Category Archives: Web Development
Mobile App Hackathon Chicago #mobileappchi
I spent all day today at the AT&T Mobile App Hackathon in Chicago helping developers build some really cool applications using Sencha Touch (among other technologies). Here’s a recap of what you missed. The day started with introductions from the … Continue reading
aKa Web Design – Now with Turbo!
Last night at the Sencha Chicago User Group, I gave a presentation titled AJAX Communication in Sencha Touch and ExtJS. The premise of the talk was that all websites (and web applications) should be optimized to be as fast as … Continue reading
Chicago Metro App Contest
I was reading the RedEye, a free local daily newspaper, on my train ride to work this morning when I stumbled across an interesting story. The city of Chicago is holding an Apps for Metro Chicago contest to celebrate the … Continue reading
The Curious Case of Trailing Commas in IE
I realize that I am in the minority of Web Developers who truly appreciate Internet Explorer. Most people rag on the browser for a variety of reasons… and honestly, most people have plenty to complain about. But this post isn’t … Continue reading
SenchaCon 2010 – Day 1
Wow. I’ve been here at the Sencha Conference 2010 for less than a day now, and there’s little more to say other than that. As one of the few (200-ish) developers who went to the conference last year, I have … Continue reading
The Definition of Open Source
I have repeatedly seen the phrase “open source software” misused and it’s really starting to bother me.
“Open Source” is not a buzz word or catch phrase that should be used to market software because you can’t sell open source software. You can sell a license to use open source software… but that isn’t the same thing.
The point is that “open source” has a meaning. We should use it correctly. Continue reading
Dropping Support for IE6
Any web developer will tell you that it’s annoying (at best) to design a website or build a web application that works and looks the same across each of the popular Internet browsers. Although most modern web browsers adhere to the recent HTML and CSS industry standards and render code similarly, the little quirks and oddities of each can be immensely frustrating. In fact, many of my gray hairs are a result of this struggle.
Starting today, aKa Web Design will no longer offer free support for IE6! Continue reading
Top 5 Snack Food Favorites
Computer nerds and software developers are often stereotyped as having poor vision and being fat. I can’t argue with the poor vision – mine is absolutely terrible without glasses or contacts, and I used to wear the big coke-bottle lenses.
But fat? I guess we do like our snacks…
Here is a list of 10 favorite snack foods that you’ll often see us eating. Continue reading
Opera Mini
Am I the only person on planet Earth who doesn’t like Opera Mini?
Seriously. I recently downloaded the Opera Mini app (v 5.0.0198) on my iPod Touch and I don’t like it.
I know, I know… there’s a million of you people out there who are yelling “It’s better than Safari!”, and in some ways you’re right. I can’t argue with the points mentioned on this video from YouTube, but let me outline some of the reasons I don’t like Opera Mini. Continue reading
Book Review: The Referral Engine
A few months ago, I started following John Jantsch’s blog Duct Tape Marketing. I don’t remember where I first heard of him, but John has some excellent marketing advice for small business owners
About 3 or 4 weeks ago, John offered a free copy of his new book The Referral Engine to a handful of bloggers in exchange for an honest review of the book. I sent John my information and was lucky enough to be picked – so here we are. Continue reading
