Disqus - Friends of michalc

Re: On Usability

Simon Hamp — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:39:57 -0000

Wonderful rant Elliott. Well written and ecologically poetic. A+

I'm not a designer. I don't do wireframes. I've never used Balsamiq (except on salads). I won't hate anyone who does use it.

We all like to try something new and not be an expert at it. At the end of the day it's how we cope with the criticisms that makes us progress. If every teacher we've ever had just patted our back, said "Well done" and stamped a big 'A' across the top of our papers, we'd never get anywhere.

I say let them use Balsamiq for all their attempts at glory. Shoot them down with that parental-mild pedantic tone: "That doesn't look like a man, Jimmy, that's more like a Blascorrg from Elon VII! And you call that a car?" It can only help them grow! ... Jimmy became a fine surrealist painter.

My point? Next time you fly in a Boeing 737-800 at night, take a torch.

Re: 40 Web Developers to Follow on Twitter

Simon Hamp — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:20:21 -0000

any chance I could get on there? @simonhamp

Re: 40 Web Developers to Follow on Twitter

Simon Hamp — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:20:21 -0000

any chance I could get on there? @simonhamp

Re: Web Development is Moving On – Are you?

Simon Hamp — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:56:21 -0000

My twopence worth:
I think the problem is that so many developers (like myself) have got fed up of the corporate nagging that they've ended up working for themselves and in a lot of cases working on open source systems that average Joe User can set up with a few instructions.

Now I'm not saying it's wrong to empower people-who-aren't-technically-developers in this way OR that the software that has been developed is bad. It's just that it really doesn't suit every use case. Frameworks and SDKs are a little better as their scope is generally more generic, but they're more difficult for Joe User to understand.

Plus, the more generic you get, the more bloated you get, having to cater for possible eventualities that simply might never be. For some of us, that's a factor that we're prepared to negotiate. For others, a competitive solution is the only way to go.

For the past two years I believed I could do it better. The solution I've come up with could be classed as a web app framework/CMS. I guess it's along the lines of Drupal. The key issue for me though is that it's tighter, it does what I need it to, which means it's leaner. It's faster.

You could argue that trimming back is better than building up, but in this case there was also a deep personal development incentive. Will I release the solution as open source? Maybe one day. Will I make people pay through the nose for it? No!

It is a way for me to develop web applications faster and in a way that is extensible as far as existing and future technologies suggest it needs to be. So efficiency is the key for me, without a lack of quality. It's not so much being a control freak, but just being 100% sure that everything I develop with this will be effective in all areas that I need it to be.

If you can get that same sense of satisfaction from another piece of software that already exists... great! If you're not bothered about it... then you should probably be worried...

Re: Web Development is Moving On - Are you?

Simon Hamp — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:56:21 -0000

Now I'm not saying it's wrong to empower people-who-aren't-technically-developers in this way OR that the software that has been developed is bad. It's just that it really doesn't suit every use case. Frameworks and SDKs are a little better as their scope is generally more generic, but they're more difficult for Joe User to understand.

Plus, the more generic you get, the more bloated you get, having to cater for possible eventualities that simply might never be. For some of us, that's a factor that we're prepared to negotiate. For others, a competitive solution is the only way to go.

For the past two years I believed I could do it better. The solution I've come up with could be classed as a web app framework/CMS. I guess it's along the lines of Drupal. The key issue for me though is that it's tighter, it does what I need it to, which means it's leaner. It's faster.

You could argue that trimming back is better than building up, but in this case there was also a deep personal development incentive. Will I release the solution as open source? Maybe one day. Will I make people pay through the nose for it? No!

It is a way for me to develop web applications faster and in a way that is extensible as far as existing and future technologies suggest it needs to be. So efficiency is the key for me, without a lack of quality. It's not so much being a control freak, but just being 100% sure that everything I develop with this will be effective in all areas that I need it to be.

If you can get that same sense of satisfaction from another piece of software that already exists... great! If you're not bothered about it... then you should probably be worried...

Re: Web Development is Moving On – Are you?

Simon Hamp — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:56:00 -0000

My twopence worth:I think the problem is that so many developers (like myself) have got fed up of the corporate nagging that they&#039ve ended up working for themselves and in a lot of cases working on open source systems that average Joe User can set up with a few instructions.Now I&#039m not saying it&#039s wrong to empower people-who-aren&#039t-technically-developers in this way OR that the software that has been developed is bad. It&#039s just that it really doesn&#039t suit every use case. Frameworks and SDKs are a little better as their scope is generally more generic, but they&#039re more difficult for Joe User to understand.Plus, the more generic you get, the more bloated you get, having to cater for possible eventualities that simply might never be. For some of us, that&#039s a factor that we&#039re prepared to negotiate. For others, a competitive solution is the only way to go.For the past two years I believed I could do it better. The solution I&#039ve come up with could be classed as a web app framework/CMS. I guess it&#039s along the lines of Drupal. The key issue for me though is that it&#039s tighter, it does what I need it to, which means it&#039s leaner. It&#039s faster.You could argue that trimming back is better than building up, but in this case there was also a deep personal development incentive. Will I release the solution as open source? Maybe one day. Will I make people pay through the nose for it? No!It is a way for me to develop web applications faster and in a way that is extensible as far as existing and future technologies suggest it needs to be. So efficiency is the key for me, without a lack of quality. It&#039s not so much being a control freak, but just being 100% sure that everything I develop with this will be effective in all areas that I need it to be.If you can get that same sense of satisfaction from another piece of software that already exists... great! If you&#039re not bothered about it... then you should probably be worried...

Re: Web Development is Moving On – Are you?

Simon Hamp — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:56:21 -0000

My twopence worth:
I think the problem is that so many developers (like myself) have got fed up of the corporate nagging that they&#39ve ended up working for themselves and in a lot of cases working on open source systems that average Joe User can set up with a few instructions.

Now I&#39m not saying it&#39s wrong to empower people-who-aren&#39t-technically-developers in this way OR that the software that has been developed is bad. It&#39s just that it really doesn&#39t suit every use case. Frameworks and SDKs are a little better as their scope is generally more generic, but they&#39re more difficult for Joe User to understand.

Plus, the more generic you get, the more bloated you get, having to cater for possible eventualities that simply might never be. For some of us, that&#39s a factor that we&#39re prepared to negotiate. For others, a competitive solution is the only way to go.

For the past two years I believed I could do it better. The solution I&#39ve come up with could be classed as a web app framework/CMS. I guess it&#39s along the lines of Drupal. The key issue for me though is that it&#39s tighter, it does what I need it to, which means it&#39s leaner. It&#39s faster.

You could argue that trimming back is better than building up, but in this case there was also a deep personal development incentive. Will I release the solution as open source? Maybe one day. Will I make people pay through the nose for it? No!

It is a way for me to develop web applications faster and in a way that is extensible as far as existing and future technologies suggest it needs to be. So efficiency is the key for me, without a lack of quality. It&#39s not so much being a control freak, but just being 100% sure that everything I develop with this will be effective in all areas that I need it to be.

If you can get that same sense of satisfaction from another piece of software that already exists... great! If you&#39re not bothered about it... then you should probably be worried...

Re: One Full-Day Screencast of Twiggy Design

Simon Hamp — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:24:59 -0000

Mike's a great designer. Nice work man. What are you using to capture your screen?

Re: Twiggy Beta Released

Simon Hamp — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:36:40 -0000

Nice to see suggestions being taken on board - Carsonified are definitely a forward-thinking company.

I'm enjoying this week with you guys, almost feels like I'm there... but I'm finding it difficult to concentrate on my work... my fault not yours.

Re: Introducing Alkaline

Simon Hamp — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:10:43 -0000

really like litmus and alkaline, absolutely brilliant. and the coda plugin just improves my workflow. i would definitely like to see multi-page/site-wide testing and to be able to see how client-side code behaves in some form of video. would be great

Re: 161. In or Out

Simon Hamp — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:15:54 -0000

Great show again guys. Microsoft are kicking up the dust with the IE8 auto-update. I think we are masters of our own destiny... the more business-critical systems we design that stop supporting IE6, the sooner its downfall. Glen Stansberry's Lazy Registration is a brilliant find.

Re: Sketches, Wireframes & Logo Ideas – Meet Our New App

Simon Hamp — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 18:14:45 -0000

This looks to be another exciting activity brewing up at the Carsonified hut. I admire your bold choice to go with the MS framework. I actually enjoyed using VB.NET for 12 months. It taugt me a lot. In fact it made my PHP coding better because it pushed into OOP.

The main issue I have with .NET is how evolution of the framework breaks setimes crucial functionality with little or no warning. And there are some nasty gotchas when you try to improve performance.

Not major concerns however and still an interesting project. I look forward to seeing the final result!

Re: Dump just the table structure to a file in MySQL

Simon Hamp — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 06:32:26 -0000

ok, say you have two dbs very similar in structure. one you use as a master template which goes through various revisions, let's say we're now on revision 3. but the second db is a copy of the template as it was at revision 1.

because db 2 is in use, you don't want to drop any tables, but you do need to update the structure of the entire db to the latest version of db 1.

is there any method of doing this without having to manually go through and make all the same changes again and again (over many dbs at various versions) and without losing any of the data?

Re: Do aesthetics need to be compromised for the sake of usability?

Simon Hamp — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:50:39 -0000

I absolutely agree with your response. Why on earth can you invert screen colours in accessibility modes on your OS if it makes it worse for poor-sighted users to actually see it that way?

Silly rant in my opinion. You really need to think before you sound off sometimes... otherwise you end up looking stupid.

Re: Do aesthetics need to be compromised for the sake of usability?

Simon Hamp — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:08:34 -0000

Hahaha! Mark, I think you should change your last name to Stickler! ;P

Re: Christmas needs you!

Simon Hamp — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:10:18 -0000

I think APIs will be huge.... check out http://reactorapp.com/

Re: 194. Focus on User Tasks

Simon Hamp — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 11:06:43 -0000

Hey guys, great show as always. Would appreciate some acknowledgement for the Prezi review transcription. Cheers :)

Re: 194. Focus on User Tasks

Simon Hamp — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:51:15 -0000

No worries :) thanks!

Re: My Grand Mac Tour

Simon Hamp — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:22:12 -0000

Nice video Paul. I did a post like this a few days before... not quite as focused on productivity (http://flipstorm.co.uk/2010....

I love Dropbox... when they beef up the plans and make it essentially Time Machine in the cloud I won't need another backup service!

Re: Sneak Peek at New Carsonified App Launching Soon

Simon Hamp — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:52:22 -0000

Is it a new version of PacMan where our famed hero crawls through small pipes gulping blobs of water in his attempts to avoid the evil, pipe-stretching Conceptual Icons of Doom (CIDs)?

If so, I'm totally prepared to pay $99/month as long as my PacMan is totally invincible... and my score doesn't max out at 999,999

Re: Sneak Peek at New Carsonified App Launching Soon

Simon Hamp — Mon, 10 May 2010 10:52:22 -0000

Is it a new version of PacMan where our famed hero crawls through small pipes gulping blobs of water in his attempts to avoid the evil, pipe-stretching Conceptual Icons of Doom (CIDs)?

If so, I'm totally prepared to pay $99/month as long as my PacMan is totally invincible... and my score doesn't max out at 999,999

Re: Trigger Javascript Events after Binding with jQuery // Developing With Style

Simon Hamp — Sun, 16 May 2010 06:40:46 -0000

This is fine if you only want to run that function when that event fires on that (or when you manually fire that event).

If you want your function to be available and used in other ways, you will need to make it more centralised, i.e. as a separate function definition.

Re: Time for something new

Simon Hamp — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:36:23 -0000

Wow this is quite shocking news! Such a tough, gutsy call to make when to many it seems like the podcast is right at the top of its game.

However, I feel it's not entirely unexpected. The podcast has become very fractious for me. I was only listening to the bits that really interested me and even then I would probably just read the post.

You've all done an excellent job with the show. I was really pleased to be a part of it in some small way and I hope that whatever form the return of Boagworld takes, it will be as inclusive of its audience as its previous incarnation.

I salute you all with a giant foam hand

Re: Simple JQuery Expandable Content Box

Simon Hamp — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 07:19:21 -0000

Hi Spyda,

I know this article is quite old, but your demo page is broken and I was really hoping to see this in action!

Hope you can get it fixed. Please email me if you do, because I want to try building a new plugin based on something similar to this (with full credit to you of course!)

Cheers
Sie

Re: Mastering the Art of APIs – Part 1

Simon Hamp — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:59:33 -0000

I'm writing for ProgrammableWeb about APIs all of the time. Particularly liked your section on JSON vs XML... very reminiscent of comments made on an article I wrote last month.

Looking forward to Part 2!