Keeping busy.
How’s it going?
LPC Update
Here’s the latest version of Landing Page Composer, version 2:
Click for a larger version (796×415)
Notice the clearer thumbnails and embedded YouTube video. I just implemented that a few days ago, so you can actually import a YouTube or Google video into a landing page without needing to know any HTML or Flash embedding code - just put in it’s url and click “Embed” and you’re set! And yes, those thumbnails slide left and right like paper sliding across a table.
Still have a few features to add but it’s set to be released on Monday the 31st.
Edit: Here’s the latest screenshot:
Less clutter by using a menu element.
My software version reasoning.
I’d bet a golden monkey on the claim that I have wrote more code on a computer in the past decade than I have spoken or written normal English. One of my first coding projects was a web browser that took up so much space it wouldn’t even fit on a CD - and that was in 1998 (meaning it was bloated). Another project I remember was trying to replicate the Mac OS 8 GUI in HyperCard on the 5400 in computer lab 121 at my old middle school. Good times..
(A side note in between thoughts.. I’d ask to be driven to school 2 hours early, and stayed four hours late, on average. I’d get on any computer I could find, which mostly meant an All-in-One G3 or the 5400 I mentioned above.)
So I’ve wrote a lot of software, and with each new compilation (complication?) comes a new version number. But what do those numbers mean? Well, there are standards, but most of the time those numbers are so arbitrary that they lose meaning. I’ve developed my own system, as follows:
Seven numbers, when put together, provide me with a crystal-clear understanding of a project at any period throughout it’s lifetime. For instance I still remember a calendar application I wrote last year.. all 200 editions! Would I remember this if I had assigned a confusing version number to each version? I doubt it.
So heres what the numbers mean, in detail:
Major Version: An executable product that has been ’shipped’ and ready for sale. Commercial grade, this release number indicates that I’ve tested the program under as many conditions as I can and that every feature included works as it was designed to. (More on my design process in another post)
Minor Version (feature revision): This number goes from 0 to 9, and indicates that a new feature has been included in the major version ‘branch’ and its been tested and working as it should. It also means that all documented bugs have been fixed. These are usually free for the customer when they buy the major version.
Code Change: (bug fixing): The higher, the better, as this number indicates how fast the bug fixing is going for the entire major version branch. Averaging out at around 250, it’s been as high as 2000 :(. These sometimes aren’t actively released to anyone other than testers but customers can request a copy.
Compiled Executable (testing code): This number goes up whenever I type a line of code and compile it. I’m nuts so it could be as high as 20,000!
And so, that wraps up this incredibly boring story that was in my mind recently, as I’ve been prepping for the release of Landing Page Composer 2.0. I’ve put in a good dozen or so features in the past 2 weeks, as well as completely redesigned the user interface using a Flash-based concept. Heres a screen shot comparing version 1.5.5 (really 1.5.5.275) and 2.0 (2.0.1.713)
Version one
Version two
I’ll post more about all this later. Let me know what you think!
What have I been up to?
Lots of stuff.
For the past few hours I’ve been changing this page:
Into this:
Click either image for a larger view.
There’s still work to be done, like replacing those three images with something else, but I like it a lot better than my original design which was done in about 15 minutes.
What do you think?
WordPress 2.5 RC1 Upgrade
I took the hefty 20 seconds to upgrade from WordPress 2.3.3 to 2.5, RC1. I haven’t looked at their bug-tracker, but the upgrade went smooth and everything appears to be working.
The three steps I took to upgrade:
- Downloaded WordPress 2.5RC1 (click here to download)
- Unzip and upload everything except for the following files to my existing installation:
- The entire wp-content directory
- wp-config.php
- .htaccess
- Loaded this WordPress upgrade page in my admin folder.
Keep in mind, it’s a release candidate and not the final version people will refer to when mentioning WordPress 2.5. But, it’s still quite an upgrade from 2.3.3 and offers a substantial update to the administrative control panel. I’m assuming the process is the same when the final version is finally released.
Chat Me Up!
Everyone hurts, and everyone gets lonely. That’s why I added an option to chat with me whenever you’d like!
If you’d look over to the right part of this page, you should see a ‘talk bubble’ with my name in it. It looks like this:
To let me know you’re around, just click the blue link. It will open up a window that looks like this:
On my screen, however, I’ll get a tiny window that says “click this link to talk with guest”, which thereafter takes about 20 seconds to load. I should respond pretty quickly, but if it takes more than a minute, something went wrong and I didn’t get the message. I like testing out stuff like this so it won’t bother me if you click the link 100 times throughout the day.
Chat on!
GPL stuff.
From the GPL FAQ site:
- If someone steals a CD containing a version of a GPL-covered program, does the GPL give him the right to redistribute that version?
- If the version has been released elsewhere, then the thief probably does have the right to make copies and redistribute them under the GPL, but if he is imprisoned for stealing the CD he may have to wait until his release before doing so.
Good to know..
The IRS Fert my Heelings.
Every three months or so, I get a envelope in the mail from some lonely soul at the I.R.S.
Apparently, I.R.S. stands for “I Really Suck (at doing my job)” because for the past two years they’ve misspelled my name as ‘Jeffert Hood’ despite my repeated attempts to ignore it. You might blame my handwriting, or my neglecting to have it corrected - but I blame the government.
Posts are going to be short for the next few weeks. I’m building a startup company.
Cheap Stuff is Cheap for a Reason
I bought a slightly outdated computer through eBay last Christmas. It was actually a steal: 3.2GHz Pentium 4 with a 250GB drive and a gig of memory for $100, and while you won’t find it featured in Best Buy, it was a great machine. As a matter of fact, I don’t think you’d find a mousepad for under $100 at Best Buy, but that’s neither here nor there.
Now you might have noticed that this wonderful computer I’m bragging about lasted less than three months. In computer years, that’s about twelve minutes, thirty seconds. Five of those minutes were used while waiting for it to turn on, and I haven’t calculated wasted time during random crashes and reboots.
I suspect the eBayer bought it in 2006 and sold it to me in 2007 for a newer computer. It only lasted three months after that before finally falling apart while I was using it. And I didn’t even know Ford made computers!
Anyway..
I’ve put some parts of the broken computer into a new one that I now use for web design stuff, and that required me to reinstall Windows XP because all the new hardware configuration invalidated my XP license. In doing so, I was forced to use Internet Explorer 6 before updating to IE 8 and FireFox. I was surprised that most of my site looked normal in the older, unsupported browser, however certain elements were rendering so incorrectly that I actually felt stupid for even creating the design in the first place.
For instance, look at that ‘paging’ bar at the bottom..
This is how it’s supposed to look:
However, in Internet Explorer 6 (or every default XP computer) it looks like this:
It wasn’t designed to look that way, but I’m going to keep it because it looks like a staircase - and every click lowers you deeper into the basement of my brain until you reach a single post where I cry and blame all of my problems on other people. Also, I figure that even though a hundred-million people still use IE 6, exactly none of them will ever view my website.
So yes, I took you through three months of nonsense just to say a really old software program doesn’t work anymore.
You’re welcome.
Monkey Poop
I’m creating a new logo for the hoodmonkey moniker (monkier?).
Click on the thumbnail below for full-size.
Very rarely can I say “I drew a one-armed turd with eyes, and I’m proud of it!” without trying to cover up my lacking art skills.
I’d like your opinion before I develop it, though. Would this look good on t-shirts, stickers and stationary paper? Please let me know so that if I use it, I’ll have you to blame.
Update 3PM: Here’s another rough draft for your amusement. It’s the same overall monkey guy, only I smoothed out the corners (what type of monkey has corners?). I’m going to spend the rest of the day polishing the image, or in other words - I’ll be busy polishing a turd.
Update 3:30 PM: The logo has transformed from a angry turd into a clapping potato. I have no talent.
Update 4PM: Here’s the last rendition of monkeyguy with a little bit of shading applied. I’ll sit on this for a week or two and develop a clearer concept logo.
