Importation Test

I'm currently trying to import my blog into my joomla.  This is a test.

Blogs - The New Website

I've heard people say that blogging is dead, and I agree to a certain extent. The days of people writing blog articles to just to say stuff to the world has come to an end. Only the serious bloggers who write reviews, news stories, or the occasional ME have held on to blogging as a way of spreading facts and opinions.

However, with Wordpress and Blogger constantly working hard to give fluid design and functionality to their services, those blogs are looking more like traditional websites.

I believe blogs are great as websites. They are your update center, newsletter, billboard and now have static pages for detailed information that you always want available to the reader. In Wordpress you can even have a static page as the landing page - so any reader first see's that page when they come to your blog.

Being a hobbyist writer, I think blogs are great websites for authors. If you're not something as famous as Steven King, you could find yourself at home with one of these blogging services. Think you don't have enough static pages to display all your information? There are ways around that. Next post will cover those tricks.

Facebook - Just Say No

I have no doubt that there are others who feel the way that I do about Facebook, but it seems there just aren't enough of us sounding our horns. Facebook continues to grow, suck in lives, and spit them out.

Yes, I will agree that its a great way to stay in touch with family and close friends but it never just stays there unless you want to be referred to as cold-hearted. What about that old high school buddy? What about that person you shared a seminar with? Before you know it, you have oodles of people bombarding you with their mundane lives, game stats, and they have too much access to you.

On top of it all, anyone else can find you at a whim and whatever you put up there about yourself might as well be permenant.

Someone, I read, once said it's like being in a cell. You sit around in your plain-jane page and write on the wall or occasionally annoucing some news.

And what's worse? People are addicted to it like crazy. All three of my co-workers seem to check it on one lunch break or another. I'm near positive that they don't have some severe addiction to it, but I know those people are out there.

Communities like Facebook are what's killing the Web. People don't go out into the Web to find something, they check to see if that person, company, group has a Facebook account. I'm starting to wonder if my days as a web designer are over before they even started because no one wants a website - they're happy with their Facebook page.

So, as a web designer and someone who likes to be in control of her domain to a reasonable degree, I refuse to use Facebook. If you want to see daily updates from me, I do use Twitter because it's a helluva a lot more simplier and straightforward.

The Web is Dead - EyeWitness View

Yes, I guess the web is dead - along with blogging.

Not that I'm basing this off the fact that no one reads my blog anymore and hardly anyone finds my website. I know I'm not as interesting as some other media gurus or movie stars, but I use to have readers once. No, I'm basing this off of the fact that no one searches the web anymore. Many people just go on to facebook to look things up, or twitter, or some other community website. In fact, that seems to be the only way to get recognized in this new techie age - have a popular profile on a web community or make a community if you have what it takes.

These communities need to have tons of features or can easily be personalized. Personally, I have shunned Facebook from my life because it destroys lives, but because of this I can't seem to keep in touch with people who hardly know me, who might know me better if I write on their wall that I made a blog post so the can come read it. *pant* That was my faulkner moment.

Anyways, unless someone needs some information that they can't find on wikipedia.com there doesn't seem to be a chance that anyone will come looking for your awesome personal website that you took the time to craft and fill with tidbits about yourself and what you do - even if that's your store front for your web designing services.

Looks like I'm screwed.

Joomla Project

I'm currently working on cracking Joomla and learning more about CMS websites.

Come check it out with me at http://www.starkite.net/joomla

Season Website Themes

It looks like yet another website is being decked out for the holidays with a snowy header and new background (BN.com Decked for the Holidays).

This makes me wonder if it's considered tacky to change with the seasons. I can understand retailers doing so to get people in the 'shopping mood' for a particular holiday, but what if you're just a blogger or have a website displaying your work or services?

I'm going to be on the hunt for such websites and see if I can get them to comment on their seasonal spirit and the urge behind it.

As for my own Starkite.net, I doubt I'll change anything unless I find a very nice looking idea that doesn't drive me bonkers trying to implement it.

The New NOOKcolor

 

NOOKcolor - The Ultimate Reading Experience - Barnes & Noble

We all know how beautiful the iPad has been rendering electronic magazines and newspapers.  It's also been great with interactive books like children's books with characters the move when touched.  Books on the iPad can read themselves to you and be accessible at the flick of a finger.  THIS is why the Nookcolor was created - to combat the iPad on these e-reader functions. 

Though the Nookcolor is a good contender with a more reasonable price, it has drawbacks that Barnes & Noble isn't highlighting - and for good reason. 
- The battery life is shorter than the original Nook: 8 hours
- The battery is not replaceable
- No 3G and WiFi is not guaranteed free
- Not to mention, if you don't like reading on a iPad screen - then you won't like this one either

The Nookcolor is also slightly bigger than the original Nook.  It also has intuitive add-ons like Twitter and Facebook apps that pop up as you need them.  There is bookmarking, word look-ups, and room for more apps to be created. 

There is a potential for this to turn into the android pad and be more than just an e-reader.  But until that happens - whether it be by BN or a more tech-based company, I'll be sticking with my traditional Nook.  I love the eInk screen and don't find the need to have apps when my cellphone is in my pocket.  After all, how many ways do you need to contact people?  I would rather stay in touch with my book and not be distracted by an overload of bells and whistles.

To each there own though.  I'm sure BN will see sales jump; especially after demos start to fill their stores in the later half of November.

Barnes & Noble Website Update – More Nook Friendly

 

Barnes & Noble - Books, Textbooks, eBooks, Toys, Games & More

Looks like Barnes & Noble is preparing for the release of it’s new Nook Color by revamping their website to be more Nook friendly.

The menu has been enlarged and now shows drop downs of additional links.  It gives the viewer a better idea of all BN.com has to offer instead of hunting for those links down the earlier lefthand column.

Unfortunately, some links still don’t work right.  Like under Newsstand there is a link for Nookmagazines that doesn’t seem to send you to the emagainzes.  But under that Newsstand link you can see the dropdown offering more than what’s currently available.  Nook Newsstand will soon be working; leading us to believe more magazines and newspapers will be available on the Nook or Nook Color. 

Personally, I think the layout looks great, but I fear all these new Nook-geared links are only for the new Nook Color that has yet to be announced.  I believe I am going to enjoy my first generation Nook far more because of the eInk screen.  I don’t plan on upgrading if all they are going to offer is a LCD touchscreen that will bother my eyes to no end.

Still waiting on that press release though…