did that part make since? I'm on my 4th beer. I just spent my WHOLE evening making sure it works well at resolutions as low as 600x480. So if you just installed Windows 2000 and don't have any video drivers you can view my website without any problems (except IE5.5 will display all the borders with those nasty square corners... for now--I might have found a way to fix that but like I said I'm on my 4th beer.).

Picture courtesy of Google image
search and some random sucker.

I'm writing to tell you I've had this song going through my head for days.

Also, I finally broke even on bitcoins. Just in time too the price is dropping today like rappers drop hot items. To celebrate I've spent a bunch of time adding this page to geekwagon and I also added a bitcoin picture to this post. I hope it will be useful (the page not the picture) to some one some where in some world.

I still need to finish Zelda. I'll get to it.

Sincerely,
The other Dude 

My first impression of Office 365 (Microsoft's version of Google Docs for business)

After seeing the following video I had little choice but to go check out office365. While viewing the site a chat box popped up. A Microsoft representative wanted to take the time to talk to me personally. That conversation is posted below the video.

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This chat can be recorded for quality & training purposes. Welcome to Microsoft. A representative will be with you shortly. Your estimated wait time is 0 minutes and 2 seconds. To help us serve you better, please provide your name and company name.
Hello, my name is Brady.


You: hello my name is James
Brady: Hi there!
You: I saw a video, don't know if you guys made it or not, but it was advertising office365. I went to check it out and I must say it is very missleading
You: we use google apps for $50/user/year less and there are no ads
Brady: Okay. I'll be happy to clear up any confusion if I can. What has prompted you to look into Office 365?
You: You: I saw a video, don't know if you guys made it or not, but it was advertising office365.
You: going over your features, the only thing I see that is interesting over Google Apps is the AD integration. But I'd have to pay more than double I am now.
You: is there any thing else you offer I'm not seeing yet?
Brady: I will be right with you.
You: I'll be right here
Brady: Okay. AD integration is included with any Office 365 Enterprise plan. Each plan includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online. Additional features are available in different plans.
Brady: Exchange Online will include 25GB of storage per user license, Forefront Online for anti-virus/spam protection, and ActiveSync for your mobile devices. SharePoint Online includes 10GB of storage, plus 500MB extra for each user license.
Brady: And Lync Online would provide you with instant messaging and web audio/video conferencing for up to 250 participants.
You: We are a company of 32 users (could go up to 35 in the near future). Currently we don't have a lot of office application needs, just a few users share spreadsheets.
You: which plan would you recommend?
Brady: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Brady: The most basic plan that includes AD integration is E1. This plan is $10/user/month, it includes Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync. It would also include 24/7 phone and email support and can easily be expanded for any size business.
Brady: If you find that you need additional features in the future, you can also easily change an Enterprise plan to a different Enterprise plan.
You: That would be $3840 a year ($2240 more than I'm paying now) for almost the same service. I don't think I could justify something like that. Not to mention the cost of migration (speaking of which I could only find migration documents to move from internal Microsoft services not another cloud service).
You: Combine with the misleading video I don't think I can justify making a change. But thanks for your time.
Brady: Thanks for chatting and have a great day!

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First Impressions

Basically I've been lied to, not all their plans have AD integration. Only their Enterprise Plans do. I'm sure that's what he meant by his statement, but I was looking at all plans. Unfortunately, their small business plans only support 25 people. Funny how the government (and Microsoft in many cases) considers anything less than 500 employees small business. For all those businesses that fall in the 25-75 employee range, you get to pay out the nose like a giant enterprise.

I am intrigued by the over all idea. I mean, most businesses run Microsoft products already because they are familiar for users and simple for administrators (yes pricey but you don't have to retrain people--maybe one day I'll make a post about how I failed to convert a small company to OpenOffice.org because too many people don't get the concept of hierarchical structures and file types). I guess it would really come down to the business itself. None of the businesses I currently work with would benefit enough to justify the cost. My recommendation for simple could services stays with Google Apps.

Second Quest Goes Better than Expected

After I made my level 4 video I realized I never found the treasure in the dungeon. So I went back, and eventually found the book. Then after hours and hours of looking for level 5, I gave in and looked it up on the Internet because I just don't have the same kind of time I had as a kid.

To my surprise, I needed the raft. But I didn't have the raft. I had gotten treasure from all of the previous levels, where do I find a raft now? Well, that kind of first quest thinking should have been left in the cave with the old guy telling me it was dangerous to go alone. Back in level 4 I found a raft (In some rooms I overlooked). A raft and a book in the same dungeon... after the level with no boss... Ganon's not making this round easy on me.

Subsequently, while I was searching for level 5 I got to know where everything else was. I even spent some time in level 6 and found the ladder. After a lot of time, a lot of effort, and thousands of save states, I completed level 5 and 6. On the other hand level 7 and 8 were cake. If you call rooms, so full of blue darknuts and ball shooting statues that the game slows down, cake. Little known fact: Nintendo came up with bullet time way before the Matrix. They just called it "to many enemies on the screen....time".

I also realize, without the aid of save states, this would take a ridiculous amount of time. Not to mention the Nintendo Power-esque tip I nabbed off the Internet about where to find level 5. It's no wonder so few people never finish the second quest [citation needed]. I know I have found parts of it to be annoying and drawn out for the sake of difficulty and I am at a great advantage over old school NES play.

Now I have the triforce (again), and am poised at Ganon's front door. I haven't jumped into level 9 yet because I want to have the time to give what it deserves. I do plan to record this one. I'm sure it will be a horrible watch. I am genuinely curious about it because I have no idea what is in store for me. Will it even be a skull? I'll find out soon enough.

The Legend of Zelda 2nd quest - level 4

I had some back luck at recording level 2, so when I got to level 3 I didn't bother. By the time I found level 4 (no small feat mind you) I was ready to give it a try again. Not only was I successful, I went ahead and added annotations in a lame attempt to entertain.