New Open Source eCommerce Solution
Friday, August 31. 2007
Many, many people are sick and tired of dealing with osCommerce, ZenCart, and similar options for low-cost (there's always maintenance cost) eCommerce solutions. While I was perusing the Zend Framework's homepage, I saw a mention of Varien's Magento as a case study. As I was curious, I thought I'd read up about it. It's an alternative solution to the other options - finally. It's currently in Beta version 0.6 and released today as a public preview, but Varien's done a terrific job of setting up the website, providing screencasts, and allowing a free download.
Check it out - I know I plan to.
Check it out - I know I plan to.
What do you do?
Wednesday, August 29. 2007
What do you do to get yourself over a hump? I develop web applications as a hobby when I'm not working and at home. But as with any application, there are portions that are much less desirable to work on than others that still need to be done (such as documentation). How can you get yourself over the hump when there's little to no incentive other than being able to continue on with the project? I'd rather go run...10 miles...and I usually only do 2 miles, so, yeah...
I can't seem to make myself do it, I keep procrastinating. There always seems to be something else just slightly more interesting that I "will only spend x minutes on and get right back to the project". Just looking for what you more experienced people do when you come to these things.
I can't seem to make myself do it, I keep procrastinating. There always seems to be something else just slightly more interesting that I "will only spend x minutes on and get right back to the project". Just looking for what you more experienced people do when you come to these things.
Oh Boy! Someone defined Web 3.0!
Monday, August 27. 2007
I suppose it was only a matter of time. At least he did start off the definition stating that Web 2.0 was simply a marketing term and not an actual thing...
Check out the Video of Google CEO defining Web 3.0.
Check out the Video of Google CEO defining Web 3.0.
Thank you, Microsoft! Thank you, Adobe!
Monday, August 27. 2007
As is common on the wide open internet, there are often simple online contests that people may enter to win some sort of software (or other) prize, and it can be as simple as signing up for a free service, entering an email, coming up with a catchy comment in a blog post, etc...
Microsoft recently had a contest that I was made aware of due to having a specific type of profile with my Microsoft Live! account. In order to enter the contest, all that had to be done was either subscribe to the Microsoft MSDN Flash Newsletter, or customize my MSDN Flash Newsletter. Since I was already subscribed to the newsletter and wanted to enter the contest (the grand prize was a trip to New Zealand), I decided a customization was in order...
Well, a couple weeks ago, I got the following in the mail:
...and of course, there was also a thin cardboard CD booklet that contained my very own Vista OS. I can also use this to upgrade to Vista Ultimate (which I plan to do, I've seen Business Edition, there's no Solitaire!) later on. I wasn't originally planning on upgrading when I created my new computer, but thanks to Microsoft's contest, I now will not only install Vista, but they'll be getting another ~$170 from me for the Vista Ultimate upgrade. Win/Win! Thanks, Microsoft!
Adobe: I'm in love with Photoshop CS3. I got my copy of the Adobe Creative Suite CS3 (why do they call it Creative Suite CS...seems a bit monotonous) Web Premium. So far I've only tried out Photoshop and Acrobat (though not purposefully with Acrobat, it loaded a PDF by default). Regardless, I was able to learn at least 5 new things right from the start to make my photographs look even more stunning than they were. I'm very pleased. It's much better than my old Photoshop version 5.1 that I was using. So: Thank you, Adobe! I'll be sure to try out the rest of the suite (and get my money's worth)!
Microsoft recently had a contest that I was made aware of due to having a specific type of profile with my Microsoft Live! account. In order to enter the contest, all that had to be done was either subscribe to the Microsoft MSDN Flash Newsletter, or customize my MSDN Flash Newsletter. Since I was already subscribed to the newsletter and wanted to enter the contest (the grand prize was a trip to New Zealand), I decided a customization was in order...
Well, a couple weeks ago, I got the following in the mail:
Enclosed is your copy of Microsoft Windows Vista™ Business.
Congratulations again on being a winner in the Microsoft MSDN Flash Promotion sweepstakes for signing up and/or customizing your MSDN newsletter.
Thank you for being a part of the MSDN community!
Sincerely,
Mike Hartmann
Microsoft Corporation
...and of course, there was also a thin cardboard CD booklet that contained my very own Vista OS. I can also use this to upgrade to Vista Ultimate (which I plan to do, I've seen Business Edition, there's no Solitaire!) later on. I wasn't originally planning on upgrading when I created my new computer, but thanks to Microsoft's contest, I now will not only install Vista, but they'll be getting another ~$170 from me for the Vista Ultimate upgrade. Win/Win! Thanks, Microsoft!
Adobe: I'm in love with Photoshop CS3. I got my copy of the Adobe Creative Suite CS3 (why do they call it Creative Suite CS...seems a bit monotonous) Web Premium. So far I've only tried out Photoshop and Acrobat (though not purposefully with Acrobat, it loaded a PDF by default). Regardless, I was able to learn at least 5 new things right from the start to make my photographs look even more stunning than they were. I'm very pleased. It's much better than my old Photoshop version 5.1 that I was using. So: Thank you, Adobe! I'll be sure to try out the rest of the suite (and get my money's worth)!
