Helping You Rock Out Your Site Like A Rockstar!

Yes, it is old news, but it is great news that bbPress 1.0 is released. Another project from the creators of WordPress, bbPress is a forum script. It even allows you to integrate the forum smoothly with your website because the php call functions are quite similar.

bbPress boast to be lean code-wise, secure, and quite flexible. There are already many plugins created to expand your own personal installation. I have set up quite a few bbPress forums for clients and they have loved it. The most attractive is the security. If anyone has ever had a phpBB forum, you know it WILL eventually be hacked no matter how many times it has been updated. The core has never been reworked properly and of course, it is very bulky.

I am contemplating adding a forum onto Blondish.net for support questions, but I will be also putting a price on support as I am fielding quite a few. Most of them ask me to correct their installation and this takes a chunk out of my time. Most of these I do without being paid, so I have to put a stop on it. I will definitely be using bbPress for that forum.

I have been following bbPress updates for quite some time, and I am extremely happy to see another WordPress product out for people to use. I am hoping for our cPanel Fantastico users, that bbPress will become available as an automatic install. I asked during WordCamp Chicago 2009 about this and apparently it is in the works, though there is not a definitely release date.

I am a beta tester at DeviantArt. I thought since I have been there almost 5 years (username – pixvex), that it was time I jumped in and tried to give back. Although some of the policies that DeviantArt I do not agree with, I do like that people can share their artwork. Recently, DeviantArt posted a message in my inbox about Portfolios. Of course, right now they are in the beta stage, but I tried it out.

The portfolios allow you to load images outside your DeviantArt account or add from your account. You can also insert your resume and any information for potential clients to know like live links to previous work. One thing I found and I actually posted about it, was that you can only load certain sizes. This means you will have to enlarge your logos, if you are a person that creates logos.

Other things you get to do is register your own domain and point your domain to the servers that DeviantArt lists. Otherwise, you can use a custom subdomain URL. Mine is http://blondishnet.daportfolio.com/. As you can see it is very plain as you can only choose black or white. Also, the images in the screenshots area do not appear, and of course, I could not load my logos.

Needs a lot of work, and I think that since people pay already, they should get to customize their portfolio further with css. I really am not impressed. I am just going to continue on my plan to revamp my own portfolio. However, it did not hurt to at least check it out. At least I can give some credit for DeviantArt for trying, but I think something better can be done. I believe DeviantArt forgot what a portfolio was in the first place. A portfolio is a way to allow a person to put their work up for display with their best effort. These will not suffice as they are as plain as paper (sorry for the cliché.)

Would you like to be a beta for this project? If you would like to be a beta, you have to have a premium membership with DeviantArt. If you are already a beta there, have you tried portfolios out?

Computer security is important for everyone! As general of a statement, it is the truth. So many people still complain about their computers being hacked or they had obtained some anti-virus. Problem is, the scary part when I asked them if they had at least an anti-virus program, they said “Oh, I just go around and use trial versions.”

I always wanted to say “Wrong answer!”

Scarier than that, there are some that say they do not have anything!

Antivirus Software is important and trial versions will not cut it. Some trial versions or online scanners do not even remove all or sometimes any of your computer’s viruses. It makes the difference between having a computer or not having the computer, or saving yourself some money. It also saves time from taking it to a computer fix-it store or having to send your computer into the manufacturer.

I would recommend trying VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware as it has a free trial offer time of 15 days, and if you like it, it is $29.95 to purchase a 1 year subscription. The anti-virus is built by Sunbelt Software and Download.com gave it 5 stars. So, it is worth the shot in trying to keep your PC clean.

What do you use for your anti-virus software?

I know it is a couple months old, but being me, some things need some cool off time, like why in the world is Yahoo! closing Geocities? Believe me, I did need the time. I had to go out of my way to go and download old files before I forgot. Being me, October 2009 would have rolled around and I would have lost some of my old writing.

I remember the days when I ran some Yahoo! Clubs (which has been Yahoo! Groups for close to a decade) and had some Geocities hosted website. The banner ads were obtrusive, but at that time, I was still learning web design and only cared that at least I had some space. I tried Freewebs (which is now just Webs.com) and even Homestead and Tripod.

A long time ago, when I joined Geocities, I had to join a certain ‘street’ and then park on a lot number. Later, Yahoo! allowed users to have their username in the URL. So many sites and yet Yahoo! is closing it. Unfortunately, the ‘award’ winner webhosting they offer is junk. I have seen more complaints than anything with their hosting. Is it because of Geocities? It is because of the economy and something had to be cut. Yahoo! does not give much of a reason in their Geocities help section on “Why is Geocities closing?”

On the other hand, they seem like authorities evacuating a toxic spill zone by redirecting them to other services. Not only that, Yahoo! 360 and Geocities! Plus (offered to their AT&T clients) are also closing. I just want to say – this is Yahell! (That is an old phrase.)

Is Geocities too much to handle or worthless to be bought by another company?

Another nifty bookmark site has surfaced: TopRoundups.com! This one is focused on quality articles in the web and graphic design world. The project creator is Webmasterish, who also created SimpleFunctions.com. I had blogged about that site with Back To The Simple Things: SingleFunction.com not too long ago. Some of the popular articles are in the design, web design, and WordPress sections of the site.

TopRoundups allows users to submit their articles. You simply fill out the form with your blog articles information. The site allows people to vote or even leave comments. It is a great way to get trackbacks for your articles as well as attract traffic with a similar interest in what you blog. To navigate the site, you can go by tags, author, and publisher.

The one thing that stands out about this site it uses the WordPress core, TDO Mini Forms, and some extra tweaking.

Go ahead and check it out! If you have a related article, submit it and look at the other articles available.

I found this opportunity for Elearning and thought it might be a great thing to share. Learn.com is a place that allows you to keep on top of your career.

The site works a couple ways. You can take courses or if you are an expert in an area, you can create a course. In fact, if you create a course, Learn.com will give you 70% commission if your course has been taken by other users.

These days, it is about what your experience/skills are rather than your education. With the economy not doing that great, employers are seeking people with experience. The skills from taking Learn.com courses can help you develop the experience you need to get ahead. Some of the courses available are even connected with accredited colleges.

I know that for myself, I am seeking to increase my own skills with business management and my IT skills. I already am enrolled in college, but I think a place like Learn.com can help me develop things that my schooling may not cover. For Learn.com I selected IT and Microsoft Productivity because I already have previous college courses in this field, but I had not finished my certification. These would help eliminate the time spent in class and I could just take the exam when ready. Right now, I do not have the time to sit in a classroom, so this is convenient.

Have you tried Learn.com or a similar service? What did you think of it?

What is it? Well Voice Over Internet Protocol, also know as VoIP is a phone service that uses broadband connection to dial. Often VoIP saves a lot of money which are great for people with small businesses or even on a personal level. Small Business Voip is cheap and saves a lot of money. I remember paying over $50 a month, plus tax for a regular all distance plan with AT&T, and frankly, I rarely used it.

It offers the same services that regular phone companies except you plug your phone to your computer, rather than the regular wall phone jack.

Do you use a similar service? What do you recommend?

I was reading Joost de Valk’s post, On the GPL, Themes, Plugins & Free. Matt Mullenweg had mentioned during WordCamp Chicago 2009 about how WordPress was going to be putting a separate section recognizing people who did commercially supported GPL themes. I for one, though I have never been very verbal about it, have always had done this for my own themes that I made for clients.

Recently, I blogged about How To Appreciate Your Web Developers where I try to spread the message that it is important to support your web developers and how to do it. This can be tied with the topic for WordPress GPL themes and plugins. I like this idea about the themes, but I have to agree with people like Joost de Valk and Justin Parks that plugin developers should be included. These special plugins give that extra oomph to make your site pop. I remember my first plugin donation was to Alex King for WP-Grins and that was a couple years ago. I now make free emoticon smilies for people to use and most people probably have used his plugin.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you even think there should be a section to recognize GPL supported themes or plugins? Have you ever donated to a WordPress plugin developer?